A Look At Agility Training

A Look At Agility Training
By: Morgan Hamilton

Agility training is the strangest craze I ve ever seen. What I believe is that it actually started with pets that it was made for, but eventually it passed on to their happy owners as well. It actually consists of several types of equipment with the only purpose to teach you pet some tricks - few hoops to jump through, tunnels to rush through and poles to go round. Most pet owners find those to be fun and enjoy training their beloved ones with them. They mostly use to exercise the pets and of course to teach them do something clever enough so that the owners can show off for the neighbors too.

This type of training is very helpful for dog shows for example. There all dogs have to complete a number of tasks, including run courses, obstacle jumping and Frisbee chasing and other tricks all being practiced with the help of the dog agility training equipment. However other people like me find it boring and stupid to get your pet participate or even just to watch a dog show. On the other hand it s not so strange for lonely people with unfulfilled dreams to get happier by training their pets and making them perform for the appreciation of others. It is not much different from the typical situation when parents live their dreams vicariously through children.

Despite all that just can t accept the idea of such agility training equipment being designed and sold for human use. The ones who do it go through the same kind of hoop jumping, tunnel running and pole weaving, etc. as their animals do. I just cannot understand what for. It is not the typical agility training that people do when practicing a specific sport, and this is the only type of agility training that I do to some extent understand. Although sports are kind of dumb, I agree that if you are a basketball player you need to practice your dribbling, your jumping and your shooting.

Please tell me then what does ladder running teach you to do better? Probably it is to prepare you for the new world craze of professional mine-field 500m running. In fact I just think that this is another artificially created fishy way to make you get some equipment that even the pets don t like, just because it is said that this is helpful and modern. And for myself I can say that the only training I need is such one that will help me spot stupid ideas and products before anyone else has, so that I ll be able to make sure that I m out of their way, taking with me as many people as possible.

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Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding the world of sports. You can get interesting and informative information here at Agility Training

Buying A Dog

Buying A Dog
By: Chris Campbell

We make purchases all the time. Walk into the store, pick your favorite, slap some money on the counter and head home. So why the hesitation when it comes to buying a dog? Don't worry, that hesitation is a good and healthy thing. It means your thinking. Much better than buying a puppy on impulse. We make enough impulse purchases for the little things. A new new puppy dog on the other hand, is a member of the family, and adding to the family is not something to be considered lightly. Here are a few points to mull over, that could make that future purchase a joyful one.

Is your home a puppy friendly environment? How large or small is your home? The size of your dwelling should have an important weight in the type of dog you can live with. A energetic, large dog will need plenty of room to roam, and exercise in. While if you live in a small apartment, something smaller than a GreatDane puppy might be in order. How your going to keep your dog on your property, without it running around the neighborhood is something to think about as well.

There are more costs to having a puppy, then just the initial purchase. Not much of a surprise there. It seems like everything we buy these days has a whole list of accessories,peripherals, and add- ons that come along. Puppy dogs are no different. The list can be long or short, but there are a few unavoidables. Food, immunizations, health care, and neutering are some of the most obvious things your dog will need. If your dog will not travel with you on long trips, then kenneling will be an expense to look into. Depending on your experience with dogs, perhaps dog obedience school is important. It can teach the owner more than the dog you know. Most cities, have some kind of registration that is required, and it's not usually a free service.

A stable home can be important for a dog, as well as people. If there are any major life changes in the near future for the perspective dog owner, it could have an impact on the dog. Going of to university, moving to a new home, marriage, or lengthy overseas travel can all detract from an owners ability to care for a dog. Owner health problems, while often not foreseeable, can also change the life of a pet. If you know this is possible, it should be taken into consideration.

Consider the sex of the dog before you make the purchase. Females are usually smaller, and a little easier to control then the males of most breeds. Females will come into heat every six months, so neutering may be an option here.

Once you consider all the factors, a number of species will seem like a good choice, and others will not. It's an important exercise, but once you have carefully considered all these points, your purchase of a new puppy should be somewhat easier. It certainly won't be an impulse buy, and that's good for both you and your newest four legged member of the family.


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Read more great information on your puppy dog and puppy breeders, or visit foolishmumbles.com/category/puppy-dog/

How To Choose the Right Dog Trainer

How To Choose the Right Dog Trainer
Kelly_Marshall

Choosing a trainer is a very important decision and one that requires a fair amount of research and consideration. How your trainer works with both you and your dog will impact your relationship with your pet both during the trainings sessions as well as in the future. Many owners have hired a trainer only to find out they don t agree philosophically with the methods that the trainer uses or are completely opposed to some of the exercises the trainer uses.

