Dogs Training Guide

Dogs-Barking

2006-06-26T05:46:00.001-07:00

Jacob was a very lively 11-month-old puppy. He had been receiving veterinary attention for many months for an injured leg, and Celia was given instructions to keep him quiet. This was like asking a three year old child to have an afternoon nap – impossible!! (I should know).

Celia watched him like a hawk to ensure he did himself no harm, walked him when he asked for it, stroked him when he asked for it and fed him when he asked for it. She lavished attention on Jacob, as any concerned owner would, to ensure he had all he needed and to keep him safe and pain free.

The initial reason for my visit was the early morning wake up call, which in Celia’s words was like having a baby in the house again. Jacob always slept in a basket in the kitchen, and at 4 am he threw himself bodily against the kitchen door and barked his head off! Also the complaint from the neighbour about Jacob’s barking in the garden was worrying Celia, especially as she was new to the neighbourhood.

When I met Jacob he was all over me like a rash, as sexy as a young stallion, he would not stop pestering me for love, nor money. I thought it was perhaps my magnetic personality and unrivaled charm, which held him so fascinated until celia burst my bubble and told me he was like it often, especially with visitors.

I ignored him for a few minutes and when he realised he was getting nowhere with me (what sort of girl did he think I was) his attention went back to Celia. He began to bark at her. She then stroked him whilst chastising him for shouting. This pattern of barking, stroking and chastising continued for quite a while whilst we talked about Jacob’s background, his injury and subsequent treatments. It quickly transpired that Jacob barked at Celia throughout the day whenever he required her to be attentive.

Jacob never behaved sexually towards Celia - this particular practice was saved for his much loved visitors, which included her grandchildren. This gave rise to many questions that could not always be adequately fielded. Needless to say, Celia found Jacob’s behaviour around guests somewhat embarrassing - but was not keen to have Jacob castrated as he had spent so much time at the vets already.

Jacob’s barking in the garden was a simple communication to the dog on the other side of the fence. It was not a continuous noise and only happened when he was in the garden at the same time as his pal!

In order to interrupt some of Jacob’s behaviours I conditioned him to a remote control Spray Commander Collar. This collar is worn by the dog and activated by the owner. This process is simple. Place a treat on a coffee table and as the dog attempts to sniff or steal it press the number 1 button (bleep) followed immediately by the number 2 button (short spray). The collar goes beep beep and then releases a burst of gas into the dogs muzzle. The beep beep quickly becomes a very strong warning to the dog to stop his activities or be sprayed. As the whole process doesn’t involve anyone but the dog, the dog does not become nervous of its owner as there is no shouting or direct action, but literally retrains itself to behave differently. The spray then only has to be used IF the dog chooses to continue...click on title to read on

Flea Control for Pets

2006-04-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Flea Control for Pets

by: Niall Kennedy

Flea control can be a very hard thing to do especially if you live in areas where fleas are largely populated. Weather has a lot to do with fleas and trying to keep them outdoors and off of your pets can be very challenging.

You can try many of the products available to rid your pets of fleas and then find that you still have the problem. Fleas will lay their eggs in your carpet and on furniture and bedding that your pet happens to lie on....read on for the rest of the article

Dominance – Fact or Fiction

2006-04-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Dominance – Fact or Fiction

Dog owners world-wide are told by many leading dog behaviourists and trainers to believe that their pet’s ultimate desire in life is to be top dog. In most books on canine behaviour, they tell us our dogs are motivated by dominance and long to be ranked at the top of the human-dog pack, and that these motivations are the root of most behaviour problems. But dominance is probably the most inappropriately used word in the dog world today....read the rest of the article:

How to House train and Prevent and Treat Chewing Problems.

2006-04-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

Dogs are naturally clean animals who prefer to soil outside of their nest or den. This is not due to an innate desire for a clean and tidy 'Ikea' style housing arrangement but has its roots in evolutionary history. A mother with young is a very vulnerable unit to potential prey seeking animals and in the wild the den is chosen carefully in order to keep the location as low key and invisible as possible. This would be futile if the scent of the den transmitted its presence like a flashing neon light. A clean den is an area relatively free of scent, so increasing the likelihood of the survival of the young. The removal of all excretions from the puppies also reduces the potential for disease and parasitic infection ensuring the general health of the litter...to read the rest of the article go to:
http://www.help-with-pet-behaviour.com/articles/house-training.html

Dogs Training Guide: Training Your Dog to Sit

2006-03-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

Dogs Training Guide: Training Your Dog to Sit

Circles of Pleasure!!

