Dog Training Collars and Harnesses — Making the Proper Selection is Essential to Training Success
 by: Armen T. Ghazarians

Dog training is an art, and like any artist you must pick your tools carefully in order to properly train your dog. Each dog is different, and thus you must be able to decide which collar is most appropriate for your dog based on its temperament, pesonality, and strength. Below, you will find a description of all the major varieties of dog training collars that you might come across when deciding to purchase one for you pooch.

The metal choke collar is perhaps the most popular and widely used collar in the dog training world. It should be used in training larger, stronger dogs that tend to take YOU for a walk.

The metal toggle choke collar is basically the same as you regular choke collar with the major difference being that you can correct you dog easily by using the toggle while your dog is off-leash.

The pinch collar should be used RARELY and only in situations where the choke collar is ineffective in controlling your dog (i.e. in situations where your dog is very strong, where its highly aggressive, and when it repeatedly lunges at other dogs and people).

The fur saver choke collar is designed to control the dog without leaving chain marks around the dogs’ neck or getting fur caught in the chain which sometimes occurs when using an ordinary metal choke collar. It is mainly used when showing dogs and NOT in training them because the dogs don’t tend to respond to them in training and they don’t give the quick jerk needed for proper correction.

The nylon choke collar is best used in small dogs and puppies up to 3 months, because they tend to be more gentle and they tend to get young puppies used to wearing a collar.

The gentle head leader is best used on dogs that are more shy and easily corrected (i.e. dogs that respond quickly to your commands and dogs that tend to cringe upon your correction).

The electronic collar is mainly used for two reasons: first its used on field dogs (i.e. in bird hunting) and second it is used as a means of training the “out” command to a protection dog in its bite training phase.

The tracking harness is used for exactly what its name suggests: for tracking game, suspects, lost individuals, or competition articles.

And finally, the seeing eye dog harness is designed so that the dogs’ owner can hang on to the lead while the dog guides her to her destination. Unlike other leads, this lead is designed so that the dog can pull its owner forward as it walks instead of gently walking beside her on loose lead.

In order to view pictures of the dog collars described above and for a more indepth discussion of each, please visit me at:
http://www.newdogtrainingscrets.com and select from a variety of articles on the topic in the November archive

About The Author

Armen T. Ghazarians offers advice and insightful articles for those who are interested in training their dogs like the professionals. His blog http://www.newdogtrainingsecrets.com offers information regarding many aspects of Professional Dog Training
for all those who are not professional dog trainers themselves.

Technorati Tags: professional dog trainer

Dog Training The Gentle Way – The Sit Command
 by: Jennifer Ivey

Dog Training using positive reinforcement techniques is the gentle and humane way to teach your dog the rules. You will be fostering a loving relationship with your dog instead of intimidating and scaring your dog into submission. In this article you will learn the basic steps to teach your puppy or adult dog to sit.

1. Put a leash on your dog so they cannot wonder off while you are working with them.

2. Put some treats in a closed fist so they can smell them but not see them. If your dog sees the treat each time he will learn to only obey when you have food in your hands.

3. With your finger draw an invisible line from the dog’s nose between the eyes to the top of the head as you say sit. The head will move back to follow your hand and therefore push the bottom down to the ground.

4. As soon as the dog’s bottom touches the ground, say “Good Sit” and give them a treat and praise them excitedly.

Below are some Dog Training Tips for successfully training your dog to sit.

1. Keep your bait hand low. While moving your hand over the dogs head, make sure that your hand is not too high or the dog will jump to reach the treats. Your hand should only be a couple of inches over the dogs head.

2. Do not force the dog. Resist the urge to push the dog’s bottom down if they are having a hard time learning how to sit. Just be patient and keep trying to slowly draw a line over their head with the treat and they will learn.

3. The dog will need to be weaned off the treats. During the first week use the treats heavily. During the second week start mixing the treats up giving every other time or every third time while continually using praise and excitement. After about 3 weeks treats will no longer be needed and you will be the only reward your dog will need.

4. Even after you wean off the treats, continue to use the sit hand signal as well as your voice. The benefit of using hand signals and voice commands simultaneously is so when you are in a situation where you cannot use your voice to give your dog some direction, such as talking on the phone, you can give your dog a quiet hand signal without disrupting your phone call.

5. Label your commands. When giving your dog a training command, label the action, not the dog. When your dog sits, tell them good sit, not good dog. Your dog will learn the command faster because they hear the command word again and they are praised for the specific command.

