Saturday, August 28, 2010

Pet Jet Handy Washer

 Handy Groomer
Looks easy doesn't it?
You can see by the nozzle where the hose comes off.
 Notice the kinking in the hose as well

Believe it or not I am always looking for products to make things a bit easier with my crew of six and sometimes I am taken in by great advertising! Let’s see, there was the $200.00 Booster Bath, not bad, but if you have a large dog the water rolls over the side of the dog and the side of the tub so it can basically only be used in a basement floor with a drain or outside. (unless of course you have normal to small dogs), the $80.00 critter cooler, which would have been great if it did not unexpectedly leak gallons of water all over my wood floors daily, the $15.00 retractable slicker brush which does not really go through a thick Newf’s coat, and now the $30.00 as seen on TV 'Handy Groomer', the all in one pet bathing solution! Yep, just a few hundred dollars down the proverbial drain over the years!



I first saw the  Handy Groomer while flipping through the channels on TV. And although I don’t recall how the ad got into my email, suffice it to say it did, and I ended up buying it. The Handy Groomer advertised that you can wash and rinse the dog all at the same time with the flick of a switch making bathing a breeze!

Here’s what the online ad said.

“The Handy Groomer makes bathing your dog a breeze. You can wash and rinse your dog with one easy tool indoors or out. It includes two quick connectors that allow you to connect the Handy Groomer to an indoor faucet or outdoor hose. An interval reservoir holds enough shampoo (6 oz.) for several washings. A dual trigger action allows you to control the release of water or shampoo. A comfort grip handle allows for one-handed operation. Three nozzle settings release water and different speeds to make washing your pet convenient. The wide soft spray is ideal for wetting down your pet and rinsing off the shampoo. The jet spray works great on hard to reach areas like paws. Finally, the wash spray setting creates a foaming action and disperses shampoo through your pet's coat. Any one of the nozzles can be used for shampoo dispensing.


Highlights: Our Price: $19.99”




Sounds great! Yeah, that’s just what I need for sure! I gotta have it!

“A comfort grip handle allows for one-handed operation.” They didn’t mention that you need that other hand to hold the hose together!

I actually paid $29.00 when it first came out and I was ready, willing, and able to bathe all my dogs seeing as how ‘it was gonna’ be a breeze and all!’ The video I watched made it seem effortless! Even at the end I was convinced that a hand might pop out after the bath and dry the dog off with a towel too!
Well, let me just say this, it was not a bargain product, it was not easy to use or hook up, and it caused a lot of cussing as well as got everything around me (except the dog) soaked! The cheap plastic hose was a hassle to hook up to the garden hose connector which was already hooked up to my washing machine connections for easy bathing. The Pet Jet hose came apart just as I gave the first run over Abby’s body with both soap and water leaving the handle in my hands and the hose wriggling like a snake on the floor spraying water all over the basement! Also, the hose kinked a lot which made it very frustrating to use the few minutes that everything did work correctly. Anyone who has ever tried watering their garden with a kinked hose knows what I’m talking about!



Hmm, Do I really want to hassle with this again? No thank you! But have I thrown it away yet? No! For some reason, no matter how much of a piece of junk something is to me, I can’t throw it away until I get into a cleaning frenzy!

So why not just return it to the maker? Well, unlike myself who saves the original packaging and the receipt for at least 30 days should there be a need to return it, hubby dear is ready to throw everything out as soon as that first slice is made into the package to open it! So if I don’t grab the package and hide it, it goes right to the trash. My guess is that the packaging and receipt to the product were probably thrown out two seconds after I started the bath!

So there it sat for a couple of months in the midst of my two hundred dollar booster bath, doing nothing but awaiting a review by me, the sucker who bought yet another perceived great dog product!

This product needs a definite makeover! I should have learned my lesson years ago. Nothing is ever as easy as others make it look in a commercial!

Suffice it to say this product gets four paws down from me. Hey, anyone want to buy a handy groomer dog washer cheap?







Wednesday, August 25, 2010

More recalls to check out, not just dog foods.

Hi all , most may have seen some of these on the sites I posted previously below, but there are some I do not remember seeing,  and they are not just affecting dog and cat foods, reptiles are now involved also. Natural balance is new to me as is Kent. Click here to read more. If there are more I'll post them as I get them.

