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Selasa, 21 Oktober 2014
TO STOP YOUR DOG CHEWING THINGS IT SHOULD NOT CHEW
DOGS CHEW FOR MANY REASONS…
Puppies
Puppies, just like human babies get itchy sore gums when their teeth are growing in. Chewing also helps to remove loose teeth (which can be very uncomfortable) so adult teeth can grow in. You can provide a few seconds of temporary relief by rubbing your puppys gums, this is also a great way to build puppys trust in you! Make sure puppy has safe items of his own to chew.
Teenage and Adult Dogs
It is normal for a dog to chew - chewing is a dogs way of gaining and maintaining strength in its jaw - essential to survival! Depending on what they are chewing on, chewing can also help keep a dogs teeth healthy and clean.
An anxious dog may chew to expend some of its anxious energy. To resolve this type of chewing you must understand, address and cure the root of the anxiety.
A dog may chew as an outlet to expend unspent energy. Make sure your dog gets enough exercise on a daily basis. Unspent energy can lead to frustration, anxiety and reactivity, aggressive behavior.
Remember that we do not always learn or choose to do as we are asked to do the first time either! Dogs are intelligent, they have a mind, will and personality of their own - just as humans do. Shift your expectations to understand that they are independent, intelligent and very sensitive beings who require coaching and mentoring by a leader, not a dominator. And by the way, dogs do not like hypocrisy any more than humans do...so if you yell, get angry, get frustrated - you loose your audience.
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| Robbie chewing a stick on the trail |
TO STOP YOUR DOG CHEWING THINGS IT SHOULD NOT CHEW
As guardians to our dogs it is our role to coach and mentor our dogs - to teach with patience and understanding - not with tension, frustration and anger. When we attempt to instruct a dog and we are not calm, confident, firm and fair we are setting the dog up for failure. Instead when we correct and follow-through with calm confidence we are providing the dog with the information it requires to make better choices.
So if your dog is chewing something you do not want it to chew...
One - Make sure you are calm (without excess emotion),and ready to coach with fair, firm confidence. Dont be aggressive, dont raise your voice in anger.
Two - Lead...addressing from a distance is not leadership, calmly but with assurance get up and walk over to your dog.
Three - get your dogs attention, you can touch your dog firmly but quickly with your fingers - at its neck or waist, you can snap your fingers and say hey firmly, but not with anger. Never touch or talk in anger as you then lead by the wrong example!
Four - Tell your dog what you want i.e. no, dont touch and then say leave it I have ten dogs - different breeds, from tiny to large - they all understand this type of direction...as do the dogs I work with for my clients.
Five - Tell your dog what you would like it to do instead i.e. go sit down etc.
Six - Follow through...if your dog goes back to the object and starts to chew again - dont get angry, simply correct as per the steps above.
Seven - Depending on the circumstances, as a final step to this process, you may want to offer your dog something that is safe and acceptable for it to chew.
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| Jordie chewing rawhide |
PROVIDE YOUR DOG WITH GOOD THINGS TO SATISFY ITS NEED TO CHEW
Providing your dog with the right things to chew ensures that this need is met in a safe and healthy way. Dogs that are in a balanced state of being are unlikely to chew other items such as your shoes or your hands if they have safe durable chew toys and rawhide. The same toys and rawhide can also help to keep your dogs teeth clean.
The basket shown above contains some of my packs chew toys. The pink, orange, red and blue chew toys are soft, durable and non-toxic; they also make a squeaky noise when chomped on at the right place. Kongs are another very popular dog chew toy. Even the smaller parts on these toys cannot be chewed off - these are chew toys that the dogs can have unsupervised.
The pink toy is Sarahs favourite. If I ask Sarah "wheres your Piggy", she will go get this toy and bring it to me. If she has lost her piggy under one of the couches (when she tosses it in the air it often ends up rolling under), she will show me which couch and where along the length of the couch the Piggy is.
The blue two tone bone and the orange ball with feet are Buddys favourites.
The various types of rawhide shown in the basket are all natural rawhide (no chemical flavour additives or food colouring). These are only given to the dogs when I am around to supervise.