6. Keep training sessions short. If you are training a puppy, keep your training sessions under 10 minutes. It is best to have several short training sessions per day so that your dog will not get distracted.

7. Be consistent. Everyone in the family should be involved with training your dog. Children as well as adults should learn the commands so the dog sees ALL humans as dominate and therefore listens and obeys everyone equally.

About The Author

Jennifer Ivey is a positive reinforcement http://dogtrainingbehavior.blogspot.com who writes articles on many dog related topics. Read more of Jennifer’s articles at http://www.bestdogarticles.com.

Technorati Tags: older dog training

There can be various purposes of labrador training. Apart from being household pet, a labrador can be trained to become guide dog for physically handicapped persons, rescue or search dog, hunting dog, detection dog or therapy dog. But regardless of the labrador training purpose, basic training must be done in order to make advanced training less challenging.

One lesson that must be included in the basic labrador training is training a dog to walk on leash. Most dogs do not like the restriction caused by leash and collar. It is therefore important to make leash training as simple and early as soon as possible. It’s good if your new family member has already been introduced to collars, but if that is not the case, there is no cause for alarm. There is still time for you to get your pet familiar and comfortable with a collar.

To start the ball rolling, happily call your pet to come to you. Place the collar when he is relaxed and playing to keep his attention away from the strange thing around his neck. He’ll probably try to remove or scratch off the thing but it is important that you don’t take it off. Take it off only when he is relaxed and has forgotten about it. The collar should not be too tight to give him comfort and allow him to breathe, and neither too loose for it to easily slip off your dog’s head.

Once your lab is comfortable with the collar, attach the leash and leave it in a short while to get him used to it. When the leash is on, do not leave your dog unsupervised because the leash can tangled and may lead to injury. When your lab has got used to the leash, pick up the other end of the of it and start to walk around the house with your dog either beside or behind you, never ahead of you. Chances are, your dog will try to walk you or refuse to move. Use the “come” command to solve this problem. If that doesn’t work, use the “come” command and gently tug the leash to get his attention. Praise or reward him if he responds to the command.

Training a labrador to walk on leash can be challenging knowing that labradors are large and strong dogs that may tend to pull a lot. The “stay” command can work wonders on this dilemma.

Keep training sessions short and enjoyable.

About The Author

Richard Cussons is a dog enthusiast and has written various dog articles including advice on labrador training. Learn more labrador training tips at labradorsavvy.com.

Technorati Tags: labrador training

House training your puppy (or grown dog) can be both frustrating and rewarding. The purpose of this article is to attempt to maximize the rewarding portion of the experience. There are several methods to accomplish this goal and I want to take a few minutes outlining the process and benefits of each.

Litter Box Training

Litter Box training your puppy is similar to litter training a kitten. Unfortunately, the kitten is much more “naturally” inclined towards this method. This method is not really practical for a grown dog or a large breed of puppy. Remember that you must have constant contact with your puppy to use this method of training. The litter box will replace the need to take the puppy outside, making it an ideal method to use if you have no yard.

A puppy litter box needs to be large and you might want to line the floor underneath incase of an accident. Keep the box on a hard-floor surface, preferably vinyl or ceramic if possible.

You can fill the box with cat litter and clean it the same way you would a cat litter box. Be sure to clean regularly as puppies typically generate a lot of waste.

Puppies will usually return to a place they have used before, so keeping a little bit of urine in the box will increase the likelihood of its use.

Paper Training

Paper training is similar to litter box training, but leaves you with a new consideration. Somehow, you must teach the puppy to eventually go outside. The ideal way to accomplish this is to be sure to set the paper near the door. This way your puppy will become accustomed to going to the door when he needs to potty.

With this method, you will need to take the puppy to the paper spot whenever you think it is time to potty. Be sure to praise your puppy when he uses the paper to potty. “Good Boy” and a pat on the head will reinforce your positive method.

As the puppy learns to use the paper, move it closer and closer to the door. Eventually you will move the paper outside. Once your puppy learns to go to the door to use the paper outside, you can remove the paper and have him just use the yard.

As with any potty training method, patience and positive reinforcement are important to teach your puppy in the shortest time possible.

Older Dogs

We’ve all heard the old adage “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. Of course this is simply not true. I have house trained many older dogs that were once outside dogs. My daughter is an avid animal lover and seems to regularly volunteer my household as a dog rescue, so we have had our share of experience in this problem.

