Have you ever dreamed of living with a bobcat or having a pet tiger? You’re not alone, and many people share their lives responsibly and safely with such animals. My beloved companion is a African Serval, a very affectionate 33-pound spotted feline. However, this dream come true brings with it some very real challenges and responsibilities far beyond those facing the average pet owner.

A huge number of visitors to my exotic feline site are trying to make very important decisions. Should I get a exotic cat? Is this species the right fit for my family? Can I provide for one properly?

There are a number of things to take into consideration when deciding if exotic cat ownership is for you, and if the answer is yes, which species of exotic cat is suitable for your situation. They include:

• Your ability to make a lifetime committment to an animal who may cause you considerable headaches
• Your ability to be a responsible owner
• Local and Federal Laws
• Your financial ability to provide proper care and housing for the cat
• Your level of experience in working with animals
• Size of the cat
• Disposition of the cat
• Endangered Species Status

Owning an exotic cat requires a lifetime committment to a cat who may live to be 20 years old. If your circumstances change, the cat develops behaviors that are unacceptable to you, or you simply grow tired of caring for it, an exotic cat cannot simply be given over to your local humane society. Being placed in a new home is much more traumatic to an exotic cat than to most domestic animals and can cause a major change in their personality. In some cases, they may never accept a new owner. Qualified people willing to take in an adult exotic cat are hard to find, and no, the local zoo will not accept your cat. Large cats such as cougars and tigers are especially hard to place.

Everyone gets an animal with a certain dream in their minds about how that animal will behave, and some people cannot handle it if things turn out differently. For instance, if you want to own a tiger, you probably imagine being able to play with it and cuddle with it. That may happen; but if you undertake this responsibility you have to be prepared for the fact that you might not be able to so much as enter the cat’s enclosure safely, even if you raise him from a cub.

If you are interested in getting a small cat like a bobcat or a serval, you probably imagine sharing your household with it, as many people do. But what if that cat grows up to spray everything in sight?

If you’ve been researching the idea of owning an exotic cat, you’ve probably discovered how much conflicting information there is. Some sources seem to indicate that living with an exotic cat is no more challenging than feeding your pet goldfish. At the other end of the extreme spectrum, many sanctuaries and animal rights activists paint them as unmanageable creatures that no ordinary mortal could hope to deal with successfully. As is usually the case, the truth lies in a rational world between the two extremes. This site exists to provide realistic and balanced information.

Like all creatures, exotic cats are all individuals, and nobody can tell you exactly how your future cat will act. Generalizations can be made about the behavior of different species, but individual personalities and behavior traits vary widely. As a dog trainer, I have seen puppies with the perfect upbringing turn out dangerously aggressive, and severely abused dogs who were stable and friendly. I have met dangerous Golden Retrievers and unprovokable Pit Bulls. It’s the same with cats; you can generalize to a certain extent, but never count on those generalizations.

If you decide that you are serious about getting an exotic feline, one of the first things you need to do is learn the federal, state, county, and city laws regulating the ownership of the species you are considering in your area. Contarary to popular myth, exotic animal ownership is pretty heavily regulated. Laws and permit requirements vary widely from area to area, and owning exotic cats is banned altogether in many places.

The legal issues will become vastly more complicated if you are interested in owning a cat that is endangered. While it is not impossible, the additional laws and permits that you have to contend with makes owning an endangered cat an unrealistic goal for most people.

Owning an exotic cat means having to remain constantly aware of changing laws and of proposed legislation, and being prepared to fight for the continued right to own your beloved pet.

Owning an exotic cat can be quite expensive. You will need to take into consideration the cost of building a secure and spacious enclosure, feeding costs, veterinary costs, the initial purchase of the kitten, and incidental expenses which seem to crop up on a continual basis. The cost of owning a smaller cat such as a serval or bobcat is more likely to be affordable than that of owning a tiger or other large cat. When you get into the large cats you will find that your feeding and enclosure costs escalate dramatically.

