my first post

hai.... welcome ti my first blog.

Read More..

Playing With Your Dog Outside in Summer Heat

Yes, I know that it is never "cold" down here in South Florida, but it really starts to get nasty into the summer months.  Should I change the way I play with Wolfie during this time?

In a very quick and simple answer, "yes".  The most important factor that should be taken into consideration is the summer heat.  Perspiration is the way that our body regulates its temperature to stay healthy and survive.  We perspire through our skin.  This gives us a very large ability to regulate our body temperature.  Wolfie perspires through his mouth; panting.  This affords a far less opportunity for body temperature regulation in extreme situations (hot South Florida summer day).

Because of this, we have to take extra precautions during the hot, summer months when playing outside with Wolfie.  Here are some tips:

• Only play outside before 9AM in the morning and 7:30PM in the evening as the sun is low on the horizon.  Never play for more than 15 minutes without taking a break.
• Always have plenty of water for Wolfie.  Even if he seems uninterested, guide him to the water from time to time.  Make it a game and splash the water in the bowl to get his attention.
• If you have a pool and Wolfie enjoys the water, throw the ball in the pool to have him jump in and retrieve it.  This will naturally cool him off.
• If Wolfie likes the water and you dont have a pool, use your hose to crate a rain shower so he can jump up and try to "eat the rain drops".
• If possible, play on a grassy, cool surface.  Concrete or asphalt can get hot quickly and since we are normally wearing shoes, we dont know just how hot the surface is.  If you have to play on these surfaces, get down and put your entire palm on the surface to check its temperature.
• Mix up your playing with some active fetch and chase the ball with more quiet grooming and scatter feeding.
• Put a leash on Wolfie and practice some attentive walking.  This is a slower exercise and also helps to promote focused obedience. You can also practice come, sit, and stay while you have him on the leash.
• Short snouted dogs are more susceptible to heat exhaustion than long snouted dogs (Pug vs Lab).  Because of that, take extra precautions when playing with your short snouted dog outside. You might think about shortening your play times or playing earlier in the morning and later in the evening.
• It is OK to have some quiet, outside time during the day if you manage it properly.  Quiet time bonding is also a very important part of your relationship with Wolfie.  Go outside and sit in the shade with Wolfie.  You can read a book or tweet on your tablet.  Give Wolfie a toy, a goodie, or scatter feed.  Still have plenty of water for Wolfie.  Dont stay out for more than 30 minutes and come inside if Wolfie becomes too active or it gets just too stifling. 
• When you and Wolfie come inside, make sure that he still has some water to re-hydrate.

Heat exhaustion is a very serious issue for dogs in the summer.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.  If Wolfie appears overly lethargic after being outside, call your veterinarian immediately.

"Mad dogs and Englishmen to out in the midday sun"

Read More..

House Training Your Dog Quick Before You Can’t Take It Anymore

Just about had it with trying to house train your dog? Are you tired of coming home to find pee all over the carpet, pillows helter-skelter and garbage littered (and chewed) all over the floor?

Well, I know I was. The first few weeks after I got my new puppy, I was just about ready to call the pound. (Well, not really, I loved my dog; but you get the picture). I hardly got any sleep at night because my yelping charge was terrified of spending the night alone and I had to keep him company until he fell asleep. He would then proceed to make a mess at 2 in the morning and I would have to get up to clean it. I would come home late in the afternoon to find the garbage can turned over, pee all over the floor and furniture ridden with teeth marks. I knew I had to successfully train him soon – or I would go crazy.

Does my story sound familiar to you? How do you house train your dog to behave when he spends his time acting like a – dog?

You know you have to take action sooner rather than later. There are alternatives out there. If you get a trainer, it will be very expensive. There are dog schools, which can also be pricey, and with your busy schedule, this proposition might be a little more than you can handle right now.

The good news is that there is a great method that you can use to house train your dog. Dogs are naturally clean. They do not like to soil the place where they sleep, so they will cooperate with you. And all dogs can be trained, even older dogs.

This simple but straightforward method has made it very easy for thousands of people to house train their dogs. For more information, visit Cris Santeiro’s Dog Training With Love blog.

Read More..

My Dog and His Dog House

I just bought a really great dog house for my doggie, but he wants nothing to do with it.  The people at the Pet Store said that all I had to do was put it in the back yard, and like “Field of Dreams”, “he will come”.  It’s not working and I am afraid it will just become filled with spiders and squirrels.  What can I do to get the Welcome Wagon out and have Wolfie happy with his new place?

We always think that just because we get something called a “dog house”, that our dog will naturally want to go there and hang out.  The question that you must ask yourself is “Why should he?”  Did you make it a place that was fun and comforting for him?  Did you make it his special retreat where he could retire and relax?  Did you even tell him that it was his?

