Cattle

Archive for October, 2010

You have company over for dinner. The table is beautiful and the food smells and looks delicious. Unfortunately, your dog thinks so too and is sitting up and begging for morsels off everyone’s plate and, if not rewarded, attempting to take the food on his own or pawing at your guests. This can ruin the dinner party and is not particularly good for your dog either. How could this have been avoided?

Know that his is not the dogs fault and it started a very long time ago. Some horribly misguided individual who was trying to be a good pet owner did this while the pup was still very young and trained the dog for this very behavior. Want to know who taught your dog this trick? It was YOU.

No doubt you weren’t consciously training your pet for this unwanted behavior and you did it with the best of intentions but the behavior is here now and must be dealt with. Your dog learned this trick from all those times when little scraps of food were tossed down to a cute little puppy who staring up at you with those sad brown eyes. All of this could have been prevented by a simple act of will power then but now you have a problem to deal with.

So how can you stop your dog from begging?

Stop rewarding the behavior. This means not giving in and not paying attention to your dog when he begs. Make sure everyone in the household knows not to share their meals with the dog and follows this rule no matter what the circumstance. You may even have to confine your dog to its kennel or a separate room during meal or snack times if this is difficult. This is especially useful if you have people in the household who tend to feed the dog from the table despite the rules.

Don’t fool yourselves – you have created a monster and it will take several weeks of consistent work on your part to break your dog of this habit. Once you start, he will most likely begin to whine and howl loudly in complaint of the treatment. DO NOT GIVE IN. If you do, the battle is lost and will be that much harder next time. One weak moment of slipping the dog a treat just to be nice (and you are not really being nice at all) can ruin all the prior training so standing your ground and enforcing the rule of not giving meal time treats to the dog is a must.

One way to implement this change is to feed the dog at the same time the rest of the family, preferably in a separate room. This way the dog has its own meal and will not feel the need to beg food from others in the household. If this is not an option, give your pet something to distract it, perhaps a toy to play with to keep them occupied throughout mealtime.

Consistent and rigid training is the only effective way to correct it. Every member and guest of your household must enforce the rules or all your work will be of no avail. Guests can pose a problem, especially if they slip their dogs treats when they eat. Just explain the rules before you sit down to eat and, I hate to say it but… watch them. It is a habit for them and they may not even know they are doing it. In this circumstance, I like to keep my dogs away from the table just in case.

Once you stop your dog from begging, you will be blessed with a healthier pet, a happier household and pride in your well-mannered canine friend.

One of the most common problems with keeping iguanas is that they may continuously try to escape. In doing so, they usually rub and bump their noses against the sides of their enclosure. This can result in serious, permanent damage to their nose and face. There are a few things you can do to help prevent your iguana from suffering nose abrasions. This article will share with you some useful advice.

Cage

Most iguanas that continuously try to escape are unhappy with their environment. Therefore, you can help reduce their escape attempts by trying to make their enclosure more to their liking. One of the main problems is that he may be housed in a cage that’s too small for him. In this case, you’ll need to buy a larger one.

In some cases, you may simply need to provide more vertical space since these lizards love to climb around. You may also want to try adding more branches or rocks to his enclosure. Another hiding spot or two won’t hurt either.

Walls

Rough surfaces will increase the likelihood of nose abrasions. This is commonly a problem in cages that walls made with screen or wire mesh. It’s best to choose a cage that has smooth wall surfaces so your iguana won’t damage his nose if he keeps rubbing it against the wall.

Vision

Another way you can limit escape attempt and subsequent nose abrasions is to limit your iguana’s vision. This can easily be done by lining the bottom of the walls with either dark film or paint. Lining the bottom five inches of the wall should be suitable enough.

I’ve owned many dogs, throughout my life, but have never known exactly how to train them properly.  I based my training on punishment and just couldn’t figure out why that didn’t work that well.  But, almost two years ago, I started training my Papillon for agility competition.  She was extremely high-drive and I knew she’d really love it.  So, I found a good agility training school and off we went.  We’ve been competing, very successfully, for almost a year now and, looking back, I learned so many important things about dog training!

First of all, most trainers require that dogs have completed at least a basic obedience class before proceeding to agility training.  This is critical to agility training and, in my opinion, every dog and handler could benefit from a basic obedience class.  I learned that I have a food-motivated dog and that she will work her heart out for highly prized treats, not for punishment!  There are skills you and your dog will learn, through an obedience class, such as recalls, sit/stays, down/stays, and walking nicely on a leash.  Each of these skills is something you will need every time you compete, not to mention day-to-day life with your dog.

The pace of your training will always be set by your dog.  Each dog learns at a different speed and, what comes easily for one dog, may not come easily for another.  So, be very patient while training your dog any skill.  Make it a game.  Let your dog take as much time as it needs, without getting impatient or frustrated, to figure out what behavior you want from it.

All tasks must be broken down into small pieces, whether the task is a simple sit, the beginnings of obstacle training, or more complex tricks or agility sequences.  If you break the task down to something small, then mark/reward and repeat, several times before making the task larger, you will have success without stressing the dog out.  For example, when training an agility tunnel, you scrunch it up to its smallest form.  Have someone place your dog at the entrance while you sit on the ground at the exit, with a treat, and call your dog.  As soon as the dog comes through that little piece of a tunnel, you mark/reward.  Slowly begin expanding the tunnel using the same technique.  In just a few minutes, you’ll have your dog going through however long a tunnel you need.

