Heres how to put on a prong collar
1. Grasp one prong with one hand and its neighboring prong with your other hand. 2. Pinch one of these prongs together until it disengages from its neighbor. 3. Move your hands apart to open the collar into a U-shape. 4. Place it around your dog's neck, up high behind his ears. 5. Slip the two disengaged prongs back together, closing the collar around your dog's neck. 6. The collar should be snug enough that it doesn't slide around. If you need to make it smaller, take it off and remove one of...
Getting Down to Business
Opening a dog-grooming business, regardless of whether it's in your home or in a shop at one of the local strip malls, means that you must take care of some legal matters, such as choosing just how you want to operate your business. Choosing how to set up your business You must choose between three ways that you can operate as a professional groomer. You can do business as a sole proprietor, as an incorporated entity, or as a limited liability company. All three have advantages and...
Touch Desensitization
All places of your dog's body need to be permissible to touch Remember that this idea, while it sounds reasonable to you, may feel like a real breech of personal boundaries to your dog. The key is to go slowly and be sensitive to what you're asking your dog to accept from you. tive part and a preventative part. Proactive means teaching this concept of acceptance, and prevention means avoiding things that could cause touch sensitivity.
Flyball
Flyball is a popular sport that combines running and jumping, two things dogs excel at, with tennis balls, every dog's favorite toy This is a team sport, with two teams of dogs running and jumping along side each other. The dog leaves his owner, jumps over four hurdles, then jumps on the side of a wall, triggering a mechanism that throws out a tennis ball. The dog grabs the ball, turns back and returns to his owner over all the hurdles. The team that gets all its dogs over the course first...
New Dogs Old Tricks Introducing Puppies to the Home
Much of the work I do is with remedial dogs, animals with behavior problems ranging from pulling on the lead to destroying the home. Invariably the root of these dogs' problems lie in the past. Their owners, through no fault of their own, have spent years giving them signals that have in turn given the dog a misplaced sense of its own importance. My task is to redress this balance, to offer signals that establish a new order and a kinder, calmer future for both the dog and its owner. It does...
Grooming Your Jack Russe Terrier
Although the Jack Russell gm - Terrier is considered a no-frills kind of dog, all working terriers need their coats maintained to keep them efficient and neat. Weekly maintenance of the Jack Russell Terrier's coat will give you a chance to look your dog over carefully and make sure all is in good order. This chapter outlines procedures for the thorough care and grooming of your JRT's coat. However, the average dog will do just as well with basic grooming, together with proper care of the nails...
Is there an ethological description of aggressive behaviour in dogs
The short answer to this question is no. Various authors recognize the similarity between wolf and dog in the units of aggressive behaviour, and some texts provide shorter or longer lists of the behavioural units Feddersen-Petersen 1991, Packard 2003 . Importantly, behavioural analysis has been carried out at different levels of behavioural organization see also Chapter 2, Box 2.4 . For example, Feddersen-Petersen 2001a argued for seven facial regions muzzle posture, mouth corner, lips, nose...
How much exercise does a Lab need
How much exercise a Lab needs depends on his age, his overall health and his temperament. As a rule, a healthy adult Lab needs about two hours of vigorous exercise every day. Examples of suitable exercise include running, jogging, retrieving and swimming. Lab puppies three months of age or less usually don't need any sort of structured exercise program they usually get plenty of exercise during their normal playtime. If your Lab puppy is four to six months of age, he'll probably play vigorously...
Transition period days
Wolf cubs spend this period in the den too, mainly with their siblings and mother. Their motor abilities develop slowly and their exploratory behaviour is restricted to the immediate area underground. This period is characterized by increasing perceptual abilities. It starts with the opening of the eyes and ends with the opening of the ear canals. Interestingly, there is a large variation in the timing of both eye and ear opening which, at least at the level of the breed, seem to be...
Do Labs really get cataracts
Yes, they do. Cataracts opaque spots or areas in the lens of the eye can be due to environmental or metabolic factors, but in Labs they are often inherited. They often occur in relatively young dogs from birth to six years of age . The primary symptom is a bluish-white or milky appearance to the lens. In some Labs, cataracts are non-progressive and do not interfere with sight. In others, the disease is progressive, eventually leading to blindness. Some dogs seem to see quite well even with...
The Compulsive Retrieve works the same way
You start out by teaching your dog to open his mouth and hold the toy, just as you did with the Step by Step Food Method. Then when you get to the step where your dog must reach forward for the toy, you add negative consequences if he refuses. Negative consequences means pinching his ear between your thumb and forefinger until he reaches forward to take the toy. Now, calm down Try this. Take your thumb and forefinger and pinch your own earlobe. No, don't use your finger NAILS Just the PADS of...