To avoid these issues be sure to answer the following questions about your trainer:

1. What qualifications does he or she have?

There are numerous training certifications and credentials that trainers may hold depending on where you are located. Check with other breeders, groomers or even vets and other dog owners to find out what trainers are in the area and then research their credentials on the internet or from the various credentialing bodies.

2. What references does the trainer have?

Does the trainer have any particular awards or recognition for their school or training program? Are they endorsed by a kennel club, breed organization or other organization? Most trainers will have references that will allow you to contact them and talk to regarding their training process.

3. Does the trainer use only positive methods or do they use punishment-based training?

Most trainers no longer use any punishment based methods and do not encourage yelling, physically punishing or using corrective devices such as choke collars, shock collars or other potentially harmful devices with the dogs. Clicker training, behavior modification training and reward training methods are all positive based and works on a dog s natural behavior and the relationship between dog and owner.

4. Will the trainer let you sit in on a class or private session?

This is often the best way to see how you will do under the trainer s guidance. Is the trainer positive to the owners and the dogs, or does he or she seem to become upset, frustrated or even angry with the participants? Would you be comfortable in the same environment if you were treated that way?

5. Finally, does the trainer offer flexible scheduling and what is the cancellation or no-show policy?

Many trainers have a 48-hour cancellation policy and a non-refundable no-show policy if you simply don t come to the class. Other trainers will refund you the cost of lessons that you don t attend. Some trainers will insist that you attend a make-up class before you can proceed with your original class as everything builds on the previous lesson.

Be sure to meet with the trainer in advance and feel comfortable with them before you commit to lessons or leaving your dog in their care. In addition find out if they need your dog to be housed with them during the training or if the dog will remain with you.

Four out of five dog trainers recommend shopping at Oh My Dog Supplies for dog sofas, large dog beds, double bowl feeders, and car seat covers.

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The Best Dog Training Books

The Best Dog Training Books
By: Morgan Hamilton

Why is it that my neighbor can't seem to figure out that when he locked his untrained payout and goes off to work all day that the dog does nothing to bark, bark and bark. What an idiot, a neighbor I mean, not that the dog. I don't plan a little puppy, how is he supposed to know better? He barks out of loneliness, out of frustration, out of anxiety, and out of fear. Occasionally he barks to protect his territory, pitiful as it is with its leftover poop, a water bowl turned over, and a single ratty chew toy the dog outgrew the first week it was brought to the house. I wonder if this moron has ever heard of dog-training books? I know I'm about ready to clue him in.

When your fat freak of a self gets home, you enter your house to the barking and take your sweet time (to eat) before retrieving your supposedly beloved pet. Then you take the were animal off and sequester it into some room or he is once again all alone. Instead of paying an idiot and doing the dog a great disservice you could be reading one of the many EASY-to-comprehend dog-training books, and teach that beautiful little animal how to cope with daily life.

He is after all just a baby. You could be surfing amazon.com or powells.com or another of the hundreds of Internet bookshops for dog-training books. They number in the thousands. That will show you how to condition your dog not to bark at every living being and every leaf that happens to fall from a tree. No, you fat ignoramus, amazon.com is not a place to find amazons to amuse you, and powells.com is not a play on words for closet masochists. This is about the dog, not you. If it were we would be talking to the dog who clearly has a great deal more sense than you apparently do.

In fact, you could read at least one of the thousands of general and specific dog-training books to understand WHY your poor little puppy needs to be treated. HOW you can keep him from chewing furniture (so you don t have an excuse anymore for why you lock him away outside so he won t bother you but the neighbors instead). We need to get up and go to work too. The constant barking doesn't do anyone any good. If you can't handle owning a dog then maybe you should find a more hospitable home for it.

We chose to be dog-less. You have made a choice now take some damned responsibility for it. By some dog-training books and read them, put them into action. You may even be well served by some damned human-training books. The problem lies with you, not the dog.

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Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding pets. You can get interesting and informative information here at Dog Training Books

Basic Dog Training Principles

Basic Dog Training Principles
By: Maria Ko

Here are some basic principles that all dog owners need to learn and follow:

1. Be consistent. A behavior is either acceptable or it isn't. It can t be acceptable on alternate Tuesdays when you re in the mood. For example, it can t be OK to allow your dog to jump all over you on the weekends when you re in casual clothes, but not during the week when you re dressed for work. That s an obvious one, although you d be amazed how many people I ve met who do exactly that.

Here s one that s less obvious. It can t be OK for your dog to chew fabric toys but not to chew inappropriate fabric items. In other words, if you give your dog an old sock and say, Here,
chew this, don t be surprised when she eats your shirt.
Consistency is a bit easier for singles or couples, and toughest
for families. The more people who interact with the dog, the
greater the likelihood of inconsistency. I strongly recommend that families conduct a few meetings to discuss and agree upon what will be universally unacceptable behavior on the part of the dog.

