Archive for July, 2010

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Crate Train Your Dog – Learn How to Do It

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279796430 15 Crate Train Your Dog Learn How to Do It

It is of the utmost importance to crate train your dog. If you can crate train it, it will be better prepared for housetraining, aggression training, and car transportation. it will also reduce stress and anxiety in your dog. Crate training leads to easier training down the road.

The way crate training works on a dog is pretty simple. A dog naturally does not want to soil the place where it eats and sleeps. With your dog in its crate, it will do its best to not soil the area. But you have to take him outside about every 45 minutes for a bathroom break. A dog will naturally not want to soil in their space, but if left there to long, they will eventually not be able to stop themselves.

Make it a routine to take your dog outside every 45 minutes, and afterward be sure to praise him. give the dog at least 5 minutes to decide whether it wants to eliminate.

You can also give a treat for every successful trip. Don’t show anger if the dog makes a mistake indoors or in its crate. it won’t really understand why it’s being punished. instead, reward your dog for good behaviors.

If you can’t be around your dog/puppy, you should keep it in a crate. you can give your puppy treats while it’s in its crate to associate being in the crate with a positive experience.

You must be sure that someone is available to allow your dog out of the crate while you are away. the dog could be set back in its training by weeks if you do this. only put your dog in its crate when you are home, or when someone else is there.

Be sure to note what time your dog decides to go. you can reward your dog with play, praise, food, etc. allow your dog to roam free as a reward for eliminating outside.

If there is an accident, be sure not to be angry with the dog. Accidents happen simply because the dog was left unsupervised. it is up to you to be sure that the dog is always in its crate when you need it to be.

After a few months of crate training or less, your dog will have the habit down, and you won’t have to worry about soiling your home while you’re away.

Crate Train Your Dog – Learn How to Do It

Tags: , ,
Posted in man bites dog movie | No Comments »

Dogs n Cats

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279796430 33 Dogs n Cats

Puppies have been starting to of course go by a developmental proviso which includes nipping roughly all in sight. They do this to assistance with a suffering of their teeth slicing by their gums. this is really identical to what tot babies go through. Usually puppies will stop this nipping function during about 9 months aged when all of their teeth have come through. if your dog has reached a single year of age as well as is still nipping all in sight, it might be a pointer which we need to demeanour during a function further.

Chewing can be a robe which your dog acquires since of boredom, anxiety, or even frustration. it doesn’t have a difference since your dog chews, a function can be dangerous to your dog as well as can really costly for you. The initial step in interlude your dog’s nipping complaint is to locate him in a routine of nipping something. you can extent a volume of equipment your dog has accessible to gnaw by charity them unchanging organisation as well as expelling a little of their a one preferred gnaw equipment such as shoes.

Once we locate your dog in a routine of nipping as well as item, have it well known which this is not a scold function for your puppy. Continue to suggest your puppy really singular time to ramble a residence as well as regularly supervise. with this unchanging supervision, it offers we a event to locate your dog in a action of chewing. When we have been not means to suggest a unchanging organisation required to keep your dog from nipping items, it is critical to mix them in a tiny area or crate. in their crate, suggest them suitable gnaw toys so they proceed to sense which sort of toys they can gnaw as well as which equipment they should not be chewing.

Give your dog a special mark in a residence where they can keep their a one preferred gnaw toys. Always keep these protected dog toys in this area alone; which approach a dog will regularly know where to go when they feel similar to they need to gnaw upon something. Some of a many renouned gnaw toys for dogs have been aged socks, rawhide, protected toys, as well as knucklebones. Many people contend which Rawhide should usually be since to dogs whilst we have been there to manipulate since infrequently pieces can mangle off as well as means your puppy to choke.

Anytime we have been perplexing to learn your puppy to handle in a sure manner, it is critical to yield fortitude in a training. Be unchanging in your commands as well as yield usually suitable toys to gnaw on. if we do not wish your dog to gnaw upon shoes, do not suggest them an aged shoe as a gnaw toy. if we wish your dog to stay divided from a children’s squeaky toys, do not suggest them squeaky dog toys to gnaw on.

