Happy Dog Happy You

Gone are the days when dogs had to run around without a stitch on! In fact, just as human fashionist as can have flashy wardrobes with matching accessories, so can your pooch be outfitted to the nines and all glitzed up.

If you haven’t checked lately, you may be pleasantly shocked to see what Fido can be wearing. We’re talking four seasons and all occasions. Here’s just a sampling of ways to spruce up your dog’s appearance, as well as some practical finery.

Now that summer’s in full swing, days can get doggone hot. Help your pet through the dog days with a cooling body wrap – no kidding. These accessories for dogs come in a variety of materials, styles and colors. Many have Velcro™ straps that form a perfect fit, delivering cool to vital areas.

If your dog helps himself to a dip in your backyard pool, you can indulge him with a pool ramp, allowing him to exit the pool in a dignified fashion. If you go boating, equip him with a doggie life jacket to keep him safe.

When Rover just wants to kick back in the heat, consider a doggie cabana or cool-pack bed. Among the more unusual accessories for dogs are the new dog popsicle-style molds, with special mixtures with dog appeal!

When the cooler weather sets in, there’s a full line of clothing accessories for dogs, including fleece and faux fur-lined coats, along with nylon ‘bubble’ parkas and vests to keep him warmly in style. If your dog’s a she, or an open-minded he, take a look at the dog dresses in an array of styles to have that well-dressed dog look.

Dress up your dog like a celebrity with jewelry and other essential accessories for dogs. There are dog ties, hats and scarves. As for jewelry, you can use strings of pearls on him or her to make an impression among his or her peers. You might even want to dress your dog like a princess with beads, pendants and tiaras.

If you dog has long face fur, you can use fur management accessories for dogs, such as fur clips, barrettes and fancy fabric bows to keep those fur in place and out of his eyes. There are so many styles and designs you can choose from and you might even wonder why there are not available for us humans too!

To complete your cool dog’s look, check out the sunglasses on websites that carry accessories for dogs. Does your dog need shoes to trek through winter slush? Of course!

For the dog who has everything, you can’t miss with a gift certificate. Now your dog, or your friend’s dog, needn’t worry about getting that same old dog dish on his birthday or under the Christmas tree!

When a show-quality dog is purchased, there should always be a written contract between the buyer and seller. The problem in buying your first show dog is that you often do not have enough information to know what must be included in the contract. The following issues must be addressed:

1. Request a health provision that guarantees normalcy in the hips, elbows and eyes; no blood deficiencies; no inherited diseases particular to the breed that are life endangering or will restrict breeding capabilities; no breed disqualifications or faults so severe as to effect a condition that would make it impossible or highly improbable to finish the dog’s championship.

2. If a co-ownership is involved, be exact as to the rights and responsibilities of both owner and co-owner.

3. Be specific about whether there will be a replacement of the dog or a refunding of money if the contract becomes void. Note who takes control of the dog in question.

4. If the purchase includes a “puppy-back package,” be specific as to which puppies in which litters (for example, seller gets choice of first and third puppy from first litter).

Toilet training should not end with housebreaking.  If you want to avoid the unpleasant but necessary task of picking up after your pet in the street, it makes sense to train him to go before you leave home. This is not as difficult as it may seem but requires a fair amount of patience in the early stages.

If you have been successfully working at the housebreaking process, you will, by the time you are able to take your puppy out, have a particular phrase that your puppy will associate with going to the toilet.

You should also have a fairly regular routine and will have some idea of when your puppy needs to go. Try to arrange your first walk to coincide with this time. Go out to the yard as usual, repeating your chosen phrase until your puppy does what is required. Praise enthusiastically and then take him out for a walk. If he does not go to the toilet, take him back inside for a while and try again later.

If you take your dog out for a walk only after he has been to the toilet, he will eventually begin to realize that producing the required deposit results in a walk.

Clickers are a fun and fast way to speed up your puppy’s learning process. Clicker training relies on behavior shaping principles that mark desired behavior.

To begin, get ten treats. Click and treat; before you are finished, your puppy will be happily alert to the sound. Now use the clicker for training and to encourage good habits.

1. House-training: When your puppy eliminates in the right area, say “get busy.” Click the instant he finishes; then treat and praise warmly.

2. Jumping: When your puppy jumps, look away, Click, treat, and pet him after all four paws are on the ground.

3. Chewing: Anytime your dog is chewing an appropriate object, click, treat, and praise.

You can iron out everyday frustrations with the clicker. Use it to encourage silence, to train him to ask to be let out, to create a positive association to kids, and more. Also use a clicker to teach basic commands such as the following:

1. “Sit” command: “Sit,” luring your dog into position with a toy or treat if necessary. Click, reward, and praise.

2. “Down” command: “Down,” luring your dog into position with a toy or treat Click, reward, and praise.

3. “Come” command: Throughout the day, command “Come” when your dog’s near you.

The puppy who learns the rules of fetch-and-carry has taken a big step forward into being a well-trained adult dog. In this way, he also finds that learning can be fun. Roughhousing, though not too roughly, teaches him to play and not bite and to work to get something he wants, still without hurting the person holding it.

