Skating the Infosphere

October 10, 2008

Choosing a Good Obedience School for Your Dog

Filed under: Pet + Animal Products @ 5:34 am

Most dog owners want their dog to be well-behaved and well-trained. Even with our best efforts, we don’t always have enough time to spend on properly training our dogs and they can become a little problematic. The good news is that you can get help by signing your dog up for obedience school.

Is your dog disobedient? Have you given up on trying to make your dog obey your commands? Do you often find chewed up items when you return from work? Do you avoid walking your dog in broad daylight because you don’t want the neighbors to see how poorly behaved he is when around other dogs and people? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to realize that you don’t have to give up transforming your dog into a controllable and well-behaved dog. By properly training your dog, your life will become a lot easier. Your dog will always come to you when you call him. You won’t get into legal problems because of your dog aggressing the neighbor’s kid and you won’t get complaints from the neighbors because your dog doesn’t stop barking or howling.

An obedience school trainer will be able to give you an idea about how you can make your pet pay attention to you. These trainers will train your dog on how to act with other dogs and people around. They will also teach your dog fundamental instructions (sit, stay, heel and come). Your dog will also enjoy training as he gets to spend time with you, which is what he wants first and foremost.

Selecting a dog obedience school is a little like picking a school for your kids. You want to make the right decision so you should look at all your options before making a decision. Fortunately, you will be attending along with your dog, so you’ll know for sure if you made the right decision. Talk to friends, coworkers and family members who have used obedience schools and see if they would recommend a school to you.

You can also contact the obedience school and ask for the contact information of one of their previous customers. Be ready with a list of questions before you call this person out of the blue! If you hear positive things about the school you are considering, then it’s a good sign. If you don’t, you should look elsewhere.

You should also include a visit to the obedience schools that you are considering. After all, you want to train your dog in a nice atmosphere, don’t you? Check to see if the buildings appear structurally sound and well kept and if the instructors are well trained. You want to find a school where you and your dog will be comfortable.

Take the time to get to know the trainers at the dog obedience school you are considering. Ask them which techniques they use and you can even bring your dog to visit to make sure he would enjoy this particular training school. If both you and your dog are comfortable with a trainer, obedience training will be a lot smoother.

Visit the website for more information about Dog Health Care and download the free report “The Secrets to Raising a Happier Dog” or grab his latest Dog Training Tips.

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August 24, 2008

Dog Behavior

Filed under: Pet + Animal Products @ 5:27 pm

How often do you hear an owner shout, ‘Bad dog’ when what really needs to be said is ‘bad handler’. There is nothing as irritating as a dog making a beeline for you as you are taking a walk down the sidewalk. Your yard is often a favorite place to use as a toilet. These are not bad dogs but can be compared to some of the next door kids who have gone astray. Why blame the animal (or the kids) when the adult who’s supposed to be in charge isn’t acting responsibly?

Dogs need to know their limits when inside, outside and in public places. Ask any good owner and he would admit that taking the help of a dog trainer is the best way to understanding dog handling without hampering his spirits. To get to know a good trainer approach your vet or pet store; these trainers often hold private lessons with the pet and the owner but it is just as easy to solve your pet behavior problem by attending any online course on pet management.

This training could teach owners how to be in command of their pets. There is a saying amongst trainers however that it is far easier to train dogs than the people that own them! Dogs need to practice when they are taught to walk with leash when they are taken out and for this they need to walk around in a yard or any other area. While barking may be common behavior, it is nevertheless infuriating to both owner and people who live close by. Barking is normal communication so it is no good punishing them for what comes naturally.

So why does a dog bark? Well, just like a young child or baby, it needs attention, food or something to drink. A Dog barking can be good burglar alarm and training them to stop isn’t always a good idea. It is wrong to encourage a puppy to bark and then punish him for barking when he attains adulthood.

Trainers can help teach you how to reinforce behavior that you desire with both praise and treats. You need to know how to reward your pet so they get the correct message and repeat the desired behavior or cease the less desirable traits. There are many behaviors which are part of the breed of the dog so it is important to remember that you can teach your pet to go against these. To make your pet follow specific behavioral training, you ought to choose one from a breed with can give you what you need. Dedication, patience and a loving attitude are needed if you wish to train a dog.

Learn more about Dog Behavior Training or Dog Health Problems

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May 19, 2008

Easy Dog Tricks

Filed under: Pet + Animal Products @ 4:25 pm

Teach Your Dog To Retrieve

Teaching your dog to run and retrieve is a very basic and easy training command for him to understand. It is one of the easiest of tasks to train your dog to do, such as pick up a newspaper or a piece of mail, and it’s fun too!

You can begin the exercise by first showing your puppy or dog how to focus on the area in which you want him to retreat from. You do this by simply pointing to the location with your finger. Your goal here is to get your dog to scope out the exact area while looking for something to bring back to you.

