Outdated Puppy House Training Methods be Gone!

When it comes to puppy house training old fashioned, outdated methods are not the way to go. They can in fact make the house training process harder and, worse, can have a negative impact on your dog's trust in you.

Puppies are no more prepared to be instantly house trained than human babies are. A period of development needs to be reached before the puppy is ready to follow your requests and commands.

The puppy desperately wants to please you and doesn't understand why they're being punished. The old views of punishment as a means of potty training are as outdated for dogs as they are for children. It simply doesn't work.

Tip: If you're having puppy house training problems, consider crate training your dog.

Rubbing a puppy's nose in the faeces isn't a good approach. The dog only sees you as a tormentor and doesn't understand what you do want instead. There is a very real risk of serious illness to the puppy after getting a nose full of E-coli bacteria. If you're unhappy with the cost of having your rug cleaned, wait until you see the vet bill from an illness you caused!

Another type of fear-based potty training is to swat the dog with a rolled up newspaper after rubbing his nose in the faeces. If the puppy could speak, he would say, What makes you think Im going to potty on newspaper in the kitchen after you hit me with it? I don't want anything to do with newspaper! Hitting a puppy with rolled up newspaper merely teaches him to fear newspaper.

You simply have to accept that a puppy will make mistakes. Sometimes, you're responsible for those mistakes. When you arrive home late or sleep in rather than taking the puppy outside, what you do expect him to do?

Read more and learn the correct way to potty train your puppy....

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OMG! Dog Walks on Water

You have to see this, from Ryan O'Meara's blog

So dogs really can walk on water!

I knew it.

We all knew it.

Now there's proof!!

Dog Breed Insurance Help

(petbuzz, London, October 2011) - Dedicated information for dog owners seeking individual dog breed insurance information now has a new home thanks to pet insurance lifetime cover experts VetsMediCover.

In partnership with leading pet marketing provider, petbuzz, VetsMediCover has set up a dedicated website to cover dog breed specific insurance information.

The information contained on the website is designed to make it easier for caring dog owners to research and get fast access to dog breed insurance specifically related to their own type of dog.

Speaking about the initiative, Ryan O'Meara says:

"This service has been needed for a long time. Dog owners now are much more aware of the positive aspects of pet insurance. They have a greater understanding of the various elements of policy cover, claims issues, restrictions and the different types of pet insurance cover that different policies contain. 

By launching this site with VetsMediCover, we hope we'll be able to help dog owners by providing the most comprehensive, dog breed specific pet insurance resource."

According to a recent study carried out by K9 Magazine, 90% of dog owners questioned were completely satisfied with the quality of service provided by their vet, whilst the same proportion of owners, 90%, felt their vet was overcharging them for the services provided. 31% said they would be prepared to change their vet on account of the high fees being charged rather than the quality of service their dogs received.

As vet fees look set to continue to rise as pet health treatment becomes more sophisticated, dog insurance has never been so crucial for owners looking to minimise their exposure to unexpected costs.

Find out more: www.DogBreedInsurance.co.uk

Distributed by Taylor Guerney on behalf of petbuzz.

Clicker Training to Stop Puppy Chewing

Use the clicker method for training your dog. Clicker training is a form of conditioning that can help a dog to identify behaviour that produces praise or a reward. After your dog has successfully obeyed a command, use the clicker to indicate that he will get a treat. Your dog will soon learn if he isn't following commands or behaving correctly! Certain studies have shown that using a clicker reduces training time by one third.

When you are training your dog out of chewing inappropriately, remember to set him up for success. Furthermore, a dog that chews inappropriately needs to be kept away from danger. Hairbrushes, nylons, and other common household items pose a danger to dogs and can lead to choking and obstructions.

Dog Training Made Fun

Owning a dog can be one of the greatest joys in life. Pet owners are routinely found to have higher qualities of life than their pet less counterparts, however, an untrained dog will certainly provide you with many unhappy moments. This article serves to provide you with the tips necessary to start training your dog on your own.

Run away from your dog if he gets loose. It is easy to panic when a dog breaks loose from his leash or escapes the house or yard. Resist your instinct to chase the dog. Dogs love to play chase, and going after him will only encourage him to go further away. Instead, get your dog's attention, and then run AWAY from him. This uses the same instinctual love of the chase game to your advantage. Instead of you chasing your dog, the game becomes to chase you. Be sure to praise him thoroughly when he "catches" you!

The way to train a dog is to be consistent with your training. It is important to pick one style of training and stick with it. Consistency in the method of training is just one step.  You must also consistently train your dog. Taking long breaks between training confuses your dog and training will take longer.

If there is a behaviour you'd like your dog to be able to do on command, make sure you praise him whenever he offers this behaviour. This works well for tricks that you are actively teaching, as well as actions that he does naturally. For instance, if you think it'd be fun to teach your dog to sneeze whenever you ask, simply say, "Sneeze" and treat him whenever he does sneeze. Sooner or later, he will learn the association between the word "sneeze," the action of sneezing, and the reward.