It’s important to initially determine your dogs frequency of need to go outside. Most dogs will need to relieve themselves soon after eating, so be sure to take them out within a few minutes of finishing a meal.

An older do can be crate trained or command trained. If no one is with the dog for a good share of the day, the crate method is really the only option. Your dog will not soil the crate unless he absolutely cannot hold it. Please do everything possible to avoid putting him in this situation. Be sure he is taken out the crate regularly. He will soon learn the schedule and will not soil his crate.

With the command method, speak the same command each time you take your do outside. I am a believer in single word commands. Say “Potty” each time you go in the yard and praise your dog when he goes. He will soon learn why he is outside. It is best not to play with your dog outside until he learns why he is out.

If you dog has an accident, tell him no in a stern voice and take him immediately to the yard. Be sure to praise him each time he goes outside. He will soon learn where to go.

Regardless of the type or age of your dog and regardless of the method you use, always remember these general rules:

? All dogs learn best by positive reinforcement. Your dog WANTS to please you. Be sure to praise him when he does and he will learn quickly.

? NEVER hit your pet. He will never forget being mistreated and will quickly become hand shy or mean. Hitting your pet will teach him nothing other than mistrust of all humans.

? Your Pet will learn quickly with a routine of consistency and positive reinforcement.

If you follow these general guidelines, your pet will learn quickly, and it will be a positive and rewarding experience for both of you.

About The Author

I am a published author of varied interests. I have many years of management, sales, and marketing experience as well as a passion for motorcycles, fishing, and most everything nature related.

Technorati Tags: house training a dog

Dog Training – Leash | Collar
 by: Mdarma

There are several types of dog training programs in the market. It is very important that you select, the most suitable program to train you dog. The dog-training program must cover trainings that you want your dog to follow. It is important to have a talented and faithful dog for you and your family. The successful program must reinforce the relationship between you and the dog. A good dog-training program will help you to get the respect of the dog.

This part will cover the leach or collar training. The leash is the main form of controlling and communicating with the dog in leash and collar training. This is the most popular method of dog training. The other successful and effective method is the reward training. Reward training is also called as positive reinforcement training program.

Both leash and collar training and reward training have been around for a very long time, and they have proven their effectiveness over time. We must understand that the type of training that works best will vary from dog to dog, and from breed to breed. It is important to remember that each breed of dog has its own unique qualities, reinforced by hundreds of years of selective breeding.

Leash and collar training is the best way to train a dog. However, as a owner, you are in a better position to understand the dog to determine which style suits well. The ultimate goal is to have an obedient, willing and a faithful dog.

In leash and collar training, varying degrees of force has to be applied, ranging from slight prompts with to a very harsh correction. The amount of correction used should be appropriate to the situation. Remember that using too much correction, or too little, will be ineffective.

When using leash and collar training, the dog must be trained to trust the handler and accept his or her directions and commands without question. In order for the dog to be fully trained, the handler must demonstrate the ability to place the dog into a posture or position he or she does not want to take. This does not mean using force, but it does generally require some level of physical manipulation. This manipulation is most easily and safely done using the main tool of leash and collar training – the leash.

It is important for every, would be dog trainer to understand that the leash is simply a tool and yet an important tool in this form of training. Even when the only tools at hand are the owner’s body and skill, the dog should be willing to obey. Creating a leader/follower relationship between handler and dog, and it is important to use the leash as a tool and not a crutch. A properly trained dog should be willing to obey whether the leash is present or not.

Copyright 2006 Mdarma

About The Author

Mdarma had several years of training dogs and associate with other dog trainers. His love for dogs, prompted him to put into words what he knows about dogs. Hope you will find this article useful to you. http://dog-darma.blogspot.com

Technorati Tags: family dog training

Interestingly, the domesticated dog barks far more frequently than their ancestors. Possibly because many breeds have been taught to bark to better perform the various tasks for which they were bred – protection, shepherding, tracking.

Today, your dog will find lots of reasons to bark even if he isn’t relegated to protecting the back 40 acres from poachers, or corralling the sheep and goats in the family room. He may bark to assert dominance; to defend his territory; from loneliness; out of frustration if he cannot get his way; pent-up energy; noises; excessive confinement; or strangers in the house. Also, some dogs are far more predisposed to barking than others. The small, high string breeds – Yorkies, Schnauzers, Beagles – are well known for the persistent barking; while Newfoundlands, Bloodhounds, Greyhounds and Rottweilers seldom bark.

