Dogs | Dog Training | Dog Health

One of the best ways to bond with your dog, while at the same time stimulating his mind, is to teach him new tricks as often as possible. Training a dog to learn new things not only gets his mind working, but also teaches the brain to analyze and process information, thus producing a more intelligent and responsive dog.

Another interesting aspect of teaching your dog new tricks everyday is that he will start to understand specific words within the human language. For instance, below we are going to show you how to teach your dog to “Find It”. After persistent training and practice of this trick, your dog will eventually be able to find a specific toy within a pile of dozens of other objects. Not only is this entertaining for you, but it activates the animal’s thinking process by expanding his understanding of your vocabulary.

The Trick: Find It!
To begin training, line up about six or seven objects on the floor. Then ask your dog to locate a specific one. It is much easier if you start by sending your dog to retrieve something that he is familiar with.

For example, his favorite toy or food dish would be perfect starter objects. Now place the specific object you want him to find right next to a group of other, unfamiliar objects. The other items should be made up of boring, non-attractive things, such as a book, or a glass, etc. The reason for this is to make it easier for him to make the obvious choice when first being introduced to this trick.

Now point your finger to all of the objects that are lying on the floor and tell your dog to “Find The Toy”. Without much hesitation he should put the right object in his mouth, and when he does, shower him with praise and offer a treat.

If your dog already knows how to fetch then have him bring the toy back to you. And if he does not know how to fetch then this is a great time to get him started!

Important: If you give your dog a treat for his good work at finding the right object, do not feed it to him while that particular object is lying close by. Dogs are quick to associate positive feelings with many experiences, and he might only go for the toy simply because he thinks he will get a treat each time, thus preventing him from learning new objects later on.

The next step is to place a different item amongst the pile of objects. Perhaps this time choose his food dish or a small ball. Run the sequence over again by pointing to the object and telling him to “Find The Dish”.

If he picks the wrong item, say “Nope”, and repeat “Find The Dish” over and over until he makes the right choice. Eventually he will be able to associate the name of each object and fetch it for you without fail.

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One of the most dangerous things that could happen is when someone stops breathing. The truth to this is undisputable and even rather obvious for anyone reading it, but interestingly this is something that dog owners rarely think about in relation to their dog. What would you do if your dog stopped breathing? Or, even began choking? No, panic is not the answer I was looking for!

The most common reason for respiratory problems in dogs is some type of blockage in the airways. For instance, there is a good chance that a dog will swallow his tongue if he somehow knocks himself unconscious. Should this happen, you must clear the airway with first aid for dogs and attempt to get him breathing again.

First aid for dogs pertaining to the respiratory system is, actually, fairly similar to first aid used with humans. Listen to the heartbeat, feel for a pulse and look for any respiration signs. In fact, artificial respiration is something to consider in first aid for dogs. Applying a combination of both a heart massage and the kiss of life can be equally effective in saving a dog’s life as it can on a human. For respiratory problems, first aid is fairly similar.

However, you should not attempt artificial respiration when giving first aid for dogs if you suspect poison has been used. Trying to resuscitate your dog when poison has been used puts you in danger. Always take your dog to the vet after you have given first aid for respiratory difficulties. But, when poison could be involved, always take him or her to the vest before administering first aid. Go ahead and try the heart massage technique but stay away from the mouth area.

First aid for dogs has saved many dogs’ lives and will continue to. Unfortunately, though, the odds are not great once he or she begins experiencing breathing problems. Performing artificial respiration may not save your dog’s life, but you must try as it has saved dogs’ lives in the past.

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If you own a dog that loves nothing more than to bark incessantly while riding with you in the car, then you probably understand just how frustrating and annoying this habit can be.

Dogs become very territorial when they are inside of a moving vehicle and all of the thousands of moving objects outside of the window can pose a threat to your dog’s mind. As soon as he spots somebody walking on the street, he barks! Then his head turns, and he sees a bunch of tree branches moving from the wind, he barks! As soon as those objects are passed, every car he spots, he barks at them all. This goes on and on, and… you guessed it, on forever!

The first reaction dog owners typically have at their barking dog is to yell at the animal to stop barking. In order to quiet your dog down, the only thing you can think of shouting is “SPARKY, STOP THAT BARKING!!!”

Unfortunately, yelling at your dog will only add to his excitement and anxiety of whatever it is he is barking at. By yelling with a loud voice, your dog will interpret that as you reinforcing his behavior. The louder you shout at him to stop yapping, the louder his barking gets.

The Proper Way Of Handling The Situation
The good news is that you can almost eradicate your dogs barking behavior completely with a little time and training. Here are some tips to get you going:

1. The first thing you should do is be the role model of the behavior you wish your dog to have. In other words, if you would like your pet to chill out and stop barking so much inside of the car, keep calm yourself and maintain a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. This is especially important when your dog starts to get excited and begins barking. Trust me, you’ll be surprised at just how well this works.

