PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

The subprime mortgage crisis, declines in some sectors of the economy, and a rising cost of living have led to more families moving out of houses and into apartments, townhomes, and condos. I see ads on Craigslist or in the newspaper almost every day, reading something like, “Free Border Collie. Have to move into an apartment and he won’t be happy there. Needs a yard.”

Does apartment living with a high-energy dog always spell disaster? Do all high energy dogs need a yard and a spacious house in order to be happy? While some dogs simply can’t function in an apartment, the majority of high-energy dogs can adjust to apartment living, and though the situation’s not ideal, it’s certainly a better plan than giving away a family member because of necessary changes in one’s living situation. More →

This year, Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer , became my mentor. What is he about? He is about teaching us that the human family is not only part of the pack, the human family has to become the pack leader! From the tiniest to the oldest member in the household.

A pack to a dog is any group of people and animals that it lives with. A pack has a set of rules, and those in the pack have to follow those rules, otherwise, there are consequences.

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Not every dog gets spayed (removal of female reproductive organs) or neutered (removal of male organs). Whether through an intention to breed or other motive, many individuals leave their companions intact. Left with a full complement of nature’s hormones, these dogs can react differently than their surgically altered counterparts.

Males with the normal amount of testosterone tend to be prone to seek alpha (leader) status, and when exposed to a female in heat will often ignore commands. Licking behavior increases, the male will gently head butt a female in the neck, and eventually try to mount.

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Teaching your pet tricks is easiest when you work with their nature, not against it. Most dogs are eager to please and respond enthusiastically to rewards. Teaching tricks is often as much a matter of simply using those rewards to direct or build on a spontaneous behavior as it is teaching an entirely foreign one.

Watch for spontaneous behavior close to the one desired. A dog will sometimes crawl on its belly for no apparent reason. It may be scratching, it may simply be having fun. If this is a desired trick, watch for the beginnings of the behavior, then be prepared to associate it with a hand gesture and voice command, then reward immediately.

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Proper training begins even before the pup is born. While it’s not always possible to buy a pup from champions, selecting the proper breed and temperament is essential.

Choosing a pup starts with choosing the dam and sire, whenever possible. The pup’s parents should be active, alert and amenable to training and preferably gaming dogs themselves.

But even the best of parents have offspring that differ in personality. Some pups simply don’t have the interest or temperament to be working dogs. No amount of training can overcome that limitation.

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The word ‘vital’ has its roots in the Latin word for life. That gives us a clue to why dog training is so important, both for owner and dog - it enhances the quality of life for each.

Though dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, they still have much of the wild in their natures. They adapt well to home life, but they are still dogs, not furry small children. Training helps maximize peace and security for both the dog and the family.

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It’s no accident that some breeds are more commonly found as working dogs. Retrievers, and a few others tend to have the Shepherdsphysical characteristics, intelligence and temperament needed to perform the complex behaviors even they need several years to master.

* Specialized training for service, assistance or even therapy dogs begins before birth and continues for several years after.

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