Training in puppies

We always anticipate the joys of all-that's-good about owning a puppy. But often it doesn't work out as well as we'd hoped. Because puppies are delightful bundles of energy and curiosity....but they can also be exasperating and frustrating.

The earliest training that your puppy must learn is housetraining. With patience, persistence, and consistency, housetraining usually takes only a few weeks. The key is to take the puppy outdoors at the times that dogs naturally eliminate and to praise them enthusiastically when they do. Establishing a designated area that the puppy can associate with elimination can be helpful. If accidents happen, take your pet outside to the designated elimination area and praise it for eliminating (if it does so). Punishment, such as rubbing a dog's nose in urine or faeces, does no good and can even have a negative effect on training. Each accident indoors sets the process back a little, so the fewer accidents, the better.

Proper nutrition is important throughout a dog's life and is especially critical during puppyhood. It is difficult for growing puppies to take in enough calories, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals to meet their needs for rapid growth and development. Puppies need multiple daily feedings of a specially formulated puppy food. The number of daily feedings can be gradually decreased as the puppy ages, but feeding with a name-brand puppy diet should continue until adulthood, which is about 9 to 12 months in most dogs but up to 2 years in giant breeds

All dogs should learn to pay attention and respond to everyone in the household. Teaching young dogs basic obedience commands, including sit, stay, down, come, and heel, increases the control that you have over your dog, which can prevent potentially dangerous situations (such as running away or running into the street). Dogs have an early socialization period, lasting from roughly 2 to 4 months of age. During this time, they more easily learn to accept new people, places, animals, and other experiences. Giving your puppy positive experience with new events during this period can help reduce the chances of fearful behavior and other problems later in life.

Many good books are available on raising and training puppies. In addition, many local trainers, kennels, and community services offer socialization and obedience classes. Socialization classes can begin as early as 8 weeks of age, with obedience classes generally starting at 4 to 6 months of age. In general, obedience training is an activity that you and your dog learn together. The trainer teaches you, and you teach your dog. It takes only a few hours per week, is generally fun for both you and your pet, and can establish good behavior and a strong family bond for the life of your dog.

Importance of Veterinary Care in puppy care

Just like people, dogs receive a certain degree of immunity (known as maternal immunity) that is passed from their mothers at birth and also shortly thereafter through her milk. Vaccinations cannot effectively stimulate the puppy's immune system until this maternal immunity wears off. Because maternal immunity declines slowly over time, puppies should be vaccinated every 2 to 3 weeks until they are about 4 months old. This ensures that the puppy receives an effective dose of vaccine soon after maternal protection is gone. Restricting access to unvaccinated dogs until the full series of vaccinations has been given is important to avoid disease.

Puppies need frequent vaccinations until they are 4 to 5 months old.

Intestinal parasites are most common in puppies. Larvae are often passed through the placenta or mother's milk. Worms are so common that new puppies are often treated with a broad-spectrum wormer as a routine preventive measure. Faecal examinations, with additional treatments as necessary, are usually done every 2 to 4 weeks, until 2 successive faecal examinations are negative.

The earliest training that your puppy must learn is housetraining. With patience, persistence, and consistency, housetraining usually takes only a few weeks. The key is to take the puppy outdoors at the times that dogs naturally eliminate and to praise them enthusiastically when they do. Establishing a designated area that the puppy can associate with elimination can be helpful. If accidents happen, take your pet outside to the designated elimination area and praise it for eliminating (if it does so). Punishment, such as rubbing a dog's nose in urine or faeces, does no good and can even have a negative effect on training. Each accident indoors sets the process back a little, so the fewer accidents, the better.

Dog walking – problems and solutions

The daily walk is an important part of responsible pack leadership — but for many, it’s also the most stressful. Mastering the walk will not only make this part of your daily routine enjoyable, but also go a long way towards addressing other problem behaviors as well, because it can help your dog to see you as the Pack Leader.

Here are some solutions for dealing with dog walking problems.

Not interested in going for a walk

This is a common puppy problem. The little guy just decides he’d rather sit down or otherwise do his own thing. You can help encourage your dog to get up and get going by picking him up and taking him away from your home. Why? Because he is more likely to be motivated to walk back home than he is to walk away from it!

Distracted on the walk

Some dogs like to stop and smell the roses. And then stop to smell them again and again... You can prevent this behavior by keeping the leash short (but not tight) and your dog’s head up. Maintain your calm-assertive energy and stay focused on your destination. Then allow your dog brief breaks to stop, explore, and relieve himself. These breaks are your dog’s reward for following you on the walk instead of their nose.

