Hunting Dogs

Today's article was on 'Hunting Dogs' where I went over the different breeds of hunting dogs there are to choose from. Here I'd like to offer you some great training material that will help you get started training your hunting dog.

George Hickox

This guy is an amazing bird dog trainer and has some excellent products to offer. I have a few of his videos and haven't been let down by them in any way. I will recommend him to anyone. His training is effective, fast, makes sense and works very well! George Hickox has his own training program and has trained several hunting champions over the years.

My favorite of his DVDs is The Pointing Dog DVD Collection of Volumes 1 through 4 . These DVDs are well worth the money and cover a lot of ground. By the end of these, you and your dog will be be hunting together for sure. If you don't own a pointer, here's his Flushing DVD Collection of Volumes 1 through 3. George Hickox also offers this great Flushing Dog Training Package for a great deal!

Those videos cover how to train any breed of bird dog weather they point or flush. Just be sure to get the set that fits your dog! You won't be let down, I've thoroughly enjoyed his videos and will buy many more of his products.

Once your dog is out in the field, you might need a way of keeping track of him! Take a look at some of these great tracking devices.

Garmin Astro 220 Dog Tracking GPS Bundle with DC40 Wireless Transmitter Collar

The Garmin Astro is in my opinion the best on the market right now. Just like an actual GPS, you can really see where your dog is at and even mark where birds have been found. That way on your next trip, you can remember exactly where you found the birds last time. Has a lot of benefits to it, click the link above to read more.

GARMIN 010-11049-00 Astro DC 30 Wirelesss Collar Transmitter

This one isn't as great as the GPS above, but it is a lot cheaper. So if your on a budget check out that one.

You'll also want to check into some remote collars, here's one to get you started: Dogtra 1900NCP Field Star 1/2 mile Training Collar Single Dog If you don't like that one, once your there just do a search for remote collars and you can shop around.

The great thing about George Hickox is he also incorporates clicker training into his training, though you don't have to use it, if it interests you then it's there. George Hickox has great ideas, is clear and easy to follow. His training is simple and you get a great hunting dog out of it. Be sure to at least check out his videos, you'll be happy you did.

Dog Chasing

I covered the reason behind 'Dogs That Chase' in today's article. So here I am going to go over how to stop unwanted dog chasing. I am also going to show you a few different things that will help you further in training your dog not to chase things.

For everything you do with your dog, there are different ways to go about training it. Most people out there now are all about Positive Reinforcement training. Hey I'm with you! I love positive reinforcement training. Though you can use positive reinforcement training with dogs that chase, lets look at a few things first.

Using positive reinforcement for dogs that chase can take months of training at times and sometimes is never fully reliable. Another thing about positive reinforcement is most dogs find the thing they want to chase MUCH more rewarding than what you are trying to offer them. Still, using positive reinforcement can have great rewards when training your dog. Though it might take months of training, it can be quite effective. How reliable your dog becomes is completely up to you on how much you work with your dog.

If you use the removal technique, where you remove the dog from the situation every time they show interest, though it can prove to be effective but again it can take a long time before your dog catches on to what you are wanting. Even though it can take a while, it's a good way to teach your dog how to act around that animal.

Now someone mentioned to me the other day, they were having trouble with their dog being obsessive with their cat, that they would rather not use pain or fear to train their dog. I didn't recommend pain or fear to train their dog, I was suggesting a trainer who uses the same technique a pack of dogs would use on themselves. A language dogs understand. Not pain or fear.

Besides the point, how about asking the cat about this? How do you think the cat feels being tortured by the dog on a daily basis. Do you think the cat would want you to take months trying to fix this problem or a few minutes? I'm pretty sure the cat would disagree with the statement the person said above.

Now what if the dog had a serious problem of chasing cars or people on a bike and the dog was biting the person on the bike? You chose the positive approach, taking a long time to teach the dog and not always reliable. What if one day the dog got out and a person went by on a bike? Your dog has not had any discipline for chasing and biting the person on the bike and so does it anyways, even with you calling them to you. I bet the person on the bike would much rather you took the few minutes to teach your dog not to chase and bite as well. What if the same situation went on, but with the car. What if that time your dog got hit by that car? Wouldn't you wish you would have took the few minutes to teach your dog not to chase the car instead of the few months trying not to be 'mean' to your dog?

I will point out again Positive Reinforcement can be very effective and in the long run can be very beneficial in teaching your dog not to chase.

