One of the more common problems with dogs is that they want to escape. So when they are on the leash they will try to pull away from the leash. In some cases, especially with puppies you will see them trying to pull their owners along for the walk, instead of the other way around; this can be exceptionally irritating to you. This behavior many times leads to breaking the leash and having a dog roaming the neighborhood getting into all kinds of mischief.

Another couple of reasons that dogs often pull on the leash are excitement and wanting to confront another dog. If your dog sees another dog it will instinctively want to go and confront it - perhaps to show it's dominance over that dog. You can fix this problem by constantly showing your dog that you are the dominant one. One you have done this your dog will be much less likely to want to confront other dogs. Excitement is another common cause of dogs pulling on the leash. You can control excitement quite easily by simply stopping walking your dog. Wait a couple of minutes then start walking again.

You will need to take the time to teach your dog slowly and calmly to not only be okay with the leash and collar but also to notice that you are the leader and that he is to walk the way you want him too. Calmly teach your dog how to sit when he is pulling on the leash. Be sure to be firm and commanding when you tell him to do this. Only when he has complied with your commands do you continue to walk. This will condition him to do as you say or his walk will be stopped.

If your dog keeps rushing off ahead, give the leash a gentle tug and tell your dog to sit. Repeat this process until your dog starts to realize that he isn't allowed to race off ahead. If your dog simply isn't understanding or learning this concept, return to your home and stay there until your dog has calmed down. You can then continue walking a little more, hopefully this time in a calm manner. Repeat this process until your dog understands the rules.

Another thing you must do is become a leader; many times the dog will actually wait until you make the first move. If he does he will have established himself as the leader and will do as he pleases on the walk. However, if you should actually take the lead and make many stops and ask him to sit each time. Eventually the dog will be more focused on what you want him to do instead of taking off.

Once your dog starts to follow your commands exactly as you have asked, give him some praise or a little treat. Don't get carried away, just let your dog know that he's doing a good job.

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Written by Craig Clemins using tags: animals, Dogs, family, living, Pets

Crate Training is a training technique used to house train dogs. A crate is a small kennel that can be closed off and is usually made out of plastic or steel wire. Crate training benefits both the dog and its owner.

The main reason that crate training is so effective is that dogs hate to pee where they sleep. Abiding by this principal, they learn to hold their urges to urinate until they are outside. Little by little the dog learns that outside is the place to pee.

While a dog is going through crate training, it will spend almost all of it's time inside its crate (den). It should in fact be inside the crate all times that it is not being supervised. After letting the puppy/dog free from the crate it should be taken outside immediately so that it has the opportunity to pee.

When choosing a crate make sure its large enough so that your dog can move comfortably inside. A crate that is 1.5 times your dog's length and has a few inches of head room when your dog's in the standing position is about right. If the crate is too long the puppy may use the addition area to pee in. In the case that your crate is too big for you dog, block off one end of the crate to make it smaller. Plastic crates with wire doors are the easiest to clean and transport so we recommend getting one of these where possible.

During crate training, the puppy's toilet breaks should be at regular intervals throughout the day. This reduces the likelihood of accidents occurring. As puppies get older they naturally become better at holding there urges to go to the toilet.

It is very important that you build up a positive association of the crate. You can do this by feeding your dog close to (eventually inside) the crate and by rewarding your puppy's good behaviour by giving it treats inside the crate. Make the crate more comfortable for your puppy by putting its favourite toys and a soft blanket inside the crate.

One of the worst things you can do is use the crate as a place of punishment, or a prison. Avoid leaving your dog inside the crate for too long periods of time as your dog may begin to fear the crate.

While crate training has been proven to be a highly effective way of house training puppies, it is not universally accepted. Some experts claim that puppies can become too attached to the crate after being locked inside it for such a long time.

It is highly recommended that you use a professional house training guide when starting to train your puppy. These not only save you a lot of time and energy, but also stress and frustration. Click the link below for more information.

