Our dogs can sometime smell and look dirty but how often should we bath a dog? As a general rule, we must understand that we must not attribute any human values to it. You might even make this theory that dogs should bath everyday but they don't. Some would like to bath it once a week, others might do it monthly or yearly. It all depends on your dog's skin. My Thai Ridgeback dog can't stand frequent baths like once a week or earlier than that because his skin might begin to shed in some parts and might cause him to have some baldspots in certain areas. So I changed it to once a month. If you would like to know how often you should bath your dog, test his skin ability to withstand to bath time. If you do it once a week like me and he starts to shed, change it to once a month. If once a month might not do, set a longer period if you would like. For instance, 3 months once.
You might also think of giving him a shower without soap definitely when he gets dirty in a mud puddle or something dirty. Use water to rinse and scrub the dirt off his body. The reason we shouldn't apply soap too often to dogs is because they may have skin problems after using the soap like dry skin, shedding skin and so on. So, remember to set a time interval for a dog bath that is suitable for him. This might require some time and experimenting.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
A quick fact about dogs
It is very common for dogs to jump on people when they meet us. They do that as a sign of greeting someone like saying "Hello, nice to meet you!" Although it might be annoying or unacceptable for some people, especially with their dirty paws! Anyway, the reason they do that is because when our dogs were puppies, they feed on their mum by standing up on the legs to obtain milk. When they grow older, they start to greet people that way. So now you know why dogs jump on people. If you would like to break your dogs habit from jumping up on people, the "sit" command can be very useful.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Come and join Dog Forum!
http://www.dogforum.com/
Come and join Dog Forum which is a site that dog lovers go to discusss about dogs! It is FREE and I am already a member of the forum. My username is dogsareourfriend just for you information. So what are you waiting for? Click on the link on top now to join!
Come and join Dog Forum which is a site that dog lovers go to discusss about dogs! It is FREE and I am already a member of the forum. My username is dogsareourfriend just for you information. So what are you waiting for? Click on the link on top now to join!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Amazing dog trainer and his dog!
Wow! I am very impressed at how this dog can perform that many tricks. We can conclude from this that "you CAN teach an old dog new trick." There are no stupid dogs only stupid owners really. No offence but thats a real fact. If you failed to teach him tricks take responsibility for it and this is not because your dog is too stupid or stubborn to learn but it is because your method or technique might be wrong or might not apply to his understanding. So keep trying and best of luck with all of you in training and bonding with your pet!
Clicker training vs normal training
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC367wKGi4M
Using a clicker can be very effective when training your dog. The general rule on using the clicker should be to "click then reward" and not the other way around. The clicker is used to tell him that he had responded correctly to your commands and that he will receive a reward.
For more about clicker training you can go to http://www.clickertraining.com/
Normally training without a clicker can still be fine if the dog owner has the consistency in his body language and tone. For example, when I want my dog to sit I would put my hand above his head pointing my finger and say "sit" or either way he would sit. He won't sit when i say something else or if my body posture is different. For example if I sit down while giving him the sit command he won't sit. So both consistent body posture and tone give us consistent results from our dog. So use consistent words to and don't confuse him (e.g If your command to release him from a sit is "Free", don't say "Break" after that since it might confuse him and he might not respond to your command.") So be consistent with your normal training techniques that you apply to get the desired response from your dog.
Using a clicker can be very effective when training your dog. The general rule on using the clicker should be to "click then reward" and not the other way around. The clicker is used to tell him that he had responded correctly to your commands and that he will receive a reward.
For more about clicker training you can go to http://www.clickertraining.com/
Normally training without a clicker can still be fine if the dog owner has the consistency in his body language and tone. For example, when I want my dog to sit I would put my hand above his head pointing my finger and say "sit" or either way he would sit. He won't sit when i say something else or if my body posture is different. For example if I sit down while giving him the sit command he won't sit. So both consistent body posture and tone give us consistent results from our dog. So use consistent words to and don't confuse him (e.g If your command to release him from a sit is "Free", don't say "Break" after that since it might confuse him and he might not respond to your command.") So be consistent with your normal training techniques that you apply to get the desired response from your dog.
Dog Training : Sit
Sit is one of the most basic and easiest command you can teach your dog to obey. The video above is a video that I made to teach you how to get your dog into a sit position.
The right technique to keep in mind:
1) Showing him something he likes treat or chew toy (petting can also be used after your dog understand sit)
2) Move your hand position to the top of his head and say "sit"
3) When he does that you can give him a reward and praise him (e.g Good Boy!)
