Archives : Puppy Training

Top 5 Things to Ask a Breeder Before Committing to Buy a Puppy

I am getting a new puppy!  We are so excited, as a family, that we can hardly stand waiting until the blessed day gets here!

I tried to get an adult dog from a rescue, however, my female dog was not going to accept an adult dog and she was quite vocal about her decision.  My fiancée wants to show a dog and compete in obedience and possibly some other dog trials, so we were looking for a pure bred dog.

I have been looking for dogs to fit with my lifestyle and training needs for years, and I have found a few breeds that I prefer living with and training.  Because I prefer a rarer breed, it becomes a difficult prospect for me to find a puppy, but I am not afraid to travel.

Sometimes to find what you are looking for you must be prepared to travel and do your research!

Puppy mills exist and they even breed and sell rare dogs, no breed or mixed breed is safe from puppy mills!

To help you narrow your search and find the right pup I have compiled a list to assist you.

#1  How long have you been breeding dogs, how old is the mother, and how many litters has she had? Read the rest of this entry »

Help for Your Land Shark

I was on the phone with a client just the other day who was having somewhat of a familiar problem with her puppy.  She is becoming the entertainment and chew toy in their relationship.  She called because she has scratches, bite marks and lesions and was fed up with her puppy’s bad behavior.

Puppies play with each other with their teeth.  Dogs don’t have hands and opposable thumbs to hold, throw objects or play with things.   They aren’t able to use their hands to explore their environments.

Puppies are born deaf and blind, they do not begin to hear or see until they are about 2 weeks old.  They learn use their mouths, shortly after they are born, to explore their environment.  As they grow they are constantly learning about their environment by biting and mouthing.  They bite their littermates, they mouth on things in their environment, and they even bite their mother.

It is essential that puppies stay with their mother until at least 8 weeks of age so that she can begin to teach them about bite inhibition.  When a pup bites mom too hard, mom is swift to bite back and teach the pup about the inappropriateness of rough play.  Without mom’s help during this crucial period in a puppy’s life, they often don’t learn about bite inhibition and frequently develop into hard biters and bullies.

It is normal for dogs to bare their teeth, nip, bite, and growl at their littermates and playmates.  Often puppies play hard or soft depending on their playmate.  I have seen dogs throw each other around by their necks, growling and body slamming each other but doing so in play and never breaking skin.

Dogs can only learn to play with other dogs by playing with other appropriate non-aggressive dogs.   I think dog play is a crucial behavior for puppies to learn when they are young!  Older dogs will teach them the appropriateness of how hard to bite, and young dogs can teach them how fun it is to play rough sometimes.

Although it is normal for a puppy to explore its environment using its teeth and mouth, it is inappropriate for them to put their teeth on humans and they must be taught not to do this under any circumstances.

What Makes the Problem Worse?

• Getting a puppy before 8 weeks of age or a puppy that was separated from its mother and or litter mates prior to 8 weeks.
• Many people think that a nipping puppy is cute, they don’t mind when an 8 week old puppy nips but no one wants to be bitten by a 6 month or older puppy, especially a large breed puppy.
• Regularly people play with their hands with their new puppies, pushing, pulling, tugging incite puppies and encourage biting.
• Treating the puppy like a human by spoiling him/her and treating him/her like royalty encourages a blur in the dynamics and respect in the family structure.
• And, in my opinion the #1 reason for inappropriate biting, not enough exercise and obedience.

How to Curb Even a Chronic Biter?