• House Training A Puppy - What It Takes Undoubtedly, there is nothing quite as cute as a new puppy. But let's face facts. Not everything about a puppy is cute. As is true with a human toddler, puppies have to be potty-trained, or house-broken, if you will. If you want to make sure to properly house-break your new......
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• Does Your Dog Have "Stage Fright"? [/caption]Once they've housebroken their dog, pet owners sometimes run into a new problem: dogs are just as timid going to the bathroom outdoors as they are indoors. Why is this? After all, you simply wanted the dog to avoid going on the carpet or on the floors; doesn't it understand......

Written by Craig Clemins using tags: animals, Dogs, family, Home, lifestyle, living, pet, Pets, pets and animals, pets_and_animals

When you first get a dog, especially if it's an older dog, you might find that you need to house train the dog again. One of the training methods that work's best for house training dogs is to use a crate or cage. This type of training is effecting and keeps accidents to a minimum.

Crate/cage training an older dog is something that usually does not require much effort, this making it the perfect solution for people who have busy lives or those who aren't interested in spending a lot of time training their dog.

Older dogs are usually harder to train than younger dogs as they have some habits that will usually hinder them from taking to the training as it would a younger dog. However they can be trained it just make take a little longer. You will need to be extremely consistent with the training of an older dog, especially if you are cage training them. In order for this process to work you will need to follow some very easy steps that must be followed to the letter and kept up on a regular basis.

When you first start working with your dog, you will need to set a time that you will definitely be available and keep that time, consistency is very important to your dog's successful training. It may actually be best to start his training earlier in the day, so you may want to start before going off to work in the morning. You will also want to have time during the night for the training as well to ensure that your dog gets off to bed in the cage in the night time.

As soon as you get up in the morning, take your dog outside so it can go to the toilet. Give it a command such as "Toilet" when you expect him to go to the toilet and then praise him after he's done. Getting into a routine with this will help your dog learn faster and without many problems. Avoid over praising your dog after it has gone to the toilet.

When you are house training your dog you must be firm and consistent with your commands. Establishing yourself as the dog's leader will make the training much more effective and your dog will take you much more seriously.

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Written by Craig Clemins using tags: animals, Dogs, family, living, Pets

There are many reasons that your dog may have a whining problem. When you learn why they are whining, you will be able to control the problem.

On of the reasons that a dog will whine is because she is trying to convey a message to you that she may be feeling alone and that she is not feeling well. This behavior is just one of need, she needs more attention or affection, or she needs to see the Veterinarian. She may have a problem that is easily fixed with love or she may be calling out to you to give her the help she needs.

Another reason you dog might be whining is because you're not at home. This is a case of separation anxiety. One of the easiest ways to fix this whining is by getting your dog used to the fact that you're not leaving for long and that you will come back. Try leaving the house for short bursts of about 5 minutes initially. Once your dog realises tat you leaving is no big deal, the problem will fix itself.

When using this method to teach your dog that you will always return, ensure you make no big deal about leaving or returning. Don't get too excited when you return, only start giving your dog attention after you've been home for ten minutes or so. This way your dog learns that leaving is no big deal, and in fact, it's a normal occurrence.

After spending some time practicing 5 and 10 minute "away" intervals, slowly increase this until you are gone for over an hour. Little by little your dog will stop paying attention to when you return home and will stop whining completely.

Another way, which is a controversial way to control the whining in your dog is to completely ignore your pet, however this may not be a good idea as the dog may have some underlying physical problem that you should be aware of. Instead you may want to try giving the dog a firm command to stop this behavior and then you must back it up with negative reinforcement. You may try a loud noise that is very unpleasant during the time when she is whining, making her associate this noise with her whining.

Even if your dog's whining is driving you crazy, never resort to physical punishment. Abuse is not an effective form of training and it's also against the law. It can have many harmful effects on your dog, more than just the pain of the abuse. The best way to get lasting results when training your dog is to treat it with love and firm but fair respect.

