Author: ABC7

When adopting a dog, it is vital to your dog’s well being to produce a safe, loving, secure home.  Produce an environment where your dog can grow in a positive manner.   Here are some tips to help you attain this goal.

Do Your Homework

Before bringing a new dog into your home, do your homework.  Research what size dog would be appropriate for your house.  Does your dog need room to run?  Do you have a backyard?  Do you live in an apartment?  Is there limited space in your place for a dog?  These are all circumstances you need to consider before adding any new member of the family.  Your dog needs room to run around, play, and be comfortable.  If you live in a flat with no area to walk your dog on a daily basis, then this could be an issue for a bigger breed dog.  Think about what type of dog is suitable for your living space prior to inviting one into your home.

Match Your Lifestyle

If you are someone who is anal about cleanliness, then perhaps a large dog that drools is not a match for you.  Alternatively, if you love to exercise and are looking for a running dog to come along then do not choose a toy breed.

Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, personality.  Thus, find a dog corresponding with your lifestyle.

To find out more information, talk to a Florida dog obedience training professional today.  A k9 obedience instructor would be able to provide ample facts about what dog breed would be most suitable to you, your home and the lifestyle you live.

Taking your dog on outdoor summer excursions is great!  Your dog gets exercise, runs around outdoors, and it is a wonderful excuse to relax and get away from the city.  But you need to prepare for these outings properly.  Here are some basic rules to follow regarding how to keep your dog safe while vacationing outside.

Update Identification Tags and Microchips

Before leaving for vacation, update your dog’s identification tag information.  Make sure the phone number, address, and name are recent.  In addition, it is a good idea to implant a microchip in case your dog gets lost.  Your dog might run around in the wilderness, and of course, you should be near or have your dog on a leash the entire time.  However, sometimes the leash breaks, or your dog may run after a squirrel and get lost.  Thus, an identification tag and microchip are a great way for others whom may come across your dog to identify your pup and bring him/her back to you safely.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

If your outdoor adventure is in the woods gain knowledge about the area prior to departing.  Know what plants may be threatening to your dog’s health.  Find out if there are any poisonous vegetation and in which region they would be growing.  Furthermore, if you are going to take your dog to the beach, discover if there are jellyfish in the water.  Gain information about your location prior to letting your dog explore.  It is vital to keeping your dog safe, and yourself at all times.

It is summer time, and with the warm weather comes the temptation to run outdoors with your canine.  Just take extra steps to keep your dog healthy throughout the entire summer season.  Talk to a Florida dog obedience training professional today.  Find out what other precautions they suggest, so you may travel with confidence.

There are techniques to help your dog cope with separation anxiety.   A Florida dog obedience training professional can teach you specifics, but in the meantime, here are a few tips to help you start training immediately.

Step Away in Small Spurts

The first method utilizes the “stay” command.  Be certain your canine is able to master this command.  Once your pup is able to execute it properly, try stepping into another room, say the stay command, shut the door and wait.  Sit there for a short amount of time and walk back out.  It allows your dog to get used to the fact you are not present.  Do this a few times.

After completing the entering and leaving a room, implement the same technique with exit doors and food toys.  For instance, if you normally leave for work out the backdoor use it for this practice.  Walk towards the backdoor, put a toy filled with food goodies for the dog, say the stay command, shut the door and walk out of sight.  Stay outside for a time.  There are many messages sent via this action.

The food tells the dog regarding the time apart is a non-threatening, positive experience.  By departing for short amounts of time, it shows the dog you return and are not leaving permanently; therefore, there is no reason to panic or feel anxious.  Eventually, you lengthen the time in-between departures for your dog shall associate the fact of you leaving and being gone with everything is okay.  You always return.  As a result, it is solely a time to relax and not one of worry.

For more information on how to help your dog cope with being apart, meet with a k9 obedience instructor today.

It seems that dog owners suffer from separation anxiety more than their actual pups.  It is tough to leave your dog at home alone.  But there are times when it is necessary.  It is part of life.  But how do you know if your canine is suffering too?  Here are some traits enabling you to pinpoint if your dog has fear of being apart from you.

Your Dog Turns Into Houdini and Escapes

Every time you leave your dog with someone else or alone, does your dog take-off and perform a magical disappearing act?  You may see evidence of your dog chewing through doors, digging under fences or clawing at the window.  If this is not normal behavior for your dog, and only occurs when you are not present, then your dog may suffer from nervousness due to you being gone.  Start taking note of this behavior.  If it persists talk to a Florida dog training professional about how to resolve this issue and keep your dog happy, even while you are gone.

Your Dog Walks the Line…Back and Forth

Does your dog leave a pacing pattern on the carpet while you are gone?  What about when you are present?  If your dog is relaxed in your presence, but turns into a pattern stepping fiend when you are gone, then your canine may be having issues.

