Problems between dogs and their care givers arise from a multitude of reasons, most of which could be easily avoided. Inconsistent training, expecting too much too soon, harsh or inexperienced handling, and negligence are responsible for the majority of ongoing canine behavior problems. Understanding your dog will help.

Pet owners who take the time to become knowledgeable about their pet?s needs, and who build a solid foundation of love and trust with their pet, rarely experience serious behavior problems once training is complete.

Pet owners who fail in these areas, however, are likely to instill fear, confusion, lack of confidence, and even depression in their pet. Reading this Savvy Dog Lover article will go a long way in helping persons to understand the unique needs of their canine companions.

A Dog?s Unique Personality

Dogs are a lot like most people. They may goof now and then, but they invariably try and do their best. They truly want to please their care givers. A sensitive dog owner will realize this.

Sensitive dog owners will also realize that, like people, some dogs catch on more quickly than others; others are slower to learn. Some dogs are also more easily distracted. Some are naturally more aggressive, others more timid ? requiring extra patience and encouragement during training.

Understanding your dog is vital, for both you and your dog. This is especially true when it comes to training.

Guidelines for Successful Training

There are ten important factors to remember if you desire training success:

1.)Patience is critical. Forcing a puppy or young dog to do more than he is capable of doing, losing control and yelling or striking out at the dog, or ending a training session on a sour note all sabotage training success and build confusion and mistrust in the dog.

2.)Keep training upbeat and fun for your dog. Sessions should begin and end with success. Start the session out by ?reviewing? a feat or accomplishment your dog already does well. End the session in the same way, with plenty of praise.

3.)Structure is important, so be consistent. Training sessions should be performed regularly. Sessions should be timed to end while your dog is still enthusiastic and attentive. They should last about 15 minutes for puppies, 30 ? 40 minutes for adult dogs. Sessions should also be conducted in as distraction-free a location as possible. That means no audience of onlookers for the sake of showing off your ?skills? as a trainer.

4.) Be lavish with praise. Reward each success with plenty of verbal and physical praise. Not only will this build confidence in your dog, and create a stronger bond between the two of you, but it will make him even more anxious to please you when learning other new feats.

5.)Never call your dog to you for disciplinary purposes. This will only make your dog apprehensive and reluctant to approach the next time you call. Instead, order him to ?sit,? and ?stay,? then approach him.

6.)Never over-discipline. Once a dog understands a command but refuses to obey, reasonable physical discipline may be appropriate. Discipline should never be violent or executed in anger; it should always be imparted in a calm, controlled manner.

7.)Don?t lock your dog into shame cycles. When a dog refuses to comply, verbal and physical discipline should be controlled, and reasonable. Ongoing verbal reprisals and scolding when a dog bungles an assignment is ineffective and will only serve to strip confidence. It will discourage your dog and make him dislike training sessions altogether.

8.)Understand that learned behavior takes time. Just because a dog learns the ?sit? command on Monday while in his own backyard, that does not mean he will be able to carry the lesson over to Friday?s day at the beach. Dogs do not instinctively apply knowledge learned in one setting to another quite different setting. He must be taught how to do that; it takes repetition over a period of time, and patience.

9.)Teach commands in steps. For instance, before a dog can effectively learn the ?lay down,? command ? which is, in actuality, a three-step command ? he must first learn the commands ?sit? and ?down? (or lay down). Break multi-tasked commands into simple steps.

10.) Factor #1 bears repeating. Patience is critical!

By working with your dog following these guidelines you will soon discover the essence of each. Patience combined with consistency, love, and praise for accomplishments well done are the most important factors of all when it comes to building trust in your dog, and assuring training success.

Other training tips, aids, and products for pets can be found online at www.savvy-dog-lovers.com.

? 2006 Lori S. Anton Savvy Pet Editor

Published writer and dog lover, Lori Anton, has been writing for nearly 30 years. She is founder and editor for Writers Write Now, offering original professionally written content, and SEO content for web sites; visit Writers Write Now. Lori lives in rural Wyoming with her husband, Jeff, and their diabetic canine companion, Muffy.