Monday, August 23, 2010

recent recalls on food





Just got this information and thought I'd pass it along to everyone. As of 8-16 - 2010 Merrick has also been among the list of recalls. It includes some food and some suppliments such as Dis Taste Tablets (given to stop  stool eating) and some ear powders used at vet clinics also. Check the various lists on the sites below.

http://www.avma.org/petfoodsafety/recalls/2010/default.asp

http://www.avma.org/petfoodsafety/recalls/2010/merrick_100702.asp


Merrick treats http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm222585.htm


Also the egg recall is a biggy because some owners believe that adding a raw egg to their dogs diet is good. Not really so,  it's risky.  There is a giant egg recall going on now so if you practice  this check your cartons. Better yet , don't give it to your dog at all, there's really no nutrional need.     

http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/WhatsNewinFood/ucm223536.htm

symptoms of salmonella can be found here: 

Sunday, August 22, 2010

What to expect from a dog trainer.

Bentley, Casey,
Cody & Abby
(pay no attention to
that dangerous Lambs Ear
plant just to the side of them!)

Susquehanna Trail Dog Training Club

When people go to a dog training class they pretty much know that they are going to be part of a group and the instructor is basically going to direct the whole class on how to do commands with their dog. When people hire a trainer to come to their home, they think the trainer is going to train their dog and life will be wonderful again! Dog camps will take your dog off your hands for a few weeks and Viola! You have a well behaved dog when he is returned!

As someone who has trained dogs which type of training would I choose for John Q Public?

At the top of my list I would put group training classes. Why? Because when owners are among other owners in a class setting there is a certain competition for their dog not to be the worst behaved dog in class the next week! This faux pas will make the owner work harder and more often during the week before the next class so that their little Fido doesn't  maul the other dogs around it and the trainer! For me, that is the number one reason above all other reasons! Sure mauling is fun for some, but for me, not so much!

I have done several home trainings, aka private sessions, and the outcome is not usually as good as it is in a class setting even though I give the owners the same advice and tools that a class would share.  I found that the owner just does not work as  much with the dog during the week.  Also, if Fido fails in a private home situation who’s there to see it? It can become a point made by the owner that the trainer did not train the dog well enough or a point by the trainer that the owner did not work hard enough with the dog. In a class setting at least you have many who can see the problem, as well, as many who can try to offer advice or assistance.

Dog training is not so much  about training the dog as  it is about training the owner! I believe a class review with just owners before their dogs are ever brought into the picture is needed in most cases!


Weighing in at number two, would be home or private training. The only time I might put this at the top of the list is when there is a problem that the dog is only having in the home. If a trainer can’t see the problem first hand in the home they can’t always help it. So in an instance like that, home training would move up the ladder.

Third on the list would be Camp Dog Be Good! (It’s a made up name folks, don’t sue me! )

Dog camps usually run about three weeks or more and are very costly. If you are only teaching your dog basic obedience it’s not worth the money. If you are sending a dog to learn a specialty such as  for show or agility then maybe it’s worth the investment.

My first objection with training camps is that when the dog is away from you, you can’t ever be sure just how the dog is being trained or treated. Is it being trained in a positive method or a harsher physical method? Not every training is right for each dog. Also you  wont know the history of  the other dogs that will be boarded at the camp as well.
If at any time you don’t feel comfortable with how a trainer is showing you how to handle your dog, then by all means fire them and find a new one! There’s nothing worse than to have a dog listen out of fear rather than wanting to please the owner.

Training is what you make of it, how much time you put into it, family involvement, and having a dog that wants to be with you. If you are missing any of those ingredients you may be setting yourself up for failure.

Does one need to have a trainer or take a class? It all depends on how much information you know as it pertains to dogs and who taught you that information. I hear stories daily from people who say, “I’ve had dogs all my life” then they proceed to tell me what the dog is doing and how they have been handling the situation. I am stunned by how many people continue to believe that rubbing a dog’s nose in its excrement will stop the dog from eliminating inside the home! Oh my God, how dark ages is that?


Recently these words befell my ears by an irate customer, “you are probably one of those new modern women who never scolds her kids”( obviously my kids would tell a different story!), because I told her that spanking a dog for the bad behavior it did ten minutes ago did nothing other than to make the dog afraid of the person.  Spanking a dog for any reason is really not acceptable, but humans do this out of frustration or fear. It’s a knee jerk reaction very few of us keeps under control when feeling frightened or agitated. This is why it is sometimes better to stop all training before you reach the frustration level. Really, just stop! No one will think any less of you for taking a break!


