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.

Solve Dog Potty Training Problems

by Leave a Comment

Learning to solve dog potty training problems is easy..  The main rule of thumb is that you have to stick with it.  When you are potty training your dog at home you have to keep it consistent.  That means that when you are potty training your dog you cant skip steps.  You have to keep in mind that a dog thinks a certain way, and it isn’t the same way that you and I think or learn.

The first step to take when trying to solve dog potty traning problems is understanding your dog.  If your dog is actually a puppy, keep in mind that they have a limited amount of space in their bladder.  Puppies are going to pee and poop on your floor, there is no way around it.  Full grown dogs, on the other hand, can hold their waste a bit longer.  

The second step when learning to solve dog potty training problems at home is remembering what YOU must do.  Lets say, just for example, you work from 8 AM to 5 PM every day, and we will say you wake up at 6AM.  When you wake up, take your dog out to do his business.  Let your dog come in and eat while you are getting ready.  Take your dog out again before you leave for work.  Do you understand what I’m getting at?  I’ll explain better:  Make sure you aren’t leaving a loaded gun (or dog in this case) out in the open ( or locked inside your house).  Make sense?  Great!

The third step is clean up.  Learning to solve dog potty training problems at home is exactly what it sounds like: AT HOME.  Of course you are going to come home to a mess every so often.  Big deal!  That is what a dog does, while it would be nice if they didn’t do that, remember that this is the reason you are reading this article.  When you come home after work (or play..whatever it is) take your dog out immediately!  While your dog is out, clean up the mess you came home to.

The most important thing to remember is to stick with it. Treat your dog when he does something you want him to do. When he does his business out side, treat and praise him. Give him a good petting. You know the spot on your dogs neck that makes his leg shake right? Solving dog potty training problems at home isn’t the worst thing in the world! If you need more help you can always check this site out. It will help you with all things dog!  If you are trying to get through the most common dog house training problems I would suggest going here!

Dog’s Ticks – Techniques To Kill And Destroy Ticks Ultimately

by Leave a Comment

Ticks are not your ordinary pests. Although it is tiny, it can be as ferocious as a wild animal if taken for granted. They like to prey on man’s bestfriends – dogs. Not only do they suck their host’s blood, they also act as vectors, carrying certain diseases like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis. Opportunely, there are strategies to stop ticks from infesting pets and human beings. Cited below are some of them.

Yes, there are numerous strategies to remove ticks. Nevertheless, you ought to be careful when removing ticks. Rule of thumb is to remove the tick entirely and do not leave any parts behind. By doing so, you are doing more harm than good as you are exposing your pet to a number of diseases.

1. Get rid of Ticks Manually With Tweezers
Place your pet in a comfy position. Wear clean gloves. Be sure to relax the dog before you advance. Look for ticks. Spray alcohol to stop ticks. Grasp the tick with tweezers. Try to be as close to your canine’s skin as possible. Pull the tick gently using a straight and steady pulling movement. Dispose the tick properly. Clean the tweezers with alcohol.

2. Use Herbs Like Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is very efficient in removing ticks since it acts as an antibacterial astringent. Fundamentally, you apply a considerable amount of tea tree oil to a cotton q-tip. Brush the q-tip against the mini critter. Dispose it if you see it dead. However, if it jumps, be sure to catch it. Tea tree oil can also be used for cleaning the affected area after you productively removed the tick.

3. Remove Ticks With Commercial Tick Removing Products
Products for killing ticks are available everywhere. Just be sure to read their individual packaging for instructions. Frontline Plus for dogs is one of the most recommended anti tick products these days. It is very easy to use. It comes with an applicator. Just squirt the content to the affected area and it will work magically. Not only can it kill ticks, it is also used for removing fleas as well.

If you are a conscientious pet owner, you will not expect for your dog to suffer from complications before you will take the basic actions. On the other hand, the greatest management for ticks is prevention. Following are effective tips on how to prevent ticks.

1. Avoid woods and forests because ticks are prevalent in these places.

2. Maintain your lawn and your grass mowed if you have a garden at home. Insecticides to control ticks can also be applied to areas with high weeds that are not possible to be mowed.

3. Ask your vet about tick collar. Also ask about the best commercial products in the marketplace these days that can kill both ticks and fleas.