Paws in hands
At the moment it seems that the future of dogs and humans is tightly coupled. Although there are no data, it is likely that the human population boom has also been paralleled by a huge increase in the dog population. A very crude estimate would put the size of the dog population somewhere between 0.5 and 1 billion individuals. A large part of the human economy, including veterinary medicine and the production of dog food, is devoted to the support of dogs. Sharing the environment not only means...
Garlic and Brewers Yeast Get Rid of Fleas
A myth out there that purports that garlic and brewer's yeast get rid of fleas is so wrong, it's almost funny. Brewer's yeast has plenty of B-vitamins and other good things for your dog, but it's completely wrong when it comes to controlling fleas. Oddly enough, when companies that make flea and tick products want to grow fleas, they do it in brewer's yeast so brewer's yeast doesn't kill fleas at all. What about garlic Well, when it comes to blood suckers, garlic may keep away vampires the...
CrateandWait
Waaait a minute, you may be thinking. Just how much is this surgery going to cost me That depends on where you live and where you take your Dachshund, but the all-inclusive charges probably will range from 800 to over 2,000 most are probably close to 1,500 . For many Dachshund owners, surgery isn't an affordable option, so is surgery your only choice when your Dachshund's disks go bad No, although for severe episodes, it has the highest success rate by a long shot. The other option is the one...
Archeological Record
Despite the difficulties, discovering when and how this enduring relationship first appeared are questions of tremendous scientific interest and importance. Authorities differ with respect to the exact historical moment or time frame, but many prehistoric sites show that a close association between humans and dogs has existed continuously for many thousands of years. Although a loose symbiotic mutualism probably existed long beforehand, the earliest archeological evidence of a true domestic dog...
Canis L Upis
Herding Dogs Terriers . European Toy Dogs Herding Dogs Terriers . European Toy Dogs Great Dane St. Bernard Newfoundland Bulldog Borzoi Saluki Afghan Deer Hounds Dingo Pariah Dogs Fig. 1.3. Various subspecies of the wolf are believed to have contributed to the genome of the domestic dog. According to one theory, the dog was independently domesticated in various parts of the world, with no single site of origin. Although grouped as though from discrete origins, the breeds included here have...
Creme De La Combo
Looking for a hybrid dog with a great combo Thafs exactly what you get when you adopt the right designer dog, according to breeder Lucy Gerold of North Country Kennels in fronton, MN rmxedbreedpups.com . In Gerald's two decades of experience, breeding poodles with other purebreds creates some winning combinations. Poodles shed very little, but they're not overly social. Crossing a poodle with, say, a lab or a sehnauzer, gives you an outgoing dog that is neither aggressive nor shy and sheds so...
Geographic distribution and systematic relationships
Until 1800 the wolf was dispersed across Europe apart from the British Isles. Now, large populations 500 wolves survive only in Spain, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and central Russia Boitani 2003 . There are crude estimates of c.65 000 wolves living east of the Urals and in Asia, and probably a further 2000 living in Asia Minor and Egypt. The population in the Americas is judged to be about 60 000 individuals, of which only 10 are in the USA. Thus, based on...
Geriatric House Soiling
Geriatric dogs can have incontinence problems at times. You may need to get them out more often for potty breaks and forgive the occasional accident in the house. They are as upset about these accidents as you are, so be patient with them. difficulty with incontinence and you need to be gone for long periods of time, you may choose to confine your dog to a tile area, or one that is easily cleaned. When you notice an accident in this area, do not reprimand your dog for something she cannot...
Audition
The dog's ear is composed of an outer ear pinna , auditory canal, and various structures designed to convert sound waves into auditory information. The pinna gathers and directs sound into the auditory canal, where it is carried to the tympanic membrane or eardrum. The eardrum is an extremely sensitive and elastic membrane reacting to the slightest vibrations on its surface movement of less than one-tenth the diameter of a hydrogen atom can produce an audible sensation Thompson, 1993 . The...
Progressive retinal atrophy
Some Dachshunds will develop progressive retinal atrophy, a degenerative eye disease that eventually results in blindness. The disease isn't painful and sometimes has no symptoms until the dog is almost completely blind however, some dogs will show reluctance to go down stairs or go into dark areas night blindness can be an initial stage of the disease . In some dogs, the eye lens looks more opaque or cloudy, but this isn't always the case. In particular, longhaired Miniature Dachshunds may be...