Everyone needs to clearly understand what the rules will be for a training program to be most successful. That being said, we live in the real world and I recognize how difficult consistency on the part of a six-year-old child will likely be. Parents of younger children will need to practice a fair amount of prevention and understand that the dog s training process may be a little bit more difficult and prolonged.

2. Be consistent. Yes, I know I already said this, but consistency also extends to obedience commands. If you want your dog to learn to listen to obedience commands the first time they re given, you need to be prepared to properly teach your dog to obey them the first time. This is most effectively accomplished if the initial foundation-level obedience you teach around the house is done off leash.

I have sometimes run into problems when discussing how
important it is for dogs to obey commands consistently. In my
opinion, this is an area where attitudes have gone downhill in the last 30 years. Decades ago the idea that a dog needed to obey commands the first time they were given would not have drawn comment. Today, there are many owners who are uncomfortable with the idea that their dog should be trained to respond so predictably.

I ve had owners object, based on the idea that they did
not want their dogs to become robots. It is important for these owners to understand that, first of all, if training is primarily done with compassion and reward this will not happen; and second of all, you might not care if your dog listens on the first command until the very first time she runs out into the street. Then, as cars are barreling toward her, you will pray she listens on the first command, because you may never get a second one.

The specifics of how to teach foundation-level obedience off
leash can be found in Chapter 7 of this book. However, the principles of consistency really need to be understood here.

3. Understand why behaviors take place and deal with problems
by dealing with the cause. When owners learn to do this, they
will not just be reacting to what are often symptoms of an underlying problem.

4. Learn basic training techniques and then follow rules one and
two. All owners need to understand the principles of prevention,
maintenance, redirection, reward and correction. And they need
to use them consistently. Now that you have an understanding of some of the challenges, let s discuss a little bit about behavior, so that everyone can be clear what terms such as prevention, maintenance, redirection and reward really mean. Once you understand how a dog learns, we can get on to the business of training.

Read more about pets at - All about pets and apartments for rent with pets directory.


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Is A Professional Dog Trainer Necessary?

Is A Professional Dog Trainer Necessary?
By: John Edward

Training your dog is an important part of responsible pet ownership. While common puppy behavior problems and housebreaking are discussed in many books and publications, here we'll discuss your options for basic obedience training and whether you want train your dog yourself or hire a trainer.

Obedience training can begin as early as three to four months if yon train the dog yourself. Most trainers believe puppies aren't mentally or socially developed enough to benefit from group obedience class until they are six months old. Any sincerely interested dog owner can train his or her own dog, provided your dog hasn't already acquired a lot of bad habits.
You and your dog may want to attend a couple of lessons at a good training club. You may also want to arm yourself with a good training book.

Wait until your dog is six months old before taking him to a group obedience class, which is a popular option for many dog owners. Obedience groups not only provide an excellent
source of training, but also helps socialize your pet with other dogs. When you first visit a class, make sure the instructors treat their pupils kindly - no punishment or yelling should be taking place or be permitted by those in charge. Your local parks department or school district may sponsor an obedience group. If you're having trouble finding one, ask your veterinarian.

Professional training is a good option for some larger breeds or for dogs that have acquired bad habits. If you are looking for a professional trainer, find one who favors working with your dog in your own home. No matter how appealing it may seem to send a problem dog away to be trained, the reality is that this often is a waste of time and money. The dog may behave perfectly with the trainer and then ignore you once it arrives home. A professional trainer will
equip you with the knowledge and confidence you need to train your dog.

The best way to find a good professional trainer is through a veterinarian or breeder's recommendation. Also, if you have any family or friends that can refer you to a reputable trainer then this would be the most ideal option. Arrange for an exploratory meeting with the potential trainer, you, and your dog. Then, make your decision.

Training takes time and patience and a capable trainer will stress this fact. Length of training depends not only on your dog's intelligence, temperament, and age, but also on how many bad habits he has acquired. Training requires you to take the lead, both as teacher and enforcer. After your dog has been trained you must not let him drift back into bad behavior patterns.

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Author: John Edwards For more information on dog training visit www.dogcaretraining.com, a website that specializes in providing tips, advice and resources on dog care and training.

11 Quick Tips For You And Your Dog

11 Quick Tips For You And Your Dog
by Rosie Harvey

Quick tip 1 - If your pup's nose seems to be perpetually dry after surgery, monitor his water intake and soak a cloth in tepid water. Lay it over his nose for a few minutes (making sure he can breathe, of course). This can help perk him up right away!


