Dog Puppy Behavior Training Help

Barking Dog? Resolutions ** Danger! ** Do Not Use an Anti Bark Collar on Your Dog or Puppy, without reading this first!

Okay, so your dog is barking and you have the perfect, initial solution; buy one of those anti bark dog collars, right? WRONG! Please do not misunderstand, I agree there are situations when an anti bark collar is a good choice, but spraying a dog with citronella, sounding a tone, (or using an e-collar ) are never at the top of my list of tools and solutions for barking. Anti bark collars address the...

Puppy Play Biting Solutions

Have you ever watched dogs play together? They are a riot! They jump, mount, growl, bite, mouth, snap, nip, bark and chase. That’s how they play. It’s normal behavior! Play-biting occurs when some of these normal, play behaviors are directed at human body parts and human clothing. Play biting is a stage of development. All puppies play bite, some more than others. Puppies mature and grow out of...

Who is Regulating our Pets’ Foods?

Many of us know that several pet foods were recalled by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2007. As the investigation unfolded, additional brands and/or products were added to the recall. Most of the major brands were affected. How could so many different brands contain the same source of contamination? Throughout many short and incomplete news reports, I noticed conflicting stories...

Experiment with Puppy Crate Location to Reduce Barking in the Crate

Dogs are social mammals. They like to be close to their people. That being said, dogs are adaptable. Some pups and dogs can learn to relax in a crate that is placed in a laundry room or basement, away from the people.  Some don’t adapt so well. My initial suggestion is to place the crate in a corner of a common area. This presents the puppy with a safe resting spot near his people. Placement depends...

Chocolate & Other Harmful Foods for Dogs

Mary Jane and her brother, Mark Anthony are miniature dauschunds in Memphis Tn. There are some people foods that can be very harmful to dogs. These include chocolate, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, tea, coffee, and sugar free candy. The toxic ingredient in chocolate is theobromine, which is very similar to caffeine. Dogs that ingest as little as 50 milligrams of theobromine per pound of body weight...

Canadian Dog Sniffs Buried I.E.D. in Afghanistan

Side picture of a beautiful black German Shepherd Dog is not Koma, the hero dog in the article. Koma is a hero to Canadian troops in the Arghandab valley, Afghanistan. The explosives detective dog found a land mine that was buried right in the path of the troops. According to Patrice Bergeron of THE CANADIAN PRESS and reported on Star.com, the German Shepherd explosive scent detection Dog, Koma, was...

Lucy the Goldendoodle in Mississippi River Flood – Memphis

Lucy was retrieving like a full blooded Labrador Retriever today! The 1.5 year old female Goldendoodle was quite excited to be splashing and running in shallow flood waters of the Mississippi River. She was absolutely on target and would not come back without the treasured stick! Lucy quickly made friends, and competed with two other dogs, but Lucy always came back with the stick! GO LUCY! I work...

National Dog Bite Prevention Week

May 17 -23 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. According to the AVMA, 4.7 million Americans will be bitten by a dog this year. 500,000 to 800,000 of those people will require medical attention. About 12 people a year die from dog bites. At the top of the victim list is children, followed by U.S. postal workers. More dog bites occur to children in the summer months, presumably because children...

Interrupters: Squirt Bottles, Newspaper Swats, Shake Cans – Are They Effective for Changing Dogs’ Rude Behaviors?

Interrupters are corrections people use to momentarily stop their dogs’ behaviors. Examples of potential interrupters are shouting “no”, squirting with a water bottle, shaking a can with pennies, tossing keys on the floor, swatting with a newspaper, or holding a pup’s muzzle closed. Interrupters can stop a behavior for the moment. Great, sometimes we need to stop a dog or puppy from misbehaving!...

FREE – Dog Won’t Come? Teach Your Dog to Come Bump Your Target

Please read Start Here AA-1 through AA-5 before you teach your dog to target. Crisco, the turbo Jack Russell Terrier in the picture, will almost always come when called. Crisco has been very well trained by her owner via the use of targets! Here are some thoughts about targets introduced to me by Kayce Cover, B.S., M.A. Targets give the dog critical information about where success will take place....

Dog Police recruit Citizen Wardens in Beijing, China for Toilet Training Help

On April 17, 2009, the English People’s Daily online (English / Chinese news) reported that government officials in Beijing China are recruiting volunteers or “citizen warriors” to educate the public about the responsibilities of dog ownership.  Their duties will include informing dog owners of laws and statutes, enforcing toilet habits, and offering behavior and toilet training...

Shy Puppy? Afraid of Leash or Collar? Tips and Suggestions

Some puppies are uncomfortable when exposed to new environments or equipment. If your puppy becomes excited or frightened, just name the item or event, and act as if all is well. If your puppy remains focused on the item or event, distract his or her attention from the scary thing. Instead of saying “It’s OK”, divert your pup’s attention with a treat or a toy. It’s normal for puppies to...