4. Consider using special shampoos to your pet that can exterminate both ticks and fleas.

Beyond doubt, ticks are very annoying. Not only does it concern dogs but also man as well. If you have pets at home, be sure that you armed yourself with the accurate information about ticks and discover how you can effectively remove them. When in doubt, consult your local veterinarian. Do not ignore these little critters because they are toxic.

Control ticks with Frontline for dogs Learn more about Frontline products and visit the site now.

Dog Training: Basic Equipment Needed To Train Your Family Dog

by Leave a Comment

Dog Training Basics

You will need three specific pieces of equipment for proper dog training: a training collar, a leather training leash, and a 15-foot length clothesline rope.

If you’re already thinking that your dog’s present leather collar will work, and that his 4-foot chain leash will suffice, you may as well stop reading this article and save yourself and your dog weeks of discomfort and hardship.  There simply is no substitute for the right training equipment. A training collar is a slip-chain type made of metal. Don’t substitute one that’s made of nylon.

————————————————————–

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

————————————————————–

One of the many things your dog is going to learn is to have confidence in you. But he will never develop that feeling of confidence if you substitute improper training equipment that will not be effective. Where there’s no confidence there can be no respect, and no respect means no desire to please. No desire to please means no willingness to learn. Add them all up and you have an uncontrollable dog that will never achieve his rightful place in human world.

The Proper Leash For Dog Trainng

Your leash should be of the regular five to six foot leather type with a hand loop at one end.

Training collars and leather training leashes are available at pet shops and via online catalogs. Training collars are sometimes called choke-chains, which is incorrect.

While it’s true that a training collar can choke, if it’s worn on the dog correctly and used properly, there’s no way it can be a choke-chain and cause harm to your pet.

The Right Collar For Dog Training

The collar should be large enough to slide over the dog’s head comfortably, but not so large as to fall over the ears if the dog should lower his head.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to place the collar on the dog and cinch it up tight for a moment and observe whether you have three inches of chain left over.

If so, you have a fairly good fit. It is better to have a training collar that’s slightly too large than one slightly too small.

Final Dog Training Necessities That You Cannot Find In A Store

The remaining equipment that you’ll need cannot be purchased at any store, but without them, you cannot successfully execute dog training.

You must love and care for your dog! You must have patience and exercise patience while your dog is learning. A shallow patience mixed with a short temper will ensure complete and utter failure.

To lose your cool and blow up means the end of dog training, so here’s a little tip that might help you keep your cool:

It takes 4 to 5 days for an average dog to learn the average thing. Do not expect your dog to perform like a professional the first few days of teaching him something new. It just doesn’t happen that way. If you lose control of yourself, you have lost control of the situation. When this happens while dog training, your dog loses confidence in you.

Dog Training – Group Dog Training Classes & What Questions To Ask The Instructor

by Leave a Comment

Are you looking for the most efficient way of training your dog in the fastest time possible?

We would all love to learn how to be world-class dog trainers and teach our puppies and adult dogs all they need to know when it comes to basic training, however, for most of us it just isn’t practical.  We have busy lives and hectic schedules and there isn’t enough time in the day to devote a lot of training towards our pets.

This is why joining a group dog training class is ideal.  Not only is it fun to watch your dog interact with the trainer and the other dogs, these classes can be a very efficient way to teach your dog the basics when it comes to the minimum requirements for an obedient pet.

One word of caution though, and that is to be very careful about which group training class you and your dog participate in. To help you become aware of what questions to ask the trainer of these classes, below are a few pointers to get you going.

1. For starters, ask the instructor exactly what your dog will learn in the class. You want to be sure that the basic commands are going to be taught.  Such examples are learning to Sit, Stay, Come, Heel, and Down. And on the same note, ask the dog trainer if he or she will also take time to go over these commands with you so that you can help your dog master them in your spare time.

2. Group dog training classes should not be too large in numbers. To avoid getting involved in a class that has too many dogs, be sure to ask the instructor the number of dogs and puppies that will be participating. A good rule of thumb to look for in terms of members is between five and fifteen. 15 dogs is of course on the high side.  Any more than that then you may be paying for classes without your dog getting the full benefits of training that is offered.

3. Dogs and bad behavior sometimes go hand in hand.  It’s the nature of the beast, literally.  So ask the instructor if he or she discusses behavior problems during the class. It is not typical for a group class to go full-blown into dog behavior training because it is this area that becomes a little more personal and unique to each individual dog. However, it is a good sign if the class discusses basic behavior problems and how to counter them in training your dog.

Recent Blog Posts