Dog - Stopping Your Dog From Jumping Up

Many dogs jump up when greeting their owners, friends and other pets, but in many cases this is not behavior that should be encouraged. You, as the dog's owner, may not mind, but guests may well be annoyed, frightened or simply worried about hygiene issues of having a dog's face close to their own. Some trainers have advocated kneeing a dog in the chest to stop it from jumping up. I DO NOT advise this - it may hurt the dog or your knees and it will almost certainly not cure the behavior. We need to look at the reason the dog responds and tackle the problem from its root. The behavior usually begins with a trigger, such as a knock at the door or a doorbell ringing. The dog will be immediately alert and ready for a visitor - he thinks that it is his job to welcome a guest, to check a stranger, to keep the pack and the territory safe. This is where the problems begins, because it should be the owner who has the responsibility of welcoming, checking and maintaining safety, not the dog. So, when the trigger occurs, put your dog away in another room. You have effectively controlled your dog's behavior and can now welcome your guest in your own way. You will have raised your status in the pack and reduced your dog's, showing him that you are in control of who enters the house and in what manner they are greeted. You will also have saved your guest from being jumped on! When your dog is allowed through to see your guest, do this in a controlled manner and don't allow him to jump up. As soon as his behavior is anything less than acceptable, banish him to another room. He will soon realise that he must follow your rules if he wants to stay with you and the guest. If your dog jumps up at you yourself when you come back home, there are two strategies for dealing with this. The first is to ignore your dog for a good five or ten minutes when you the enter the house. Don't look at him, don't speak to him and don't react if he does something to get your attention. Just turn away and ignore even bad behavior. He will be very confused at first, especially if you're in the habit of making a big fuss of him on entering the house, but after five to ten minutes he will settle down and maybe even lay down quietly. Then you can call him to you, praise him and give him a little treat. If your dog jumps up at you, it's because he has been rewarded in some way for this behavior. Even being told off or shouted at can seem to be a reward to a dog that's desperate for attention. So when he jumps up, hold his front paws and keep him standing up on his back legs. Don't let him down and stretch him upwards a little. He will wriggle and want to get down, even mouth your hands to make you let go of his paws. Let go and reward him when he is back on the ground where he belongs. If he jumps up again, go through the same procedure until he learns that jumping up produces a situation he doesn't find rewarding. You must be firm, kind and consistent to ensure that the message is being received loud and clear. Justine Kay is an experienced dog owner and trainer. She is the webmistress at Dog Training Tips where she writes dog training articles and discusses the intricacies of dog psychology. Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Justine_Kay

Dog - Dog Training part II - Age for Early Training

Dog training begins virtually at birth. Dogs that are handled and petted by humans regularly during the first eight weeks of life are generally much more amenable to being trained and living in human households. Ideally, puppies should be placed in their permanent homes between about 8 and 10 weeks of age. In some places it is against the law to take puppies away from their mothers before the age of 8 weeks. Before this age, puppies are still learning tremendous amounts of socialization skills from their mother. Puppies are innately more fearful of new things during the period from 10 to 12 weeks, which makes it harder for them to adapt to a new home. Puppies can begin learning tricks and commands as early as 8 to 12 weeks of age; the only limitations are the pup's stamina, concentration, and physical coordination. It is much easier to live with young dogs that have already learned basic commands such as sit. Waiting until the puppy is much older and larger and has already learned bad habits makes the training much more difficult. There are some professional trainers who disagree with this idea, particularly those who train working dogs, detection dogs, police dogs, etc. They feel that obedience work shouldn't start until the dog is at least a year old, or after the prey drive has fully developed. These trainers also take the position that spaying and neutering is harmful to the training process, again because of its negative impact on the dog's prey drive. Next: Dog Training part III - Communicating with the dog Hagar lagarto is a long time Pet lover with many articles and websites on the subject.You can get much more info at pet.freehostia.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hagar_Lagarto

