STRANGER DANGER …

As dog lovers, we all want to believe that every dog we meet is a happy and well-adjusted dog that loves to be petted and played with! We also want to think that our dog will get along with every dog it meets because it is socially well adjusted. Unfortunately that is nowhere near the truth!

Case in Point:
My dog and I were enjoying our walk several weeks ago when we came in contact with an elderly gentleman who was walking his two little dachshunds. Its was one of those peaceful scenes that would make a great painting.

As we got closer to them, the dogs both exploded into a volley of uncontrollable barking and began lunging in our direction. In itself, this is not that uncommon. But this time it raised some concerns with me. That was because just a few houses away from us were several small children playing in the front yard. They looked to be between 4-7 years of age.

With their tails tucked and the hair on the back of their necks standing straight up, these two dogs were showing me signs of fear aggression. They were obviously very uncomfortable and warning us to back away. The owner was apologetic. I assured him that I understood the situation and we moved back and across the street to help defuse it.

We held our position for a minute or two and watched them move down the street. As they did, I noticed that the man also crossed the street to make more distance between himself and the kids. I was glad to see that he was aware of the possible issues at hand.

My concern became confirmed as I saw one of the kids run to the curb as the two dogs began to pass by. I held my breath for a few seconds, but relaxed when I heard the child ask if she could pet the dogs.

The man thanked the little girl for asking but told her that his dogs were not used to being around kids so she better not approach them. Needless to say I was very impressed with both the child and the dog owner.

After giving the man a minute to make his way down the street, we continued down the street. Sure enough, the girl asked me if she could pet my dog. So I put my dog in a “sit” and told her it was OK to come over. I took the opportunity to praise her for “asking” before she approached us.

Just then the little girl’s mom came out of the house and asked what was going on. I explained the situation and told the mom that I was very impressed with her little girl. After talking with the mom for a few minutes I found out that the family had just gotten a new Yorkie from the shelter last week and that she is teaching the kids about dogs. I told her about “A Better Dog 4U” and told them if they needed any Dog Training Tips I would be more than happy to help them if they wanted it. Then we continued on our way.

For many years we have made a very big deal of teaching our kids about the dangers of talking to strangers. Tehe fact of the matter is that not all dangerous strangers are humans! It’s also very important to teach our children about the dangers of approaching dogs, cats and other animals that they don’t know.

Many thousands of dog bites can be prevented and the lives of thousands of good dogs could be saved every years if teachers, parents and dog owners would just take just a few moments to instruct kids they know about these dangers.

It’s up to all of us to keep our loved ones safe. The human ones … and our pets!

Why You Should Never HIT Your Dog!

All dogs misbehave from time to time. When this happens it is very tempting to correct the bad behavior with a swat on the butt, or another handy place on your dog’s body. But you should never discipline your dog in this way.

Spanking or other physical corrections can be confusing or frustrating to your dog.

If your dog is acting out, or not following your instructions, you need to ask yourself “WHY” this is happening. Some of the reasons why may be:

1). The dog does not understand the dog training.
2). Something in the environment may have the dog over stimulated or distracted.
3). Doing what you asked may cause the dog pain or fear.
4). The training has not been proofed enough.

Dogs are not vindictive and do not intentionally disobey. Spanking or hitting your dog can cause the dog to become hand-shy or fearful of you. If your dog becomes fearful, it can cause the dog to lash out and bite you or someone else nearby.

Hitting your dog will never teach him the desired behavior.

Dogs will only listen to you if they trust you and respect you. If you break that trust your dog is never going to listen to you. Instead of hitting, take a step back and figure out why the dog isn’t listening to you. If you can’t figure it out, contact a local training or ask your veterinarian for advice.

Need Help? Contact Us @ http://www.ABETTERDOG4U.com

Reasons Why Talking to Your Dog Is Important in Training

I’ll be the first to admit that I talk out loud to my dog.

It is well known that talking to newborn babies in a kind and reassuring voice improves bonding between the parent and child. Much less know is that people who talk their dogs tend to have a much stronger bond with their dogs than those owners who don’t.

