Effective Puppy Training Moncton

So you’ve bought nth number of dog supplies for the safety of your pet but can you really be sure about its safety? Let’s see..

You may be fond of gardening at home or simply enjoy strolling around with your pooch in the garden on a pleasant evening. None of these activities seem unsafe for your furry friend to most dog owners, until you know that there are plants that can poison your dog to death.

Care to find out about what these plants are? Or, how you can keep your pets safe? Here are a few tips that can be of good help to ensure the safety of your dog:

1. Keep Plant Supplies Away From Your Pets – Having a garden involves having supplies such as pesticides, fertilizers and many chemicals that you need for spraying on the plants. Although these are essential, they are poisonous. Keep both the supplies and the plant itself out of reach of your pet. They can lead to disastrous consequences if your pet eats them. Dogs, in particular, are fond of eating mulches, wood chips and grass. Some mulches, like cocoa mulch can be harmful if your dog eats it in excess. Wood chips are harmful even if they are chemically safe.
2. Don’t Plant Toxic Flowers – Some flowers like carnations, hydrangea, hosta, clematis, Dahlia, lantana, lilies, peony, periwinkle, tulips, vinca, foxglove, hyacinth, azalea, daisy, chrysanthemum, gardenia, daffodils, yarrow, hibiscus, geranium, and oleander are toxic. They are harmful to cats, dogs and sometimes horses.

If you want to plant these flowers, have a hanging pot. Avoid planting them on the ground. This way you can have the plant and the pet in healthy condition. If your pet shows symptoms like vomiting, lethargy or diarrhea, then know that it has eaten the flowers. Take it to a vet immediately.

1. Don’t Plant These Trees – Some varieties of trees have leaves that are harmful to your pets. Red maple, umbrella tree, pine tree and chinaberry tree all have components including leaves can cause multitude of health problems to your pet.
2. Keep Your Pets Away From Edible Plants – Fruits like apples, citrus fruits, avocadoes, grapes, apricots, cherry and black walnuts are enjoyed both by humans and animals. But the trees of these fruits have parts or components that are harmful to your pet. Cordon off the area where these trees are planted.

Keeping both plants and animals is a difficult job. You would have now seen that many of the flowers and trees are responsible for causing toxic reactions in animals. Dogs act like goats sometimes and eat everything that they can find. This can also lead to their death. Now that you know that the harmless looking plant you love is actually unsafe, keep your pet away. If possible, keep your pet out of your garden.

Eliza Lyttle is a pet lover and is the owner of two labradors. In her free time, Lyttle loves making women’s Halloween costumes and even makes halloween costumes for dogs every year.

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Moving is a big change, not only for you, but for your dog as well. Although it’s easy to explain a move to children and other family members, your dog may not be able to understand what is going on during a move.

Because of this, it’s important to be sensitive to your dog during the transition and ensure that he/she feels safe and comfortable during each stage of the process. Pay special attention to several aspects of the move that are likely to affect your dog.

Unfamiliar People

Although some dogs love having new people in the home, others get upset when the house is suddenly full of unfamiliar people packing and moving everything the dog has come to know as familiar. Therefore, it’s important to create a safe space for your dog to spend time during the move. Many people choose to get the dog accustomed to a crate in the weeks leading up to the move and put the dog in there with familiar items for several hours at a time. This is a great place for the dog to be when people from moving companies are in the home.

New Neighbourhood

Because dogs mark their territory, they may become disoriented if they suddenly find themselves in a new place. Dogs have an easier time adjusting if they get to visit the new neighbourhood ahead of time. Head out and take some walks in your future neighbourhood during the weeks before the move itself. Let your dog sniff around, meet some of the other dogs in the area and develop an overall familiarity with the place.

Stomach Stress

Even dogs with the toughest stomachs may develop stomach problems around the time of the move due to stress. Therefore, it’s important to regulate the dog’s diet carefully before, during and after the move. Choose a type of dog food and stick to it until the dog is fully acclimated to the new home. Bring several gallons of water with you to your new home to make sure your dog has something familiar to drink rather than having to get used to the taste of new tap water. If the move itself will take a while, ensure that you have enough food and water for the whole trip and give your dog frequent breaks to eat, drink, and spend time outdoors.