Lori is also Savvy Pet Editor. Savvy Dog Lovers web site offers valuable information on pet health, care, and training, as well as top pet products. Visit Savvy Dog Lover. Savvy Dog Lover ? where the best bones are buried!

Canine Diabetes: A Serious Dog Disease That is Completely Manageable

Canine diabetes is a serious disease that causes there to be too much glucose in the blood. If your pet has any of the signs, a dog health exam will help you find out with certainty. Canine diabetes symptoms usually include the following:

- drinking excessive amounts of water
– frequent urination
– weight gain (or weight loss in some cases)
– increased lethargy during the day

A simple blood test can tell the vet if the glucose counts look suspicious. You should have a full physical exam done on your dog annually, even if he seems perfectly healthy. Be sure to ask your vet to include a full blood work-up, to rule out diabetes (as well as many other diseases). It?s well worth the added cost!

If your pet has been diagnosed with canine diabetes, don?t panic. While it is a ?special needs? issue that will influence many daily decisions, it is a manageable disease in dogs. You just have to learn some simple steps and stick to a schedule.

The first goal after a canine diabetes diagnosis is to get the glucose levels down to a normal (or only slightly elevated) level. This will not require thorough dog health exams like the original blood test. The vet can draw some blood and test the levels fairly quickly, with minimal cost to you.

Canine diabetes means someone must administer insulin injections (in most cases). They are easy to do and will quickly become routine. One person in the family should be responsible for the shots, but everyone should know how to give them (age teen and up) in case of a dog health emergency. I highly recommend posting a printout of how to give the injection to your pet in every room in your house, just in case.

In our house, where we have a diabetic dog, we made a canine diabetes ?Dog Health Cheat Sheet? for potential problems, like these:

- too much insulin is accidentally injected
– the needle breaks off while in the dog
– there?s a seizure (not common, but can happen occasionally)

The cheat sheet includes the vet?s emergency number and some basic actions to take in each scenario. We made several copies to be posted all over the house, but especially by the phone, the fridge (where the insulin is kept), and the bed (where our dog hangs out a lot).

The other goal with canine diabetes is to maintain the glucose level (with your vet?s help). It is crucial to take your pet periodically to the vet for a whole day (8-hour period at least) so they can check blood sugar levels throughout the day. Just as in humans, blood sugar levels fluctuate in your pet throughout the day. Having your vet monitor and take several blood readings during a longer stretch of time helps ensure that your diabetes treatments are actually working as intended.

It?s a little more work to care for diabetic dogs, no doubt about it. But our pets are family members and we love them dearly. Right? They give us their devotion, protection, and love, so the least we can do in return is give them proper health care, especially if they have problems like canine diabetes. Going the extra mile for them will help them live happier lives with less pain and more enjoyment. Can there be a nobler goal?

John Schwartz is a freelance writer, webmaster, and dog lover. He has written many published articles on subjects that include shopping for dog supplies, improving pet health, and good dog training practices. Please visit my dog supplies website at http://www.puppies-dogs-supplies.com for more dog and puppy tips.

Some people mistakenly think that kind and firm solutions reward their dogs for bad behavior and that the only way a dog can learn is to suffer. More often than not, the solution for the dog’s misbehavior is really misplaced anger or a desire to hurt the dog for hurting you. That’s what happened with Francie, who left her new puppy Cody, an American Eskimo dog (a very attached breed who needs attention), home alone for long hours while she went to work. Her little dog was bored and teething, so he entertained himself by chewing on Francie’s shoes. Little did he know that his entertainment would make his mom so angry. When Francie walked in and saw one of her $200 shoes in Cody’s mouth, she saw red. She pulled the shoe away from him and hit him with it over and over, yelling, No, no, no! Bad dog, bad dog! Cody slunk away with his tail between his legs and hid under a chair. Francie grabbed him and threw him outside saying, You think about what a bad boy you’ve been. Right!

If Francie thought her methods would stop Cody from chewing on her shoes because she taught him a lesson, she was soon disabused of the notion when, the next day, he chewed another pair of her best shoes. No amount of yelling and hitting seemed to get through to the little pup.