• I cannot be adamant enough about waiting until a pup is at least 8 weeks old before separating it from its mom and littermates.  There is so much learning that goes on during those last few weeks that simply cannot be repeated by us humans, no matter how diligent we are.  However sometimes it is impossible to keep this situation from happening.  If you and your pup are in this minority, you must be even more diligent, because the early imprinting from mom was not available.
• Nipping and biting is not cute at any age.  Unless you are training a professional police dog (which very few people are) biting in any situation is simply unacceptable.  Develop a no tolerance rule!  If teeth come out any time during play, get up and walk away!  It does not matter where you are or what you are doing, you must deal with this immediately by pausing the DVR or getting up from the couch or stopping whatever you are doing to vacate the area

1. Puppies must learn: Teeth=A stop in all fun and interactive activities
2. You can cry out like another puppy would and then leave to see if your pup is sensitive and realizes by your cries that teeth and biting hurts.  However, in some situations and for some puppies crying out can excite the pup and make the behavior worse, if your puppy becomes worse when you cry discontinue this training.
3. When the pup is young you can exchange the idea of biting with giving your pup a toy to chew and play on, by redirecting your pup you are teaching him what can be chewed and played with instead.  Remember mouthing is normal bite inhibition must be taught.
4. DO NOT play tug with your puppy, unless you want to make the problem worse!  Tug teaches them to control their environment with their mouths!

• I often suggest spraying a little bitter apple on your skin or you or your children’s clothes in order to teach your pup that “you taste awful”.  Puppies regularly get spunky during a certain time of day; first thing in the morning or after supper and they are more likely to nip.  Simply spray your hands and arms with a bitter deterrent, my favorite Bitter Apple ™ and your pup will think biting you is an awful idea!  Just remember to wash your hands before you handle food!
• Do not spoil and cater to your canine companion!  This blurs the lines of who is in charge, in your puppy’s mind.  If your puppy gets everything he/she wants without ever having to learn a new skill or do anything in return your pup begins to feel entitled to everything in his world, which can make him into a bully.  When he feels you are robbing him of something he is entitled to, he will use his teeth to cajole you to obey!  This is especially true of small breed dogs because they are carried everywhere and given everything they want.  Put your dog down and set up some boundaries and rules, you will both be happier!
• Add obedience into your dog’s regimen, no matter what age your dog is he can begin to learn the basics and more!  Obedience provides mental stimulation and is fun for your dog, no matter his age or breed.  Entertain his mind and you will see less naughty behaviors.
• Many dogs and puppies have an extreme lack of exercise.  They have ten times the energy for the small amount of exercise they are getting.  Lack of exercise and mental stimulation causes all kinds of naughty behaviors to arise and often cause them to use their teeth in inappropriate ways to persuade you to interact with them.  Exercise creates tired dogs and tired puppies, sleeping dogs and puppies are good dogs!  Give him the stimulation he needs by engaging his mind and body in an exercise and obedience program!

Imagine having a 2 year old child and never teaching them manners or allowing him to get any exercise, but giving him everything he wants!  I can’t imagine such a situation for a child, but we often create this situation for our dogs.  Our dogs need just as much interaction, teaching, rules, and exercise as our children!

The woman I was talking with on the phone was physically disabled and confined to a wheel chair.  Her pup had been biting and mouthing since she brought her home at 6 weeks and now the pup was 5 months old.  Because the problem had not been dealt with sooner, it has become a behavioral habit and will be harder to break.  This is the only relationship the dog knows.  I believe that, unfortunately, all of the afore mentioned, problems are factors for her.

1. She got the dog when it was 6 weeks old,
2. She didn’t see the biting as a problem at first and even played and used her hands as prey encouraging biting in the beginning
3. This is a small breed dog, and the dog gets everything she wants and spends most of her time on mom’s lap and has become a bully
4. The dog had little to no leash experience, obedience, exercise, or mental stimulation.

Although her intentions were admirable, she has set their relationship up for failure.  Many dogs end up in the local shelter at this stage.

She needs to change the dynamics of their relationship and become more of a parent/owner and less of a littermate/servant.  Although it is a small breed dog, she can still be taught basic and advanced obedience.  And, although her owner is in a wheelchair, she can still provide exercise!  She can exercise the dog next to her chair and can even take the dog to a day care or play group during the day to help wear her out.

Play groups can be great because you can drop your dog off, get some errands done or some much needed rest and you can pick up a tired dog at the end of the day or a few hours.  Your dog can learn how to use his/her teeth while playing with other dogs.  It is normal for dogs to bare their teeth and bite and shake one another with their mouths, just be sure that the staff is educated and responsible and ask to watch a few play groups so that you can see the staff and dog/dog interaction.