Naturally, since many rescue dogs are of the mutt variety, you just can’t be sure what genes your dog is packing.

While it’s not realistic, or even necessary to expect your dog to cease from barking entirely, you should look forward to eventually having control over incessant, annoying barking. Before you begin your training program, make sure you are not at least partially responsible for your dog’s barking problem.

Do you jump up and take your dog for a walk when he barks at the door? If he barks at the box of biscuits sitting on the counter, do you give him one? Does he bark when you leave the room, causing you to forget the trip to the refrigerator and scurry back to the couch to keep the peace? In short, don’t reward him in any fashion when he barks for what he wants.

But whatever the root causes of your dog’s barking, there are well-proven behavioral techniques that can be used to teach him not to bark unless requested by you to do so.

First, from the 10,000 foot level, a well-exercised, healthy dog who has had socialization training will probably be less inclined to be a frenzied, constant barker. So, be sure those bases are covered.

Invariably however, there will still be cases when the problem needs to be nipped in the cold, wet snout, so to speak.

Naturally, like all corrective training, it is necessary to scold your dog while in the act. Otherwise your action will only cause confusion in your dog’s “live for the moment” mind. And of course, always be prepared to reward for the proper behavior with petting, treats and praise. Be sure to use the phrase you use with all of your other training sessions – if he isn’t barking, “good dog – yes – no bark” is a phrase I learned to use from the training resource referenced below.

Of course, commands alone aren’t always enough. So conditioning is required. For example, if your dog commences to bark as soon as you leave, try standing outside the door. As soon as the first bark is released, open the door with a firm, “no bark” or “quiet”. Do this repeatedly until your dog manages silence for five minutes or more at a stretch. Then deliver your “good dog – yes – no bark” with a tasty treat. Like all training, patience and persistence will be required. Hopefully you won’t have to replace the hinges on your door before you achieve success.

If your dog is the type that barks commands at you all day while you’re relaxing in your easy chair, try the old “I’m going to ignore you” tactic. If you’ve been married as long as I have, you should be good at this already. Simply turn your head or, even get up and walk away, out of sight until the barking ceases. If he follows, don’t give him any attention or even eye contact unless the barking stops – then praise him appropriately.

If these techniques fail, move on to some slightly more drastic measures, such as a dog whistle, a simple spray of water in his face, or a loud clap inches from his snout until he associates the barking with the “punishment”. Praise when he begins to get it. Hopefully, your dog, unlike your children, will not have to go though his entire adolescence before he understands what behavior you expect from him.

There are also several “band-aids” you can employ to keep your sanity as you progress through this training.

If he scurries away as you are attempting to correct him, put him on leash so he’ll be close enough to associate the scolding with the bad behavior. If you discover that loud sounds outside seem to trigger a barking frenzy, play music, or leave a radio or TV on. If he is stimulated by activity outside, close the curtains. Again, I like to think of these as temporary measures until the training works. It’s not a good thing when you have to alter your lifestyle to keep your dog calm and well-adjusted.

Once you have succeeded in ceasing the barking on command, you would be wise to go the distance by employing the two-prong training technique – SPEAK & QUIET. This too was explained for me in an eBook available from the resource I reference below.

Step 1 – Teach your dog to bark on command. This requires a bunch of treats, plenty of praise and that old one-two punch of patience and persistence. The command is “SPEAK”. When a bark immediately follows, reward with a treat. Alternate the treat with lavish praise since there will be times when you are plum all out of dog treats on your person. Give the praise immediately after the first bark so your dog doesn’t go back to his old ways of relentless barking. Once you and your buddy have mastered this step, go on to…

Step 2 — Teach your dog to be quiet on command. This is the critical, albeit tricky part of the training. Again, with a pocketful of treats, give the command your dog learned means to bark – SPEAK. But this time, allow your dog to continue barking by withholding the treat. Then, start repeating the word QUIET, until the barking stops. Then immediately give the treat or praise.

You will need to work on the two-part technique each day for ten to fifteen minute sessions. But do not go longer than your dog can pay attention. Soon, your efforts will pay handsome dividends with a dog that knows when to speak and knows when to listen.

