Looking After Pets

Best Free Advice For Looking After Your Pets
  • scissors
    November 29th, 2010adminPets Advice

    Learning how to house train your puppy has a steep learning curve.  If you’re wondering how to keep your puppy from peeing in his crate without pulling your hair out, you’re not alone.  I’ll share with you some really effective methods on how to get your puppy to stop peeing in his crate for good.

    Causes For Dogs Peeing in Crate

    Several factors contribute to dogs and puppies peeing in their crate:

    1) They’re being fed inconsistently

    2) The owner is clueless as to when the dog needs to go to the bathroom

    3) The dog has separation anxiety issues

    4) The dog has been left in his crate for longer than 3 hours

    Peeing in Crate – Inconsistent Feeding Schedule

    Understanding the times your puppy is most likely to go to the bathroom will help you to feed him on a consistent schedule. 

    Here are the times your puppy is most likely to go potty:

    • After snoozing
    • After romping around with other puppies
    • After any substantial feeding
    • Right before it’s time for them to go to bed
    • In the middle of the night

    Tips To Prevent Peeing in Crate

    In order to prevent peeing in crate, buy a crate that’s just the right size for your puppy. It’s important that you buy the right size crate for your dog so that he doesn’t poop in it.. This defeats the purpose of the crate.

    The crate should be just large enough so that your puppy can comfortably stand in it.. Dogs don’t like to eat where they poop.. As long as your puppy’s crate is too small for him to move around, it will be incentive enough for him to alert you when he has to go potty.. He’ll think long and hard before peeing in his crate.

    Regularly Feed Him At The Same Time Every Day

    A regular feeding schedule gives you power over when your dog goes to the bathroom. Adult dogs have much more control over their bladders than puppies..

    In general, a puppy will have to go potty 5 minutes after his meal.. Adult dogs can hold out much longer from going to the bathroom than a puppy can.. As your puppy grows into an adult, you’ll be able to tell just how long he can hold his bladder.

    Once you learn your puppy’s habits and have him on a regular schedule, you can base his potty schedule around his ability to hold his ability to hold his bladder.. For instance, my one year old dog Jack can eat dinner at night and wait until 8:00 a.m.I’ve had Jack since he was 11 weeks old.. So I’ve been able to observe his tolerance for holding his bladder.

    No Frequent Treats

    Your dog must learn that nothing in life is free.  While it’s important to have fresh water out at all times for your puppy, you shouldn’t feed your puppy treats frequently. To avoid over feeding your dog, only give him treats when training him to do certain behaviors. Only give your your treats as a reward for good behavior.. 

    Don’t Leave Him In His Crate Too Long

    A crate is not a means for a dog owner to abdicate his responsibilities.  While the purpose of the crate is to keep the puppy from hurting himself, it’s not a place to keep your puppy indefinitely. A good rule of thumb is to let your puppy out of his crate every couple of hours.. Leaving your puppy in his crate for a prolonged period of time will cause him to have unwanted accidents in his crate..

    Do you need help creating a comprehensive puppy schedule?  Visit Squidoo for a detailed puppy schedule from the time he wakes until the time he goes to bed.If you follow these tips, you’re guaranteed to get your puppy to stop peeing in his crate.. 

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  • scissors
    October 23rd, 2009adminPets Advice

    Just about had it with trying to house train your dog? Are you tired of coming home to find pee all over the carpet, pillows helter-skelter and garbage littered (and chewed) all over the floor?

    Well, I know I was. The first few weeks after I got my new puppy, I was just about ready to call the pound. (Well, not really, I loved my dog; but you get the picture). I hardly got any sleep at night because my yelping charge was terrified of spending the night alone and I had to keep him company until he fell asleep. He would then proceed to make a mess at 2 in the morning and I would have to get up to clean it. I would come home late in the afternoon to find the garbage can turned over, pee all over the floor and furniture ridden with teeth marks. I knew I had to successfully train him soon – or I would go crazy.

    Does my story sound familiar to you? How do you house train your dog to behave when he spends his time acting like a – dog?

    You know you have to take action sooner rather than later.  So what are your options?  There are alternatives out there.  If you get a trainer, it will be very expensive.  There are dog schools, which can also be pricey, and with your busy schedule, this proposition might be a little more than you can handle right now.

    The good news is that there is a great method that you can use to house train your dog.  Dogs are naturally clean.  They do not like to soil the place where they sleep, so they will cooperate with you.  And all dogs can be trained, even older dogs. 

    This simple but straightforward method has made it very easy for thousands of people to house train their dogs.  For more information, visit Cris Santeiro’s Dog Training With Love blog.

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  • scissors
    August 5th, 2009adminPets Advice

    Housetraining a puppy is a plain and simple system that nevertheless asks for vigilance, patience time, and commitment from you as dog owner. By keeping track of the advice and tips below, you can actually prevent most housesoiling incidents, but in the end every puppy will soil the house at least several times despite some careful planning. But then again, all this is part and parcel of puppy raising. The thing to be mindful of is that the more consistent and persevering you are in putting into action the housetraining procedures, the more likely it is that your puppy will absorb the desirable behavior you are teaching. You can give yourself a pat on the back that the puppy is sufficiently  housetrained when he has not had any accidents for two to three months.

    Establish A Routine
    1) Puppies, just like babies, learn lessons and dog house training in particular when they train according to a regular schedule. In this regard, you will need to take out your puppy often, such as every two hours, or whenever he wakes up, or finishes playing, eating or drinking.
    2) Train the puppy to make use of a bathroom spot instead of soiling the house. Designate a spot near the door as the dog’s bathroom spot, and always take your puppy to that spot using a leash. Then take some soiled rag or paper towel from a recent accident, and bring some material containing the scent to the bathroom spot. The next time your puppy looks for a place to eliminate in, he will often have recourse to this prearranged spot.