If you have trouble getting him to sit, tuck him into a sit positon and give him the reward him. Other problems might be because of too many distracting things around your dog so move your training to a different area of the house or place.
Dog's personality
Dogs can come in different sizes, shape and behaviour.
Have you seen some dogs who can get along with cats and some who will bark at cats?
This occurs because they have a different personality and background.
I classify them into 2 groups: Tame and Aggressive
Tame characteristics: They are very calm, always smiling, wagging their tail often and friendly to you. The ideal pet for most dog owners.
Aggressive characteristics: They bark with a high-pitch tone when they sense movement like when a cat is around, they sniff a lot when they walk, most of the time they pull the leash real hard when untrained.
These are the 2 most common groups I notice from my observation. Tame dogs are ideal pets whereas aggressive ones are more like a hunting dogs but can be still kept as ideal pets if trained properly. Take advantage of your dogs aggressive characteristics as he can be a good guard dog when you are away or asleep. Tame dogs are less likely to bark at people, for example, everytime I go to my cousin's house, his Golden Retriever would not even bark at us (definitely tame) whereas his other dog would bark at us (definitely aggressive.) His Golden Retriever jumps on us when we come near her as a sign of saying "hello" and his other dog (aggressive) once bitten my aunt when she wanted to feed him when my cousins were away from home.
Learn to read your dog as this might benefit you during your training later on.
Have you seen some dogs who can get along with cats and some who will bark at cats?
This occurs because they have a different personality and background.
I classify them into 2 groups: Tame and Aggressive
Tame characteristics: They are very calm, always smiling, wagging their tail often and friendly to you. The ideal pet for most dog owners.
Aggressive characteristics: They bark with a high-pitch tone when they sense movement like when a cat is around, they sniff a lot when they walk, most of the time they pull the leash real hard when untrained.
These are the 2 most common groups I notice from my observation. Tame dogs are ideal pets whereas aggressive ones are more like a hunting dogs but can be still kept as ideal pets if trained properly. Take advantage of your dogs aggressive characteristics as he can be a good guard dog when you are away or asleep. Tame dogs are less likely to bark at people, for example, everytime I go to my cousin's house, his Golden Retriever would not even bark at us (definitely tame) whereas his other dog would bark at us (definitely aggressive.) His Golden Retriever jumps on us when we come near her as a sign of saying "hello" and his other dog (aggressive) once bitten my aunt when she wanted to feed him when my cousins were away from home.
Learn to read your dog as this might benefit you during your training later on.
Dog Owner's Etiquette
As a dog trainer you should be patient, kind and friendly to your dog when training him or dealing with his behaviour. This etiquette must be maintained at all times during dog training even though is frustrating, don't raise your voice to him. Also remember don't attribute human characteristics to a dog as this may never work out.
He only follows your command because of 3 things:
1) It's fun
2) Whats in it for me? chew toy? petting? treats?
3) Trained to obey
So if you wanna expect him to do as you command, remember to guide them with proper techniques through training and not hit him like what a parent would do to their child if they misbehave, it doesn't work that way.
Also, take this as a very clear example, your dog runs across the road to chase a cat and when he comes back you scold and hit him. He will be upset since you are angry and he doesn't know why you are scolding him for because he chased a cat which for him is fun and when he comes back having fun, you scolded him. So never attribute any human values to them.
Tip: If you want your dog to come to you more often. Be nice to them like petting them or giving them a treat.
He only follows your command because of 3 things:
1) It's fun
2) Whats in it for me? chew toy? petting? treats?
3) Trained to obey
So if you wanna expect him to do as you command, remember to guide them with proper techniques through training and not hit him like what a parent would do to their child if they misbehave, it doesn't work that way.
Also, take this as a very clear example, your dog runs across the road to chase a cat and when he comes back you scold and hit him. He will be upset since you are angry and he doesn't know why you are scolding him for because he chased a cat which for him is fun and when he comes back having fun, you scolded him. So never attribute any human values to them.
Tip: If you want your dog to come to you more often. Be nice to them like petting them or giving them a treat.
Training
Are you training your dog or is the dog training you?
Do know that dogs are also smart creatures. Have they been training you all along? A few examples that are very noticable when they are training you instead of the other way around:
1) You give them food whenever they come to you while you are eating
2) Your dog barks at you when he sees you and you take him for a walk
3) You walk your dog and he pulls you to the direction he wants to go
These are the few common examples of when they are training you. So if you think these kind of habit is unacceptable start training them to be more well-behaved.
