A dog is an instinctively aggressive creature. In the wild, aggression came in very handy: dogs needed aggression to hunt, to defend themselves from other creatures, and to defend resources such as food, a place to sleep, and a mate. Selective breeding over the centuries has minimized and refined this trait significantly, but there’s just no getting around it: dogs are physically capable of inflicting serious harm (just look at those teeth!) because that’s how they’ve survived and evolved. And Mother Nature is pretty wily – it’s hard to counteract the power of instinct! But that doesn’t mean that we, as dog lovers and owners, are entirely helpless when it comes to handling our dogs. There’s a lot that we can do to prevent aggression from rearing its ugly head in the first place – and even if prevention hasn’t been possible (for whatever reason), there are still steps that we can take to recognize and deal with it efficiently. – Different aggression types – There are several different types of canine aggression.

The two most common ones are: – Aggression towards strangers – Aggression towards family members You may be wondering why we’re bothering categorizing this stuff: after all, aggression is aggression, and we want to turf it out NOW, not waste time with the details – right? Well … not quite. These two different types of aggression stem from very different causes, and require different types of treatment. – Aggression towards strangers – What is it? It’s pretty easy to tell when a dog’s nervy around strange people. He’s jumpy and on the alert: either he can’t sit still and is constantly fidgeting, leaping at the smallest sound, and pacing around barking and whining; or he’s veerrrry still indeed, sitting rock-steady in one place, staring hard at the object of his suspicions (a visitor, the mailman, someone approaching him on the street while he’s tied up outside a store.) Why does it happen? There’s one major reason why a dog doesn’t like strange people: he’s never had the chance to get used to them. Remember, your dog relies 100% on you to broaden his horizons for him: without being taken on lots of outings to see the world and realize for himself, through consistent and positive experiences, that the unknown doesn’t necessarily equal bad news for him, how can he realistically be expected to relax in an unfamiliar situation? What can I do about it? The process of accustoming your dog to the world and all the strange people (and animals) that it contains is called socialization. This is an incredibly important aspect of your dog’s upbringing: in fact, it’s pretty hard to overemphasize just how important it is. Socializing your dog means exposing him from a young age (generally speaking, as soon as he’s had his vaccinations) to a wide variety of new experiences, new people, and new animals. How does socialization prevent stranger aggression? When you socialize your dog, you’re getting him to learn through experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary. It’s not enough to expose an adult dog to a crowd of unfamiliar people and tell him to “Settle down, Roxy, it’s OK” – he has to learn that it’s OK for himself. And he needs to do it from puppyhood for the lesson to sink in. The more types of people and animals he meets (babies, toddlers, teenagers, old people, men, women, people wearing uniforms, people wearing motorcycle helmets, people carrying umbrellas, etc) in a fun and relaxed context, the more at ease and happy – and safe around strangers – he’ll be in general.

How can I socialize my dog so that he doesn’t develop a fear of strangers? Socializing your dog is pretty easy to do – it’s more of a general effort than a specific training regimen. First of all, you should take him to puppy preschool. This is a generic term for a series of easy group-training classes for puppies (often performed at the vet clinic, which has the additional benefit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet!). In a puppy preschool class, about ten or so puppy owners get together with a qualified trainer (often there’ll be at least two trainers present – the more there are, the better, since it means you get more one-on-one time with a professional) and start teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands: sit, stay, and so on. Even though the obedience work is very helpful and is a great way to start your puppy on the road to being a trustworthy adult dog, really the best part of puppy preschool is the play sessions: several times throughout the class, the puppies are encouraged to run around off-leash and play amongst themselves. This is an ideal environment for them to learn good social skills: there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar dogs present (which teaches them how to interact with strange dogs), there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar people present (which teaches them that new faces are nothing to be afraid of), and the environment is safe and controlled (there’s at least one certified trainer present to make sure that things don’t get out of hand). Socialization doesn’t just stop with puppy preschool, though. It’s an ongoing effort throughout the life of your puppy and dog: he needs to be taken to a whole bunch of new places and environments. Remember not to overwhelm him: start off slow, and build up his tolerance gradually. – Aggression towards family members – There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive towards members of his own human family: – He’s trying to defend something he thinks of as his from a perceived threat (you). This is known as resource guarding, and though it may sound innocuous, there’s actually a lot more going on here than your dog simply trying to keep his kibble to himself. – He’s not comfortable with the treatment/handling he’s getting from you or other members of the family. What’s resource guarding? Resource guarding is pretty common among dogs.