In today’s world there are schools one can attend and learn the basics of how to become a dog trainer, but since these are fairly new it’s hard to rate how good they are. I don’t even know who would regulate such as school. Oh jeeze, can you imagine if it were regulated by our government? That’s a scary thought! All one can do is look at the method the school uses to train dogs and if possible talk to people attending. Hang around the school and wait for class to be over. Sure you'll look like a stalker, but who cares? 

 In years past, before there were such schools, one relied on another’s experience with dogs. So basically someone saw a well behaved dog or several well behaved dogs walking on a leash with the owner and one would ask, ‘hey how’d ya get your dog to behave so well?’ and that would start word of mouth advertising which would send someone knocking at your door asking you to train or show them how you got your dog to behave so well! That was that, your reputation grew through word of mouth. But was that the best way?


Sadly, not at all. I once heard of a trainer that would physically abuse the dogs he trained so that they were in such fear of him that they knew if they misbehaved there were harsh consequences to bear, but he had in all outward appearances, a well behaved dog. 
Obviously there are questions you will want to know upfront like cost, and cost will vary depending on the demand of the trainer, the type of training (group, private or camp), the area in which you live and how many sessions you’ll get for the price. Classes are generally less expensive then private training. Prices may also vary depending on the distance between you and the home trainer (Especially with today’s gas prices). You will want to know approximately how long it will take to train the dog and what happens if the dog has not been fully trained within that time frame? Will the trainer still make themselves available to you, and will it be an extra charge?

The trainer has to be a realist as well. If they offer you a certain amount of weeks and ask for full payment up front, and along the way the trainer sees that the owner is not putting in the time each week to succeed, then the trainer should be upfront with the customer and quite possibly end the sessions before they go to far along and refund some of the money. Nobody likes their time wasted.

If a trainer sincerely believes that you are not putting your all into it because they don’t see a change in the interactions between you and the dog, and they don’t mention it, well, they are basically stealing your money and you won’t have a trained dog.

At the same time if you don’t put the effort into it, you can only blame yourself, not the trainer. A trainer can tell if a person is or is not working their dog as much as instructed to. If a dog is responding to the trainer but not to the owner, then the owner may not be training as much as they say they are, or, the owner is not being consistent daily in what they expect from the dog.

So what do you look for in a trainer?

1. You want to look for the person’s love of dogs as well as experience. If they don’t have that love, they may just like feeling powerful over a creature that can’t really fight back.

2 You want check their method of training.  Is it punishment when the dog shows the wrong behavior, reward for showing the right behavior, or a combination of the two? Do they use shock collars? Can you observe the trainer in action at a class or client’s home?

3 References are always a plus, however who’s to say that the list of people the trainer gives you to call for reference are not family members or friends saying something rehearsed? So when it comes to references you want to hear from a variety of people and these people can be the ones you meet on the street walking their own well behaved dogs, handlers at local dog shows, breeders, groomers, or vets.

4 Knowledge of dog breeds. There are dogs that work well with one type training and dogs that don’t do  so well with that same method. Some dogs will just shut down if taught a certain way. As well, if the method is a tug and pull, (aka correction for the wrong behavior) you want to be careful if you own a  small dog as damage to the trachea by pulling on a choke chain or any other type of collar during training can be problematic. Small dogs are at a greater risk for tracheal collapse and should probably be using a harness or a halti collar during training to take the pressure off the neck area.
5 Ask how long before you see some  results (some trainers put such statements in their ads) with your dog, but know that no trainer can really do more than give an estimate. Much is decided by what you put into it. If you are given a definite time frame, then the trainer may not be very realistic.

6 Ask the trainer if they keep up with newer trends and seminars in training and in dog behavior.

7 Ask if former clients  have gotten titles because of the trainers work. Titles might include agility, therapy, carting, water rescue, or ring titles.


8  And last but yet very important is, is it fun for both of you or is it something that the trainer makes you feel that you must succeed in no matter the cost of the relationship between you and your dog?   Training should always be fun!



Remember, you are the only one that can make decisions for your dog and you want those decisions to be the best with lasting results in a positive way so the two of you enjoy spending time with each other. Also, regardless of how much money you shell out to a trainer, if you don’t know how to continue it and don't keep the dog social with people and other dogs, the dog will most likely fail somewhere down the road.