About The Author

Having adopted several rescue dogs, Bob often references a few resources that provide training techniques to correct any negative behavior a dog with an unknown history could exhibit – from timidity and anxiety to aggression. One such resource is the Do-It-Yourself Do-It-Yourself Dog Training Manual at http://butdogsrpeople2.blogspot.com/2009/05/easy-dyi-dog-training-for-well-behaved.html

Technorati Tags: dog training treats

Traditional dog training was initially developed to train war dogs. It was very useful during World War I. This training technique was embraced by civilian trainers after World War II, and quickly became the standard way to train dogs.

It seems that Colonel Konrad Most was the founder of this technique and, therefore, he is acknowledged as the father of modern dog training.

However, the main supporter of the technique was William R. Koehler. His book “The Koehler Method of Dog Training” could be the all-time best selling publication in the field.

Modern scientific principles of learning were not used to develop traditional training, so it is an empirical technique. Nevertheless, it seems that Konrad Most already understood the principles of operant conditioning on 1910, several years before those principles were published. So, this technique can be explained by operant conditioning principles.

Negative reinforcement and punishment are the main teaching ways of traditional training.

Negative reinforcement is the process that strengthens a behavior because an unpleasant situation is stopped or avoided as a consequence of that particular behavior. For instance, pushing on your dog’s shoulders will provoke an unpleasant situation for him. If the pressure over his shoulders disappears when he lies down, he will be more likely to do the same in the future, just to avoid that unpleasant sensation. Thus, your dog will be learning to lie down through negative reinforcement.

Punishment, on the other hand, is an unpleasant consequence of a particular behavior. Although punishment could weaken a behavior, it is not a guarantee that this will happen. Besides, punishments usually have undesired collateral effects.

An example of punishment would be if you hit your dog or yell at him because he climbed on the armchair. As a consequence you may get your dog off of the armchair, but there is no guarantee that he won’t climb again. Some possible undesired consequences could be that your dog bites you, he gets scared each time you appear or he gets phobia to armchairs.

Choke chains, prong collars and shock (electric) collars are common tools in traditional training and all its variants. Also, this kind of training is usually targeted to dog obedience exercises, disregarding behavioral problems.

Advocates of this technique often argue that traditional training provides reliable results which can’t be obtained with other techniques. They also claim that training collars (choke, prong and shock) are harmless because dogs have a high threshold of pain.

Detractors of traditional dog training argue that both the technique and the tools are cruel and violent. They also claim that the technique can cause dangerous collateral effects, such as fear biting and damages to the dog’s trachea.

About The Author

Rodrigo Trigosso is a biologist and professional dog trainer. His website http://www.dog-training-tutorial.com provides great info on canine training and behavior.

Technorati Tags: dog training shock collar

Dog training problems are so commonplace because almost all of us attempt to train our dogs without the benefit of a good training program. Almost all of us make the same common mistakes when training our dogs. Making mistakes during the training results in dogs that are only partially trained and still have some behavior issues, and only sometimes listen to our commands .

Communicating with your dog the wrong way is one of the most common roadblocks to successful training. Many of us make the mistake of talking to our dogs as if the dogs were human, instead of canines. Many people really spoil their dogs. As with children, puppies and dogs need lots of guidance to learn how they fit in with the rest of the family and how to behave properly. If you haven’t already learned from a really good dog training book or video program how to properly go about training your dog, it is very likely that you will have a variety of dog training problems.

Dogs communicate with each other quite effectively. Dogs communicate effectively through the use of body language and a variety of vocalizations.

You can avoid many of the common dog training problems by first learning from a good obedience training book about dog psychology and dog body language. Train your dog correctly from the beginning, and resolve many dog training problems before they even start.

Even if you started training your dog with imperfect results, or if you have adopted a dog with behavior problems, it is not to late to correct any mistakes already made. You can start using one of the good on-line dog obedience training courses, and learn a step by step approach to positive dog training. Each of the better programs that I have reviewed features positive training methods. These positive methods teach you the value of using positive reinforcement -praise and rewards from the trainer when the dog correctly does what it is commanded to do.

The best dog obedience courses also teach you the importance of being the alpha dog. You need to learn the types of vocal tones and body languages to use that are easy for your dog to understand. By becoming the alpha dog yourself, you gain your dog’s respect, trust and confidence. After you have learned how to be the alpha dog, you will see your dog eager to pay attention and follow your lead. You do not need to be harsh or negative to become the alpha dog. Just by projecting the right type of attitude to your dog, you show him you are the leader. It is your dog’s nature to want to please its alpha leader. If you can establish yourself as the alpha dog, you will be on your way to solving your dog training problems.