A major consideration is the size of the cat. Some species are smaller than a domestic cat, while others reach 500 pounds. The most common species to find in a pet household is the serval, which ranges fron roughly 18-40 pounds.

Owning a small cat is a more realistic goal for most people than a large cat such as a tiger. Large cats are very expensive to feed and house, heavily regulated by the federal government, and of course much more dangerous. Often keepers are unable to safely enter the enclosures of big cats once they mature. This does not mean that these animals are malicious, but a tiger or other big cat can easily injure you even in play. If you see yourself with a pet cat, start thinking small.

Cougars are an interesting compromise in size and temperament. They are actually classified as small cats even though most people think of them as a big cat. They are large cats and come with all of the duties, responsibilities, and cost of owning a big cat. However, they often have very gentle and affectionate natures; of all the large felines, they are probably the species that you are most likely to be able to have a pet-like relationship with after they mature. For those determined to own a big cat, I would reccommend a cougar over any other species, especially over a tiger.

Owning an exotic feline is not for someone who spends their time in fantasyland. If you are one of those pet owners who think their dog is soooo sweet that he could never, ever harm anyone, that all animals love you because you have a special touch with them, or that no animal will be dangerous as an adult if you love it enough or raise it right, you have no business owning an exotic cat.

You have to be able to objectively assess the safety of any decision you make, whether it involves handling your own cat, letting a family member or member of the public have contact with the cat, etc. You have to be able to say I love Tigger with all of my heart and he loves me back, but I can tell from the playful look in his eye that if I walk into his enclosure now he might hurt me, so I choose not to.

It is important to locate a good veterinarian who is willing to treat your exotic cat before you get one. It can sometimes be difficult to find a good, experienced vet who will be willing to treat exotics. Often, vets are uncomfortable around them or dissaprove of keeping them as pets and will therefore refuse to treat them. Many clinics also lack large enough equipment to handle larger felines like cougars or tigers. Veterinary costs for an exotic cat can be higher than those for a domestic animal, especially if your cat develops a serious problem and you are referred to a specialty clinic or university.

If you choose to own an exotic cat, you owe it to your cat and everyone else who owns exotics to be a responsible owner. What constitutes responsible ownership? Some of the criteria, in no particular order:

• Provides a ample, nutritious diet suitable to the species
• Provides ample housing for the cat to live in happily
• Provides shelter and protection from the elements
• Provides veterinary care as needed
• Purchases animals from an ethical and responsible breeder
• Does not neglect or abuse the animal
• Provides generally pleasant living conditions and has the cat’s feelings and best interests in mind
• Makes a good-faith effort to comply with all applicable laws
• Takes stringent precautions to prevent the escape of the cat
• Protects the cat from unauthorized contact or harrassment from members of the public
• Protects the safety of the public and visitors
• Makes a lifetime committment to caring for the cat

This article is written and copyrighted by Jessi Clark-White of www.exoticcatz.com. This article may be reproduced in its entirety only; permission is NOT granted to display editied versions. This article may not be used to support the ending of private ownership of exotic pets.

For more comprehensive information on exotic pets and their ownership, visit my website, http://www.exoticcatz.com. You can ask the author and other exotic pet owners questions at our online forum.

Do you ever find yourself repeating yourself to your dog or puppy? This article explains how to train a puppy or dog to listen to you first time, every time.

Many dog or puppy owners find themselves blaming their dog for not listening. When you have invested time and effort into training, it can seem like a bit of a disappointment when your dog suddenly decides to stop listening to you, or that something else in his world is more exciting or interesting than you are.

The truth is, dogs just do what works for them. It is up to you, as a puppy or dog owner to teach your pet to listen to you by making ‘listening to you’ work for them. Many dog owners inadvertantly teach their dog to ignore them!

So how do we teach a dog to listen to us?

