Avoiding Excessive Barking

Dog barks; that is their voice, they bark from loneliness, excitement, or boredom. They bark in aggression, fear, or play. Dogs are usually medium-vocal breed, but too much barking can become a problem if left unchecked. 

            
 Determine the cause of excessive barking by observing your dog’s behavior. When is he barking? Where is he when he barks? Which direction does he face when barking? What can be seen and heard from his favorite barking position? These are all important clues to solving the problem. 

A dog that spends a great deal of time in a yard or kennel may bark for many reasons. Dogs are group-living animals that can suffer from loneliness just as humans can. An isolated dog is a miserable as shipwrecked sailor. If you don’t have the time to exercise, train and play with your dog, he will spend his life waiting for attention you are unable to give. Don’t forget to spend quality time to bond with your dogs and play with them to avoid excessive barking and boredom of your dog. 

You can also use a Dogtra No Bark Collar, specially designed for small to medium dogs. It is a best tool to train your dog to avoid excessive barking. Having good buddies will make good companion and neighbors. Teach your dog to learn polite house manners so he can be brought into the house with the rest of the family. That will solve his barking problem.

             

Give your dog a reward by giving him a food for a treat, and a toy to play. It is important to train our dogs and keep them happy and well behaved as they enjoying their life with us. Always remember a good pooch friend will always be a great reward to a dog owner. Start playing and training your dog, that they will enjoy their lifestyle with you! 

Keeping your pets Clean & Healthy

As Dog owners, we know that we need lots of dog supplies for our pets, and how to keep them secure and healthy by choosing the appropriate dog supplies that will meet their needs everyday. 

We all know that our pets have different moods and habits, therefore, you can recognize when your dog is experiencing an off-day. Signs of sickness can be very apparent or very subtle. As any mother can attest, diagnosing and treating an ailment require knowledge, knowing how to seek home remedies and when to visit your doctor or veterinarian, as the case may be. 

Parasites have clung to our pets for centuries.  Despite of the modern efforts available nowadays, fleas still pester our pet’s existence, and your own. All dog’s itch and fleas can make even the happiest dog a depressed, scabby mess. The loss of hair and habitual biting and chewing at themselves rank among the irritations; these nuisances include the passing of tapeworms and the whole family’s itching through the summer months. 

A full range of Advantage Flea and tick control and elimination products are available at pet’s shops, and your veterinarian certainly has recommendations such as sprays, powders, collars and dips fight fleas from the outside: drops and pills fight the good fight from inside. Discuss the possibilities with your vet. However, not all products can be used along with one another, and some dogs may be more sensitive to certain applications than others. Your dog’s house must be cleaned and disinfect as well as your dog itself. Heavy infestation may require several treatments.

Always check your dog for ticks carefully. Although fleas can be acquired almost anywhere, ticks are more likely to be picked up in heavily treed areas, pastures or other outside grounds ( such as dog shows or obedience or filed trials.)  Healthy, active, and hunting dogs are the most likely subjects, though any passing dog can be the host. Remember Lyme disease is passed by tick infestation.  Advantage Frontline Flea Tick Control is good to and effective to use in your dogs, fleas and ticks your dogs will have to be bathed with a flea control shampoo made especially for Him.

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Basic Training Commands

Formal training should not commence until a puppy is at least eight weeks old and fully settled into your home. He should be relaxed, and in good health. You cannot take him outside for training until his permanent inoculations are effective. You will be able to teach the sit, stay and down commands in your home, heel will follow shortly there after.

Some things to remember:

• ·         Never make training sessions too long – a puppy’s sessions concentration is short. Limit sessions to a few minutes. But you can have 2 – 3 sessions a day.

• ·         Never attempt training if you’re not in a good mood. The moment you feel frustrated end the lesson, or take a few moments to gather your composure.
   
• ·         Always end lessons with success, not failure. It doesn’t matter what that success is, only that the puppy realizes it has pleased you and gained praise.
   
• ·         Discipline teaches a puppy only what is not wanted rather than what is. This is only learned by successes. Always place the most emphasis on that the puppy does right, not what it does wrong. Praise should be lavish, discipline and corrections minimal.
    
• ·         Training sessions should be free of distraction. As the puppy becomes more advance, move into situations where there are distraction. The puppy leans, by degrees, t cope with these.
   
• ·         Remember, your puppy is an individual some are more placid or shy than others, and will need a softer tone of voice and greater patience.
    
• ·         Do not hold training sessions immediately after your puppy has eaten, or been playing, but shortly before.

“Formal training should not commence until a puppy is a at least eight weeks old and fully settled into your home. He should be relaxed like these pulis and in good health.” 

The Sit Command

Kneel down and call the puppy to you. Place him in from of you with one hand on his chest, the other over his hindquarters. Apply gentle pressure to the hindquarters. Apply gentle pressure to the hindquarters, at the same time saying “Sit” in a clear, firm tone. Praise him lavishly when he is seated. Move to another spot and repeat the exercise. However do not repeat the exercise too many times in one session or the puppy will get bored. Repeated over a day or two, at regular intervals, the pup will soon be proficient in this command.

