Electric dog collars!?
October 27, 2009
I cannot believe that I have found a blog that recommends electric collars for dogs! Using an electric collar to train a dog is not only lazy and barbaric, but can also lead to more behaviour problems than they solve!
Fireworks are coming – look after your dog!
October 27, 2009
Bonfire night is a nightmare for some dog owners every year, this is aggravated by fireworks getting louder and the period on time that fireworks are available. There was a time when fireworks were only let off on one night a year, nowadays it can last a month and then we have the whole thing again at new year! Many dogs would cope for one night, but the repetition of the experience wears even stable dogs down.
Solutions:
make your dog feel safe by providing a “den”, a crate is ideal covered with thick blankets to keep out any light effects.
homeopathic and aroma therapy products can help, consult your local consultant or health shop.
do not try to soothe your dog, this will only cause them to be more frightened!
for some dogs putting a “T” shirt on them can make them feel cocooned and safer
if your dog likes playing in doors, play can be used to lift your dogs adrenaline which in turn makes them feel braver.
Toilet training any dog!
October 27, 2009
Toilet training
Dogs do want to be clean!
Toilet training a young puppy takes time and effort from the owner, and is not an easy task, especially when you are new to dogs and have a busy household to run. However investing this time in your young dog will pay off and a good concentrated effort over 2 weeks will get you both through the worst.
- Take the dog outside every 2 hours (this is the minimum, for really small puppies i.e. 8-12 weeks more frequently)
- Stay outside with the puppy until he/she goes to the toilet
- Praise him as he goes to the toilet, e.g. “Good dog, good dog” in a quiet calm voice
- Use a key word to encourage the puppy to go, such as ‘busy, busy’ or ‘be clean’, your puppy will learn what is expected and learn to go on command.
- Do not put newspaper down indoors – if you do the puppy will learn that you want he/she to go to the toilet indoors
- If you come home or enter a room, to a mess, do not scold your dog.
You could tell the dog off, if you catch him in the act of going to the toilet indoors, but you must take him outside immediately, and stay with him until he goes. This way you can balance out the scolding, by praising the dog for getting it right.
Remember:
- All dogs want to be clean
- Your dog does not go to the toilet just to upset you or to get you back! Even if it feels like that!
- Dog’s do forget and will get it wrong sometimes
- You will succeed!
Problems:
Should your dog start toileting indoors only when left alone, it is not a house training problem, it is likely to be the onset of separation anxiety and you will need more help to solve this issue, but you can! Contact Avril for more help!
Occasionally a medical problem can be the cause, always consult your Vet.
The Pie!
October 21, 2009
"The Pie" looking gorgeous!
Yes he has one blue eye! whenever we are out everyone comments “he has one blue eye” I wonder if they think I hadn’t noticed before then? 🙂 When we were in Italy I even learnt to understand that phrase in Italian so not just brits that notice!
I assure you he can see with both eyes just the same and I chose him because there was a good chance he would have a blue eye!
Puppy rules or how to live with a puppy!
October 21, 2009
Arabella's puppy now doing well in the show ring!
Dogs are pack animals, which is why they live so well with us in our family units, which to them equates to the ‘pack’. The most successful packs in the wild are those where there are clear rules, boundaries and constraints; every dog knows its job and what it can and can’t do. Their survival depends upon clear rules and consistency. This in itself offers the dog a sense of security.
To give a dog the best possible start within our ‘pack’, we too need to clearly outline and instigate rules and boundaries. Without these, our dog begins to display unwanted behaviours such as play-biting, jumping up uninvited, stealing and behaving like a real ‘wild child’! Often we try to fix the actual problem but the underlying causes remain the same and the behaviour never really disappears.
Here is my list of suggested rules, which would remain in place until the dog is at least 2 years old:
- Restricting the dog’s area when he or she is left alone
- Not allowing the dog on furniture
- Ensuring the dog moves out of our way when required – not us stepping over the dog or around it
- No one is to play rough or ‘fighting’ games with the dog
- Do not allow the dog to play fight/play bite with other dogs living in the household
- No ‘tug of war’ games with the dog
- No jumping up uninvited
- No feeding the dog from the table or plates
- All food and titbits should be ‘worked’ for, for example asking the dog to Sit for his dinner or titbit
- Not constantly responding to the dog’s demands for attention – they do not require constant entertainment
- When returning to the dog, ignoring him or her for at least 5 minutes before greeting (displays leadership skills and reduces over-excitement at your return)
Without rules and boundaries, your success in training your dog will be limited and you will not experience the true joy of a well-adjusted, well-mannered dog, which you can be justifiably proud.
If you experience problems in successfully instigating your rules or do not understand why any of the above are suggested, please contact me.
An excerpt from my upcoming book “following the lead”!
October 20, 2009
an excerpt from my upcoming book “following the lead”
My family background
Both of my parents were townies! Animals did not play any part in their childhoods, not an auspicious start for a dog trainer, or was it?
My Dad was born within the sound of Bow Bells in a poor part of the East End. His Mother my Nan was in service before she married my Grandfather who was a dock worker, as were his forefathers, when there was work available. I didn’t ever meet my paternal Grandfather, he deserted his family before my Dads fifth birthday, by which time my Nan had given birth to 3 other children, though as was common back then, only 3 survived at that point in time.
My Dad told me how Nan would wake them in the night, to flee their lodgings to avoid paying the rent that was due, illustrating the level of poverty they were living under. My Dad always thought that Mum was up market from him!
My Mum, by comparison had a more affluent start in life, it was certainly more stable being supported by 2 parents and a large extended family in the city of Lincoln. Mum was one of 8 children, with 5 surviving to adulthood. Her Dad, my Granddad worked in a local factory and was a band leader for the Salvation Army in his spare time. I do remember that my maternal grandparents did not like animals. For Mum and Dad it was an era of little leisure time and even less disposable income, little wonder that neither of them had ever lived with a pet dog.
Society
In the decade I was born, human life was not respected or treated as carefully as it is now, and dogs even less so.
For the most part, only the more privileged classes owned pedigree dogs, including the hunting and shooting types. Sterilisation of dogs was not the norm and in this age of latch key children and dogs, crossbreds bred freely and were cheap to come by, if not free, as the puppies were unplanned and unwanted.
Compared to today dog training was still in the dark ages, a time when a “good hiding” was the most commonly known method of training a dog, to “show them whose the boss”. When reward based training was practically unheard of, but considering reward was not a familiar concept for teaching children it is hardly surprising that dogs fared no better.
I feel fortunate that I grew up in a household that did not believe in beating children or dogs, at least two mistakes my parents did not make though they were so very ignorant about dogs, as was I!
Hello world!
October 19, 2009
My first day with a blog page, I am still playing with the set up and loading pictures maybe tomorrow I will actually write something of interest!
Avril Munson's Blog 