Now that the temperature is super hot in New York City, it is important to keep your dog walks pleasant by cooling her off while outside.
If your dog has been walking on the hot pavement, putting rubbing alcohol on his paw pads gives a quick all over cool down and instant relief. In extreme situations, a rub down with an alcohol dampened cloth on the chest and belly helps too. Remember to keep the alcohol way from his mouth (rubbing alcohol is NOT for drinking) and out of his eyes. Of course, post-heat care is no substitute for good sense where dogs and heat are concerned. by Helen Fazio, Travel Dog Blogger, www.traveldogbooks.com
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How to Train a Dog and Establish the Rules of the House
If you have no idea how to train a dog, fear not! Whether you seek effective puppy house training methods or basic dog obedience training, training your dog will probably be easier than you think. Puppies Puppy training should always focus on socialization and the prevention of unwanted behaviors. The jumping that may be cute in your puppy will not be cute when he grows into a 175 lb. adult Saint Bernard. Rather than focusing on puppy training obedience, you should concentrate on puppy socialization and the prevention of problem behavior through rewarding desirable behaviors, and removing reinforcement for unwanted behaviors through extinction, management, or negative punishment (more on this later!) How To Train A Dog Step 1: Reward Desirable Behavior It is a human tendency to focus on what we don't like, often to a fault. The crux of effective dog training, whether you are house training your dog or teaching obedience behaviors, is to never miss an opportunity to reward your dog for doing the right thing. Dog owners generally like dogs to sit politely, lie down, go settle on a mat or in a crate, or be quiet - remember to click and treat your dog for these behaviors to increase the likelihood that your dog will offer the in the future. Depending on the situation, the right thing may vary. For dogs that are excited and jump to greet visitors, the right thing may be "four on the floor." Click and treat your dog for all four paws on the floor when a new person approaches or enters the house. If your dog is usually barky when she sees another dog, click her for eye contact or for looking at another dog without barking. Concentrate on what you want your dog to do instead of what you want your dog to stop doing. For problem behaviors like barking, nipping, jumping, or growling, think of what you would prefer the dog do instead and develop a training plan to get there. If you need help, find a qualified trainer in your area to assist you. How To Train A Dog Step 2: Dealing With Unwanted Behavior Extinction: Extinction involves the principal of "non-punishment, non-reinforcement," essentially, ignoring the behavior. A lot of dogs offer unwanted behaviors because they've "paid off" before - dogs pull on leash because it gets their owners to move forward/faster on walks, dogs bark for attention, jump to greet, etc. Often, ignoring the behavior is the best bet - wait the dog out and then reinforce when he offers an alternative behavior (sits instead of jumping, for example). Extinction requires some patience, especially if the behavior has "paid off" for quite some time. Watch out for extinction bursts. If the dog is used to getting your attention through barking, and suddenly you ignore the barking, the barking may intensify before it goes away. A human example is a soda machine - if for 20 years your dollar got you a soda and suddenly, no soda comes out, you may put in a few dollars before you start kicking the soda machine in frustration. Then, you give up and try the soda machine on the next floor, which is operating correctly. You must be prepared to ride out the extinction burst or the unwanted behavior may return, stronger than before. Management: Does your dog counter surf? Get the food off the counter! Dogs counter surf to get food. Managing the situation means crating or gating your dog when food is on the counter, and removing the temptation of engaging in the unwanted behavior by cleaning up when you are not there to supervise. Management is preventing your dog from rehearsing unwanted behaviors. Training Alternative, Incompatible Behavior - A dog cannot jump or mount if he is settling on a mat. A dog cannot bark if he is fetching a buster cube that fills his mouth. A dog cannot be aggressive with another dog when he is focused on targeting his nose to your hand. If your dog is doing something you don't like, think of what you would like him to do instead and train that alternative, incompatible behavior to fluency! Negative Punishment: In laymen's terms, negative punishment means a time out for the dog. Negative punishment is very effective for self-reinforcing behaviors - behaviors dogs do because they're "fun." Barking, jumping, resource guarding and nipping can be self reinforcing. For guidance on when to use negative punishment as opposed to extinction - check out Laura VanArendonk Baugh's article on eliminating unwanted behavior in a toddler. This is but a simple introduction to training your dog. For more help, find a trainer near you. Remember, if the training isn't fun for you and your dog, you're not doing it right! A good trainer will produce dogs that love to work and people that love training their dogs. If either of these elements is missing, seek a new trainer today. AS FEATURE IN http://www.dogster.com/articles/How-to-Train-a-Dog-and-Establish-the-Rules-of-the-House-101 Many New York City residents want to adopt and bring a furry cutie friend into their lives. There are a few key points to consider before giving that big step of adopting a dog, ESPECIALLY a puppy.
