My Crazy Dog

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Understanding Your Puppy’s

A well-socialised mother dog is more likely to have well-socialised puppies as the puppies ‘feed’ off of their mother’s calm or fearful attitude toward humans.

Puppies are usually weaned at six or seven weeks, but are still learning important skills as their mother gradually leaves them more and more. Ideally, puppies should stay with their litter mates for at least 12 weeks

Puppies that are separated from their litter mates too early often don’t develop appropriate ’social skills’ such as:
• Learning how to send and receive signals,
• What an ‘inhibited bite’ means,
• How far to go in play wrestling, etc

Play is important to help puppies to improve their physical coordination, social skills and learning limits. Interacting with their mother and litter mates helps them to learn ‘how to be a dog’, and is also a way to explore ranking (i.e. who’s in charge).

Skills not acquired during the first eight weeks may be lost forever. While these stages are important and fairly consistent, a dog’s mind remains receptive to new experiences and lessons well beyond puppy-hood. Most dogs are still puppies, in mind and body, through the first two years.

Dogs communicate with their actions, movement of their eyes, ears, mouths, etc, body gestures, tail wagging and more. Know to tune into your dog’s body language, you’ll realize what he’s talking about and what he needs. Of course, each dog, like each human, has his own personality traits. Over time, you’ll no doubt come to learn these individual traits. But there are general moods and behaviors that you can expect from dogs.

Barking
Dogs bark for many reasons, such as when perceived intruders (humans, dogs, or other animals) approach its territory, for identification, when hearing an unfamiliar or unidentified noise, when seeing something that the dog doesn’t expect to be there, or when playing. Barking also expresses different emotions for a dog, such as loneliness, fear, suspicion, stress, and pleasure. Play or excited barks are often short and sharp, such as when a dog is attempting to get a person or another dog to play.

Dogs generally try to avoid conflict; their vocalizations are part of what communicates to other dogs whether they mean harm or are in a playful mood.

The bark of a distressed or stressed dog is high pitched, atonal, and repetitive (and tends to get higher in pitch as the dog becomes more upset). For example, a dog left home alone and who has separation anxiety might bark in such a way.
Some research has suggested that dogs have separate barks for different animals, including dog, fox, deer, human and cat.

Growls
Growls can be used to threaten, to invite play, and to show dominance. Growling should be watched with special attention because it can indicate dominance or aggression. A soft, low-pitched growl often indicates aggression; the dog may feel threatened and may be provoked to attack. An intense growl, without showing any teeth, may often indicate a playful attitude. Always consider the context of a growl, and exercise caution.

Whines and Whimpers
Dogs whine and whimper to show that they are either in pain, or are afraid, or when excited, such as when greeting another dog, or in anticipation of a treat or an outing. Some dogs may use whining as a means of getting attention.

Howls
Howling provides long-range communication with other dogs or owners. Howling can be used to locate another pack member, to keep strangers away, or to call the pack for hunting. Sometimes dogs howl in response to high-pitched or loud noises such as alarms, sirens, music, or singing.

Confidence
Dogs that are confident and comfortable will stand erect. Their tails will be up and wagging in a sweep. The ears may be pricked up or relaxed, and they will look directly at you. The mouth will be partially open in what some call a smile.

Fear
Dogs that are fearful will lower their stance. The tail will usually be down, tucked between his legs, although some dogs actually wag their tails when they are unsure and evaluating a situation. The fearful dog will not look directly at you. When he turns his head away, he’s thinking, ‘hmmm… if I don’t see you, you don’t see me, and nothing bad is going to happen to me.’

Dogs that are fearful or unsure may use “calming signals” to reduce stress for themselves or others with whom they’re interacting. Some of these signals include yawning, barking, intentionally becoming distracted, lip-licking, circling, sniffing the ground, or just sitting or lying down.

Aggression
Certain breeds are hard to read - their tails are naturally curled up, and their ears are always perked up. Some dogs don’t ever give any indication that they are going to bite so watch the dog’s muzzle. A muzzle will twitch before a bite.
Other signs of aggression include stiff legs and body with the tail straight out, ears “pinned” back close to the head, a lowered head with eyes fixed intently at you. The lips are sometimes drawn back in a snarl and a low growl is heard.

Many people mistakenly believe that hackled hair on a dog’s back means they are aggressive. However, these are usually dogs who aren’t at all confident - they’re apprehensive so hackled hair makes them look bigger.

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Kum Chee, SG
Internet Business Coaching

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Does Body Language Effect Dog Training Techniques?