The term refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf of your dog: for instance, snarling at you if you approach him when he’s eating, or giving you “the eye” (a flinty-eyed, direct stare) if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from him. All dogs can be possessive from time to time – it’s in their natures. Sometimes they’re possessive over things with no conceivable value: inedible trash, balled up pieces of paper or tissue, old socks. More frequently, however, resource-guarding becomes an issue over items with a very real and understandable value: food and toys. Why does it happen? It all boils down to the issue of dominance. Let me take a moment to explain this concept: dogs are pack animals. This means that they’re used to a very structured environment: in a dog-pack, each individual animal is ranked in a hierarchy of position and power (or “dominance”) in relation to every other animal. Each animal is aware of the rank of every other animal, which means he knows specifically how to act in any given situation (whether to back down, whether to push the issue, whether to muscle in or not on somebody else’s turf, etc etc). To your dog, the family environment is no different to the dog-pack environment. Your dog has ranked each member of the family, and has his own perception of where he ranks in that environment as well. This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than other family members, he’s going to get cheeky. If he’s really got an overinflated sense of his own importance, he’ll start to act aggressively. Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a superior-ranked animal. No underdog would ever show aggression or act dominantly to a higher-ranked animal (the consequences would be dire, and he knows it!) Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant behavior: only a higher-ranked dog (a “dominant” dog) would act aggressively in defence of resources. To put it plainly: if it was clear to your dog that he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, he’d never even dream of trying to prevent you from taking his food or toys – because a lower-ranking dog (him) will always go along with what the higher-ranking dogs (you and your family) say. So what can I do about it? The best treatment for dominant, aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent obedience work, which will underline your authority over your dog. Just two fifteen-minute sessions a day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that you’re the boss, and that it pays to do what you say.

You can make this fact clear to him by rewarding him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a command, and isolating him (putting him in “time-out”, either outside the house or in a room by himself) for misbehaviour. – If you’re not entirely confident doing this yourself, you may wish to consider enlisting the assistance of a qualified dog-trainer. – Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology and communication, so that you understand what he’s trying to say – this will help you to nip any dominant behaviors in the bud, and to communicate your own authority more effectively – Train regularly: keep obedience sessions short and productive (no more than fifteen minutes – maybe two or three of these per day). Why doesn’t my dog like to be handled? All dogs have different handling thresholds. Some dogs like lots of cuddles, and are perfectly content to be hugged, kissed, and have arms slung over their shoulders (this is the ultimate “I’m the boss” gesture to a dog, which is why a lot of them won’t tolerate it.) Others – usually the ones not accustomed to a great deal of physical contact from a very young age – aren’t comfortable with too much full-body contact and will get nervy and agitated if someone persists in trying to hug them. Another common cause of handling-induced aggression is a bad grooming experience: nail-clipping and bathing are the two common culprits. When you clip a dog’s nails, it’s very easy to “quick” him – that is, cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail.

This is extremely painful to a dog, and is a sure-fire way to cause a long-lasting aversion to those clippers. Being washed is something that a great many dogs have difficulty dealing with – a lot of owners, when confronted with a wild-eyed, half-washed, upset dog, feel that in order to complete the wash they have to forcibly restrain him. This only adds to the dog’s sense of panic, and reinforces his impression of a wash as something to be avoided at all costs – if necessary, to defend himself from it with a display of teeth and hackles. Can I “retrain” him to enjoy being handled and groomed? In a word: yes. It’s a lot easier if you start from a young age – handle your puppy a lot, get him used to being touched and rubbed all over. Young dogs generally enjoy being handled – it’s only older ones who haven’t had a lot of physical contact throughout their lives that sometimes find physical affection difficult to accept. Practice picking up his paws and touching them with the clipper; practice taking him into the bath (or outside, under the faucet – whatever works for you, but warm water is much more pleasant for a dog than a freezing spray of ice-water!), and augment the process throughout with lots of praise and the occasional small treat. For an older dog that may already have had several unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little more difficult. You need to undo the damage already caused by those bad experiences, which you can do by taking things very slowly – with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm. The instant he starts to show signs of stress, stop immediately and let him relax. Try to make the whole thing into a game: give him lots of praise, pats, and treats. Take things slowly. Don’t push it too far: if you get nervous, stop. Dogs show aggression for a reason: they’re warning you to back off, or else! If your dog just can’t seem to accept being groomed, no matter how much practice you put in, it’s best to hand the job over to the professionals. Your vet will clip his nails for you (make sure you tell him first that he gets aggressive when the clippers come out, so your vet can take the necessary precautions!).

