Cultivating Good Behaviour In Your New Puppy

Cultivating Good Behaviour In Your New Puppy

The most crucial aspect of house training a puppy is to teach it how to remain clean in the house.



The most crucial aspect of house training a puppy is to teach it how to remain clean in the house. Dogs are not shabby by nature - they would normally urinate and defecate away from their sleeping and feeding area. Puppies that have been raised in a shabby environment, living in cramped quarters, may be quite cumbersome to housetrain. When you get a puppy ensure that the original owner has provided a clean environment with separate feeding, sleeping and potty areas.

Puppies have a rapid learning rate and they can efficiently grasp what you teach them. You need to instill a sense of timing and schedule in your puppy from the day you bring it home. You can do this by feeding the puppy at the same time each day, and carrying out other activities at specific time slots. This way your puppy will grow up to be an obedient, disciplined dog.

You would not want your puppy to go inside its crate or in the house. Therefore, train it to urinate away from the crate or the house. Take it for a stroll in the lawn and voice train it, such that it adheres to your commands and make sure you give pleanty of praise. Successfully housetraining your puppy would take a few weeks or so. It’s certainly not a piece of cake, and you must not reprimand your puppy if it fails to obey your command. Just place it back in the crate and then again take it for a stroll. Slowly but surely the puppy will learn how to get along with separate feeding, sleeping and toilet areas.Never reprimand your puppy but praise it when it toilets in the coreect area e.g. outside.

It is imperative that you supervise at all times while housetraining you puppy. When no one is there to supervise it, the puppy must be confined to its crate or a confined area. With time the puppy will learn to keep itself clean. Once it does so, you can try leaving him unfettered in a room of your house. If the puppy gleefully obeys your commands, does not depict aggressive behaviour, manages to stay clean, and does not damage or soil any household stuff, you may let him stay in another room as well thereby continuing the housetraining process. However, if the puppy behaves in an unruly fashion, revert back to the previous stage of housetraining.

All the while be patient while housetraining your puppy. It’s not a cake walk, and therefore, it’s unrealistic to expect instant results. Remember like humans, puppies respond best to praise.

Clicker Training Your Dog

Clicker Training Your Dog



If you are looking to train your dog you might consider using the 'clicker training' method, which has recently become popular amongst dog trainers all over the country. In this method the trainer has to make use of a clicker, a tiny plastic box with a metal button which makes a distinctive click sound once the button has been pressed.



If you are looking to train your dog you might consider using the 'clicker training' method, which has recently become popular amongst dog trainers all over the country. In this method the trainer has to make use of a clicker, a tiny plastic box with a metal button which makes a distinctive click sound once the button has been pressed. The training method is simple and is in many ways parallel to the positive training method. Here is what you have to do. Decide on a certain behaviour which you want to teach or reinforce your dog to do. A number of behaviours/actions come naturally to the dog like sitting, eating, standing, barking etc. and these need just to be reinforced so that your dog knows when you want him to do what. Various other actions like acting dead, shaking hands, rolling over etc. do not come naturally to the dog and need to be taught. Clicker training can be used to do both.

Clicker training works according to the basic principles of operant conditioning, by associating the sound of the clicker with a food item which the dog particularly likes. Now all you have to do is use the clicker to command the dog to do something, the dog, given that he associates the sound of the clicker with the food, immediately obliges and the training is complete.

Let us take an example to illustrate the method better, suppose you want to teach your dog to sit, you put a cookie on your dog's nose playfully and then move it upwards, the dog will obviously follow the movement of the biscuit with its nose and will then naturally rest its posterior on the floor, thereby putting himself in a sitting position. Now time your clicking to be so accurate as to occur right as the dog seats himself, now give him the biscuit and praise him. Continue doing this for sometime till the dog begins to associate the clicking with the food until the click makes him sit without you luring him with treats. Now teach him another behaviour, but remember to attach the clicking cue only once the animal himself offers you the behaviour otherwise the clicking will not be connected to anything in the dog's head and he will be confused regarding what it means.

Your dog is one smart little animal and it's time you gave him due credit for that. A number of trainers have been known to use negative reinforcement techniques alongside the clicker method but this simply doesn't work because punishment at all times creates a number of unwanted behaviour even if it serves the primary purpose of teaching the dog to not do something temporarily.

Any kind of training is a strenuous and rigorous process and needs time and patience. Although clicker training method has a high success rate it might not work for certain types of dogs, if you see that it's not working for your pet you would be well advised to use some other technique to teach it tricks.

