Archives for Puppy or dog

Desensitizing Dog to Head Halter

Do the following exercises in order without skipping steps. The goal is to keep the dog comfortable the ENTIRE TIME. You want this to be like learning a trick. As the dog gets better and more excited to continue on, we progress through the steps. If the dog at any time is uncomfortable, go back a few steps to where the dog is comfortable and work that step a few more times before moving on. Hints & Tips Use no more than pea sized treats since you will be using so many Each head halter will be fitted by the
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Loose Leash Walking

Things You’ll Need A standard leash, not a retractable or extendable leash. A bag full of treats he loves! A Gentle Leader chest harness can be a very helpful tool in teaching loose leash walking, especially for strong or bigger dogs. Do not use a standard harness that clips on the dogs back or you may be encouraging pulling. Also do not use any choke or prong collars. Those are not necessary and can be both painful and dangerous for your dog. Get Walking Fill your bait bag with treats, and put your dog on leash. You’ll want to practice
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Dealing with Normal Puppy Behavior: Nipping

When puppies play with each other, they use their mouths. Therefore, puppies usually want to bite or “mouth” hands during play or when being petted. With puppies, this is rarely aggressive behavior in which the intent is to do harm. Because puppies are highly motivated to exhibit this type of behavior, attempts to suppress it or stop it are unlikely to be successful unless you give your puppy an alternative behavior. The goals of working with this normal puppy behavior are to redirect your puppy’s desire to put something in her mouth onto acceptable chew toys and to teach her
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Dealing with Normal Puppy Behavior: Chewing

Puppies may be just as much work as human babies – maybe more so because puppies can’t wear diapers and they have very sharp teeth! It’s definitely true that, similar to infants and toddlers, puppies explore their world by putting things in their mouths. In addition, puppies are teething until they’re about six months old, which usually creates some discomfort. Chewing not only facilitates teething, but also makes sore gums feel better. Although it’s perfectly normal for a puppy to chew on furniture, shoes, shrubbery and such, these behaviors can be a problem for you. A puppy won’t magically “outgrow”
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Children and Dogs: Important information for Parents

Living with a pet can be beneficial to children. Pets can enhance a child’s self-esteem, teach them responsibility and help them to learn empathy. However, children and dogs are not always going to automatically start off with a wonderful relationship. Parents must be willing to teach the dog and the child acceptable limits of behavior in order to make their interactions pleasant and safe. Selecting a Dog What age is best? Many people have a “warm fuzzy” image of a puppy and a child growing up together. If you have a young child and are thinking of adopting a puppy
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Unusual eating habits in dogs and cats

Dogs and cats will sometimes eat socks, rocks or other objects, which may result in a variety of problems for both you and your pet. Not only can your possessions be destroyed or damaged, but objects such as clothing and rocks can produce life-threatening blockages in your pet’s intestines. Eating non food items is called pica. A specific type of pic is stool eating (either their own or that of another animal) and, while not necessarily dangerous to the animal, is probably unacceptable to you.  Stool eating is called coprophagy. The causes of pica and coprophagy are not known.  Many ideas have been proposed by various  experts, but none have been proven or disproven. Such behaviors may sometimes be attention-getting behaviors.  If engaging in one of these  behaviors results in some type of social interaction between the animal and his owner (even a verbal scolding) then the behavior may be reinforced and occur more frequently. These behaviors may be attempts to obtain a necessary nutrient lacking in  the diet, although no nutritional studies have ever substantiated this idea.  They may also stem from  frustration or anxiety. It’s possible behaviors begin as play, as the animal investigates and chews on the objects, then subsequently begins to eat or ingest them. It has been suggested that coprophagy is carried over from the normal parental behavior of ingesting  the waste of young offspring.  Some experts believe coprophagy occurs more often in animals who live in relatively barren environments, are frequently confined to small
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House Soiling Or Urine­-Marking? How To Tell The Difference!

House Soiling Or Urine­-Marking? How To Tell The Difference! Your pet may be urine-­marking if: The problem is primarily urination. Dogs and cats rarely mark with feces. The amount of urine is small and is found primarily on vertical surfaces. Dogs and cats do sometimes mark on horizontal surfaces. Leg-­lifting and spraying are common versions of urine­-marking, but even if your pet doesn’t assume these postures, he may still be urine­-marking. Any pet in your home is not spayed or neutered. Both intact males and females are more likely to urine­-mark than are spayed or neutered animals. However, even spayed or neutered animals may mark in response to other intact animals in the home.
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Positive Reinforcement: Training with treats and praise

Positive reinforcement is the presentation of something pleasant or rewarding immediately following a behavior. It makes that behavior more likely to occur in the future, and is one of the most powerful tools for shaping or changing your pet’s behavior. Correct timing is essential when using positive reinforcement.  The reward must  occur immediately, or your pet may not  associate it with the proper action.  For example, if you have your dog sit, but reward him after he’s already stood up again, he’ll think he’s being rewarded for standing up. Consistency is also essential.  Everyone in the family should use the same commands. It
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