Dogs are remarkably intelligent creatures. Some experiments have even revealed that a dog has the same intelligence as a seven year old human child. They are also remarkably perceptive and intuitive. They have an uncanny ability to read their masters emotions and body language. Dogs are attuned to their owner’s body language and more often than not their behavior will depend on what they think their master is trying to convey to them through his body language. So if your dogs doesn’t listen to you or doesn’t obey your commands this may have something to do with your body language. Using the correct body language will usually help your dog to understand when he is not supposed to do a certain thing.

A very common occurrence in most household that own a pet is the chaos that ensues upon the arrival of a guest. Usually, most friendly dogs are beside themselves with excitement at the thought of the new arrival. As soon as he gets the first whiff of your guest your puppy or your dog cannot contain his excitement and joy. He is curious to see who stands outside the door and he also desperately wants to play with the guest.

If you were to get your hands on a doggy language translator this is what you would hear your dog saying, “ I wonder if the guest has treats for me”, “ wonder what he smells like”, “will he want to play with me”, “Oh let me just jump all over him and see”. Oh yes, that’s what your dog would be saying.

Since it’s safe to assume that neither your guest nor you can understand doggy language you will interpret his excitement for nuisance and the only way in which most dog owners react to this situation is by commanding their dog to stop his jumping and excitement at once. But the dog rarely listens so the firm command is followed by harsher and louder “off” command which also fails to give results. Finally you submit and yell at him and try to physically get him off the guests. Now all these actions are interpreted by your dog as excitement. In other words when you yell and scream he thinks you are as excited as him and want to join in the fun. So instead of stopping he continues pouncing on the guests with more fervor. You may want to purchase some elevated dog bowls and dog cage covers to keep your dog comfortable.

Why does your dog misinterpret your command? There is a very simple explanation to this. Your faulty body language and the incorrect tone of your voice make the dog feel that you are participating in the fun. So by doing this you are just encouraging your dog to continue with the bad behavior.

The Correct Body Language.

This is just one illustration of how your dogs behavior can be directly attributed to your faulty body language and excited tone of voice. Even though you are hollering out of frustration, for your dog it is excitement. So the next time your dog or puppy behaves this way you may want to tackle the situation using a different strategy. Here are a few tips that will help your dog to better understand your commands regardless of what you are trying to get him to do.

1. Usually when we are angry with our pets we tend to run behind them. We think that once we catch them we will give them a good scolding. But when you run behind your dog he thinks your playing a game with him. So it’s very important that your dog does not interpret your annoyance as fun. Be sure to view these large dog supplies, you can find some that will help in the training process.

2. We have already established that dogs can and do interpret most commands based on your body language. So the next time you give your dog a command make sure that your

What Exactly is a Silky Terrier?

Would you believe that the Silky Terrier got it’s origins from the ‘Land Down Under’? In the late 1800s, a lot of Yorkshire Terriers were brought to Australia from England. These Yorkie’s were tan and steel blue. The Australian Terriers were bred with these Yorkshire Terriers from England. Australian Terriers with their own tan and blue colors. You can find many dog supplies online for your silky terrier such as small dog clothes and dog pajamas.

The litters from these breeding’s had the sole purposes of creating a breed of dogs that would not only have a robust makeup but would have an improved coat color. The lineage that would come from these cross breeding’s of the Yorkshire and Australian Terriers began to appear slightly different. This look was enough to give them their own breed name, thus “Silky Terrier” was created because it was believed that this was a totally new breed of dog. They were of a medium size and build and their coats were similar to their original parents.

Through interbreeding, Silky Terriers began to emerge as their own unique breed. Since the breed had originated in 2 different areas of Australia there were 2 official standards drawn up. One breed standard for one type was created in 1906 and the other in 1910. The confusion was in the size and weight of the dogs. So to include both sides, the breed was officially called “Australian Silky Terrier”. However, back in America within the same year, Americans had dropped the “Australian” part of the description and the AKC recognized them just as Silky Terriers. Silky Terriers are not rare, but they are not as common as household pets.

They are mostly bred and owned for their show ability. Silky Terriers are darlings in the show ring, but they are not dulcette little darlings! They are feisty, playful, daring, and sometimes overconfident dogs. They are bold when it’s time to take action and can be aggressive towards to other dogs or pets. Silky Terriers do tend to bark(yap) a lot! They also can be quite contrary towards training. Due to their high energy level, they do have to have more exercise than most toy breeds. They love walks and benefit from being allowed to be off their leash in a secure area to play. Important note: This is not a dog breed that is not meant to live outdoors!