Lets talk about Discipline for a minute shall we? All life forms need Discipline! It's they way of life. Try never giving your kid any discipline and see what happens. They will test you, usually become unruly, and do whatever they want. They will walk all over you. All animals use some sort of discipline on each other. Adults have Discipline too, if we didn't the world would be insane. Rules, the law, it's all a form of Discipline. So why when it comes to our dogs do we think they don't need any? They most certainly do.

Discipline can be as simple as setting rules then reinforcing those rules with rewards or with holding of a reward. It can be a dog not getting what they want or it could be a correction with the use of a collar. Discipline could be a simple ah ah or no word, a tap on the shoulder to remind them to pay attention. Discipline comes in many forms. Please don't think I'm saying to go hit your dog or anything of that sort!

Again I will say I love positive reinforcement training, it works very well and can be very effective. Though with out Discipline, what is to stop a dog that is about to chase a rabbit? You think you have a great recall, you've used lots of treats, then a rabbit takes off and your dog loves rabbits. Your dog takes off after the rabbit, you call the dog and the dog responds 'Be back in a minute for my treat! I have to get this first!'. What if that rabbit was headed for the road? You see where I'm going with this?

Depending on how well you've done with your dog with positive reinforcement training, depends on how that situation would actually play out. Maybe you've done a great job at training your dog and your dog whips right around and comes back to you. That's GREAT! It is possible! So if you like Positive reinforcement training, then definitely go that route!

I'm just saying it is something to think about when your trying to stand up for positive reinforcement training. I've been there, I've done the same, but my eyes have been opened. Of course there have been many people that are very successful with pure positive reinforcement training, that's wonderful. More power to them.

Yes I went off topic a bit in all that but it was something that needed to be said.

The system that I have, have tried, and has worked the best in the chasing things area is Don Sullivan's Secrets to Training the Perfect Dog [DVD]. He shows you how to take his techniques and quickly put an end to Dog Chasing. No more chasing cats, cars, animals, or anything else. His DVDs cover a wide range of topics and are well worth the money.

Here are some videos on people who have used his system;



As you can see this dog also had an issue chasing the horses, it's not mentioned but it's in there. At the end you can see him walking calmly by the horse, off leash.



This dog didn't have a chasing problem, but you can see some of the other behaviors Don's system can help you with.



These guys show you a way to apply more boundary training, in the DVDs, he shows you how to train your dog not to run into the road at all.

Don's system does not use pure positive reinforcement, he uses a system of prasie, toys and freedom of being off leash and discipline. His system fixes the behavior quickly and long term.

If you'd rather go a different route, you can try Don't Dump the Dog: Outrageous Stories and Simple Solutions to Your Worst Dog Behavior Problems. I haven't read this book so I can't tell you if it will help or not. I also don't know if they use positive reinforcement or a different method.

You could also try Dog Training Secrets. They have a lot of things to offer you and looks like they could help in a lot of areas as well. I haven't tried them so I can't tell you from my own experience.

If your against the Discipline, this looks like a good system, it's called the Dog Training Tutor. Once again I can't tell you from my own experience how good their system is.

Take a look at all of them, read the reviews and see what you think. Hopefully you can stop your dog's chasing behavior quickly before somebody gets hurt. Train positively or use some discipline, choose what you want but do something about it. Dogs that chase is very unsafe for everyone and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Use the method that works for you and your dog. I'm not trying to talk bad about positive reinforcement, if it works for you and your dog then by all means use it! It's a great way to train and fun. If your against using treats in training or they aren't working well for you, then try Don's system.

Dog Aggression

Today's article was all about 'Dominance Aggression'. There are several different types of aggression. With every different type of aggression, there is also a different way to help and solve each type of aggression. Since today's article was on Dominant dogs, I would like to offer some things that will help you with that type of aggression. I recommend taking a look at the reviews on these to get a better idea of which one might help you out the most.

Dog Aggression: Fighting is a DVD by the very well known Dr. Ian Dunbar.

Cesar's Way. A book by the well known Cesar Millan

Aggression in Dogs by Brenda Aloff

Cesar Millan - Aggression A DVD all about Dog Aggression. The reviews look good on this one.

Don't Dump the Dog: Outrageous Stories and Simple Solutions to Your Worst Dog Behavior Problems This book has 22 5 star Reviews, and the latest review is a true review on the book, check it out.

I will recommend you all once again to Don Sullivan The Perfect Dog His system is great and can turn dogs around pretty fast.

If you'd like to learn secrets to dog training Click Here!

Click Here to see a lot of products that can help you tremendously with your training and helping with aggression issues.

Hopefully you found something that will help you and your dog get through any aggression issues or even simple behavior problems your going through.

Introducing a New Dog Part 2

Today's article was 'Introducing a New Dog Part 1' so you might want to read that first before reading part 2.