In the course of a good rough and tumble, you will use words that he will remember next time. He will learn “Stop that,” if he gets rough himself. If he needs reprimanding, a firm “No!” and a quick tap on the rump should make him behave.

Protect your puppy against what is really teasing, as when children call it “play” to steal his toys and hold them out of reach or to wrestle too roughly and hurt him. In addition, never play with him, or let children do so, until the point of exhaustion.

Reward him when you are teaching him something new, and let the play increase his understanding of you and your understanding of him. The time you spend with him can develop into a closer bond. He is learning, among other things, that you are his owner.

There is one command that your puppy needs to learn for his own protection, and that is the safety command of “Leave it.” You are out for a walk and puppy comes upon a roadkill or carelessly discarded garbage. For the sake of his health, you command, “Leave it!” and you will need to enforce it with a gentle snap-and-release of the leash. If he does not hear (or understand) the “Leave it” command, get his attention followed by “Leave it.” 

This one is so important that at four to six months of age you can even use an entrapment as a teaching tool. When the puppy cannot see you do it, plant a piece of trash, maybe an empty cereal box, on the floor and stick around until the pup goes to investigate. As he goes to sniff it, shout “Leave it!” and as he retreats at the force of your voice, say “Good dog.”

It is an extremely versatile and useful command. It also has an amusing side effect. Many young puppies respond to the extreme urgency in your voice and not only “Leave it” but do an instant Down flat on the ground!

Housebreaking a puppy in an apartment with no yard is more difficult, but it is not impossible. An area that your puppy can use as a toilet area will need to be found close to the apartment. Since this may be a considerable distance for your puppy to walk, it becomes even more important that you take him out every hour. You will also need to be extra watchful to your puppy’s signs of wanting to relieve himself well in advance.

Different puppies learn at different rates. Some pick up what is required almost instantly, others may take much longer. Some take as long as six months or more. A puppy that came from a dirty or cramped kennel is likely to take longer than one that had a better start.

The biggest influence on how quickly a puppy becomes housebroken is how much time and effort you put in. More input from you will speed up the time taken to become completely clean; while less input will prolong the process.

Leash practice  should be fun. If the puppy is timid, walk him up and down indoors, pulling gently and coaxing to keep him in motion and in line with you. Then try it in the yard or up and down a quiet street. Never jerk violently, or choke him if he refuses to move. Let him wander off at will; if he sits down, pat and laugh at him a bit, and wait a moment  before beginning to get him going. He will soon realize that the leash is a tie between him and you.

Puppies learn more quickly from other dogs than from us. If you have a friend with an older, leash-trained dog, walking together will soon put the idea over to your puppy. When he finds that the leash means “We are going out!” it becomes a friend, not a foe.

Like the collar, it is a signal he soon learns, and will bring to your attention when he wants action! You are teaching him this when you pick it up and say “Here is your leash, we are going for a walk!” At first, start him on a long leash. Go as far away from him as the leash permits, then call “Come (dog’s name)!” As you do this, give the leash a little jerk toward you. If he resists, pull gently, and the moment he is within reaching distance, pet and praise him.

Mouthing and nipping are two different issues. Mouthing is a communication skill to get you to do a particular thing. Less pressure, less annoying, but still not particularly charming. Nipping is a puppy thing; it is interactive and playful. Nipping puppies are bossy and manipulative and need a firmer regimen.

Mouthing is often an attention-getting behavior. If your puppy uses it to communicate a need to go out, respond. If, on the other hand, your dog mouths you for a pat, ignore it. If he becomes too annoying, get a water spray and spritz him discreetly in front of his nose, hiding the spray in your hand and spritzing as you avoid all eye contact, comments, or pushing. When you use the spray this way, you are performing a cause-and-effect correction rather than interactive discipline. Interaction involves eye contact and physical manipulation - not good. Cause-and-effect corrections result in unpleasant reactions that your puppy will try to avoid.

Nipping is another one of those puppy things that you need to refocus. When your puppy still hung out with his litter mates, he nipped during play and to determine his rank. He also soft-mouthed his mother affectionately. When you bring your puppy home, this behavior continues.

The main purpose in puppy training is to build a communication system between the two of you. You are teaching your dog how to learn. In contrast to the positive approach of puppy training, many obedience classes use a lot of leash jerking and a certain amount of punishment if the dog is not performing well. There is a fine line between the two attitudes and it is a vitally important difference.

With a young puppy, if you are forcing him to perform perfectly and punishing him even mildly if he does not, you may be asking for trouble later on. After a puppy is six to eight months old, he can usually begin to handle corrections and accept much more firmness in his training but not at three, four and five months of age.

Stress should not be a specific part of puppy training. That comes later when the pup is six to eight months old and ready for a more formal training. Of course, it is not possible or necessary to completely avoid stress because there is often a small amount in any of a puppy’s activities. However, stress should be eliminated as a planned part of the actual training.