Training problems resulting from incorrect techniques or neglected training are easily noticeable. These are familiar problems like dog aggression towards other dogs or people, jumping up on people, barking excessively, running away, or not coming when called. By using the right techniques and a consistent training regimen, these problems are all correctable. Several short training lessons every day are needed to get good results with the obedience training. This is even more true with problem behaviors that have already become habituated. None of these problems begins overnight, so likewise it takes some time to overcome the problem.

However, the good news is you can get started with correcting these dog training problems as soon as you learn how. If you are the owners of a puppy, you can use a good program’s information to avoid dog training problems right from the beginning. Whether you have a young puppy or a full grown dog, it is always important for your success to use the techniques of the best trainers.

About The Author

Over my lifetime I have owned and loved many dogs, and have had to learn a lot about how to train and care for them. I have written lots more articles for you about obedience training and solving your dog’s behavior problems. Please click here to visit http://www.BehaveDoggy.com. Please click here to read my full review of the best dog training program http://www.behavedoggy.com/secrets-to-dog-training-review/.

Technorati Tags: dog training problems

Dog kennel training, also known as Crate training, is usually associated with potty training puppies or dogs. Dog kennel training also has various other uses besides potty training. For instance, when your puppy is in his kennel, you can stop your puppy’s chewing on any shoes you might have forgotten to put away before you left the house. By doing the kennel training properly, your dog will think of his kennel as his den, and he will go there voluntarily for a nap for to hang out when you are gone.

By making sure your dog is comfortable in his kennel, just like a dog in his den, you will have good success kennel training your pet. Be sure you don’t put you dog into his kennel if you have an angry attitude towards him. Doing that will create a negative impression within your dog about being put in the kennel. Instead of feeling like a secure den, his kennel will now feel like a jail. You don’t want to confuse your dog by doing that. Remember, just like with the other types of obedience training, you should always be consistent if you want good results.

Before even bringing your new puppy home, you need to select a kennel from your local pet supply store. Pick out a kennel based on your dog’s size at maturity.Kennels need to be large enough for a full grown dog to stand up in, turn around in, and lay down in. Large breed dogs need much larger kennels than do the smaller size dogs. Partition the kennel so your puppy just has enough room to stand, turn around and lay down in. By keeping the space restricted, you are helping to deter the puppy from soiling his crate. Too much room may encourage the puppy to use a corner of the kennel as a toilet. Dog kennel training for your puppy works to house train him because of a dog’s basic instinct not to soil his own “den”-the kennel. You want to make sure he doesn’t somehow get used to using his kennel as a toilet.

Let your puppy walk into the kennel for the first time on his own. A couple of treats placed just inside will entice your pup to enter on his own for the first time. You want the kennel to be inviting,so also put some chew toys and a puppy blanket inside the kennel. When your puppy enters give him another treat and plenty of praise.

Let him enter and exit his crate a few times before you close the door with him inside. To avoid the puppy getting nervous inside the kennel on the first session, only close him in for short periods so he can gradually get used to it. It is a good idea to put his kennel in a room where the family is most active, so he doesn’t feel lonely and start to whine. If he is near the family, your puppy will feel like he is a part of things, even from inside his kennel, and will have less reason to start whining.

Younger puppies need to be let out of the kennel very frequently, depending on how many weeks old they are, so they can be trained to go potty outside. For puppies only 2 months or even younger, you should be let them for potty breaks frequently, perhaps as often as every hour or so just to be on the safe side. There is a rule of thumb saying that for each month of age, the puppy should have a break-so for a 3 month old puppy not already housebroken, the break should come after no longer than 3 hours after the last break. As your puppy’s body develops he will be able to go longer between breaks.

If your pet begins to whine, don’t acknowledge it-either by letting him out or by talking to him. Giving him attention serves to reinforce the whining. Unless it is his regular time for a potty break (always be aware of how long it has been since your pup’s last break), you should not reinforce the whining. Before long, you will know how to recognize the different sound of the potty break whine from the “let me out of here” whine.

You will really benefit if you do kennel training with your puppy. The benefits of easily house training your puppy, and also keeping your possessions safe from sharp little puppy teeth are two obvious advantages of dog kennel training.