Pulling on the walk

This is one of the most common problems faced by dogs. Some dogs don’t want to walk; they want to run! So let them. Go for a jog, or go biking with your dog to drain that excess energy before trying to address the behavior.

Another powerful solution is the Pack Leader Collar. It’s likely your current collar is actually working against you. By being placed around the strongest part of your dog’s neck — the lower part — it’s actually helping your dog to pull you! Think about sled-pulling dogs; they use this part of their body to pull heavy loads behind them. Instead, the Pack Leader Collar keeps the collar at the top of the neck, giving you more control.

Lunging on the walk

Are you constantly walking to the other side of the street to avoid passing other dogs or people so your dog won’t lunge at them? Corrections are key. You want to address the problem behavior quickly and immediately. The Pack Leader Collar can also help with this by keeping the collar at the most sensitive part of the neck, where he is more likely to notice the corrections.

Still having trouble getting the message across to your dog? Have a friend or family member film you giving corrections. Watch your body language. First, are you reacting before your dog does? Your anticipation of the behavior may actually be causing it. Second, are you maintaining calm-assertive control (head up, shoulders back!) when giving corrections, or simply yanking your dog around?

 Stopping in the middle of the walk

It’s possible that your dog is overheated or overtired, so this should always be the first thing you consider: Are you asking her to go too long or in temperatures that are uncomfortable for her? Sometimes we forget that a dog’s exercise needs change as they age. It’s also possible your dog is suffering from a health issue. Consult your vet.

Once you’ve ruled those causes out, one strategy for dealing with this is to give a slight sideways tug on the leash to jolt the dog back into walking. You may have to repeat it if she stops again until she gets the message to keep moving.

Risks for pets from waterborne diseases

Did you know that your pet or animal companion is at just as much risk of contracting a waterborne illness as you are?

Many outdoor Enthusiasts take along their pets when hiking or camping.  Animal companions like dogs and horses can contract infectious diseases from contaminated water.  The same effects humans get from coming in contact with a contaminated water source can affect your dog, especially puppies.

Your animal not only can contract a waterborne illness from drinking contaminated water, but they may also pass along viruses or bacteria from running, splashing and playing in contaminated water.

Water safety for pets:

   ·         Don't let your pet enter or drink from water that has a rotten egg smell or dead fish floating in it.

·         Crystal clear water does not mean it's safe to drink or swim in - try to get closer to the source to see where the water is coming from.

    

   ·         Be sure to use proper hygiene and wash your hands with filtered and disinfected water after handling an animal which has been running and playing in freshwater, and before handling food, eating, etc.

    

    ·         Avoid allowing your animal companion or yourself from swimming, wading or diving in stagnant water, ponds, water contaminated with effluent (wastewater from a treatment plant), as you may contract dangerous amoeba  (the brain eating kind) through splashing water into eyes, up your nose, into ears, etc.

    

   ·         Understand the seriousness and types of Bacteria, Viruses, Parasites and Protozoa found in freshwater and the diseases or illnesses they cause.

    

    ·         As an extra measure of safety for you and your animal companion - you should use a both a portable water purifier and portable water filter when obtaining drinking water from a freshwater source.

   

    ·         Basically, use the same caution for your animal companion, as you would for yourself when it comes to playing in, and drinking from a fresh water source.

Types of aggression in dogs

That's not an easy question to answer.  The most common causes of aggression your dog may show to members of your family are:-

      

     1.   A fear-based response where your dog is suddenly scared by a family member who moves unpredictably near him or her - such as someone disturbing your dog when it is asleep or suddenly waving a stick or raising a hand near your dog - even in jest.

     

     2.  An anxiety disorder created from previous traumatic interactions with people and not necessarily those in your family. The concept of flight/fight response is relevant to this. Anxiety-based aggression often involves growling and barking vocalisations, lunging, your dog's hackles being raised and sometimes the 'showing of teeth'. Anxiety-based aggression often grows from fear-based responses or harmful mistreatment.

     

     3. Predatory aggression particularly if your dog's aggression is directed towards people who move past quickly such as children playing. Rarely, predatory aggression is directed towards crawling toddlers when they are crying. Predatory aggression is quick and often silent so it's very dangerous.

    

     4. Protective aggression where the dog feels the need to protect itself when people approach, especially if they approach in a rapid fear-inducing manner. However, protective aggression is just another form of anxiety.