It is never too late to teach your dog appropriate behavior when it comes to using his/her teeth.  Develop a no tolerance rule with humans and provide ample training and exercise and if you can allow your dog to play with other dogs as a way to use their teeth in an appropriate environment with other playful well behaved dogs.

Teach Your Dog to Beg

“What?” You say….shouldn’t I be writing about how to get your dog NOT to beg?  Well, you would think so but often times in dog training you have to approach things from a different angle in order to be successful quickly.

My dog training background comes mostly from training Service Dogs for adults and children with disabilities.  I was lucky that when I got started at an early age training dogs there was also a local prison that was training dogs for disabled individuals, working with the men and the dogs was truly a blessing and it changed my life.  From that time on, I have done all that I can to continue to work with Service Dogs and the disabled even starting my own nonprofit organization.

When you train a Service Dog for someone with a disability, you quickly realize that physical force is out of the question, trainers can force the dogs to complete tasks but the disabled individual would not be able to use the same techniques, so you learn to use positive reinforcement to sculpt a dog to do all sorts of tasks and you even learn to train your dog to do some things that you will later never ask for again.

One of the first things I teach my dogs is how to beg.  I start with a positive reinforcement game, which means when you do what I want you to do you get rewarded for your behavior.  I ignore bad behavior, and only reward the things I like and I don’t use any real commands, I wait to see what behaviors my dog is willing to offer me.

When I first start this game off, I reward my new dog or puppy for sitting patiently.  Each time my pup sits he gets a treat and praise, and if he continues to sit I continue to feed and praise him for his patience, because I don’t want a dog that bounces right up after a task.  If he jumps on me I turn my back or ignore him, if he wanders away I wait until he returns and sits; but if he lays down I jackpot him.

Jackpots are larger treats (normally I use pea sized or smaller) or better treats.  Sometimes I stuff a tool belt full of mediocre treats i.e. normal dog treats in one side and awesome treats i.e. chicken or cheese in the other side.

When my pup does something average but good, I reward with mediocre small treats, but if he completes a difficult task or one I really want to focus on I give the better higher value reward.  This tells him YES that is the behavior I want to see from you.  Dog training is about chaining behavior together, starting out small and then little by little requiring more and more.

Sit is the first and easiest thing to get a dog to do reliably.  But, I like a dog that lays down and stays there most of the time.  In my house, if in doubt lay down!  So I shape and reward that behavior first and foremost.  My pups learn from the moment they come home that laying down is where I want them.

I teach my dogs from an early age or straight out of the shelter if they want ANYTHING they must lay down in order to get it.  I want them

to think they control their environment to some degree, so this is how I teach them to beg.  If they want my ice cream cone, my hot dog, my affection, whatever the scenario they must lay down in order to have a shot at it.  This behavior also transfers to other people in other situations if my dogs wander across a 3 year old eating an ice cream cone they aren’t gone to knock the kid down and run off with the prize, they are simply going to lay down at the toddler’s feet and wait to be rewarded.  It is a great system!

In the beginning,  I carry lots of treats with me so that I can reward the behavior right away going back to the scenario with the toddler I would give my puppy a treat and lots of praise and he would think “YES, they have to give me what I want”.  This would cement the idea and ensure that he follows the same behavior pattern time and time again.

Then, I begin to fade the treats and provide my dogs with constant praise for a job well down and treats on occasion.

Finally,  the clincher is if you like this behavior (and I do) I continue to reward my dogs randomly and on special occasions for the rest of their lives for adhering to this plan.  I like to recognize a job well done and most people may never notice a dog calmly laying at their feet for attention or food but I like this calm, kind behavior.

But, if you don’t like this behavior in general and don’t want your dog to even lay down and beg, then you totally extinguish ever giving your dog a treat again while you are eating or while anyone else is eating.  Your dog has already built the foundation for calm behavior and laying down so he will eventually stop begging but will likely to some degree still show acceptable behavior.  He may even vacate the area and lay somewhere else.

