PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

In agility shows, dogs jump over hoops, run up and down ladders and zigzag through obstacles. The dogs appear to be having fun, and they enjoy being rewarded for their effort in the end. Not only do dogs have to be well behaved and trained for agility shows, but they also have to have confidence. According to Times of the Internet, agility shows can help your dog have more confidence to be active and social.

If your dog is shy around other dogs and people, agility training can improve your dog’s behavior. In order to be a part of an agility show, the dog has to be around other people and animals. To get started, purchase treats and a couple pieces of agility training equipment like a tunnel and a high pause table. Try to teach your dog to sit on the table and go through the tunnel by enticing the dog with a treat or toy. Your dog might be uncomfortable or unsure of what to do so be patient and consistent. The purpose of the training is to increase your dog’s confidence, not make your pet feel more insecure.

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“Should I get one rat, or two?”

That’s a question I hear asked very often, and, unlike most pet questions, it’s got an easy answer. Get two! Or, better yet, three, or as many rats as you have the time, space, and money to support! Rats are gregarious animals and need the company of their own kind in order to be happy. In fact, most good rat breeders require that babies be adopted in pairs.

In the wild, rats live in groups of hundreds. They are social animals that do not leave their colonies at adulthood, but simply expand their foraging radius and the size of their colony’s nesting area as the colony expands. Activities like play and social grooming help rats’ brains to develop. Studies have shown that social grooming is so important to rats that baby rats raised by a mother that does not lick and groom them grow up to be unfriendly and less intelligent than rats raised by a mother who is attentive.

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