    3) Heap praise on your puppy whenever he eliminates outdoors. Other dog experts talk of acting like you won the lottery, so that it is impressed on the dog that he did well. A treat is also good. It is important that the rewarding of the dog be done in the instant that the dog is done eliminating, and not only when he is back inside the house. Doing so will help the dog to understand that he needs to eliminate at that spot regularly in order to please you or to get a reward from you.

    4)  Feed the dog on a regular schedule as best as you can. By feeding your puppy on the same consistent times each day, you make it more possible that they eliminate at the same times as well. This tip is a big boost to your housebreaking.

    Whatever your housetraining preparations, brace yourself for the odd occasion that the dog commits an error in the house. But stay calm, since accidents beyond your utmost efforts are part of housetraining.

    1)  When you see the puppy about to eliminate outside the bathroom spot,  interrupt the act by making a startling noise (which however must not frighten the dog). Then bring the dog to his bathroom spot. Take time to praise him and give him a reward in case he fully eliminates there.

    2)  

    Whatever happens, your puppy does not deserve punishment for pooing or peeing in the house. More importantly, if you spot a dirty spot with the dog even just a meter away from it, it is fruitless to give a correction. Clean up the mess, and leave the dog alone. Examples of actions that will make the dog scared and tense of you, or afraid to eliminate in your presence, is to rub his nose in the dirt, take him to the spot and scold him (or any other punishment or discipline). However we insist, animals (and dogs for that matter) cannot understand punishment after the accident or error, even if it’s only seconds later. It is in this context that punishment actually is more of an obstacle than an advantage.

    3) LAstly, cleaning the soild area will motivate the dog to stick to the agreed-upon bathroom spot, since he will actually want to eliminate in any spot that bears the scent of his feces or pee.

    Take advantage of the supervision and confinement procedures of these housebreaking tips above to bring down accidents and errors at home. Using the procedures will speed up the housetraining process for the dog.

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  • scissors
    August 4th, 2009adminPets Advice

    If you are planning to get an indoors dog (or already have one), you will need to get educated in housebreaking, which is also known as housetraining. It is not hard, nor is messy, but it will need honest effort on your part. It also does not take an awful lot fo time, but it is ultimartely a training issue. This means that the more involved you are, the shorter the overall span of training will be! 

    Effective house training dogs is rooted in at least two rules or principles that always get repeated in more or less different ways.

    First, if the puppy is not caught acting out the accident, then there is no sense in punishing him for anything, and much less in planning to punish him.

    Second, your puppy deserves praise and some good treats if things go ahead as planned. If all they get for any accident is a terse “No”, then  let them know when they do things right!

    One strategy to housetrain a puppy is to put down papers or pretreated pads, training and encouraging them to make use of these spots when they wish to relieve themselves. Some of these pads bear chmcical scents that draws the puppy to make use of them. Whenever you see the dog showing signs of going potty, e.g. circling while sniffing the floor, gently pick him up without talking and bring them to the paper or pad. Praise them immediately when they make use of this “bathroom.” 

    When the dog is already using the paper consistently, the papers are brought closer to the door, and-or another set is placed outside. The dog is being helped here to move its toilet habits from one spot inside the house, to another one outside. The training ends with the dog being observed relieving itself consistently on a single, specific spot outside the house. A potential loophole to this scheme is that the dog is welcome for a good period of time to relieve himself indoors.

    Let’s talk this time about verbal cues. These come in handy to help you and your pet to aim after a target. Experts think it is good to use a word to signal that it is time to use the bathroom. Short, simple words are good, such as “Outside?” Naturally, everybody in the family must be in agreement to use the same word (or gesture) in the same way when giving a command or a signal. Experience show that it is better if the master initiates this activity through a verbal command, rather than passively just waiting for the dog to learn going on its own.

    A last word on the impact of the feeding schedule on housebreaking training. Note how the puppies need to visit outside when they wake and within 30 to 40 minutes of their meals. Do your best to be on the dot when you feed the animal; this way, you can actually predictwhen they need to relieve themselves. Work your trips around these patterns.

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  • scissors
    May 3rd, 2009adminPets Advice

    Dogs are really cute and even your kids would agree to the idea in having one as a pet. However, training and taking care of these dogs are not as easy as they look. Training them is important so they would not turn out to be a hassle in the household.

    Learning how to house train your dog will take time and patience and it is best you start training your dog at a very young age. This is because like humans, as they grow older, it becomes difficult to get rid of old habits.

    To start your training task, you should study them very well. Know what will keep them motivated and what makes them follow. If this task is accomplished, then you can now begin your dog´s house training.

    Dogs are fun to train especially if they are still young. The very first lesson you should teach is the basic obedience. One of the most effective motivational tricks you can adapt is giving them snacks.

    Other dogs go for toys and games. Rewarding them after they have properly done your orders will push them forward to do it more often. You need to give proper instruction and not give the dog snacks unless they have done what you requested such as sit, come and stay. Do not give contradicting commands by giving them snacks even when they have not accomplished their orders.

    Of course, when you want your dog to have proper behavior, you need to allot enough of your time in making them follow your orders. The ideal time is two times per day at 15-20 minutes. This is perfect for your pet so they won´t be bored.

    Before house training a dog, put a collar and a leash so you can always hold the dog near you. The very first training exercise is the “come, sit and down.” This may not be as easy as it looks as you can sometimes have a difficult time in making your dog follow.

    Thankfully, there are many dog training books on the market that you can pick up to learn how to house train your dogs successfully.

    Learn how to house train a dog with Sit Stay Fetch. Check out my in depth sit stay fetch reviews and learn how you can train your dog easily in weeks.

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