Dog - Keep Your Dog Healthy

So you have a dog, right? Dogs are not just playmates for the kids and are not mere guards for your homes; they also have special needs to be taken care of. Responsibility comes hand in hand with having a dog so you have to be prepared to take care of them as you would your own kids too. The Marks of a Healthy Dog How would you know if your dog is healthy? In making sure that they are you have to check their eyes first. A dog's eyes should be bright, clear and free from any matter. There should be no light spots or scars on the cornea. He should not be extra large or extra lump for his size. Although dogs are cuter when more plump, this is a sign that he may be obese and may have some health problems such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease to him too. Try to ask your veterinarian what his appropriate weight should be and be careful when feeding him. Dogs just love eating and they definitely are not weight watchers so you have the responsibility of keeping them well nourished and proportioned. A dog's nose and ears should be clean and have no signs of discharge. One way of showing he has mites or any other infestation in his ears is if he is in a habit of shaking his head a lot. Be extra observant of his behavior too. Constant scratching is a sign of parasite infestation. Be mindful of his hair coat. The hair coat should be fluffy, glossy and slightly oily. Examine the dog for any signs of hair loss such as bald spots for they indicate that your dog may have ringworm or fungus infection. Maintaining Health of Dogs A way to keep a dog healthy is to give him a well-balanced and nourishing diet. Your dog must neither gain nor lose weight nor should he develop any deficiency diseases. Commercial dog food companies have made careful research on the palatability and balance of dog diets and they are known to contain all the ingredients for a well-balanced diet for your dog. Table food should not form more than a third of the diet of your dog to maintain their health. When a dog eats, observe him if he constantly rubs his paw along the side of his mouth or drops his food when trying to eat. This indicates that he has sore tooth. Try to keep the dog's teeth clean throughout his life by rubbing salt and soda solution and tooth powders on them at weekly intervals. Tartar and defective teeth should be removed to avoid infection problems of the teeth and gums. Keep your dog free from ticks and fleas too. Having ticks may cause allergic reactions, paralysis and even death to your pets. One way to prevent this is to bring them to veterinarians for some tick shots. Give your dog a regular bath to keep his coat and skin healthy. This way, you prevent any skin infections from developing. Just make sure that you use the specified dog soap for him. Dogs are fun to have around and they also provide comfort and company whenever you need them. So try to keep them as healthy as possible and they will surely love you more for it! Do you want to know more about dog care or anything about the crazy world of dogs? then visit us here Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hartwell

Dog - Dog Health Conditions and Terms You Should Know, Part 3...

Continued from part two. Epilepsy/seizure disorder When your Boxer is between 2 to 5 years old, he may develop seizure disorder. When he has an epilepsy attack, he'd be unconscious and may look like he is not breathing but he is. He is not suffering. The information that would be important to your veterinarian regarding such episodes includes: > Duration of the attack > The type of muscular activity your Boxer exhibits during seizure > Any abnormal behavior during the attack > Frequency of the seizure What you do in such instances is not panic and time the attack by actually looking at a watch or clock. It may only take place for 30 seconds but may seem forever to you. You need a veterinarian if it lasts more than 5 minutes. Emergency treatment is definitely called for if your Boxer goes into seizure for 10 minutes or longer, twice in the span of 24 hours, or if he has a second attack before he could completely recover from the first seizure attack. Remain by your Boxer's side; be there when he comes out of the seizure to calm him. Stroke and comfort him. To keep your Boxer from hurting himself during the seizure, move away furniture from the immediate area and protect him from water, the stairs and any sharp objects. If you can, place a pillow under his head to protect him from head trauma. Unlike seizure attacks in human, animals do not swallow their tongue. So you don't have to put your hand or spoon or any other object into your Boxer's mouth when he has an attack. You might get bitten. Also, keep children and other pets away from your sick Boxer. Coming out of the seizure, your Boxer will be groggy, confused and feel like he has done something wrong. He may make unusual sounds and stumble around. Do not allow him on the stairs until he has fully recovered. In the mean time, sooth him by talking to him softly, offer him some water, stroke and comfort him. And if he doesn't recover fully after 30 minutes, consult your veterinarian or any emergency vet facility. Flea-infected Boxers Flea-infected Boxers can develop skin diseases especially those allergic to fleas. Black specs in the fur and bite marks on the skin tell if your Boxer has them. To check further, spread some newspapers and place your Boxer on top. Brush him and look for the black specs falling off. Fleas live up to 6 weeks, feeding on blood and during that time would have laid hundreds of eggs that mostly land on your Boxer's bedding, carpets and other favorable nests around your home. The eggs hatch into larvae that seek nice, dark places while feeding on flea's droppings, dust, human shed skin, dandruff and other such tasty morsels. The larvae turn into hardy pupae that could survive for months before changing into adult fleas. Fleas are host to tapeworms. Both problems are likely to occur together in your Boxer and, therefore, the treatments are also usually given together by the vet. A bit of garlic a day may keep the fleas away from your Boxer. Heart ailments -Bradycardia or slow heart rate may be a symptom of thyroid disorder in Boxers. -Dialated cardiomyopathy constitutes a serious, emergency case. Your dog may collapse from it or the back legs have sudden pain and paralysis. It is a serious heart condition whereby the heart muscle is enlarged and thin walled. Your Boxer will experience shortness of breath, coughing and can't take to exercise. Another serious heart condition is called cardiac conduction disease that is affecting Boxer's longevity. It was previously known as Boxer cardiomyopathy but the new term is used to differentiate it from dilative cardiomyopathy. Cardiac conduction is difficult to deal with due to 3 factors. -One is many Boxers will not show any symptom (asymptotic) but will just drop dead suddenly from it. -The Boxers develop this disease later in life, often after they have been bred. -There was no good screening method for it until the one recently developed by Ohio State University researchers, called the 24-hour Holter monitor test. However, there is still no assurance that Boxers "cleared" now from cardiac conduction disease by the Holter test will remain so in the future. Many breeders and Boxer experts are now working to refine the test procedures, expand the database and come up with a guideline to select only, for breeding purposes, those Boxers with high probability of being free of the disease. There are also concerns elimination of too many dogs from the gene pool would be bad for the breed diversity and could cause more problems in the future. Some opinions hold that extensive culling should only get done after more studies on genetic diversity in Boxers. Hip dysplasia This is a bone disorder whereby there is an improper fit of the large femur bone with the hip socket, causing lots of pain and lameness. It occurs more in males This articles is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health3.php Part 1 is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health.php Part 2 is available at http://www.thingsfordogs.com/dog-health2.php Daniel Lesser Dog and Puppy Articles, Pictures and Resources http://www.thingsfordogs.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Lesser