Because I have trained and worked with Service Dogs for so long I have taught my dogs to lay down under the table while we eat, this way they can’t see me and I can’t see them so there is no way for them to sit and beg and this system works at our house.

Sometimes even teaching a behavior you don’t want and then never asking for it again is an extremely effective way to teach your dog not to do something.  I guarantee you this works on a variety of behaviors!  And, this is a much happier more fun way to train than using force!  Good luck and have fun training!

Puppies 101

My dogs are getting older, one is 10 and the other is 8 and I realized at the beginning of this year as I trained for a 5 mile race (not a 5k) I had no dog to train or run with because my dogs are too old to run so far, so I recently got a puppy.  Actually I picked her up on Sunday!  I forgot just how much work and effort a new little life is,  but it reminds me of the importance of setting your puppies up for success in the very beginning of life.

Before Your Puppy Comes Home

• Puppy proof your house!!!  You would baby proof your house if you had a toddler or a baby over, why would you not puppy proof things!  Pick up shoes and expensive items, put things in safe places, and make sure medications and cleaners are out of reach.
• Get a toy box for your baby and stock it FULL of a variety of items.  Puppies are tactile like babies they like to play with numerous types of toys so give them an opportunity to explore their environment the only way they can, with their mouths and teeth!  This will help them not use their teeth on you
• Buy a crate for crate training, one that will grow with your puppy as he grows.  If you are unable to come home and let your puppy out every few hours, specify a space i.e. kitchen, laundry room, bathroom for your puppy until he gains bladder control and can be crated for longer periods of time.

Potty Training

• I have had her for three days and at 8 weeks we have yet to have an accident around the house or anywhere else!
• Potty training for a puppy of 8 weeks is all about ME it isn’t even about her.  She is too young to be expected to hold her bladder for long or to alert me to her needs so it is my responsibility to get her outside about every 2 hours and after naps or eating or drinking or raucous play.  I have to monitor her food and water intake and gauge how often she will need to relieve herself.
• When she is outside, I keep her on a leash so that I can watch where she is going and what she is doing and how much volume is coming out.  Sometimes she gets distracted and I have to get her up and move her around in order to change her mind set.   Often she would rather pounce and play and put her mouth on everything instead of going potty, so I just move around the yard until she gets the idea and then I bring her inside when she is finished.

Setting Up for Success Around the House

• From the moment she stepped into this house she has been on a leash.  Keeping her on a long leash or long line prevents her from sneaking away and having an accident and it also keeps her from doing all kinds of other naughty behaviors.
• Although she has been great with the kids ages 2 to 15, when she does get out of control and wants to bite pants or hands and legs, I already have her on a leash and can prevent her from continuing these naughty behaviors.   I can redirect her energy toward her toys and interact with her in a healthy way.
• Having her on a leash also prevents her from chewing things that she shouldn’t  or things that might be dangerous for her.  Her leash is either attached to me or attached to a heavy piece of furniture (8ft leash or long line) in the room I am in, so I notice the moment her sharp little teeth grab something they shouldn’t have grabbed.  It also prevents her from grabbing naughty objects (underwear ha ha) and dashing around the house evading apprehension.  This evasion game is a favorite for most dogs but by keeping her under control and close she doesn’t even realize this game exists.
• This also helps with early training, it is never too early to begin training.  Keeping your dog on a leash and close to you gives him the manners he needs early in life to make a good pet and this keeps him from establishing problem behaviors that need to be fixed at a later date.  If she is on a leash, I am not going to let her, chase the cat, grab food from the table, jump up on me etc.  Doesn’t it make more sense to teach your pup correct principles from the start?  Don’t WAIT till there is a problem, curb the problems from ever rearing their ugly heads!

