Overall Dog Info

We know our lives are lived in the fast lane, we hurry to work, work all day, stop by the store, rush home, fix dinner, help the kids with their homework, get their baths, put them to bed….and only after everything else is done do we “maybe” find time for our pets.  This is reality.  In contrast your dog’s day looks like this, they go outside before you leave for work, lay around all morning and all afternoon, you come home, let them outside, feed them, and they lay around most of the night until they go outside before going to bed at night.

Do we really wonder why they are bored and get into trouble?  Do you get up a little earlier in the morning and take them for a walk?  Do you stimulate their brain by taking some time to teach them new tricks?  Do they have plenty of dog toys or dog chews to keep them occupied?  When they do get to go for a walk do you take the same route day after day?  Or if they get to go for a ride in the car do you take the same roads?

With a few changes, you can stir your dog physically and mentally.  By changing the direction of their walks you stimulate your dog’s brain.  Their nose gives them a tremendous amount of information to assimilate.  By taking the same route day after day your dog is smelling the same “old” smells from the same dog and person that walks and lives on those same streets every day.  When you change the routine and walk different streets in a different pattern they smell “new” smells, different dogs and different people.  When you go for a drive, stop and let them out on the leash to walk around a little bit to see and smell new things.

The results of bored, physically and mentally unchallenged dogs! Don’t let this happen to your home.

I have a thirty pound Schnauzer and I have purchased two items that he just loves and when I get them out he absolutely wears himself out playing.  I found them both at Cracker Barrel Restaurant.  One is a plastic ball that has a weasel attached to it.  You put a battery in the ball and it moves all around making the weasel jump, twist and turn as it rolls across the floor.  The other is a battery operated mouse with wheels inside a round ball that rolls all over the floor.  Of course, these types of toys can only be put out for your dog if you can give complete attention to the play time, these types of toys aren’t dog proof.  Other good stimulating dog toys are the ones that you put dog treats inside for them to get out.  You might want to visit our dog toy store for some ideas.

Another way to stimulate the bored dog is to keep them learning something new, such as tricks.  Teaching your dog tricks and playing games also helps the bonding between you and your dog.  While teaching them something new your dog is also getting your attention, affection and the sought after treat.  Learning stimulates their brain and also helps to mentally wear them out.  You know how it is when you start a new job and everything is new to you, your brain can absorb only so much at a time and your exhausted, right?  It’s the same with your dog.

So, if you have noticed your dog has started doing things that are unacceptable, maybe they’re just bored, both physically and mentally.  Try doing some of the things I haved mentioned above, such as: teaching your dog new tricks or changing where you take your dog on walks.

Does your dog attack visitors at your home before they are barely inside the door? Is your dog absolutely out of control barking, jumping on you and rushing the door in attack mode? Yes, I understand and this is not an easy behavior to change.  But it can be done and here are some basic dog training tips that you can use to change your dogs behavior when there is a knock at the door.

First, establish a boundary that your dog is to stay behind and you don’t open the door until they calm down and stay behind the barrier.  Second, they are to remain there until your visitor comes into your home. The dog is not to cross the boundary to approach the visitor.   The visitor can cross the boundary when the dog is calm and then allow the dog to sniff and smell them.  The dog is not to jump on the visitor.

These are very basic principles and not difficult to understand, but can be difficult the first several times you put this into practice with your dog. You don’t need to wait for visitors to arrive to facilitate your dog’s training.  You might consider having a family member, friend or neighbor assist you with the dog training.  Have them knock on or ring the door bell, patiently wait until your dog calms down and is in their designated waiting area and then come into the house.  Praise them with kind words and treats when they behave well.  If you do this several times a week your dog will learn this faster than relying only on visitors.  If you drill your dog in this frequently and early on in their training then your visitors aren’t outside waiting in the rain. Take a look…

In this video you will see the basic dog training technique in action.

The first step in dog training is to establish who the “leader of the pack or the boss” will be and of course that should be you and not the dog.  One, of several, things to do is to relate to the dog in the terms or language that they will understand.  Here is one tip and it begins with what to do before you feed your dog.

