Dog Obedience Training

Dog Obedience Training

Play training remains important part of dog obedience right
through the training and trialling stages. Puppies are
easily distracted and test the patience of even the most
patient souls. Trainers must remember the time you spend
training your puppy now will pay off when you have an adult
dog. The aim of dog obedience is to give your puppy,
adolecent and elderly dogs a better, more enjoyable dog
life.

To begin a puppy should become accustom to wearing a
collar. A simple buckle collar is fine for this purpose. If
your puppy is rolling around or trying to scratch the
collar off, don't take it off him until they accept the
collar.

For young puppies all you need is a light weight, thin
leash. Larger dogs can require a 1 inch wide leash and
smaller dogs a half inch wide leash. You can upgrade to a
fancy leather leash when your puppy is properly leash
trained if you like.

When the puppy is comfortable with the leash, pick it up
and let the pup lead you around. The good thing about
training a puppy to walk on a leash is that you can prevent
any problems before they eventuate. If your puppy pulls on
the leash immediately stop. Don't yank him back over to you
with the leash, just call him over and praise him when he
comes. For young puppies all you need is a light weight,
thin leash. The jerking is meant to get the dog's
attention, not to inflict harsh punishment. They may pull
on the leash and try to lead you.

If when given the command "come" a puppy responds with the
correct action and is not praised, he quickly loses
enthusiasm and interest. If you keep repeating the command,
the puppy will learn that several repetitions are
acceptable before he needs to obey.

A treat helps keep you get your dogs attention and is a
great way to reward an obedient puppy. Allow the puppy to
sniff the treat in your hand.

As you walk forward talk to the pup and encourage him to
stay with you. Take slow steps, so that the puppy can keep
up your pace, but don't go so slow that the pup becomes
bored. Praise him and give him the treat. Don't use treats
every single time, however; otherwise you will find
yourself with a dog that only obeys when you have a treat
in hand. Training does not have to involve a 30-minute
block of time. Short training sessions that reinforce what
your puppy have learned are best.

Praise your dog or give a treat, when he sits, even if you
had to help him at first. Slowly raise the hand with the
treat up and back over the pup's head saying the word
"sit". Your puppy will quickly associate the word sit, the
treat, and the action of sitting. Have your dog in the
sitting position and give the command "heel" and start
walking forward.

Incrementally develop your dog's obedience skills by
increasing distance, duration, and distraction. Introduce
your puppy to different people, dogs, children and
environments. If you vary the places you train your puppy
he will be more likely to learn to obey wherever you are.

----------------------------------------------------
Francesca Black works in marketing for Dog Pound
http://www.dog-pound.net and Horse Stall
http://www.horse-stall.net leading portals for pet
management.

Getting To Know Your Daschund

Article Title: Getting To Know Your Daschund
Author: Dan Stevens

Getting to know your dog starts by getting to know its breed,
and that includes getting a better idea about its appearance,
personality, and health requirements. Here's what you need to
know about the Daschund:

Known also as the "wiener dog" because of the long body, the
Daschund makes a great pet. With its low-riding body typically
comes a laid back "low-riding" attitude. The Daschund dates all
the way back to Ancient Egyptian days. Over the years, the
breed became popular around Europe, specifically loved by
royalty.

The Daschund we know today was originally called a German
Daschund, which was much larger, weighing up to 40 pounds.
This early breed had straight and crooked leg varieties. The
Daschund is also famous for hunting of fox and rabbit, as well
as exterminating badgers and finding wild boar and injured
deer. The name itself translates in German to "badger dog"
because of its amazing hunting, chasing, and scent abilities.

Physical Appearance

Today's Daschund is known for having crooked legs, a barrel
shaped chest, loose skin, and again, the elongated body. As
with other breeds, the Daschund is bred for a smooth, longhair,
and wirehair coat. Keep in mind that the wirehair breed usually
has shorter and wirier hair than the smooth and long coat. If
you plan to show, the American Kennel Club accepts a miniature
and full-size version, each with a distinctive class of height
and weight.

To give you an idea of the difference, a miniature Daschund
would weigh 11 pounds or less while a full-grown dog would be
anywhere from 16 to 32 pounds. This breed is also available in
a wide array of colors although the primary colors are red, and
black and red. Other possibilities include:

* Fawn
* Chocolate
* Wild Boar
* Cream Blue
* Light Boar Red (copper, rust, etc)
* Piebald
* Sable
* Dapple
* Double Dapple
* White
* Chocolate and Red
* Brown and Red

In addition to the variance in colors and color combinations,
the Daschund would generally have black hair intermingled on
the back, tail, edges of the ears, and face. While you will
find many solid chocolate and black dogs of this breed, keep in
mind these are non-standard colors, meaning from conformance
competition in the United States and the United Kingdom, they
would be disqualified.

Temperament and Personality

If you were looking for a fun, playful, and loyal family dog,
the Daschund would make an excellent consideration. This breed
is actually quite clever, smart, and courageous but also being
strong-willed, they can be a bit on the challenging side when
it comes to training. On occasion, a Daschund might appear shy
which would not be a preferred behavior. In this case, early
and on-going socialization would help.