It takes the entire family to train a dog. When you have a family dog it is important that all members participate in the training. This ensures that the message of what is right and wrong is consistent. Involving children in the training ensures that the family pet sees them as alpha members of the family.

When training your dog, make sure to enforce all commands you give. Do not repeat them over and over, but issue them once firmly, and make sure your pet follows through. Do not let your dog ignore a command, or else he will think you are not serious and will disregard most of the training session.

For a happy pup, it is important to start socialisation from an early age. During the first few weeks of life, a puppy should be exposed to new situations, people, and animals. This will help him to be better adjusted and friendlier later in life. This will also ensure that he will feel less stressed when encountering unfamiliar situations and things.

Never punish your pet for coming when called. According to Ryan O'Meara (K9 Magazine) a good recall command is essential, not only for obedience, but for your dog's safety as well. It may seem obvious that calling your pet to you for punishment is bad, however when you are angry at a dog who has darted out of the yard or refuses to come for a bath, it is easy to forget. By keeping their "come" command associated with positive experiences, you can be assured that next time they get away from you, they will reliably return when called.

All pets, and certainly all dogs, can be wonderful companions. For many people, the time and patience it requires to train you dog properly may discourage them from attempting it on their own. But by applying the tips in this article to training your dog, not only will you have an obedient companion, you will save yourself many headaches and provide yourself great joy in the long run.

Article distributed by Emily Sutton on behalf of petbuzz.

Super Quick Dog Training Tips

You thought you were bringing home the dog of your dreams but quickly you find yourself wondering if you're the new owner of the hound of the Baskervilles. Never fear, we've got some super quick dog training tips to set you on your way to the perfect pooch!

When you first bring your puppy home, those first few days are the most important. You should be patient, consistent, and persistent form day one with your new puppy. Be sure not to let your puppy get away with behaviours you are not going to allow and positively reinforce the behaviours you are wanting to see.

To reduce the barking of your dog, try getting them used to what causes the barking in the first place. It can be a sound, or being face to face with other people or other animals. Your dog will understand that there is no need to bark in these situations.

Correct bad behaviour immediately. The common mistake many people make in the care for their dog is allowing bad behaviour to go unchecked until it becomes a problem. Proper training of a dog involves recognizing bad behaviour right away and correcting it. It is harder to correct a problem once it has grown out of proportion.

When training a dog to a leash it is important to keep the leash loose. Dogs are often eager to explore new territory when they get the opportunity to go for a walk. Because of their eagerness they will tend to strain on the limits of leash. The savvy owner will discourage this behaviour, instead encouraging his or her pet to walk with some slack in the leash.

Most owners are amazed at how easy it is to incorporate basic dog training into their life, and how quickly they start to notice results. So if your relationship with your pooch is feeling a bit strained, try out some of these tips. We think you'll be impressed with the results!

Quick Links:

• Why do dogs mark territory
• Why Do Dogs Yawn?
• Dog Obedience Tips

Article distributed by Elandro Viara on behalf of petbuzz.

Training a Working Livestock Dog

You are training your dog to work with live stock on your farm and want to be sure that your dog is useful, safe, and treats your live stock well.  This is important to the productivity of your farm.  This article will provide specific ways that you can train your working livestock dog accordingly.

Learning to listen to your dog will make you a better trainer of him. Animals are not robots that can be programmed and your dog has a personality with preferences and quirks, just like you. Understanding the nuances of your dogs expressions will help you decipher more in training and therefore, expand your ability to teach him.

If you are trying to prevent your dog from begging, the best thing to do is ignore the begging completely. Don't respond either positively, with a treat or petting, or negatively, by shouting. Your dog will learn quickly and remember for a long time that the begging ended up with you paying attention to the dog.

Teaching your dog a fun trick, such as "play dead" can be a fun way of distracting him.  When your dogs behaviour is bad, simply use the command you have established for his trick instead of using negative punishment.  This provides for a fun activity for your dog and creates a positive environment for you as well.

Tip: K9 Magazine's Ryan O'Meara says: "Dogs all have individual motivating factors. For some it's food, for others it's play. Before you begin to train, try to learn exactly what your dog's main motivating factors are."

Find out what motivates your dog as a training reward, and save it for training sessions to get maximum results. Some dogs love a chance to chew on a special squeaky toy or ball, while others adore a certain brand of treats or tiny chunks of fresh baked chicken. It never hurts if the dog is a little hungry so the treats seem even tastier.

Dog Nutrition Guide

Your dog will need a diet high in proper nutrition and the right type of calories to maintain his vitality and health. This means that you should be picky about what you feed your dog. Making your own dog food can help to reduce fillers that do nothing for your pet, while increasing the crude protein to a healthy and more beneficial level.

Remember how many treats you reward your dog with during the course of the day to avoid fattening him up. Many people overlook treats when considering the animals diet but they will certainly add up, especially during active training. Carefully choose which treats to give him based on quality and nutrition and if you're finding the dog gets a lot of treats you may want to consider praise as an alternative reward.

In conclusion, it is important that you train your dog well in order to be able to work with your live stock.  As long as you follow the tips and tricks included in this article you should be able to train your dog to more efficiently and safely work with your live stock.