Grooming habits should include a good brushing every day and regular bathing with products that will not only enhance the natural beauty of their coats but will also keep their skin and coat clean and conditioned and free of mats. The Silky Terrier has been known in a healthy lifestyle to live up to 16 years. Surprisingly enough, this little dog has the esteemed reputation and notoriety of being the most healthy of dog breeds citing no major health issues. Minor health issues may include: Legg-Perthes and patellar luxation.

Great dog training at a low price

Minneapolis loves K-9s and if you’re one of its residents, you probably are one of the thousands who have a dog at home. After getting your first dog ever, one of the things you need to do is to train your dog basic tricks. While you may want your dog to play dead or jump in hoops, you must remember that everything starts with easy things like sit, stay and fetch. For a few individuals, dog training is part of a born skill. For some others, the job is better left to Minnesota dog training professionals.

New dog owners usually find themselves confused with what to teach their dogs and how to do it. While everyone loves his or her dog very much, some owners don’t have a idea on proper dog training. So, the best thing to do really is to call a pro.

What can a Minneapolis dog training professional do? There are different kinds of services offered by the pros. One of the most popular services is the in-house training. With this program, you leave your dogs to the trainers and they teach your dog basic obedience. Your dogs will learn how to sit, stay, walk on a leash, and fetch. When your dogs are already equipped with basic house manners, you, as the dog owner, will be taught how to handle these new skills that your dog has acquired.

You may also opt for group sessions. In this program, both the owner and the dog attend classes. Simultaneously, the owner-handler learns the tricks in dog training and the dog learns new skills. This gives the advantage of better bonding between the owner and the dog during the class. Aside from that, since dogs are unique and have distinct traits, the owner can personalize his teaching methods and lessons while still following the rules of proper dog training. Effective group sessions should be limited to 5animals per batch to ensure that every handler-dog pair is given the right amount of attention by trainers.

Another option would be the private classes. This is definitely more personal than the other programs as Minnesota dog training professionals are able to provide undivided attention to you and your dog. The needs, skills and potential of your dog are given focus, which often leads to faster learning progress. As expected, this will cost more than the other programs.

Some Minneapolis dog training professionals also offer training services even before you get your dog. You just inform them of your preferences in terms of breed, color, age and other needs you want to specify, and they will find the dog for you. Before they send the dog to you, they train it and make sure that it is already equipped with basic obedience so you don’t need to worry about anything anymore.

When you search for a Minnesota dog training company to provide you with your dog’s training needs, make sure that you get people who have been in the business for some time and who have trained dogs based on positive discipline.

Find Out Useful Tips About Easy To Teach Dog Tricks

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.

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Read about stop chewing dogs issues on this blog.

How to Stop a Dog From Chewing - Free Helpful Info

There are a number of things you need to consider if your dog is displaying chewing behaviors in order to effectively combat this destructive habit. The best way to learn how to stop a dog from chewing is to examine several factors:

First, what is he chewing? Cushions, shoes, his own feet? Some objects may need to be removed from temptation, especially while a puppy is still learning good behavior and self-control. Some things may be just too hard to resist. Others can be saved with the use of a bitter chewing-deterrent spray, which also works on feet and tails. Simply creating a terrible taste will likely be enough to stop chewing and prevent future episodes, without harming your pet.

Next, what is the underlying cause of the chewing? If a puppy is teething, she definitely needs something to work those gums on. Try offering a toy or treats specifically designed for this purpose. Even better, freeze the chew toy for several hours, then give it to your puppy. This will both relieve his teething pain, AND distract him from chewing other objects. Win-win!

There are, of course, other causes of chewing, including boredom, stress and loneliness. Your dog requires a certain level of stimulation, similar to a child. And just like a child, if your dog is ignored, this can lead to him getting into trouble if adequate activities and interaction are not provided.
Other Points to Consider

- When there are times in the day that your dog must entertain itself, tie your dog up outside or have it somewhere where it can not reach anything but its toys to chew on. Maybe give your dog a little chew treat, or even better, one he has to chew in to get some peanut butter or other food inside. Mental stimulation is key!

- Practice obedience training your dog everyday, and make sure he gets plenty of exercise. This will help stimulate your dog mentally and physically, and thereby reduce its boredom.

- Do not physically punish your dog, as this will only cause more anxiety, and most likely increase his chewing.

- Do not play tug of war or wrestling games with your dog. This will only encourage him to bite and chew - not a good thing!

- Never try to pull a toy from your dogs mouth. Instead, distract him with a treat, and remove the object once he has dropped it. You can also teach him the “Leave” command.

- Ensure that he has plenty of toys to keep him occupied while you are out. You may want to rotate them, for added interest.

- If you think he suffers from any separation anxiety, make your exits very low key, so as to cause as little stress as possible.