If your having trouble with your new dog and your dog not getting along, there are some things you can do. One thing to keep in mind though, is how bad are they not getting along? If they really don't like each other, is it fair to either of them to keep this new dog? If they aren't getting along at all, even though there are things we can do, you will probably not be able to trust the two together. Is this something your willing to take on?

First thing we can do, is introduce both dogs to the Clicker. Make sure both dogs understand what the click means, bring them into the same area, but far apart from each other. You'll need another person to help you, each of you handling each dog. You want to click and reward each time the dog looks away from the other dog. Once your dog is focusing on you, more than the other dog you can move in closer. Continue clicking and rewarding each dog for ignoring the other dog.

You want to move in closer very slowly, inches at a time. Once your able to be about 5-10 feet from each other, start walking both dogs, keeping that distance between you. Keep clicking and rewarding for the dogs not paying any attention to the other dog. You'll have to use your own judgment here on when to move closer together. You only want to move closer when both dogs are doing really good on focusing on you. Remember, dogs are dogs and an attack can break out at any time. If your uncomfortable with this and really bad about reading dog body language, I recommend getting a professional to help you.

As you get closer, make sure the dogs are focusing on you. If dogs are doing extremely well, face one dog's butt towards the other one, click and reward the dog and keep his head occupied. You should pet him, holding his neck so he can't turn to bite the other dog. If he's being good you should also be treating him with your other hand. Let the other dog sniff him and be sure to reward that dog for good behavior too, not showing any sign of dominance. Now do the same with the other dog, letting that dog sniff. After doing this, please don't think both dogs are fine now and you can just let them play. You want to continue this for a few weeks, and. Go different places and practice, practice in the house, practice having dogs do obedience or tricks while in the same room. You want to do this until each dog is no longer showing ANY aggression signs towards each other. Even then you have to really watch them.

I highly recommend a professional to help you through this.

You might look into It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet, if your familiar with the TV show It's Me or the Dog, this is a book written by Victoria herself. I have not read it, so I don't know if it covers anything pertaining to introducing two dogs to each other. I do know Victoria follows this method of introducing dogs though.

Another that might help you is Cesar's Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog. Another favorite among many is Cesar Millan. Though I have read one of Cesar's books and it was a good read, I haven't read this one. So once again I don't know if it would help you with introducing dogs or not.

Here's one I've recommended before and will recommend many more times is Don Sullivan's The Perfect Dog. Since the DVD on Amazon is so high priced, this time I've linked you directly to the thane website where you can find lots of information on Don and his products. Watch videos and read testimonials. Once again I have his system myself and promise you, this is the real deal. I will say once again if you are all about positive reinforcement training and clicker training, you will NOT be happy with his system. He doesn't use treats at all and relies on a system of praise, toys, and freedom, along with discipline. If treats and clickers aren't working for you, get his system. This system WILL help you in introducing two dogs and much more. You will be happy with how much information you will gain from his 2 DVD set. Here are a couple of videos to show you what I mean:





I have done his method on introducing several dogs, and yes they actually do respond exactly how the dogs in those videos do. It can be done.

Hopefully you find something that works for you and you can get your dogs doing good together. Dog aggression is difficult to explain when writing, and can be unethical to give tips when you haven't seen the situation. I recommend educating yourself, and getting help from a Professional if your having trouble with your dogs. Find a method that works for you, if one method isn't working, try another one. Not all training methods work for every dog.

Also, we now have our own online store. Go to the link on the right and feel free to browse through.

Bringing Home a New Puppy

Today's article 'Searching For a Dog' was all about finding a new dog or puppy. So today's blog entry is all about bringing home a new puppy or a new dog.

The first day of bringing home a new puppy or new dog is one of the most important days for your new puppy. (New puppy will stand for new dog too from here down so I don't have to continually repeat it). The first week of bringing home a new puppy is also very important. The fist day will probably be very overwhelming for your new puppy, though you need to start with the rules of the house right away.

Teaching your puppy the rules of the house needs to start on day one. If you let your puppy get away with things on day one that you don't want him doing at all after day one, you will make things very unclear for your new puppy. So how do you go about teaching this new puppy who doesn't speak our language the rules of your house?

First thing's first, be sure he's on a leash! I can not say this enough! Do NOT under any circumstance let your puppy off the leash inside of your house. This is just asking for the puppy to chew things up and pee on the floor. Letting your puppy off the leash in your home on day one or even the first week for that matter, is setting both of you up to fail. I know it can be a hassle, but please, keep your puppy on leash and you will be very thankful you did.