The big thing you must do is to socialize your dog with his new abode, letting him know that it is a fun and safe place that you, as the leader of the pack, have provided for him.  Here are some ideas:

• Place the dog house in the family room where everyone convenes and shares happy times.  This allows Wolfie to see that “this new thing” is just another object in his natural play area.
• Put your dogs toys in it.  Put goodies in the dog house and even feed him there.  Play with him around the dog house so that it becomes just another fun place.
• After a week or so, move the dog house out into the back yard. 
• Put it someplace where your dog already naturally likes to hang out.  
• Make sure that you put it where the dog house will not get too hot or be “rained upon” by the lawn sprinklers.  
• Don’t put it near a spot where there is a lot of street or neighbor noise.  
• Also, don’t put it “in the farthest reach” of the yard.  This might be construed by Wolfie as being ostracized by the family.  
• Repeat what you were doing in the family room.  Feed your dog in his new house.  Make sure that his toys are around the house.  If your dog likes to dig, build a digging pit next to it.
• Make sure that the dog house stays clean and “free of vermin”.  Take a broom and sweep for cobwebs on a weekly basis.  Clean it with a non-toxic cleanser and make sure that it stays dry.
• Make the dog house part of your outside “play routine”.  As you are playing fetch, get the ball or Frisbee inside his house.  If you like to play “find it”, hide the goodie in his house.  This helps to include the dog house as part of the bonding between you and your dog.
• If the weather starts to become inclement, bring your dog inside.  Since dog houses are “hard environments”, the noise from thunder can be multiplied and the dog house could even vibrate from the “clapping”.  This could be a terrorizing experience that we don’t want our dogs to deal with. 

Follow these simple steps and we are sure that you can create a great “home away from home” for your dog in the back yard.  It will become a retreat where he can hang out and call his own.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

Read More..

house dog training

To teach your dog tricks even easy ones you need to have some small reward treats, be in a quiet suitable place and keep the training sessions to 10 - 15 minutes or your dog will start to get board, remember when he gets something right lots of praise and a reward treat, just be careful not to get him over excited or he will loose concentration. Getting your dog to give you his paw, first get your dog to sit, then as you say the word paw take your dogs paw in your hand, give the dog a treat, repeat this, after a few times do not take his paw so quickly, say the word, count to one then take it, you should notice he is bringing his paw up as you say the word if he does not go back to saying it at the same time, do it a few more times then slow your response again. After 2 or 3 sessions most dogs pick this one up quite happily.

The high five, like a lot of tricks the high five is a progression of an earlier trick, in this cast the paw trick. Hold a treat in your fingers and raise your hand slightly higher than you would for the paw trick. You dog will think you want to do the paw trick and will reach for the treat with his paw as we taught him earlier, as he reaches up you say “high five” and give him the treat. Once your dog has mastered the paw trick this one should be very easy to learn and with just a few sessions he will be doing it on hand signal rather than voice control.

Getting your dog to jump through a hoop, before you start this one I would just like to ask you to be a little sensible and not hold the hoop too high as you do not want your dog to heart himself while doing the trick. Sit your dog on one side of a hoola hoop, get the dogs attention on your hand on the other side of the hoop take a treat in your hand and give the dog the command to release him from the sit, at first he may attempt to go around or under the hoop, if this happens start again, your dog wants the treat and will soon learn that going around or under does not get it so he will soon start going through it, when he does say hoopla and give him the treat. He will soon be jumping through the hoop on the command of hoopla. When I started doing this trick I had a medium sized dog (a Labrador) so I started with the hoop 6 inches from the ground and slowly raised it to waist height, if you have a smaller dog you might want to start with the hoop touching the ground so the dog just goes through the hoop and then slowly raise it as he gets used to the trick.
Are you looking for more information about dog training information? Visit our site for more helpful information about dog training information tips.

Read More..

Dog Training Easy Ways to Make a Best Friend

Dogs are without a doubt mans best friend. With a little knowledge they can become a treasured part of the family. Dog training is very important to the harmonious running of any household.
There is a lot to think about when you are adding a dog to the family. Dogs can display many antisocial types of behaviour. These may include peeing in the wrong place or time, barking too much, chewing on your favourite shoes or maybe the posties shoes with the postie still in them. They can get into digging holes where you dont need them, run down the road as soon as you open the door or become anxious and upset as soon as you pick up the car keys to head off to work.
You really can teach an old dog new tricks. It is possible to have a dog inside all the time. It can be a pleasure to take a dog for a walk and not have them pulling on the lead or haring off after every cat they see. Dogs do not have to leap up at you and lick you to death.
Dogs will respond positively to rewards and praise. Their training should be fun and consistent. If a dog is allowed to sit on the door mat one day and not the next it will become confused. They understand your tone of voice and some body language. If you train with fear and punishment they become unhappy and you can create more problems.
It is important for the dog to know who is the boss. When you answer the door you must be the first one to the door. When you sit on a chair the dog sits on the floor. When toilet training the dog should get used to going on on a particular surface, whether it be gravel, newspaper or whatever. There are many simple tricks to training a dog and if you are gentle and consistent you will be rewarded with a best friend.
If you would like more information on dog training go to [http://www.mansbestfriends.info]

Read More..

