I found a new product last summer to help with those brown patches on the lawn and bushes, it is called “dog rocks” and is a rock mined in Australia. You put the rocks in the dogs drinking bowl and this naturally occurring rock does the rest. It takes about six weeks to kick in so get some now to get the process working for you!
Visit the site for more information or go to my links page for link.
What is okay for puppies to eat?
March 11, 2010
For first time dog owners the world can seem a dangerous place for their precious puppies! But I have to tell you puppies have remarkable constitutions, this is a born scavenger and nature equipped them with a stomach that can withstand most natural materials and decomposed matter!
If you allow your human squeamishness to interrupt your puppy eating rubbish every time, and this will be frequent while the puppy is young, you will be giving out this message: I want what you have, it is something I am interested in and I am competing with you to have “it” first! Young dogs learn from older dogs in the pack what is valuable in this world, if the other dogs are interested then it must be good! You or the humans in the puppy’s life play this part in a human home.
If you don’t want your puppy to keep showing interest in stuff then you must not either! If you are too disgusted use some tasty food to distract your puppy from the thing, do not let your puppy see you remove “it” or you will be back to encouraging again. By using something tasty to distract you will be actively demonstrating that there is something better to eat as well as demonstrating your lack of interest which over time will teach your puppy not to go for inappropriate things to eat.
Stones are one of the commonest problem that I come across especially in new dog owners, though some more experienced owners do make the same mistake. The reality is that puppies will pass small stones easily, and they are bound to consume a few in discovering that stones are not food, by distracting the puppy over and over with a tasty tit bit you will soon persuade them to leave stones alone! If not this problem can soon escalate to eating larger and larger stones that could block the bowel and endanger your pets life or incur large vet bills.
The other downside of not addressing this issue is that the puppy can become possessive over something as simple as tissue if you constantly remove them from her.
here is a list of stuff that puppies can and should be allowed to explore that are harmless and will if ignored soon be forgotten:
- Tissue, including kitchen roll, toilet paper
- Paper in any form
- Cardboard
- Wood pieces (do not throw or play with sticks)
- Tea towels (leave old ones lying around until they get bored or old bits of cloth)
- Ash, bits of coal
- animal excrement!
Dogs will take food that is left out, if I leave my kitchen with food on the side I don’t expect it to be there when I return! It is the nature of the dog to scavenge, and fighting this natural behaviour will just give you a headache and spoil your relationship with your dog.
If your dog is already possessive about any or all of these items please contact me, this is curable!
What to look for if you think your puppy has eaten something dangerous
- Lethargy
- Sickness
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
call your Vet immediately!
New dangerous dog legislation
March 9, 2010
From what I have read so far the new legislation will make third party insurence compulsory for all dog owners, now this sounds like a great idea to me! Why would any dog owner object to insuring their dog to protect other people and dogs, the reality is that any of our dogs are capable of injuring others, even if not deliberately, and it is a responsible action to have insurence so that anyone affected can claim compensation.
I can only hope the legislation will cover dog to dog attacks and other animals!
Currently dog wardens can only suggest that a dog wears a muzzle, unless the dog is taken to court. Dog wardens to ask people to muzzle their dogs for no reason, and it is only right that this becomes enforcable.
I have already read comments from dog owners objecting to insuring their pets third party, how can it be responsible not to?
I look forward to hearing your views?
Insurence why would I need insurence?
Preventing or curing food possession in your dog!
March 4, 2010
Let the training begin! Here is the first step of preventing or curing food possession in any dog, any age!
Follow the steps on the clip and repeat every day for 2 weeks, if your dog is already food possessive you may need to continue for a month, it will work, if you have any questions or comments please post them?
Dry food is ideal for this process, wet food can be used, but if you have a food possessive dog please consider changing to a good quality dry food. Contact me if you want more guidance.
Please show tell all the dog owners you know about this simple method of preventing food possession, it will save lives and injury to people!
More information coming on upcoming posts, watch this space!
How I want my dog to behave around food!
March 4, 2010
When we want or don’t want a dog to behave a certain way we have to consider the outcome that we are seeking. With food possession by being clear about this result could never be more important. There are still people that believe that if we take a dogs food away from it we are proving he is seeing us as the boss, this is not so. Even the most submissive animal in a wolf pack will not give up food to a superior wolf, even the pack leader! Animals respect ownership of food, it is too dangerous not to. So must we, I would not tolerate anyone repeatedly taking food from my plate, let alone my plate of food, you might get away with it once or twice but with repetition I would become guarded and dangerous! 🙂
The reality is that when a dog is eating it is necessary that we can move near the dog without him feeling threatened or on guard, the worst case scenario is that someone trips up and lands in thd dogs bowl, and what we want is for the dog to not react negatively.
The video in this post demonstates the out come that is required, over the next posts I will teach you how to achieve this behaviour!
Please give your comments and questions!
New dog products, a short review!
January 28, 2010
I have been reading a dog magazine published in the USA today, what a good read, I just love the adverts for doggy products! From “fart free” tame the flatulence biscuits to a ridiculous Louis XVI replica of the façade of la Place Verdome, fitted with 24 carat gilded handles and feet and lined with velvet, featuring dog sleeping quarters on the lower floor and drawers on the second level. (from www.puppydeparis.fr in case you have the odd $7300 to spend on a dog bed!
And the Sonex hat, at least more affordable $18 is a polar fleece with ear pockets to keep your dogs ears warm on cold winter walks from caniswear.com
There are several great products that I would buy if I saw them in a shop! Let me know if you feel the same way and I will look into importing some?