What is the benefit of the leash? Having a leash on your new puppy, helps you keep track of your puppy. I recommend at least a 6 foot leash and if you need to, tie the end of it to your belt. Have your puppy with you guarantees your puppy can not go hide behind the sofa and pee, or find something to chew up while your not looking. It reminds you to keep an eye on your new puppy. It helps you learn your puppy's signals when they need to go outside.

What happens if you are too busy and it would be impossible to have your puppy on a leash tied to you? Your puppy needs to be in a crate or pen where he can not get into any trouble or have any accidents in the house! This is a MUST not an option. Remember puppies have very small bladders, some needing to go out every 10 or 15 minutes. Set a timer so you remember to take your puppy out. For more on house training, you can read more on our house training blog entry on the link to your right. For more on Crate training, you will also find that link to your right.

By doing these two things, your puppy will be well on his way to success in learning the rules in your home and developing wonderful habits! Keep a Clicker and some treats on hand so you can reward your puppy any time they do something good. What kind of good things can your puppy do good? Well lets see...

Any time your puppy sits, lays down, chews on his own toys, potties outside, is quiet in the crate, is keeping the leash loose, or is walking by your side. All of these are reward-able and your puppy will offer on his own all of these. Using the Clicker you can capture each of these and get a head start on training your new puppy. You didn't even have to do anything! Your puppy offered them all!

By following this simple plan, your new dog or puppy will be well on their way to being a well behaved dog in your home. Be sure to get your copies of Click for Joy! and Clicking With Your Dog.

If you'd like something to really get you started with your new puppy, check out Karen Pryor, Getting Started: Clicker Training for Dogs Kit that should cover everything you need to get started! Getting these books beforehand is also a great idea and will give you a lot of ideas on what you can do on your first day. If your one of those people who would rather watch a DVD than read a book and get started right away, check out Karen Pryor, Clicker Puppy DVD it will give you a lot of great tips to get you started!


Good luck with bringing home a new puppy! Before you leave, here's a nice video I found on the perfect puppy setup.



A Great set up I have to agree, but not all houses are set up that nicely. You can also train your puppy barrier control easy enough with out the use of baby gates. Check out Don Sullivan's Secrets to Training the Perfect Dog [DVD]. Though Don doesn't use treats in training, I'm sure you could find a way to use the clicker to train the barriers. Don doesn't just do barriers in the house, but also outside to keep your dog in the yard. His DVD is high priced at Amazon, you can get it a lot cheaper at Thane.com

You might also check out our latest Squidoo page on Puppy Teething

Happy Training!

Motivating the Non-Treat or Toy Motivated Dog

Today we covered how to motivate your dog in our article "Motivating Your Dog" however we didn't cover just how to motivate that dog, that doesn't like treats or toys. Here I hope to help you with just that.

There are a lot of dogs out there who do not like treats or toys. I've seen a lot of them. Using clickers and positive reinforcement, you need something that will motivate your dog. Dogs who don't like treats or toys puts a little bit of a damper on training.

First of all, lets start with the non-treat motivated dog. Ask yourself a few questions first to be sure you actually do have a non-food motivated dog.

• Do you free-feed your dog? (Have food down at all times for them?)
• Do you feed your dog, then try training them with more food?
• What type of treats are you using?

If you answer yes to the first 2 questions or either one of them, this could be your problem. Instead of free-feeding or feeding your dog then training, portion out the dog's food and use his food during the training. Make him work for his kibble. It is healthier for him this way too.

If you answered no to either of those, and you've tried portioning out his food and still no results, ask yourself, what type of treats are you using. Try a variety of things! Cheese, hot dogs, chicken, beef, turkey, what ever you can think of! Make sure it's not toxic for the dog though, such as Grapes or chocolate. If your dog still is not interested what so ever, then I believe you can accurately say you have a non-treat motivated dog.

Now lets look at the non-toy motivated dog. If your dog is food motivated, but not toy motivated, you can use the food to train your pet to like toys by clicker training. You can also spike interest in toys by getting interactive toys you can put food into. Getting a dog to like toys is all about building the dog's prey drive. A good way to start this is with a simple rag on a rope. Twitch it around, pretend your playing with a cat. This will help spark a lot of dog's interest in toys, building on that prey drive that is already built into the dog. You can use a rag on a rope, or a simple long toy or tug on the end of the rope. I like attaching the rope to a long stick to get more action of the toy at the end.

For an example of what I'm talking about, I found this video. You might watch with volume down low as the pups are very excited and barking a lot. They are training these pups for schutzhund work so they are holding them back from the toy to further build their prey drive. You don't have to hold your dog back when doing this.