For more information on Dog Behavior Problems I suggest you check out this great Dog Teaching site.

For the house training dogs information, please visit this blog.

Find Important Tips About Training Your Dog To Sit Like You

The trick of “sitting up” is easily taught to small dogs, but should try not be included in a big dog’s education, as it is difficult for them to preserve their balance.

The training of sitting up is one of the first tricks to teach and forms the groundwork for many other dog tricks. To train a dog to sit up, prepare some treats as a reward, and set your dog on his haunches in a corner, so that he cannot fall either backward or sideways and has very little or no space to lose balance.

Keep him from pitching forward by holding one hand under his chin and with the other hand hold the treat above his nose and keep repeating distinctly and deliberately say, “sit up.” Do not make him sit up too long at any one time, but repeat the lesson frequently and reward him often with plentiful of praise and treats.

During his first lesson he will require considerable assistance from your hand to prevent him from pitching forward, but as he gets control of the balancing muscles and understands what you want, he will depend less and less upon your hand to keep him in position and you can gradually render him less assistance until you will only have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from his neck or chin, so as to be ready to prevent him pitching forward; later on you can withdraw this hand entirely and simply hold the treat just above the level of his head.

By constant practice he will sit up well after you set him up; then he should be set up against the wall, so as to afford him a support for his back only, and after he has been well schooled at this and can keep his position easily, practice him against chair legs, cushions or other objects that afford him less and less assistance, until finally he learns to preserve his balance and sits up without anything to lean against.

During all these lessons the words “sit up” have been impressed upon his mind by frequent repetition, and now comes the final lesson to teach him to sit up as soon as he hears the words, and the chances are, if he has been diligently drilled, it will be necessary only to call him out in the room, show him a treat, hold it up a suitable distance from the floor, say “sit up” and he will do so, when he should be given the treat while still in position.

The only necessity to perfection is to practice him several times a day until he will sit up at the word and without being shown a reward; that can be given him after he has obeyed.

You have now a foundation for many other tricks. He can be taught to beg by moving your hand up and down just in front of his paws, which he will move in unison with yours. He can also be taught to salute by bringing one paw up to the side of his head, or to hold a wooden pipe in his mouth, or to wear a cap on his head or other articles of wearing apparel.

In teaching a dog to submit to being dressed up, do not attempt to get him to wear too many things at once; try him at first with a cap and after he becomes accustomed to that you can put on a coat and gradually accustom him to the other clothing articles.

Enjoy teaching your dog the “sit up” trick and most importantly have fun along the way!

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Read about house training dogs.

Discover Useful Tips About Training Your Puppy

There are as many ways to raise a puppy as there are to raising a child. In fact, one way per family in general! But most of us agree that when it comes to children, certain things are universal and undisputed. Here are three things that a lot of people just do not think of when it comes to raising their dogs, however. How many times have we heard, “My dog just won’t listen to me”, or “He just won’t behave!”

1. Dogs do not understand English until we teach them.

The thing we all love about puppies the most is the way they live for us, the way they focus all they have on us, the way our lives become theirs. in the beginning, they study us to learn our body language, our facial expressions and our language. Until we teach them the English language, it’s all they have. If we say, “Wanna go out?” one day, “Have to go potty?” the next day, and, “Hafta pee?” the third day, if they DO figure out what we want, it is because we have picked up the leash and moved toward the door with a happy face! If you want to speed up his training by three-fold, teach him YOUR language. Pick a command for EACH behavior and stick with it. Tell all in your family to use the same words and commands, and your puppy will amaze you at how much faster he learns.

2. A young puppy’s metabolism is racing along faster than we think.

The younger your puppy is, the faster he is growing, the more food and water he needs to fuel his metabolism, and the more often he has to go potty. Do not punish your puppy when he makes a house-breaking mistake. These are YOUR fault. Your puppy’s age in weeks and his breed size determine how often he must go out. Once an hour is not too often for a large 6-week old puppy, especially if it is summertime. Dogs love the exciting smells outdoors, so there is no excuse to not have him housebroken by 7-8 weeks of age. Right after a nap, after he eats and after grooming are the key times, and he will signal you. If he is happily chewing a toy and gets up suddenly with his nose to the floor, move quickly! And every time he goes potty outside, praise him to high heaven! “What a good BOYY!”, “GOOD go potty!” and the like. Dogs love our happy faces, and they will do anything to get it.