Socialization

• I have a very short period of time to socialize her to as many people and things as possible before she starts to form opinions about everything on her own.  Puppies who are not socialized early are dealt such a disservice.  Puppies and children are capable of learning and experiencing more while they are young, if you wait too long the window of opportunity closes and it becomes a much more difficult process.
• Get your puppy out and start socializing.  Keep in mind that your puppy is not safe from diseases until they are 16 weeks or so and have received their last set of boosters and the rabies vaccination so do not socialize in unknown or uncontrolled areas or with unknown dogs!
• You can, however, start socializing your puppy with sociable dogs that you know and you know are well vaccinated.  Not all dogs like puppies, puppies can be quite irritating to older and geriatric dogs so use caution and set up play dates with dogs that are known to be good with puppies.
• Start socializing your pup with all shapes, sizes, ages and colors of people.  Puppies need to be introduced to all varieties of people, especially children and people who might be interpreted as different.  This early socialization forms a strong foundation for your dog as it grows to be accepting of people from all walks of life.  They should get use to seeing people with hats on and people who limp etc. so they accept differences in people as normal.
• It is also essential to get them use to a variety of noises and environmental challenges.  I often like to sit outside of my local Wal-Mart with my pup on my lap so they can watch people and carts coming and going and get use to the normal sounds and spice of life.

This early socialization is crucial to a well rounded out going dog!

You have a lot of work to do, and so do I!  Get your puppy out and set him up for success.  It is our responsibility as doggy parents to make certain that we are setting our dogs up for becoming the best pets possible!  Dogs are and investment in not only money but also time, effort and emotional bonding, we owe it to ourselves and to them to give them the skills they need to thrive.

Achieving a Higher Level of Reliable Obedience

If you have ever taken an obedience class with your dog, and actually done your homework, you will remember and notice that for that period of time (usually 6 to 8 weeks) your dog begins to listen to you faster and his obedience improved.  But weeks after the class is over, his skills begin to wan and the dynamics of life before class take over and it seems as if he never completed an obedience class.

WHY?

It’s simple if you think about it; if you practice something together you are better at it, the more practice and time you devote to something the better you get at it.  However, once you stop practicing and working on something, often, the more things go back to the way things were and you forget what you had once learned.

Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader?

Most of us have either watched this show on TV or at least know the concept; adults (sometimes even doctors, lawyers and Yale graduates) are asked simple questions along the lines of the curriculum that we learned in and up to the 5^th grade.  Most of us learned these things a number of years ago, but how much do we truly remember?  To have a child in school and needing help with homework is sometimes humbling!

Without practice or applying our knowledge, we often forget what we have learned.  The same is true of your dog!  If you don’t make obedience and training a part of your daily lives together, you and your dog will slip back into the same patterns of life that lead you to frustration and into obedience class.

But, often instead of understanding that dogs, too, forget and slip back into previous habits, we often blame them, think they didn’t learn or that they are being obstinate and refusing to comply, when really they are probably reverting back to what they knew and know best which is the dynamics of your household “before” obedience class.

What to Do?

Set a goal

• Sit down as a family and come up with a plan.  What is going wrong in your current relationship with your dog?  Come up with a plan to address your issues and stick with it!  Consistency is the key to good dog obedience so everyone must be on board.

Take a Class

• You may need to take a class or re-take a basic class if things have deteriorated severely.  A class leads to accountability and homework.  A class often coerces people to make time to work with their dogs.
• I have been training dog professionally for almost 17 years and I still take obedience classes (I just don’t admit I am a trainer).

Compete

• I HATE competition!  I hated competition as a child and I continue to hate it to this day.  I also hate getting up in front of people.  Ironically, I can lecture to a convention center full of people about dog obedience and behavior, but I hate that competitive feeling and being put on display.  However, I often make myself face my fears and compete anyway.
• Competition takes a high level of practice and work, and the more time I spend with my dog the more he learns to listen to me in all facets of life.   Although I hate the feeling of the final competition (I am getting better ha ha) I LOVE the time we spend together preparing for our moment, and I also love our numerous blue ribbons!

Find a hobby you can both enjoy

• You can take classes for advanced obedience, tracking (nose work), clicker training, games, agility, or weight puling, sledding and skijoring.
• You can even play control games together.
• Invite your friends and family to get together and play doggie games and have your own competition.   You can also find dog board games online like Funagle and Do You Mind by Darfinc©.
• Buy a book and teach your dog as many tricks and commands as you can then have a party to show off your new skills!