As you can see, this builds a lot of excitement in most dogs. I have a German Shepherd that has never been interested in toys, yet when I bring out this toy, she's always been nuts about it! Give it a try and see what happens. It might not work for all dogs, but it's still worth a try.

So, if you really do have a non-treat and non-toy motivated dog, you have to get creative! What does motivate your dog? What makes your dog happy? Perhaps it is simple praise and petting, perhaps it's brushing with their favorite brush, maybe it's being allowed up on the couch or bed. Do they like playing with other dogs? Sniffing in the bushes? Going on a walk? You can use all of these as rewards, simply have your dog do what you want first, click or say YES! and let them go do what they want to do, or invite them on the couch (if they are allowed).

A few examples here. Praise and petting is great because you can take that everywhere you go. Brushing, you can have your dog sit, click, and brush for a few seconds, then have your dog do something else to earn more brushing. Have your dog sit or down before you invite them on the couch or bed. Have your dog sit, down or walk on a loose leash before being released to go play with the other dogs, sniffing the bushes or going on a walk. Walks are great because you can use simple movement as the reward to anything you want your dog to do.

So, a non-treat and non-toy motivated dog is not impossible to train using positive reinforcement. Yes it makes it harder and you have to get creative, but it is still doable!

The book Click for Joy! is great for answering questions such as these. It's a whole book based on frequently asked questions by real people all about clicker training. If you have questions, this is the book for you. The author does a wonderful job of answering each question in great detail.

The book Clicking With Your Dog has a list of treat ideas, along with treats not to use because they are toxic. A great list to have. It has great ideas on how to train your dog while going about your daily business, even if you are watching TV or on the computer, it shows you how to train your dog while doing so. This book not only has tricks that are useful such as putting toys away or helping with laundry, but also basic obedience; sit, down, loose leash walking, stay and more. Also has teaching your dog to retrieve using clicker training. A great read and I can't recommend it enough.

I hope I gave you some ideas on how to go about training your hard to motivate dog! Get out there and train your dog!

Check out part 2 on How To Train A Dog That Doesn't Like Food or Treats

Don't forget to check out our Squidoo pages that you can find over on your right!

Throw a Birthday Party for your dog

Today's article was all about 'Parties For Your Dog'. So here I wanted to fine tune that a bit more into Birthday Parties for your dog. Birthday parties for your dog can be a lot of fun, especially if you can find a lot of games and such to keep everyone busy. Today I'll show you some videos of people throwing Birthday Parties for their dogs, give you more game ideas, and show you more things to look into.

Lets start with some videos shall we? Jesse and Heather join us again to show us what they did for Jesse's 4th birthday.



As you can see they didn't have a full blown party of a lot of people or dogs but still had a lot of fun. Looks like they did a lot of contests with Jessee and Kaine and both dogs really seem to have enjoyed themselves!

Lets take a look at another video.



These guys did a great job at giving Max his 3rd birthday. The set things up very nicely and had a lot of dogs for him to play with. No contests, just let the dogs have fun running and playing together. I love the cake they did too!

Now if you really want to go all out, check out this video.



It's all up to you on what you want to do for your dog's birthday, it can be a lot of fun for people and for their dogs.

I think throwing in a few contests would be fun, along with prizes. Here a good book that can help you throw a good party. Beyond Fetch: Fun, Interactive Activities for You and Your Dog has some great party ideas and a lot of fun things you can do with your dog.

How about some Recipes to get you started?

Birthday Treats

You'll need;

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup mashed banana
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

For the Carob Frosting you'll need;

• 1 cup carob chips (can be found in health food stores) May NOT be substitiuted with chocolate Chips! Chocolate is Toxic to dogs!
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peanut butter, banana and egg in a large bowl. Stir well. Gradually add wheat germ and whole wheat flour. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutter. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Carob Frosting: Place bones on wax paper. In a double boiler over simmering water, stir carob constantly. When carob has softened, add oil. Mix well. With a spoon place a stripe down each bone. Be careful not to overheat carob as it will harden. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Serve. (Quickly clean any utensils and dishes used for melting carob).
Makes 1 dozen

This treat Recipe came from the book The Doggy Bone Cookbook


How about a Birthday Cake Recipe too?

You'll need;

• 1 cup white or whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)

Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a ring mold sprayed with a nonstick spray for 40 minutes.

Frost this cake with low fat cottage cheese and decorate with carrot pieces. Store in refrigerator.

This Cake Recipe came from the website: Dog Cake Recipes

I hope I gave you some good ideas for throwing your dog a birthday party, have fun with it!