Don't kid yourself either. I've seen hard working owners go to a class week after week and still the dog has problems. These are mostly aggressive type problems. If you can't get the dog to change it's view through training over time, it may be a dog that will never get along with other dogs in its path and forcing it to try and do so may backfire in the long run.  In some cases it's just the breed of dog. Chow Chow and Shar Pei are two breeds that come to mind.  Also take into concideration  that bad breeding/inbreeding is a possibility. When people who breed don't really care about anything more than pulling in money for a sold pup, then usually they don't care who the sire and bitch are or what their temperament is.  It is at that time that you have to make a decision, can you live with the dog the way that it is and allow it to remain happy and unstressed in your own home, or is taking it out in public really important to you? Some people buy dogs for companions to do things with if that is important to you, it may be worth your while to give the dog to someone who may be better equiped to handle it or resign yourself  to the fact that this is the dog you chose and its happiness and stress free life is more important than going on a hike.

Keep in mind that old saying, A good dog is a busy dog, because a busy dog is a tired dog!

Until next time, happy training!



Friday, August 6, 2010

Kids & Puppies, the chasing the nipping, the jumping!

interactions: Litter of Newfs 5 weeks old









child 4 years old , training sit, going through
a whole box of biscuits, But it worked 
You may as well get your coffee now, dredge up any cuss words you think you’ll want to call me and be prepared for the truth, because if you did not get it in the prior blog article on kids and dogs it will be explained again here but a little differently. If you got it, good for you!




Okay, so last time I talked about going over the rules of teaching your kids to respect a dog’s space and while I was referring to dogs that are adopted and older, this week I’d like to talk about kids and puppies. Puppies that nip, chase, and bite your little ones, until your little ones are screaming all the time and have become so petrified of the puppy that it makes you just want to pull your pull hair out!

Trainers get so many complaints over this problem and if you have not read my previous blog about teaching your children how to respect dogs, then please do so before moving forward here. 95% of the puppy’s actions are not the puppy’s fault, so take that newspaper and hit yourself over the head for not being more aware of what to expect and how to handle the two together. If you have any uncertainties about the training of a dog, set up classes and be ready to learn before the little love bug occupies space in your home. Maybe pre-puppy kindergarten class needs to be taught before puppy kindergarten! You know, similar to how the public school system analyzes your kid to see if he/she is ready to join the ranks of daily learning and torture! This way we can weed out the puppy parents that are not truly ready to have a puppy live with them.

So why did I go with 95% and not 100% of bad behavior being the puppy’s fault? Well, because due to bad breeding there are a percentage of mentally unstable pups who due to neurological problems can act out. And 95% is just my guess based on the amount of questions I deal with on a daily basis.



Causes and explanations


First let me state that the majority of pups are taken away from their litter mates too soon. Just as you would put your toddler in a day care with the same age appropriate peers to learn social skills, your puppy deserves the same. However there are no schools that take pups on a daily basis so they can learn important social skills, and this is why leaving a pup longer with their litter helps them to better develop these vital skills.


Years ago it was pretty standard that a pup would be sold when it turned 8 weeks old and today I am seeing dogs sold at 5 and 6 weeks old which is way too early not only as it pertains to the health of the pup but also the social skills. In my opinion, even 8 weeks is too early for a pup to fully learn social/play skills among its peers and this is why we see the behaviors we do in young pups. At age 8 weeks they still in many cases have not yet learned what bite inhibition is, how to be alone away from their pack, or how to fully grasp what is prey and what it is not.

You’ve all heard this before, “I think my dog was abused when he was young because he cowers and backs away when I raise my hand to pet him, but I’ve never hit him or raised my voice to him.”

While having been abused is certainly a possibility, it is not as prevalent as you think. Here’s the thing, when pups are taken from their litter mates too soon they may be leaving at a time when the siblings were too rough making them fearful of other dogs or people.

Here’s another one...

“I think my puppy was in many fights or beat up badly by another dog because he is aggressive to other dogs!

This pup may have been taken from the litter at a time that it perceived itself to be the bully of the litter and so it continues to be dominant or aggressive over those around them, or the pup was taken at a time when it was bullied in the litter and when it feels trapped it feels the need to lash out before it gets hurt.

And yet another…

“My puppy cries all night long and he’s destroying my house!”
A pup that has not had a chance to move away from the pack/litter during sleep or other daily activities may suffer separation anxiety.