To my clients I am known as the “fun” trainer.  I have been training dogs for almost 17 years and have seen all kinds of methods and I have taken my years of experience and knowledge and I have sculpted them into a program where I focus on games and fun ways to achieve my obedience goals.  I do this so that my dog enjoys his training but most of all I do it so that “I” enjoy training and working with my dog.  Fun does not mean there is a lack of skill or that my dogs are sloppy, it just means that my goal is to have a high level of performance and we both enjoy ourselves. The more things I can teach my dog, the happier we both are!  Even if I am just teaching him tricks, he is listening and learning and enjoying himself, and I am ending up with another skill to show off to my friends.

I try and make a point to spend time with my dog and invite him to join me as often as possible.  If I go hiking, biking or to the beach, I want to include him in my plans.  I enjoy teaching him new things and watching him enjoy life and excel at obedience.  It is a joy to have a well trained companion.

Every time you work with your dog in a fun and positive manner and you work together towards a common goal, you are solidifying your place in your furry pack and your dog is learning to have fun listening to you.  The more fun you have together, the more time you will find to spend together and you build a bond of respect that will last a lifetime.  So get out there and spend some fun time together as you reestablish your bond and your dog learns to listen to your every command!

Nose Work 2 Continuing Nose Games

Sniffing and following scent is instinctual, natural, and fun for dogs; it is fun to teach them to use their noses appropriately and on command, and it allows them to hone a natural instinct.  This is a game that can be taught and played by puppies and geriatric dogs; there is no age limit for Nose Games!  In Nose Work 1 we discussed getting your dog ready for more nose games and the beginning of teaching him to use his nose.  Next we worked on the Scent Discrimination and the Passive Alert.

Nose Work 2 will teach you how to do intermediate nose games and begin to put this information together at home and away for more fun and games for both of you.   There are two main ways that your dog follows a scent:

• Air scenting: following his nose quickly and through the air
• Tracking or ground scenting: following a scent foot step to foot step,

Nose Work 2 will discuss mostly air scenting although most dogs will also sniff the ground occasionally, their focus is generally following the scent through the air.   In Nose Work 3 we will discuss tracking.

Now you can begin hiding the scent all over the house (use the PVC pipe with holes drilled in it so your dog can’t access the scent rag), and hide it on all levels low, mid and high.  Your dog should be laying down immediately when he finds the scent!  Remember to reward and praise!

It is normal for your dog to have difficulty finding the scent occasionally, and even going back to previous spots you have hidden it, because the scent is still strong there for him.  If he is wrong, or is having trouble finding it, don’t panic or give up!  To help him when he is having trouble, simply walk toward the room or the object, don’t show it to him or say anything just walk in the general vicinity and continue to give him the command and praise him for footsteps in the correct direction.

Never give up or show him where it is hiding!  Be patient, give him a chance to make mistakes and learn, this is all part of the process.  Soon you will be having other people hide the scent without your knowledge of where it is, so you will need to trust in his nose and be patient that he can work out the problem on his own!  Each success will bring confidence!

Next have friends and family hide the scent throughout the house while you distract him, and eventually work with your dog not knowing where the scent is hidden.  When your dog’s nose is reliable and he is passively alerting you can move the game outside.

Start in your own front yard or somewhere familiar and not overly exciting to your dog.  Go back a few steps and make the first few hides easy to find so that your dog can succeed easily and quickly.  Also start by hiding the scent fairly close to the dog, the farther away you hide the scent the more skill it will take for your dog to find the scent.

I always use a long leash and either a buckle collar or a harness.  Scent work is the only time I like to use a harness, but when teaching your dog to use his nose it is important that you allow him to lead you to the scent.  He must be out in front of you and able to dart from side to side sniffing and trying to locate the object, so this is the one time I allow my dogs to lightly pull on the leash, however, I still do not want to be aggressively pulled from one area to another.