Related Post:

Dogs n Cats

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in pick Your Puppies Name | No Comments »

My Dog Dinner: Wild Flowers: Early Spring in Alberta

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279794622 53 My Dog Dinner: Wild Flowers: Early Spring in AlbertaIt happens in the spring when the green starts to pop through the snow and life started to come the the hills of south western Alberta. Every weekend I’d wander out and take pictures as color started to grow. My goal was to take as many pictures of difference species of wild flowers and identify them (geeky, I know but I don’t care).
I can’t decided if I want to do a whole big post or identify each flower individually. I guess I will start with the 3 early blooms of spring and see where that takes me.
The Prairie CrocusAs soon as the snow melts these are the first blooms you will see. A sure sign that spring is finally on the way. Large mauve flowers with bright yellow centers are always a welcome site because they tend to decorate the undisturbed land with much appreciated color. there is a legend about how the Prairie Crocus got its fur from the Blackfoot First Nations Tribe. The poisonous properties of the prairie crocus were used to advantage by First Nations Peoples. A poultice made from the plant was used as a counter-irritant to treat rheumatism or other muscular pains. Prairie crocus was also used to stop nosebleeds and draw out infection in cuts and boils. First Peoples knew the plant was dangerous if taken internally. The blooms open during the day and close at night.

**
Bearberry or KinnikinnickAnother welcomed sign of green come from the easy to find Bearberry of Kinnikinnick. The tiny little soft pink bell shaped blooms usually arrive between May and June. Eventually they turn into little red berries which bears love (hence the name BearBerry). The berries stay on the branches almost year round and are loaded with carbohydrates which is vital to the survival of many animals in the forest. The name Kinnikinnick means “mixture” in Algonkian languages and is used to refer to any of several plants mixed with tobacco as extenders. Dry, ground leaves of bearberry were mixed with the reddish bark of red-osier dogwood and smoked as a tobacco substitute by First Nations People. The leaves were mixed with commercial tobacco once tobacco became available. although the berries are too dry to eat alone, several northwest First Nations tribes mixed them with fat or boiled them in soups.
**Golden Bean or Buffalo BeanGenerally this flower is called a Golden Bean but I grew up calling it Buffalo Bean. The name ‘buffalo bean’ shows us the First Nations Peoples’ knowledge of phenology. they used its flowering time to indicate that buffalo bulls were ready for the spring hunt. though a member of the pea family Golden bean contains poisonous alkaloids that may cause children to become very ill and is suspected of causing death in livestock. you can look but don’t eat! Blooms arrive in May and last through June. An early blooming plant, with the dandelion it helps to keep fields and sunny slopes of roads and cut-banks predominantly yellow until buttercups and other flowers take over in June.

**So, these are the heads of color we see first thing when air starts to turn warm, the days get a little longer and the country side starts it great thaw. as I post these pictures it is the middle of summer and they are bland compared to the jewels that are currently peppering the mountain and the hills. but at the time that the pictures were taken they seemed fresh and exciting in amongst the dull dry earth.

Information borrowed from Plant Watch Alberta
If you are viewing this on Facebook becasue it feeds into it from my Blogger Account you may not be able to see the flowers. you will have to click on Original Post.

My Dog Dinner: Wild Flowers: Early Spring in Alberta

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in __famous Hollywood Dogs | No Comments »

Dog Training and Operant Conditioning

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279792831 14 Dog Training and Operant Conditioning

The first step in clicker dog training is to charge the clicker. that means to get your dog to associate the sound of the clicker with good things. Then, you can use the clicker as a marker signal to mark good behaviors of your dog.

While this is very interesting from the academia point of view, how is it useful in dog training? to understand how the classical conditioned click sound is helpful to train your dog, you must be familiar with the concept of operant conditioning, so that is what you are going to learn now.

Operant conditioning is a process discovered by the American psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner. according to operant conditioning, those behaviors that have pleasant consequences tend to be repeated. thus, their frequencies increase and the behaviors are strengthened.

In a similar way, those behaviors that have unpleasant consequences tend to be avoided. Therefore, their frequencies decrease and the behaviors tend to disappear.

Thus, a behavior is reinforced (strengthened) if it has pleasant consequences. Pleasant consequences are called positive reinforcers, since their occurrence strengthens the behavior of your dog.

Positive reinforcers are commonly known as rewards or treats. however, those are not right terms and it is better to get familiarized with the proper term, positive reinforcer, which is widely used in clicker dog training literature.

On the other hand, a behavior is also reinforced (strengthened) if it removes an unpleasant consequence. In this case, unpleasant consequences are called negative reinforcers, because their removal strengthens the behavior of your dog.

So, according to operant conditioning, you just need to reinforce a new behavior of your dog to make it stronger and more frequent. Positive reinforcers must appear at the same time or immediately after your dog does the behavior you are teaching to him. Negative reinforcers must disappear at the same time or immediately after your dog does the behavior you are teaching to him. Otherwise, the reinforcers have no effect.

