Dogs have a significant capacity for training their trainers. Apart from making us wave our hands and bark odd words, we regularly fetch treats and run after tennis balls. Not useful to us, but the dog enjoys it.

To put things back the way they’re meant to be, assert your alpha status. One of the foremost methods is a frequent use of ‘the stay’. Just what it sounds like, the stay requires the dog to remain stationary, in place, while you move about. Just the reverse of the usual situation in too many cases.
(more…)

Dogs, like humans, show a wide range of tolerance for others. Some are immediately friendly with every new dog, while others are forever hostile to even the opposite sex of their own breed. Dogs are by territorial by nature, but with some training you can successfully socialize your dog.

Naturally, animal lovers like to have more than one dog around and often several breeds or other species. Ensuring that chairs remain upright and necks unbitten can be a real challenge. Add to the mix the neighbor’s pets or random critters who wander into your companion’s territory and your furniture, not to mention your sanity, can be at real risk.
(more…)

Dogs can learn an amazing variety of behaviors, but few so fundamentally important as the ‘sit’. Beyond the basic need to establish that the human of the pair is the alpha (leader), it has a number of practical benefits.

When a dog sits he’s more attentive, making it easier to follow further commands. His eyes are on you, the alpha.

As important as what the dog is doing, is what he is not. In a sit, he’s more or less stationary. There are still those wagging tails, after all. That means he’s not chasing the cat, knocking over the furniture, running through the garden or out into the street.
(more…)

Teaching your pet tricks is easiest when you work with their nature, not against it. Most dogs are eager to please and respond enthusiastically to rewards. Teaching tricks is often as much a matter of simply using those rewards to direct or build on a spontaneous behavior as it is teaching an entirely foreign one.

Watch for spontaneous behavior close to the one desired. A dog will sometimes crawl on its belly for no apparent reason. It may be scratching, it may simply be having fun. If this is a desired trick, watch for the beginnings of the behavior, then be prepared to associate it with a hand gesture and voice command, then reward immediately.
(more…)

It is important that your dog have regular check-ups to make sure his health is in top shape. One of the most important places on your dog to monitor during these check-ups is on the dog’s skin. There are many different types of infestations to beware of from parasites like the flea, ticks, lice, hot spots and more.

If you notice your dog itching and scratching excessively, this is a sure sign that your dog has a skin problem that needs to be addressed right away. There are simple, easy ways to find out which parasite or insect may be causing the dogs skin to itch. We are going to cover a few of them in this article. By far, the most common and most annoying problem for both your dog and you the dog owner, are fleas!
(more…)

No training is more important and more basic for dog owners than that first important lesson: Do it outside! Teaching your pet to eliminate outside the home, not in it, usually starts between six and eight weeks of age. Dogs as young as four weeks have been started on the program, but at that age few have the muscular control to succeed.

Like any dog training regimen, trainer patience is as important as the dog’s temperament. ‘Sit’, ‘stay’ and other behaviors can often be learned in a few days. ‘Potty’ training typically takes weeks – sometimes as short as two, often a month or more.
(more…)