Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

How to Cope With An Over-Excitable Dog

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Dogs are just naturally boisterous, excitable characters. However, if your dog is an out of control dynamo, it probably comes down to one of 3 things – not enough exercise, anxiety or leadership issues.

I hope you’ve noticed the common thread here. All of these are things you control.

Helping A Bored Dog

A common factor for many over-excitable dogs is that they are simply bored. The dog gets no regular physical or mental stimulation. He lays around all day waiting for your return, and when you arrive he explodes into action.

Fortunately, the solution is simple – your dog needs to be exercised. All dogs, regardless of size need it, but very few get enough.

How much exercise do they need? That depends on breed, age and physical condition. If you have a Bulldog, you’ll probably get away with a leisurely half-hour walk around the block daily, if you own a Husky, be prepared for 2-3 hours of high intensity work (at least!).

Dealing with Separation Anxiety

A common cause for over-excited behavior is separation anxiety. This is particularly true of dogs that are left home while the owner goes to work. Here are some things you can do to address the behavior;

*Stop Rewarding Your Dog – By this I mean stop giving attention, whether positive or negative, while the dog is running around, jumping up and barking. Once the dog has calmed down, give attention and maybe a treat to re-enforce the desired behavior.

*Mix-up Your Routine – Dogs pay a lot of attention to your habits. Your dog will know in great detail, the drill you go through each time you leave the house. You may not even be aware of it, but your dog is, and every time he notices it, his separation anxiety is triggered.

*Limit Access – Don’t give your dog the run of the house when you’re away, restrict him to a smaller area. You may even want to consider training your dog to stay in a dog crate when you’re not around.*Provide a Distraction – Keeping your dog occupied while your away will significantly reduce his anxiety. Something to chew on or a puzzle to solve, like a Kong toy, should work well.

Be the Leader

A dog that is uncertain of his place in the pack hierarchy will always be anxious, because he’s not sure how to behave. What can you do about it? Give him some basic obedience training like “sit”, “stay” and “down”.

Training provides discipline and mental stimulation. It also establishes your leadership. Once your dog accepts this, he’ll naturally calm down.

Applying these 3 principles will have a noticeable effect on your dog’s hyper-active behavior. Keep in mind that not all dogs were created equal. Some dogs (and some breeds) are just by nature more boisterous than others.

There’s lots more about dog training, dog care, types of dogs and other interesting dog info at www.dogsanddogtraining.com

Clothing for Dogs

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When you have a doggy friend you like to take care of it properly. It needs a warm place to sleep, good quality food, plenty of exercise and a strong collar to clip that lead to when you are out walking. When people see dogs with good dog collars they know they are not a strays but belong to people who care for them.

Dog collars can be practical such as for attaching leads to when walking your dog and for identification, but they can also just be for fun. You can have several different collars for your special pal just for fun – or to colour-coordinate with your own outfits. But many dogs need more than just a collar.

Short-haired breeds tend to get cold outside in the winter weather, especially if they spend most of their days inside a warm apartment. Being indoors, their coats do not develop that thick under layer that keeps an outdoor dog warm in winter. Dog Coats and dog jackets will be needed to keep indoor dogs warm.



Dog Trainer is a pet enthusiast and trains dogs. He know what is best for the pet.

Introducing Training To The Young Labrador Retriever

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You can begin some elementary retrieving exercises at eight weeks or so, and your Labrador Retriever will most likely love the game and look forward to it each day. To teach the basic mechanics of the fetch (run out, pick up the object, return the object to the master, and release), begin by placing the puppy on a 10-foot lead.

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Take a favorite toy or a ball large enough not to be swallowed, dangle it in front and above the dog’s head to gain its attention, and toss it 5 to 6 feet in front of you. Precede your command with your dog’s name. For example, say, “Jake, fetch!” As he races for the toy, follow behind your Labrador Retriever.

Make sure the lead stays loose and does not snap shut and frighten or hurt him (and perhaps permanently sour him on retrieving).

If he picks up the toy, praise him encouragingly. Should he merely eye or paw the toy, make him pick it up by shaking it in front of him, repeating “Jake, fetch!” Once he has grasped the toy, walk backwards to your beginning spot. Coax him to follow you by motioning him toward you using your hands and fingers.

When he arrives back, get the toy from his mouth by commanding “Out!” and gently pulling it loose. Now is the time to give him a lot of praise and affection – not during the exercise, although encouragement can be helpful.

At such a young age, the emphasis in this and all types of exercise is on fun, not on performance. Improvement in response should naturally come with familiarity. As the puppy masters the game, vary it. Keep your Labrador Retriever guessing.

Try to remain in position and not move out toward the toy. Later, you can attach a longer lead and extend the distance of your throw, or throw the toy sideways. Any Labrador retriever worth its name will take easily and eagerly to this game.

It is recommended that you play with the Labrador Retriever puppy often and consciously make an effort to get down to its level. Standing upright, humans can be quite an imposing sight for a puppy. Sitting or lying on the floor, they are no longer towers but friendly companions. Giving a puppy some eye-to-eye attention will go a long way in cementing the human-dog bond.

Because a Labrador retriever make good swimmers as adults, some misinformed people think this gives them the liberty to dunk young puppies into any available pool of water. A Labrador Retriever is a natural swimmer, but the dog needs to learn the fundamentals before being expected to feel at ease in the water.

When a Labrador Retriever puppy’s first exposure to the water is being thrown or forced in, the shock may make it dislike and fear the water throughout life. Many potential field dogs have been ruined by improper or overzealous training.