The Pup Parenting Plan was very simple for Francie.

1 . The behavior that bothers me: Chewed up shoes.

2. Why change is needed: Shoes are expensive and I can’t afford to keep replacing them.

3. The mistake I am making: Every one of them. I am reactive, disrespectful, punitive, and I talk too much. When she stepped back and looked at the problem objectively, she knew that chewing a shoe is not bad behavior. It is normal dog behavior. The faulty behavior is leaving the shoe in the dog’s reach in the first place. Francie could see that it does not make sense to punish a dog for normal dog behavior, nor does it make sense to assume a dog will learn from punishment. Have you noticed that most pooch parents initially respond just the way Francie did? They punish their dogs for chewing the shoe instead of simply removing their shoes from the dog’s path.

4. A list of possible solutions: I don’t have to brainstorm for a list of solutions. It’s obvious that I must keep my shoes out of sight and provide appropriate chew toys. Instead of brainstorming, she acted:

She went to the store and found a shoe rack that hung on the back of her closet door and put all of her shoes in the rack.

She also bought a lot of soft stuffed animals at the secondhand store and set them out for Cody to chew. Each animal cost 50 cents — a bargain compared to her shoes. Francie tried rawhide strips, but Cody never liked chewing on them. He preferred something soft, like the shoes, so the stuffed animals were a great substitute and a much better solution than releasing all one’s anger at a dog.

5. Choose a solution and follow through: Having a well-thought-out plan made it easy for Francie to follow through. She kept her shoes out of Cody’s sight, and she never lost another shoe.

Try to imagine what your dog is thinking while being swatted with the shoe. Do you think he is thinking, Thank you for caring about me so much that you want to hurt me to teach me right from wrong? It is more likely that your dog is hurt and totally confused — but amazingly, still loves you.

Francie didn’t feel good about hitting Cody and yelling at him. She shook her head at how much she and Cody had suffered because she didn’t take the time to think the problem through. She liked herself a lot better when she was less angry and had a respectful plan. Kind and firm proactive pooch parenting was much more her style.

If Cody could talk, what would he say? I loved the game that Francie used to play with me. I would chew her shoe, she would give me lots of attention, I got to go outside and play in the yard, and when I came back in, she had already left another shoe for me to chew. Oh well, now I have my own special toys to play with.

http://www.positivediscipline.com/pupparenting

Reprinted from: Pup Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Happy, Well-Trained Dog by Lynn Lott, Jane Nelsen, and Therry Jay ? 2006 Rodale Inc. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com

Dogs have a natural liking for enclosed sleeping places – think of how often your dog chooses to sleep under the table, against a wall or behind the settee! In the wild your dog would seek out a cosy safe den to sleep and rest up, that is all a crate is. Although their resemblance to cages or prison puts many people off. If they are properly used and introduced, they can be a helpful aid to training and toileting and a comfort and a bolthole when the dog is feeling stressed.

Once your dog is happy in the crate he can be left there to prevent soiling and chewing when you are out for a short time, he can be restrained when the kids play noisy, energetic games which are not improved by his joining in, and he has a secure familiar bed which can be taken in the car and on holiday if needed.

A dog which is thrust unprepared into a crate and left is going to associate the crate with a most unpleasant experience and be very unhappy. A dog which is carefully introduced to a crate usually finds it a pleasant and secure place to be, so it is worth spending some time over the introduction process.

HOW TO CRATE TRAIN YOUR DOG

?The crate should be big enough for your dog to stand up, turn round and stretch out when lying down. If he is a puppy, allow for growth. Cover the crate with a blanket or sheet so it is dark, den like and cosy.

?To begin with you will need to leave the crate set up all the time. Later you may prefer not to, and some crates fold flat for easy storage when not in use.

?When left in the crate your dog should have a toy or chew bone to keep him occupied when awake, soft bedding to sleep on, I prefer Vet Bed or the equivalent and a drink of water. Get a coop cup it clips or screws on the inside of the crate then you don?t get spills.