Your puppy will grow up very quickly. Know how to train him right and he will become a good natured and well mannered adult dog. Before You Search For A Puppy Before you get a new puppy, make sure you know exactly what kind of puppy to look for and how to raise and train him. If you are still searching for a puppy, please read BEFORE You Get Your Puppy, which is available for free download from www.dogstardaily.com, openpaw.org, and siriuspup.com. And if you haven't done so already, purchase a dog crate, six Kong chewtoys, and some freeze-dried liver treats before your puppy comes home. Deciding Which Type of Puppy The breed, type, size, activity level, hair color, hair length, and sex of your prospective puppy are personal choices and best left entirely up to you and your family. Once you have all agreed on a choice, go to your local humane society or dog training school to look for and "test-drive" at least six adult dogs of the type that you have selected. Testdriving adult dogs will teach you more about what to expect from a puppy than any book or video. Also, the experience of test-driving will ensure you know how to teach and control adult dogs before you get your puppy. Really, the process of choosing a dog is not much different from choosing a car. First, you need to learn to drive, and second, you want to choose a car that looks and feels right to you. You will probably have read lots of well-meaning advice from pet professionals that advise you, for example, not to get certain breeds if you have children, not to get large dogs if you live in an apartment, and not to get active dogs in the city. In reality, all breeds and types of dog can be wonderful or problematic with children. It very much depends on whether or not the puppy was trained how to act around children and the children were taught how to act around the puppy. Because of their lower activity levels, large dogs adapt more quickly to apartment living than little dogs. Big dogs just take up more space. And active dogs can live in cities just as active people live in cities. In fact, city dogs, for example, New York City, tend to be walked and exercised more than suburban dogs. In the long run, it will be you who will be living with your puppy and teaching him to adjust to your lifestyle and living arrangement. Selecting Your Individual Puppy It is vital however that you know how to evaluate whether your prospective puppy is physically and mentally healthy. Research your prospective puppy's lineage to confirm that his grandparents and great-grandparents all lived to a ripe old age, and to check how many of his doggy family suffered from breed-specific problems. Long life is the best indicator of overall physical and behavioral health and the best predictor that your puppy will have a long life expectancy. Research well; you want your puppy to enjoy his sunset years with you. My first malamute died when he was just five years old. Heartbreaking. In terms of behavioral development, by eight weeks of age your prospective puppy should be housetrained, chewtoy-trained, outgoing, friendly, and sociable, and at the very least, know how to come, sit, lie down, and roll over. Any signs of fearfulness are absolutely abnormal in an eightweek-old pup. Check that the puppy was raised indoors, around human companionship and influence. Check that the puppy uses a dog toilet, rather than urinating and defecating all over the floor (which he will continue to do if you take him home). Check that hollow chewtoys stuffed with food are readily available. Ask the breeder how many strangers, especially including men and children, have handled and trained the puppies. Check for yourself how easy (or difficult) it is to hug and handle (restrain and examine) your prospective puppy. Also check how quickly (or slowly) the puppy learns to come, sit, lie down, and roll over for each family member. Raising and Training Your Puppy The first week your puppy comes home is the most important week of her life. From the very first day, start an errorless house training and chewtoy-training program so that you prevent any future house soiling, destructive chewing, excessive barking, or separation anxiety problems. When you are not at home, leave your puppy in a long-term confinement area (puppy playroom), which has a comfortable bed, fresh water, several chewtoys stuffed with food, and a temporary indoor toilet. Long-term confinement prevents mistakes around the house and maximizes the likelihood your puppy will learn to chew chewtoys and use her toilet. When you are at home but cannot pay full attention to your puppy, confine her to a small, shortterm confinement area (doggy den or dog crate) with a couple of stuffed chewtoys. Confining your puppy to a den prevents any mistakes around the house, maximizes the likelihood your puppy will learn to chew chewtoys, and allows you to predict when your puppy would like to relieve herself. Knowing when your puppy wants to go makes house training easy because now you can show her where to go and reward her for going in the right spot. Confining a pup to a den temporarily inhibits elimination, so that every hour, you can take her to an appropriate toilet area. When she promptly pees (and sometimes poops), give her three liver treats as a reward. Confinement is a temporary management and training measure. Once your puppy has learned household manners, he may enjoy full run of your house for the rest of his life. If you are still searching, read BEFORE You Get Your Puppy. If you already have a new puppy, read AFTER You Get Your Puppy and Doctor Dunbar's Good Little Dog Book, and watch the award-winning Sirius Puppy Training video, all available from your local book store or www.amazon.com. BEHAVIOR BLUEPRINTS from www.jamesandkenneth.com New Puppy, New Adult