The first introduction to the water can begin while a puppy is quite young (three months is a good age). A puppy should be able to master the mechanics very quickly, especially if “shown
the ropes” by some older dogs. The owner should always be nearby, should trouble arise. It often helps the dog feel at ease if the owner wades into the water with it on the first dip.

Ponds or lakes, with their easy entries, are best for training water dogs. The slick tiles and steep sides of a pool are often unmanageable for the dog, and many drownings have occurred when an exhausted dog was unable to climb out of the water. Similarly, a young Labrador Retriever puppy is not strong enough to manage a rough ocean surf, but should be encouraged to play along the shoreline in a sheltered area of shallow water.

Muscle Atrophy In The Older Dog

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The muscles of mos tolder dogs lose much of their strength and actually decrease in size with each advancing year.

This is a normal part of the aging process and is to be expected. However, there are two as yet poorly understood muscle disorders which at first may look like normal aging weakness.

In one the older dog develops weakness in the leg muscles during periods of exercise or other physical stress, may fall down briefly, seem to recover, get up for a short time only to fall down again.

This is often seen in polymyositis, a disease which causes inflammation of any or all muscles in the body.

Polymyositis occurs mostly in late middle age and early old age, the most common of its several possible causes appearing to be a defect in the dog’s immune mechanism.

Treatment with corticosteroids is quite successful despite the often alarming appearance of the older dog.

Occasionally the muscles of the esophagus are affected, making swallowing difficult, but even these respond.

Muscular dystrophy, the second disorder, occurs mainly in older dogs, bears some similarity to muscular dystrophy in people, and has a cause as yet unknown. Affected dogs develop a stiff gait as the muscles become progressively weaker and smaller in size.

There is nothing we know of which will stop the deterioration or cure the disease. Treatment is palliative, trying to keep the patient as comfortable as possible, and is based on your older dog individual symptoms.

Is Carsickness A Problem For Your Dog?

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Some puppies get carsick just the same as many small children do. If you depend on a car for most of your transportation, you will want to help your puppy overcome carsickness as quickly and easily as possible. You can do a number of things to help your puppy avoid or overcome carsickness.

From the start, help your puppy form a positive association with the car. Without starting the engine, sit in the car with your puppy on your lap for a few minutes every day. Praise and pet your pup. After a week of this, start the motor. Place your pup on the seat next to you. Pet and praise him, making the experience agreeable. After a week of repeating this once a day, get a friend or relative to go in the car with you for a daily ride. Be sure that your puppy has an empty stomach and has had the chance to eliminate before getting into the car. Have your helper sit the dog on his or her lap. The helper must not allow the pup to squirm and wiggle around.

Take a short ride around the block. Each week increase slightly the distance that you travel. (One-week intervals for each of these steps are not cast in stone. Shorten or lengthen the time depending on your pup’s reaction.) Be sure that when you ride with your puppy, you have someone in the car to help control him. If that’s not possible, put the puppy in a crate in the car.

Do not let your puppy ride on the driver’s lap or crawl under his or her legs. This can become a bad habit and is very dangerous. Once your puppy begins obedience training and understands to lie down and stay, employ this exercise in the car when traveling. Associate trips in the car with fun. Every car ride should not end up at the veterinarian, groomer, or boarding kennel. Use the car to take your dog to the beach, park, or woods.

Most puppies, like most children, outgrow carsickness. In the interim, doing the right things can minimize messes, limit nervousness, and shorten the time it takes for your dog to learn that car rides can be a lot of fun. If none of the above steps seems to help, contact your veterinarian. He or she can provide medical solutions, such as mild tranquilizers, that will help avert sickness when the dog must travel in the car.

Common Puppy Behavior Problems – Barking & Digging

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Barking is completely normal for any dog but it should be considered a problem if it becomes excessive. Most dogs will bark at strangers passing by, and this is to be expected. However, you need to teach your puppy that although some barking is OK, too much barking is not.

Allow your puppy to bark two or three times when someone rings the doorbell, approaches your house or walks past your yard. Don’t let your puppy bark frantically until the person eventually leaves the area.

A Simple Anti-Barking Routine

To train your puppy not to bark excessively, be consistent and plan ahead. Ask a friend to come to your home and ring the doorbell. When the bell rings, your puppy probably will run toward the door and bark.

Take hold of your puppy’s collar at that moment, and say his name and then the cue “be quiet.” When he listens to you and ceases his barking, praise him heartily. After several practice sessions, your puppy should start to catch on.

Once your puppy has learned to respond reliably to the quiet cue while inside your house, you can begin the training session outdoors in your yard. Ask friends and neighbors to help you with the training by walking past your property or doing whatever else it is that sets your puppy off on a barking spree.

Remember, too, that bored dogs will bark more than those who are getting enough stimulation. If your puppy is barking like crazy at everyone who passes the house, he may need more exercise and stimulation. That way he won’t feel compelled to come up with his own distractions.

Digging

The instinct to dig is strong in most dogs and often starts in puppyhood. If your puppy is starting to dig up the yard, you need to intervene before your garden begins to look like a mine field.

The best way to control your puppy’s urge to dig is to give him a spot in the yard where he can dig to his heart’s content. This might be a place where you’ve already seen him digging if you don’t really mind that he digs there. Or, you may want to entice him to dig in an area that is out of the way and not visible from most parts of your yard.

If you catch him digging in a place that is not allowed, correct him by saying “NO DIG!” and take him to his allowed spot. If he digs in this designated digging area, praise him to let him know he’s got the right idea.

Even though he has his own digging spot, you may find that your puppy still likes to dig in places he shouldn’t. Protect these areas with temporary fencing (like chicken wire) until your puppy gets in the habit of digging only in his designated spot. Eventually, you should be able to take down the fencing and give him the run of the yard.

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