Don’t Let Neighborhood Dogs Hinder Your Exercise
If you like to jog every morning, it’s a great way to kick-start your metabolism and burn a few calories before you head off to work for the day. It’s a healthy routine and can have long lasting and impressive results for your health and physical wellness. But if you live in an urban area, it’s very likely that at least some of your neighbors have dogs, and if they are intimidating or scary, it could stop you from your healthy morning routine.
But don’t let something like the threat of a vicious dog stop you from living your life. Rather, just know how to protect yourself if the dog does decide to give you problems. As such, always carry a can of dog repeller. You should have this handy, because animal attacks happen quickly. You need to be ready to act if necessary. Of course, this spray should only be used if you’re absolutely certain that you are about to be attacked.
For all puppy training, repetition is central to the dog remember the activity. For example, when puppy potty training—often one of the first exercises owners address—for every time the dog pees indoors it will take another week to train them to go outside. For this reason, it’s best to take puppies outside at least once every hour when they’re young, and once every couple hours when they’re a few months old. Eventually the dog will be able to hold their bladder for just as long as a normal person, but this doesn’t happen until the dog is at least a year old.
For other training exercises including tricks, it’s important to be repetitive and to reward the dog for success. However, it’s also a good idea to not dwell on an activity for too long, as the dog will become frustrated. Just return to it at a later date and your dog will be more inclined to do it!
I don’t claim to be any type of expert in the area of dog training tips, but I if there’s one thing I have learned throughout my years of dog ownership, it’s not to yell at your dog. Yelling at your dog is the worst thing you can do during the training process, whether you are house training a puppy or just trying to get your canine to sit. Instead, what you need to do is speak in a firm deep voice when commanding your dog.
Experts say that this is the best way to let your dog know that you mean business. Yelling or screaming at your dog will only scare him. If you yell at your dog while it is barking he or she will think that you are barking along with them and make more noise
For years my dog has suffered from skin allergies. For the longest time I had no idea what was causing the allergies. Then my veterinarian told me that dogs often are allergic to their food. Grocery store brand dog foods usually contain large amounts of fillers like corn. Corn isn’t easily digested by dogs and can cause them allergic reactions.
There was one way to find the underlying cause of Fluffy’s allergies - I would conduct a dog food comparison. I would feed him his regular food brand for a week and then feed him a more expensive brand the next week in order to see if he had any reactions. This way I would know if switching foods would help relieve his allergies.
When it comes to teaching your dog new tricks—whether its how to shake hands or simply dog potty training (which certainly qualifies as a trick for some dogs), patience is the most essential part. Some dogs will pick up on new tricks very fast, and for others, it will take time. To be successful you need to be patient and also be consistent. Dogs will begin to understand tricks through repetition of the activity and a reward when they do it correctly. As the old adage states: “carrots are better than sticks”, so be sure to reward your dog for good behavior but don’t punish them for doing it wrong, just withhold the reward.
Given enough patience on the part of an owner, a dog can learn most any trick; it just takes time. If you do need some help, there are lots of guides and websites online that offer helpful tips about dog training and dog tricks.
It’s important for dogs with long hair to be brushed and groomed on a regular basis. While short haired dogs often don’t require a lot of grooming (except during the season where their coats are shed), long haired dogs require grooming on a week to week basis. It’s best to brush a longhaired dog about twice a month at the minimum. Dogs like sheepdogs that have a lot more hair than the average longhaired dog can require brushing as often as twice a week. Ensuring that the dog’s fur doesn’t mat should be of chief importance to the owner. When fur develops into mats, it can cause serious damage to the dog’s skin, which can then become infected and lead to even more serious conditions. It’s best to target mats with a brush and utilize a dog detangler before the hair becomes twisted and starts to pull against the dog’s skin.
When brushing to remove mats, make sure to check areas underneath the dog’s neck, at the joints where their legs connect to their bodies, and on their stomachs. These are the most common areas for mats to form, while areas like the top of the head and back will have far fewer mats.
You will find that when you are training a puppy or a dog it is much easier when you use a short leash. When you try to train your dog with out a leash you won’t have any control over him and if you use a leash that’s over 5 feet long you won’t be able to gather it up soon enough to correct your dog when he doesn’t do what he is learning to do. Not that you will have to hang him but just a simple tug just to remind him who is the alpha dog and who calls the shots. Try not to use a retractable leash when training it’s to long, save it for walks. The best is a nylon or cotton four foot leash that clips to your dogs collar.
Little things like that will make dog training so much easier.
Spring time sometimes brings fleas into the home by way of your best friend your Dog. There are a few ways to keep the fleas away and that falls into dog grooming. One easy way to keep the fleas away is doing simple combing. The best way to do that is with a flea comb, they are a little different than your ordinary comb because the tines are closer together resulting in the flea getting caught up in the comb instead of staying on the dog.
You must take your thumb and squeeze the flea against the comb until you hear a click, that’s when you know you have squished him, otherwise he might get a way till another day, or even jump on you. Some times you will need to use an undercoat rake like the one you see in the picture, it will take all the snarls out of his hair before you use the comb so it wont pull the hair. Some people will use a flea shampoo but that will sometimes make your dog smell like a bug bomb. Try the comb first. your dog will like the extra attention that you will be giving him too.
The first day you have that puppy is the right time to start training him to go outside when he needs to go to the bathroom. when you first get home from the humane society or the dog breeders take him outside and walk him around the yard and get him use to the new yard. Take him to a place that you would like him to eliminate and get him there fast because when he gets out of the car he’s going to want to pee from the car ride. When he starts to pee tell him ” Go for it” or what ever phrase you want to use and when he’s peeing tell him ” good boy, go for it” and keep praising him he will like that, and will want to have that praise again, so if you keep reinforcing that whenever you go outside he will want to do it outside to get that praise.
Remember as a pup he has a small bladder and will need to go when ever he wakes up from a nap, drinks water, or about 5 minutes after eating or playing. So after those things happen get him outside before he starts sniffing around that living room floor and making trouble for both of you. House training a puppy is easy if you keep ahead of the puppy and remember for the first 2 to 3 weeks you will be a little bit inconvienced but after that everything should be eaiser as his bladder grows and he gets trained.
It’s spring time here in Michigan and our dog has been locked up in the house most of the winter except for the time he has been in the snow or rain he’s been pretty dry. He’s due for a trip to the groomers but I think before that we will do a little dog grooming here to save some money and have some good dog bonding moments. Be sure to use a good dog shampoo, people shampoo tends to dry out a dogs coat unless you use Aveno oatmeal bath , which can sometimes be good for dogs with allergies.
Keep that shampoo out of his eyes and ears, have some cotton balls around to aid in a quick ear clean. Don’t rub him down too hard, do two shampoos instead of one hard one to get him clean. Have some fun While grooming him, it doesn’t sound like a great deal of fun but try to do the best you can to make it a fun experience for your dog. Try playing with him, petting him and talking to him in a cheery tone. Who knows,with time and practice you and your dog might have fun during your grooming sessions.