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.

Why Your Dog Loves Barking At The Mailman

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Your dog probably doesn’t have anything personal against the mailman. He’s just taking care of his own. In fact, it is safe to say that every dog has a little watchdog in him. It’s something that dogs inherit from their ancestors, who had to defend their territories and limited food supplies from trespassers.

To a dog, the great thing about mailmen is that they appear to be easy targets. Here’s what happens:

The first time a dog heard this stranger coming up the walk, he got alarmed. He probably backed up a little bit at first, but one brave day, he gave a little bark. His owners came running to see what was causing the commotion. The mailman, of course, dropped off the mail and left. The combination of praise from his owners and the mailman’s retreat makes dogs very happy. They just assume that they scared the mailman off. From then on, they feel confident that they can protect their homes from these fearsome visitors, so they keep barking.

Mailmen, meter readers, United Parcel Service and FedEx couriers, and any other stranger who purposely heads up to the house and then looks as though he’s retreating when he gets barked at is going to get the same reception.

Nearly all dogs have an instinctive urge to protect their homes, but that’s not the only reason they kick up a fuss when the mail arrives. Part of it is merely anticipation. Dogs are attuned to rituals and routines to such an extent that they’d probably be called obsessive-compulsive if they were people. The mail comes every day at more or less the same time. It doesn’t matter whether this event is happily anticipated or thoroughly dreaded.

Dogs probably begin thinking about it when they get up in the morning, and their excitement grows as the time approaches. By the time the mailman finally arrives, they’re keyed up and ready to rumble. It can get to be the high point of their days. Dogs who spend their days alone get particularly excited because they feel as though they’ve been left in charge. If they don’t bark like crazy and warn off intruders, who will? They figure they’re on duty should anyone approach their property.

The Combination Approach To Feeding Your Golden Retriever

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Although you can get commercial food for your Golden Retriever, the ideal way to feed is to use a combination approach of both commercial food and fresh people foods.  Most commercial food is good for your Golden Retriever, although it lacks nutrients and vitamins that fresh food has.  Vets will tell you that fresh food is good, providing you don’t overdo it.  Golden Retrievers love fresh food as well, as they can smell it a mile away. If it smells good to them – they’ll want it.

Most commercial foods will offer your Golden Retriever great sources of protein and vitamins, although fresh food contains far more essential sources.  Chicken and meat for instance, have far more protein and minerals than any type of commercial dog food.  Fish is another great choice, as it contains a lot of the protein your dog needs to maintain a healthy brain.

All dogs are well within the capacity of staying healthy, although you need to provide them with the minerals they need.  Each dog is an individual, meaning that you can’t continue to feed him the same food on a daily basis.  Golden Retrievers love people food, and they also love variety.  What they need one day may vary the next, so you should always mix it up a bit and give them something different each day.

To be on the safe side, you should give your Golden Retriever a little bit of everything.  This way, he will get everything he needs with his diet.  When you design the diet for your growing Golden Retriever, you should always make sure to include animal protein.  This is very important for your Golden Retriever, as he has to have it.  Without animal protein, your dog will find himself literally struggling to stay healthy.

To keep your Golden Retriever healthy, it is very important that he gets quality nutrition.  Although quality nutrition is very important, you should never him eat so much that he gains weight too fast.  If you monitor his diet and know exactly what you are feeding him, he should remain in his weight class.  Sometimes this can be hard to help though, especially if your Golden starts to develop allergies to a certain type of food.

If you ever have any questions regarding the diet of your Golden Retriever, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask your vet.  Your vet could make some recommendations for you, even tell you the best type of commercial food for your dog.  Depending on his individual needs, what he requires may be totally different than what another dog needs.  As long as you keep your Golden Retriever on a healthy diet and make sure he gets the food he needs – he should grow to be a healthy dog with plenty of energy.

Keeping Your Golden Retriever Healthy

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Once you have helped your Golden Retriever build up his immune system, he will be healthy and strong enough to fend off any type of illness.

There are ways that you can help your Golden with his immune system, which is more or less what you feed him.  If you care about your Golden Retriever and want to help him develop a strong immune system – you’ll find this information very helpful.

When you feed your Golden, give him some homemade food.  You can substitute this for canned food, or mix it in together.  Homemade food tastes a lot better to your dog, and it contains a lot of the nutrients and vitamins he needs.  When you give him water, give him spring water.  Although many prefer to give their Golden water from the faucet, spring water is actually a lot better for him than any other type of water.

When you give him a treat or a bone, you should always give him raw bones with plenty of meat on the bone, as they will help him to develop a strong set of white teeth.  Teeth are very important with Golden Retrievers, which is why you want to make sure that his teeth stay strong and healthy.  If you give him a bone a day, he will have plenty to chew on to keep his teeth healthy.    You can also use chew toys as well, especially when you are playing with him, as they will help him to develop strength in his jaws.