In a wild pack of dogs, one of the things you will notice is the “leader of the pack” will eat first. There is a very good reason for this and that is to assure the survival of the pack.  The rest of the pack will eat after the pack leader in their respective pecking order.  This is a very important “pack rule”  and it is adhered to by all members of the pack.  Even the very young learn this as soon as they are weaned from their mother and begin eating the food provided by the pack members.

Are you wondering why this is important?  It’s important, because when you begin your dog training there’s one way to impress upon them who the “leader of the pack” is.  That’s by letting your dog see you eat first before they eat.  To begin, prepare your dog’s food and set it up where he can’t get to it.  Then grab yourself some munchies, say a cookie or veggies, anything will do.  Then stand by the dog dish and act like you are eating some of his food and make sure he is watching you.  This simple act reinforces to the dog that you are the boss in terms that he understands.  You need to do this everytime they are fed.   Remember, consistency is a very important element to dog training.  This is a very simple step and it speaks volumns to the dog.  Try it.

If you knew Smokey, our miniature Schnauzer, today, at 3 years old, you just wouldn’t believe that he was the very difficult, defiant, hard-headed, unyielding dog that he was at 6 months to a year old.

If someone is around who is outside of his pack, which includes myself and my husband, he would not completely relax. He is always aware of his surroundings, who is there, what they are doing, ears peaked listening to who knows what but he would always be on alert and never be his relaxed wonderfully affectionate self. So needless to say, no one else will ever see the true Smokey. I will just have to tell you about him.

This dog has quite a personality, more so than any other dog we have ever had. I’m going to veer of the path for a moment and explore the possibilities of why. When I look back at our other dogs, well not so much the dog, but maybe better put would be, looking back at how much time was spent with the dog. Those dogs were not as “in tune with us” as Smokey is and not quite as alert of their surroundings or interested in learning new things. Now, I don’t know absolutely for sure that it had to with the lack of time spent with the other dogs or not but there is a tremendous difference between those dogs and Smokey.

With Smokey I was working part-time and my retired sister lived with us, so he was rarely ever left to his own devices. Our time with Smokey on training was 24/7, which, of course, included playtime, learning tricks and just hanging out relaxing together. But, I truly believe the constant monitoring of his behavior contributed to his becoming the gentleman he is and contributed to the development of his personality and his sense of humor. We took him to the in-laws house for Christmas last year and they’ve never had dogs in the house and she said “He was a perfect gentleman”.

I sincerely believe that a portion of his personality comes from being together all the time and that he was very seldom, if ever, left to entertain himself or to find some trouble to get into. I was told by our trainer that he had a very active mind and we would need to keep him busy and always learning something new, which we did especially during the first 2 years of training.

At approximately 4 months old we hung a large bell on a string and attached it to the handle of the stove, which was next to the back door. Each time we took him outside, we stopped at the bell, told him to “ring the bell” and hit the bell with his paw. After a couple of weeks he would bounce into the kitchen, run around the corner and smack the bell and it would fling in the air hitting the door, the wall, swing down and he’d smack it again.

He played with the bell so often that it was hard to keep track of when he truly needed to go outside to do his “business” or he was just playing. The bell became one of his favorite toys. He’d crouch down, butt in the air, watching the bell, barking and growling at it, running back and forth as if he had a squirrel cornered. He’d hit the bell, then hit it again on the downswing and the upswing, that bell was swinging like a tether ball in a school yard (woops, just dated myself here).

He’d get a paw wrapped up in the string once in awhile but most of the time he managed to wiggle his paw loose, which really surprised me.

If you were to ask me, I do truly believe, that the more time you can invest in your dogs and “consistently” (consistency is key to dog training) monitor their behavior the better behaved dog you will have.

When it comes to teaching your dog new tricks, patience is the most essential part.  Some dogs will pick up on new tricks very fast, and for others, it will take time.  To be successful you need to be patient and also be consistent.  Dogs will begin to understand tricks through repetition of the activity and a reward when they do it correctly.  As the old adage states: “carrots are better than sticks”, so be sure to reward your dog for good behavior but don’t punish them for doing it wrong, just withhold the reward.

Given enough patience on the part of an owner, a dog can learn most any trick, it just takes time.  If you do need some help, there are lots of guides and websites online that offer helpful tips about dog training and dog tricks.