Edie MacKenzie On Dogs

Posts Tagged ‘Pets’

As a kid growing up in a family full of dogs, I remember the old days when mom and pop used to feed our dogs any type of table scraps that we had from our meals; not acknowledging any degree of dog health.  And sometimes, the dogs would all have their meals prepared ahead of time. We ate all types of food and back in those days so did our animals, except for one major difference of today’s house pets – they didn’t eat a bite of commercial dog food.

Interestingly enough, three out of the four dogs we owned lived to the age of 18 and 19 years of age, with one dog reaching 21 years of age. And the only reason why the fourth did not hit these high numbers was because of bone cancer. Now our experience with these dogs does not negate any type of nutritional value that commercial dog food may provide, especially considering the leap in information and nutritional research that we have today, but it is a little ironic that standard human food did so well just a few years back.

Pet Food Advertising Has Brainwashed Us

A lot has changed over the past 20 or 30 years.  Most dog owners feel that feeding their pets commercial dog food makes the most sense.  They believe that high quality dog food sold in stores is not only the most convenient way to feed their animals, but it also is thought to give their dogs and puppies the best nutritional value offered, even better than human food.  They believe that this decision is the right thing to do.

You hear this sort of thing over and over again whenever a discussion takes place about dog food and dog health.  Just the other day I was discussing some dog tricks with my neighbor and the subject switched to what we fed our dogs.  One comment that he made which is quite redundant is that “I feed my dog ‘dog food’ because it’s for dogs. Why would I feed him human food?”  My neighbor goes on to display his sense of knowledge about nutrition for dogs by insisting that my way of feeding Charlie (my dog) table scraps was cheating him of the proper foods he needs for energy and growth.

Processed Food is still Processed Food

I realized that there was little chance of me convincing my neighbor of his falsely believed notions about proper nutrition and his dogs.  Try convincing one of these people that a dog and a human both need similar nutritional foods.  It’s not that easy. However, I did get across one point in which he understood and that was about processed food.

No matter how you look at it, or what you believe a dog should eat as opposed to humans, processed food is still processed food! This stuff is manufactured, which means it goes through various steps of processing, preservatives, and other additives before it hits the can and is packaged.  Every step that is taken to get this food to the store shelves reduces its quality and nullifies most of its nutritional value, degrading proper dog health.

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Are you looking for the most efficient way of training your dog in the fastest time possible?

We would all love to learn how to be world-class dog trainers and teach our puppies and adult dogs all they need to know when it comes to basic training, however, for most of us it just isn’t practical.  We have busy lives and hectic schedules and there isn’t enough time in the day to devote a lot of training towards our pets.

This is why joining a group dog training class is ideal.  Not only is it fun to watch your dog interact with the trainer and the other dogs, these classes can be a very efficient way to teach your dog the basics when it comes to the minimum requirements for an obedient pet.

One word of caution though, and that is to be very careful about which group training class you and your dog participate in. To help you become aware of what questions to ask the trainer of these classes, below are a few pointers to get you going.

1. For starters, ask the instructor exactly what your dog will learn in the class. You want to be sure that the basic commands are going to be taught.  Such examples are learning to Sit, Stay, Come, Heel, and Down. And on the same note, ask the dog trainer if he or she will also take time to go over these commands with you so that you can help your dog master them in your spare time.

2. Group dog training classes should not be too large in numbers. To avoid getting involved in a class that has too many dogs, be sure to ask the instructor the number of dogs and puppies that will be participating. A good rule of thumb to look for in terms of members is between five and fifteen. 15 dogs is of course on the high side.  Any more than that then you may be paying for classes without your dog getting the full benefits of training that is offered.

3. Dogs and bad behavior sometimes go hand in hand.  It’s the nature of the beast, literally.  So ask the instructor if he or she discusses behavior problems during the class. It is not typical for a group class to go full-blown into dog behavior training because it is this area that becomes a little more personal and unique to each individual dog. However, it is a good sign if the class discusses basic behavior problems and how to counter them in training your dog.

1. What other animals live with you? It’s quite ok to tell them all about your other four-legged buddies! They’ll probably want to know the species, age, gender, size, breed and temperament of any other dog or cat living in your household. This will help the shelter determine what kind of dog will best get along with your furry family members.

2. Are your other animals spayed or neutered? Many shelters won’t adopt a dog to someone with an unaltered dog at home – mostly for practical reasons, and partly on principle. If you have a grown dog who is not yet spayed or neutered, tell the staff that you intend to correct that situation before you introduce another canine into the household. Then make sure you keep your word and do it.

3. Have you had dogs in the past, and where are they now? It may seem like an odd question, but shelter employees can tell a lot from an answer like “I had two dogs who died of natural causes at thirteen and fifteen years old,” as opposed to, say, “I had a dog that ran away and two cats that I gave to a family on a farm when I moved.” A good “track record” with dogs can indicate that you’re an experienced and committed dog lover who’s likely to give a new dog a terrific home.