If your dog does not have good leash manners you may want to back up and work on those first!  My dogs know exactly how long their leashes are and how vigorously they can pull when we play this game.  I want them to be exuberant about having fun and enjoying themselves but I require respect anytime they are working on a leash.  It is imperative that you don’t lose good obedience skills in order to play these games.  Games are a privilege, obedience and respect is a requirement!

Once you dog has mastered being outside and locating the scent in a fairly easy to find and close proximity, then you can start hiding the pipe and rag in more difficult places and begin placing it further.  Normally I chose to add one difficulty level at a time: stay within a short proximity and hide the object in a more difficult place i.e. “in” bushes and under things like cars, trucks, rocks OR I hide the object further away but in a fairly easy to find place.  Once your dog has continually successfully accomplished one of these tasks then move to the next level of training.

Be sure that you are hiding the scent on variable levels outside too; on top of things, underneath things and even up out of his reach!  There are no rules to this game except to work up slowly with your dog and back up when necessary if he is having trouble.  Be careful and use common sense and do not trespass!  This is a great game to play in the local children’s park, in a field or even along a walk.

Have fun with this game and training!  This is good exercise for you and also good for your dog, for his mind and his body!  This is also something that can be played inside on a rainy day, or a HOT Southern day, and can be taken outside basically anywhere.  You can play this with friends and family and you can also play this with multiple dogs and see whose nose is better.  I love playing this game and adding more distractions and levels of difficulty for my dog.

Once my dog is an expert I can even add another scent to the mix.  Remember, when you add a new scent you, must go back to step one and a new scent box (remember only one scent per box) and work your way through the training list, teaching him that this is a new scent you want him to alert you too.   The more scents you add the more variety and difficulty you can add to this game, but just make sure he is ready!

Teach him to utilize his nose in a manner that pleases you both and you will be in for years of fun and enjoyment, and this is a even great party trick to impress your friends!

Learing To Be Firm But Gentle With Your Dog

All of us love our pets and most of us consider dog as one of our family members. This makes us difficult for many of us to train our dogs. So we let them do whatever they like and our puppies turn out to be naughty rogues and sometimes even unruly.

When they turnout to be unruly dogs, we will have no other go but to send them away to pet orphanage or to some other similar place. If only you knew how to train your puppy or your dog, it would not have gone to that extent of sending away your dog.

When it comes to dog training many of us think that we need to be tough with our dogs or puppies to make them obey to their masters. So many of us think that we cannot be tough with our dogs and thereby we fail to train them properly. Some of us even end up being tough with our puppies wanting them to be a well disciplined dog. These are extremes and both approaches will hurt your puppies one way or the other.

So what it takes to train your dog or puppy well is a firm but a gentle master. When you engage in dog training or puppy training, you must learn to be firm but gentle with them and just not tough. Dogs are very sensitive animals and they can easily sense when you are angry. This can make your dogs sulk and withdraw leading to behavioral problems.

Before you set out to train your dog or puppy for puppy house training or puppy potty training, you will need to find a good dog training program or dog training courses. You need to first be well equipped before you take the trainer’s seat.

Do Your Homework On What’s Available!

Don’t choose your dog training course randomly, before you buy your dog training course review them closely and make sure that it is a suitable course for training your puppy because poor choice of dog training course can hurt your puppy. You can even turn a healthy puppy into a rogue dog through inappropriate training.

Your dog or puppy will take some time before it understands your commands. So until then you need to be firm with your dog without being tough. It requires a lot of patience too to train dogs. By finding the right dog training course you will be able to accomplish things fast.

Good dog training courses will be developed based on sound dog psychology. Only such dog training courses will be effective. So it is your responsibility to pick to dog training course. You cannot blame your dog later for your poor choice of dog training course and your faulty approach to dog training.

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The Mind of Squirrel Dog

Why does a dog seem to have a natural instinct to chase a squirrel?  Here it’s explained in depth why your dog may react to a stimulus such as a squirrel or something similar.  Using some solid puppy training techniques you can subdue the way your dog reacts when he is faced with this situation.  Once you have mastered this you can feel more comfortable walking your dog in situations where you know there are going to be outside stimuli that would typically greatly upset your pooch!

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