Let me give you one example of what how pups learn from the social atmosphere of their littermates.
I’ll discuss bite inhibition: Each day as the pups grow they develop stronger muscles which help them to walk, play, and run. At the same time they are developing teeth, tiny sharp teeth and stronger muscles in their jaws. This is when the mother will stop nursing them which is about 4 weeks of age. At this age mom is starting to teach them how to play and if they go too far, mom corrects them. When mom is not there to correct, this is the general scenario. Puppy A goes after Puppy B too roughly, Puppy B yelps and walks away. This ends their play session. When this happens each time they play together, eventually Puppy A learns that he may not bite/play so rough if he wants to continue playing with Puppy B.


So when little incidents like this are not allowed to happen, then Puppy A may develop aggressive tendencies toward other dogs because he knows he can win, and Puppy B may develop fearful tendencies.

Seeing kids through puppy eyes

As I stated in my last blog, kids run on impulse and dogs run on instinct. The impulse of children is to run, scream, hit, tug, and yell. The instinct of a dog is fight, flight, and prey chase. What might a dog see as prey? Running, & screaming! How do dogs view a fight or flight situation? Being cornered, hit, or being tugged on! So if a dog cannot get away from a situation they will growl, bark, or bite which is the fight or flight mode. In prey mode, they chase and capture.

What I am saying here folks is that every young child possess all of the qualities that would affect a young pup’s natural instinct.

How to stop nipping, biting, chasing

So, how do we stop the dog from nipping, barking, and chasing? Well it is up to the parent/owner of the dog to teach it what they will not accept around the house and kids and this needs to start the day they bring the pup home. Okay, okay, I’ll give an inch, the day after they bring the pup home!

Watching the dog and child chasing each other around the yard is semi cute, until, well… let’s put it this way, “Ah look at little Johnny being mauled by Muffin!”

There are rules you need to set down for the dog, and there are rules needed to set down for the children or you are going to have problems. If you don’t set rules, you’ll either hate the dog or hate the children and since you can’t give your children away; I suspect the dog will be the one leaving!

Teach your dog basic obedience in a quiet non distracting area and start with sit, it is the easiest command to teach because all you have to do is hold a treat over its head until its bottom touches the ground and put the command ‘sit’ to it. Once you have taught the dog a reliable sit, then the kids can do the same. Don’t ask the kids to give the dog a sit command until you have taught it to the dog first.

Teach the dog a firm ‘leave it’ command. This command means leave everything in its view alone and bring its attention back onto you. If you get a good leave it command you can eventually give the command from a distance which will help in situations when you are not in the immediate area.
‘Ut- uh’ over ‘No, no’.

I really don’t care for the word 'no' in training. From the day the pup goes to a new home all it hears is no, no, no, no, and no! No is also the first word parents tell their children when something is about to go wrong as well. Eventually that word doesn’t mean much any more to either the dog or the child. Dogs need simple one or two word commands, but normally it’s an adult’s nature to always say ‘no’ in certain situations, so it is better to change the wording for training. Another reason I like ‘ut-uh’ is because it takes the anger and frustration out of the human’s voice. A resounding ‘No’ can sound pretty angry and we don’t want to frighten the dog, we want to train him. There’s a big difference between a trained dog and a frightened dog!

The whole wording situation for me came about when I had a Bearded Collie named Watson. He was a beautiful and well behaved dog, and we used to call him Wat, for short. So imagine how confusing it was for him when I would yell something to my hubby from another room, and hubby who almost never heard me the first time, would reply, “WHAT?” Well, the poor dog ended up running from room to room thinking someone was calling him! So the wording in training should be thought out as well as the wording in a dog’s name!

Reward
At my job, I don’t work for free and I don’t expect my dogs to either! Many people feel that food rewards are not appropriate and while that may be great for some older dogs who are already well balanced, when it comes to puppies you will get a faster response with a food reward than you will with a tug on the collar. As well, you are developing a new relationship and the fear of what will happen next should not be a part of that relationship. I always subscribe to the theory that you catch more bees with honey! Food rewards are just another training tool that can be replaced with praise once you and your dog have a trusting relationship.

Training should be made a daily part of your routine so it shows the dog consistency in what you expect of it. Always keep the children at a distance and you can gradually move them closer as training progresses.

Chasing

Train with both the kids and dog, but keep the kids at a safe distance.

Attach a light clothesline rope about 10 feet long to the collar/harness of the dog and let it lay on the ground by your feet. (I prefer clothesline rope over a leash because it is light and the dog usually forgets it is attached to him.)