It is very important that rawhide be given to dogs only when you are around to supervise.Some dogs are really good about taking their time to chew properly and others are not so cautious and will not chew the entire rawhide properly. They will attempt to swallow larger pieces. These pieces can become lodged in the dog’s throat and cut off their air supply. Most of my dogs are careful, but Robbie is a repeat offender. There have been occasions when I have had to put my hand down his throat to remove a good size piece of rawhide.
As an added and nutritious treat, I put natural peanut butter on their rawhide. The nutrients in the peanut butter are good for them. The peanut butter also encourages them to take their time and lick the rawhide, helping to soften it before they chew. I choose natural peanut butter as the only ingredient in it, is peanuts. Other peanut butters include sugar and salt - ingredients that are not so good for your dog.
If you would like more detailed information on safe and healthy things you can give your dog to chew you can read this article on How to Select Safe, Effective Teeth Cleaning Chews & Dental Chews for Your Dog.
As an added and nutritious treat, I put natural peanut butter on their rawhide. The nutrients in the peanut butter are good for them. The peanut butter also encourages them to take their time and lick the rawhide, helping to soften it before they chew. I choose natural peanut butter as the only ingredient in it, is peanuts. Other peanut butters include sugar and salt - ingredients that are not so good for your dog.
If you would like more detailed information on safe and healthy things you can give your dog to chew you can read this article on How to Select Safe, Effective Teeth Cleaning Chews & Dental Chews for Your Dog.
Additional Assistance
If you require additional support and guidance I would be pleased to assist you via my In-Person or On-Line Services…
Dog Obedience Training and Behaviour Modification Services:
- In-Person sessions are available via this service
- On-Line consultation and sessions are available via this service
Diet, Nutrition Wellness Services:
- Unbiased Diet, Nutrition, Product Advice is available via this service
- Holistic Diet, Nutrition Wellness Plans are available via this service
Minggu, 07 September 2014
A Few Of Your Dog's Favorite Things
There are many ways you can reward your dog other than giving him his favorite treat. Generally, the more reliably your dog has learned a behavior, the more you can give him rewards in place of foods. For dogs who love certain things more than a treat, rewards can become a more important primary motivator than food. Many dogs will turn up their noses at treats if you offer him a game of catch.
Below are 10 examples of great rewards that you can give to your wonderful pet:
1. Chasing a ball or a Frisbee
2. Playing with other dogs
3. Chewing a chew toy
4. Digging a hole
5. Going outside or coming inside
6. Playing tug-of-war or chase
7 Taking a walk or going for a car ride
8. Swimming
9. Chasing birds in a safe environment
10.Anything else your dog loves to do
Minggu, 03 Agustus 2014
Things that make you go ewwww
Check out this post from Frogdog on using rendered pets in pet food. For those that dont know rendered means boiled down until it is a paste. It is then used as an ingredient in food as protein source. For those that want to know more about this practice read the book "Food Pets Die For" by Ann Martin. While I love her book she isnt a fan of people feeding raw diets. A fact I find odd because she totally disagrees with vets who sell what she considers substandard food and considers it a conflict of interest, yet then sides with them on the raw food debate. Regardless it is a great book on how to read pet food labels and I love that she lists HOW she got all of her information.
Aside from the issue of if it is right to use pets as food for other pets, (Remember that mad cow disease began because people fed rendered cows to other cows as a cheap feed filler.) there is the issue of using pets that have been euthanized. Think about that, is it a good idea to have euthanasia solution as an ingredient in pet food an any amount??? Because if you think they are just using roadkill pets think again. Dont kid yourself. The pet food business is about money. Buying cheap ingredients saves them in the long run. Learn how to read those labels so you can find good pet food companies if you feed kibble food. Your other option is to either cook for them or feed a raw diet. Both acceptable options with some research on your part.
Kinda glad I went back to feeding raw after watching that. Id say this might be a wake up call for people to consider what is going into their pets food.
As a side note because I lived in London during the mad cow era I am ineligible to give blood in this country. A fact that if I think about to much kinda freaks me out.
(Photo - When I did a search for a good photo to accompany this post I actually found one I considered to graphic to use here. I have to admit I will be much more careful about what words I plug into a search engine from now on.)
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