Attending to your dog during a move lets him know that he is still an important part of your family. During the bustle of the move, make sure to take some time to play with your dog. This can assure your dog that your relationship is still stable, regardless of what is going on to the dog’s environment.

About the author: Maire loves to write and walk her Scottish Terrier, Pete.

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New puppies are great fun. They’re cute and cuddly, they’re playful and friendly. There are few who can resist the charms of an itty bitty puppy as they tend to melt your heart.

This new family member is so loveable, in fact, that you can almost forget one of the biggest challenges you’ll face when that cute little puppy comes home – potty training.

Puppy potty training, also known as housebreaking your puppy, is rarely easy. In fact, it can be downright frustrating and upsetting at times. There are ways to make sure you get through the process successfully. Let’s start with these tips to get you, and puppy, off on the right foot, or should I say paw.

Know Your Puppy’s Potty Dance

You’ll want to catch your puppy in the act when possible, so you can teach puppy the right way to go potty. Start watching your puppy for signs of a ‘potty dance.’ These signs often come right after eating or drinking, and very often after a good bit of playful activity. In other words, after you feed your puppy, watch for signs of sniffing, circling, and squatting. Also, after you play, observe puppy for those same kinds of ‘looking for a place to piddle or poop’ signs.

Assign a Potty Spot

When you catch puppy getting ready, you’ll need to show him or her where to go potty. If possible, the best thing to do is take puppy straight outside in order to help train that the inside of the house is not a potty spot. If that’s not possible because puppy is too little to wait until you can get outside to the potty spot, then you will likely need to paper-train puppy first with a spot in the house. Puppy will be able to hold on longer and longer as time goes by, making it possible to plan an outdoor excursion to the potty spot.

Reward Good Behaviour

If puppy goes potty in the right spot, a reward is in order. This can be your praise and affection or it could be a special treat just for potty time. A mixture of treats, praise, and playtime works very well for puppies. Because puppy wants only to please you and only to play with you, your praise and play means everything to them and they will do anything to get it – including go potty in the right place.

Schedule Potty Time

Since you have been vigilant with your puppy, learning the ‘potty dance’ signs and understanding the potty habits, you can now set up a schedule so you don’t have to watch so closely. Typically speaking, most puppies will want to go potty about 30 to 40 minutes after they have eaten, or after waking up from a nap, or after they’ve played hard. With this in mind, you are now ready to schedule these times for yourself. Feed puppy at a time when you know you’ll have time in 30 minutes or so to take puppy for a potty run. Set up your playtime in the same fashion and include that 30 to 40 minute time at the end for potty time. If you stay consistent with your schedule, you can relax a bit.

Consistency is Key… Consistency is Key

And, speaking of consistency, it bears repeating. You must keep consistent with puppy. If you are not dedicated to the training, expect failure. Puppy is a creature of habit. Therefore, if you are providing treats as a reward during potty training, be prepared with them immediately. If potty time is 30 minutes after eating, make sure you get puppy out to the potty spot in 30 minutes. Remember, if you are not consistent, it is your failure, not puppy’s failure.

Give it Time

Puppy will have accidents. There will be times when puppy will happily go outside to the potty spot, only to look at you with a puzzled expression. Then, just as you return to the house, puppy will suddenly understand, and go potty on the floor. Be prepared for this and don’t get too stressed by it. You’re looking for improvement over time. Yes, time. As long as there is a forward progression, you have nothing to worry about. Patience will be your best friend while housebreaking your puppy.

Limit Food and Drink at Bedtime

When puppy is very little, you can’t expect more than approximately one hour of sleep for every month since their birth. So, if you bring home a three month old puppy, expect to set the alarm for every three hours during the night, or wake up to a puddle or pile. In order to stretch this time out while waiting for growth and nature to take its course, it’s a good idea to limit food and drink about three hours before bedtime. Schedule your puppy’s feedings earlier in the day to help you, and puppy, get a full night’s rest.