The best way to take care of this first step of retrieve training is to use little bits and pieces of dog food or dog snacks. Take out the food and just sprinkle two or three treats on the ground. Do not let your dog run to eat the food too fast. In fact, you should first train him to sit and stay until released, then you point to the ground and say “pickup”, “pickup”.

Each time your dog grabs a piece of food, drop another piece behind you and then point while giving the “pickup” command. As you can probably guess, your dog is going to associate the command you are giving him of “pickup” with the notion to look for something to put in his mouth. This part of training does not take long at all, especially if you are using tasty treats and by also training your dog when he is hungry, as this helps to increase his motivation.

Read more about Easy Dog Tricks or Dog Health Care

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May 17, 2008

Dog Begging - Why Begging For Food Should Never Be Allowed

Filed under: Pet + Animal Products @ 3:38 pm

The one thing you can count on with your dog is that he will absolutely insist on eating whatever it is that you and the rest of the family are having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! And without training to teach them otherwise, begging for food, while seemingly cute in the beginning, will become a complete and total annoyance to everyone in due time.

Why Is Begging A Bad Thing?
Once you decided to raise a dog, your family officially became a “pack”. This means that your dog looks up to you and the rest of the household as a natural hierarchy, with a leader at the top. When you allow your dog to beg, even if it seems innocent, this behavior becomes a form of control that the animal is gaining from the pack.

In the beginning, begging for food, or begging for other stimulations such as a belly rub, is obviously adorable, but in time, the dog’s actions become more and more demanding, thus becoming aggressive and unbearable as he grows into an adult.

How Aggressive Will Your Dog Become?
Many of you might be reading this and are thinking to yourself that your well-behaved doggie would never become aggressive while begging for food and nip at your hand. However, I beg to differ.

A perfect example would be recalling the experience that a friend of mine had with his dog. For several years he would hand-feed his puppy bits of food whenever he himself was eating. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks in between - all were shared with his dog.

Eventually, his dog grew into an adult and was a fairly large size. The mistake that my friend made was not realizing that he was actually programming the dog to be a dominant leader every time the animal expected to be fed, and my friend of course would share his food without thinking.

The begging became a big problem and when he decided to train the dog not to beg for food, the animal got extremely aggressive and literally jumped on the table to snatch up a plate of food, and while biting into my friend’s hand.

Proper Training To Eliminate Begging
Although the true story above was on the extreme side of dominant, aggressive behavior, as a result of begging, the problem is indeed real. And although your dog may not be so demanding right now, the key is to completely eliminate the possibility of begging by proper training early in your puppy’s life.

The process is simple. All you have to do is train your dog to be still and remain in a specific area of the house when the family is eating their meals. It may take a little time, but imagine your dog sitting quietly, remaining in the sit position, all the while you and your family are eating dinner, with him not moving until you allow him to do so.

Get more helpful information about Dog Health Care and Dog Training.

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May 9, 2008

Dog Behavior Training

Filed under: Pet + Animal Products @ 1:34 pm

Dog Behavior – Dogs Are Like Children, They Need Leadership & Guidance

Dogs having a natural instinct towards being “pack” animals. Just like their ancestors in which they came from, the wolf, dogs think in terms of partnerships and teamwork when it comes to certain activities. Similar to the way a sports team will work together in order to accomplish the combined goal of winning, your dog looks towards you and the rest of the family as his “team” and counts on you all to help him survive, learn the rules of the house, and condition his behavior.

And like a winning team, there are certain characteristics that must be adhered to and provided by all members of the family, including your dog. Such examples of winning characteristics are disciplined structure, operation among everyone in your dog, and most important, respect between your dog’s “pack”. Without these items, there would be chaos and very little way in which your dog can recognize who is in charge and leading his team.

Read more about Behavior Dog Training

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April 28, 2008

Bad Dog Behavior

Filed under: Pet + Animal Products @ 3:52 am

Can This Dog Be Saved? A Perspective On Bad Dog Behavior

You love your dog and you feel committed to keeping him in your life, but sometimes you wonder how much more you stand. You feel as if you’ve tried everything and your at your wit’s end.

If this describes your current relationship with your dog, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that there may still be hope to turn things around. The bad news is you may not be the one who can do it.

There really are no ‘bad dogs’. However, there are dogs who have been abused, dogs with physical illnesses and ‘psychiatric’ problems, mistrained dogs and dogs that simply aren’t a match for their current owners. Knowing which kind of dog you have on your hands is crucial for determining your next course of action.

First, ask yourself if there’s any chance you might be part of the problem. Did you educate yourself on dog training methods? Did you take your dog to professionally run training classes? Are you one-hundred-percent sure you know how to handle your dog’s breed and temperament?

If not, then there’s a good chance the relationship can be saved by doing your part to understand your dog’s needs.

Read more about Bad Dog Behavior

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