Do know that dogs are also smart creatures. Have they been training you all along? A few examples that are very noticable when they are training you instead of the other way around:
1) You give them food whenever they come to you while you are eating
2) Your dog barks at you when he sees you and you take him for a walk
3) You walk your dog and he pulls you to the direction he wants to go
These are the few common examples of when they are training you. So if you think these kind of habit is unacceptable start training them to be more well-behaved.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Does my dog need training?
Ask yourself this, does your dog:
1) Jump on people
2) Beg at the table for food
3) Bother other dogs or people
4) Doesn't come to you when called
5) Pulls on a leash
If you answer yes to one or more of the above, then you definitely should undergo training with your dog. If not he is the perfect pet for you at the moment until at some point your dog might start developing bad habits like one of the above. Even so, puppies need training because they need to develop good habits at an early age.
1) Jump on people
2) Beg at the table for food
3) Bother other dogs or people
4) Doesn't come to you when called
5) Pulls on a leash
If you answer yes to one or more of the above, then you definitely should undergo training with your dog. If not he is the perfect pet for you at the moment until at some point your dog might start developing bad habits like one of the above. Even so, puppies need training because they need to develop good habits at an early age.
Are you being cruel to your dog?
Did you commit any of these crimes listed below:
1) Depriving them the opportunity to interact with family members or other dogs.
2) Restricting their movement by chaining them up or locking them up in a narrow dog cage
3) Hitting them everytime they misbehave
If you did any of the above, you are cruel to them! These are a few of them that I have witnessed around me. I have seen some owners hitting their dogs with cane whenever they bark and I have seen some who even tie them up to a wall outside their house and leave them there for a long time. As an advice, stop doing any of the above as there are better solution to solve this that I will discuss later on.
1) Depriving them the opportunity to interact with family members or other dogs.
2) Restricting their movement by chaining them up or locking them up in a narrow dog cage
3) Hitting them everytime they misbehave
If you did any of the above, you are cruel to them! These are a few of them that I have witnessed around me. I have seen some owners hitting their dogs with cane whenever they bark and I have seen some who even tie them up to a wall outside their house and leave them there for a long time. As an advice, stop doing any of the above as there are better solution to solve this that I will discuss later on.
Hey World!
Hi,
In the next few weeks, I will be blogging about dogs from dog training to in-depth information about dogs. The contents in my blog will be dedicated to troubled dog owners who have problems with their dogs and as my hobby and passion for dogs.
By the way, I am a dog enthusiast and I owned various dogs before for the past 8 years and I enjoy keeping them as not only a pet but as a friend. Dogs can be fun to have around but at times they tend to misbehave like chewing our shoes, stealing food, digging holes in our backyard and the list of bad things goes on. Thats when your relationship with them starts to decrease and you start hating your dog for all the bad things he did. In the end, you tie him up or lock him up since he is unruly and he is never allowed off a leash since he will go wild when he is free from a leash. That is very cruel and a wrong way to treat a dog. Instead, there is another solution for this which makes him the beloved pet he deserves to be.
My first advice to dog owners who have trouble controlling their dog's bad behaviour is to get dog training. Dog training is an absolute MUST as this will be essential to form a strong bond of love while having fun with your pet and to train him to be well behaved. In short, dogs should undergo training as it is very beneficial to them and to pet owners.
My hope is that pet owners should stop mistreating them and start loving them for they are man's best friend.
In the next few weeks, I will be blogging about dogs from dog training to in-depth information about dogs. The contents in my blog will be dedicated to troubled dog owners who have problems with their dogs and as my hobby and passion for dogs.
By the way, I am a dog enthusiast and I owned various dogs before for the past 8 years and I enjoy keeping them as not only a pet but as a friend. Dogs can be fun to have around but at times they tend to misbehave like chewing our shoes, stealing food, digging holes in our backyard and the list of bad things goes on. Thats when your relationship with them starts to decrease and you start hating your dog for all the bad things he did. In the end, you tie him up or lock him up since he is unruly and he is never allowed off a leash since he will go wild when he is free from a leash. That is very cruel and a wrong way to treat a dog. Instead, there is another solution for this which makes him the beloved pet he deserves to be.
My first advice to dog owners who have trouble controlling their dog's bad behaviour is to get dog training. Dog training is an absolute MUST as this will be essential to form a strong bond of love while having fun with your pet and to train him to be well behaved. In short, dogs should undergo training as it is very beneficial to them and to pet owners.
My hope is that pet owners should stop mistreating them and start loving them for they are man's best friend.
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