Being prepared with this type of information can help you get through puppy potty training smoothly without too much stress. Remember, consistency is key. If you stick with it, your new puppy will be happily house-trained in no time.

Maybe your thoughts about crate training puppies stops at the word crate. Perhaps you’re thinking a crate might be okay for an inanimate object, just not for your new puppy which is joining as a family member. A puppy is not an object to be stuffed in a crate while you’re busy taking care of the rest of your life and only brought out when conditions are best for you.

If your way of thinking is that crate training isn’t fair to your new best friend’s house training and isn’t necessary to training puppy successfully, well you’re right, there are other methods of puppy training.

Give Your Puppy A Holding Area

While you are training your puppy to wait between each potty break, for whatever reason, usually while you’re out working, you can keep puppy in the bathroom or laundry room. These places are usually a good choice as they are easier places to clean up when there are accidents or when puppy just can’t wait any longer.

If you close the door puppy can feel like he/she is being punished for something so I feel it’s a better way to go when using a baby gate. When you are home the baby gate helps you keep an eye on your puppy while you are busy doing household chores. Puppies definitely show signs and it’s your job to pick up on those signs for a better and faster puppy potty training.

How Does One Know When Puppy Needs To Go?

Dogs, puppies included, tend to start sniffing around more than usual, indicating they may need to go potty. Some will get a bit agitated or restless, kind of like you when you need to go and have to wait. Our puppies normally do the sniff and circle thing just before they leave a little present behind. When you see any of these signs it’s best to grab puppy and head for the accepted potty area, whether that’s indoors or outdoors.

At Potty Time There’s No Time For Play

It’s been a long day at work and it’ll be nice to get home and relax but before that happens take care of your puppy. Put puppy on a leash as part of potty training and no fun and games during the training or you’re likely to be cleaning up a mess, plus it may take you longer to train your puppy if you do.

Crate Training vs Non-Crate Training

Those who stand behind crate training will tell you that crate training is about the best and most efficient method of house training a puppy or dog. I am one of those people and our dogs have been well adjusted and loving right from day one. Of course we seldom left them alone in the crate, even at night I slept on the couch right next to the crate so puppy didn’t feel lost and lonely.

I think it’s personal preference. If you feel you puppy will suffer being in a crate for part of the day then don’t do it. It’s just that simple. Our dogs have been well adjusted and part of the family for many years and even use the crate as a place to take a break from us, periodically.

Are you aware that ticks and fleas can cause some real health issues with your dog or puppy and it’s not only annoying to them, it’s quite a bother for their master as well. We don’t like to use harmful chemicals so we have to watch the powders and sprays we look at very carefully for both our safeties.

The good news is those harmful powders and sprays are not the only way you can defend your best friend against ticks and fleas. Actually we can defend our dog using natural remedies which not only safe for your pup but won’t be harmful to the rest of your family.

Purchase Tick And Flea Products Locally

We like to spend our money locally if it’s possible so we’ve check with a couple of pet stores in Moncton and you should check locally as well. If that fails then be sure you check online for products that deal with fleas and ticks. You are likely to find more products available than you can shake a dogs tail at.  Just be careful to check product ingredients to be certain they really are all natural products with no un-safe ingredients.

There are a variety of products such as:

• Tick And Flea Shampoos
• Special Flea Brushes
• Flea Collars

If you go with special dog collar which will help to repel those fleas be sure it’s not going to leech any poisons into their skin and is safe for other pets that might rub against your dog.

Keep an eye on your dog and keep them clean. You need to keep your home clean as ticks and fleas can survive in your carpet or couch for some time. Perhaps you could bathe your dog every week or two and be sure to brush their fur daily. Put your vacuum to good use and keep your carpets cleaned, often and don’t forget your dog or puppies bed.

The reason you want to clean and vacuum often is because ticks and fleas tend to do quite well in warm humid areas. They will lay eggs that aren’t always affected by treatments, so you need to keep them under control as they hatch so they don’t get to lay any more eggs.

