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.

Dog Language Info That Will Astound You

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Dogs communicate using a rather unique language. Learning to understanding this “language” will greatly improve the relationship you have with your dog. Not only that, but when it comes to training you will seriously turbo-charge your results by communicating to your dog on his level.

Unfortunately, no-one has yet written a handy reference guide, but by following the guidelines set out below you’ll quickly be up to speed on what your dog is trying to tell you.

Here are some of the most common dog language cues you’ll need to know.

Standing Rigid – When a dog adopts a very rigid stance, he could be telling you to back off and leave him alone. He may also adopt this stance when he is protecting some possession. Give your dog a bone or a biscuit when there are other dogs around and you’ll see what I mean.

Showing the Teeth – Dogs don’t just attack out of the blue, they normally give a warning first. Flashing the teeth may be first warning that a dog is about to attack. Your best bet when this happens is to stand down.

Growling – Showing the teeth will often be accompanied by a low, rumbling growl. If that doesn’t work the dog make well bite.Many people scold or punish the dog for growling or showing its teeth. This is dangerous because if the dog is not allowed to give a warning he may escalate straight to an attack.

Raising the Hackles – When a dog raises the hair on his back, he is trying to look bigger in order to scare off a threat. It is often a sign of heightened fear, and means to dog may attack.

Tail between the legs – Typically, this indicates, timidity, fear or anxiety. There may be a number of causes for the behavior, such as separation anxiety, or being introduced to an unfamiliar person or dog. Often the behavior will be accompanied by submissive urination.

Putting the head down – Depending on the context this could be a attempt by a submissive dog to avoid eye contact. Or it could be a playful gesture.

Raised Paw -A raised paw is a playful gesture, which means, “ let’s be friends”.

Wagging the tail – The tail is one of the dog’s most important communication devices, and the one that is most often misinterpreted. A common belief is that a wagging tail suggests happiness, but this is only true if the tail is being wagged loosely.A tail that is flicked side to side in short rigid movements suggests agitation. And if the tail is tucked between the legs and wagging slightly, the dog is insecure and fearful.

Dogs rely greatly on body language and gestures for communication. A dog may learn to obey voice commands, but in their world body language will always mean more.

Learn to interpret their language and you’ll understand your dog that much better.

Want to discover more about dog training tips, dog care, dog breeds a-z and other interesting dog info? Stop by at www.dogsanddogtraining.com

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

7 Ways To Get Your Dog To Stop Chewing Your Stuff

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Does your dog seem to have an oral fixation? Does he want to put things in his mouth that he shouldn’t? Dogs chew objects for a variety of reasons. Puppies chew because they are teething. When an owner, family member, or other pet is gone, chewing may become a compulsive behavior due to separation anxiety. If your dog’s chewing is gnawing at your nerves, follow some of the suggestions below to curb the crunching.

1. Whenever possible, keep objects away from your dog that he finds fun to chew, whether it be your freshly washed socks, pieces of string, or ribbon from packages or gifts.

2. Spray bitter apple on objects, such as electrical cords, wires, computer connections, and other sensitive material to prevent your dog from sinking his teeth into them.

3. Rub favorite objects with scented oils that are unappealing to your dog, such as eucalyptus, cinnamon, or citrus. Of course be sure that the scent is something that you enjoy.

4. Spray a cologne that is not your scent onto objects to dissuade the chewer. Doing so will not be a welcoming sign to your dog since it is not “you” that he smells.

5. If your dog is teething, offer him a variety of chew toys and direct his attention to them when you observe him chewing something he shouldn’t. Rawhides are always an excellent choice.

6. Crate or kennel training may be the solution for a dog that chews on objects while his owner is away. Placing your dog in a crate while you are at work may save your home from being chewed up. Place your dog’s belongings, food, and water in the crate so that he will feel secure. Have a friend, neighbor, or pet-sitter walk and play with your pooch midday to give him some exercise.

7. If your dog engages in destructive chewing, especially if the target is a part of his own body, it could be a sign of boredom. Schedule regular play sessions each day so that your dog will anticipate them. Take your dog on regular walks instead of just letting him outside on a chain or in an enclosed yard to find something to do on his own. Make sure he has your complete attention during the play sessions and does not have to share you with the telephone, the television, or other disturbances around the house or around the neighborhood.

Understanding Dog Behaviour for Successful Dog Training

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The normal mistake is that most people always thought dog behavior as can only be good or bad where actually it is most likely be both.

Behavior challenges are as widespread with dogs as they are with us humans.

Just like people, where behavior can be shaped and replaced, dog behavior can be altered by modification programs.

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Training Tips To Get Your Dog To Obey!

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Behavior modification engage consideration, and alteration of dog behavior through reward and punishment exercises conducted again and again which at times can last for weeks or months.

The belief that you cannot train an old dog new tricks is certainly erroneous. Even though there is no guarantee that training will solve all dog behavioral problems, they do establish a solid groundwork for solving just about any dog problem.

Understanding that dog behavior changes quickly from time to time, constant training and consistency is therefore important in shaping dogs behavior.

Since dogs are unlike people who adapt their many behavioral qualities from their ancestors, people have the psychological competence to self-alter their behavioral instinct with an improved behavior by logical reckoning which are not likely with dogs.