?Initially feed the dog in the crate every day, with the door open. This is an easy way to get him to like it!

?Set the crate up in a quiet corner, and put the dog’s bed into it. At this stage, leave the door pinned open so that the dog is never fastened in by mistake and never gets stressed.

?Soon the dog should happily use the crate voluntarily. When you reach this stage, (NOT BEFORE) wait until he goes in for a sleep, then close the door. Stay in the room, and let him out as he starts to wake up.

?When your dog is used to this routine, leave him for a minute after he wakes up, with you still in the room. Gradually (over about a week) increase the time you can do this. If your dog gets distressed, reassure him briefly but firmly and shorten the time on the next attempt. Don’t make a big fuss – sweet nothings and lots of attention can make him think you’re praising him for being distressed, and he’ll do it all the more. Aim for the nursing sister approach when she comes to give you a big injection, sympathetic but business like!

?When you can leave the dog like this, leave the room for a few minutes but stay in the house. Again, gradually increase the time you are out of sight till you can put the dog into his crate when you go shopping.

?Your dog should never be left in a crate for more than 3 or 4 of hours. Except overnight

About the Author

Stan Rawlinson
Dog Behaviourist & Trainer
H 0208 979 2019
M 07976 153161
enquiries@doglistener.co.uk
www.doglistener.co.uk
www.paact.co.uk

Stan Rawlinson is a Dog Behaviourist and Obedience Trainer, who has owned and worked dogs for over 25 years, starting with gundogs then moving to the behavioural and obedience side of training companion dogs. He now has a successful practice covering Greater London, Surrey, and Middlesex.

Stan is recommended by numerous Vets, Rescue Centres, and Charities. He writes articles and comments on behavioural issues and techniques for dog magazines including Our Dogs, Dogs Monthly, and K9 Magazine and Shooting Times. He is the founder member and chairman of PAACT; The Professional Association of Applied Canine Trainers. He is also the behavioural expert and spokesperson for Disney.

Why use a crate:

When used properly and not abused, crates are the fastest and most humane method of housebreaking dogs. Dogs are den animals that will instinctively seek out a small, cozy place to rest for shelter and security. Crates act on a dog’s instinct to keep its den clean and unsoiled. Keeping your dog in a crate teaches him to hold it until he can go in an appropriate place, which helps your puppy develop his bladder control. For older dogs, crates act as a bedroom where they can relax and escape the hustle and bustle of kids, other pets, and everyday family life. Also, it’s never too late to crate train! A crate can help break bad habits that improperly trained dogs may have developed over the years.

Plastic or metal?

Plastic kennels are good for travel, and are generally the only method of containment permitted by airlines. Metal wire dog crates are ideal for home use, however. They are generally roomier and more open. They’re also sturdier, so they will stand up to your pet’s movement/ activity and be able to last as your dog’s permanent bedroom.

What size?

A crate should only be big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lay down. If the crate is too big, your puppy will have enough room to soil one side and sleep in the other, which defeats the purpose of the crate. Buy a crate large enough to accommodate your dog’s full-grown size and get a divider panel. This way, you can keep the one crate and have it grow along with your dog.

Accessories:

Always be sure to include appropriate toys and treats in the crate. This will keep your dog occupied and prevent your teething puppy from chewing on the crate’s metal bars. It is also important to purchase crate bedding. A crate cover is great for lowering the number of outside distractions your dog sees, which can reduce barking and stress in the crate. A crate pad will be more comfortable than the crate’s plastic pan. Finally, a bumper like the one included in Pet Dreams Cratewear will help protect your puppy from injuries caused by chewing or leaning against the crate’s metal bars.

For more information:

In addition to Cratewear, Pet Dreams provides a wealth of Crate Training Tips, articles, and FAQs to help you crate train your dog. Weve also recently launched Forums where you can discuss all aspects of training with others and get advice from the experts!

Visit http://www.petdreams.com for Dog crates, Cratewear bedding and Sleep-ezz dog beds.

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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!