As far as washing and brushing goes, the dog-grooming business is a flourishing industry: for a small fee, you can get your dog washed, clipped, brushed, and whatever else you require by experienced professionals (again, make sure you tell them about your dog’s reaction to the experience first!) For more information on handling aggressive and dominant behaviors, as well as a great deal of detailed information on a host of other common dog behavior problems, check out SitStayFetch. It’s a complete owner’s guide to owning, rearing, and training your dog, and it deals with all aspects of dog ownership. To get the inside word on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors like aggression and dominance in your dog, SitStayFetch is well worth a look. You can visit the SitStayFetch site by clicking on the link below:http://dog-training-online-now.info

The post Recognizing Preventing And Handling Dog Aggression first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Dogs love to bark. To non dog lovers, barking is a form of nuisance. You may have at one point in time received complaints from your neighbors about your dog’s barking. It can be very worrisome. Before you embark on dog barking training, it is important to understand why dogs bark. Dogs bark for the very same reason human beings talk. They are trying to communicate. When you have nothing to say, you remain quiet. When dogs bark, they are trying to get your attention. As you spend more time with your dog, you will learn more about the different barking sounds and what he is trying to tell you.

Having the Best Dog Training Tips is Important If You Want A Well Trained Dog.

A dog barks for many reasons. He may be trying to deter potential threats who have set foot in the house. In this case, the barking is loud to scare off the strangers. He may be caught up in excitement, and the sound of the barks is upbeat. It may even be some sort of a fanfare to welcome you home. Some dogs bark when they are bored, as a way to keep themselves entertained. Most people can tolerate a few seconds of dog barking, but when it becomes incessant, it can be very annoying. As a dog owner, you must know how to control your dog when it is barking.
Distract Him

When your dog goes berserk at the arrival of a house guest, you will have to get him to stop barking if not your guest will be intimidated. One of the best ways to stop a dog from barking is to distract him. You can grab his attention by whistling or clapping loudly. You may also instruct him to be quiet by yelling the usual command you have been using. Once his attention turns to you, shift his focus to a toy. You will need to do more than just getting him to be quiet. Get him to perform basic commands such as sitting so that his focus is off the “intruders” and on you.

Make Sure Your Dog Stays Active

As mentioned, some dogs bark because they are bored. They also bark to release pent-up energy. You can avoid unnecessary barking by not leaving your dog alone for a long duration. Be sure to play with him whenever you can find the time. Bring him out for a walk or exercise. Not only will he remain healthy, his barking will reduce.

Do Not Encourage Barking

Most dogs know that they will get attention from their owners when they bark. This is the same as a crying baby who demands attention from their parents. When they bark, their owners may scurry and bring them their meals. If you want your dog to stop barking, you may want to turn a deaf ear to it. Do not give him any attention; do not cuddle or scold him. Completely ignore your dog. He will soon know that his barking will yield no results.

These three steps are effective in helping you get started with your dog barking training. There are other techniques that you can use to stop your dog from barking incessantly.

The post Dog Barking Training Tips – Stop Your Dog Barking – 99.9% Success Rate first appeared on Puppy Blog.

So you’ve got a brand new dog or maybe you’re just sick and tired of having a dog who just won’t behave. This isn’t uncommon, there are plenty of canine owners who try to train their pet only to result in total and utter failure. I bet many of you dog lovers like me have just thrown in the doggy towel assuming that you’ve just got a dog that cannot be trained. Stop believing this, with my 3 Secrets to Dog Training any one can train their canine effectively.

Getting The Best Dog Training is Fundamental if You Want to Have a Healthy Well Trained Dog.

Tip 1
Do you like being shouted at? No… then don’t do it to your pet!
A common trait in dog owners is to lose patience with their beloved pet which often leads to shouting, yelling and sometimes spanking. Dogs are intuitive animals and often they can sense themselves when they have done something wrong. Rather than shouting. Select the correct tone, to learn more about this, click the links below.