Here are a few:
Poochie bells, a puppy toilet training aid, they look great and are a fast way to teach your puppy to make a noise when they want to go out, dogs are often more mature before they will bark or whine to go out, so this is a short cut. www.poochiebells.com
Dog print passport holder, it is really pretty! www.fluffshop.com
Brake-fast dog bowls, claim to slow down fast eaters, I would suggest feeding the dog more, fast eating equals very hungry! But in the case of rescue dogs or those prone to gastric problems go to www.brake-fast.net!
This is my favourite the Pro-collar, the answer to the lampshade collar used for post operative care in dogs. This collar is in the shape of a thick tyre, it prevents the dog turning round on operation sites, without the sharp edges of the lampshade, leaving the dog’s head free for eating and drinking and our legs free of the bruises from the lampshade! www.gandbmarketing.com
Cure or avoid your dog being possesive of food!
December 14, 2009
Preventing or curing your dog of food possession is so simple I have to let you all know, please pass this on to all the dog owners you know, there is no need for any dog to be possessive or aggressive around food! Prevention is always better than cure so a few simple steps repeated as often as necessary will keep your dog relaxed around food.
I will post a short video highlighting the steps in the next few days for anyone wanting more guidance!
At feeding time, put your dogs food in one bowl and have an empty dog bowl to hand, put the empty bowl on the floor, your dog will wonder where his food is :), now add your dogs food one handful at a time until it is all gone!
If your dog is food possessive already, wait for him to clean the bowl each time before adding more.
You are training your dog that your hand coming near him at the bowl brings more food, he will soon accept anyone near his bowl as likely to bring more food and in this way will not be at all resentful!
Do not ever take your dogs food away from him, this will teach him to be possessive instead of accepting. What would you do if someone kept taking your food from you? I know that I would soon get very protective of my dinner!
The goal is for your dog to accept anyone falling in his dinner, which is the worst that is likely to happen!
If you have any questions please post them in the comments and I will answer them!
Dog trainers need to listen!
December 11, 2009
A handsome standard Poodle!
I have had 3 new clients start with me this week, they have all seen at least 2 other trainers before getting to me, the one thing they all had in common was that though they had done some great dog training with these other trainers they all shared the same complaint, the dog behaviour issue that had made them pick up the phone had not been addressed!
Yes they may have needed to train their dog to do some basic trianing exercises, and I do get the point of teaching the dog a few new tricks, this can often improve the bond between dog and owner, and at least is great fun, but at some point the owner needs taking through how all this new knowledge can be applied to resolve the original behaviour problem, that is our job! I suspect this aspect has just been overlooked, all 3 of these dogs have a good level of obedience, the owners have worked hard and have taken and used the good advice they have been given, it is the trainers job to keep the purpose of the training in focus at all times, so that the owner can see where the work they are doing is going to help them. The last piece of the puzzle is guiding the owner through the training in the situation that they were struggling with.
I think as dog trainers it is easy to forget just how much we are expecting our human clients to learn, and as with any new subject, every step of the training requires assistance, if the owner is clear about what to do, in a given set of circumstances then the dog gets trained!
I love this part of my job, it is like putting the icing on the cake!
Today at the BBC Essex Radio studio!
December 2, 2009
I hope some of you managed to listen in to hear me on BBC Essex today, if you missed the show you can still log on and listen to the show on the BBC Essex Web site. It was a very appropriate day for me to be at the station, following the tragic death of a four year old boy in a dog attack in his Grandmother’s home. I had a sense of carrying a big responsibility as I drove to the studio. I felt strongly that some sense has to come from such a tragic event, if we can only get through to someone out there and save another child or hopefully children.
I can honestly say it is the most passionately I have spoken at any time on the radio! I am glad to say there was a strong response to the show with many calls, so many we had no hope of addressing them all, sadly, but at least we had peoples attention! I pray that even more were affected by the dog behaviour we discussed.
One of the controversial calls was from a lady with a 2 year old Golden Retriever, the dog had recently bitten her badly on both her arms, 2 vets had recommended the dog destroyed and one dog behaviour professional had alledgedly said the dog’s behaviour could be changed and they were prepared to work with the owners. This lady has a 13 year old son, would you recommend her to train this dog? Professionally and personally I would not, if there were just 2 adults in the house that would be there choice, but with a child present I would not and will not. It is a tough event to walk into the vets to have a dog put down, I know I have had to do it, but that is the responsibility we must embrace when we live with and love dogs, people and especially our children must come first.
With any dog attack there are always or almost always warning signs if we don’t heed them we can find ourselves in a similar position to the lady with Golden Retriever or worse. Nip it is the bud, do not ignore dog aggression, prevention is always better than the cure, for once a dog has bitten to this degree there is no way back!
We all had a great morning training our dogs!
December 1, 2009
Pepe having a drink!
The recall training session this saturday was great fun, the thing that struck me most was how good the handlers were at concentrating on their own dogs! Not easy when they were all off lead, but the dogs responded to the handlers concentration and stayed focused!
We had 2 Jack Russell Pups and 2 GSD pups, all of which were great fun, the owners have done a great job of playing hide and seek with their puppies before the training session, which proved the value of this exercise once again, as the puppies were much more interested in their handlers than the other dogs and handlers!
Pepe and Janice were in attendance and Janice very kindly forwarded me this photo of Pepe which I am glad to share with you. Pepe is a huge handsome GSD, Janice has put in some great work with him and it looks to be paying off! I know Sue Horn has been a great support Janice, so well done to both of you! I look forward to working with you again soon!
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