It is not easy to achieve an optimum timing in practice, and that is the reason why many trainers use a conditioned reinforcer. a conditioned reinforcer is a signal that allows you to mark the moment when your dog performs the desired behavior. This mark tells your dog which behavior is going to be reinforced. The conditioned reinforcer used in clicker dog training is the click sound.

As you may imagine, a click (or any other signal) is meaningless to your dog if it has not been taught before. That’s why the first step in dog training is the creation of a conditioned reinforcer through classical conditioning.

There are some typical conditioned reinforcers in dog training. one of the most popular these days is the click sound of a clicker. nevertheless, it is not necessary to use a clicker. Some trainers prefer to use words instead of a clicker.

If you decide to use a verbal marker instead of a clicker, avoid long phrases like “good dog”. use a short and sharp word that lasts just a fraction of a second, like “Ok”. thus, your dog won’t be confused if he displays several behaviors in a short time.

Share and Enjoy:

Dog Training and Operant Conditioning

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in finding rin tin tin | No Comments »

Dog Training and Classical Conditioning – Bestdogtraining.org

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279792827 82 Dog Training and Classical Conditioning – Bestdogtraining.org

This first step in dog training is not going to be teaching your dog any practical skill at all. This excise is for your benefit to help you understand how classical conditioning works in the training of your dog. Do take into consideration that this exercise is not appropriate if your dog is a very young puppy unable to eat solid food, or limited to some special diet for health problems.

You will need between 15-20 doggie treats. These treats should most certainly be something your dog enjoys, e.g. kibble/dried dog food pellets, small chicken pieces, freeze dried liver. It is important that the tit-bits are small navy bean sized pieces. Meaty bones, chewy pig’s ears, or dental chews are not appropriate for this exercise. Remember the treats are for the dog! Do not eat these treats yourself, your dog will just think that’s silly.

This exercise must be performed in private between you are your dog in a place your dog is familiar with. Your dog will be off-leash so a secured fenced area is recommended. Ensure there are no distractions that might attract your dogs attention away from this classical training exercise. A fenced backyard or a large room are ideal for this exercise, but first scout the area for the usual distractions or escape routes.

Some dogs are sensible eaters so it is best to perform this exercise before a meal time. You may be quite in tune with your dogs eating habits, and know when he will be most responsive if it means something to taste.

.Begin by holding some of the treats, keeping the rest in your pocket or in a handy bag near your body. to attract your dogs attention show him the prize but be sure not to let him grab it just yet. when you have his undivided attention reward him with a click sound either from a clicker device (available at all good pet shops and even children’s party supplies). If you do not have access to a clicker, you may make a click sound by flicking your tongue over the roof of your mouth. Immediately with the sound of the click allow your dog to have one of the treats. If you prefer not to hand feed your dog, you may quickly drop it nearby, although hand feeding him the treat is preferred. Alternatively, if you are unable to create a click sound, you may use a short reward word, i.e. “OK”, be sure to keep the sound of the word short and positive. The reasoning here is to condition your dog to associate this sound with something rewarding.

. You should repeat this process until your dog’s anticipation is evident, his ears will prick or he will startle and stir a little. Continue with as many repetitions as are required to achieve the desired result. Typically, you will see a result up to six or seven times, some dogs will be cued in after the first couple, some will be quite blas? and may need much more. If after some extensive amount of time you don’t feel he is “getting it”, you may need to consider your approach, perhaps your click and treat are not close enough together for him to have made the association. The reward and the sound should be no more than a few short seconds apart.

. when the result of the exercise has been achieved stop giving him treats and stop clicking, in fact ignore him for a few moments. Generally, he will still be attentive but please resist the urge to return his attention until he looks away. Finally, once his head urn away give one more click, certainly you will have gained instant interest for him again, give him the final treat ad end the exercise on a positive note. Tell him he is a good boy and reward him with his meal.

You are correct in believing that your dog becomes conditioned to the click because he is hungry but it classical conditioning training to the clicker does not need to be performed only when your dog is hungry. It is a rare dog that does not have some preferred “sometimes” treat, this is a treat that you would not regularly feed your dog, particularly as part of a meal. You may try different high-value food treats such as cheese (not recommended for regular feeding), and even especially created “doggie chocs” (human chocolate is toxic to your dog and should not be readily fed to him especially in large quantities), most good pet shops will stock a variety of appropriate treats to help you find the one that works on your dog.

