Pet Loss and Grieving People who’re not pet lovers are shocked to find out how much grief pet lovers feel once they lose a pet. But if you have ever loved a pet and been loved by a pet, you’ll understand how the mourning process for the loss of a pet is really a you would have for the loss of any family member.

The loss of a pet is devastating. You’ll frequently hear people questioning why they’re feeling so terrible. Perhaps even questioning why they grieve so greatly. Wondering if it is normal to really feel that way?

Exactly how people react towards the death of any member of the family generally depends upon how much their pet played a part in their every day life, and how deep their connection and attachment was to their pet.

Pets are useful buddies for the ever changing ways of our society. With increasingly more people remaining childless, single, divorced, widowed, or never married together with seniors, pets have grown to be the mainstay of companionship. Children don’t return home from school to an empty house, people who live alone have someone to spend time with at home – someone who understands the time they spend with them and it has been proven continuously just how much pets help seniors in numerous ways – psychologically and physically.

Pets are devoted to their family members; they give unconditional love, and are usually there whenever you’ll need them. They listen with out judgement or reproach, they accept us regardless of what we’re like or how we look, feel, or behave. They’re usually ready to forgive for our transgressions – they do not hold grudges.

If you have ever nursed a pet through a serious illness, rescued one from certain death, or helped a shy animal to become socialized, you will understand how easy it is to become extremely attached to that animal. When a pet helps you through a crisis or a difficult time in your life, you’ll most likely find that your pet is very unique to you.

Everybody grieves in their own way – some much more deeply than others. It is okay to grieve the loss of a pet as deeply as you would for any other member of your family. The loss of a pet is just as difficult as anyone else. You’ve a connection with your pet, your pet was a part in your life, and it is natural to really feel pain when that bond is broken.

As you go through the mourning process, you’ll really feel pain. The amount of pain, the length of grieving is different with each individual. You should take the time to go through the process – it’s natural, and it is okay to feel that way. Eventually, you will get towards the point exactly where you will remember all the good times, the great life, and good feelings you had with your pet and you’ll have the ability to remember them with the love you both felt for each other.

You’ll reach the point exactly where your pet will live inside your heart forever. You’ll understand that it is normal to grieve the loss of a pet.

The post Why Does Losing a Pet Hurt A Lot? first appeared on Puppy Blog.

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

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Would you think me if I told you that there is such a thing as Dachshund anxiety problems? No? Dachshund Separation anxiety is more of an issuethan you may imagine. While it can be a trivial problem, Dachshund anxiety can be a major issue, changing your bond with your Dachshund. I used to believe I would have to give away my Dachshund; I now know differently

What Causes Dachshund Separation Anxiety?

Dachshunds are social dogs and depend on tight bonds with other family members. Dachshund separation anxiety can be triggered if they are left alone and consider they have been excluded from the family or conversely, if your Dachshund sees themselves as family leader and thinks you left without their consent. It is normally your lack of leadership that leads to Dachshund separation anxiety. It is vital that you prove you are the alpha member and will return to the group without fail. When your Dachshund sees that you are a good leader their separation anxiety will typically vanish.

A few Dachshunds become anxious when they believe you are going to abandon them . Something as straightforward as petting them as you walk out the door may be sufficient to generate Dachshund separation anxiety. Maintaining the precise identical schedule every day can exacerbate your Dachshund separation anxiety.

Dachshunds are wily dogs. If they get bored or have not enough exercise, they can become destructive as they are amusing themselves. This is not Dachshund separation anxiety.

How to End Dachshund Separation Anxiety

Four easy methods to reduce Dachshund anxiety:

1. Commence Slowly.
If your Dachshund anxiety centers around you leaving the home, you have tobegin by restricting the period of time you are away. Begin by leaving and right away coming back in. As their anxiety decreases you can leave your Dachshund for longer periods. Your Dachshund quickly learns that you will be returning and their anxiety reduces.

2. Mix Up Your Schedule.
Modify your routine if you see your Dachsund becoming anxious. Modify what time you get and as soon as you leave. Just minor changes in your every day routine can drastically lower your Dachshund separation anxiety.

3. Exercise.
Exercise your Dachshund properly, giving at least two 20 minute walks a day. A weary Dachshund will sleep. Don’t acknowledge your Dachshund as soon as you come home. Go about your usual business for 10 – 15 minutes. Only after that time should you pay attention to your Dachshund.

4. Do Not Strengthen Dachshund Separation Anxiety.
If you pat or even talk to your Dacshund as soon as you leave or return to the house can make Dachshund separation anxiety greatly worse. Take no notice of them for a few minutes as you abandon and as soon as you return, even if they bark or cry. Doing this breaks the association your Dachshund has made between receiving attention and you leaving or coming back

Doing What is Right For Your Dachshund

Some people think that this approach is cruel. This is false. Part of Dachshund ownership is making certain that your dog receives what it needs, be it food, exercise or medical treatment. This may not be what they want. The right way to reduce Dachshund separation anxiety is to show you are a solid group leader that will always return.. This is valuable both for your Dachshund and you.