2006-03-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

TRUE WitsEnd CASES
This month’s behaviour case histories touch on stereotypic behaviour and separation problems. The situations are as diverse as they are interesting. Neither dog had been reared from puppyhood by the present owners so, as always in these situations, many factors have had to be assumed.
Sara, We have recently acquired a rough collie called Honey through Rough Collie Rescue. We have had her for 4 weeks and she is lovely. As lovely as she is she does have a couple of problems which are causing us a great deal of concern. She constantly circles around the living room, garden and car. She never stops. It is making us feel tired simply watching her and she looks absolutely exhausted. Also, when you call her to you she freezes completely and will not move. She looks at you vacantly. Her strange behaviour is both irritating and pitiful. Can you help.
Yours truly, Jean.....

Training Your Dog to Sit

2006-03-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

Training Your Dog to Sit by Goran Thisell

Training your dog to "sit" is probably the first thing you will train your puppy to do. I write puppy because you can start the training as soon as the puppy has settled in his new home. You might think this isn't that important, a dog knows how to sit.Well, I think it is very important. Read on and you will found out why and how to train your dog to sit.
1. This first one is easy. You just start by saying "sit" everytime the puppy sits itself. He learns to associate the word sit with the action. This is a tip you can use in all training.
2. Take out his favorite treat and keep it in your hand. Sausage usually works well but remember to cut it in small pieces so the puppy can swallow it fast.
3. Sit down on the floor so you get to the same level as the dog.You are less threatening when you sit. More important is that you are close to the dog so you can reward him faster. More about this soon.
4. Slowly move the treat over your puppy's head. The intention is to get the puppy to smell the treat (he will) and follow it with his nose. He has two options. Either back still standing or sit down. It's easier to sit down.
5 Immediately as he sits you say "sit" and give him the piece of sausage. This is the key factor to all training. The reward has to be exact in the same moment as the dog does the right thing.
6. Praise the dog. Show your joy with your voice as well as withyour body language.
7. Repeat these steps 3-5 times. Not more than that though, as it has to be fun! On the other hand you can repeat the steps several times during the day.
8. In the next step you should try these steps while standing up.You can try to see if the dog reacts only to the word "sit"without your hand and the treat. If he sits down you obviously should praise him and if he doesn't don't worry. You should never show your disappointment to your dog when you are training.
This is pretty easy for the puppy. In a day or two you will get him to sit with your "sit" command. Now you can try to make himsit down beside you. This is actually a preparation for the heel training. There you want him to sit as soon as you stop walking.If you have thoughts about obedience competitions with your dog you should consider the exact position where he sits and also how fast he sits. That is however off topic in this article.
The next level is to strengthen the word so you get the dog to sit in every situation no matter what's going on around him. This is an ongoing process and you should never stop training. Use every new situation to train him. Make him sit with new people,new dogs and new surroundings.
It's quite easy to train your dog to sit. If you consider not training your dog my advice is, think again. When you start training with your new puppy you get much more than the sitting part The puppy loves to do things with you. He learns to listen to his name. He gets used to training and doing things with you and on your initiative. This all together strengthen your position as the leader, and the puppy feels secure. When the puppy falls asleep in the evening his last thoughts should be:"This is really a great pack!"

Pets and Emotion

2006-03-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

Pets and Emotion

Pets like people have emotions and these emotions can range from rage to euphoria which, are normal responses given the right set of circumstances. The problems start to arise when the emotional levels remain too high, or more commonly too low, or the mood swings become exaggerated.

Having acknowledged the emotional conflict within the animal, the key to resolving the problem is bringing the animal’s emotional state back to within normal limits. It is crucial, when considering your pet’s behaviour to consider the emotions it is undergoing, which ultimately drive the behaviour.Hyperactivity is often misread as a dog or cat being too excitable and overtly ‘happy’, however typically the levels of activity are fuelled by the animal continually seeking it’s next ‘fix’ of reward, which could be brought about by running around the house, stealing items and food, attention seeking etc. and all to excess. Animals like this respond well to a continued use of Serene-Um for several months, coupled with more stimulating and challenging activities such as clicker training and food dispensing toys to increase concentration levels.

Pets sometimes suffer from low mood states as do humans, becoming irritable and grumpy over insignificant events. This can lead to Jekyll and Hyde type behaviour including spontaneous outbursts of aggression, episodes of growling and the unconditional desire to be left alone. Low mood states or mood swings can be caused by many different situations: the importance of recognising it and treating it swiftly cannot be emphasised enough, so the behaviour does not become learned over a period of time and therefore more resistant to modification.