Dog owners frequently repeat commands over and over. If your dog didn’t respond the first time, repetition isn’t going to help. Repeating commands teaches a dog that either the command is meaningless or that it’s ok to respond in their own sweet time!

We should never ask for a behavior that we aren’t at least 80% sure we will get after asking the first time. If there are too many distractions, we’re in a new situation, or the behavior just isn’t very well learned; then we probably won’t get the behavior we want.

Train quietly. It’s a hang-over from the old military-style dog training that we bellow commands at our dogs. Dogs actually have a powerful sense of hearing, and can hear our tiniest whispers. That’s not to say that a command shouldn’t be clear and audible, but if you only ever bellow commands during training, don’t expect your dog to learn to pay attention to you unless you are bellowing. A dog who has learned to listen carefully will tend to pay more attention.

A bit of meaningless chitter-chatter is ok every so often, but dogs don’t speak our language and we don’t want our cues to become lost amongst the noise. When training, try not to talk too much. Effective communication comes through quality and clarity, not quantity.

If you find yourself in a situation where your dog won’t respond to a cue, and you’re sure he knows it in other situations then ask yourself what is different about this situation? It could be that there are too many distractions for your dog to focus. It could be that the situation is vastly different from any that you have trained in.

Go back to basics when this happens. Remove distractions if you can, and re-introduce them slowly. Start at the beginning in a new situation, even if it means using a food lure briefly to ‘get the behavior’. If there’s too much going on, move away from the action a bit.

Remember to always set your dog up for success. If your dog can’t succeed, you can’t reinforce. If you can’t reinforce, nothing useful has been learned.

While we’re on the topic of reinforcement – make sure your rewards are meaningful. By definition, reinforcement is only reinforcement if it increases or maintains behavior. A full-up dog being offered lousy treats, or a dog-tired dog being offered a chance to chase a ball is probably not going to be too interested in training.

Quit while you are ahead. Don’t try to train for too long. If you train too long you start getting sub-standard behavior. Reinforcing sub-standard behavior will only give you more sub-standard behavior in the future.

Don’t feel like you have to reinforce every behavior you ask for and get. Once the behavior is well learned, stop reinforcing the worst offerings. e.g If your dog is trained to come when called, don’t reinforce if he takes too long to respond. Set him up for success, and reinforce the faster responses only.

Train often. Dogs need to learn to learn, and by training often and training consistently, your dog will learn how to play the training game with you. It should be a game, too. If training isn’t like playing a game with your dog, it stops being fun for both of you.

Be worth listening to. Be someone your dog trusts and respects. Be predictable, confident, calm, and decisive. When you make a decision, stick with it. If you decide that your dog can’t sit on the couch, lead him onto his mat every time he sits on the couch. Don’t give in just because he’s giving you those eyes. It’s another matter altogether if you decide to invite your dog onto the couch as a reward for giving you some other behaviour you asked for, though.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine, a free resource for people training their own dogs. Join now, and for a limited time you can download all available back issues (a $29.95 value) for free!

Food

Dry food has been a recommended staple diet for cats by many experts for a number of years. It is an easy option to leave a bowl of dry food out constantly; something that cannot be done with tinned food. Unfortunately though, it?s not a natural food source and has been developed by humans using many additives and un-natural products. Cats, like humans, will eat until they fill themselves up. However, dry food has many more calories and carbohydrates than a natural food source, which leads to the cat taking in far more than necessary just to feel full-up. Many owners assume that their cat is just greedy, but in many cases it is not the quantity of food being eaten, it is the quality.

Naturally, cats are obligate carnivores; meaning they only feed on other animals. The cats prey however, are generally herbivorous and have various vegetable and plant matter in their guts. All of which, will be consumed by the cat. Domestic cats have been shown to have longer intestines than wild cats; proving they have evolved over hundreds of years to cope with more plant and vegetable matter (carbohydrates). Still, this is no excuse to turn a carnivore into an omnivore. Rather, supplementing the diet with small amounts of carbohydrates is acceptable.

