What does your dog do when you’re at work or you’re away from the house for some other reason for the majority of the day? Is there more than one dog in your household? Do you provide toys or other items that will aide in keeping your dog entertained throughout the day? Does your dog have ample room to run and get enough exercise? These are important questions to ask when considering the well being of your dog while you are away from the house.

The home can be a lonely place for your dog especially if he or she is the only one there for hours on end. The silence can represent isolation and can bring on feelings of abandonment and may lead to unwanted behavior. This unwanted behavior may be a dog’s way of getting your attention because they’ve been deprived of it all day long. In cases like this, your dog may be experiencing what’s commonly known as separation anxiety.

So what can you do to prevent poor behavior brought on by separation anxiety? There are many ways of helping your dog pass the time or stay occupied when left home alone. First, you may want to eliminate the silence that fills your home when no one is around. My wife and I like to leave the radio on when we leave for the day which provides for constant background noise in the house for the dog to hear. What kind of music you play isn’t really that important, but we feel that it’s best to play music that is generally soft and soothing, or relaxing. It is probably a good idea that you avoid any type of loud clashing, clanging music as this may scare or startle your dog if he or she is not expecting it. If a radio is not available to you, you can also turn on the television. Dogs are often intrigued by the constantly changing pictures and sounds that the television produces, and this may be a great source of entertainment for them throughout the day.

Another great way of keeping your dog occupied during the day is with dog toys. Every dog has a favorite toy or some sort of object that they love to toss in the air, tug on, pull around the room, or whip back and forth in their mouth. Why not make sure that toy is always available for them to play with while you’re gone? Chances are they are going to play with it just like they would if you were home with them. It never hurts to have more than one toy available for them so they can have a little variety throughout the day.

Dog treat dispensing toys are also a great source of entertainment for your dogs while you’re gone. There are many different styles of treat dispensing toys that you can choose from. Most have an inner compartment that can hold various types of dog treats or other dog healthy snacks. They go crazy when they know that there are treats stashed away in that little compartment and will spend hours trying to get every last one out.

A real live companion might just be one of the best remedies for keeping your dog occupied throughout the day. What can be more fun and entertaining for a dog than another dog, or more dogs, looking to get the same fun and entertainment? Having more than one dog at home helps to eliminate the feeling of loneliness because they have each other to play with and keep each other occupied.

All of the above examples are great ways to keep your dog occupied and free from feelings of loneliness and abandonment, which will also help to prevent unwanted behavior due to separation anxiety. So next time you come home, if you’ve chosen to take advantage of some of these tips, you won’t have to feel so bad about leaving your furry little friend home alone all day because you know that he or she had plenty of entertainment to stay occupied. This will make your dog happier, and it will make you happier as well.

The post Keeping Your Dog Occupied When You’re Not Home first appeared on Puppy Blog.

There are different reasons for dog training -obedience training, hunting, search and rescue, assisting disabled, and the list goes on. For most, if not all, trainers, using a dog training collar is the best way to train for whatever purpose, especially in the early stages of training when the dog is still unruly. Dog training collars are of different kinds. Let us discuss here the different kinds and see how they apply to dog training.

The first type to be discussed is the slip collar, alternatively called choke chain. This collar is a chain with two rings on both ends-one for looping the collar around the neck, and the other for attachment to the rope that is handled by the trainer. As the dog does an undesired behavior, the trainer pulls the rope. This tightens the chain and chokes the dog, but not to the point of suffocating it. Choking should not be painful but should be bothersome enough to tell the dog that it is doing an unwanted behavior. This is confirmed when the trainer lets go of his grip when the dog has stopped doing the behavior.

The second type is the prong collar which has two types of chain. The bigger type is looped around the neck of the dog, while the other is attached to the rope handled by the trainer. When a dog does something undesired, the rope is pulled, applying pressure around the dog’s neck. Similar to choking, the pressure applied should be harmless yet bothersome. The slip and prong collars are examples of the traditional type of collars. Now, there are newer types of collars that use advanced technology for easier dog training. One of these is the shock type collar.

The shock type collar is arguably the most convenient of all types of dog training collar. This type of collar utilizes shock, which is applied to the dog via an external remote control, every time it does something unwanted. This comes as more convenient especially when the dog is persistent with its undesirable behavior, as pressing controls is way easier than repeatedly tugging at the rope. Moreover, more trainers prefer this type of collar because its wireless feature allows wider area for training.