About The Author

Over my lifetime I have owned and loved many dogs, and have had to learn a lot about how to train and care for them. For lots more articles about obedience training and solving your dog’s behavior problems, please visit http://www.BehaveDoggy.com. Please click here to read my full review of the best dog training program http://www.behavedoggy.com/secrets-to-dog-training-review/.

Technorati Tags: dog training kennel

Is your horse exhibiting uncharacteristic performance or behavior issues? Well then, check his saddle. Badly fitting saddles account for a vast array of issues in the horse. Yet they often go undetected, either because people don’t recognize the signs and symptoms of an improperly fitting saddle, or because they have no idea how to fix the problem.

This lack of knowledge can hurt our horses physically, diminish their ability to reach their full potential, and even label them as unpleasant or dangerous characters. Of course, saddle fit can’t be blamed for all behavior and performance issues in the horse, but it is something that should always be considered. If you don’t have the knowledge to determine whether your horse’s saddle fits, enlist the help of a competent saddle fitter right away.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

How do you know if your horse’s saddle is uncomfortable? Easy. What does he have to say about it? Sure, your horse won’t be able to communicate with you verbally. But his body language should tell you all you need to know if you take the time to listen. Ask yourself the following questions:

* Are the muscles in the top loin overly developed?

* Is the lower part of your horse’s neck thicker than the top part because he hollows his back?

* Are the muscles in the hollow region behind my horse’s shoulder diminished or atrophied from the nerves and muscles being pinched?

* When relaxing, does my horse have a dropped or sway back?

* Is there swelling or heat under the saddle area upon removal of the saddle?

* Is there raw or rubbed skin anywhere in the saddle area?

* Are there any white marks or bare patches on his back?

Once you’ve taken a good look at your horse, ask yourself the following questions about his behavior:

* Does he seem stiff?

* Does he hold his head high and stiff, and does he seem unwilling to accept the bit or rider’s aids?

* Does he seem unwilling?

* Is he hard to catch?

* Does he jump around when being groomed, especially when you are grooming the back area?

* Does he hollow his back, buck, or move away when saddled?

* Does he dislike being girthed?

* Does he jig when being mounted?

* Does he toss his head while under saddle?

* Does he refuse to walk calmly on a long rein?

* Is he irritable in general?

* Does he have a hard time walking up or down hills?

* Are his gaits uneven?

* Does he have difficulty with one lead over another?

* Is he stiff on corners, bends, or circles?

* Does he have trouble getting down and back up again?

If you answered yes to more than one or two questions do your horse a big favor. Don’t ride him under saddle again until a qualified vet or chiropractor has evaluated him. If your horse is diagnosed with back problems it is important to note that the saddle is not always to blame. However, taking a good constructive look at your saddle and how it fits your horse is a good place to start.

Good Saddle Fit

A saddle should fit both horse and rider, but don’t think that just because you find it comfy your horse does too. How do you know if your horse’s saddle fits? Check out the following tips:

* Sitting in the saddle with a relaxed seat and legs, check to make sure you have enough room to put your hand on your thigh between your legs and the pommel. You should also be able to fit the width of your hand between the back of your body and the rear arch. With the stirrups at the normal length, there should be an imaginary line gong through your shoulder, to your hip, to the center of your horse’s balance, and finally, to your heel. So now we know the saddle fits you!

* But does it fit your horse? First of all, it should never interfere with your horse’s movement in any way. There must be no contact between the saddle and the spine, which means you should see a clear channel of daylight down the spine from withers to loins.

* Check the width and length. With your weight in the saddle you should be able to fit two-and-a-half or three fingers between the pommel and the horse’s withers. If there is space for four fingers the tree is too narrow. If there is space for two, it is too wide. Check to see how far the saddle goes toward your horse’s hip bone. It should not be so long that it rubs the hip.

* The saddle should be stable and should never rock back and forth.

* Never commit to a saddle before taking it on a lengthy ride. There is no substitute for riding in it when it comes to finding a saddle that fits well

A comfortable saddle keeps your horse healthy in both mind and body. Now watch how far the two of you go!

About The Author

Ron Petracek is the founder of Equine Internets vast 15 site classified and social network. You can view its amazing size here Http://www.equineinternet.com/network.php or to further your equine habit please visit our forum by clicking here http://www.horsechitchat.com/equineforums and start posting Need to sell a horse or tack? place a free ad here http://www.click4equine.com and always the barn door in left open on purpose.

Technorati Tags: dog training forum