Puppies at five weeks!
October 5, 2012
Puppies at five weeks!
Are they even more gorgeous? They are 6 weeks old today, and every day sees them going further afield, yesterday was their first time going to the toilet outside. It takes a few outings for a litter to feel safe enough to toilet away from the nest, clever Mother Nature protects the young by inhibiting toileting on new ground before the ground is familiar to them. This is the reason, when dog owners first take puppies home, they won’t go to the toilet on walks to begin with, this behaviour is designed to keep the young safe from predators. But it is just the reason I want to get the puppies outside as soon as possible to get them used to going outdoors and speed up their house training.
Next Monday I will start their training, sits downs and little recalls, regular grooming and a car ride, the more normal this stuff becomes the easier they will be in their new homes! Not all sold yet!
Thank you to Jo at Jobo design for the great photo’s!
Betty and wheels and being a sheepdog!
July 21, 2010
Betty is mostly Border Collie, which means the herding instinct is strong for her! The first signs of this with Betty, and a lot of puppies, is she is interested in small wheels, things like the wheelie bins, wheelbarrows, vacuum cleaner and the hose reel winding and unwinding!
This innocent behaviour can rapidly turn into larger machines like lawn mowers, bicycles, motor bikes and cars! A very dangerous hobby for any dog!And herding is only found in Collies, many breeds can display this behaviour.
Luckily I know my Collies and I take action as soon as the early signs show themselves. For those that read the blog regularly you already know that where ever possible I want Betty to learn from her environment, as opposed to me constantly nagging her and saying “no”! The action I take when Betty starts chasing the wheel barrow wheel is to keep walking, not go round her, she is small so I don’t want to squash her too much, I walk slowly and deliberately, keeping to my chosen path, it is her job to get out-of-the-way! Rather she gets bumped by the barrow wheel than by a car! I do the same with the wheelie bins and the vacuum cleaner, with the vacuum I do push it at her a bit more deliberately, as it is lighter and hurts less if she isn’t quick enough! I also push the vacuum at her if she goes for the cable, I want her to learn very quickly not to go for electric cable!
I must add I don’t move these tools in a playful way, not too fast, as that may be enticing, but a boring ploddy sort of way! plus when I sweeping or mopping I put her in crate, these tools are just too tempting and she would learn more chase from these, the odd bump would not deter her:)
I was delighted this morning when I vacuumed that Betty did not attempt to chase the vacuum nor attack the cable!! 🙂 A step closer to keeping her safe in life!
Betty
Betty watching and not chasing!
has more than enough outlets for her natural instincts when herding me on a walk :), playing retrieve and other toy based games!
Do you want your dog to help with the gardening?
March 31, 2010
Does this look familiar? Have you got a photo of the real thing to share?
Spring is coming and the dogs will be spending more time out there, typically I am sure to be having a lot of questions about how to stop the puppies turning the garden into a bomb site! In anticipation here are some tips for those of you who are keen gardeners and do not want to lose your favourite plants this summer!
The good news first, dogs grow out of gardening by around their second birthday! If they don’t, it is not normal behaviour and you need to come and see me to correct the misunderstanding they have!
While growing it is natural for a puppy to explore their world and the garden is a wonderful place for them to do this, eating dirt, chewing sticks up, eating plants, digging around for insects, or just to see what is there is all normal behaviour, and if you fight this natural need to explore you will create more behaviour problems for yourself.
Management is the answer, by either fencing off an area that you give over to the puppy, or protecting your precious shrubs by fencing them off, to protect them from your puppy will make your life simpler, and allow your puppy to develop without upsetting you!
Ideally create a digging area for your puppy that is more interesting than the rest of the garden, this can be an earth area or you could make a sand pit, to reduce the mud you might get in the house. For a sand pit/digging area to be interesting you will have to dig it over once a day, add toys and objects of interest to the area, preferably bury these bits to make it more fun to find them!
Remember if you have just dug a part of the garden, or even better planted bulbs or plants, your puppy will make a bee line for this spot, your scent will make him think it must be interesting, prevent the puppy having access to this area for a few days until your scent has faded.
I am always delighted to have your queries and comments on any of the articles as it can lead to more clarity! Do you have a photo of your puppy digging in the garden for me to add to this post please?
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.
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!
A short film on a foundation training exerciseto
November 27, 2009
Watch this if you would like to improve your relationship with your dog! Learn to speak dog!
Avril Munson's Blog 