Salience
When we say something is salient to a dog, we mean it has noticeable significance to her. Your dog learns to sit even in the face of distractions because the hotdog you are holding in front of her face is very salient. When we associate the hotdog with the verbal cue Sit, the cue itself becomes significant. The salient stimuli in the environment you, your hotdogs, and the Sit cue are more significant than the distractions. They overshadow the dog barking across the street, the skateboarder...
How Dachsies manipulate
Dogs need certain things, like food, shelter, warmth, and companionship. They also desire certain things, like more food, more warmth, and a whole lotta companionship. Dogs don't like other things, like hunger, standing out in the rain, or being ignored. They're social animals, domesticated to enjoy the good life and oh, how they love suppertime. It only makes sense, then, that your Dachshund will do whatever he can to get more of what he wants and less of what he doesn't want. Any creature...
Selecting your den
You can purchase a crate or kennel for your Dachshund at most pet stores or even at discount-type department stores. You can also find a huge variety of pet housing on the Internet, ranging in price from 15.00 or 20.00 to almost 100.00, depending on the brand, the design, and the store. When purchasing a Dachshund den, look for a sturdy, well-ventilated plastic or metal crate with an easy-open door easy for you to open, not your Dachshund . You want to find a size just big enough that your...
Orienting Reflex
Anything the dog perceives activates the orienting reflex. The orienting reflex may be used to redirect the dog's behavior. This can be a very important training point. Here's one example Your dog hears a clicker and reflexively turns her head in the direction the click is coming from. Another example Your dog barks at the window when people walk down the sidewalk. If you move away from the window and click the clicker, the dog should momentarily notice the click. You may then encourage the dog...
Predictable
Fig. 9.5. Problematical or insolvable conflict occurs in one of two general ways 1 when events are highly predictable but not adequately under the animal's control when they happen to occur P C , or 2 when the animal has a high degree of control over the event but cannot predict when it is going to happen P C . When respondent and operant events are either both unpredictable and uncontrollable P C or highly predictable and controllable P C , the result is helplessness, on the one hand, and...
Misuse and Abuse of Punishment
Punishment and other forms of aversive control e.g., aversive counterconditioning and negative reinforcement can be humane and effective behavioral tools in the hands of competent trainers, but noncontingent after the event punishment and excessive physical punishment or brutalization e.g., beating, hanging, or kicking have no legitimate place in the armamentarium of professional trainers. That such methods exist today and are employed in the name of dog training is a blemish on the profession....
for Novice Graduate Novice Open and Utility
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service Agriculture Home Economics 4-H i Development The Novice The Graduate Novice The Open The Utility This educational material has been prepared for 4-H use by the National 4-H Dog Care amp Training Development Committee, composed of representatives of the Cooperative Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and State Land Grant Universities in cooperation with the National 4-H Council. Dr. Dennis A. Hartman,...
Learning to Adjust and Control
The foregoing discussion has emphasized the role of early socialization and attachment in the ontogeny of puppies. Puppies that fail to receive sufficient contact during the critical period of socialization may exhibit lasting deficits in their social responsiveness and general trainability. To gain the most benefit from the least effort and investment of time, it has been demonstrated that timing is of vital importance. In fact, it has been estimated that as little as 20 minutes of social...
Oh Those Dachshund Wiles
If you get a Dachshund, you're dealing with a hunter, a tracker, a digger, an athlete, and an actor destined for whatever stage you'll give him. The combination results in a unique set of what I like to call Dachshund wiles. Dachshund wiles are hard to define, yet exceedingly powerful. They make up the force that mysteriously compels you to hand over half of your hot dog to your devious little darling, even when you're still hungry. They keep you from answering the phone when your Dachshund is...
How Should I Groom My Labrador Retriever
jjf What type of grooming care does my Lab need What are the characteristics of a Lab's coat, and how will they affect the way I groom my dog How much time will I need to spend on grooming What type of equipment will I need for grooming What will happen if I don't groom my Lab regularly Do Labs tend to be smelly Why do I need to brush my Lab Why is bathing important Will I have to trim my Lab's nails Why is it important to take care of my Lab's ears What type of dental care will my Lab need
Loss of Appetite
By itself with no other symptoms, a brief lack of interest in food is seldom serious. For example, many dogs need less food during the heat of summer and may occasionally leave some, or even all, of their dinner untouched. If your APBT misses one meal, don't worry. But if she refuses all food for two days in a row, she should be checked by your veterinarian. Visit your veterinarian right away if loss of appetite is accompanied by other symptoms, such as diarrhea, obvious pain, lack of interest...