For agility training, once the dog begins obstacle training, there is never a wrong answer.  Dogs get confused, and may shut down, if they start being told they’re doing the wrong thing, so keep the training light and never scold for doing the incorrect thing.  If the dog doesn’t do what you want it to, you simply do not mark/reward for that action.  You just ask again and, the minute you get the correct response, mark/reward and make a huge deal of it.  That will make your dog more anxious to give you that same answer again.  As you start competing, you might want to use a particular word to indicate the incorrect response, such as “uh oh,” or “oops,” but not with a scolding tone.  This will indicate that the dog will be asked to try again but everything is fine between the two of you.

Lastly, always keep the training fun for both you and your dog.  Even when you start competing, or have been competing for a long time, this is critical.  If you start getting caught up in the competition and title-winning, you might forget why you started agility to begin with: because it’s fun!  When the game stops being fun, your dog won’t enjoy it anymore and neither will you.  Agility is a wonderful sport and will forever secure the relationship between you and your dog.  Run fast, run clean, and, above all, have fun!

Carrying your dog around is almost like a fashion accessory these days. Celebrities like Nicky Hilton and her sister Paris were spotted at a cafe in New York dressing up their dogs with cute dog accessory. It is also a hit on runways of big cities like Paris, London and New York.

Besides being a fashion accessory, a dog carrier acts as a convenient way to transport your dog from one destination to another. These dog carriers comes in different sizes, shapes and styles. For example, if you would like to look sporty you can opt for dog shouler carriers, dog backpack carrier or dog stroller sports. Dog stroller sports are like any other baby strollers but it carries only pet like dogs and cats of course.

While the market carries so many of these dog carriers, which carrier you choose depends largely upon the breed and the size of your dog, and the lifestyle you wish to include your dog in. If you have a budget, there are a selection of different dog carriers in the market. Or if you can afford a better looking and a more comfortable dog carrier, you can look for dog designer carriers online or in your local pet store.

Here are a few things you must look for before buying a dog carrier.

1) Do a research and get as much information from the manufacturers or retailer before making your purchase. The three most important aspect you should look for are safety, comfort and security.

2) When shopping for a dog carrier you should also need to pay close attention to the size, length, and weight of your dog. Not all dog carriers will fit your dog perfectly. For instance, a big dog may not fit in the standard size strollers, backpack and designer dog carriers. Big dogs are normally better to be carried by crates . While on the other hand, small to medium size dogs may fit comfortably into any dog shoulder carriers, dog backpack carriers, or any carriers at all.

3) To know whether the carrier is right for your dog, the dog carrier must have adequate room to move around and yet not too big to allow him to move around inside especially if you intend to bring your dog for hiking and jogging.

4) It is also pivotal to know that your dog carrier has good ventilation because if you don’t, your dog may end up getting sick and dehydrated especially during hot summer days. Ensure they get plenty of fresh air when they are caged up in the crate or while they are being carried. Check for detachable shoulder straps, durability, rubberized fabric and four mesh viewing panels. And more importantly, check whether the dog carriers can  be cleaned easily.

While there are many expensive dog designer carriers available in the market, you can also find a lot of inexpensive dog stroller, dog shoulder carriers and dog stroller sports available in the market. Although they are slightly cheaper than those designer’s carriers, you can still look hip and cool carrying them around.

If your kids are trying to find a good companion dog, you may be tempted to first look at some of the more popular breeds, pick out some puppies and then select the best character. And there are hundreds of breeds to choose from – just think of the American Bulldog and the Huntaway and the Cabe?udo Boiadeiro and the Rampur Greyhound. But, try looking for a dog that fits your personality. Find a dog that has the qualities that you want and can bond with you. The age of the dog is not a concern most of the time. Breeds may have a certain reputation, but there are exceptions to all the rules. These tips, though, can guarantee that you will find a good companion dog.

Search for a puppy or adult that has a personality that fits your own personality and your experience. If you have handled dogs before and have experience, then a more dominant, independent dog may work for you. However, if you are not very aggressive or are not aquainted with working with a dog, a more submissive animal may be a better companion for you. When you are looking at puppies, try to turn it over on its back. A dominant dog will resist you, trying to turn over right away. If it fights to turn over, try to calm it. If it settles down, it is more submissive. If it does not struggle at all, but just lies there trusting you completely, you have a very submissive dog.

A dog that is fairly quiet and easy to care for is better for you if you are more laid back and more sedative yourself. If you tend to be very active you may want a more active, hyper dog to be more your style. If you are gone much of the time and your dog would be kenneled during that time, you should look for a dog that is a little self reliant and is less likely to suffer from separation anxiety.

You also will want your new companion dog to be smart and eager to please. This will make it easy teach it what you want it to know and it will happily learn the skills and perform them. If you are taking your dog out in public, you don’t want a fear nipper or a dog that is threatening to children. Naturally, this comes from effectively socializing the dog on a regular basis, but the sharper dog will watch you to see who is maybe a threat and who is no possible threat.

Dogs can be superb companions having the right character for your needs. Also, while many people feel that only young dogs can be trained, this is false. Many older dogs are salvaged from shelters daily and they are trained quite easily. The key to training a dog is bonding with it. When you have bonded with your dog, it will be happy to do what you want. They will want to anticipate what you want and will even look for ways to communicate with you. If you are careful to observe your companion, you and your dog can come up with your own language and this can give you a companion dog (even the Bearded Collie or Mioritic that is a very special friend.