Dog - Doggie Self Control - What It Is, Why It's Important, and How to Teach It

One of the most important skills you can teach your dog is self control. All too often I hear from people whose lives revolve around their dogs, in a way that's not good for the people or the dogs. If you've got a puppy, now is the time to start teaching self control. Well-meaning but misinformed dog owners think they are doing right by their puppy by attending to every whim and want of their puppy. They love their puppy so much that they forget to teach one of the most important doggie skills there is - self control. WHAT IS SELF CONTROL? You've probably seen it - dogs that bark incessantly until they get what they want. Or dogs who are so excited to greet visitors that they forget there's someone on the other end of his leash and pulls the person down the street (or through the mud puddles). You may think it's lovely that your puppy loves visitors so much that he runs and jumps on them to say Hello, but the reality of the situation is that you have a rude puppy. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Neglecting to teach our dogs this skill does them an enormous disservice. By not teaching our dogs this crucial skill, we actually limit their freedom in public. Dogs that cannot control themselves are bothersome to people and dogs alike. A dog that drags his owner down the road because "he's just so friendly" or barks for attention isn't cute, and the behavior shouldn't be glossed over with excuses or explanations. Dogs deserve more credit - they are smart enough to learn self-control if the humans in their life take the time to teach them. Don't know if your dog has self-control issues? Describe your dog's questionable behavior as if he were a person. Now that it's phrased in "people terms" does it seem unreasonable? If it sounds shocking, then your dog could probably sharpen his self-control skills. For example, do you have to play with your dog when he brings you a toy (or suffer the consequences such as barking, pawing, whining)? Would you think it a bit strange if a parent got up from the dinner table because Johnny wanted to go play baseball at that moment? Does your dog go bonkers at the sight of other dogs because he's so friendly and wants to play? And he drags you across the yard to get to the other dogs? Now rephrase that -- Your ten-year-old sees her friend with her family and dashes across the street without looking (you in tow) because she just has to say Hello? It's never too late to teach your dog self control. Even older dogs can learn this skill. The longer the dog has practiced the behavior, however, the longer it will take to teach self-control. But self control is so important that it's worth taking the time to teach it! HOW TO TEACH SELF CONTROL The first skill to teach your dog is to look at you; to pay attention to you. Next, teach your dog to sit as a way of requesting anything he wants. Before you do anything for your dog (petting, feeding, playing, going on a walk, etc.) request that they sit first. Not until they sit do they get to go outside, or get attention, or get dinner, or whatever it is that they want. Sitting is an easy task for most dogs, and it's not asking too much for them to "say please" in this manner for something that they like. A common mistake people make is letting their puppy do something "because it's so cute." Yes, it's really cute when your little 8-week old puppy squirms and wiggles and jumps on your friends. But in a few short months, that puppy will be well on his way to being a full grown dog and what's cute for a puppy can be disastrous when it's a full grown dog. Cute only lasts for a few months...the habits they develop as puppies can last a lifetime and the behaviors are no longer cute when your dog is an adult. QUICK SOLUTIONS If your dog barks at you to get your attention, simply turn away. Walk into another room if you have to. If your dog follows you and barks at you, go into another room and close the door. Don't talk to him, look at him, or give him any attention until he stops barking. If your dog brings a toy and thrusts it into your lap to get you to play, ignore him and his attempts to solicit play. Go into another room if you need to. If he follows you with the toy, simply take the toy away and put it out of his reach. If he goes to find another one, take that one away, as well. If your dog pulls to get to another person or dog, keep your hands close to your body (so the leash is consistently the same length) and stand as still as a tree. No conversation, no yanking on the leash, just be quiet and still. When you get some slack in the leash or when your dog turns to look at you, THEN say "good boy" and continue to move forward. If your dog doesn't turn around at all, YOU turn around walk away (still holding onto the dog's leash) from the person or dog that your dog finds so interesting. Once you have taught your dog self-control, you'll look back and wonder how you ever got along without it! It's that powerful - it will change the interaction that you have with your dog in a positive way. Your dog will be afforded more freedom to go out in public, which is more fun for the both of you! Laurie Luck, CPDT Smart Dog University, LLC Certified Pet Dog Trainer Association of Pet Dog Trainers, Member 3335 Box 1111 Mount Airy, MD 21771 http://smartdoguniversity.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurie_Luck