Puppy Training is Easy if you Follow the Basics
The Golden Retriever is truly one of the most beautiful dogs on the planet.
They have a beautiful coat, an amazing face, a strong, sleek, and muscular body, a fantastic personality, a tail that never stops waging, and they are a joy to watch at work, when flushing a pheasant, swimming in the water, or chasing a Frisbee.
The Golden Retriever was originally bred as a hunting dog in Scotland, around 1908, but is now very popular as a house pet, a therapy dog in convalescent homes and children’s hospitals, and is used by law enforcement for drug detection.
Although they do not make very good guard dogs, they will bark loudly if a stranger approaches.
If you have children the Golden Retriever can be the perfect pet. Because of their natural nurturing instincts, and very gentle nature they make the perfect companion.
In 1974 President Gerald Ford made the First Family dog a Golden Retriever named Liberty.
If you are considering getting a Golden Retriever puppy, you need to find a reputable breeder that specializes in breeding Golden Retrievers.
There are plenty of pet shops and back yard breeders that are selling Goldens, that may have serious breed problems ranging from aggression, to hip and eye problems, and a host of other problems that may not be noticeable at the puppy stage.
A reputable breeder will check the blood lines of the parents carefully to make sure they do not have a history of these problems, before breeding. This will be your best chance at having a trouble free pet.
Training your Golden Retriever is not as hard as you may think. These are very intelligent dogs, and eager to learn. They want to please you, and hate to be scowled.
The first thing to remember is that puppies will be puppies, so don’t expect too much too soon.
You can start to bathroom train right away, but if there is anything around you care about within the puppies grasp like shoes, or your favorite slippers, I would put them away, because your puppy’s going to chew them if he gets them.
Give your puppy something of his own to chew. They are teething, and want to naturally chew things because their gums hurt. Make it clear early on that he or she is to chew what you gave them, and nothing else.
If you expect your Golden to respond to your commands, then you want to avoid confusing him. It’s easy to forget that they do not understand the English language.
They respond to certain sounds, or words, based on your body language, and tone of voice. The trick to making the training as simple as possible is to use a few basic words and stick with them.
If you want your Golden to get out of the trash, and you say “no” one time, and “stop” the next time, and then “hey” the next time, they never really get what you are telling them.
The six words that I have found over the years that work best are “NO” “SIT” “DOWN” “COME” “HEEL” and “STAY”. I find they work best if said without the dogs name. These are discipline words, and are better left by themselves.
It’s important that you show your Golden Retriever that you are the boss. You must establish that you are the leader to be successful with his training.
If you give one of your commands, and he does not comply, reinforce the command with a little different tone of voice until he complies.
If that still doesn’t work, don’t just walk away. That will send a bad message. Stick with it until you get the desired results. It will happen.
Never yell at your pet or hit them, or raise your hand in a gesture to do so. You also never want to use anything like a rolled up newspaper, or a belt, or any object of this type to discipline them.
This will only scare and confuse them, and loose their trust, which will make it much harder to achieve the results you are looking for.
If you use the word “No” Firmly, to stop him from what he is doing, or gently show him you want him to “Sit” or lay “Down”, or use the word “Come” when you want him to come to you, or say “Out” when it is time for her to go outside – I think you will be very surprised at how fast he or she learns.
Whatever words work for you are fine, as long as you keep them simple, and stay with the same words all the time I think you will get surprising results.
And don’t forget the most important word of all, GOOD. Using that word combined with boy or girl, or the dog’s name such as “Good Sammy”, can work wonders.
They learn to like that real fast. Saying Good Boy, or Good Girl, or What a Good Girl, with the right tone in your voice, combined with a pat on the head, a biscuit, or a rubbing of their belly, will practically send a Golden Retriever into orbit.
They are beautiful animals. Just be patient, and you will have a great friend for many years.
Have A Golden Day
Glenn Downer
http://www.the-golden-retriever.com
Learn Easy and Fun Strategies to Teach Your Retriever Puppy
Before beginning obedience training develop the desire to retrieve. To test if your pup has inherited natural retrieving tendencies toss a toy, ball, or a puppy-size canvas dummy a few feet in front of the pup. You are testing if he will go after it and bring it back to you. If he is not interested in retrieving or does not give up the object means you will need to spend time teaching this skill. Many dogs become just as eager and competent retrievers even though they may not start out with natural abilities.
The retrieving experience should be playful and fun for the pup. Take your dog to a field or park where you can throw a dummy for him to fetch, keeping him on a long lunge line. When throwing the dummy, enthusiastically tell him to fetch. As soon as he reaches the dummy and picks it up vigorously encourage him to return to you. The secret is to run away from your dog so that he has to chase you carrying the dummy. Do not get discouraged if your dog will not pick up the dummy. He can learn that skill when you teach him basic obedience. The training strategy is to teach your pup to come back to you when playing fetch even if it is without the dummy. Using a dog whistle for the return signal is recommended because the sound is more commanding than voice.