Do the cleaning when kids and pets are not in the area just too be certain you’re keeping them safe from your cleaning products.

Homemade Flea and Tick Remedies

You may have friends who claim they have a homemade remedy that’s completely safe for their pets but to be on the safe side I would check with your vet to be sure their claims are actually true.

We have had dogs since our son was just a pup himself, more than 20 years. To this point we’ve been blessed with zero ticks and fleas, to our knowledge. But our dogs don’t mingle with other dogs much.

Matilda, on the left, looks so much like our Honey that I thought someone had taken a picture of her. Look how nice her teeth look.

Well your puppy is now an important member of the family. Puppy is glad to give all his/her love and devotion so be sure you return the favour. And like your other family members you want to keep them healthy so they are with you as long as possible.

Something we didn’t really think about when we got our first puppy was dog dental care to take care of their teeth. We just assumed their teeth naturally took care of themselves. We thought it was part of why she chews on bones all day long. But it didn’t do such a great job though.

Honey isn’t a wild dog and really she needs our help to keep the bacteria that causes bad breath, which used to take our breath away it was so bad. Honey’s diet is all small bits of dog food which she just gulps down so I can’t see them doing anything for her teeth.

We want Honey around for a long time, without dog breath so we started take care of her teeth. We already let her chew on raw bones, she has three of them in different areas of the house, which she chews daily.

We don’t like the rawhide bones as they make a big mess and can actually make Honey sick so we prefer the real raw bones. We inspect Honey’s teeth on a regular basis to see that she doesn’t have anything stuck in her teeth that would rot and smell.

We did find that bones didn’t do the job 100% so we had to give her a little mouth care assistance by using a toothbrush and toothpaste we purchased at the local pet store. She made it a little tough as she would keep trying to lick the toothpaste as we brushed. Kind of funny the first couple of times.

Jenny likes to brush Honey’s teeth in the evening while she’s relaxing in front of the TV and Honey seems to really enjoy it now.

How To Brush Puppies Teeth

Brush your dogs teeth and get in everywhere you can. While you’re brushing puppies teeth be sure to massage the gums as it will help with blood circulation in the gums. Honey doesn’t get much stuck in her teeth as we use dry dog food.

We also buy Honey treats that are designed to help them clean their teeth. She loves the more than all her other treats but sadly they don’t do the job 100% so there is still a need to brush her teeth on a regular basis.

Honey visits the vet at least once a year for a check-up, as we want her with us for as long as we can and she’s worth it. Her doctor always gives her teeth a thorough checking and so far so good. Honey is 7 now and has the teeth of a, well a 7 year old dog.

If you’re looking for a fun, pet-friendly project, consider building the perfect doghouse for your puppy. Purchasing from the plastic store might not meet your style or expectations, so my advice is to create a custom model to fit into the overall look of your backyard.

Then customize the doghouse to suit your puppy’s needs. Involve your entire family for an enjoyable weekend family project, and use DeWalt tools to ensure the house is built right.

Step 1: Construct the Base For Your Dog House

Before starting construction, determine the size of the doghouse. Estimate your puppy’s full-grown size to ensure he doesn’t outgrow the house in a few months. Leave plenty of room for the dog’s water and food bowls. Your puppy also needs room to turn around and stretch out, but do not make the house so big that your puppy loses valuable body heat contained in the house during the cold winter months.

When building your puppy’s new house, do not use pressure treated wood. It contains toxic chemicals. Instead, use untreated lumber. Additionally, protect your puppy from the cold dirt. Construct a protective, square base frame from 2 x 4 boards. At the corners, nail the boards together. Cut ½ inch plywood as a cover for the board base and nail the plywood to the corners with nails.

Using center studs for support, construct the rear and side wall frames with 2 x 4 boards. Allow for the roof strut by attaching the rear wall’s stud two inches off center. Attach single sheets of ½ inch plywood to the outside surfaces of the doghouse. Use a jig saw to cut a generous entrance for your puppy. Attach the frame to the base, and toenail the corners for extra support.