Tip 2
Don’t poop him for pooping.
Many times a dog will go potty in a place that doesn’t really appeal to us humans or more specifically the dog owner. Don’t yell or scream. Take these steps. Clean it Up and move on. Now when your dog does go potty in the correct place next time. Then lavish praise. Effective. I need not say more.

Tip 3
Research the Breed
In some training failures a dog owner will repeatedly try to train their dog to be calm and not so hyper. You really need to do research on your dog and common characteristics in his breed. Click the links below for more specific information on dog breeds.

These 3 secrets to dog training will have your dog trained fast if you learn to behave yourself. Click the links below for more secret tips.

The post Secrets To Dog Training – 3 Secrets To Dog Training To Unleash The Perfect Pet first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Dogs are great pets to have at home and they are also known to make a great companions for any family. But unruly dogs can be a pain and for this reason training them is very important. Electronic dog training collars have now been developed and are steadily gaining popularity. These simple devices can be used by anybody who can read and doesn’t need a genius to figure out the functions.

Who can use them?

The remote training collar is an effective devise for use when training your dog. You can use it with a dog by giving him a gentle stimulation when they are not taking any notice of you or ignoring you all together.

A Dog Training collar doesn’t cause discomfort or hurt your dog in any way. The gentle stimulation that your dog gets when you use your remote training collar assists them to concentrate on your commands and allows you to feel at ease when your dog is off the leash or out of reach.

Distance the collars can cover

Different remote training collars cover different distances. Good ones even cover 800 meters which is sufficient for almost all training spaces. Remotes with transceiver technology are the latest ones which are very popular among dog lovers. The LCD screen is very clear and shows you all you need to know about how far your dog is going and when the batteries need to be recharged again.

Features of remote collars

The electronic dog training collars have safety features and have timing options too. Good training helps keep your pet safe and allows them to live with the family with harmony. You can get the collar with audible queue as well as vibrations. You can give continuous correction or brief stimulation depending on what you wish to achieve.

What can the collars do?

The remote training collars are widely used as a behavioral training tool and have been proved to be very effective. This way of training your dog is also much easier for you and proves to be less stressful for the dog. It can be easily recharge and stay active for days. The collars are tough enough for all kinds of dogs.

The post Importance of Electronic Dog Training Collars first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Canine oral health is an area of pet health and wellbeing enduring a considerable amount of focus by dog lovers. The modern-day dog owner values the rewards from cleaning dog teeth regularly. Formulations of all natural substances created for cleaning dog teeth, have proved to deliver the best product for cleaning dogs teeth. These products stop the accumulation of plaque and damaging bacteria in a dog’s mouth. The components for these types of oral care remedies where discovered via the initiatives of biochemist and naturopathic practitioners at organizations dedicated to the science of dog health and nutrition.

Modern-day canine oral sprays are incredibly helpful at cleaning dog teeth by getting rid of the detrimental bacteria that bring about plaque. These products ingredients are made from extracting the active forms of natural substances proved to eliminate harmful bacteria. These substances are compatible with the natural bacterial environment on a dog’s teeth and gums enabling the formulation’s natural compounds to integrate into the flora of a dog’s mouth. As the helpful bacteria commence to crowd out the harmful organism in dog’s mouth the creation of fresh plaque on the teeth and gums begins to slow.

The finest products for cleaning dogs teeth incorporate natural ingredients that break-up the existing plaque before it has an chance to develop into tarter. Hard dental tartar (calculus) is composed of calcium salts from saliva deposited on plaque. Tartar starts to form in just a few days on a tooth surface that is not kept clean, and supplies a rough surface area that encourages additional plaque build up. Once it has begun to grow in thickness, tartar is tough to clear away devoid of dental instruments.

The most effectual substances for breaking up plaque are taken from different plant types. These substances are successful at getting rid of harmful bacteria on a dog’s teeth and gums; neem oil, grape seed extract, thyme oil, are tested effective anti-bacterial materials. Thyme oil is essentially the active ingredient in the well-liked mouth wash Listerine. Grape seed extract or GSE inhibits Porphyromonas gingivalis andFusobacterium nucleatum, bacteria responsible for both periodontitis and bad breath in dogs. GSE contains up to 97 percent polyphenols these natural chemicals generates antibacterial activity against the two strains. Moreover, the grape seed extract can permeate the biofilm that surrounds the bacteria. Biofilms serve to protect bacteria against antimicrobial agents and dental plaque’s biofilm is particularly complex. These compounds in addition to being wholly organic match or surpass other man made substance’s capability to deal with and treat a range of periodontal diseases that impacts a dog’s teeth and gums.