Before serious obedience training, it is important to allow your puppy time to adjust to the house rules, boundaries, and be introduced to the leash. Even though the brain of a pup is completely developed, the focus is scattered, and he will bounce from one activity to another. Your puppy will often drop off to sleep since physical growth takes so much of the energy.
The word no will be the most used word for the first few months. Remember, when reprimanding your dog you need to catch him in the act for him to understand the correction. Set up times when you actually let your dog do the misdeed so you can correct and teach him. Eventually just a firm no when he is tempted will be enough to stop any wrong moves.
The sit command is the second command I teach after teaching the dog to come back. If you teach your dog to sit every time he comes to you, it will stop problems of jumping on people. This can be taught in a soft manner as early as eleven weeks.
The first weeks and months is the time to instill a winning attitude in your dog. The result will be a puppy that wants to come back to you, who will listen to you, and who will be broken to the leash. Your retriever will be ready for formal training lessons at four months.
Jean Smith is a dog trainer specializing in training retrievers. She has condensed years of
experience into two DVDs. Lessons
http://www.teachmeplease.com from basic obedience through
advanced. Jean has helped hundreds of people
train their own dogs.
Aggressive Dog Training Made Easy
Dog aggression is a fairly common problem that many owners will face at one time in their dog’s life or another. It is actually so common that there are hundreds upon hundreds of studies associated with aggression. Questions such as “Why does aggression occur,” “Why are some breeds more aggressive,” and “How can I use aggressive dog training to curb aggression in my dog,” are asked on a regular basis. Before you actually begin aggressive dog training, it is important to understand the type of aggression that your dog may be experiencing. Believe it or not, there are actually several types of aggression and each one will need to be handled in a slightly different manner. The types of aggression are:
· Dog Aggression: this can be seen in many different breeds and it is actually aggression that a dog shows to other dogs. · Fear Aggression: Many people may not see fear as an aggressive behavior but if a dog begins to bite, bark, growl or bare his teeth when he is frightened than it has moved from simple fear to fear aggression.
· Dominate Aggression: This is a very serious type of aggression since the dog has many traits that you would see in a “bully.” One of the biggest problems with dominate aggression is that it is not always seen as aggression, just an alpha personality doing what it does best, until the dog attacks someone or something. Another problem is that dominate aggression is very unpredictable.
· Possessive Aggression: To get a clear idea of this, watch your dog while he is eating and is interrupted by someone. If he is fine and continues to eat or even allows you to put your hand in the dish then there is no real aggression there; however, if he growls or bites then you know that he is being possessive about things he preserves as his. While this may seem appropriate, a dog should never be possessive.
· Pain Aggression: This is aggression that is shown when a dog is in pain. · Maternal Aggression: Seen only in female dogs, this is an aggression that is seen when a female is raising a litter of puppies.
· Territorial Aggression: There are several breeds of dogs that are prone to territorial aggression where they see an area such as the house, the yard, the neighborhood or all of the above as his. When other animals or people enter his territory, he reacts in an aggressive manner.
As you can see, there are a large number of aggressions and many dogs will experience one or the other at certain times in their life. While some forms of aggression are very serious and require aggressive dog training, some of them aren’t and really only require some patience by the owner to overcome. In the case of pain aggression, it is important to find out why your dog is being aggressive. If he is hurt, take him to the vet to have the problem looked after. When the dog heals, the aggression should go away on its own but if it doesn’t, you can move into training methods for it.
In addition, maternal aggression can be avoided simply by spaying your dog but if she does whelp a litter, the maternal aggression should diminish as the puppies are weaned and placed in new homes. In many cases, the easiest way to use aggressive dog training is to socialize your puppy and dog correctly. Many people see socialization as a process that is done when their puppy is young but socialization should be done throughout your dog’s life. Exposing him to other dogs, people, places and stimulations will help curb many different areas of aggression such as dog aggression. Remember that when you do socialize your dog, especially if he has some aggression problems, that you do so in a controlled manner.
Make sure all the dogs are on leashes and introduce him to one dog at a time. Never allow your dog to be surrounded by a group of dogs since this can frighten him and trigger his aggressive response. If at any time your dog starts to indicate aggression, simply correct him by removing him a few feet away from the other dog and then praising him when he calms down. Another way to make aggressive dog training easy is to place firm rules in your house from the moment your dog arrives home. This means that he is not allowed on the furniture and that he understands that the home is yours. To battle dominance aggression, it is important to put yourself and everyone else in the role of dominate. Your dog should never eat before the family and he should never be allowed to find food for himself.