When Your Holiday Guests Leave

All of our out of town Holiday guests left several days ago and our home is now returning back to normal.  The one thing that has not turned back to normal is Wolfie, our dog.  Although he has been perfectly house broken for several years, he is not going into the guest bedroom and going to the bathroom.  What gives?

Remember when we were little and our parents would drop us off at Uncle Bob’s and Aunt Lizzie’s for the weekend?  Uncle Bob would take us to the movies, the local amusement park, and the ice cream parlor.  Aunt Lizzie would make us our favorite goodies and we could stay up late watching all the TV our parents never let us watch. 

The funny thing is that when we got home, everything we had smelled like Aunt Lizzie’s rose peddle perfume.  Mom had to wash our clothes several times until we finally got that smell out.  Until then, we refused to wear those clothes.  They smelled “icky”.

The same thing happens when our house guests leave our home after the Holidays.  They leave their natural smells in our home’s guest room.  We really don’t care because we understand that is just “Uncle Bob and Aunt Lizzie smell” and will go away after a few days. 

Our dog does not react to this different smell in the same way as us.  He expects “his territory” to smell one way, the way it smelled before our guests “invaded his territory”.  He needs to reestablish the prior smell (smelling like him) and he only has one way to accomplish that.  He goes into the guest room and raises his leg.  We really don’t want this to occur and need it to stop as quickly as possible.  We need to remove the foreign smell from the territory.

First of all, we need to neutralize the foreign smell.  As opposed to our dog’s urine smell, we will introduce another, natural smell that we and our dog can “live with”.  We suggest the scent of lavender.  This is a calming scent and also introduces a neutral smell.  Get a lavender Glade plug-in, a lavender candle, or a bamboo lavender oil vase and place it in the guest room.  If you have carpet in the room, vacuum the room after sprinkling lavender carpet dust on the floor.  If you have a tile floor, clean the floor with lavender Fabuloso.  To make sure that everything is consistent, place some lavender Glade plug-ins in other rooms in the house.

Shampoo your dog with a lavender dog shampoo.  You have now removed the “Uncle Bob and Aunt Lizzie smell” from the guest room and have reestablished a singular smell that is like Wolfie, your dog.  He no longer has the need to raise his leg.

Leave the door to the guest room open for several days but don’t allow your dog in the room.  The best thing to do is to place a doggie (baby) gate in the guest room doorway.  This allows the room to “air out” and to allow your dog to pass by but not go in the room until all the old smells have dissipated.

Remove the doggie gate after about a week and you can probably stop using the lavender products after another week.  The house smells have now returned to normal and you have reestablished the natural smells of the pack.  The potty issue should now be resolved.  If you have any questions, you can always contact us at TheBest Dog Trainers in South Florida.

Read More..

Wolfie Walking With Me Through The House

Sometimes Puppy Wolfie and I might be in the kitchen and I want him to come with me into the family room or my back office.  I dont want to go and get a leash or use treats.  How can I just get him to come with me?

What you are really trying to do is to have Puppy Wolfie  "stick with you" when you go somewhere else in the house.  In some respects, it could be equated to "walking off leash", but I still want him contained in the house.  You can think of it as "walking off leash  light".  Again, this is best taught when Wolfie is a puppy.  Here is what you do:

You first want to teach Wolfie "come".  I have reviewed this before, but let me give you a quick review:

• Put a leash and collar on Puppy Wolfie.  
• Step to the end of the leash, stoop low, and say "come".  (Only say "come" once.)
• If he doesnt come, give a slight tug on the leash and guide him to you.
• Praise him with a high tone when he gets to you.
• Repeat this process until you dont need to give him any tug (guidance) to go to your side.
• Get a longer lead (15 feet) and repeat the above process, first at 10 feet and then at 15 feet.
• Now you will drop the leash, walk 10 feet away from Puppy Wolfie, turn, stoop low, and say "come".  If he doesnt come to you, use the leash at 10 feet and 15 feet again (you have progressed to quickly).  Repeat this process until he is going to your side on a regular basis.
• You have now created a unique command (come) with a consistent and repetitive result (get by your side).

It is now time to ramp it up and have him be with you as you walk through the house.  What we really are doing is to create a "come while I am moving" action.

• Start with Puppy Wolfie by your side.  Start to walk.
• Bend over slightly, say "come on", tap your pant leg, and be animated.
• Puppy Wolfie should now follow you based on what you had previously taught him.

Dont move too fast.  If Puppy Wolfie is a little hesitant about walking with you, stop every few feet, stoop, say "come on", pat your let, and get animated when he approaches you.

Again, all we have done is to create a "come while I am moving" exercise.  We have done it just after Puppy Wolfie has mastered the "come" command so the actions are fresh and only slightly different. If Puppy Wolfie can master this command while he is young, walking off leash outside will be far easier to teach as he gets a little older.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

Read More..