A lot of people talk to their dogs, but I’m not talking about all of those words like “Get Back Here,””No No No, Not in the House,” and “Leave The Cat Alone.” I’m talking about the same types of conversations you might have with that baby or even your best friend.

OK, I’ll give you that it can be a bit embarrassing when you get caught talking to your dog about your new boss, or the argument you had with your spouse last night. For this reason you may want to use a “filter” when you talk to your dog in public. Maybe save the juicy stuff for when you are behind closed doors.

Here are several good reasons we should all have daily conversations with our dogs.

– Researchers have proven that dogs understand a lot of what we say by using cognitive association. Without understanding all of our words, dogs are capable of reading our body language and the tone of our voice in order to determine our state of mind at that moment in time.

It has also been suggested that the sounds we make help to develop an emotional feeling long before words have any meaning to them. This means that dogs read us by our body language and tone before they hear the words we speak.

– While all dogs are as different as all humans, it is a known fact that most dogs can understand as many as several hundred words.

During training an average dog is training to recognize as few as eight words and as many as one hundred depending on the kind and amount of tasks it is being train to complete. Most of this training is done through word association. We teach the dog to realize that when it hears a sound that sounds like “Sit” it needs to put its butt on the ground in order to get a reward.

Most of us also know that there are a few words that we must S-P-E-L-L O-U-T in order to keep the dog from associating the sound of it to something that it knows and understands. Dogs are capable of understanding long strings of words if they are repeating often enough. I have actually taught all of my dogs the phrase, “Don’t You Make Me Come Over There.”

– As we mentioned earlier, dogs read our body language and our tone of voice.

While there are other ways to relate to your dog, people who take the time to regularly talk to their dogs tend to have a stronger bond with them. That bond enforces trust and respect between the dog and the human.

Being closely bonded with your dog will make training easier because the dog will trust that you are asking it to do something it needs to know to please you.  They see it as being mutually beneficial.

– There is an old saying: “If you have a dog you have a workout buddy, a best friend and a therapist all rolled into one.” That’s actually a lot closer to the truth than you might think.

While it is normal to contemplate issues and problems, talking to your dog can help you verbalize them which can help you work them out much quicker.

Talking to dogs is proven to help children too. There are programs that provide dogs to children who have reading and speaking problems. Dogs help them because they are a non-judgmental friend and companion who is only there to listen.

Talking to dogs also helps the elderly reconnect and stay active when they are on their own or in retirement or nursing facilities. Animals of all kinds have also been shown to have the ability to open the lines of communication from children with autism who have been previously unwilling to interact with family and caregivers.

Need Help Training You Dog? We Can Help! Contact Us at: http://www.ABETTERDOG4U.com

The Power of a Smile

There is nothing like coming home after a trying day and seeing the smile of your best friend.

It changes your attitude, and it puts life back into perspective.

BLACK DOGS MATTER

It’s called Black Dog Syndrome or Big Black Dog Syndrome (BDS or BBDS). It’s a problem that every animal shelter and dog rescue in the world understands all to well.

This phenomenon could be due to a number of things. Geographic location, fear of certain breed types or the fact that large black dogs are thought to be dangerous because they are portrayed that way in films and on television.

BIG BLACK DOGS — THE PROBLEM

Did you know that black dogs, especially large breed dogs, such as Labs, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Chows, Newfoundlands, and even mixed breeds are usually the last ones to be adopted from shelters or rescue groups? Black dogs are often euthanized at a higher rate than other coat colors.

Here are some other reasons given for why black-coated dogs don’t get adopted as easily.

• They don’t show or photograph well in a kennel setting.
• It isn’t easy to distinguish their features.
• If they have any gray or white hairs on their face, they often appear older than they are.
• They often don’t look as cute as lighter coated dogs.

As to location, In European and British folklore black dogs often appear as evil forces and death. Writers like Sir Walter Scott and Arthur Conan Doyle perpetuated this superstition by using spectral hounds, usually black and fearsome, in their stories and poems.