Share and Enjoy:

Dog Training and Classical Conditioning – Bestdogtraining.org

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Hes A Dogs Dog | No Comments »

Training Your Dog Not to Jump

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279791020 69 Training Your Dog Not to Jump

Dogs jumping on people is not a good thing, but unfortunately, a very common bad behavior that can be a difficult habit to break. when I was walking dogs at the ACC, lots of the dogs had issues with jumping, mostly out of pure excitement to be getting some attention and time outside of their kennels. And sadly, this behavior may have made some potential adopters think twice about those jumpy dogs, especially the very large jumpy dogs. We volunteers and workers at the shelter tried out hardest to train these dogs not to jump on people, but this is not something that can normally be remedied over a day. Training your dog not to jump up or on people is definitely something you must keep working on over time to reinforce the habit. so how do you keep your dog on all fours?

The most important step in teach your dog that jumping is bad is by teaching him/her that the opposite of jumping is good. Reward correct behavior instead of punishing bad behavior. If your dog already knows how to sit on command, train the dog to sit whenever he/she is jumping. Carry treats or apply lots of verbal praise/pets to reward your dog whenever he/she sits on command so that when the jumping starts and you command your dog to sit, it will associate sitting with those rewards.

If the sit technique doesn’t keep your dog on all fours, getting your dog to associate jumping with not getting attention is another trick to break the habit. If you yell and carry on and freak out whenever your dog is jumping, it may incite them to do it more, because it’s giving them attention. instead, when they jump up, keep calm, quiet, and ignore them. this may mean turning you back, leaving the room, or merely acting indifferent and not giving them eye contact. a dog wants your love and attention and by showing them indifference, it will drive them to want to learn the way to get back into your heart. Once your dog has calmed down and is no longer jumping, immediately reward them with praise, affection, eye contact, and/or treats. that way they know the exact way to make you happy.

Small dogs are prone to try to jump up and put their front paws on your lap when you’re sitting. it can be cute, but it’s not really a habit you want them to learn is OK. an easy way to train smaller dogs not to do this is to just to calmy stand up whenever they try to jump up on you and ignore them. Once they’re no longer jumping, sit back down. You may have to get up and down a lot, but hey, just consider it exercise for yourself while you’re training your dog!

Finally, jumping dogs on leashes can be a huge problem. I’ve walked some strong pit bulls with jumping problems and yes, it’s no fun. You can’t always ignore a dog when it’s pulling you or knocking you over with its huge, powerful paws, so what do you do in this situation? having a good leash/harness/collar combo is a huge help. At the ACC, they use a leash that’s attached to both a harness that connects at the front chest (like the Easy Walk or SENSE-ation harness) and a nylon martingale training collar. the combination of these three pieces gives you more control over the dog without choking or hurting the animal. when a dog jumps, walkers are trained to pull the leash upwards with one hand, while sliding the other hand down the leash towards the dog. this prevents the dog from physically being able to jump. You still do need some strength for this to work really well — I’ve walked some huge jumpy dogs that this didn’t really work well with, but I’m also a weakling with no upper body strength.

Be patient. Training dogs takes time and constant reinforcement. it may not happen over night, but if you’re persistent, your dog will eventually learn that jumping is wiggity, wiggity, wiggity wack.

Image: TheGiantVermin

Training Your Dog Not to Jump

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Dog Pictures | No Comments »

House Training Your Dog – The Easy Way to Potty Train Your Dog Or Puppy

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279789220 75 House Training Your Dog The Easy Way to Potty Train Your Dog Or Puppy

One of the most common early problem areas for pet owners is house training your dog. House training your dog (or potty training) is also one of the easiest behaviors to train. The biggest mistake here is that people forget to look for the obvious signals or events that predict having to “go” such as sniffing, wandering around the house, or that “worried” look, until they step in a wet spot! Bad time to try to “train”.

You are reactive, angry, upset, and have this ridiculous tendency to believe that rubbing a puppy’s nose in the spot then throwing the animal outside is the answer. This is NOT the answer to house training your dog and will not fix the problem. This is a punishment consequence and will only make the puppy afraid to go outside, then hide under the couch and piddle, leaving you lots of little wet spots and wonderful aromas.

Instead of spending your time cleaning wet spots, be smart about house training your dog. There are very predictable times of the day when the urge to go is high.

  • In the morning
  • After getting a drink of water
  • After eating food
  • Mid day (especially if you feed your pet in the morning)
  • After evening meals
  • Before bedtime

Take your pet out after each one of these events. very young puppies may have to go more often due to small bladders and high metabolisms. by taking your pet out often, particularly after the above events, you have ample opportunity to reward your pet for going outside in the designated area. In-between these events keep an eye on your new pet and look for behaviors that might be suggestive of having to go. Better to take the animal outside for a dry run than ignore the signals and clean the carpet.