Dog, Housetraining, Chewing, Digging, Barking, Home Alone, Puppy Biting, Fighting, Fear of People, Dogs & Children, HyperDog, Puppy Training, Come-Sit-Down-Stay, Walking On Leash, and Cat Manners An article from The Human Society of New York http://www.humanesocietyny.org/ The story of Dixie... One afternoon a woman came to the Humane Society of New York to say that she no longer had time to take care of her dog. The woman was well-dressed, polite; the dog, she explained, was in her car parked out front; could we take the animal that day? Our shelter was filled as usual but we agreed to meet the dog so the woman led the way to a clean blue sedan and opened the door. The dog was there, motionless on the floor. At first it appeared to be dead. The woman said the dog was a poodle mix but the animal in the car was a shapeless heap of filthy mats until it lifted its head and tried to turn towards the open door. The dog couldn’t see because tangled hair, thick with discharge, was plastered to her eyes. “She needs surgery on both eyes” the woman offered but she wasn’t sure what kind. Although we were at capacity we knew we had to relieve this animal’s suffering so we took her in immediately. The photograph above shows Dixie about ten minutes after her arrival at the Society. At that point we’d already removed the painful mats over her eyes, which appear cloudy because of chronic irritation and infection.The picture also shows bilateral cherry eyes (abnormal out pouching of glands). It took our technicians two hours to shave the hardened mats covering Dixie. Once they were gone our doctors began treatment for bacterial infections of the skin and sores caused by chronic pulling of knotted hair. Initially the prognosis for her vision was not good. Our doctors found damage to the corneas due to years of almost no tear production, inflammation and worsening, untreated cherry eyes. With aggressive treatment, including surgery, Dixie surprised everyone, making a better-than-expected recovery. She was an excellent patient and one of the kindest dogs we have ever had the privilege to help. Today, after extensive rehabilitation the little poodle mix is a well-cared-for member of a loving family. Dixie's adopter emailed us to say "Wow, as a Vet I have seen some dogs in pretty poor condition, but she was as bad as I imagined. It’s so amazing since she is so content eating her prescription diet (1 crunchie at a time, as she likes to do!) and hanging out on the couch right now as I email you. Here is a picture of her on vacation in Vermont (where she LOVED to roll in the leaves). I don't have a post-grooming picture of her but she was SO fluffed up about 2 weeks ago. As I said on the phone, her eyes are well managed and her bald patches are all gone. Thanks for saving such a wonderful little dog. We love her." Third Feline Fatality From Swine Flu Reported Six weeks after the first reported cases of pandemic swine flu in cats, the total number of deaths attributed to the virus has reached three. Following last week's announcement that a second cat in Oregon had died after being infected with swine flu, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has revealed that a third cat, from Pennsylvania, died early in November, probably before the first reported death. The affected cat was a 12 year old domestic shorthair which developed respiratory illness on November 3rd. As in both other cases of cats dying after contracting the virus, the cat came from a household in which humans were already ill with flu-like symptoms. The cat displayed lethargy, loss of appetite and difficulty breathing when it was presented to vets, and x-rays revealed the presence of pneumonia. Despite being treated with antibiotics, the cat succumbed to worsening pneumonia and died on November 6th. Interestingly, nasal swabs returned negative for H1N1 but necropsy samples returned positive. This may suggest that veterinarians testing for the presence of swine flu in cats with flu-like symptoms using nasal swabs only may not be making accurate assessments. The positive result in this case was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). So far positive H1N1 infections in cats have been reported in the states of Oregon, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Utah. The Oregon State Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. Emilio DeBess, has urged cat owners not to panic, citing the fact that the number of confirmed cases, let alone deaths, represents a very small proportion of the total cat population. However, he added that cat owners should watch for signs of respiratory illness and seek veterinary care should signs be apparent. At this time, ferrets and cats are the only domestic animals that have tested positive for pandemic H1N1 swine flu. Pet birds are susceptible to Influenza A viruses and vets recommend that birds should be tested if both you and your bird develop flu-like symptoms. Currently it is not thought that dogs are able to be infected with swine flu. View the latest World Pet News every week at PetPeoplesPlace.com.
Owning a dog is certainly a pride thing, but it also is a big responsibility. I strongly encourage those people wishing to bring a dog into their lives to adopt a pet instead of buying it. There are many sweet furry cuties waiting to be taken to a lovely and safe home.
Do you want to adopt a dog? You can start by Checking out ASPCA.Org 424 E 92nd St New York, NY 10128-6804 (212) 876-7700 New York Animal Care & Control AC&C — Manhattan Animal Care Center 326 East 110th Street New York, NY 10029 (between 1st and 2nd Avenues) (212) 788 4000 Adoption Hours: Noon to 7:00pm, 7 Days a Week Closed on All Holidays Human Society 424 E 92nd St New York, NY 10128-6804 (212) 876-7700 |
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