Many consumers believe that dried food is actually better for cats. The manufacturers have implemented the belief that all these additives such as corn and grains are an important part of a cat?s diet, implying ?the more the better? approach. Although very small quantities of these may benefit the cat, too much will be detrimental to their health.

Kidney disease is one of, if not the biggest killer in cats. Kidney disease is usually a result of lack of water and unfortunately, cats have a very low thirst drive. Although they may drink when eating dry food, they will generally only take in half of the liquid necessary for their health. A cat?s prey item consists of around 75% water, canned and raw foods have a similar amount. Dry foods on the other hand usually have a maximum of 10% water content. It is obvious therefore, that canned or raw foods are an absolute must to maintain a healthy cat.

Cats need a high level of protein in their diet which must come from animals. Plant protein differs from meat protein, and should not be substituted. When protein is calculated in canned food, the moisture content must be subtracted from 100 and the protein percentage worked out from the result. For instance, a canned food with 8% protein and 75% water means that the true protein value should be worked out like so:

Non-Moisture Content = 25%so:8 ? 25 x 100 = 32
Therefore: True Protein Value = 32% which is ideal.

The amino acid ?taurine? is also an essential part of a cat?s diet, and can only be found in meat products. It is recommended that a quantity of 2000mg/kg or 0.2% should be available in canned food. Other vitamins and minerals should also be included. Preservatives, colouring and added flavours are used more for the customers benefit rather than the cats. If it looks and smells nice to a human, there is a higher chance of them buying it.

There are very few foods on the market which actually have an ideal amount of everything included. Many diets have concentrated on having high a protein and moisture diet with low carbohydrates, but lack in having enough taurine or vitamin B. If this is the case, offering other canned foods on occasion that are better in these areas should be considered. This will also help stop the cat becoming addicted to any 1 food type. Inter-changing the various meats such as beef, chicken and fish will also benefit by offering varying amounts of vitamins, minerals and oils.

Buy quality, not quantity. Most cheap cat foods are cheap for a reason. Avoid buying canned foods that say ?meat?, ?by-products?, ?bone meal? or ?animal digest?. Chemical preservatives such as ?BHA?, ?BHT?, ?ethoxyquin? and ?propyl gallate? have been seriously questioned as being detrimental to the health of cats, and should also be avoided. Canned foods are a must for adding much needed calcium into the diet, which is essential for building healthy bones and teeth.

High energy food has been designed for cats with high energy levels. This food will not benefit a cat which sits around all day, in fact in will make the situation worse. High energy foods will not make a less active cat become energetic.

There is a common misconception that canned food is bad for your cat?s teeth, and dry food is good. Unfortunately neither statement is completely true. Neither food types are actually good for the health of teeth. Dry food is hard and crunchy, completely the opposite of what a cat?s teeth are designed to do, which is tear away at meat. I recommend you brush and rinse your cat?s teeth on a regular occasion.

There are two methods to feeding a cat. The first is to leave a bowl of food out all the time. This is obviously done with dry food and not meat. Since we recommend feeding a diet of canned or raw meat, this method is not acceptable and you should opt for the second method. This is to have a feeding regime of 2 to 4 times per day. Feeding this way allows a more controlled amount of food being eaten. You need to decide how many times per day you will feed your cat. The more often the better, but if you are an owner which is out during the day several times a week, it may be better to opt for a twice a day routine. Alternatively, cat feeding dishes which are set on a timer can be purchased and are a good option if you only go out on occasions.

The total amount of canned food your cat should is listed below. It is important to divide this total amount of food up equally among all of its feeds. The chart below is appropriate to cats that are getting their appropriate amount of calorie intake per day, which is approximately 25 calories per pound in weight. This chart is for healthy adult cats weighing approximately 8-10lbs. Not overweight or obese cats.