Step 2: Build the Roof Frame

Determine the roof’s pitch and cut roof struts from 2 x 4 boards according to the pitch you choose. Nail the front and rear struts to the underside of the center, top edges of the coordinating wall frames. Reinforce the struts with toenails.

Cut top ridge boards with added length to accommodate the overhang. Nail the ridge board onto the struts into place. Cut six rafters to length. Miter the ends of the rafters according to the pitch. Cut notches where the rafters will meet the wall frames. Hold the rafter even with the ridge board according to the angle then cut and nail the boards into place.

Cut four 2 x 4 boards to fill the gaps between the overhang and walls. Nail the boards horizontally into place. Cut ½ inch plywood to fit the bottom of the rafters, and nail it into place. Measure and cut overhang rafters before attaching them to the ends of the ridge board and sides. Cover the roof with plywood, and fill the roof openings with triangular plywood cut to fit into the space.

Step 3: Shingle the Roof

Using 12 x 36 inch shingles, mark a horizontal line 11 inches from the bottom of the roof’s edge. A vertical line 35 inches from the roof’s front edge marks the side boundary. A third vertical line 29 inches from the front edge marks the starting point for laying the shingles.

Start by turning a layer of shingles upside down and one inch over the edge. Position a second layer right side up on top of the first layer. Nailing the shingles into place, match the remainder of the rows. With a utility knife, trim the shingles to be even with the sides of the roof.

Cover the exposed ridge board with single shingles cut from a shingle sheet. Place them sideways to overlap along the roof’s apex, and taper them on the bottom end to cover the black areas. Double check that the doghouse is properly sealed. You do not want wind or rain to enter the doghouse.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

Apply paint and a nameplate to your puppy’s new house. Add carpeting or a soft blanket to welcome him into his new, comfortable home. With these finishing touches, your doghouse is now ready to provide protective shelter suitable for any weather. Your puppy will be safe and sheltered year round in his new, customized doghouse.

Maire walks her Scottish Terrier, Pete, every day. She is also looking forward to her new addition, a cat named Walter. Between all the pets, she also blogs on the behalf of Sears and their other quality products.

I remember as a kid moving to a farm. It was a tough time for me as I had just become a foster kid and was having separation anxiety. I’d never had a pet before so the two dogs on the farm helped to fill the void.

I learned that not even dogs are immune to arthritis problems. I watched the old dog, Rex, become completely crippled by arthritis but he never lost his temperament, even though he lived in pain for many years.

That was 50 years ago and fortunately today there are treatments for dogs with arthritis so kids don’t have to watch their best friend cripple up like Rex did.

Today I take arthritis medicine any time my arthritis flares up so I know a little about how Rex felt all those years ago as dogs have similar muscle and tissue structure in their joints.

When my arthritis is acting up I can limb around like Rex used to do but when I take my meds the pain almost entirely disappears. It affects so many areas in my life. Things like working in our home garden, playing my acoustic guitar, even walking. I am a work from home blogger and find it’s really painful to type for extended periods of time without taking medication first.

If Rex wanted to lay in the hay on the top level of our barn he had to take a 5 minute walk around the barn and come in the back way rather than take the few steps that would get him upstairs in seconds.

I know how he felt as I’ve had those days myself. It was sad to see Rex limping around like that. I would try to carry him but he was too heavy for me and it hurt him to be picked up anyways.

Apparently dogs who are overweight tend to get arthritis more often than those dogs who are not overweight, although Rex was far from overweight. The extra weight can stress their joints which can turn into arthritis if nothing is done to bring their weight into check.

Our Pit Bull Honey has arthritis in her front right paw which was injured when her previous owner lost his temper and tossed her from a 3 storey window and breaking her front right paw.

When I see her limping around on those bad days I get the urge to find the jerk that caused her this problem. Fortunately our vet told us what we could give her that would help her. So now she has meds just like me.

I have to add that she knows she has an injury that gets our sympathy and she used that when people visit, as a way to get more attention. What a little monkey she can be. And if you give her a treat she’ll take it and walk away without a limp.

It is a real problem for Honey without a medication that includes glucosamine such as Nutri-Vet Small Dog Hip & Joint Plus Level 2 does. It makes a big difference and soon she is acting like her old self again.