Dog training is easy when you discover the secrets of dog training professionals explained in this brief article. Once you leave your house, all your training will appear to go down the drain. How do you overcome these distractions? Find out right now!

What is reinforcement? Reinforcement is what happens when a behaviour is maintained or increased. Dog training is essentially a progression of reinforcements. Food, toys, play, attention and ‘life rewards’ such as being let inside or taken for a walk are all potential reinforcers.

Without reinforcement, behavior will never be maintained or increased. This is fine if you want a behavior to disappear – simply stop reinforcing it. But if you want a particular behavior, you need to reinforce it.

Most dog trainers these days use food as a reinforcer. It is by no means the only reinforcer, but food is convenient and, let’s face it, all dogs need to eat!

So we start off training with food in a quiet, distraction-free area inside the house. We put any other pets out of the room. We turn off the TV. We wait until the kids are in bed. Then we shut the door and train. There are numerous books and articles explaining how to do this, so I won’t re-hash the basics.

The problems begin when we get out of that distraction-free environment and into the real world. Here there are other dogs, birds, squirrels, cats, new smells, sights, sounds, people, cars, bikes, postmen – it’s all out there! Our training usually starts falling apart once we leave the house.

But it doesn’t need to.

The big secret to dog training is to always set the dog up for success. If the dog fails, we can’t reinforce. If we can’t reinforce, behavior can not be maintained or increased. If behavior hasn’t been maintained or increased, training has failed.

So we need to set the dog up to succeed. Going too far, too fast will only lead to failure. Allowing too many distractions or too big a distraction too soon is setting our dog up to fail. Without success, we’ve got nothing to reinforce.

The best way to set our dogs up for success is to control the environment as best we possibly can until they are well and truly proofed and ready for the big wide world.

Let’s say we normally train in our kitchen with the door shut. Here’s a list of things we can do to set up some low-level distractions:

1. place a tennis ball in the middle of the floor
2. turn the radio on softly, then turn it up gradually throughout our training session
3. have a friend come into the room with us
4. put a piece of stale dog food on the floor
5. wave our arms around
6. turn the taps on halfway through an exercise
7. whistle a tune
8. roll a tennis ball slowly in front of our dog
9. turn away from our dog

… or any combination of the above.

Remember, the secret is to always set our dogs up for success, so that we may reinforce (maintain or increase) their good behavior.

If any of the distractions on that list are too much, then our dog fails. Just because I wrote it on my list of low-level distractions doesn’t mean that your individual dog won’t find any one of those things too distracting.

Be creative. Think of new things to add to the list. When your dog can cope with them all, start making up combinations. Invite two or more friends around to help. Have them toss a ball back and forth while you practise stays or recalls. Have one of them whistle a tune while the other waves her arms around. The sky is the limit so long as we always set our dogs up for success.

When we have trained with distractions inside the house, we’re ready to find a quiet spot outside. No other dogs around, no kids playing, no cars screaming past, and hopefully no cats or squirrels. We train the behavior, then start adding the distractions from our list, always setting our dog up to succeed.

That is all there is to it – manufacture some controlled distractions, build them up, and always make them just easy enough that our dog continually succeeds so that we can reinforce the behavior.

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

Have you noticed that being around a dog that is trained is lovely to be around? Dogs that are trained are less likely to jump up on people, and are less at risk of biting someone. Their manners are very calm in nature and don’t get distracted in most environments.

It is important to train your dog with the goal to teach them limitations, thus making them more relaxed around humans. On the internet there are so many hundreds of dog training programs and as many professional dog trainers. However, it is hard to tell which are professional and which give real value to training your dog.

The best way to find a good trainer is to ask your friends and family if they know a good dog trainer. Once you have found a trainer, ask them what method of training they teach and how long they have been instructing. There are tons of training methods for dogs that do not apply to the times of today. Ask the trainer what method they use, why they use it, and what the benefits of it are. No question is stupid because you are thinking of your dogs best interest.

Whether you train your dog yourself or find a professional, teaching your dog commands and socializing it is important. Areas to cover in training include:

1. Learning the sit command. Normally this is the first thing that new dog owners teach their puppies and dogs.

2. Interacting with other dogs. Helping your dog socialize with other dogs is great at dog parks and also in a dog training class.

