Posts Tagged ‘Thumb’
Dog Training: Correct Heel Methods (1)
Once you have reached the level of dog training in which your dog is not fooled by distractions or temptation, you are then ready to proceed to the next level of training – how to heel correctly.
If your dog cannot walk comfortably at your side, there is no way you’re going to teach him anything about being obedient. He must learn to heel properly and focus his full attention to you.
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You will be using a six-foot leather training leash for this phase. During this stage of training, you will teach your dog to walk beside you like a gentleman. He will learn to automatically sit at your side when you stop.
Correct Dog Training Employs No Punishment
The right attitude cannot be achieved if your dog is mistreated or abused. To restrain or choke the dog on a short, tight leash, to hit him in the chest, or to smack his face with the end of the leash while trying to teach him to heel will result, among other things, in a completely negative attitude in the animal.
Starting Position When Dog Training
To begin, you will notice that your leash has a loop in one end. Place your right thumb through that loop. With your left hand, grab the leash at the middle section and place it in your right hand. Notice that the dog is on your left side, but that the leash is held in your right hand.
This will seem a little awkward at first, but your left hand will be doing other things.
Do not form the habit of trying to restrain your dog at your side by holding him up close with the left hand on that leash.
Remember, dog training, do not restrain him. Forget about everything that you were told or read about restraining a dog tugging at your side in the hope that he will get the idea that this is where you want him to walk.
That idea will never occur to him.
There is an important characteristic of an untrained dog on a leash that will become obvious to you during this stage of dog training.
This dog wants to feel a tight leash! If there’s a slack in the leash, he has no way of calculating its exact length. On a tight leash, he can lunge and pull and go through all kinds of twists and turns, because he has the security of feeling where the other end of the leash is.
Therefore, it is very important throughout dog training that you don’t give in to your dog’s wishes by walking him on a tight leash.
Anal Sac Problems In Dogs
Something that you may not have understood about your dog before are his anal sacs. These two sacs are located in the muscle tissue on either side of the anus at the five and seven o’clock positions. An intensely malodorous secretion, usually brownish and watery in appearance, resides within the sacs.
The anal sac fluid, which emerges through two tiny ducts, serves an unknown purpose in the dog. It may help dogs mark territory or enable them to distinguish one another’s sexual identity, according to different theories. Whatever their purpose, the anal sacs of most dogs can be ignored throughout life. Other dogs, however, are bothered by periodic anal sac problems. They show it by madly dragging their hindquarters across the floor or biting and licking at the tail area. These dogs need to have their anal sacs manually emptied (expressed). A few need to have the sacs surgically removed.
How often may your dog’s anal sacs need to be expressed? This depends on whether your dog is one who suffers from bouts of impaction or from actual anal sac infections. Some dogs need monthly attention, while others can go several months without a problem. This is best discussed with your veterinarian, especially if anal sac impaction affects your dog. Should you feel you want to empty the anal sacs at home, here are some guidelines.
1. Begin by standing the dog on a firm surface. The floor will do fine with a large dog, while a table (with surface protected) may be necessary to express the sacs of a small dog. Hold a piece of cotton or paper towel in one hand to cover the anal area. This is useful because the secretion usually squirts out from the ducts once pressure is applied over the sacs.
2. With the absorbent material in place, put your thumb on one side of the anus and your index finger on the other. Gently squeeze your fingers together until the contents of the sacs begin to emerge from the ducts. Usually, the secretion is quite watery, but if it’s been retained for a while, it may resemble toothpaste. Don’t use excessive force, or you may rupture the delicate sacs.
3. Another method of expressing the anal sacs involves inserting your gloved and lubricated forefinger into the anus and feeling for each anal sac individually within the sphincter muscle. Then, grasping it between your thumb and finger, gently press on the sac until the fluid is released. This procedure should not be painful but it may be uncomfortable for the dog, so you’ll probably need somebody to hold the animal.
If you find that the secretion won’t budge, first try redirecting the pressure. Occasionally, the sacs will be completely impacted and then it’s time to see the veterinarian. This also holds true for secretion containing pus or blood, which indicates an infection of the anal sacs. If not treated promptly, they could become abscessed, which is very painful. Anal sac infections are frequently treated with oral and local antibiotics. The latter is inserted through the ducts into the anal sacs themselves.