Have your kids about 20 feet off to the side of you. Give the kids the go ahead to start running back and forth about 25 feet from the dog. If the dog goes to chase the kids, step on the leash and say ‘ut uh.’ Once he stops, and he will because you are still stepping on the rope, he will probably look up at you as if to say, “hey I can’t move!” You will then give the sit command that you have taught him and reward him for sitting and staying with you. He is not going to know that it is the rope holding him back as you do not have it in your hand, so he is going to start associating your words with him not being able to leave the position. Gradually have the children move/run closer and closer past the dog. This needs to be repeated several times daily and in different parts of the yard or home as pups do not always associate one action or training with each place it visits. Just because he may have learned it outside, does not mean he will carry that over to the inside of the home. When the training is over always remember to give a release command which is usually “Fido Okay”

Two things are happening above can you spot what they are?

Jumping:
You will again have the clothesline rope attached. Again lay the rope at your feet and step on it just at the point it flows from the collar and hits the ground, have the kids in front of the dog about three to five feet away jumping, giggling, and patting their chest. The dog is likely to try and jump up on them and at the moment that the dog’s front feet start to leave the ground you will again say “ut, uh.” The dog will again not be able to move because your foot is on the rope. Give the sit command and the moment the dog sits, praise and reward. The same two things are happening, have you spotted them yet?

Biting/nipping

Hopefully with the practice of the first two lessons your words of “ut, uh” should have the dog stop, sit down and waiting for you to reward him but in case that does not happen there are a couple other things you can do.

Remember that pup in the litter I mentioned above? The one that yelped and ended play because the other pup got too rough? Well you can do that as well. You can yelp once turn your back and walk away and ignore the dog, or, with a gated room or a small pen already set up for training you can remove the dog from you, the object it desires, and end play that way. (However a dog’s crate should never be used for this purpose)

As mentioned in last weeks blog post, a pup’s memory, like a young child’s, is not very good or long lasting, so you want to keep him in this area for no more than a minute to two minutes, then take him out and let him try to behave again. If he nips, pick him up and repeat the processes. The more the process is repeated, the faster he will learn that if he wants to play with you he must act appropriate and this is where the game of fetch from the previous post comes into play. Also you can take him out of the penned/gated area, give him a safe chew toy such as a Kong stuffed with cheese or Nylabone bone with the command ‘toy.’
It is a good idea to have something placed strategically in the home and outside of the home that you can give the dog to chew on or hold in his mouth the instant it starts to nip.

Again, two things are happening here which many humans fail to do, can you spot it?

Another trick of the trade is to spray the area the dog is going after with Grannicks Bitter Apple. So if Fido is always after your youngster’s shoes put a few sprays of bitter apple on them. This product can be found in your pet store. It is a citrus type spray and dogs are not big on the taste. Eventually the pup will think that this is what the shoes always taste like and he’ll probably loose interest. In some instances this works well, but I would not depend on this alone as you are really not teaching the dog not to go after the youngster’s shoes, just briefly deterring or delaying it.
With explanations of how to train in different situations I mentioned that two things happened in each instance; let’s see if you spotted it. First of all, as humans we are great at telling our kids and our pups ‘No’ and what they can’t do or can’t have, but we are not very good at then redirecting them to what they can do, or can have! This is where much of the breakdown happens.

Dog chews shoe, human yells at dog, dog hides. But dog does not learn what he can have instead! As with the nipping of children, obviously you don’t want them gnawing on the child’s leg, but have you showed them what they can gnaw on instead? Each negative action by the dog as illustrated above was replaced with a positive action.

‘No jumping, or chasing, but if you sit nicely you get a reward! No biting my leg, and if you stop you can chew on a tasty bone!’

Remember, teaching the correct behavior goes hand in hand with the negative behavior you are trying to stop. I think humans overlook that aspect. It is much more rewarding for a dog to get praised for doing the right thing than to get in trouble for doing the wrong thing.

When you have accomplished the above then include one child at a time in the training and let the child reward the dog’s good behavior. Although the majority of dogs never see a child as being above them because children are not consistent, at least you want the dog to see that good things come from the child when the right behavior is done. When it comes to a food reward you may want to do a hand over hand with your child and show them how to hold the food in a flat open palm and not leaving fingers sticking up to be mistaken for part of the treat!

With that being said, never trust that a dog and child will act accordingly if you are not around to supervise. The above is just to show both dog and child how to get along. Never should they be left unsupervised!

For step by step in basic obedience using a positive method, click here.

To see video of how this method works click here