2. To better enforce the rules of barking, do not be afraid of using the old trusty water squirt gun. Most animals cannot stand the feeling of being spritzed in the face with water. In fact, this is a great training tool for many situations. When your dog starts barking like crazy, a few shots of water right in between the eyes is enough to make even the largest of dogs to completely stop whatever it is they are doing and eventually associate that behavior with the unwanted feeling of being sprayed in the face.

3.A third solution that works well is to place your dog inside of a crate within the car whenever you need to drive somewhere. A crate will allow your dog to sit comfortably inside of your vehicle, yet it sets limitations of what he can see and smell from the outside. This may be difficult for larger dogs, but for small and medium-sized dogs, a crate can do wonders when it comes to barking incessantly while driving.

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When the owner calls the dog bad, the truth of the matter is the owner is probably the cause of this. Imagine how annoyed you become when a dog pounces on you as you are out taking a walk along the sidewalk. Or your new neighbor has a huge dog that likes to leave piles of ‘calling cards’ in your front yard. These are not bad dogs but can be compared to some of the next door kids who have gone astray. What else other than bad behavior can you expect from animals and kids when the concerned adults have no idea what they are supposed to do?

The dog must be taught to behave within some set parameters when around people. The wisest decision is to take the help of a dog trainer to learn ways to handle a dog without affecting its normal personality. Ask the help of your veterinary surgeon or pet store to locate trainers who conduct private or group sessions; alternatively you could go online and take the help of an online course.

This training program includes lessons where owners are taught how to control their pets. “Dogs are often easier to teach than the owners” is the usual comment heard from trainers. If you want to leash train your dog, you need to make him become accustomed to it in a familiar area. Barking is often a behavior that distresses owners and neighbors. It is important to remember that shouting or punishing them for barking usually has the opposite affect since this is the only way they can speak to us.

When a dog needs attention, something to eat or drink, it will resort to barking. A Dog barking can be good burglar alarm and training them to stop isn’t always a good idea. Be careful not to laugh and playfully encourage a puppy to bark and then get angry at him months later when he barks louder as an adult.

You can bring about a change in behavior in your favor by providing the occasional bit of praise and a special treat; which is something the trainer will show you how to achieve. You ought to reward your pet for good behavior then they will now exactly what they should not do in the future. You can not teach a dog some behavioral pattern which contradicts his natural breed. To make your pet follow specific behavioral training, you ought to choose one from a breed with can give you what you need. Training a dog requires perseverance, patience and of course a lot of love and kindness.

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Some dogs just absolutely refuse to become house trained. No matter how long and hard you have tried to implement techniques to get your dog to use the bathroom in the proper areas, he still chooses to be “vengeful” towards you by not following your instructions, right?

Wrong! The common misconception that your dog is trying to be vindictive and countermine your housetraining efforts by refusing to follow the rules is a complete myth.

Dogs only have the capacity for simple, direct emotions, such as being happy, sad, or scared. Their minds are not capable of plotting ways to seek revenge for that swat on his rear, or how you scolded him an hour ago.

Dogs do, however, remember and draw upon past experiences that they associate with current situations. But it is important to understand that these associations only create an emotion in which they will feel when going through a similar experience.

In other words, lets say that you punish your dog for urinating on the front porch. If you continue to scold him for this behavior then eventually your dog will become fearful of using the bathroom outside. All he knows is that he is “outside”, not on the front porch. Your efforts will countermine your housetraining goals.

For this reason alone, it is important never to punish or yell at your dog when he uses the bathroom inside the house. Most housetraining problems actually stem from owners who completely instill fear in their pets when they go potty on the floor. This creates enough trauma to completely halt all of your housetraining efforts.

The key is trying not to react. Instead, remove your dog from the room and take him outside in a very calm and relaxed manner. Be sure that he does not see you cleaning up his mess. Quietly clean the area and be sure to use an enzyme-containing house cleaner. Vinegar or liquid soap will do just fine as well. By completely removing all of the older, this helps reduce your dog’s need to urinate and mark the same spot over and over.

Tip: Avoid using ammonia because the smell is very similar to that of a dog’s urine and can stimulate him to pee in the same area.

When all else fails, schedule a visit with your veterinarian so that the doctor can do a complete health checkup of your dog to make sure that there is not a health-related reason for his inability to become house trained.

Some dogs can be harboring illnesses that may prove to be the cause of not having the ability to control their bowel movements. Such illnesses could be caused by ticks, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or the most common reason: a urinary tract infection.

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