3. Dogs live for our facial expressions and body language.

Because of this, the worst punishment you ever need to give your dog is a scowl and to turn away from him. You can see his tail fall down and his face get so sad. He will learn the lesson, I guarantee it. But his attention span is only 3-5 minutes, so do not scorn him any longer. Love him up and give him your happy face again. Physical punishment is never necessary. Use consistent commands and loving praise and he will know what you want of him before you know. He will become a master of your body language and facial expressions in no time at all.

Naturally there are many aspects of training your puppy well. Loving kindness works just as well for puppies as it does with children, creating a happy, well-adjusted and obedient dog for life. These three important tips, used consistently with confidence, will start him well on his way.

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Make sure you also know these house training dogs tips.

American Bulldog Training Helpful Hints for a Well Behaved Puppy

American Bulldog training can be one of the most rewarding things you do with your new (or old) pet. You will establish a life long bond with your pet through the training process and get a better behaving pet in the process. It is important that you start training your dog as soon as possible because every day you wait is one more day you have to put up with aggression, biting, barking, chewing, jumping, and bathroom “accidents”.

American Bulldog training offers challenges that may not be faced when training other dog breeds. This doesn’t mean an American Bulldog is a bad choice for a pet, you just need to be aware of their unique behavior patterns.

Size is one of the biggest problems with these dogs. They are large animals and need space to run. With their large size, they can do way more damage than a Chihuahua.

These dogs can be very playful. Running, jumping, and jumping on things are favored activities for young American Bulldogs. Even when they are just playing, they can do a lot of damage because of their size. They are probably not the best choice if you have small children.

They can be very protective so American Bulldog training needs to involve exposing them to a lot of people. They need to see other people as normal and friendly so they don’t attack everybody they see trying to protect you, their beloved owner.

American Bulldogs have also been known to be very aggressive with other dogs of the same sex. Cats and other small animals can easily become play things so you should probably keep them separate.

The last thing to be aware of with American Bulldogs is that some people can view them very negatively even if they never do anything wrong. This makes American Bulldog training extremely important not just some thing that is nice to do. Getting help from a top knotch training system like the Secrets to Dog Training is absolutely essential to successful training.

Labrador Problems: Territorial Invasions

The Labrador retriever is essentially a creature that does not suffer from any specific behavioral problems, though as with all breeds there are always certain animals that will show some abnormalities including those related to their health and also behavior. Sometimes, these rather large animals will have problems related to their size including being too aggressive and often diagnosing the exact nature of such Labrador problems can be both confusing as well as difficult. Another common Labrador problem is that of chasing cats and smaller dogs, and this is an instinctive problem that should be addressed through providing adequate Labrador training to your pet at an early stage in his life.

To overcome such problems you may want to check out an expert behaviorist who can suggest possible methods to solve the problem, though if you choose to train your pet on your own be prepared to spend a lot of time in the training him and also exercise patience as well as be determined to teach your pet how he must behave in an appropriate and acceptable manner.
There are certain Labradors that can prove to be a handful and these pets will not easily learn to behave properly unless sent to a behaviorist. This and other Labrador problems such as having a pet that always seems to be dreaming can be reason for you to become worried, though in reality these can be overcome through proper Labrador training. A typical Labrador problem that many pet owners will have to deal with has to do with a pet that chews up everything he can sink his teeth into. Such a problem can arise when the Labrador is too energetic and it also occurs when having someone or something invade his territory frustrates the Labrador.

To overcome these Labrador problems, it would pay to talk to a veterinary behaviorist or provide strict Labrador training and also ensuring that you spend a lot of time with your dog in helping him release his energy in a more productive manner.
Typical of Labrador problems is that of chasing cats and since this is more of an instinctive driven behavioral problem it can best be changed through giving your pet proper Labrador training which may require spending a lot of time and being patient so that he is taught how to stop this instinctive reaction on his part. Another common behavioral problem that your Labrador can show is that of becoming destructive and this in turn is generally due to his becoming anxious about something. Because dogs have advanced hearing capabilities, they can become aware of things even before humans get wind of these things and thus your Labrador may behave in a manner that is incomprehensible to human beings and so, this is another common Labrador problem that pet owners will have to contend with.

It is also always possible to condition your Labrador to not become skittish when he hears various kinds of sounds and a simple Labrador training step you can use is to play recordings of certain sounds at low volumes and then increasing the volume gradually to make your Labrador get accustomed to these sounds. In fact, this is an especially useful way to becalm your Labrador who could otherwise become so nervous that you may even be forced into giving him anti-anxiety medicines to overcome his fears.

Labrador problems are generally not a major concern for pet owners and with timely Labrador training you can easily ensure that your pet behaves in an appropriate manner at all times. Besides consulting dog training books you could also read this article to learn more about common Labrador problems.