Type / Age of CatWeight of Canned Food
2 ? 10 Years200g
Geriatric (10 Years )160g
Neutered or Spayed160g
Inactive or Indoor160g

Treats

Treats are given to cats for different reasons depending on the owner. Surveys have shown that overweight humans are more likely to have overweight pets. They show that overweight people are unable to control their own weight properly due to lack of will power. They have the same lack of will power when their pets are ?begging? for treats.

Treats are often given because it is a way of making the pet feel more welcome. If the owner is out of the house all day, they often make up for it by giving treats. This is the easy way of doing things and totally unhealthy. Rather, making up for it by spending just 5 quality minutes with the pet is far more rewarding. You may decide to simply brush the cat, or you could play with it by throwing a small toy mouse or ball around. Either way, the cat will enjoy being with you more than it will eating a treat, and exercise will aid its health.

Some owners offer treats because they think the cat doesn?t eat enough dinner. The treats are designed and flavoured to be ?irresistible? to the cat, and they will eat it whether they are hungry or not. Treats should not be offered for this reason. Providing your cat looks healthy and is the appropriate weight, it will be feeding just fine. If your cat is a poor feeder, they should be tempted by other feeding methods, not with treats.

Higher Risk Cats

Neutered or Spayed

I would like to point out before anything, that the act of neutering or spaying your cat will not make it overweight. Rather, it is how you care for it afterwards that will affect its weight.

A neutered cat loses its desire to ?roam? like an ?intact? cat would do. They are not as inquisitive and generally get less exercise than intact cats. Because of this, their metabolism is slower than normal by around 20-25%. With a slower metabolism, comes a lower need for calories. A neutered or spayed cat should intake approximately 20% less calories.

Breed

Some breeds of cat are naturally slimmer than other breeds; such as the Siamese and Ornamental Short Hair. These breeds are far better at maintaining a good body condition than larger breeds. Pedigree cats are also generally fitter than non-pedigree individuals.

Age

Cats are most likely to become overweight from about 2 to 12 years of age. Younger cats have a much higher metabolism and are more energetic than older individuals. Older cats often eat far less, and it is more common for geriatric cats to become skinnier rather than heavier.

Indoor Cats

Indoor cats have many factors weighing them down. To start with, the most obvious factor is being indoors all the time. There is little stimulation inside, and they will not get the exercise that an outdoor cat will be able to. Many static toys that are offered to indoor cats become boring. They will soon lose interest in scratching posts and similar toys. Repetitive electronic toys can also become predictable and boring. The most enjoyable form of playing for the cat is to interact with the owner. Waving string around or rolling a small ball around will keep the cat amused for far longer.

Being inside all the time also means more contact with the owner is likely. This usually means more treats are given.

The temperature is an important factor too. An outdoor cat will use more energy and have a higher metabolism simply to maintain its body temperature. Cats living in centrally heated houses don?t have to use much energy to get their body temperature controlled.

Social Environment

This is an area where you just can?t win. There are advantages and disadvantages of having one cat or having multiple cats.

Only cats do not have the same competition for food that a multi-cat household may have. Therefore they may not be as eager to eat as much food and as quickly as a cat in competition with other cats will do. However, only cats are more likely to become bored and have less stimulation around them compared to a cat living with others. Cats have been known to take on habits like humans, such as eating when bored like an only cat may do. They may also eat more when they are stressed, like a cat living in a multi-cat household may do.

A household with more humans is far more likely to inflict extra weight onto a cat. It means more people offering treats, and more people to feed the cat dinner. It is common for many households to become confused as to whether or not the cat has been fed, and if in doubt they will feed it again.

Disabilities

This applies to humans and pets alike. Humans with physical disabilities are less likely to play and exercise their pets. The situation becomes worse if the cat is an indoor cat.

Disabled cats are often ?over-protected? by their owners. Most are automatically turned into indoor cats if they get a disability, and become an excuse for more treats to be offered. Most cats can still exercise and have their mind stimulated with various disabilities. In fact many cats with disabilities will deteriorate quicker if they are not exercised and the mind stimulated properly.

