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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Earlier this week, I talked about two traits of an ethical pet shop. But, of course, the full picture could never fit in a single post; so, today, we’ll look at one more very important feature of an ethical pet shop, and will continue to explore this subject in the future. Every pet owner has the opportunity to make a tangible difference in animal welfare by purchasing those things we all need, like litter and pet food, from an ethical retailer. Without further ado, the third feature of the ethical pet shop:

3. The ethical pet shop treats its employees well, equipping them with knowledge, skills, and responsibilities that enable every employee to uphold the core values of the business.

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As anyone who’s ever had a fearful adult dog can attest, eliminating an established fear is tricky, whether it’s a common one like thunderstorm phobia or something more unusual, like a friend of a friend’s dog who’s afraid of pineapples. It takes patient, persistent desensitization to eliminate fear, and even when everything’s been done correctly, one startling experience can turn the “cured” dog back into a quivering mess. So, it’s clear that preventing fears from developing in the first place is the preferable option. But how does one do that?

Socialization Scavenger Hunt

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It’s not always easy to find time for your dog, especially if you have work, a family, school, and other committments weighing heavily on your time. However, it doesn’t always take hours of hard work to prevent problem behaviors like barking, chewing, jumping, nipping, pacing, and begging. Eliminating a problem behavior that’s firmly entrenched can be very time-intensive, but if you’ve got an average dog and want to prevent future problems while improving her current behavior, all you need is an extra 15 minutes a day.

That doesn’t mean you can replace meeting your dog’s exercise needs with these 15 minute training sessions. However, if you can give up one section of the paper, 15 minutes of surfing the web, or half of a TV program, and dedicate that time instead to training your dog, here are five ways you can use that time to improve your relationship with your dog and build productive behaviors while preventing undesirable ones. More →

You’ve got a puppy. Congratulations! Now is the time to prevent behavior problems in adulthood. Many serious issues can be prevented by properly raising your pup. More dogs die each year in the United States due to behavior problems than due to all contagious diseases combined. Make sure your dog won’t be an unpleasant statistic: Follow these five simple tips to raise a behaviorally healthy dog.

Touch Him All Over Every Day

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I cringe every time I see a dog wearing a barking collar, particularly the type that delivers a painful shock to a dog’s neck. These collars are stronger than many people think. When I put a standard Petsafe bark collar around my own neck and made a barking noise to trigger it, the shock I received was strong enough to make my knees buckle momentarily. It felt like a baseball bat to the throat. While shock collars are perhaps better than a dog losing its home due to problem barking, these painful collars should be used only as a last result. Most habitually barking dogs can become good neighbors using a combination of enrichment, positive reinforcement training, and management of their environment, without ever subjecting the dog to a shock and to the unpleasant potential side effects of punishment, which include fear and aggression.

Honestly Evaluate Your Involvement in the Problem

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By Bonnie Martin

Frequently I talk to, hear of, or read about someone who bought a trained horse and after riding it for a period of time decide that the horse needs to go to a trainer because it has developed a problem. Some of the time it is a matter of the horse “all of the sudden” not doing as well as it did at first. Perhaps, if it is a gaited horse, the desired gait disappears and presents the rider with a rough gait in its place. Or it might be that the horse starts doing something new such as fighting the bit, moving off while being mounted, not stopping well, rearing, spooking, or some other undesirable action that the rider didn’t have a problem with at first.

Before automatically assuming that the horse has a training problem, one should always rule out pain issues-tack, teeth, and soreness. Any of these things can cause a horse to act out in avoidance of pain.

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Like baby dogs (pups) and baby cats (kittens) …. baby ferrets (kits) like to chew. They use their teeth to nip and explore. But since they’re so small and sharp, that can be a painful experience. Fortunately, with patience, most ferrets can be trained not to injure a person or another ferret.

Scruffing in response to a bite is the most common technique for ‘disciplining’ a rowdy ferret. It consists of picking up a ferret by the loose skin of the neck, then holding his mouth closed between thumb and forefinger, while issuing the verbal order ‘No!’ Then, drag the ferret across the floor a short way to establish dominance.

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Golden Retrievers are among the more active breeds and require a lot of exercise to stay fit and happy. Originally bred for game fetching, these energetic dogs can run much of the day, even late into life.

Training and exercise should start young, at around 8-10 weeks. At first the level of activity should be no more than what the pup is willing to do spontaneously. They’ll scamper around, explore bushes and wrestle with one another in between naps. But add to that by getting them to follow you in a particular direction, at least briefly. That’s the beginning of focusing on you and doing as you ask.

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One of the most common reasons people have for buying a pet bird is the desire for a talking pet. Most people think of the talented African grey when they picture a talking bird, but quite a few different types of birds can actually learn to talk. In fact, some finch owners say their birds learned a few simple words. Of course, not all birds talk as well or as easily as other birds.

IMAGE SOURCE: Wikipedia / Congo African Grey Parrot

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