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July 9th, 2008

Dog Training Obedience - Easy To Understand Methods

Posted in Pets + Supplies

Training your dog to be obedient is a long and frustrating process. All you want him to do is listen when you call him and yell at him, can that really be that complicated? But then when you think about it you think about how difficult it is to “train” children to do what you say, to follow rules and obey. Training your dog to be obedient is actually quite easy in comparison.

Dog training in obedience can get to be tiresome but of course is necessary for a happy home and happy dog. It seems to be a widely-held school of though that a well trained dog is a happy dog and of course, you are a happier person when your dog listens to you and doesn’t go to the bathroom on your carpet or chew on your furniture.

Most dogs are fairly smart animals and learn pretty quickly. And if all you want is the basics, dog training for obedience can go quite quickly. Sit, stay, heel, lie down, roll over, are all pretty easy concepts and things that most dogs do naturally so not really that hard to teach. Instead you only have to teach them to associate a hand signal or word you say with something they probably do every day.

Of course here is where the dog treats come in; the basic reward for good behavior that every animal craves. The only problem is that they tend to associate the act they are to perform not only with your words or hand signals but also with the following reward and are quite disappointed when the treat ceases to follow. If your dog is anything like my dog then they probably cease to do whatever it is you wanted them to do. At this point you realize that your dog is probably going to be getting fat for a while.

Melissa Wayan makes it fun to care for your precious pooch. Read more about dog training help and dog training obedience.

July 6th, 2008

Dog Communication - How to Communicate Effectively With Your Dog!

Posted in Pets + Supplies

Effective communication with your dog maintains the pecking order in your home and ensure that you remain the top dog. Allowing your dog to dominate you in any way is unhealthy for your dog (as well as potentially dangerous for you, particularly if you have a big dog).

Failure to understand your dog’s behaviour and how to properly train your dog is the cause of dissatisfaction with their dog. Some people will even give up on their dogs and could even abandon them in some instances. All because they failed to properly communicate and undersrtand their dog. What a terrible tragedy!

Actually, your dog really does communicate with you for much of the time you spend together. So not learning to understand your dog’s body language is similar to living your life with someone who speaks another language, and never learning to communicate with that person by learning any of that other language.

Two way communication with anyone in your life is obviously important, and especially with your dog who does “speak another language”.

Dogs love to play, but their primary concern is often their position in your “pack”. Dogs will always make attempts to get to the top dog position if you allow this to go on.

Some dogs do this as a game to see how much they can get away with, (my Kara is like this). Other dogs can actually take this issue very seriously, and may threaten any “pack” member who doesn’t defer to them - sometimes even including their owner. Large dogs often like to jump up and stand with their front paws on the owner’s shoulders. This can be a friendly gesture, but is often actually a posture of dominance.

A better greeting to encourage your dog to use is to have your dog sit and then for you offer a greeting to your dog. In this way, the dog has assumed a subordinate posture, and you retains your leadership role and your position as the “top dog”. And your dog loves this exchange with you. The important thing is that your dog understands his/her position in the “pack”.

One of the most tragic misinterpretations of body language I’ve heard about involves what’s called the canine grin. Many dogs, when they are happy and excited, pull their lips back in a happy grin, which is actually a submissive gesture. They are simply very happy, but some owners have actually misinterpreted this submissive grin as a snarl and, heaven forbid, a few have even had the dog euthanized because of what they thought was aggression in their dog.

Isn’t this tragic? And all because the owner hasn’t taken the time and trouble to understand what their dog is actually trying to communicate to them.

I’m sure you’re in the category of people who can understand what your dog is saying, just like me.

On a lighter note, I was only talking to a friend recently (also a dog lover - she has four Jack Russell crosses) about how we often know just what our dog is saying. I was telling her how Jet, my Staffie holds her own with other dogs. In fact, it’s a pretty brave dog who will take my Jet on.

Some time ago, when Jet and I were walking past a house in our street where there is a large Japanese Fighting Dog, it escaped and decided to have a domination fight with Jet. I couldn’t believe it, but Jet won!!! (if you don’t know what Japanese Fighting Dogs look like, they’re about four times the size of Jet).

Anyway, ever since then, when we walk past, that dog races to its gate and starts to bark. Then Jet stops, looks directly at the dog, barks non-stop for several seconds and then turns and keeps walking.

I said to Isadora, my friend, that Jet’s saying to the dog: “Now, you listen to me … I thought I got this straightened out with you before - Don’t you mess with me!” Isadora laughed, but understood completely. She commented that people who don’t have dogs would probably think we were mad to think that we know what our dogs are saying!

(c) 2005, Brigitte Smith, Healthy Happy Dogs

Brigitte Smith is a dog lover with a special interest in holistic health and wellness for dogs. For your free dog health report, click here: http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com

For info on innovative dog training that works, click here: http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com/BrainWork

April 8th, 2008

Dogs: Bad Breath

Posted in Pets + Supplies

Have you ever wondered what is causing your dog’s bad breath? It is probably caused by a buildup of tartar on his teeth, and possibly by advancing gum disease if the tartar has been building up, untreated, for a while. Throughout their lives, dogs get an accumulation of material called tartar on their teeth made up of mineral deposits, bacteria and tiny food particles. The bacteria break down the food particles and live on the rough surface of the mineral deposits.

When the bacteria break down protein molecules for nourishment, they cause dog bad breath by releasing sulfur compounds into the air. This is essentially the same process that happens in human mouths and causes bad breath, except that, in humans, the bacteria generally live on the tongue. Your dogs bad breath can be avoided by preventing the buildup of tartar on the teeth, or removing the tartar if it gets too bad.

Bad breath in dogs can be quite offensive: in serious cases, the sulfur odor is detectable throughout the house, and it is quite difficult to be near the dog. Dogs usually like a lot of attention, however, so it’s equally difficult to stay away! Left untreated your dogs bad breath will destroy your relationship with her - it may even kill your dog. It may kill your dog because bacteria that are proliferating in the mouth can spread to other parts of the body or set up deep abscesses in the jaw area. Dog bad breath is a symptom of trouble brewing that you should not ignore. If it’s serious and ongoing, take your dog to the vet.

Your veterinarian knows all about dog breath. He or she will probably be able to quickly examine the dog’s teeth and tell you whether tartar is to blame. If the tartar is not too bad, the veterinarian may recommend a commercial product for tartar removal and treating dog bad breath. Or, it may be necessary to have the dog’s teeth professionally cleaned. Sometimes tooth extraction is required, as bad breath in dogs is often accompanied by inflammation and infection of the gums, and loose teeth.

A word to the wise: if your dog is young, and you are just beginning to notice dog breath, start looking after your dog’s teeth to avoid trouble later. Let him chew bones; buy her a toothbrush and get her used to you brushing, and keep a close eye on the teeth and gums.

R. Drysdale is a freelance writer with more than 25 years experience as a health care professional. She is a contributing editor to Bad Breath Cure, a blog dedicated to the treatment of bad breath.