Another interesting fact about the Daschund is that the type of
temperament changes with the type of coat. For example, a long
haired breed tends to be a more relaxed dog. The eyes of this
breed are deep and heartfelt, making the expressions sweet.
Then, the Daschund usually has a rich bark while making snoring
type sounds due to larger lungs that fill the space of the
barrel shaped chest.

Health

Although you might expect the Daschund to have a lot of health
issues because of the elongated body, the truth is most are
healthy. However, they can have problems with the spine, which
can be aggravated by obesity. To prevent spinal problems, it is
recommended this breed be kept from jumping off beds, walking up
and down many stairs, and so on. Even picking this breed up
must be done carefully to avoid injury. For instance, the
front and rear portions of the body must always be completely
supported.

One of the most inherited of all spinal risks is Intervertebral
Disk Disease, which can usually be treated with various
medications and in more severe cases, corrected with surgery.
Alternative medicine is also used and found in most cases to be
successful. For instance, acupuncture, chiropractic
manipulation, and physical therapy are all possible solutions.

About The Author: Daniel Stevens is the renowned dog trainer
and author of SitStayFetch, a leading dog training guide having
sold over 21,000 copies. See
http://www.kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/dogbreeds/dachshund.php
for more on dog breeds.

SECRETS OF GERMAN SHEPHERD TRAINING. Part 1

SECRETS OF GERMAN SHEPHERD TRAINING. Part 1
Are you fortunate enough to live with a German Shepherd?
Then you know that they are extremely active dogs. They
need lots of exercise. They are bold, determined, and
smart, requiring a lot of attention. German Shepherds are
also naturally dominant dogs so proper training is a must.
It is essential that you control your German Shepherd or
she will control you. But training will ensure that she is
a happy, well-adjusted member of your family.

So, you are going to train your German Shepherd but what's
the best way to do this? There's some important points to
remember, but before we tell you what they are, here is the
biggest secret to training your German Shepherd.

CONSISTENCY

You guessed it! Consistency. Many times someone will bring
home a German Shepherd puppy and underestimate the amount
of time needed to train him effectively. Training your dog
is really very simple, give him praise when she does
something you want, and correct him when he doesn't. If you
do this consistently, your German Shepherd will be trained.
In essence, training him will enhance the bond you share.
It will establish you as the leader of the pack, making
your dog more comfortable. You can promote this natural
rank by following these teaching points. We will discover
the best ways to train your German Shepherd, ensuring a
long and happy relationship.

First you must understand that your dog is not human and is
largely governed by instinct. It is up to you to temper
that instinct with conditioned behavior through human
training. By correctly establishing a social hierarchy
within your household from the very first day you bring
your German Shepherd puppy home, you can achieve this. The
hierarchy consists of an Alpha dog, which is the dominant
dog to all. He is the supreme ruler of the pack and is
submissive to no one. Following the Alpha dog is the Beta
dog, second in command. The Beta dog is second in line for
dominance. Obviously, the Beta dog would be submissive to
the alpha dog but dominant above all others. At the tail
end of the pack, so to speak, is the Omega dog, which is
dominant to none and submissive to everyone.

The most essential point to remember is that your German
Shepherd needs an Alpha dog to give him firm, consistent
leadership and is happiest when this occurs. However, your
German Shepherd is instinctively wired to better his pack
position so beware of periods when he tests boundaries,
especially during training. He may push your buttons by
misbehaving or ignoring commands that he has already
learned. This is normal and the best way to work through
this is with consistency and maintenance of the training
program you have established.

The Alpha wolf in the wild will always decide where to hunt
and when he will decide where to settle the pack. After
each kill, the Alpha wolf always will eat first as the
unequivocal leader of his pack. There are no exceptions. He
governs his pack in a firm and fair way, with no exceptions
to his law.

What does all this have to do with training your dog?
Simply that you must be the Alpha dog in your pack to
effectively train your German Shepherd. He will work harder
to please you if he understands his relationship with you.
This will also establish a proper relationship between you
and your dog right from the start and he will bond more
closely and deeply to you.

There is a special situation that you must consider. It is
this: Imagine being a petite woman married to a big guy who
is 6'4" and weighs 225 pounds. In your dog's mind, you
probably won't be recognized as the Alpha dog; although
your husband might recognize you as such. This is because
the undetectable scent he puts off to the dog and his
deeper voice establishes him as the Alpha dog. Even though
you might have to work a little harder, you can easily
establish yourself as the Beta dog, dominant over all other
dogs in your household. Are the kids the Omega dogs then?
Definitely not! It is essential that they participate in
the training of your German Shepherd so they will also be
dominant over your dog.

----------------------------------------------------
David Lee is the owner and designer of several web sites
promoting responsible pet care. For more info see
http://www.GermanShepherd-1.com and for cat owners
http://www.AceCatHealth.com or
http://www.AceCatFurniture.com