So you got yourself a new puppy, congratulations. We were so happy to get the two puppies we’ve had while our son was growing up. The first puppy was chosen by yours truly but the second was picked out by our son. It’s such a fun time, for the most part but we had some things we needed to learn to reduce the stress involved in training our new puppy.

Our son was too young to take full care of our first dog so it was me who was getting up through the night, even though it was our son’s dog. We probably should have learned some things before we got Shadow but then maybe we would not have brought her home and missed out on so much joy over the years she was with us.

We Should Have Puppy Proofed Our House

We thought puppy proofing our house would protect Shadow from anything that would harm her but maybe we should have been thinking of the things Shadow’s sharp little teeth could destroy as well.

She quickly found Jenny’s shoes and she even hid a pair that she could chew on when no one was looking. She also chewed up and ate a scarf as well as a brand new pair of fishing gloves I never even got a chance to use. What a little monkey.

Training Your Puppy

I took the role as puppy trainer.

A vet who works with Jenny loaned us a dog crate for Shadows training and safety. He showed us how to block off the biggest part of the crate so it was the correct size for Shadow. He also told us that this would help her not to do her business in the crate but that we would not be able to leave her in the crate for long periods of time at first.

Okay, so we did the walk around and got everything we could and put it out of reach of her sharp little teeth.

We limited Shadow reach by putting up barriers that limited her to the kitchen and living room. I put her crate down stairs and I slept on the couch within arms reach for the first couple of weeks. This way I would be able to hear her if she needed to go out and she did. But I also was able to comfort her when she would miss her brothers and sisters that were left behind.

Keep Your Eyes On The Prize

You need to know right up front. You can’t take your eyes off your new puppy for a minute or you may have a mess to clean up. Puppies go when they need to go and if you’re not aware of the signs, such as sniffing around, or taking puppy out right after they eat or drink, then you’re going to be cleaning up messes.

If you see your puppy sniffing around it’s your opportunity to take them outdoors for potty training. This isn’t the time to play either, stick to business and they will learn faster. So don’t ever associate your puppies potty training with play.

Before you know it you will have a new family member that’s really part of the family.

Teaching your dog to track another person is excellent fun. It’ll stimulate him mentally and use his physical energy, plus it is fascinating to observe your dog learn. Not all dogs will be natural tracker dogs however most will enjoy the attention. Dogs that scent a lot and sniff around on the ground will be naturally good tracker dogs.

If you are making plans to train your dog to track the following steps will show you the basics.

• You will need an aid, harness and long line or extended leash. As well as these you’ll need a sufficient reward for your dog. A toy or food item is fine.
• Tracking is founded upon teaching your dog to follow a ground scent. When somebody walks along he leaves a distinct scent of crushed foliage, sweat and shoes. Your job is to teach your dog to follow this scent in order to find a person.
• To begin with hold your dog whilst the helper shows the dog his reward and scuffs his feet excessively to a close-by point. This is going to be out of sight a couple of meters away and in the same direction as any wind. The assistant being downwind will spur the dog to employ the ground scent instead of any available air scent. Air scent recognition is sometimes used for search and rescue dog training.
• Now hold your leashed dog till he sniffs the ground at the crossroads where the assistant scuffed the trail then allow the dog to progress to the helper and his reward
• To encourage your dog to follow the ground scent you can wait until he drops his head to the scuff marks before allowing him to move toward the direction of the aid.
• Follow him by holding the leash or line and letting him to lead you. Inspire with your voice. The dog can pull keenly which is why a harness is critical.
• On arrival at the aid your dog must receive a keen greeting and his reward right away.

This very early and basic stage can be practiced and developed to teach the dog to track further and for longer periods. Difficulty can be continuously increased by less foot scuffing. The whole experience should be positive, pressure free and fun for your dog.

Visit The Dog Trick Academy to discover more about search and rescue dog training and other reward based interaction methods to meet the wants of your dog. Please continue to discover more about dog training as it’s essential for your dog’s happiness.