ezydogtrainingguide

Despite your best effort in caring for your Great Dane, chances of vet visits always exist. Sickness isn’t the only reason why you should take your pet to a veterinarian. Vaccination is important to prevent your dog from contracting various diseases. And who do you think you need to see when your Great Dane has to be vaccinated? Definitely you will not entrust your dog’s health to anybody else but to your trusted vet right?Choosing a veterinarian is as important as choosing the right breed that suits your lifestyle. It is just like choosing your physician or dentist. In choosing, there are two most important factors to consider- you and your pet. Choose the one whose personality you like, the one you’re comfortable to talk to and discuss any matter you may have. 

Here are some things to consider in your quest for Fido’s health warden:

Expertise.

Although there are different types of veterinary practices, all vets are naturally qualified to treat and have some knowledge of different kinds of animals. However, because of personal interest and experience, one is more familiar in an area where he is interested at. For your Great Dane, naturally you will consider the vet who is interested in giant breed dogs than the one interested in toy breeds and cats.

Location.

It is important that the clinic should be fairly close to your home, especially in case of emergency or if you need to make multiple visits for treatments. Think also about the accessibility in terms of transportation especially if you do not have a car.

Cost.

Ask your vet to give you an expected estimate of the cost of procedures, vaccinations, medications and even follow-up visits. Prices vary between different surgeries or procedures, so it is better to ask about this. Remember also to ask about pet insurance if your pet is insured or if you are planning to get one for your pet.

Familiarity.

It is better if the dog is familiar with the vet. One way of getting your dog familiar with the vet is to take him in the clinic for friendly visits. Once your dog and the vet has established a friendship, any veterinary procedure or treatment will be easier.

One more thing to remember, do not be afraid to ask questions. Ask about what you do not understand or anything you want to know. You may also want to ask some friends for opinion. It might help.

 Richard Cussons

Are you having a problem with your dog jumping on you, your kids, or visitors? I have some dog training tips to stop this behavior!Dog Training Tip#1 

Obviously this problem is an owner problem not a dog problem. Dogs love to jump, among other things! This is where the dog training tips come in!

Dog Training Tip #2

From day 1, don’t praise your puppy for jumping on you when she greets you. This is reaffirming that it is ok for her to jump when you bend down and pet her.

Dog Training Tip #3

Dogs mainly jump out of excitement. Don’t allow your dog to jump on some occasions and not others. Consistency is the key.

Dog Training Tip #4

Some dogs jump to assert their dominance. Consider the circumstances in which your dog is jumping to determine which reason she is jumping for.

Dog Training Tip #5

If your dog is jumping out of dominance, you need to readjust your relationship. Brush up on your alpha dog techniques! (you can find this on my site)

Dog Training Tip #6

Dog jumping can become dangerous. I remember my husbands dog - he was a Doberman, and LOVED to jump on me. He was 90lbs., which was not much less than what I weighed. He was definitely asserting his dominance over me. He didn’t like the fact that I was around at all. Needless to say he knocked me down quite a few times, and did hurt me. I finally figured out his reasoning was dominance. It didn’t take me long after that to assert myself to him! We ended up becoming good friends after that, so it is worth the effort to learn alpha dog behavior. When you learn this everything else is easy, and falls into place.

To ensure that your dog’s immunity system is kept in top condition you will need to ensure that there is a good balance of vitamins and minerals in his diet. It is not uncommon in homemade foods that this balance is derived from a supplement.As pet owners we need to know what vitamins are in the food and the symptoms of excess or deficiencies in each vitamin. We also need to know which vitamins need topping up daily and which are stored in the body. Vitamins B (thiamine, niacin, pyridoxine etc) and vitamin C are called water-soluble vitamins and they are not stored in the body and need replenishing each day. Vitamins A, D, E and K dissolve in fat before they are absorbed in the blood stream to carry out their functions. Excesses of these vitamins are stored in the liver. It is not therefore necessary to replenish these vitamins daily. 

Cod liver oil is a very good source of Vitamin A and can help to avoid night blindness and is also very good for skin condition. Vitamin D can also be found in fish oils and egg yolks and promotes the healthy growth of bones by increasing the body’s ability to absorb calcium.

Vitamin B1 is important as it helps to release the energy from foods. Typically B1 is found in peas, beans, lentils and other legumes so if possible try and get some of these vegetables into the food mix. It has been known for dogs that are fed with fish in frozen conditions that a supplement of B1 is required as they will not be getting the B1 from the fish and the conditions are not ripe for supplementing the food with vegetables.

It is also important to ensure that your dog is receiving the correct balance of minerals. To promote good skin health the dog must get the correct amount of zinc and he will need potassium for muscle health and for his teeth he will need calcium with phosphorous.