You can also help to keep your Golden Retriever healthy by knowing a bit about health problems that he could have.  This way, you’ll able to keep track of what your vet diagnoses.  If your vet tells you something that is wrong with your Golden, you should know a little bit about what he tells you, and how you can help to take care of the problem.

To help your Golden Retriever avoid any type of reproductive problems, you should look into having a male neutered.  Reproductive problems are common with Golden’s, and can lead to more serious problems if you don’t do something about it.  If you aren’t planning to breed your Golden Retriever, you should have him neutered as soon as you can, to help prevent any type of reproductive problems.

If you take care of your dog and keep him healthy, he will live a lot longer.  You should always strive to keep your dog healthy, so he can live a pain free life.  As long as you feed him a proper diet and let him get plenty of exercise, he will stay strong and healthy.  Golden Retrievers that grow to be strong and healthy make great pets, as they can join you in exercise and provide plenty of fun for your entire family.
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The Best Basic Training
For Your Golden Retriever

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on
your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train Golden puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when
you aren’t there to supervise. . .

Learn simple techniques for getting any Golden Retriever to stop barking at
strangers or from begging you to let him back inside – Plus a TON more
step-by-step dog obedience strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are
already using.

Check out Chet Womach & Bauer the Golden Retriever’s-
Hands Off Dog Training

Characteristics Of Reputable Golden Retriever Breeders

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Golden Retriever Breeders

When you decide to get a new Golden Retriever puppy, the first choice you will face is what type of Golden Retriever breeders to get your puppy from.

No matter how hard you try, it’s nearly impossible to know whether or not the puppy you are buying will grow up to be healthy and strong.  In order to even assume that your puppy will grow up to be healthy, you’ll need to trust the individual you get your Golden from.

There are three options available to you, in terms of Golden Retriever breeders.  You should carefully think about each one, as they all will vary.  Below are the three options you have to choose from, and a little bit of information to help you make this very important decision.

Dealer or pet shop

A pet shop is simply the worst place that you can get your Golden Retriever puppy.  The puppies they have for sale here are bred poorly, and raised in poor locations to say the least.  At these types of places, the puppies are thought of as a profit and nothing more.  There is little to no emphasis on quality here either – as pet shops prefer quantity over qualify.

Due to the way the puppies are bred and raised, pet shops make quite a bit of profit.  With there being so little that goes into the breeding and care of the puppies, pet shops make a lot of money.  They mainly rely on impulse buying, not giving you a lot of time to evaluate the puppies that they have for sale.  If you’re looking for an addition to your family, and a puppy that you know is healthy, you’d be better off looking somewhere else for your puppy.

Backyard Golden Retriever breeders

Backyard breeders are considered to be yet another poor choice for your puppy.  Almost all backyard breeders are people who own a few Golden’s and find it to be fun to breed their female for the fact of having puppies, or breed her once or twice before they decide to go ahead and get her spayed.  Backyard breeders don’t look for quality or go out of their way to care for their litters, as they are more or less breeding to make money – and nothing more.

Normally, backyard breeders know very little about the breed in general, and even less about how to properly care for their Golden Retrievers.  Backyard breeders normally aren’t familiar with the problems associated with breeding, and most could care less.  Their only goal here is to breed Golden Retriever puppies.  Once the puppies have been bred, their remaining goal is to sell the puppies as fast as they can – for the highest possible price.

Hobby Golden Retriever breeders

A hobby breeder is the ideal way to get your Golden puppy.  Hobby Golden Retriever breeders are loyal, committed, and think of their pups as more than just a hobby.  Although they do make money breeding, they could honestly care less.  Hobby breeders care more about the quality of their puppies than anything else, and they commit themselves to helping you get the best Golden Retriever pup possible.

Hobby Golden Retriever breedersaccept responsibility for each one of their puppies, and they stand behind each and every one of their pups.  If you want the best pup you can get for your money, you need to visit a hobby breeder.  They very rarely produce poor quality Golden Retriever puppies, as they care a lot about quality.  If you get your Golden puppy from a hobby Golden Retriever breeders, you can rest assured that you getting a healthy puppy from the start.
————————————————————–

The Best Basic Training
For Your Golden Retriever

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on
your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train Golden puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when
you aren’t there to supervise. . .

Learn simple techniques for getting any Golden Retriever to stop barking at
strangers or from begging you to let him back inside – Plus a TON more
step-by-step dog obedience strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are
already using.

Check out Chet Womach & Bauer the Golden Retriever’s-
Hands Off Dog Training

Dog Training Classes – Hiring The Wrong Person To Train Your Dog

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It was a breezy summer evening when approximately 12 dogs from various breeds were all assembled in a small group at a local city park in San Diego, California. At each dog’s side, its owner stood by, attentively listening to the dog training instructor whom was in the middle of the group.

