Wishing you peace and joy this Christmas Day!
Don't miss this!
Looking for something to slow down your dog's eating and entertain your puppy with food? Try the slow feeder dog bowl set. It includes a bowl, treat dispensing ball and a teeth cleaning toy.
We are having a big sale on our slow feeder dog bowl sets through the end of the year.
If you have ever wanted to try one now is the time!
Click link in our profile
Happy Thanksgiving!
Follow these tips to keep your puppy safe from holiday food hazards!
Wondering if you can give your pup a treat on Thanksgiving day?
They can have a lot of the traditional fare if you keep it plain with no spices or added products such as dairy etc!!
I didn't know this was a thing!!
Please plan ahead and evaluate the impact of adding a pet to your household!!!
Protect your puppy while winterizing your car!
Potty training in 3 easy steps!
Not-
Potty training is so important to your life long relationship with your puppy. It is an investment in your dog that will pay off in the long run.
First do your research and have a plan on how to potty train. We give you only a brief outline here.
Remember your puppy may need to potty every hour when he is first able to leave mom. So be prepared to keep a close watch and help him go to the right place each time.
Try not to react badly or scold your puppy for accidents. Prevention and praise for going in the right place will be much more effective.
Fall is a beautiful time of year to be outdoors with your puppy.
There are so many places to explore, make sure you keep your pup safe by following our tips.
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Another collar to NOT use!
Can a collar hurt your dog?
Yep! Choke collars have the potential to cause serious injury so let's avoid them.
Crate training anyone? Crate training is a skill your dog should have.
It has its advantages, but can be misused.
Our heart beat dog toy includes a free eBook on crate training.
More on crate training soon!
It is not too soon to prepare your dog for winter living.
Check out our winter weather dog safety tips!
Fading the Lure
Did you feel like you are constantly giving out training treats to your puppy?
When your furry friend has mastered his new skill it is time to start fading the lure. The lure is a treat that you use that your dog follows to complete your command. For example, if you have used a treat over your dog’s nose to get it to sit you were using a lure. Ultimately you want your dog to sit in response to a physical or verbal command. After all, in real life situations there may be times when you don’t have a treat in your hand, lol!
Step one: use the hand gesture (physical cue) without a treat in the hand. When the dog gives you the behavior reward from the opposite hand.
Step two: Begin to reward intermittently. Try asking for the behavior twice before rewarding.
Step three: Begin to reward randomly. Sometimes reward on the first performance of the command, the 3rd, the 2nd, just mix it up!
Step four: Now that your dog isn’t relying on the lure and can be rewarded intermittently gradually make your hand gesture/physical command smaller and smaller. Continue with your verbal cues. Continue to reward intermittently.
Now you have eliminated the treat lure and taught your dog to respond to your physical and verbal cues with intermittent treats/rewards!
Welcome Back to Safety Saturday!
Check out our tips on Dog Park Safety.
Here's some extra info: make sure your puppy is fully immunized. Usually 4+ months. Don't forget older dogs will need to have their shots up to date as well so check with your vet!
Dogs can be bullies too! Make sure your dog isn't picked on or the victim of aggression, this can intimidate your dog and cause lasting issues.
Learn to recognize aggressive interactions and protect your dog from these situations.
Just a quick reminder on general dog training tips! What's your favorite training tip?
Did you know?
What's the best way to meet a new dog?
Here's Part 3 of training Place, or go to your place.
So far we have chained together the behaviors of going to your mat "place", down, and release. The only verbal cue used has been the release word. Now it is time to give a command that sets these actions in motion.
Say your cue word such as “mat” or “place” as the dog returns and lies down on the mat. As your dog becomes proficient at this you can increase the distance between the dog and the mat, between you and the dog or add distractions. Remember to build the skills gradually, use repetition and reward the desired behavior.
Wow, we sure use treats and rewards a lot! Next week we will talk about fading the lure, or weaning from the lure to a verbal cue or hand signal.
We temporarily interrupt the Safety Saturday Series to remind you to beware of puppy mills.
Please buy your puppy from a responsible breeder and not a business that sources from puppy mills!
If you are need crate training tools or other dog training tools and toys such as slow feeder bowls, heartbeat dog toys, or treat dispensing balls then check out our link in bio for some great sales!
