Leash Training Your Dog

Article Title: Leash Training Your Dog
Author: David Beart

The sight of a human and dog walking harmoniously down the
sidewalk, leash loose as if entirely unnecessary, sparks envy in
many dog owners who dare to dream of such behavior from their
own pets. What this perfect picture does not show, however, is
the amount of time, effort, and training that went into teaching
the animal how to comfortably walk on leash. Although it is not
a natural occurrence for a dog to walk on leash, it is required
in many cities, as well as veterinarian offices, and the sooner
you begin leash training your dog, the sooner you and your dog
will be that perfect picture!

Ideally, the time to begin leash training is around eight weeks
of age. At this point, your puppy is mature enough to learn
basic commands, like come or let's go. If your dog is past this
age, do not worry. Even an older dog can be taught to walk on
leash, but it may take a bit more effort on your part as his bad
`on leash' behavior may be quite engrained. To prepare your
animal for the leash, first get him used to wearing a collar.
Put the collar on for short periods of time at first, and try to
distract your dog from biting or trying to remove it. Do not
remove the collar when he is actively fighting it; only remove
the collar when he is calm and tolerant. Once he is used to the
collar, add the leash. Allow him to eat or play (supervised by
you) with the leash on so that he can associate it with fun
activities. A six foot nylon, non-extendable leash works best.

The key to beginning leash training is getting your dog to come
to you when called. Using treats is perfectly acceptable, but be
sure to praise as well. You can even begin in your own backyard;
have your dog wear collar and leash, and let him walk freely
through the yard. Call him to come close to you, and when he
does, give him a treat. Hang onto another treat, show it to him,
and have him follow you for a short distance. After a minute,
give him the treat. You should be able to gradually increase the
amount of time the pup follows you, and he learns that following
you and paying attention equals treats and praise.

When you are ready to take your dog or puppy out of the
backyard, arm yourself with motivation (food). The first few
walks should be short, and remember that until your dog learns
to walk without pulling, each and every walk is a training
session. Begin walking, and give the command of `walk,' or
`let's go.' If your dog follows, say `good walk,' if he freezes
and refuses to move, drop a few treats in front of him, leash
loose, and wait. Never pull or drag your dog, as this may
frighten him even more. You can also try to encourage forward
movement by touching the dog's hindquarters, or turn your back
to the dog and wait for him to become bored of sitting there.
If, on the other hand, your dog runs to the end of the leash and
pulls, stop moving. Do not pull back. As soon as the pup
realizes that pulling did not work because you are no longer
moving forward, get his attention, and motivate him to follow
you in another direction. You are much more likely to keep a
puppy's attention by making a game out of following you, and you
will have more fun too!

For an older dog that pulls, stopping alone may not work.
Remember that the goal is to walk with the leash loose at all
times, so you must be very careful not to allow the dog to
experience tension from the leash. Arm position is very
important; your arm should be relaxed, slightly bent, with your
elbow in toward your body. An outstretched arm offers less
control. The instant that the leash becomes taught from your dog
pulling, straighten your arm to create slack in the leash, and
take a step in a different direction. The dog may feel a tug at
the leash, but he will recognize that you made a change in
direction that he missed. This will encourage your dog to pay
careful attention to your body language, and rely less on cues
from the leash.

Leash training your dog can be extremely rewarding, and is
essential for a safe, well-exercised pet. Your dog will enjoy
trips out of the yard, and you will enjoy the ease with which
your pet walks along side of you. You may even become the envy
of your neighbors as you and your dog take pleasant strolls
throughout the neighborhood.

About The Author: David Beart is the owner of
http://www.professorshouse.com. Our site covers family, pets,
cooking and other household issues.

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Taking Stock Of The Quality Of Dog Food Given To Your Dog

Article Title: Taking Stock Of The Quality Of Dog Food Given To
Your Dog
Author: John Mailer

Most dog owners whose pets are household family members
consider it an inconvenience to evaluate dog food. Most rely on
the usual dog biscuit recipe. They usually feed only one or two
dogs, never weigh them, and rarely keep any records on them at
all. Many base their selection of a dog food solely on how well
their dog eats it, not on dog nutrition. Moreover, the shopper
for the dog food is usually the same individual who shops for
the rest of the family's food; the housewife. From the early
morning news to the final night-time talk show, the housewife is
bombarded with TV commercials, newspaper ads, and magazine ads
who are selling the virtues of one brand of dog food over
another. Some have their own homemade dog biscuit recipe such as
just mixing dog biscuits with leftovers from the family meal.

Food chosen for your dog should always be made by proper
research and never by some TV commercial. Stop and consider for
a moment that TV commercials and magazine ads are designed to
sell you their dog food. So why are they highlight the food's
packaging and other promotions. After all, your dog can't read
and doesn't understand a word the ad man pitches. Just remember
your dog does have to eat the dogfood you buy and feed it.

Simply because you like your food with gravy is no reason to
believe that your dog does. Just because some people say all
your dog needs is meat won't stop your dog from dying from the
calcium deficiency produced when it is fed an all-meat diet.
You may prefer that hickory smoked flavor, but your dog prefers
the essence of rotten rabbit as his favourite dog treat recipe.

And, if you toss in a little extra human gravy to make sure
your dog gobbles up his food without pausing for a breath,
remember that how fast your dog eats a food has little to do
with the nutritional value of that food. The mere fact that
your dog eats a food every time it is fed is no indication
whatever that the food is good for your dog. Most dogs love the
all-animal-tissue foods, but an exclusive dog food diet of
nothing but meat will prove fatal.