3. Socializing to strangers. Dogs love humans and getting them acquainted with more humans makes it easier to interact with strangers.

4. Dog Leash walking at your pace. This is important that your dog learns who is the boss by you regulating the speed of the do walks.

5. Learning the stay command: This command is important for your dog to master in different environment obstacles.

There are many benefits to having a well-trained dog. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the dog will not develop behavioral problems down the road. Being around a well-trained dog is a joy and it strengthens the human-animal bond.

Please visit my website at: http://www.dogcollarsia.com for more dog training tips and dog collars reviews.

Of all the things you can teach your dog, this first exercise will probably be the most appreciated and most used. We like to call this the ?Name Game? and as the title suggests, this exercise is designed for your dog to learn his name!

This lesson can be done on-leash or off-leash, any time and anywhere. However, you should start off in a quiet, controlled environment until your dog responds well to this exercise. We have found that the best way to train your dog is short frequent training sessions, so if you can 4 or 5 sessions of 10-15 minutes is better than one hour long session as your dog will begin to loose concentration if too much time is spent on the same thing.

Here?s how this is done:

Step 1.) Take your dog to a quiet place
Step 2.) Say your dog?s name and immediately give your dog a treat!

Don?t wait for your dog to respond. If he doesn?t look at you, jut put the treat right up to his nose. He will get the idea very soon!

What we are doing here is associating the sound of your dog?s name with receiving something great: the treat, so you want to avoid any extraneous movements on your part that could distract your dog from the sound of his name.

Step 3.) Wait until his attention is focused elsewhere again and repeat steps 1 and 2.

Practice this game several times throughout the day in different settings and with different distractions. Eventually, your dog will automatically respond to you any time he hears his name! You should do this and ensure your dog responds to his mane every time before you move on to any of the other training you have planned for your dog.

http://www.tall-indoor-dog-gates.com Tall indoor dog gates is a site dedicated to dog training and healthcare ? give us a visit.

Why use a crate:

When used properly and not abused, crates are the fastest and most humane method of housebreaking dogs. Dogs are den animals that will instinctively seek out a small, cozy place to rest for shelter and security. Crates act on a dog’s instinct to keep its den clean and unsoiled. Keeping your dog in a crate teaches him to hold it until he can go in an appropriate place, which helps your puppy develop his bladder control. For older dogs, crates act as a bedroom where they can relax and escape the hustle and bustle of kids, other pets, and everyday family life. Also, it’s never too late to crate train! A crate can help break bad habits that improperly trained dogs may have developed over the years.

Plastic or metal?

Plastic kennels are good for travel, and are generally the only method of containment permitted by airlines. Metal wire dog crates are ideal for home use, however. They are generally roomier and more open. They’re also sturdier, so they will stand up to your pet’s movement/ activity and be able to last as your dog’s permanent bedroom.

What size?

A crate should only be big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lay down. If the crate is too big, your puppy will have enough room to soil one side and sleep in the other, which defeats the purpose of the crate. Buy a crate large enough to accommodate your dog’s full-grown size and get a divider panel. This way, you can keep the one crate and have it grow along with your dog.

Accessories:

Always be sure to include appropriate toys and treats in the crate. This will keep your dog occupied and prevent your teething puppy from chewing on the crate’s metal bars. It is also important to purchase crate bedding. A crate cover is great for lowering the number of outside distractions your dog sees, which can reduce barking and stress in the crate. A crate pad will be more comfortable than the crate’s plastic pan. Finally, a bumper like the one included in Pet Dreams Cratewear will help protect your puppy from injuries caused by chewing or leaning against the crate’s metal bars.

For more information:

In addition to Cratewear, Pet Dreams provides a wealth of Crate Training Tips, articles, and FAQs to help you crate train your dog. Weve also recently launched Forums where you can discuss all aspects of training with others and get advice from the experts!

Visit http://www.petdreams.com for Dog crates, Cratewear bedding and Sleep-ezz dog beds.

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