When speaking of shock type collars, Dogtra will always be a part of the conversation, as it is one of the best brands out there. A dog training collar from Dogtra has at least 400-yard range for its remote control collar. This makes it more convenient for the trainer as he does not have to follow an unruly dog running around. Moreover, it has a vibration feature allowing the trainer to call the dog’s attention without applying shock to the dog. Add to this its water-proof feature and you know you can use this collar anywhere any time, making it a more convenient option.

Dog training, for whatever reason, will always benefit from using a dog training collar. As such, every dog handler should purchase one. The type of collar one should buy depends on the type of training one is planning to hold. But if it is convenience and flexibility you are looking for, shock type collars are your best picks. And among shock type collars, Dogtra dog training collar is a safe bet.

The post The Dog Trainers Best Friend Has Always Been The Dog Training Collar. first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Dog training is essentially the process of getting your dog to adapt to and respond with certain behaviors to external and internal stimulus. It could be verbal commands, people and material objects. Effective and save dog training therefore requires the right training supplies. The right equipment will make a big difference in getting your dog trained. There are lots of dog training aids, products tools and accessories out there. The following are the basic tools you must have.

Leashes
The best leash should be about 5-6ft long. A leash is the best thing to use to establish a line of communication and command between dog and owner. It also helps to keep the dog save when you are walking in an area with heavy traffic. The two main types of leashes are the plain (nylon or leather) or the retractable. Retractable leashes are better used in plain environments like parks.

Collars
Dog collars come in different variety for all types of needs. The type you use for your dog will be determined by his breed, behavior, strength, and level of training. Identification tags are also put on collars. Most trained and well behaved dogs are okay with the normal fixed circumference collar. Other options are head halters, correction or choke collars for aggressive dogs. A harness could also be used in special circumstances.

Whistles
Whistles have a variety of uses from calling a dog that is prone to wandering and for giving special commands to your dog.

Deterrents
Deterrents help to discourage your dog from biting, chewing, licking, and going into restricted areas. They could be in the form of a bad smell or biter taste that makes the dog not to want to repeat the unwanted behavior.

Treats
It is almost impossible to train your dog without dog treats. Treats are used to encourage and reinforce good behavior during training. They could be in the form of little toys and other chewable.

Crates
Crates are especially important when house training your dog, moving or when you just want to keep him from moving about.

The post Dog Training Tools That You Must Have first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Puppy Training is a highly daunting task owing to the obedience problems the puppies’exhibit.So,it becomes all the more imperative that you master these tricks and techniques to teach your puppy the best of behaviors and make it the most cherished pets you have ever had.In fact,training the puppy is fun for you could witness the progress it makes day after day and this gives a sense of immense satisfaction to you.

Research by Psychologists in the field of Learning proved that dogs can be conditioned to learn or unlearn a response.So,living up to what the adage says, ‘Strike when the Iron is hot’,training during the early stages will yield greater obedience results to the commands that are taught to it.

Puppy training could be accomplished in a step-by-step fashion when you stick to a systematic procedure.

>> Dog crate training and dog potty training are two very fundamental things that the pet needs to be trained in if you do want your dog to soil your luxury sofas and bed sheets.

>> Acquaint your pet to the new surroundings and home.Teach responses to simple commands initially and later on you could make it understand complex ones.

>> Leash training is also another step in puppy training.First you have to fit a collar around its neck and then it can get easily adjusted to the leash later on.Care has to be taken that the collar fits in snugly without being restrictive.When the dog is leash trained, strolls outdoors become a pleasure.

>> Obedience training inculcates the habit of following the owner’s commands and restricts any kind of destructive behavior.Positive reinforcement for good behavior and negative reinforcement for unwanted behavior will definitely help in shaping up the pet into the kind you had envisaged for yourself.

If you are a complete novice at puppy training and do not know how to kick start the training program,you can always take the help of the online resources which would elucidate and enumerate various ways in which you could accomplish the task with great aplomb.When you follow the advice given on the step by step guides and implement the same, very soon you will have a well behaved pet.

Puppy Training Advice is one such online stop that brings in a whole host of information about how to puppy train and brings you close to a myriad range of resources that would help you in accomplishing the same.

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