When he does eat, take the time to place your hands in the dog’s food dish and feed him by hand. This teaches him that anyone is allowed in his dish and it will help curb some possessive aggression. Make sure that everyone in the house does this as well and never let the dog go around your hand to eat directly from the bowl. In many cases, aggressive dog training needs to start with owners. To make it easy, you need to look at how you are training your dog, how he is being socialized and what negative behaviors are being reinforced. For instance, if you nurture fright responses such as growling by coddling the dog whenever he is scared, then he will quickly learn that growling is the proper response to being scared, which may develop into fear aggression.
Ignore some behaviors and correct others with a firm “no,” which is an important command with aggressive dog training. When you are using aggressive dog training, it is important that you do not correct your dog in a harsh manner. Although it may not seem like you are being abusive to your dog, a small slap can cause a large amount of damage and if a dog is already aggressive, it will just reinforce the aggressive behavior. After you have corrected how you train your dog, it is time to start aggressive dog training and it is very easy; simply break out the basics of training. Many times, basic training on a regular basis can really help with many forms of aggression and many different types of negative behaviors.
To battle territorial aggression, start by inviting people over to your home and correcting your dog when he begins barking with a loud noise to interrupt the behavior and then a firm “no.” When your dog stops barking, praise him and treat. Increase the frequency that different guests visit as your dog becomes accustomed to people being in his space. If your dog is aggressive during walks, it is time to take aggressive dog training out on a walk. Start by taking different routes every time you take a walk. Since the route is different, your dog is less likely to imprint a route as being his.
When he meets people or other animals on the street, correct his negative behavior with a firm “no” and praise him when he doesn’t react. As the aggressive dog training is advanced, gradually begin taking him to higher traffic areas until he can walk in a busy place without reacting in an aggressive manner. Although aggressive dog training is fairly easy, it does take some time and it is very important to watch your dog’s stress levels and to take your time with training. Remember, your dog didn’t become aggressive over night and you can’t expect the aggressive dog training to work overnight either, so take your time and enjoy every success your dog has.
Nancy Richards has been involved with dog training for several years. Learn all about aggressive dog training , companion dog training, dog grooming, diet, care for all dog breeds.
Make Pet Care an Easy Task With Dog Health Insurance
The woof of a dog can be the most pleasant sound to a doting pet owner and especially after a tiring day at work. Even health gurus have agreed on the fact that nothing de-stresses your mind better than the warm welcome of a beloved pet and as a result more and more people are opting to keep pets in their homes. As the community of pet owners is on the rise, we need to think beyond the usual set of responsibilities of a pet owner. If you think keeping a dog at home is all play and no work then think again. Rearing a dog involves much more than simply providing it a nutritious diet, proper grooming, daily exercise and annual vaccinations. As a pet owner, you need to be prepared to deal with many planned and unplanned events concerning your pet and more importantly you must be financially prepared to handle every such situation that may crop up. Most of the time, a simple budget kept aside for the pet is not enough and only a dog health insurance can come to your timely, financial rescue.
As medical science makes tremendous progress in all aspects, animal health care provisions have also improved. Many rare and complicated diseases which were earlier incurable in animals are now curable under the treatment of a competent veterinary. However, the cost of such treatments also has a high cost association which may not always be in the affordable range of every pet owner. As a result, the pet may not receive the required treatment simply due to lack of funds. A dog health insurance plan will help you avoid such heart breaking situations where you see your pet suffer due to lack of financial resources. You can save on you finances and provide better care for your pet by selecting the best dog health insurance plan.
Many companies provide various pet insurance plans and it is up to the owner to select the best dog health insurance plan according to the requirements of his pet. The breed, gender, age and physical health of your pet plays a major role in selection of the right insurance plan. The financial benefit of the insurance plan is that, you end up paying only a nominal amount of premium each month, which is much cheaper than what you would have to shell out, in case you were paying all the actual expenses of treatment from your own pocket.
The dog health insurance plan covers almost every kind of disease and illness, but yet it is advisable to check out the coverage offered before you sign the deal. In case your dog suffers from any pre-existing disease, the plan may have some additional clauses in it, so make sure you check the details of the plan well. Once you have insured your pet with a reputed and reliable pet insurance company, you can rest assured that your beloved dog will get all the benefits and care that ensures a happy and healthy life for him.
Robert Scott is a veterinary doctor and through ages having been dealing in pet insurance. If you want to know more about Pet insurance,Cat insurance,Dog health insurance,Pet insurance Online.you can visit www.insuranceforpets.net
Companion Dog Training Made Easy
Companion dog training is really no different than more advanced training in its principles. All types of training should involve structure and boundaries with clearly defined rules but should be done in a consistent and fun manner. The main difference between companion dog training and more advanced types of training is really the depth of the training.