Neighbours

Do you have cat friendly neighbours? Do you know if your cat has gone into other people?s houses before? It is common for other cat lovers to feed a cat that has wondered into their house.

If you think this happens, place a tag onto the cat which is clearly visible and ask politely not to feed the cat. Some people will ignore this, thinking it will not do any harm. To get around this, state that you cat has ?Special Dietary Needs?. They are more likely to pay attention when they think feeding them the wrong food could potentially harm them.

By Chris Jones
Director of Pet Club UK Ltd.
http://www.petclubuk.com

In Van Gogh’s Wheatfield Under Threatening Skies with Crows, crows are shown in the middle plane of the painting, like an ill-fated force, between the menacing skies and the grain. True, the crows have an eye on the grain, but they are also unpredictable and playful. Although they act as if they do not even recognize the existence of a human nearby, these birds are always well aware of their surroundings.

I had never thought of crows as pets until I entered the office of someone my husband knew and found a big black crow sitting on her head. This lady was an animal lover and a licensed pet care-giver; she had found this crow hurt and had healed him back to health.

She told me, even though she let him free in her backyard, the crow came back to her. She never kept the crow locked in a cage; although there was a cage with the door removed in her house. She always left a window open and the crow was free to come and go as he pleased. This lasted through the summer.

At the end of the summer, the crow disappeared and probably became a member of a flock, then migrated, because that’s what crows do and keeping them locked up is against the laws of nature. It might have been sad for that lady to see her pet leave, since that crow was so bright and loving, but because the lady was so knowledgeable on the subject, she understood.

Never think of a crow as a pet; you should not even attempt to get, catch, or buy one. To start with, under the Migratory Bird Act, it is illegal to hold a crow and a permit is very difficult or impossible to obtain. Should you, however, find a young nestling crow thrown out of its nest and if you live in the middle of a wilderness, you might try to nurse the bird to adulthood, with the understanding that he will one day leave you.

If you find a hurt wild bird and don’t know how to attend to it, take him to a vet or someone licensed in bird care. Around where you live, if you don’t know anyone qualified for the job, call your state’s wildlife authority or find an Audubon center close to you. You can do so on the website http://www.audubon.org/, by entering your zip code.

Helping out an orphan crow is easy because crows will eat practically anything. A good basic diet for such a bird should contain bird vitamins and calcium, oatmeal, hardboiled egg-yolk and some ground beef to make up for the insects most birds are so fond of eating.

If the bird is very young, he’ll need to be handfed. Don’t be afraid to put your finger gently inside its beak, since baby crows eat from their mothers’ beaks. By the time the crow is six weeks old, he’ll feed himself. Give the bird enough space to fly, like a room. When he is strong enough, leave the window open, so he can fly away and live his life as nature intended it to.

Crows belong to the family of corvids and they fly in large flocks around the cities, suburbs, and the countryside. Magpies, jays, cloughs, nutcrackers and a few other birds are related to crows. Most of the crows are black but there are blue, purple, brown, gray, and albino crows in existence.

Crows, as very intelligent animals, are known to mimic human talk and engage in games among themselves. Better yet, they have proven themselves to be too smart to be afraid of scarecrows.

With their unpredictability, crows have encouraged human imagination and have placed themselves inside many myths. Yet, like humans, they possess their own kind of culture or life-style that deserves to be respected.

This article has been submitted by Joy Cagil in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums. Joy Cagil’s education is in linguistics and foreign languages. She is an animal lover.

In this article we look at how to avoid daytime accidents when house training your new puppy or dog (in Part I we looked at totally eliminating night-time accidents). Avoiding accidents is very important, because the fastest possible learning is errorless learning.

In Part I of this article series we discussed crate training to eliminate night-time accidents. During the day, it is ok to crate puppy when you can’t supervise. At those times, any accidents are avoided by use of the crate, however we can’t (nor would we want to) crate puppy all day!