However since dog behavior are most of the times developed from where they live and who has owned them before, it is absolutely likely that the change of owner behavior and environment where the dog is living could modify their behavior traits.

There again, once you understood the reason following each of the dog behavior problems, then you can solve it by modification programs, whether the behavior challenges comes from separation anxiety, territorial aggression, health issues or awful previous owners.

These grounds are as valid as the grounds sometimes we as human being misbehave, like littering, throwing tantrums, and other behavior nuisance that we normally felt as a turned off in this civilized world.

For example, your dog might be misbehaving because to separation anxiety, and then you know how to precondition your dog to your absence by giving a safe toy and by increasing the absence of your company gradually.

While if your dog show aggression due to territorial protectiveness, then you can condition him to more public places so that your dog can be used to more people and show a lesser amount of aggression due to his territorial protectiveness.

For as long as you start your modification programs with the right mindset that there is nothing uncommon about your dog behaviour problems, then you will have a much special relationship with your dog.

Starting with this right mindset and attitude is the one thing you need to have in order to be a responsible dog owner.

Then again, to be more effective in training your dog, it is recommended that you know what kind or method to be used based on the reason behind the behaviour problems and this is where knowledge is significant.

You should get a good dog training Manual that can help you determine the modification exercises to be carried out.

At the end of the day dog training should comes with a fruitful and meaningful relationship between your dog and yourself. The effort spent on training your dog will certainly be worth it. Do it right and do it well and you will reap the rewards.

Leo Enoch is providing a Free Tips and Information on Effective dog training Solution. Visit: http://Blog.DogTrainingSolution.com

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Puppies ? The Problem With Raising Two Or More Puppies Of The Same Age

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When looking for a new puppy and attempting to decide which pick of the litter is best for you, there may be a time when you can’t choose just one. However, you may want to consider the pros and cons of raising two puppies that are the same age.

Choosing two puppies may be more trouble than it’s worth

When you raise two puppies that are the same age and from the same litter, there will be a natural hierarchy which develops and one of the dogs will grow up to be more dominant and bossy than the other. This means that the more submissive puppy may grow up without the proper social skills needed to be self-confident.

The dominant dog may grow increasingly aggressive towards the other dog when it comes to being the leader in all situations. This leadership role, while a natural part of nature, can unfortunately diminish your other dog’s ability to cope with certain situations and possibly develop stress related mental conditions. And in addition, both dogs will suffer from separation anxiety when they are apart from one another.

Be prepared for some dog fighting

As they grow older, the two dogs will eventually establish their roles with one another and you will rarely have to worry about your adult dogs fighting. On the other hand, in the beginning, when these puppies are young, both of them will have a natural tendency to physically fight with one another when it comes to competition. Such competitive situations would include getting more attention than the other, feeding times, and of course dominance over toys.

This situation will call for firm behavioral training and conditioning. If left unchecked, your puppies can hurt one another and the one dog who becomes the non-leader (submissive) may develop deep anxiety issues when he becomes an adult. All of these concerns become amplified if your dogs are of the same sex.

Having two puppies may hinder their training and behavior progress

This is an important aspect of bringing two or more puppies into the house that many dog owners do not take into consideration. Your two puppies will be so preoccupied with one another that they may not be drawn to needing your attention as much as you would like, or need for training purposes.

While this may not seem like such a bad thing, consider what happens when you are trying to train your puppies with the basic commands and rules of the house. The job will be much harder and stressful on you because their attention is understandably occupied by each other’s company, and not your commands.

Puppies ? The Problem With Raising Two Or More Puppies Of The Same Age

by Leave a Comment

When looking for a new puppy and attempting to decide which pick of the litter is best for you, there may be a time when you can’t choose just one. However, you may want to consider the pros and cons of raising two puppies that are the same age.

Choosing two puppies may be more trouble than it’s worth

When you raise two puppies that are the same age and from the same litter, there will be a natural hierarchy which develops and one of the dogs will grow up to be more dominant and bossy than the other. This means that the more submissive puppy may grow up without the proper social skills needed to be self-confident.

The dominant dog may grow increasingly aggressive towards the other dog when it comes to being the leader in all situations. This leadership role, while a natural part of nature, can unfortunately diminish your other dog’s ability to cope with certain situations and possibly develop stress related mental conditions. And in addition, both dogs will suffer from separation anxiety when they are apart from one another.

Be prepared for some dog fighting

As they grow older, the two dogs will eventually establish their roles with one another and you will rarely have to worry about your adult dogs fighting. On the other hand, in the beginning, when these puppies are young, both of them will have a natural tendency to physically fight with one another when it comes to competition. Such competitive situations would include getting more attention than the other, feeding times, and of course dominance over toys.

This situation will call for firm behavioral training and conditioning. If left unchecked, your puppies can hurt one another and the one dog who becomes the non-leader (submissive) may develop deep anxiety issues when he becomes an adult. All of these concerns become amplified if your dogs are of the same sex.

Having two puppies may hinder their training and behavior progress

This is an important aspect of bringing two or more puppies into the house that many dog owners do not take into consideration. Your two puppies will be so preoccupied with one another that they may not be drawn to needing your attention as much as you would like, or need for training purposes.

While this may not seem like such a bad thing, consider what happens when you are trying to train your puppies with the basic commands and rules of the house. The job will be much harder and stressful on you because their attention is understandably occupied by each other’s company, and not your commands.

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