For example, all dogs should know a stay command. A stay for companion dog training may be short, only a minute or two, and not very far away from the handler; whereas, more advanced training might require a stay of more than 10 minutes in duration and be out of sight from the handler. Companion dog training should include commands such as: sit, down, come, wait/stay, loose leash walking, off (of furniture and people), give or drop it, and leave it. These are the foundation for a well rounded program of companion dog training.
All of these skills can easily be taught (and should be) in a positive and motivational manner. When we train our dogs using motivation instead of force or compulsion, we tap into what our dogs most desire. Just like with people, when a dog wants something, it will work hard to figure out how to get it. Motivation allows us to use these desires to train in more reliably the commands we would like for our dogs to know.
There are different kinds of motivation that can be used effectively in both companion dog training and more advanced types of training. Motivation is anything your dog wants: toys, high value food items like hot dogs, cheese, or jerky, attention and petting, playtime outside, a walk, etc. Motivation also can be used effectively to teach dogs about impulse control and patience. When a dog has to wait to receive its dinner or sit before going outside, it learns that it has to control its impulses and limit its frustration to receive what it wants. Teaching a dog patience should be a cornerstone of companion dog training. The best way to begin a companion dog training program is to invest the time and money in a knowledgeable and patient dog training professional. The Association of Pet
Dog Trainers has a large membership of qualified professionals to select from as do many local Kennel Clubs. A dog training school, club, or professional should always care about what is in the best interest of your dog, have the experience and knowledge, and have the communications skills to convey it. They should be flexible with you and allow you to ask questions as well. Companion dog training should be fun and interesting for both you and your dog. Companion dog training is fun and easy when you set boundaries for your dog using the different commands, teach him patience by asking him to do commands to get what he wants, work with motivations that matter to him, and have the knowledge to train gained from working with a professional.
Nancy Richards has been involved with dog training for several years. Learn all about aggressive dog training , companion dog training, dog grooming, diet, care for all dog breeds.
Breeding Golden Retrievers -The Complicated Procedure Made Easy For You!
The fact is that though breeding of Golden Retrievers is a complex and difficult task, it can be done by those with adequate knowledge of breeding guidelines and bonding with their pet-dog fairly easily, though it is indeed a formidable task for beginners!
The requirements for professional dog-breeders is very different as compared to that of hobby dog-breeders and this is what must be realized by the latter group for they can end up feeling disappointed by their failed efforts in doing so and ending up with a litter that is not half as likely to be the kind they expected; besides, the expectations of future owners (should you wish to sell them) for Golden Retriever pups are high and therefore, simply breeding your female Golden Retriever for some fast cash is not a good idea.
It is not only not likely to give top quality results but also take away from the expectations of buyers keen on getting the best pups possible for the money they give since Golden Retrievers are much-sought after dogs being good-looking, friendly, non-aggressive yet protective and lovable pets that adapt well in families.
It is good to remember that there are high costs and plenty of care involved with hobby-dog breeding for these top quality dogs a.k.a. Golden Retrievers and this raises the bar for the time and responsibility factors associated with the task as well.
First and foremost, owners keen on breeding their Golden Retriever are advised to honestly judge the motive behind wanting to breed their pet; it is not a necessary procedure for the dog, though natural instincts about mating exist, but there are typically no regrets over ‘not breeding’ experienced by the dog.
For female Golden Retrievers, pregnancy only causes more problems and therefore breeding them has to be a well-thought out decision that involves a lot of health precautions as well as after-care; those that have been spayed however, are not fit for breeding purposes.
As a hobby dog-breeder and owner of a Golden Retriever, you have to consider potential mate of your pet seriously to get the highest quality litter possible from the pair and for this, a professional dog-breeder may be consulted for his/her view of the temperament, traits and compatibility factors of either dog so as to also negate undesirable factors, such as health problems being passed on to the litter and unfriendly reactions etc.
An unhealthy mother can work adversely for the dog-breeder as female Golden Retrievers that are not favorably inclined towards nurturing her young may require the former to do the job for her, which is time-consuming and tiring besides being irksome.
A healthy progeny from your female Golden Retriever thus, becomes your responsibility as well as ensuring you have found her the right mate and taken all adequate health precautions and care before, during and after pregnancy, so take all these aspects into consideration besides just calculating finances of daily diet and vet bills when deciding to breed her.
Abhishek is an avid dog lover and he has got some great Dog Health Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 80 Pages Ebook, “How To Take Care Of Your Dog’s Health” from his website http://www.Dog-Tale.com/192/index.htm . Only limited Free Copies available.
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