                Once the puppy is obeying the command, call him to you and stand in front of him, rather than kneel. Practice till the puppy is proficient. Finally, repeat the exercise while you are seated in a chair. Using this three stage process (kneeling, standing, and sitting) the puppy is taught to obey the sit command regardless of your position. He will eventually take up this position whenever he is called to you, not even needing the actual command.

This puppy's are ready and willing to learn all you have to to is teach them!

Sit-Stay Command

Only when the sit command Is understood should you move to the sit-stay. A six foot lead will be useful place the puppy in front of you and use the sit command. Now move backwards a few feet. As you go say “Sit”, at the same time hold your right hand in front of the puppy’s face, palm forward. The moment the pup attempts to follow you, repeat the command. If it is ignored do not continue to use the command. Rather, say nothing and move towards the puppy. Repeat the sit command. Now start backwards again. Repeating the original sequence note that no discipline or corrections are used, repetition, patience and praise for success, are much better methods to use. 

Once you can move backwards to the length of the lead with success every time, you can then walk forwards, turning your palm to face the dog as you say the command and begin to move. When this is achieved, walk back to the dog, and praise him. The final step is to walk to the e end of the lead, turn, call the pup to you and give him the sit command. End with lavish praise.

Your puppy will find the sit one of the easiest commands to master. Remember, practice makes perfect :D

The Down command

This command is initially difficult for most dogs to accept because it’s a very submissive position for them to assume. The bolder puppy will display the most resistance. Once he realizes there are no negative effects, the puppy will accept the command like any other. There are a number of techniques used by trainers to teach this command: they fall into two basic categories. There are those where pressure on the lead, underneath the puppy’s neck, forces him to the ground, and there are the paw and leg methods which involve pulling the front legs forward while applying some reassure to the shoulders. In the paw method, the accompanying hand signal must be taught understood. This author prefers the paw method because it usually encounters the least resistance and it is a less threatening action to a puppy.

The down command is the most difficult for puppies to master because it is such a submissive position.

               

Once the puppy performs the down command every time, you can slowly  build up the time he stays in position. do not, however expect a young puppy to stat in any position for more than a few minutes. Your puppy's ability to do this will develop as he matures, and with regular practice.

Understanding Behavior

In this chapter you will come to understand some of the reasons your puppy behaves as he does. An understanding of behavior will make you more able to train him, and better qualified to pinpoint the sources of some common problems. We will explore patterns of behavior and their consequences. Unfortunately, in many cases, an owner who has no understanding of behavior will reinforce inappropriate behaviors through poor discipline techniques. Invariably they compound the problem and created confusion in the dog’s mind. 

 Before we discuss the key aspects of pet psychology, there are two phrases that you should keep in mind: Violence (otherwise known as hard discipline) is never an option. Although it may overcome the immediate frustration of the owner, it never does anything to solve the dog’s problem. The only certainly of inconsistent discipline is negative side effects. If you are not consistent in training, your dog will be inconsistent in his behavior.

Pet Psychology

The first eye aspect o f pet psychology is reinforcement. Reinforces are any stimuli serving to enforce a given b behavior. A primary reinforce is a stimuli, such as punishment, or petting, applied at the time of a behavior. A discriminatory reinforce is a stimuli that replaces a primary enforcer, but has the implication of the primary. “No” and “Good Boy” are the examples most commonly used, however, here the words are only part of the stimuli the tone of voice, together with facial and body expressions, are equally as important. Your size, coupled with the tone of y our voice and facial expression, leave the youngster in no doubts about your meaning.

“Gaining an understanding of why your puppy behaves the way he does will make it easier to train him and pinpoint the sources of any difficulties”

  Generalization of Puppy's Behavior

Generalization may itself apply both positively and negatively. For example, your puppy goes to the vet and is subject to a painful treatment, the vet wears a white coat. Some days later you visit a friend who is veering a white coat, and the puppy shows instant fear. The original source of the fear, the pain resulting form the treatment, at the vet’s office, has been transferred in the pups mind to color of the clothing. You might unwittingly chastise the pup for his fear of your friend. In so doing, you reinforce that fear.

Generalization is one of the singular most difficult behaviors to overcome because; anything in the environment may become a potential source of negative generalization. The best way to minimize the risk of negative generalizations is to try and ensure that the puppy is never placed in a situation that you know may result in fear. For example, do not wait until the puppy has a problem before visiting the vet. Take him in for a check-up, that way he’ll become accustomed to the environment under generally non-stressful conditions. Therefore, when presented with a difficult situation the puppy will experience less anxiety and will not associate the veterinarian’s office with pain and fear. Likewise, never take a puppy that is unfamiliar with the hustle and bustle of a busy town center into one without first getting him familiar with people and traffic under less busy conditions. Everything is new to a puppy; by taking things slowly you are ensuring all the generalization’s he makes will be of a positive nature.

“Generalization is one of the most difficult behaviors for a puppy to overcome because anything in the environment may become the source of a negative generalization. A watchful eye should prevent your puppy from encountering any situations in which this would be possible.”