While dogs kept as pets may fall into any number of categories,
only three are important where feeding is concerned. These
three categories are related to where the dog lives: exclusively
outdoors, outdoors/indoors, or exclusively indoors. There are
naturally some areas of overlap, but these three categories are
generally easy enough to separate. Most dog owners can place
their dogs into the correct category without too much difficulty
when it comes to the starting point of establishing what sort of
dog food should make up his diet.

About The Author: John Mailer has written many articles about
dogs and puppies and how to train and look after them. His main
business is as an internet marketer.
http://www.howtostartonlinehomebusiness.com
http://www.basicsdogtraining.com/dognutritionfood.html

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Labrador Retriever Puppies For Adoption

Article Title: Labrador Retriever Puppies For Adoption
Author: Anna Hart

Labrador Retriever puppies for adoption are often purebred, and
every bit as wonderful, loving, and energetic as a puppy you
would buy. Why go to a pet store or breeder when you can find
Labrador Retriever puppies for adoption? Often free!

Places such as "Labrador Retriever Rescue and Adoption" have
pure and mixed-breed Labrador Retriever puppies. When we went
looking online briefly, we found Labrador Retriever puppies for
adoption that were 9 weeks old and 12 weeks old.

In a "Yahoo Pets" classified ad, we saw 10 beautiful little
Labrador Retriever puppies for adoption in Colorado. The Hoobly
classified website had 3 Labrador Retriever puppies for adoption
in Idaho.

Labrador Retriever puppies for adoption are also available at
Humane Society and independent animal shelters.

Who Would Adopt Labrador Retriever Puppies

You might adopt Labrador Retriever puppies if:

1. your budget does not allow an investment of $400 to $1500
for a puppy
2. you have compassion on unwanted puppies

Many people have big, caring hearts. They know the Labrador
Retriever puppies at the breeder, with their fancy papers, will
find homes. Life is not as certain for rescue puppies. They have
been given up for adoption because the owners would not or could
not care for more dogs.

Disadvantages of Labrador Retriever Puppies for Adoption

Labrador Retriever puppies that have been given up for adoption
may have hidden problems. You will not know about the
temperament of the parents. Nor will you know whether either
parent has health problems that will be inherited by the
puppies. If you find Labrador Retriever puppies in an animal
shelter, chances are good that the staff knows little about
them.

Labrador Retriever puppies in a shelter often lack bonding
opportunities. People come and people go, but no one has time to
teach the puppy how to get along with human companions.

You risk getting a puppy that has learned to bark loudly for
attention – in a room of loudly barking dogs. Labrador Retriever
puppies from shelters will take more than a few days of
adjustment to un-learn some bad habits.

Some of these disadvantages are overcome if you get Labrador
Retriever puppies through a rescue network. Most networks place
their adoptive puppies in foster homes. This avoids many of the
animal shelter problems.

Some rescue networks are also able to find out more about the
puppies' background. The foster "parents" can evaluate the
puppies' temperaments and health. They can begin basic training
and socialize the puppies. They can make sure the puppies get a
good start in life while they wait for their permanent homes.

Advantages of Labrador Retriever Puppies for Adoption

The advantages of getting Labrador Retriever puppies that are
available for adoption may outweigh the disadvantages for you –
especially if you can get the puppies through a rescue network.

1. You are giving a good home to Labrador Retriever puppies
that might otherwise not have one.

2. You are gaining loving, faithful companions, who will do
anything to please you, as long as you teach them what that is.

3. You are paying only a small adoption fee (or getting them
free). Yet your Labrador Retriever puppies will be every bit as
loving as those costing hundreds of dollars.

Helpful Tip

You can find Labrador Retriever puppies for adoption on the
Internet. Simply type the phrase "Labrador Retriever rescue"
into your search engine. Locally, watch newspaper classified ads
or visit your animal shelter.

About The Author: ©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to
read more of her articles about Labrador Retriever puppies at
http://www.lovablelabradors.com. Anna has posted additional
information on that site about all ages of Labrador Retrievers.
If you ever wondered where to find names for Labrador Retriever
puppies, you'll enjoy Anna's perspective on the subject.

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Why Are Pet Stains So Difficult To Remove?

Article Title: Why Are Pet Stains So Difficult To Remove?
Author: James Carlson

If you have pets you know that at some point or another they
will probably have an accident on your homes carpet. Whether
they are young and just learning the ropes or an older pet that
just can't make it to the door anymore, they will have an
accident at some point. Pet stains can be some of the most
difficult to remove, but why? Read this article and learn why
pet stains are so hard to remove.

There are a variety of reasons that pet stains are so hard to
remove. For starters when they urinate on the carpet they are
putting down an acid. The acid will eat right through any
carpet protector you might have and penetrate deep into the
fiber where they will be difficult to remove. Another reason
that they are so difficult to remove is because of the volume
that they put down. They put down so much liquid that the
surface fibers can not absorb it. This means that it penetrates
the carpet fibers and will go into the backing, the pad and the
sub floor. This really complicates the cleaning because it is
easy enough to clean the surface but much more difficult to
clean under it. Professional carpet cleaners do have methods of
sub surface cleaning but they are pricey and still might not
remove all of the material. The only way to really solve the
problem completely is to pull the carpet up and replace the pad
and clean both sides. This is a time consuming and expensive
process. The last reason that urine can be such a problem is
that it contains bacteria. This is what produces the odor. It
is feeding on the urine and releasing ammonia and will continue
to do so until you remove every bit of the urine.

As you can see, there are many reasons that urine stains are
difficult to remove. They are one of the hardest stains to
remove which is why if you are having an issue with pet stains
or odor you should call a professional carpet cleaner to handle
the job. So what are you waiting for, call a carpet cleaner
today and have a better smelling home tomorrow.

About The Author: Go to
http://www.thecarpetcleanerlist.com/providence.htm for more
information on carpet cleaning.

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