If you have problems with Dachshund separation anxiety, barking, biting, digging or chewing visit http://www.dachshundtrainingtips.com to discover more about Dachshund puppy training and get great Dachshund training tips and a FREE e-book.

The post Stop Dachshund Separation Anxiety in 4 Simple Steps first appeared on Puppy Blog.

For dog owners, it is vital for you to trains your dog. A dog with behavior problems can be a nightmare for everyone. Coming when called is one of the most important skills that your dog must learn. It is for its safety. Things can get pretty bad when your dog refuses to respond to your call could be easily get hit by a car or get into a fierce fight with other dogs. Not to mention that a well-behaved dog are often a preferable choice to be taken out for a walk in the local park or at the beach.

The “come when called” training is quite straightforward and doable for every dog owners. Providing a praise or treats for your dog is pretty much all the step that you as a dog owner need to do. But of course, it still takes some time for the dog to adapt to this training. So, be patient. Once your dog mastered this “come when called” trick, it is a right time for you to introduce a number of fun exercises to challenge your dog. This will pique its interest.

Applying the same training session can be boring. So, in order to prevent your dog from degenerating into this state, you should always come out with different training sessions. This is the best ways to motivate your dog. Also, before you start any training, it is important to make sure your dog is motivated and always ready to respond to your treats. To know either your dog is motivated or not, you can do a simple test on him. Taking a piece of his regular food and waving it in front of him. If your dog shows a great enthusiasm, then you can start the training immediately. If he shows opposite reaction, then it would be wise to wait until your dog is in more receptive mood. It is also recommended for you to use a small piece of food in the training. It is to avoid over-feeding your dog during the training sessions.

In more advanced training sessions, you should include your family members in the training. Your goal is to make sure your dog shows the response to all your family members or friends. If you are not informed about this, dog often learns to respond to one person. This can be a problem for those who are watching the dog. This is one of the reasons why professional dog trainers always insist on working with the dog owner during the training sessions. A well-trained dog should be able to respond to whoever is in charge, not just limited to the dog owner or usual handler.

In the back and forth recall training, you need at least 2 or more people standing approximately 10 yards apart. Preferable in a fenced area. All you need to do is to calls the dog and ask him to sit or standby, until the next person asks the dog come. When the dog is responding to command “come”, the very same person should reward it with a treat. Keep doing this until the training session ended.

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Dogs also need to learn few things like following the instructions, staying calm at certain occasions, avoid shit in the home interiors etc. These are the things that you need to train your dog in. And for this you need to get the experienced Dog trainers Guildford who can help you with the dog training.

Training a dog to stop barking can sometimes be time consuming and complicated as well. And don’t shout at your dog or reward him for barking at someone. This would just encourage it to bark more and more. Proper socialization and bit of attention to your dog at the right time can make your dog obedient and prevent him from barking uselessly.

If you are taking your pet to a dog trainer Guildford then he will begin with the simplest methods of dog training and commanding. The priority is to develop the relation with the dog so that he can understand you and your commands. The dog training Guildford is just started with the basic commands like sit, stop, stay, sleep or down. When you are done with basic Dog training Guilford the next thing comes with the elimination of dog wastes and respect for the home premises. For that the dog trainer Guildford needs to properly guide the pet to follow the instruction and to lay down the wastes at a particular place or outside the home.

Dog training is an essential thing and this is to be started at some suitable time when it’s a bit grown up puppy. Dog training Guildford shouldn’t cross your mind when the pet behavior really becomes unbearable. Every breed of dog has bit difference with their training and it is very essential that you hire the good dog trainer Guildford for your pet. The efficient dog trainer Guildford can understand your and your dog’s needs and trains him in the similar direction. Your dog training can really improve its behavior and help you have a calm environment especially when you are visited by the guests. Now if you have been looking for the dog training Guildford then you can refer the dog house training, where the experienced dog trainers Guildford will train your dog in a faithful manner.

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At one time or another, a dog owner will find it necessary to train a dog to change its certain behaviors and manners. In this case, dog training will be invaluable and it is only in using the right training techniques that you can be able to make the dog understand what is right, what is wrong and what is expected of it. There are many dog training techniques available for you to use. However, the suitability of these techniques is not necessarily universal and just because one technique works on one dog is not guaranteed to work on another.

The first step in successful training of your dog is choosing the right training method that will address the root concern to the behavior of the dog. The best training techniques is always optimistic, meaning that it should not involve spanking, beating, punishing or scolding the dog. A dog will never learn from any form of oppressive training. Oppressing a dog during training will make it fearful and dangerous and this will never be a characteristic of a good pet.