To comprehend your dog’s actions, you need to watch your dog’s physical behavior.  If it changes when you are not around, then you need to take a closer look about how to relieve your dog from this stress.  Ask a k9 obedience instructor about what techniques to follow lessening the strain on your pup, and creating a serene state of mind for the both of you.

House training a puppy is not as difficult as people first believe.  You solely need to be dedicated to helping your puppy learn this transition in a positive manner.  You need to remain calm and see your puppy through the process with lots of praise and positive reinforcement.  Here are a few tricks on how to successfully housetrain your puppy.

Keep a Feeding Schedule

When house training your puppy, keep track of the feeding schedule.  A puppy needs to use the restroom frequently and can’t hold it for long.  Thus, every time after you feed and water your pup, take your pup outside.  It will keep your puppy on track regarding when to go and where.  Your puppy will become accustomed to the location and understand that this is where the pup is expected to release waste.

Choose a Command

Your puppy will be at the stage where a command needs to be linked to the act of going to the bathroom.  This way when your puppy grows up, your canine will remember the command you choose means to go to the bathroom.  Please note, there is no specific command used for this act either.  Just select something and stay consistent with it.  You need your pup to recognize the command and utilize it accordingly.

If you need more tips on how to housetrain your puppy, talk to a Florida dog obedience training professional today.  He/she will be able to help guide you through the proper ways to housetrain your puppy.  You might also want to enroll in puppy preschool classes ensuring you receive the basics before moving on with your puppy.

Dogs have the natural instinct to chase after passing objects and live beings, such as vehicles, people and other animals.  But how do you teach your dog not to engage in such behavior?  Is it possible to teach an animal not to act on intuition?  It is possible and necessary when keeping your dog safe.  You do not want your canine to run across the street to chase after a squirrel and put itself in danger.  Here are a few tips on how to prevent a negative outcome from occurring.

Use a Long Line Leash

Take your puppy out to an area where wildlife frequently visits.  Make sure your dog is on a secure, long line leash without tension.  It needs to provide the sensation of running free without a leash.  Leashes that provide tension will not do.  Next, have treats and your dog’s favorite toys with you.  Currently, when another animal passes by your dog, call to your dog to “come” and show the treat and/or toy while running in the opposite direction as the animal.  This will encourage your dog to follow.   Once your dog reaches your location, play games with your dog.  Engage your dog in physical activity with a positive aspect.  This will distract your puppy from Hela monsters, lizards, snakes and other animals that may come along and harm your puppy.

To find out more about how to teach your puppy not to chase meet with a Florida dog training professional or enroll in a puppy kindergarten class today.

When two dogs are playing, it can quickly turn into a scuffle if you are not careful.  Thus, it is important as a dog owner to learn how to stop a squabble before it escalates into something violent.  A Florida dog training professional will be able to guide you with direct advice on how to physically separate two dogs without harming yourself or the other dogs.  In the meantime, here are some tips on how you can prevent dogs from fighting.

Stop It Before It Begins

The first step is to watch how dogs play.  If the interaction starts to become aggressive, then you need to separate the dogs before anything further occurs.  The best way to handle this is to make a loud noise.  One way to execute this is to clap your hands and yell.  This will distract the dogs from the negative interaction and immediately disrupt them.  Your dog will turn and walk away from the situation.

Be a Team Player

It is difficult to break up a dogfight by yourself.  Therefore, recruit others to assist in this task.  Ask other dog owners to help you separate the dogs.  Agree on a method to implement, and stick to the plan.  In addition, keep in mind that you never wish to grab your dog in the midst of this heightened situation.  Your dog may accidentally bite you out of reaction.  Diffuse the situation then separate the dogs physically.

If you need additional advice on how to handle a dogfight, talk a k9 obedience instructor today.

There is so much material about puppy training on the internet making it difficult to decipher the positive from the ineffective methods.  Thus, I have decided to sift through the material for you and provide the top three puppy training techniques to avoid.  These methods encourage good behavior from your pup, and you.

Do Not Abuse Crate Time

Crate training is designed to teach your dog how, when and where to go to the restroom.  A puppy will not go to the bathroom where the puppy plays, sleeps and lives.  Thus, use the crate in such a manner.  Do not use the crate as a means of punishment for your puppy.  Your puppy will not understand and it will confuse your puppy further.

Never Use Physical Force

There is absolutely no reason to hit your puppy.  Instead, gently correct your puppy’s behavior when the pup does something wrong.  If you implement physical harm upon your pup, then you will end up with a nervous, aggressive, and confused grown dog.  Puppy’s need to be taught in a loving environment with positive reinforcement.

Rid the Old Concept of Rubbing Your Puppy’s Nose in an Accident

The old method of teaching your puppy where to go the bathroom via rubbing your pup’s nose in accidents no longer works.   Instead, concentrate on positive reinforcement by showing the puppy where to go, and provide plenty of praise when done correctly.

If you would like more tips on how to train your puppy, enroll in a puppy kindergarten class or a puppy preschool today.