Pet Stores that sell puppies - stop puppy mills!

When it came time for me to get my own personal first dog, I could hardly wait. I owned a macaw at the time, but had always wanted my own puppy. My mom told me that if I rehomed the macaw I could get a dog(I kept the macaw for quite some time after getting my puppy anyways:-)). I had been at the mall a few days prior to this, and had seen a very cute cocker spaniel puppy in the window. So we headed off to the mall “just to look”. We brought Tyler home that day. He had “championship lines” and he had the sweetest personality. He never got sick (though he did have eye problems throughout his life) and he lived to be 14 years old. I loved that dog. But what we didn’t know at the time, was that he was a puppy mill puppy. His “championship lines” consisted of 1 champion, 4 generations back. And we had lucked out…we got one that was healthy.

What do you feed your dog?

People have asked me several times over the past few months what I feed MY dogs. Generally with clients I will only describe how to read a dog food label and how to find a food that works best for their dogs since all dogs do different with different brands of food. Invariably the question comes up though about what I feed my own animals.

Help! My dog is aggressive with other dogs on the leash!

In our last post on this topic, we talked about reasons WHY a dog can be more aggressive towards other dogs when on the leash. Here we will give just a few tips on things to do to handle this problem. We of course have more tricks up our sleeves to deal with this annoying problem, after all, where would we be without a job? But these are some things to think about and do to lessen the behavior while you’re trying t find a trainer to come and help you with this problem.

Dog Chew Toys!

Most dogs love to chew. Sometimes they do this out of boredom, because they’re teething, out of anxiety (think of people chewing on their fingernails, it’s the same concept), and sometimes they do it just because they can and/or want to. Most trainers recommend as part of a protocol to help dogs that chew, appropriate chew toys.

My dog reacts aggressively at the front door?!

This can be a common problem. And it’s often a frustrating one for owners, especially those that have a lot of company come over. It’s always best to consult a professional trainer or behaviorist when dealing with any type of aggression. But we can give you a few tips on what NOT to do here.

how to housetrain a puppy - tips on potty training

 

Potty training a new puppy can be a hard time during the new pups life as well as yours. It usually occurs at a time when the new relationship between you and your pup is just beginning to form. Doing it incorrectly could damage this new relationship and confuse the dog.

Dog Trainer wars

Last night as I was teaching my obedience class, I started thinking of all the many ways to train a dog. There are as many ways to TRAIN a dog, as there are dogs to be trained. It is often said of dog trainers, “the only thing two trainers can ever agree on, is what the third is doing wrong!” I find that to be somewhat sad, but true.

Dog Parks - “petiquette” - pros and cons

Dog parks have become a large part of American society. People want to take their dogs out and let them run uninhibited. They enjoy watching their dogs have “friends” and most people love to watch their dogs play. But almost every day I hear of an “incident” at the local dog park. Why is this so? I think a key element in problems at dog parks is the fact that there are a lot of pet owners who are uneducated in the area of canine behavior and body language. Some are completely irresponsible with their dogs, or oblivious to anything going on around them. This leads to problems.

Vetraceuticals Reviewed

(I posted this as a “page” as well, but decided to make it a post on the main blog too and will alter the site as needed, since I also want to list this as a review for Vetraceuticals under my “review dog products section”)

SPECIAL: Please note that for the month of August 2008, All NEW Vetraceuticals customers will receive the first month of the product for FREE! That also includes free shipping/handling. While obviously the best way to achieve better health through vetraceuticals is for dogs or cats to remain on the product, there is no obligation to do so with this promotion. Visit http://www.vetrapethealth.com or leave a comment for more info. 

Throughout my time as a trainer I have been approached by various companies with different products wanting me to recommend their products to the general public. I have used a wide variety of different supplements for pets. Supplements that were to help everything from joints, to skin and coat. I have given the old APRL “Peak Performance” products, Vertex, and Animal Naturals products, as well as Missing Link and a variety of other supplements. While I do appreciate the supplements for the working dog, and continue to use things like Go Dog (electrolyte replacement etc), I have finally found a general supplement I really truly love for my dogs.

Dog Training Programs (cont) Group Classes

Another popular dog training program is the group class. Group class quality varies from trainer to trainer and class dynamics also plays a part in how well the dogs in the class end up trained. Typically class size varies from 5-25 students depending on the trainer. I personally prefer to limit my students to about 8 students to 1 trainer. This allows for