Potty Training your Dog

Potty training is one of the many things people neglect when it comes to their pets. Having a dog around require care and attention from time to time of course you should already be aware of this if you had taken in your first puppy. And early training is a necessity when it comes to teaching your pet to behave the way you want it to. Potty training is one of the tasks you have to attend to as a master. Surely you don’t want your pet to just leave something gross lying around worse over your expensive carpet.
There are many approaches to potty training your puppy. Whatever you choose it’s best to start early. Try to keep your puppy on a crate or enclosure wide enough for it to roam and stretch and always keep an eye on him. Place a newspaper on one corner which will serve as a litter box. Whenever you see your puppy about to “go” place him on the newspaper and left him finish there. Do this every time you see him doing his thing and be patient. Of course some accidents are always unavoidable since your puppy is still a baby.
Don’t hit your puppy, they don’t respond well to violence. Give him a reward if he goes on his own. Once your puppy gets accustomed to the newspaper training you can try to move the news paper outside and place it somewhere you feel appropriate you two should live happily. Just remember, be patient and your efforts will yield a healthy relationship between you and your beloved pooch.

Why is Dog Grooming Important

One of the most important things you should always remember as a dog owner is how to groom your dog or dog grooming care. It is important that you always take good care of your dog, and that includes grooming and bathing in a regular basis.

One important reason as to why you should groom your dog is that, proper dog grooming will make your pet feel better and is also obviously important for health reasons. Grooming your dog will help prevent injuries and will keep pesky bugs out of your dog’s coat, plus it makes you feel good to own a well groomed pet as it reflects the personality of the owners as well.

If you don’t have time to groom your pet, you can also hire someone to do it for you or bring your dogs to dog clinics that offer dog grooming services. It is very important for you to remember to groom your pet on a regular basis. It can either be bathing, combing and trimming your dog’s hair, clipping nails, and making sure their fur is free from tangles and bugs that can transfer to humans if left unattended.

Training for Dog Shows

It’s not an easy task training your dog for show dog competitions. This requires constant attention, perseverance and a lot of patience. If you want to enter your dog to a competition someday you might want to get them as a puppy and train them to be a people dog. Start with selecting the proper breed intended for the type of competition you want to enter him into. Typically, the most common is the Conformation show which is commonly referenced by the term “dog show”, where a dog is rated according to how well their appearance conform to a certain standard. There are also several specific dog show competitions such as obedience trial, dog agility trial, sheepdog trial, field trial, novelty shows, specialty shows, and tracking trial.

For common conformation show dogs, its best to know the standards you will bring up your dog to conform to. Keep him well groomed to maintain the integrity of his coat and keep it from tangles, train them to be comfortable with people handling them. Always keep their teeth clean, start early leash training and train them to properly walk when on leash, that is walking at your side and not ahead of you. Basic obedience training is necessary as well.


Sources: Wikipedia, Ezinearticles

German Shepherd – Featured Breed

Next on our list of featured breeds is the German Shepherd Dog which is also included in our top 10 most popular dog breeds list. The German Shepherd is a large-sized dog which originated in Germany. Also known as an Alsatian, they were known way back from 1899 as a part of the Herding group, thus the name German Shepherd, since they were used as a working dog intended to herd sheep and livestock. Today they were incorporated to police and military divisions where they play a major role in detection and protective services due to their strength, intelligence and abilities in obedience training.

Profile
Breed Group: Herding
Weight: 75-95 lbs
Height: Male: 24-26 inches, Female: 22-24 inches
Color: black and tan, black and cream, black and silver, solid black, and sable

Overview: The German Shepherd was originally developed during the 19th century by Marx Von Stephanitz credited to be the father of the German Shepherd breed. This breed is very dedicated to work and is credited to be the first dog to assist the visually impaired.

Coat: A double-coated breed, the German Shepherd’s outer coat is thick and straight, with a soft and dense undercoat. The German Shepherd coats varies from rough coat and long hair to long rough coat. This breed is an average to heavy shedder.

Character: Being a highly intelligent breed, German Shepherd are highly adaptable, strong, dependable and full of energy.
Temperament: Being a member of herding group, German Shepherds are very devoted and loyal. They do not like to be left alone for extended periods of time and are exceptionally weary of strangers, oftentimes displaying their instincts of herding on anything and everything that moves.

Care: occasional bathing and daily brushing is needed to maintain the German Shepherd’s coat. This type of breed is commonly prone to health issues like blood disorders, elbow and hip dysplasia, epilepsy, chronic eczema, digestive problems, and flea allergies.

Training: Early training is needed for this type of breed. Obedient and quick to learn, they are very talented in terms of tracking, agility, obedience, and ringsport. Training must be done with respect, fairness, reward and consistency.

Ownership: This breed is not recommended for novice owners. But consult a reputable German Shepherd Breeder or Rescue Center if you are serious about choosing this type of breed.

Watch out for more feature breeds on future posts.

Sources: NextdayPets, Wikipedia

Puppy Training – DIY

OK so your new puppy has just arrived home right now he’s so cute and adorable and everything he makes, small slipups are vey tolerable. But he won’t remain a puppy for long and all those behaviors will be carried throughout his lifetime if not properly guided. This is why early training is very necessary. This will make life easier for the rest of your family and will make your puppy a very lovable part of your home, especially if he doesn’t chew, poop anywhere and destroy you furniture and leave dirt marks everywhere.