However, keep in mind that the shelter staff understands that accidents happen and people make mistakes. Even well loved and well-supervised dogs get lost, stolen or hit by cars. If you’ve lost pets under unfortunate circumstances in the past, be honest about it; if you’ve made mistakes but learned from them, tell the shelter employees so. They’re not interested in judging you; they just want to make sure you’ll take good care of the dog you adopt.

What if you’ve never had a dog of your own before? Well, everyone has to start somewhere, and your inexperience doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. If you’ve ever helped care for someone else’s dog or worked with animals (at a vet’s office or an animal shelter, for instance), those are strong points in your favor. And at the very least, you can tell the staff that you’ve been reading up on the subject of dog adoption and dog care!

Young puppies are just too curious and active to sit still still and quite while you groom them. But the ones that learn how to sit nicely while being groomed will eventually learn to tolerate and even enjoy being brushed, bathed, trimmed, and clipped. A puppy that experiences all forms of being handled at an early age will be easily trainable and better socialized when around veterinarians, children, groomers, and pet sitters.

The key activity is to simply handle your puppy as often as you can during the day while concentrating on one particular part of the dog’s body for each session. Spend a few minutes handling his feet, then the ears, etc.

Getting Your Pup Used To Nail Trimming

Of all of the grooming activities that we must engage our pets in, nail trimming is probably the hardest for your puppy to get used to. And if you neglect to practice trimming your puppy’s nails at an early age, it may be virtually impossible to do so as he grows older.

Here is how to get your puppy accustomed to having his nails trimmed:

1. Touch your puppy’s paw and then click your clicker while giving him a treat. If he pulls back nervously then go a little slower next time. Your goal is just to be able to touch his paw without him pulling it back from you.

2. Once your dog is comfortable with having his paw touched, push the envelope a bit further by picking up his paw and moving it around. Whenever he lets you do so without flinching, click and offer a treat.

3. The next step is to start fondling the toes by separating them and wiggling them around some more. Press on his paw pads. Go slow and take your time.

4. Now it is time to introduce the nail clipper to your puppy, but do not click just yet! The first stage in the process is to get the dog used to having this shiny piece of metal up and close around its paws. Whenever he sniffs at the nail trimmer and does not appear to be scared, click and offer a treat.

5. Still yet, do not clip! The next baby step in this process is to fit the nail clipper over each of your puppy’s nails, but without clipping. Just add a little pressure. And again, click and treat when he appears to accept this activity.

6. Now it is time to make the cut. Clip the first nail, click your clicker, and offer a treat to your puppy. Be sure to be enthusiastic with lots of affection. When you feel he is ready for the next nail, move forward and clip the rest in a timed fashion. Remember to go slow and make the process fun.

When new trainers start training, they tend to make a lot of mistakes in their approach and methods in their training process. There are some mistakes that are common among most trainers.

High Expectation- The individual who makes this mistake is a true dog lover. The problem arises only when they start watching the tricks their neighbor’s dog can do or watch some well trained pets in their favorite sitcoms. Also sometimes when they go to park, they would have come across people who would have been enjoying the company of their dogs that are obedient and well trained. At that moment, they tend to forget all the time, money and patience that has gone into training these dogs.

Giving Up- This is also a common mistake done by novice dog trainers. Just because the dog cannot learn to play Frisbee in an hour or so, the owners conclude that the dog would just not learn at all.

Positive reinforcement- Many frustrated trainers go home with deprived results because they forget to reward their dogs for doing well. Rewards must be consistent, just like the training. The dog which always receive only correction and never gets rewarded will get frustrated.

Negative reinforcement- Trainer who spends his whole day during the training process will be looking for the dog to make a mistake, so that they can be corrected. This is a major mistake done by novice trainers because when you focus only in finding the mistakes of your dog, you will then fail to identify and reward all the good behaviors.

Apathy- Often a dog trainer says I hate this or that about the dog but its too difficult to change it. Changes can be made and if your dog sees that they bring rewards they will respond much quicker to a direct approach.

The major mistake the trainer makes is by thinking that the training is over. Training is a learning process and it doesn’t have an end. Your dog may learn some commands and know it well. So why do you stop there? Your dog loves to learn and you are a good trainer. Train your dog something new and enjoy your day forever.

With the knowledge of these mistakes trainers often make, you can recognize some of the common feelings which you might have encountered for yourself. You can now stem these mistakes before they become a problem.

Ranju Kumar offers excellent tips and advices on dog and puppy training including how to look after their health and other dog problems. Please take a 5-minute lesson at Puppy Training for FREE and make your dog obey your commands now.

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