Teach A Dog

November 27th, 2008 by Thomas

Dog bathing is a must when living with a dog. Dogs naturally get smelly and are not like cats in being able to wash themselves well and be hygienic, this is why dog owners have to look after their dogs hygiene for them once in a while.

Dog bathing should take place when your dog starts to smell or is very dirty, some breeds of dog find it very hard to keep smelling pretty as you will quickly come to notice. Running around every day rubbing yourself up against trees, bushes, benches and rolling around on grass or getting drenched head to paws in rivers or puddles are all common occurrences in a dogs life and all contribute to dog smelliness.

It is important to make sure you brush your dogs coat and fur through before every bathing session to remove all bits of debris that may have got caught up in your dog’s fur since their last bath along with tangles or matted hair that may have formed. If you ignore this step any tangles and matted hair will get worse after bathing and make it an impossible task to rid of them.

You will need to use special pet shampoo and conditioner to clean your dog; human shampoo uses a different ph level and can be bad for your dog’s skin. Starting off by letting your dog get used to running water, warm water should be used to wash your dog, it is best to use a jug or container to gently pour water on your dog. Be sure not to put water directly on your dogs face to be sure not to frighten them off or scare them.

When your dog is wet, keep reassuring them and rewarding them if the behaviour is good to get the message across that bathing is not a bad thing. Rub the shampoo and conditioner onto your dog gently and being sure to do a proper job of getting all the smells and everything else out.

To finish off, rinse all the soapy water and shampoo of your dog and dry your dog in the same way you would yourself or if your dog has easily matted hair use patting only to dry your dog, when this is all done reward your dog with praise and rewards for being cooperative with you.

November 25th, 2008 by Thomas

George W. Bush’s dog bit a reporter yesterday. The MSM covered the bite and the reporter’s recovery, but BarelyPolitical has the inside scoop on why Barney did it!

November 19th, 2008 by Thomas

There are so many different dog breeds and dog crossbreeds around the world now that finding the perfect dog for you can seem a hugely daunting task. Sure, your perfect dog is probably out there somewhere but finding that dog is a completely different thing.

To help you narrow your search down I have taken the time to put this article together and give my best advice on which dog will be best for you if you’re looking for a low maintenance dog for your new home, family or any other occasion.

Ok, you want a low maintenance dog breed so what is the answer? There are many aspects to this question and many dogs to consider, some are realty energetic like the Labrador, border collie and Irish setter but other breeds just seem to be pretty much as energetic as each other.

Maintenance may not mean weather the dog you want is energetic and needs lots of walks and exercise and it may be other forms of dog maintenance like grooming, dog training and bathing etcetera. These differences in dog breed personalities and care are very hard to determine and sum up into a final list of perfect dog breeds as all dogs will need time and care.

The main question here ids weather you are really ready for a dog in your home or place of residence. Dogs do take lots of time especially when they are young and impressionable puppies or dogs. If you want a low maintenance dog then the option for you is to not have a dog at all. Dogs take a big commitment in your life and need to be cared for appropriately in order to be healthy and happy. If you are unsure take more time to ponder your choices and priorities, it will save you a lot of time and unwanted effort in the long run.

November 18th, 2008 by Thomas

Leash training or lead training is the discussion of many dog trainers in this modern age and discussions of how to train your dog in the nicest possible way are aplenty. These discussions are brought about by people and dog trainers believing that pulling on the leash to correct a dog’s behavior is causing injury to the dog.

I’m not here to discus this also, but I certainly don’t believe there is anything wrong with leash training if it is done in the correct way and care is taken not to hurt the dog or give any sudden forceful pulls on the leash.

Leash dog training is equally as popular as any other form of dog training within the expert dog training community because when done properly it gets results quickly and effectively.

Leash training is used by correcting your dog’s movements and gently tugging on the leash to force the dog to go in a way they would not have originally gone and to direct them in the favoured way for the training exercise in hand. Often the problems of leash training are with getting your dog comfortable with the leash and collar so I will briefly discus the key aspects of getting your dog to behave when going for walks on a leash and the problems you might face.

Some dogs are excited to get their collar on and other are not so fond of it, train your dog to sit and stay first before learning to take your dog on a leash, many dogs like to wriggle around and run about wile you try to put a collar or lead on them so the sit stay commands will be essential.

While doing any pre-leash exercises or walks if your dog misbehaves by being too excited you should simply remain calm and not go for walks until they are acting appropriately, this should calm your dog down and act as a light punishment for them.

