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.

The Classic Toilet-Drinking Dog Issue (Part 2)

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A dog who drinks from a stagnant puddle, a lake, or a pond is exposed to more potentially hazardous germs than one who drinks from a toilet.

This doesn’t mean that dogs can’t get sick from drinking toilet water. A toilet that’s stopped up or hasn’t been cleaned in a long time will contain enough germs to trigger a day or two of diarrhea or vomiting. More worrisome than germs are chemicals.

In our perpetual battle to keep bathrooms clean, we pour all sorts of chemicals into toilet bowls and tanks. Some of these products taste perfectly fine to dogs, but can make them ill if they drink enough.

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Even though toilets are sanitary enough for quenching canine thirst, most people prefer to keep the lids closed. Mainly, it’s about etiquette. No one wants to listen to their dog noisily lapping up a toilet-water cocktail. And no one wants to clean up the trail of spittle and water that invariably follows.

Get A New Water Bowl

Some dogs drink out of the toilet because they like the taste. Others do it because they dislike the water in their regular dishes. It’s not the water itself that’s usually the problem, but what the water is served in. Plastic dishes, for example, absorb odors and may give water an off taste. Switching to a metal or ceramic dish – and washing it regularly – can make your dog’s usual water supply a little more palatable – and make him less interested in finding alternatives.

Try Placing The Water Bowl Where It Will Be Cooler

Dogs definitely like their water cool. Water that sits in a sunny kitchen may be 10°F warmer than water that’s kept in a cool, tiled bathroom. If you don’t have a different place to keep the bowl, put in a few ice cubes every time you change the water. Dogs will appreciate the extra coolness as well as the crunchy ice.

Final Toilet Avoidance Tip

The easiest way to keep dogs out of the toilet is to lower the lid. Unless, that is, you happen to live with a very smart and determined dog who learns to uncap the toilet on his own. If that happens – and some dogs like toilet water so much that wedging their noses under the lid is hardly an insurmountable obstacle – you’ll either have to keep the bathroom door closed or secure the toilet lid by putting something heavy on top.

The Classic Toilet-Drinking Dog Issue (Part 1)

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To people, a dog who drinks from the toilet is just gross. But to a dog, the toilet is a constantly freshened source of good water. This is completely understandable. Just think back before dogs had people laying out their food and water every day – they had to provide their own refreshments. They developed a knack for choosing the cleanest, freshest water from the sources they had available.

Those who didn’t were sure to get parasites or other water-borne diseases. With no veterinarians or medications in sight, these dogs passed away. Those who learned the ropes, on the other hand, lived to reproduce, and their puppies instinctively knew what they should and shouldn’t drink.

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While their judgment certainly isn’t perfect, dogs have good reasons for choosing the toilet bowl over their water dishes. Consider how people like their water: cool, freshly poured, and out of a clean glass. The toilet is probably in the coolest room in the house. The water in the toilet gets changed more often than the water in their bowls. And porcelain make a nice goblet that doesn’t alter the taste of water like metal or plastic bowls may.

Dogs Love Bathrooms With a Toilet

People tend to be squeamish about bathrooms. We worry about germs. We scour and scrub to eliminate every last scent. We shut and lock the doors and demand total privacy. We do everything we can, in short, to keep our bathrooms separate from the rest of our lives.

Dogs, on the other hand, aren’t squeamish at all. Consider their usual habits. These are animals who will eagerly sniff, roll on, and devour month-old roadkill, who view cat boxes as convenient sources of takeout, and who greet each other (and people) by sniffing backsides. From their point of view, the bathroom is just an extension of their naturally earthy tastes. They don’t think about off-putting odors when they drink from the toilet. If anything, they probably like the smell.

There’s no question that toilets environments that do contain germs, but so does most everything else around us. Even an immaculate, freshly scrubbed bowl contains thousands, if not millions, of bacteria. But dogs don’t care. After all, they didn’t evolve in the dining room at the Plaza Hotel. For most of their evolutionary history, they lived in pretty rough surroundings.

As a result, their immune systems are remarkably sturdy. A toilet may not be clean by our standards, but for dogs they’re almost as hygienic as Perrier.

Dog Training: Train Your Dog To Become A Good Neighbor

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Their world may not extend beyond a couple of blocks – but nevertheless, dogs are an integral part of society and as a dog owner, you have a serious responsibility when it comes to dog training.

You must mold your dog into a good neighbor – not a nuisance or a menace. Left to its own devices, a dog naturally might enjoy destroying someone’s precious lawn, chasing other animals or having a loud dialogue with the midnight moon.

These and lots of other behaviors your neighbors will hate, of course, never strike your dog as anything but fun, unless you have employed dog training and supervised.

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This is your responsibility. Certainly you don’t want your dog’s behavior to become a point of contention between otherwise compatible neighbors.

To begin with, no dog should be allowed to roam indiscriminately. Most people are reluctant  confront the owner of an offending dog, but no one appreciates canine trespassing.

You must use some form of dog training  because dogs lacking human supervision will often leave destruction in their path, and you are liable for your pet’s activities.

Don’t let bad feelings start because you have given your dog a free rein.

Furthermore, you put your dog’s life at risk every time you allow it such freedom. Your pet may attack or be attacked by other animals – wild (think about rabies) or domesticated. Chances are, at some point, the dog will be hit and perhaps killed by a car.

A free-roaming dog is more susceptible to picking up parasites and disease. And it may simply disappear one day, leaving you to wonder whether it has been abducted or killed. Sadly, these are common occurrences.