It is important that when you are house training your dog, that you reward your pet immediately after it eliminates. You may have to wait five or ten minutes at first. Praise your pet, tell it what a good job it did. If it does not go, do not reward it. instead, calmly take it back inside and try again a little later but keep a close watch on your pet. If it shows the signs of having to go, take it outside and try again. Eventually, it will go and you can give your pet praise and rewards afterward. The more often you are able to reward your pet for going potty outside, the faster it will associate the outside will going potty. Accidents in the house will disappear. The time spent early is much better than time spent cleaning, getting angry, or buying new carpet.

If you follow these simple guidelines, you will find that the process of house training your dog is simple and can be done in very little time.

House Training Your Dog – The Easy Way to Potty Train Your Dog Or Puppy

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in dog Training | No Comments »

Keeshond Dog Breed Description, History, Grooming, Health Issues and Living Conditions

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

 small hazel Keeshond Dog Breed Description, History, Grooming, Health Issues and Living Conditions

Food, raffles, dog contests, K-9 demo, rescue groups, Flyball, lure coursing, Disc Dog Competition, Mixed Breed Dog Club rally & obedience show, and good-citizen testing.

Hazeldale Off Leash Dog Park

Annual Dog day Afternoon

Saturday

August 7, 2010

10am – 2pm

Join us on Saturday…

The entire park will be bustling with activity!

Keeshond Dog Breed Description, History, Grooming, Health Issues and Living Conditions

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Cane Corso Dogs | No Comments »

dog health question?

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279787441 15 dog health question?

I have a dalmatian who is very thin as compared to any other I have seen. she is not emaciated in any way, just very lean. We have never been too concerned as she has always gotten a clean bill of health at the vet and has LOTS of energy. there have been a couple times in the past 3 mos or so that she has vommited a large amount of kibble quite a while after she ate. we were slightly concerned but being as she acted completely normal after (had lots of energy, ate and drank fine, and has healthy BMs) we did not worry too much. We came to see my BFs mom who has 2 dogs. one of which got into must have gotten into something because he vomited it up. even though it was soon after he ate breakfast, all he vomited was the wraper and some stomach fluid, no kibble. this got me thinking that maybe my dog is not digesting her food properly and that is why she would vomit so much kibble even though she ate so long ago and also why she is so thin compared to other dalmatians…continued…I have a call into the vet but I have asked about her weight and they have never been concerned. they say she looks fine and his very healthy. any thoughts?she does eat very fast but the couple times that this happened, she didn’t throw up until probably at least couple hours after she ate.

Share and Enjoy:

dog health question?

Tags: , , ,
Posted in My Dog | No Comments »

How Much Should You Sell Your Puppy Pictures For?

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

1279785641 81 How Much Should You Sell Your Puppy Pictures For?

Puppy pictures are worth different values. when you sell your puppy pictures, the price actually depends on the expenses you made, the labor you had to undergo, the presentation, and how they are going to be shipped. let us take a look at these factors and gauge the many possible prices for your puppy pictures.

Expenses Included In Puppy Picture-Taking

If you are into photography and you see puppies as a good way to make money, then you can definitely do so. by simply starting with some few shots and knowing if they’d click on the market, you can already begin your career in photography.

However, you need to list your expenses first before starting on the business. the camera you’re going to use, the printing of the pictures, dog rentals or purchases, and other extra expenditures should be planned thoroughly to avoid spending on unnecessary things.

You have to weigh quality against the price to ensure that you’ll be selling the best pictures to your consumers. If quality is assured, then you can expect more customers to come to your door.

Although photography is more of a leisure activity, you have to make sure that all your efforts would also pay well. You do not have to charge much for the labor since you are enjoying the activity yourself. but if you had your own studio built for the sake of these pictures, and if you are an expert on the field, then you can add some additional costs to meet up with your expenses and your efforts as well.

The Method of Presentation

Aside from the labor and the expenses included in the activity, you have to add extra costs for the materials you are going to need. Puppy pictures sell better if they are presented in a creative way. for example, you can put them in frames or in albums for a nicer effect. And since you have to spend for the materials, you have to add the costs to make sure that you get extra pay for such expenses.

Considering that you sell your puppy pictures over the internet, you have to cover some additional costs like the shipping method. If the person who ordered your puppy pictures came from the other side of the world, then you have to charge for specific rates for that. but if the customer lives near you, then consider doing meet-ups to hand the photos yourself. This way, it would be a lot more convenient and cost effective for you and the buyer.

anamigo.com — Puppy/Dog Pictures

How Much Should You Sell Your Puppy Pictures For?

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in pick Your Puppies Name | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »