Pet owner obedience class

Lots of people adopt a puppy, or a kitten on a whim, simply because they’re cute. Now I know they’re cute, but they also need
a lot of care! Owners who are not up to the task often end up returning the puppy after a few months. Or worse. Now an animal in Darwin shelter is taking a stand! Read the rest of this entry »

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Dog training Cesar Millan

I´ve been watching the Dog Whisperer and I just love it! It makes a lot of sense. I really do believe that there simply aren´t any bad dogs, just bad owners. After the jump, watch a video of Cesar Millan talking about training people. (video after the jump)

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barking poodle

It´s National Dog Bite Prevention Week and that´s a good thing, because there are a lot of people, especially kids, being bitten every year. Apart from the health risks, it´s sad because as they say Once bitten, twice shy! On average, the kids being bitten are 5-9 years old, an impresionable age and they may be afraid of dogs for the rest of their lives.

In the US alone, 5 million people are bitten each year, and 20 percent of them need medical attention.
So what can you do to prevent your dog biting?

Dogs bite and bark, it´s simply who they are. However, you can train your dog to stop biting.
Puppies explore the world with their mouths, by biting anything within reach.
Is this food? Is it a playmate? does it make a funny sound?
Puppies learn so-called bite-inhibition from their siblings and mom.
So how can we humans train our pups? Simply act like their moms would.
Here´s

8 ways to prevent your dog biting kids

Noise
If your puppy bites you too hard, yelp out in pain. This will give the pup some pause.
If he does it again, yelp louder. You could even growl a little.

IgnoreNow ignore the pup: as with all bad behaviour, being ignored is the worst punishment!
Scold Be sure to make yourself sound scary, think Darth Vader on a bad day.

Shake If your pup still persists, grab him by the scruff of the neck and shake him a little. Keep this up until he surrenders (relaxes and puts his ears back)

FlipStill trying to bite? Flip him over on his back, scold him Darth Vader-style again and keep him there until he stops struggling.

Remember: this is a puppy! So know your own strength and don´t be too forceful!
Avoid tug games
Puppies can´t tell the difference between “fun” biting and “not-so fun biting”, so you might want to lay off the tug games.
Common sense
It may be obvious, but still people tend to forget: don´t leave small children alone with a dog. Even the gentlest animal will lash out if it´s feeling threatened or try to play with this fun creature: is it food? will it make a funny noise when I chew it?

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As always Be Consistent If it´s not allowed today, it´s not allowed tomorrow!

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Cute dachshund

Puppies chew whatever they can find, it´s like breathing to them. They chew because they´re bored, because they´re hungry, because their teeth hurt, and to play. They´ll chew on anything, from laptops to shoes, so it´s up to you to teach them what they can and can´t chew!

Tips:
buy him toys he can chew for hours, like a bone or a pig´s ear (my pooch just LOVES pig´s ears and can happily spend hours with one!) or a Kong.

Still chewing on your stuff? Don´t yell! Just say firmly “no” and exchange the thing your pup is chewing on for something she is allowed to chew on. Keep it up and she´ll learn, shout and she´ll get confused!

Can´t watch him or going out? Put him in his crate!

Be consistent! If it was “no” yesterday, it should be “no” today!

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