Some people believe the superstition that suggests that “black is evil” like the symbolism of Scar vs. Mufasa in “The Lion King.” In a 2011 study by the ASPCA, appearance was the most frequently cited reason for adopters of both puppies (29 percent) and adult dogs (26 percent).

This issue has been gaining media attention since the mid-2000s. Tamara Delaney, an early activist against black dog syndrome, developed a website called Black Pearl Dogs in 2004 specifically to address the issue, both by educating the public about its existing, as well as showcasing individual dogs available for adoption.

As one who as adopted a black dog, I’d suggest that they are just a sweet, and just a loving as any other color of dog. She was a great companion and a great teacher. She was loved by everyone she met (animal and human) and when the chance arises again I’ll be the first one to adopt another Big Black Dog …

Dog’s Always Welcome, Humans, Not So Much

Here’s a bit of humor to help you thru your Monday.

Becoming The Person Your Dog Thinks You Are

There are a whole host of “self Improvement” books, tapes and classes you can buy or take to help you become a better person.

But before you spend the money, I submit that ALL you really need to do is sit down and be honest with yourself. Look at who you are now, what you want from your life and where you want to be 5, 10 or 25 years from now.

The best way to do this is to make three lists.

On the first list write down everything you like about yourself and your life. On the second list right down everything you want to be or add to your life. One the third list wright down everything you want to remove from your life.

Then make the necessary adjustments.

The somewhat easier way is to just become the person that your dog thinks you are! It’s amazing how observant they are, and they will tell you when you have got it right!!!

If you don’t have a dog, you really need to get one. They are great insight into how to live life to the fullest. Go to a local shelter and get one. Your life (and the life of that dog) will be much better for it.

Got a minute or two?

Visit:
http://www.abetterdog4u.com
http://www.iowadogtrust.org

A Best Friend’s Devotion

I recently ran across this quote and wanted to share it.

I can’t think of anything that brings me closer to tears than when my old dog — completely exhausted after a hard day in the field — limps away from her nice spot in front of the fire and comes over to where I’m sitting and puts her head in my lap, a paw over my knee, and closes her eyes and goes back to sleep. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve that kind of friend.” — Gene Hill

Question and Answer Time.

In and effort to help make the lives of dogs and humans better we’d like to offer you any help you might need.

Do you have any questions, comments …. or even some good answers about dogs, dog training, healthcare & maintanence of dogs?

Post them here and if we can’t give you an answer, we’ll find some who can!

Patchs and Neka Playing

This is a video of Patchs and Neka playing. It was taken in my back yard in June 2009. This kind of play session happened 2-3 time per day, everyday! And they both looked forward to some rough-housing to burn off their extra energy.

If you read my past few posts you will remember that Neka was a “basket case” when I got her. The Rescue I got her from told me that she was so anti-social that she would never be able to be around other dogs, and would have to be the “only” dog in the household. They also had concerns about her being around kids and men as she seamed to be very fearful.

This video was taken almost 22 months after I got Neka. By this time I had worked with her for hundreds of hours. Both alone and in controlled situations with people and with other dogs. She was pretty well over her fear issues and had been well socialized. She had learned that dogs and humans were her friends and she loved to play with other dogs and loved to be around people, especially little kids.

When this video was taken Patchs had been living with us for about 2 months and it was like they had been best buddies for ever. They bonded almost instantly! In the 3+ years they were together they only had one little issue and it was over a treat that fell on the floor. The whole thing lasted about 2 seconds because I was right there to stop it as it started! (Patchs started it).

Socializing dogs correctly is the key. With these two, it took me almost a full month of backyard playtimes to make sure that they were cool with each other in every situation before I agreed to bring Patchs into our home!

Socializing is not rocket science. It is just a matter of being aware of the dog’s personality and body language, and then being able to control situations before they get out of hand. This comes by bonding with the dog as soon as you can. Being able to stop play sessions like this one when I saw things starting to “heat up” kept them from playing to rough or going to far. A simple “Enough” followed by “Lay Down” given to each dog was like pushing the “restart” button.

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