Quick tip 2 - Be wary of any breeder who says he or she treats puppies of breeds like Dobermans, Rottweilers, and Pit bulls differently so that they may be later used as guard dogs. Puppies should be treated similarly regardless of breed - purpose-specific training should never occur before a puppy reaches two months.

Quick tip 3 - Try to find a puppy kindergarten class in your area as soon as possible after adopting your new baby. These classes are not only great for training, they create a bond between you and your puppy and can help your pup get used to other people and dogs.

Quick tip 4 - Many training schools now offer in-home training or "doggie camps." During the first, your trainer will help you and your puppy figure out what's happening to cause specific problems (like furniture eating). The second is a kind of sleepaway camp for your puppy - he'll undergo intensive training for 10 days, then you'll attend and learn how to keep up the training for the last few days before graduation.

Quick tip 5 - Puppy papers, available from your pet store, are popular with some pet owners. Unfortunately, they have a similar effect as training your pup on newspaper and can just stretch the training period out even further.

Quick tip 6 - If you are diagnosed with strep throat, pneumonia, bronchitis, or a more serious infectious disease, you may want to get your pup to the vet. Dogs can both carry and contract human diseases and often need to be treated to get the virus out of the household completely.

Quick tip 7 - Dogs that play in areas frequented by cows and horses are at the highest risk for tetanus. If your dog loves to hang out in the stable or corral, be sure to check her for cuts and scratches before and after playtime and get her tetanus shot updated regularly.

Quick tip 8 - Try playing music while you're away to help calm your dog. There are tons of doggie-specific compilations available in music stores, many of which can help soothe nerves and ease the anxiety your pooch may feel when separated from you.

Quick tip 9 - If you've noticed that your dog's water intake is going down, fill a sport or bike bottle with water. After popping the top, place it inside your dog's cheek and squirt in a little at a time to keep his hydration level up.

Quick tip 10 - Just because he's old doesn't mean he doesn't still enjoy the same hard, crunchy treats he always loved. Make sure his teeth are strong enough to take the bones then feed away!

Quick tip 11 - Simple hard plastic stepstools are perfect for elevating food dishes, and you can usually find them for very low prices at grocery and superstores.

Hope these quick tips have been of help.

About the Author
Rosie Harvey runs a site on dog training and dog care. This site provides tips, advice, reviews, products and information all about training and taking care of your dog.
http://www.gowingpublishing.com/dogblog

A Guide To Dog Training

A Guide To Dog Training
by Wayne Daffern

Before starting dog training, it is best that you know your options well. These days you can find many types of dog training, in many different places. These trainings vary in price and each one them has something different to offer.

The first type of dog training is known as puppy preschool. This is a dog training course meant for puppies that are about 6 weeks to 5 months old. These puppy preschool classes generally last for no more than 6 to 8 weeks. In these training sessions, your puppy is essentially taught how to socialize with people and as well as other puppies. Here your puppy also begins to learn how to sit down, stay at a place, and how to come.

The second type of dog training course is meant for the dogs that are at least 5 months old. This type of dog training is known as the basic dog training. The duration of these classes is usually about 8 to 10 weeks. This is the basic course, where your dog is taught the art of walking properly on a leash, sitting, staying, coming and heeling.

The third type of dog training course is known as the intermediate dog training. This dog training aims at teaching the dog mostly the same things that are taught in the basic training course, in a more detailed form. Here the dog is trained to stay for a longer span of time, and is also taught to follow the orders given by other people.

The intermediate dog training generally lasts for about 8 to 10 weeks, and is meant for those that are no less than 5 months old. It is essential for the dog to have completed its basic dog training course, or to be accustomed to the basic commands that could have been taught by the owner.

The next type of training course is known as the advanced dog training course. Here, once again, the course is quite similar to its previous one, i.e., the intermediate dog training course, except for the fact that this time it is more detailed. Here, the dog is taught how to sit even without you in the view.

This training course is about 8 to 10 weeks long, and is meant for those that have completed their intermediate training. Here, they are also trained to walk beside their owners without a leash. Moreover, it gradually prepares the dog to take the Canine Good Citizen training course. The Canine Good Citizen training for dogs is the last course. To pass this course, your dog will be taught the 10 necessary aspects.

This course is strictly meant for those dogs that have completed all the previous courses. The test is quite tough and can only be passed if the dog is really well behaved. Depending on whether your dog can pass, the course can last for several weeks.

Keeping this information in mind, you should be able to decide the dog training course best suited for your dog. However, you may seek the opinion of your local dog trainers to know more. Many trainers consult for free. So now you should be at least a step closer to introducing your dog into a training course!

About the Author

You can get more quality information and FREE 7 part Dog Training mini course here http://www.dogtraining.waynedaffern.co.uk