Here are some links you may want to follow relating to Clicker Training

http://www.clickertraining.com/dogtraining

http://www.learningaboutdogs.com/html/clicker_training.html

http://clickerlessons.com/whatis.htm

Dawg Business: It's Your Dog's Health!: Talk to Me About Arthritis

Good Articles on Arthritis in Dogs and some of the treatments available. Having had two German Shepherd Dogs who have had arthritis since 11 months old in both their hips, one in her elbow (operated  on when 2 years old but returned subsequently) too and the other in her toes in both feet (sesamoid disease) it is something I have some knowledge of myself. They are almost 9 now and personally I have managed their arthritis through weight,control, diet, exercise and supplements. However, I have found that at various points the limping or pain have started to reappear and i have so far managed to change diet or supplement products or combinations and/ or natural pain killers to something that has worked for them. It maybe that one day I run out of options to naturally manage their condition and this article discusses many of the options available.

Dawg Business: It's Your Dog's Health!: Talk to Me About Arthritis: Arthritis is one of the most common diseases in dogs. One in five dogs will develop arthritis at some point in their lives. What is arthri...

Treating Bee and Wasp Stings

How to Treat a Dog for Bee Stings | The Daily Puppy

Here is a godd article with advice for caring and treating your Dog. Do though treat these incidencies as an emergency as it is possible and potentiallyresulting in a serious or life threatening reaction. My own dogs have been stung several times on the muzzle and as a result their muzzles have swelled to become very enlarged and I have taken action immediately to get them to the vet. Always aware that it could affect their throats and mouths or indeed an allergic reaction. As I live some 20 minutes from the vet and in the country - on request my vet has supplied me with some medication that can be adnministered in the event of this happening again. It is a good ideas as the article also suggests that you are prepared and have on hand or availble to buy the medication needed should it be needed.

The article below is attributed to the author as stated at the end of the article as it appears in the Daily Puppy. A direct link appears on the header.

.

Overview

Bee, wasp, yellow jacket and hornet stings are generally not much of an issue for a dog, but some dogs, like some people, have allergic reactions to stings that can range from mild to very severe, or even deadly. The most common symptoms allergic dogs are likely to experience following a bee sting are hives and swelling, but more severe reactions can include vomiting, diarrhea and trouble breathing. Take action to reduce your dog's discomfort as soon as he is stung. If your dog appears to be having an allergic reaction, seek immediate veterinary attention.

Step 1

Be prepared for dog emergencies. Ask your veterinarian ahead of time about over-the-counter remedies for insect stings, including oral antihistamine such as Benadryl. He can tell you what antihistamine is best to give your dog if you suspect he's having an allergic reaction to a sting, and what the proper dosage is for him. Keep a supply of the antihistamine in your dog's emergency kit.

Step 2

Remove the stinger from your dog's skin using a pair of tweezers to prevent more venom from being released into the dog's body. If you do not have tweezers, use something with an edge to scrape the stinger free. Hold the object parallel to the dog's skin and move it gently across the skin, scraping the stinger free.

Step 3

Wash the wound using a damp wash cloth and mild soap, then apply an ice pack or cold compress to reduce the swelling. If you are using an ice pack, wrap it in a soft towel and apply it for no more than five minutes at a time.

Step 4

Observe your dog for signs of an allergic reaction while administering the ice pack or cold compress. If your dog appears weak, shaky or has difficulty breathing he may be experiencing anaphylactic shock. Other signs of a severe allergic reaction may include vomiting, diarrhea and pale gums.

Step 5

Seek veterinary attention immediately if you detect signs of a severe allergic reaction to the sting. Such events are rare. Call your vet to alert him you are on the way, and to receive any instructions he might have for first-aid treatment, including oral antihistamine. Keep your dog warm during the trip to the veterinarian, and try to keep him conscious. Applying corn syrup or honey to the dog's gums may help to keep him awake.

Step 6

Relieve your dog's pain by administering a baking soda poultice. Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with just enough water that it creates a thick paste. Spread the mixture over the stung area.

Step 7

Apply a cold compress or ice pack to the swollen area on your dog's body for 10 to 30 minutes several times throughout the day. This will help to reduce swelling and will also help to relieve pain.

Step 8

Observe your dog closely for 24 hours following the sting. Continue to administer the cold compress treatment and continue to watch for signs of severe allergic reaction.

By Katherine Barrington

Daily Dose of Kitten Cuteness

Adorable Kitten trying to get some sleep! Big awwww

 

Cute Husly Puppy Video

Stopdogs pulling on the Leash