However, at some instances, it is necessary to warn or even punish a dog. How you do it is the greatest determinant of its effectiveness. Most dog owners are always confused when to warn, to punish or even to reward a dog. Rewarding a dog when it is supposed to be punished or punishing it when it is supposed to be motivated can have very serious negative effects on the training.

In many instances, most dog training exercise fail because the family members confuse it by issuing contradicting and unclear training commands. There should only be one dog trainer at a time. Even in a large family, the dog trainer should be consistent and advice other family members what not to do, what not to train the dog and how to assist the dog grasp some of the training they have taught it. This will be a positive action that will definitely bear fruit in the long run.

Another vital point to note while training your dog is his performance while it is near you. For a professional dog trainer, it may be easy to get the dog’s attention because they have no special attachment. If the dog owner is acting as the trainer, there are bound to be many distractions especially if the dog is grown. The dog could be tempting the trainer every now and then to play its favorite game or just wants to walk. As a trainer, you must learn to instruct a dog when it is serious lesson time and what time is play time.

If there are many distractions during the dog training, it is wise to train the dog while under leash. This way, the trainer will be in control and bring the dog’s concentration back whenever it strays. The dog will be more focused and cooperative if it is under leash. If you are not sure how to control the dog using a leash, it is important to learn and practice this prior to beginning the dog training exercise.

The post How to Train Your Dog Easily first appeared on Puppy Blog.

A new puppy in the house is a treat for all family members, but training that pup can be a frustrating and arduous task. It requires a lot of time and energy on your part in order to help him feel like part of the family. There are a number of options for dog training such as dog training tips, dog training treats or you may log on to the internet and click on search dog training. When you do not get the help you need from these, then you may choose to hire a dog trainer.

If you are the proud owner of a new puppy or dog, there are a few things that you need to know. You are the puppy’s new family, so he needs to interact with you and become comfortable with his new environment. Most of all, he needs to hear commands given in your voice. So, a trainer is not a substitute for the time and care you need to take.

The purpose of a dog trainer is to help supplement what you have already taught. Maybe you have only gone through training your puppy to follow your basic commands like sit, stay, down, hush, go etc. One of the most important and, at times, frustrating parts of training is dog toilet training, so this is something that owners will often seek help with.

Choosing a Trainer

Choosing the right trainer is very important and you should keep in mind that not all dog trainers are of the same level of ability. Therefore, it is wise to ensure the capabilities of a trainer before letting him, or her, near your pup.

Credentials – First, it is wise to a find out more about a trainer’s experience. In other words, how many dogs he, or she, has trained and how long he, or she, has been working as a trainer. Ask about training practices and vaccination requirements. You can check the Better Business Bureau to see if any dog owners have lodged complaints.

Demeanor – Is he, or she, friendly towards the owner and the dog? A friendly trainer is more likely to be a patient trainer. Dogs require a lot of patience during training. You would not like someone to yell at your dog or to use unorthodox methods to make the dog obey.

Use a Clear Voice for Instructions – A good trainer can teach you many things. For one, they can show you how to speak a command to get the puppy to comply. Speaking out of anger will only make the situation worse (especially during the dog toilet training or crate training). As an owner, you need to be able to understand the instructions a trainer is giving to the dog, so you can replicate these instructions.

Demonstrations – Dogs are not the only ones who need to be trained. As owners, you will want to see and follow what the trainer does, so that you can learn, too. Trainers who demonstrate in class can help you if you have trouble.

Remember, you don’t have to handle your puppy alone. Hiring a dog trainer can help advance your dog’s training schedule and lower your stress level.

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It is nice to have a dog in your house. This man’s best friend will keep company with you and will look after the security of your household and your family members. In return, you need to look after your pet, feed it and give due consideration to dog health problems. When you do so, your dog will grow in a happy and contented environment. It will be friendly and will never become aggressive.

Before you bring a pup home, you must give some consideration to a few factors. The first is that you must be ready to have a dog in your household. One important factor to remember is that your pet is going to have dog health problems and you will need to go through difficult times in getting it treated. You must not expect to bring a pup home and have a playful pet without any contribution from you.

When dogs undergo dog health problems you will find that you go through the same type of anxiety and agony as when a family member of yours is not well. Also like in human beings they undergo minor health problems as well as major dog health problems. When your your pet undergoes major dog health problems, you will notice that your entire family gets involved. Your household will be in a sad mood. This is because all your family members will treat your dog as another member of your family.

When you think of having a pet dog, you need to think if you are prepared to undergo this type of situation in case of dog health problems your pet may be forced to undergo. If you think of only having a beautiful dog at home you will grab a pup from a breeder without thinking of these hassles. But when you are aware of issues you need to go through though once in a way, you will be prepared and you will not be surprised when your pet is faced with dog health problems. If you bring your pet home after understanding these things both you and your pet will be happy and also it will never face health problems.

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