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Written by Craig Clemins using tags: animals, Dogs, family, Home, living, pet, Pets, pets_and_animals

If you're looking for a thorough and detailed dog training guide that actually gets good results, look no further than Secrets to Dog Training by Daniel Stevens. This guide (previously known as "Sit, Stay, Fetch") is a top selling dog training guide that provides comprehensive explanation of how to train and care for your dog. Secrets to Dog Training also goes into great detail explaining what you can do to combat the most common dog behavior problems such as digging, barking, biting, jumping up and many more.

Daniel Stevens gives you step by step guides to teach you successful techniques for training, from puppy's to older dogs. You learn about how to stop your dog's jumping, aggression, biting and chewing on your furniture or any other problems that you may encounter with your dog. You learn about how to get to know your dog, how to identify the different issues when they arise, and how to reward his behavior when he does well. All of these answers and more are available to you to improve the relationship between you and your dog.

In the "Secrets to Dog Training" you will find enough information to cover each dog training topic from the basic training concepts to the advanced training. Many trainers offer training like this for more than $4000 while you get all of this information for the low price of $37.00 which is an outstanding price for any book of this magnitude.

A range of high quality bonuses come free with the purchase of Secrets to Dog Training. Some of the things included are: an E-book titled Secrets to Becoming the Alpha Dog, a dog grooming guide, a quick guide to dog aggression, a house training and tricks guide, and a dog food recipe book (with over 180 recipes!).

If you are concerned that after buying this guide you'll be on your own, you shouldn't be. Daniel Stevens has a full time support team made up of professional dog trainers who are ready to answer whatever dog training or dog care question you may have. This is of huge value and is well worth the $37 cost alone.

If you have decided you want to train your dog, and you want to do it alone, a guide like Secrets to Dog Training is exactly what you need.

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Written by Craig Clemins using tags: animals, Dogs, family, Home, living, pet, Pets, pets_and_animals

Many people who have pets are quite often away from home during the day due to appointments and work. In these situations, our pets tend to get the idea that when we leave we may not come back, and some will suffer from a condition called separation anxiety. This problem is very common among many pets but particularly so among dogs.

Dogs are usually a part of a pack; they are used to being in a group of others by nature. When you bring them home they tend to make you and your family a part of their pack. However, the behavior can be one of a positive nature, when they are sure you are the leader of the pack, and one of a negative nature when they are trying to assert themselves as the leader.

Dog's like to know they have the love and affection of people around them. When left at home alone, dogs often begin to consider that you may never come back. This type of thinking leads to dogs getting frantic, at times destructive, and at times loud.

This separation anxiety can come for a variety of different reasons, there could be changes in your schedule, or it could come on if they are trapped in a traumatic situation. You may also find that this is a situation for dogs that have been abandoned and abused that you adopt from a rescue shelter, stray dogs that you and your family find in the street or dogs that were a part of a kennel. These dogs will usually be a little high strung and may spend a lot of time trying to get you to pay attention to them. If they do not get that attention they may exhibit destructive and often dangerous behaviors.

A dog that suffers from separation anxiety may at times become very destructive, angry and even aggressive. Dog owners can sometimes return home to find here furniture and possession have been ripped to shreds. It's also very common for dogs to use the entire house as a bathroom. These behaviors usually only get worse if nothing is done to fix the problem.

There are many forms of treatment available for a dog with separation anxiety. The most important thing being that you take the time and use patience to help your dog with the feelings of panic they get when you leave them alone. Also you must remember if you should punish your dog for the destruction that happened while you were gone will only make the situation worse because now he believes that you don't love him and are angry and will be convinced that the next time you leave you really won't be back for him.

Try to learn some new commands that you can use to calm your dog. For example, before you leave your house to go out, jingle your keys, tell your dog "Calm", and then return in 5 minutes to your house. By changing your routine and introducing some new commands you should be able to get past your dogs condition rather quickly. Always remember to have plenty of patience and consistency when training your dog.

By practicing the techniques mentioned above you will be able to teach your dog that even though you left, you came right back. Encouraging your dog to stay in his crate when you are not there may also provide some form of comfort and protection for your dog. Finally, make sure you reward your dog for good behavior. Praise goes a long way.

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Written by Heather-Jane Hunter using tags: animals, Dogs, family, living, Pets