Puppies need to be taken outside to toilet after every meal, every drink, immediately upon waking, and immediately after play. It is not uncommon to take a new puppy outside to toilet every hour or even more! Just remember, you won’t need to do this for ever and the more disciplined you are, the less accidents you will have, and the faster puppy will learn to go to the toilet outside only.

If puppy does have an accident, relax. It’s not the end of the world. If you catch puppy (or dog) in the act, then give a quick no! to interrupt and quickly lead puppy or dog outside to finish his business. Clean up the mess with an enzyme-based cleaner to remove the smell entirely. Puppies and dogs tend to go where they can smell previous urinations, enzyme cleaner is the only effective way to remove these odours.

Ignore the old advice about rubbing a dog’s nose in it. It doesn’t work at all, it is cruel, and it will only confuse your dog. Invest your time in the more effective techniques outlined in this article. If you have successfully house trained a dog this way in the past, I can assure you it was other factors which eventually got the dog house-trained.

When your puppy or dog does toilet outside, tell them how good they are. You can even give a little treat at the end, or play a game to reward such good behavior.

If you know that puppy or dog is about to go to the toilet outside, try to put the behavior on cue. Say do wee or do your business. With repetition and reward, puppy or dog will learn to go to the toilet on cue, which is very handy particularly if you are house-training an older dog.

If you have this behavior on cue, you can use planned toilet breaks and ask for the behavior. That way you will know when your dog last went to the toilet, rather than making assumptions or guessing. Older dogs with reduced bladder capacity may need to go on a schedule to avoid accidents. Puppies who are crated need to empty their bladders before being crated.

Dogs Who Live in Apartments

Some dogs will need to learn to use a litterbox as outside access is not always convenient. The instructions are exactly the same, but instead of taking puppy outside, place puppy in the litter tray.

Really Tough Cases

Some dogs, through prior learning, are more difficult to house train. I would always suggest a vet check to rule out medical causes, there are many medical reasons why a puppy or dog is difficult to house train.

If you have an older dog, perhaps a rescue, who is difficult to toilet train, it might be appropriate to tether your dog to you during the day using a leash tied to your belt. That way, your dog is always with you and you will pick up the signs that he or she needs to go to the toilet.

The Waiting Game

Some dogs or puppies, when taken outside to go to the toilet, will procrastinate. They will want to check everything out, or will just lay around and not go. You can avoid this by giving only a set amount of time to go to the toilet. Wait a maximum of 60 seconds, if your dog hasn’t done his business, come back inside. Wait 3 or 4 minutes, then try again (if you are sure a toilet break is due). Consistency and discipline early in the game will pay big dividends later.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine, a free resource for people training their own dogs. Join now, and for a limited time you can download all available back issues (a $29.95 value) for free!

If you are having toilet training difficulties, it is definitely worth joining for more information.

The following are some of the methods used by Josh Schermer at Downtown Pets a New York City dog walking, dog training and animal welfare resource in Lower Manhattan.

1. When introducing your dog to the crate do not force them into it.

The first day you use the crate tie the door open and let your dog investigate it. Feed your dog in their and finally at some point close the door and leave them in it for a short period of time. Increase that time through the day until finally leaving them for awhile.

2. Do not put any equipment on your dog when crating it.

Dogs have gotten caught in crates and hung themselves. Please do not ever have any equipment on your dog in the crate.

3. Do not crate your dog when you’re angry with them.

The dog(s) must look at the crate as a happy and safe place and you can compromise this by using it to scold them with.

4. Do not put your dog in a crate when they have diarrhea.

If your dog can not hold themselves from going to the bathroom for a physical reason you should not presently be crating them because it defeats the purpose.

5. Do not leave unsupervised food and water in the crate.

It’s all right to feed your dog in the crate and give it some water too but only when you’re there and for a short period of time too.