While conventional medicine is commonly accepted as the most helpful therapy course by the veterinarian profession, VitaHound has proved natural medicine yields a holistic balance in a dog’s body. Highly digestible and tissue ready ingredients help support systemic health, relieve ailments, and help prevent future disease. Natural compounds that cure the symptoms in dogs commonly help support overall and long term health, in contrast to pharmaceuticals that typically are constrained to suppressing symptoms and whose results are short term.

The post Best Product For Cleaning Dogs Teeth Utilize All Natural Substances That Are Quite Helpful first appeared on Puppy Blog.

If you own a dog, you must give it the same health care you give yourself in order to have a healthy pet dog. Dogs suffer from many of the diseases that we contact such as fever, arthritis and cancer. In addition to that, they suffer from diseases that are specific to dogs also. Therefore, you must be prepared to handle dog health problems if you are a dog owner.

Prevention is better than cure even with dogs. Therefore, you must do everything possible to avoid facing dog health problems with your canine friend. The most important thing with a dog is to give it a balanced diet. Choose a good brand of dog food and stay with it. A cup of yoghurt once in a way is a good way to avoid dog health problems

Exercise for your dog is as important as it is for you if not more. Due to this reason, large breeds such as Dalmatian and German shepherd should not be had if you are not able to provide it sufficient space for exercise. If you give your pet the exercise it needs, you will be able to avoid a lot of dog health problems.

Another very important issue with dogs is that they love the company of their master. Therefore, you must spend some quality time with it. If you have a pet dog, you cannot avoid this due to your busy schedule. If you do not find time, your pet will develop anxiety which will lead to serious dog health problems.

Proper care and grooming is essential for your dog for its health as well as your health. As dogs could harbor a multitude of bacteria and viruses you must clean it frequently and comb its hair. Also you need to take care of its teeth in order to avoid dog health problems. Most dog lovers brush the teeth of their pets as the dog trainers suggest. In addition to these basic issues, you need to keep records of any dog health problems your dog faced and you need to give the right vaccinations on time in order to have a healthy pet.

The post How to Prevent Dog Health Problems first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Dog health is vital to keep your dog active but it is a big issue for dog lovers. Life is short, we all know that well and a dog’s life is incidentally even more so. And you have very much to do whether it will be longer or shorter. Dog makes our lives pleasant, so we can’t ignore their proper health care. For dog’s good health, you must feed your dog healthy food at the right time and also save them from dreadful weather affects. If you have a dog at your home, he will be living with you as your family member so you should be affectionate with him. To ensure your dog health, you must not provide him tick and flea medications while he is suffering from any kind of microbial infections. For the prevention of any microbial infections, you must contact the veterinary doctor or train yourself by the articles and news relevant to your dog’s health. An additional step to keep your dog healthy is that you closely observe teeth of your dog and keep them clean. Cleanness of the teeth saves your pet from several diseases. You must take care when you choose your dog’s food. Don’t ever compromise on the quality of your dog’s food.

Due to the elevated cost of pet’s health insurance, pet health has become most important topic now a day. Therefore, you must be very careful in choosing the dog’s insurance company and make sure that the selected insurance company is recognized by a veterinary doctor. Cost of the pet insurance is based on pet’s age, type of pet and pet’s health. Pet’s health insurance is very safe and smart way to take care of your pet nicely. It is very essential for you to keep policies of the insurance companies in your mind. Because many insurance companies do not pay the fees of regular check up of your pet dog and do not even pay special check up on the sudden attack of the microbial infections like worming, flea control etc. Many companies start to insure the pet dog from the age of 6-9 weeks and the limit of his/her age is eight years. Mostly, insurance companies refuse to insure the pet dog of eight years or more than eight years. Many insurance companies have no age limit and also provide you the discount insurance. You can find many insurance companies around you and even on the internet where they provide you the online facility of the dog health insurance.

The post Dog Health Guide Facts You Should Know first appeared on Puppy Blog.