     

     5. Resource-guarding aggression where a dog will aggressively protect a bone or a rawhide chew. Sometimes resource-guarding aggression occurs when people touch a dog's toy and occasionally dogs can resource-guard their favourite family members from other family members.

Dog grooming in home

Bad odour of canine companion has always concerned you. As a pet owner, we all love our canine buddies, but we do not want them with a bad odor. Regular dog grooming sessions can help a lot in dealing with such problems in pet.

When we talk about getting a dog clean, we're talking about - clean smell, clean fur and appear to be well kept. However, this varies with the breeds. Some dogs do not require much grooming , while others require extensive brushing and clipping to make them look their best.

Basic Grooming Steps

The basic steps involved in grooming a dog are outlined below:

1.       Brushing

Brushing is any dog owner's first line of defense in the battle to keep a dog clean. This task should be carried out on a weekly basis for short-coated dogs, and at least every other day for long-coated breeds. Brushing removes loose fur, prevents matting, gets rid of existing mats, and helps eliminate dirt and debris. A thorough brushing is essential before giving your dog a bath.

2.       Ear Cleaning

Dirty ears can cause odors and lead to infections. Some owners prefer to clean out a dog's ears prior to a full bath, but you can always take care of this task after bathing if you prefer. To clean the ears:

·         Soak a cotton ball in commercial canine ear washing solution.

·         Begin by wiping out the inside of the ear leathers.

·         Gently pull out small sections of hair if your breed is one that grows a lot of hair in the canals. This improves air circulation, which in turn makes the canals less hospitable to bacteria and mites.

·         Once excess hair is removed, soak a cotton swab in the cleaning solution, and try to remove any debris you might find a little deeper in the canal. Be careful not to go in too deeply.

3.       Tooth Brushing

No grooming session is complete without giving your dog's teeth a good brushing. You can choose to use doggie toothpaste or simply use water. Start at the back teeth and gently work the brush against the teeth in a circular motion, taking care to clean the gum line especially well. Remember to clean front and back surfaces.

4.       Bathing

Bathing is the single most important step in how to really clean a dog. It's honestly better to forego the tub full of suds in favor of a sprayer set up. It will be easier to see if you're really getting your dog clean when he's not submerged.

·         Adjust your water temperature to a comfortable setting.

·         Have your shampoo, optional cream rinse and towel at hand.

·         Place your dog in the tub, and use the sprayer to fully wet him down. Be extra careful around your pet's head so you don't flood his eyes, nostrils and ears.

·         Once your dog is thoroughly wet, apply the shampoo. Start at your dog's head and work your way back through the tail. Next, soap his undercarriage and legs. Don't forget to wash between his foot pads.

·         Starting at the head, rinse all the suds out of your dog's coat. Repeat the shampooing process one more time to make sure he's squeaky clean.

·         After the shampoo, you may choose to work some cream rinse through your dogs coat in the same manner as the shampoo. Although not every coat type requires cream rinse, most will benefit from it. This product is essential for long-coated dogs since it will make the post-bath brushing easier.

·         Rinse out the cream rinse, and give your dog a final once over to make sure you've removed all visible dirt.

·         Squeeze out as much excess water as possible, and towel dry your dog. Take care not to scrub long fur or it may become matted.

5.       Drying

Some people prefer to skip the drying step, and in some cases this is acceptable. However, blow drying does give the coat a finished look, and is required for long coats in order to keep your dog from becoming chilled. It also makes it easier to brush out mats.

6.       Nail Clipping

Once your dog is clean and dry, it's time to carry out any clipping he might need. First, examine your dog's nails to see if they need to be trimmed. Some people prefer to do this before the bath, but this leaves sharp edges on the nails. If you want to avoid being scratched, leave this task until after the bath.

Only trim the nails up to the pink "quick" just barely visible through the nail. If you go any further the nails will bleed and your dog is sure to yip. When dealing with black nails, just remove the tips.

7.       Fur Trimming

Some extra trimming may be necessary to help your dog stay clean. Check his pads to determine if the hair between them needs to be trimmed a bit. Excessive pad hair can become matted and also trap debris. You might also choose to trim a small amount of hair away from the anus of a long-coated dog to keep stools from becoming trapped.

Finally, a long-coated dog will benefit from having the overall length of his coat trimmed level with the floor. You can also round off the paws to give them a clean, finished look.

Conclusion

Now you know how to really clean a dog just like the professional groomers do. With a little practice, no one will be able to tell that you groomed your dog yourself!