The best way to train a puppy is through a non-violent approach. Using lots of encouragement, praise, and rewards to guide him through proper behavior.
One thing to keep in mind when training your new puppy is to understand that you are dealing with a very immature your animal. Always be patient, realistic, flexible, and fair during puppy training. Your fluffball may not get it right away but just be patient as he is still learning.

So I have put up a simple checklist of essential steps you and your puppy should take in order for him to become a well adjusted and trusted member of the society.

1. Puppy House Training
2. Puppy Potty Training
3. Puppy Crate Training
4. Socialization
5. Controlling Excessive Barking
6. Coping with Separation Anxiety in Dogs
7. Stop Puppy Biting or Mouthing
8. Leash Training
9. Simple Obedience Training
10. Correcting Behavioral Problems
11. Clicker Training
12. Puppy Feeding

These are the essential phases that encompass proper training for your puppy. But if you feel you don’t have that much time you can always enroll him to a great dog training school. We will discuss more of the specifics in later posts as we have very much to talk about these phases of early puppy training.

Dog Vaccination

Vaccination for a puppy is a routine but crucial procedure done in veterinary clinics. Once a dog reaches the age of 11 – 16 weeks, it’s essential that he be given vaccinations shots. But why is it important for your dog to undergo this type of procedure?

Simply put, a vaccination stimulates the dog’s immune system to help protect itself from harmful diseases the dog might encounter in its lifetime. What is basically happening when a vaccine enters the dog’s body, since vaccines are just weaker samples of antigens or infectious agents, it will be recognized by the dog’s immune system as a foreign object and triggers the production of antibodies to stop and destroy it. The dog’s immune system then remembers it and responds more quickly the next time a similar antibody enters the dog’s body.

After a vaccines has been induced to the puppy, expect to notice some reactions for the next 24-48 hours such as reduced activity and loss of appetite. Rarely, some more severe reactions occur like hives, swelling of the face, or vomiting, but these ca be prevented by giving the dog antihistamines during subsequent vaccinations. Always remember to inform your vet if your dog has a reaction to vaccines in the past, as he will know how to make extra precautions.

There are two types of vaccines given to dogs, modified-live and killed. Modified-live vaccines provide stronger and longer lasting protection, less expensive and may only require one dose. However they have a potential to become active and may cause abortions to pregnant dogs. Killed vaccines cannot become virulent and are less likely to be immunosuppressive, but may require several initial injections and more booster shots, and these types of vaccines don’t produce local immunity.

Vaccines can be combined which they refer to as combination shots. But some researchers refer to this as the common cause of immune-mediated diseases due to administration of frequent doses of large numbers of modified-live viruses, over-stimulating the immune system and causing the system to recognize everything as foreign and leading to tissue rejection. But this theory is not widely accepted by most veterinary practitioners. Some who believe so, advice to give separate vaccinations every few days instead of using combination vaccines. The down side is that commonly after the first shot is administered, the system will create a blocking effect hampering the body’s response to second and third shots a few days later.

Combination vaccines commonly contain five antigens in one shot, but some can also have six to seven. Interesting to note though that even though you feel you made most out of your money going with the latter option, a veterinarians suggestion is still more dependable due to affecting factors such as breed types, age, lifestyle and even geographic location.
Vaccination is risky but it’s still worth the risk. It’s better to have a weakened virus and a very small chance of complication that to contract a fatal disease in the future.

Sources: canismajor.com

Labrador Retriever – Featured Breed

Every now and then we feature dog breeds so that you can truly know more about the certain dog breed that you are planning to buy, or if you already have one, this will help you understand their breed specific behavior and tend to their needs better.

Since we have the Labrador Retriever has been a consistent number one in the top 10 most popular dog breeds list based on the kennel club data’s. We’ll start with this one.

Profile
Breed Group: Sporting
Weight: Male: 65-80 lbs., Female: 55-70 lbs.
Height: Male: 22.5-24.5 inches, Female: 21.5-23.5 inches
Color: Black, yellow, or chocolate

Overview: The Labrador retriever or commonly known as the Lab is one of the several types of retrievers or gundogs, commonly bred for hunting. Once known as the Lesser Newfoundland, is widely used a police dog and other official bodies for their skill in detection and working abilities. Labs are very athletic, they love to swim and are tolerant to young children.

Coat: The Labrador retriever is a double coat breed. The outer coat is straight, short, and very dense and hard in texture while the undercoat is soft, waterproof and protects the dog from cold and outdoor hazards. They commonly come in yellow, black, and chocolate, shedding on the average.

Character: Labrador retrievers are friendly, and outgoing. Both the American and its English cousin are mostly favored for their sweet personality gaining their popularity as a perfect family pet.

Temperament: Labradors are very reliable and loves attention. They are wonderful with children and get along with other dogs easily. They make a perfect watchdog but can be destructive when left alone for extended periods of time.

Care: Labrador Retrievers, require regular attention when in comes to grooming always give special attention to the prevent mats and tangles. Bathing can only be done when necessary. Also take note that due to the size and weight of the breed, they are more prone to hip dysplasia, eye disorders, and PRA.

Training: This is a very easy breed to train. Highly intelligent, but early socialization is a must, as this can be fairly large dog and requires ample strength to control. They do not respond well to harsh treatments but can prove to be excellent in tracking, work, search, rescue, and service if trained very well.

Ownership: Always look for a reputable Labrador Retriever breeder or adopt from a Labrador Retriever rescue center. If you want to own a dog of this breed be sure to understand their behavior and requirements thoroughly and be ready to be a responsible dog owner.

Watch out for more feature breeds on future posts.

Sources: NextdayPets, Wikipedia