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Dog Training Tips To Get Your Dog To Obey!

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when you aren’t there to supervise. . .

Learn simple techniques for getting any dog to stop barking at strangers or from begging you to let him back inside –

Plus a TON more step-by-step dog obedience strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are already using, check out –

The Hands Off Dog Training Method

————————————————————–

“Today’s lesson will teach you how to give your dog the “Down” command.”  He went on to say: “Now with your dog sitting by your side, and with a little bit of slack on the leash, loudly say the word ‘Down’ and then step on the leash hard so that your dog is forced to the ground and knows exactly what the down command means. This will show your dog that you are in charge and capable of making him go down whether he likes it or not.”

Like mindless listeners, the entire class obeyed the lesson and literally crammed the heads of their dogs down into the ground by stepping on the leash. By the time the entire training session had ended, it seemed like every “down” command ended in shrieks and moans from every dog. There was mass hysteria while the toy dog breeds fought off the leash and collar and the larger dogs just got confused, not understanding the forcefulness of the lesson.

Any dogs that rebelled against their owners and the leash in the attempt to force them down were asked why the instructor to stay behind for some “special handling”. This special handling only turned out to be a much more aggressive counter-lesson with a rolled up fist and an aggressive action towards the dog.

Is This Worth Saving A Few Dollars?

The above scenario happens all too often throughout the country. It seems that with a few months of reading and researching dog training manuals, almost anyone can become a dog training “expert” regardless if the training principles they are teaching or wrong or not. Such negative dog training only destroys the responsiveness, initiative, willingness, and motivation of any dog involved towards learning.

It just goes to show you that wherever there is money to be made in any type of field, especially dog training, you’ll always have your egomaniacs and fake “experts” rushing to fill the gap and make a quick buck.

“It may be a simple matter of economics”, as one pet store owner was saying. “Many dog owners come into the store and want to know how to properly train their pets. Although I sell dozens of instructional booklets, they want one-on-one teaching instructions. However, it’s quite expensive to hire a real professional so all they do is search around on the Internet or their local newspaper ads to find a cheap dog training class, which is usually run by someone that does not know what they are doing and for the most part uses aggressive tactics”

The point here is to let all of you dog owners know that it is much safer to work on your own training abilities by using qualified information instead of hiring the wrong person to do the job.  And there are some organizations, such as “Petco”, is nationally recognized animal pet store, that hires professionals to teach obedience and dog training classes for your dogs each week.

Leash Training: Your Leash Training Questions Answered

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Leash training is hugely underestimated by new dog owners. The process of getting your puppy or adult dog used to being on leash is fairly simple and just takes a little bit of your time. Trust me, this small investment of properly training your dog to walk politely on his leash will pay high dividends in the near future, especially if your puppy will grow up weighing 50 or more pounds.

Leash Training Questions

I get at least a dozen or more questions each week from new dog owners that ask me about leash training. They want to know what type of leash is best, what type to avoid, how long they should walk their dog,  how to get the dog to stop pulling, etc.

————————————————————–

Training Tips To Get Your Dog To Obey!

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when you aren’t there to supervise. . .

Learn simple techniques for getting any dog to stop barking at strangers or from begging you to let him back inside –

Plus a TON more step-by-step dog obedience strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are already using, check out –

The Hands Off Dog Training Method

————————————————————–

Below I have listed a few of these common leash training questions for your benefit.  Remember, there is no one best way to do anything so when it comes to dog training, whether it involves leash training or other lesson, it is okay to mix in your own training ideas so long as you keep it 100% positive.  Negative dog training is not recommended and highly discouraged.

Having said that, here are a few basic leash training questions:

1. How much room should I allow the leash to extend when walking my dog? According to most dog trainers, your puppy or adult dog does not need anymore than 5 to 6 feet of distance to roam when you are walking him. This is plenty of room for you to keep control of the situation, while at the same time giving your dog a chance to sniff out small areas along the way.

2. What type of material should my leash be made of? If you walk into any pet-specific store you’ll find that the majority of leashes for sale are made of nylon.  Nylon is easy to wash and comes in all kinds of pretty colors.  However, they will burn your hand if the dog suddenly pulls and the leash moves through your fingers.

My recommendation is to use a leather leash. In fact, a 6 foot leash made of leather is the perfect size and material. It will last a long time and you will not experience any type of burning sensation if it is pulled. The grip is firm and your control is increased.

3. What about using chain leashes? Chain leashes are practically indestructible and will last a very long time, but just like nylon material, a chain leash can hurt your hands if the dog yanks hard and your grip slips.  In fact, the injury could be much more severe than a nylon burn.

4. How wide should the leash be? This answer is very simple. A leash that is approximately ½ inches to ¾ inches  is ideal. Try to avoid heavy, bulky leashes, when leash training.

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