6. The crate can not be to big.

If the crate is to big your dog will be able to make a mistake in the crate and still avoid it. Your dog should be able to do no more than sprawl out.

Josh Schermer is the founder and owner of Downtown Pets, a New York City dog walking, dog training and animal welfare resource in Lower Manhattan.

More articles at www.articles-host.com

Do you ever find yourself repeating yourself to your dog or puppy? This article explains how to train a puppy or dog to listen to you first time, every time.

Many dog or puppy owners find themselves blaming their dog for not listening. When you have invested time and effort into training, it can seem like a bit of a disappointment when your dog suddenly decides to stop listening to you, or that something else in his world is more exciting or interesting than you are.

The truth is, dogs just do what works for them. It is up to you, as a puppy or dog owner to teach your pet to listen to you by making ‘listening to you’ work for them. Many dog owners inadvertantly teach their dog to ignore them!

So how do we teach a dog to listen to us?

Dog owners frequently repeat commands over and over. If your dog didn’t respond the first time, repetition isn’t going to help. Repeating commands teaches a dog that either the command is meaningless or that it’s ok to respond in their own sweet time!

We should never ask for a behavior that we aren’t at least 80% sure we will get after asking the first time. If there are too many distractions, we’re in a new situation, or the behavior just isn’t very well learned; then we probably won’t get the behavior we want.

Train quietly. It’s a hang-over from the old military-style dog training that we bellow commands at our dogs. Dogs actually have a powerful sense of hearing, and can hear our tiniest whispers. That’s not to say that a command shouldn’t be clear and audible, but if you only ever bellow commands during training, don’t expect your dog to learn to pay attention to you unless you are bellowing. A dog who has learned to listen carefully will tend to pay more attention.

A bit of meaningless chitter-chatter is ok every so often, but dogs don’t speak our language and we don’t want our cues to become lost amongst the noise. When training, try not to talk too much. Effective communication comes through quality and clarity, not quantity.

If you find yourself in a situation where your dog won’t respond to a cue, and you’re sure he knows it in other situations then ask yourself what is different about this situation? It could be that there are too many distractions for your dog to focus. It could be that the situation is vastly different from any that you have trained in.

Go back to basics when this happens. Remove distractions if you can, and re-introduce them slowly. Start at the beginning in a new situation, even if it means using a food lure briefly to ‘get the behavior’. If there’s too much going on, move away from the action a bit.

Remember to always set your dog up for success. If your dog can’t succeed, you can’t reinforce. If you can’t reinforce, nothing useful has been learned.

While we’re on the topic of reinforcement – make sure your rewards are meaningful. By definition, reinforcement is only reinforcement if it increases or maintains behavior. A full-up dog being offered lousy treats, or a dog-tired dog being offered a chance to chase a ball is probably not going to be too interested in training.

Quit while you are ahead. Don’t try to train for too long. If you train too long you start getting sub-standard behavior. Reinforcing sub-standard behavior will only give you more sub-standard behavior in the future.

Don’t feel like you have to reinforce every behavior you ask for and get. Once the behavior is well learned, stop reinforcing the worst offerings. e.g If your dog is trained to come when called, don’t reinforce if he takes too long to respond. Set him up for success, and reinforce the faster responses only.

Train often. Dogs need to learn to learn, and by training often and training consistently, your dog will learn how to play the training game with you. It should be a game, too. If training isn’t like playing a game with your dog, it stops being fun for both of you.

Be worth listening to. Be someone your dog trusts and respects. Be predictable, confident, calm, and decisive. When you make a decision, stick with it. If you decide that your dog can’t sit on the couch, lead him onto his mat every time he sits on the couch. Don’t give in just because he’s giving you those eyes. It’s another matter altogether if you decide to invite your dog onto the couch as a reward for giving you some other behaviour you asked for, though.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine, a free resource for people training their own dogs. Join now, and for a limited time you can download all available back issues (a $29.95 value) for free!

More articles at articles on database