When starting leash training, begin in your own home and then work your way up to more populated and new and interesting places, if your dog misbehaves or is pulling on the leash constantly when they are out then discipline accordingly, and as always practice will be the deciding factor to how quickly your dog will accomplish good behavior.

November 16th, 2008 by Thomas

There are plenty of dog tricks around to choose from but starting off with your first puppy or dog and knowing which dog tricks are easy can be a bit of a challenge. If you have a puppy then training them will be a lot easier than an older dog because of the habits dogs fall into when they are brought up.

Older dogs will have different habits and a strong personality by then so they may find some advanced tricks easier than basic tricks because of the way they have been brought up.

Although the same as above can be true for puppies also, this is more likely to be because of the breed of dog you have and the different general personalities that go with them breeds.

In this article we assume you have taught your dog the basics or sit and stay etc and now you want to teach your dog a fun ‘show-off’ type trick to impress your friends or family when they visit. There are many tricks from bringing you the TV remote to riding a skateboard, but to start off I recommend something simple like the figure of eight around your legs.

This is similar to other commands you will have taught your dog and involves you using treats to encourage your dog to perform actions. To do this trick you simply have hold a treat in one hand and guide your dog through one side of your legs, through the middle then around to complete a figure of eight motion. Try to hold the treat close to your dog’s nose to keep them interested and always reward them with praise afterwards and the treat afterwards.

After you have mastered this and can get your dog to do it on command you’re ready for your next trick and one step closer to the skateboard. Good luck!

November 12th, 2008 by Thomas

A dog crate is a metal and plastic cage for your dog to sleep in or be in while you are away, the crate helps give your dog a secure place to live while in your home and a place to retreat to when things get a bit to hectic as they do in many family homes today.

Crate training is a very popular and effective technique for teaching your dog right from wrong; this method includes teaching rules of eliminating, sleeping arrangements, and keeping your dog from being destructive when you are out amongst many other benefits.

To crate train you must choose a correctly sized crate that your dog or puppy will be able to grow into with time and they will not be too cramped or have too much space. If your dog has a crate that is too small they won’t want to live there or go there and if the crate is too large it leads to eliminating problems.

You should make your dog feel as comfortable as you can in their crate; this should include putting a bowl of water with your dog in their crate, a nice easily cleanable blanket and put them in an area that is widely used by the family so they always feel part of what is going on.

When you are out, your dog can be closed in their crate to ensure common bad behavioural problems don’t happen while you are out such as chewing, biting and eliminating in the house. Be sure not to keep your dog in their crate for longer than about 4 hours and to let them go to the toilet on a regular basis.

Dogs will naturally not want to eliminate in their place of sleep so as you dog gets used to its new sleeping area it will want to go to the toilet only when they are let out so be sure to take them to their appropriate place for eliminating when they are let out, then reward them for behaving in the correct manner.

Always reward your dog for using the crate in the correct way and be sure all members of the family know that the dog should not be pestered in their crate. As long as this rule is followed then you won’t go far wrong and you will begin to notice great improvements in your dog’s behaviour immediately.

November 10th, 2008 by Thomas

An overweight dog is something many owners should be very aware of especially after the middle age of about 7 years of age (depending on dogs’ size). A dogs weight can seriously put your dogs health at risk and cut their life short as well as causing a unnecessary painful ending.

Dogs tend to be able to eat as much as we choose to feed them at times and feeding your dog till he/she is full is a bad idea at the best of times. A set amount should be given to your dog each day and some notification next to your dogs bowl might help the confusion of who’s fed the dog and who hasn’t.

As your dog becomes older, you will need to check their weight more often as their metabolism will slow down and overeating will become out of control and a problem for your dog. Obviously dogs come in different sizes and shapes so there is not set amount of food that has to be given to your particular breed of dog and a small amount of research or a trip to the vets will be needed to see how much your dog should eat.

Determine the weight of your dog is correct by checking that your dogs’ ribs can be easily felt with little pressure, and are not visibly noticeable. Your dogs’ hips should be easily felt and not are surrounded by too much flesh and fat, and from looking down on your dog the body curves inwards after the rib cage slightly.

If these are all in place then your dog appears to be a healthy weight and this should be maintained throughout their life. Always ensure your dog has plenty of exercise and play time to maintain a healthy dog. If your dog becomes too thin then a vet should be contacted for advice and support as well as if your dog is very overweight.

November 6th, 2008 by Thomas

Dog leashes or leads are an extremely essential training tool or even just for general care and wellbeing for your dog. Whether you use your leash for taking you dog for long walks or only use it for teaching your dog right from wrong in the comfort of your back garden, a lead is always an important buy for you and your dog.

As a dog owner and a consumer, your choice of dog leads/leashes is as you might expect, huge. With so much choice and variations, choosing which lead or leash to use can be a bigger challenge than the actual training of your dog.

So what are the different kinds of leads and leashes? Well trust me there are thousands out there to choose from, I will only go through a few of the more popular types of leash as I’m sure there are many different types of leads being brought onto the market every week and it would be an impossible task to keep track of all of them.

In the next part of this article I will first go through the different types of lead then finish off with my personal views and preferences.

Extending leads

These do exactly what is says, they ‘extend’ away from the owner for a certain distance before running out of slack. With these leashes the owner has control of when to stop the lead extending further and can be used just like a normal leash if needs be.

Slip leads

These leads are a simple type of lead with a loop on both sides normally with and adjustable clip at the end that tightens when pulled or loosens around the dog’s neck for comfort when there is no pulling. Used by many for dog training.

Nylon leads

This is the cheaper option of dog lead, the simplest form of dog leash available, often causes rubbing and digging into your dog’s skin. Nylon leashes are best avoided.

Bungee leads

These leads help to eliminate the slack that other leads cause so that your dog does not trip over the leash and there is less pulling on your arm from a dog in the training process.

Leather leads

This is a popular type of lead that is comfortable for your dog and gives you full control of how far your dog can wonder. A good lead for training but can be tiring on your arm if your dog tends to try and pull you around.

My Conclusion

It is the preference of the trainer in hand at the end of the day but I feel leather leads are best for me and show your dog sum gentle authority when starting to train. Letting your dog wonder too far on walks can give your dog too much freedom and chance to misbehave.

If you are interested in training then I would go for a leather lead to begin, if you just like going for walks in the park or your dog is well behaved then you could maybe opt for an extendable leash.

November 4th, 2008 by Thomas

The ‘no’ command is a widely used command throughout dog training and is used to tell your dog not to do something or to stop them in their tracks to avoid dangerous situations or general bad behavior.

I think of the no command as more of a training technique rather than a command and to perfect the technique you will need to be consistent for most of your time with your pet dog. The no command isn’t like other commands and is taught over several years rather than a ‘learn it and forget it’ dog training technique.

You can start to teach your dog the no command as soon as you see your cute little puppy doing something wrong for the first time, to most people the command will come naturally when they see their dog causing terror in the house and it will not be too hard for them to remember how to execute the technique.

The no command should come part and parcel with punishing your dog, the idea behind the no command is to teach your dog that ‘no’ means bad behavior and punishment, after teaching this command the end result will be that your dog should stop whatever they are doing when you say ‘no’.

So to make this command work you will need to enforce and recite ‘no’ in a very assertive way whenever you are punishing your dog or see your dog behaving badly that will result in punishment. By doing this your dog will associate ‘no!’ with being punished and making you the owner, unhappy.

If you do this consistently through your dogs earlier years, especially when your dog is a puppy and very impressionable you will gain respect from your dog and just saying ‘no’ alone will be enough to stop your dog in its tracks and save you punishing your dog.

November 3rd, 2008 by Thomas

There are many different punishments for getting your dog to learn the difference between right and wrong, and there are many dog trainers that will tell you that their method is the best way or that a different type of punishment, whether it be positive or negative punishment, is better than the method you’re using now.

Dogs need punishment to keep them in order and to teach them what is acceptable and what is not, without some form of punishment there would be no way of showing your dog these things, and no way of training them.

There are two types of punishment for your dogs; there are positive punishments and negative punishments. Positive punishments are punishments when you give you dog something, for example giving a tug on the leash or verbal correction. Negative punishments are when you take away something your dog needs or expects such as treats or toys or having the dog be taken away from you.

I am a strong believer that positive punishments should only be used in moderation or not at all, serious injuries to your dog’s safety and health may occur by over using or incorrectly using positive punishment. There is no dog training exercise that cannot be accomplished by using the negative punishment.

For dog safety reasons I will only talk about negative punishments and dog punishments that I would use and are fully safe for your dogs. 9 times out of 10 positive punishments cause your dog to react in a similar way towards other people or the owner. If you are going to use positive punishment it is highly recommended that you consult a professional dog trainer before doing so.

The most popular and some of the best negative punishment are listed below and should be enforced within 10 seconds of the crime being committed to have any affect and avoid confusion

Time out:

Take your dog to a room cut off from other family members and any attention for a short period of time.

Take away toys:

Stop your dog from having any toys for a short period of time.

Ignore your dog:

Totally ignore your dog for a period of time so they get no attention, fuss, or eye contact.

No treats:

Don’t give your dog the treat he would have normally had for good behavior.