Your Puppy’s Temperament

“A puppy reared in a loving environment with his mother and siblings already has been given a good start in life. This will ensure your puppy’s easy adjustment to his new family.”

Before a puppy is brought into your household, sit down with your family and discuss a puppy’s training needs. Write these down so you will have a reminder, of what was agreed. The list should include behaviors deemed acceptable. This list will be a useful reference to check progress and highlight matters needing extra attention once the puppy arrives. It wild also help you get more involved with the puppy, taking satisfaction from the results of your efforts. Once the puppy does arrive, revise your training objectives a needed. Is their a special behavior in which your puppy needs extra attention? Playing close attention to your puppy’s personality and behaviors will help you decide on proper training methods. 

“A puppy’s temperament is very important in deciding what training methods you will use. Careful observation will determine your puppy’s personality traits.”

The needs of one puppy may be vastly different to those of another. Every puppy is an individual. In some cases, much depends on how the previous owners treated the youngster. His inherent nature is also a minimal factor. A puppy reared in a loving environment, free   form any physical discipline, will be totally different from one where the owner was short tempered too quick to use. Punishment when the pup was other than an angel, a puppy raised in a kennel environment, were he had little contact with humans swill lack the all important imprinting essential to a pup  needing to socialize in a human world. He may not have received poor handling, but he will be nervous with people because he is unfamiliar with them. He may appear in some ways to be a formerly mistreated puppy. The testing of puppies advocated by some trainers to establish a pup’s personality bold and shy. Average and so on is not as foolproof as they claim to be they may be indicative of previous background, or health, as much as true character. It is better t assess what you have in front of you, than make an assumption that the pup has this or that nature and must always be treated on that basis. Your puppy is not unlike a child. What he is as a youngster can change dramatically by the time he is mature. The environment he lives in. and the way he is treated and trained, are the most influential factors in determining the adult he turns out to be.

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too. ~Samuel Butler

The First Few Nights of your Puppy

Unless your puppy is already familiar with sleeping on his own he will miss his mother and siblings and whimper or howl when left alone. If you do not want sleeping on your bed to become a habit, do not allow your puppy to do son now. Instead, provide a dog bed with warm blankets near your bed, a wind up ticking clock may be helpful if placed near the bed. It simulates the heart beat of his former bed mates and will soothe him. If the puppy whimpers resist the temptation to go to him. As long as the pup is warm and well fed you can be confident that the problem will cease within a day or two as the puppy becomes familiar within his room and surroundings.

Collar and Lead Familiarity

During the time bonding is taking place; it is a good idea to familiarize the puppy with his collar, choke chain, and lead. No attempts should be made to train, simply to accustom your puppy to the feel of these, and of the restraint a lead creates. Place the collar on the puppy before playing he will soon forgets he’s wearing it. After a short while remove the collar. Repeat this process over a few days and the collar will become a neural object. Never leave a choke chain on a puppy unless you are present. Once the pup ignores the collar you can attach the lead and walk around the room letting the puppy go where he wants. Do this when he is quiet and when there no distractions. After this has happened a few times you can encourage the pup to go where you want by calling him to you while applying the gentlest of tugs on the lead.

“Training can be a wonderful way to bond with your puppy. “

Never drag the puppy. Always coax him. By this gentle process the puppy will learn in a matter of days to walk with you without bucking and pulling. This will be especially beneficial one you commence housebreaking, as well as during training exercises.

            As you can se3e from the examples discussed so far, training can be introduced very gradually as the puppy bonds with the family. There is no pain, or even discomfort, yet the puppy is already being taught to associate simple words with action, as well as learning appropriate behavior through encouragement and restraint.

“Training can be introduced as a puppy bonds with his family. There is no stress involved, yet the puppy is already being taught by encouragement and restraint.”

Beginning Education

If your puppy is old enough to have been weaned and separated from his mother and siblings, e's old enough to begin his education. This does not mean formal lessons. Rather, you will be training by restraint, and by encouraging appropriate behavior. The word "No" will be well used, but should never take on a harsh tone at this stage. The fact the puppy many not appear to react o the word does not mean it isn't registering in his mind in relation to unwanted actions.  If you see the puppy doing something naughty, never rush at him. his will frighten him into running away from you, the last thing you want. Instead, walk clamly to the puppy, say "No" the lift him up at which point he will probably to wash your face, which is fine.

" A Puppy is never too young to begin his education. This does not necessarily mean formal training. At this point, you will simply be encouraging appropriate behavior."


There are several other behaviors that are important not to encourage. First, if you do not want your puppy to sleep or play on your furniture do not let him play on your lap while you are seated. Kneel on the floor. Secondly, no dog should get into the habit of jumping up.

" Do not ever encourage the development of a puppy's bad habits. Once he is a grown dog begging for food at the dinner table will not seem quite so amusing."

When the puppy attempts to jump at you step backwards so the attempt fails every time. Finally, do not feed your puppy tidbits from the dinner table, while you are having dinner. This can develop into a bad habit which, in is extreme form, results in stealing from the table. To avoid those doleful eyes and wagging tail, place the puppy in another room while you eat. The Temptation for both of you is then removed.