If you want to keep your dog outdoors, an exercise run or a sturdy fence around your yard is mandatory. Hopefully, if your dog is a barker, your neighbors live a good distance away. However, in the densely populated urban and suburban areas in which most of us live, it is simply unacceptable to permit a dog to bark endlessly. You are going to have extremely unhappy neighbors. Breaking the barking habit can be a real problem; you can try working with a trainer to come up with a solution, or you may simply have to keep the dog indoors. Certainly, it is unfair to make other people suffer while you’re away.

Remember, barking is both natural for dogs and a learned behavior in certain situations. To correct unwanted barking, you must catch the dog in the act and administer a stern, forceful correction.

You cannot correct undesirable behavior via dog training unless the dog is actually caught in the act of performing it.

Why Most Behavioral Problems Come From “Leader-Type” Dogs

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Most problem dogs are leader types, they are trying to control the activities of the family or certain individuals in the group.

In some cases the dogs are in conflict with their physical environment or external social elements, such as fences, tethers, neighborhood children, cats, other dogs, mailmen or visitors.

A dog that wants to control these elements or to lead the activities of its human family pack, is doomed to a life of frustration.

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Leader-type dogs exhibit any or all of the following behavior, both on and off their home territory:

– Precedes owner through doors or when walking in almost any direction.
– Does not obey the owner’s commands.
– Displays anxiety about new people or situations.
– Interferes with the owner’s interactions with other people.
– Nudges the owner persistently for physical petting.

When a dog assumes a leadership role in its owner relationships, it usually exhibits behavior that provides clues, even off the home property. Some easily detected signs are:

– Protectiveness of the owner.
– Nervousness (anxiety about the new area, scouting the area).
– Lack of response to the owner’s direction.
– Rushes in or out of doors ahead of the owner.
– Interferes with the owner’s interactions with other people in the new situation.

How To Change The “Shy Puppy” Timid Behavior

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Are You The Proud Owner Of An Extremely Shy Puppy?

This fear-based behavioral characteristic is very common if you have a toy dog breed.

However, it’s a known fact that every litter will have a least one shy puppy that will need to be treated a little differently than the rest of the pups.

When these shy puppies grow up they can become extremely needy and look towards their owners for reinforcement in almost every situation they come across.  And unfortunately, while this need to “run to mommy or daddy” every time she gets scared, your shy puppy may start to initiate aggression if she is not getting the soothing attention needed. This could be labeled as aggression induced by fear.

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Ironically enough, if you constantly caress and soothe your shy puppy when she demonstrates extreme shyness and becomes frightened, you are only reinforcing the behavior. I realize that it’s hard to imagine ignoring your shy puppy when she needs you, but if you would like to change her behavior and help the dog become a bold and social animal, you are going to have to quit letting her know that it is “okay” to be afraid.

Helping Your Shy Puppy Change

If your dog is showing signs of fear and timidness early on, then you will have to be patient when desiring to help her adjust. You must coax the dog along to realizing that you will not be her protector anymore. Behaviors that she is used to doing when getting scared will need to be stopped, such as barking while hiding behind your legs when startled, darting away whenever seeing a normal part of the outside, like a person walking or a bush swaying by the wind, etc.

Here are some tips that you can use to help your shy puppy become less so:

1. Explain to your family and friends to ignore your puppy’s fear-induced barking or crying whenever they approach.  Up to this point your dog has acted out of fear whenever someone approaches and when these people naturally stop the approach, your dog has learned that this behavior works in her favor. However, from now on your dog will start to understand that fear-induced barking will not work anymore so long as your friends and family respect your training wishes.

2. Whenever you are expecting guests to arrive at the house, be sure to keep your puppy secured by a lead. Take her with you as you approach the guests if you can allow the dog to be with you all times. The difference from now on is that when she starts crying, barking, or hiding behind your legs, you will now act in a confident matter and without petting or soothing her. T

his will help your shy puppy become more brave while teaching her that her old behavior will not work anymore.

Dog Training: Correct Heel Methods (4)

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When it comes to obedience dog training, there should be no “half-way action” accepted. In other words, it’s all or nothing from your dog. And a crooked sit must be considered as something less than your dog giving  his full potential.

Not only does it look shabby, but it also prevents the dog from accomplishing his full measure of discipline and character. You can prevent your dog from developing the bad habit of crooked sits simply by using your free left hand while heeling.

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As you prepare to stop during a walk, make sure that your left hand is in a position to place on the dog’s rear in such a way as to prevent him from moving around in front of you after you have come to a complete stop. If your dog succeeds in sitting in a crooked way, hold back the praise until you have straightened his sit. As your left hand drops to his rear, keep your left thumb pointing toward your left leg. This will ensure that you do not accidentally place your dog in a crooked sit.

You do not have to push down heavily on your dog’s rear. You need to simply press lightly to help guide him into the proper sit position. It is more the right hand pulling the leash upward than the amount of pressure on the dog’s rear that will place him easily and quickly in the proper sitting position. Putting heavy pressure on your dog’s rear may stimulate him to resist, which is an unwanted action.

In these learning steps, the less resistance you have, the better off it will be, both for you and your dog. Also keep in mind the importance of a positive attitude.

Recap Of The First 10 Days Of Correct Heel Dog Training

Your first ten days of obedience dog training should consist of proper leash introduction, getting your dog to walk confidently and happy. This is achieved without lagging or straining as he walks at your left side in the response to the command “Heel”. The first ten days of obedience training also consists of the introduction of the command “Sit” in which you place the dog in the sitting position each time you stop.

Once you are confident about placing your dog in the sitting position, which took one full week, you are now ready to bring your dog to a higher level of discipline, intelligence, and response.

You must decide to never place your pet in the sitting position again. You have spent one full week showing him exactly what sit means, and it only takes four days for the average house dog to learn the average thing.

Now, it’s time to show your dog that he must do it for himself and that you will not be leading him by the hand all of the time when dog training.

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