The Most Important Dog Training Secret for New Puppy Owners

Recently, I wrote an answer to a puppy training question on yahoo answers. People say that some of those questions are really dumb. And they may be right, but really dumb questions can raise excellent issues that impact all of us dog lovers.

For example, the questioner wrote: "But we went to puppy training class so he remembers SOME commands." My response: Why doesn't he respond to ALL the commands taught in the puppy training class?
Puppy Learning (your dog) and Puppy Training (you)
Clearly, the commands learned in the class were not reinforced in the case of the yahoo answers questioner.

Let's take a look at this issue from the standpoint of the way a dog learns. Do you show a puppy how to sit 10 times and then expected him to know the verbal command and the hand signal? And then you stop training him?

Puppy learning (your dog) and puppy training (you) are ongoing processes. For example, I was gone for a week when we brought Simon home from PA. When I came back, Alvin (6 months at the time) wasn't responding to simple obedience commands. No one had bothered to reinforce "Sit," "Down," "Stay," and "Come" while I was gone. He hadn't forgotten them; he just wasn't used to doing them.

The Puppy Training Secret

Okay, it's not really a secret, but I needed to get your attention. It's more like common sense. I had to jog Alvin's memory - every day. I remembered the dog trainer mantra from the It's PAWSible! Dog Training and Puppy Training DVD - incorporate the commands into daily living and make the dog work for his rewards.

Of course you need to reinforce basic obedience training with short fun sessions on a daily basis, especially when you're teaching a new command. But the real secret to teaching dog obedience is to make it part of everyday activities.

But how to you make basic obedience part of your daily routine? Think about the times you interact with your dog(s) during the day and see what commands you can incorporate into your interactions.

Examples

1. You're bringing your dog in from outdoors. Ask him to Sit and Stay, and once you've walked through the door into your home, ask him to Come. Same activity going out the door, unless the dog really has to go!
2. Before you put his full food disk on the floor, ask for a Sit or a Down.
3. Your new puppy is shadowing you all over the house. As he's following you, stop, say Come, and lavish a lot of praise.
4. Alvin gets an occasional ice cube to supplement his drinking water. I get him to lie down, put the ice cube a foot in front of him, and say "Leave It." Once he looks at me, I say "Okay," and he gets the ice cube.
5. Simon (14 weeks) is leased in the house sometimes because he's not fully housetrained. So we practice the Stay and Come commands a lot.

I'm sure you can think of other situations where you can use the obedience commands. Once you've done these reinforcing activities for a few weeks, they become part of the routine. You will find that it'll make life easier for you and you will have a well-trained dog in no time. As a new puppy owner myself, anything that makes life easier is a gift!
valmillsy

Incorrect Liver Shunt Diagnosis?

Picture on Left: Prince Alvin The Patient Catching His Breath After Partying Too Hardy

In the last month, Alvin has visited the vet 3 times for blood work, and is about to go again this week.

Why are we putting the pup through numerous blood tests?
The vet's lab has returned 2/4 results so far that indicate he has a possible liver shunt condition. Since this condition can be fatal, we want to make sure the lab results are correct. Allegedly this lab had problems calibrating its centrifuge - and that's why more than one animal's blood tests returned with high liver enzymes.

Today I asked the vet to do one more test and send it to another lab for analysis. He agreed that before Alvin has neuter surgery on Monday, one more test would be wise.

Playing with an Animal's Health
As I'm writing this blog entry, I'm wondering if these labs are regulated or can they just not maintain their equipment and get away with it? Causing unnecessary pain for an animal and emotional pain (and additional costs) for owners is not the best way to stay in business.

I expect to learn the good news about this blood test on Saturday.

valmillsy

On another more positive note, I posted a Squidoo lens titled: The Best of the Designer Dogs - Cockapoos! Check out the Ten Reasons Why Cockapoos Are The Best Designer Dogs.

Do It Yourself Dog Grooming - Save Big Bucks!

One of the not-so-desirable Cockapoo characteristics is that they need to be groomed every six weeks or so. That's not a bad thing if you're rich. I'm not. At $65 -$75 dollars a dog, taking two dogs to a groomer is too costly. It would run about $565 - $650 a year.

So we bought a nail clipper and an electric trimmer. Then came the hard part - using them!

Prince Alvin, the Groomer's Dream
At 7 months, Alvin is (sometimes) calm AND he's been groomed by a professional. He does not seem to mind the clippers. As long as I hold his head, he's lulled into a trance by the sound of it.

These dog grooming clippers induce a hypnotic state for Alvin.


Sir Simon, the Groomer's Nightmare

This puppy may look innocent, but he's a little monster. Grooming Simon is not easy. Besides the fact that he has the attention span of a flea, the only way we can use the trimmer is if someone is feeding him treats at the same time.

The bad news is that during today's grooming session he ate a few too many treats mixed in with a few hair balls and barfed them up an hour later. He also has a few barer patches when he moved unexpectedly. He's good for about 2 minutes; then, he loses focus on the treats and starts moving.

The good news - over the last 3 times we've groomed him (once a week), we found out there was a puppy underneath all that hair. And he should associate grooming and the treats. Eventually, his grooming will get easier.

DIY Dog Grooming Tips
I can understand why you would not want to groom your dog on your own. But here's a plan that might work:

1. Get a cheap pair of clippers, scissors, brush, and a nail trimmer. Some dog grooming packages come with a DVD showing you how to groom. Note that the dogs in these DVDs are always perfectly calm!
2. Get your dog groomed professionally at least once. Take pictures so you know what he's supposed to look like.
3. Once you're ready to clip your dog (wait until he's at least 6 months old), get someone to help you . They can hold the dog's head so you can clip.
4. Feed the dog treats while you clip if he's not cooperating.
5. Clip in short increments of time - no more than a few minutes.

Best of luck with your DIY grooming!

valmillsy