It may be possible that if your dogs feed includes a good variety of vegetables with meat such as chicken, beef or mutton that the requirement for artificial supplements may be greatly reduced. If, however, that balanced diet cannot be provided then you should consider supplementing the diet. As always it would be best to consult your veterinarian to evaluate your dogs feeding practices and then recommend the best supplement.

Stuart Smith

Many experienced dog owners would say that to have a lasting relationship with your pet dog, you have undergo a housebreaking process with your dog. What does housebreaking your dog exactly mean? It simply means that you have to train your pet dog so that he doesn’t become a source of problems in your home. Housebreaking your dog means helping your dog get rid of undesirable behavior patterns. If not checked at its early stage, your dog may develop many habits that might prove undesirable to you and your family.Potty training is one of the areas where you can housebreak your dog. Your dog needs to be trained in this area. Dogs by nature have sanitary instinct. They want to dispose of their waste as far from the place where they eat and sleep. Once they pick a particular place to do their potty, they’ll make it a habit to go to that place to take care of their business each time, so to speak. Teaching your dog where to potty can be a relatively easy task. You can do it two or three times and immediately your dog will be able to catch on to it. 

After feeding your dog, try to observe the dog for 30 minutes or so. He’ll soon become restless, acting like he’s trying to find something. Bring your dog to where you want your dog to pee and poop. Wait for a while. It may take your dog some time to actually potty in this spot if it’s a new spot. Your dog won’t be able to hold it any longer and he’ll eventually go potty. The next day, repeat the procedure. After several days, you’ll notice that even if you don’t take your dog to his potty spot, he’ll go there on his own to take care of his business.

How long until your dog is housebroken actually depends on your dog’s personality and on how dedicated you are to making sure your dog gets trained. If you’re dog is still a puppy, it’s very important that you put in more time and effort into the housebreaking process. Remember that your dog will only learn if you provide it with consistent training. Keep in mind too that dogs learn better when you use the reward system. If your dog does something good — such as pottying at the right spot — praise him right away. Pat him on the head and say, “Good doggy.” Do this each time your dog does something right. He’ll associate the task with the praise.

If your dog disobeys you or does something bad during the housebreaking process, let him know right away that what he did was wrong. Issue a strong and firm, “No.” Never hit your dog or yell at him. Avoid using harsh treatment on your dog as much as possible. You may be able to get him to follow your commands with a harsh treatment, but it isn’t really the right way to earn your dog’s obedience.

Dr Mayra Alfonso

We all know the kind: a dog who acts as though everywhere he can sniff and sit on is his toilet. If this dog profile is consistent with how you know your dog, then your dog needs potty training. Potty training is a change in your dog’s behavior, so this is not going to be easy. The trick is to start the dog potty training when your dog is still a budding pup.The earlier he is trained the more susceptible he is to further training, and you get less of those frustrating moments when you have to clean your kitchen floor, or your neighbor’s driveway. The problem is when you get your dog and he’s not that puppy looking anymore. But stick to the training. It will pay off, eventually. 

Oh puppies. They are so cute. With their cuteness comes a drawback. They can drain you of your patience. Since they’re just like crawling babies, they can’t control their own bladders yet. It’s up to you to teach your puppy about restraint. Until then you’re the one who’s going to clean up after your pup. So it’s usually more convenient for you to have your pup in a room with some tiled flooring. The more washable the better. Linoleum is nice, too. This way, when the pup poops and pees, it’s easier for you to clean up.

His pooping and peeing, when you can catch your dog in the act, are opportunities to train him. When he does poop on a non-designated area, you can raise your voice, but not too much. Just enough to let him associate his act with something that’s not acceptable. A punishment. Please don’t hurt or hit your dog,just don’t reward him. But when he does pee or poop where he’s supposed to, talk to him nicely, encourage him, give him a pat. That means you approve of his act. Give him some food. He’ll soon look forward to this.

You could also get your pup to time his pooping and peeing with a certain time of day, as when you walk him out of the house, or right after he eats his breakfast, or lunch. It’s also a good time for you to brisk walk, clear your mind, spend some good bonding time with your pup. Bonding and exercise are good.

Some puppy signs of potty coming out soon is his circling and arching. This usually happens some 15 minutes after he has eaten. When you see these and some other signs, scoop up your dog onto his potty place so he does it there. Then reward him. Pat him. Praise him. If you’re potty training him outside the house, select a routine area you’ll designate as his potty place. Like a tree. Or the bushes. Your own. Not the neighbor’s. This way he’ll get used to the routine and do his own thing on his own.

But then, if your dog is not a pup anymore, you will have to roll up your sleeves, so to speak, and allot more time and patience. Older doggy poop can be harder to clean and older dogs tend to be more stubborn.

Dr Mayra Alfonso