Head Halter
The head halter is a tool that is intended for a dog who is a strong puller. It works on the negative reinforcement principle when the dog stops pulling, the bad thing the pressure on the dog's muzzle stops. The head halter works on the same principle as a halter on a horse control the head and the body must follow. People learned centuries ago that they could control the horse, an animal weighing over 1,000 pounds, by putting a halter on his head. Only recently did people realize that this...
Acoustic communication
Ethologists have spent many years collecting and analysing wolf vocalizations, both in the field and in captivity e.g. Theberge and Falls 1967, Harrington and Mech 1978, Schassburger 1993, Feddersen-Petersen 2000 , but there is little available data on dog vocalizations. Nevertheless there is a general consensus that the two species share most vocalizations Bleicher 1963, Cohen and Fox 1976, Tembrock 1976 , with the exception that dogs howl less frequently and are 'noisier' than wolves because...
How can I tell if my Lab has internal parasites
You may discover that your Lab has roundworms by seeing the adult roundworms white, two to three inches long, about one-eighth of an inch in diameter in the stool. Tapeworm infestation may be evidenced by the presence of small, rice-size tapeworm segments in the stool or around the anus. However, just because you don't see worms in the stool doesn't mean your Lab is free from internal parasites. Some worms, such as hookworms, are too small to be seen with the naked eye. The worms that can be...
The Urinary System
The dog's urinary system is similar to that of other mammals. Its purpose is to process and get rid of liquid wastes. The main parts of the urinary tract are the kidneys used to excrete urea, uric acid and other wastes , the bladder a receptacle for fluid , and the urethra the canal that carries the urine from the bladder . Urinary-tract ailments are more common in older dogs, although puppies may have urinary-tract infections. These infections may exist as part of a major disease, such as...
Supplements
One more consideration is supplements. Don't give them unless your veterinarian prescribes them for some special reason. All good-quality dog foods labeled as complete will provide all that your dog needs in the way of nutrition. There may be rare or special circumstances, such as pregnancy and lactation, when your dog requires some supplementation of one or more nutrients, if recommended by your veterinarian. But casual supplementation can cause serious imbalances and unexpected problems. More...
How does a dominant Lab act
When a dominant Lab approaches an unfamiliar individual in other words, one whose dominance or subordinance is not known , she walks stiffly with her head and tail up. Her stare is direct and she may snarl or growl as she approaches. If the other individual is a dog, the two may momentarily stand their ground at right angles to one another as they size each other up. At this point, one dog must immediately back down and acknowledge the other's dominance by an appropriate display. If this...
The DROP IT Command
L C Sometimes your dog enjoys the Vj J game of tug-of-war better than the game you are trying to play with him. A useful command to teach your dog is DROP IT. The command DROP IT will require your dog to release the object out of his mouth and not pick it back up again. We chose DROP IT instead of GIVE or any other command which requires you to take the object out of your dog's mouth. This is an important difference to your dog. Begin teaching the command by giv- ing your dog an object like a...
Classical Conditioning and Fear
Voluntary Versus Involuntary Behavior Behavior can be roughly divided into two broad categories voluntary goal directed and involuntary reflexive . This division is not arbitrary but is based on the two fundamental ways behavior is modified. Voluntary behavior is highly goal directed and influenced by the consequences it produces. involuntary behavior, on the other hand, is largely composed of automatic mechanisms operating outside of a dog's volition and ability to choose. in the case of...
Spaniel 1
e English Springer Spaniel shares its heritage with the English Cocker Spaniel in fact, at one time, they were the same breed. The English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association states that in the 1800s, In a litter of Spaniel puppies, the smaller dogs would hunt woodcocks and were called cockers. The larger puppies in the litter were used to flush the game and were therefore called springers. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Springers and Cockers were finally recognized as two different...
Grooming Tools
If you go to your local pet store and walk down the grooming supplies aisle, you might be overwhelmed by all the tools and products. There are combs, rakes, and brushes of all sizes and styles, scissors, clippers, shedding blades, and more. Then there are all different kinds of shampoos and conditioners. Grooming dogs is big business, and all these supplies support the industry. You don't need all that to get started, though. Listed below are some basic tools, along with a description of how...
The Wastes Dogs Leave Behind
Picking up what your dog leaves behind is simply the act of a responsible dog owner. Bailey, an English Springer Spaniel pictured with Cayla Horn , owned by Kelly Rodrigues. Picking up what your dog leaves behind is simply the act of a responsible dog owner. Bailey, an English Springer Spaniel pictured with Cayla Horn , owned by Kelly Rodrigues. Dog urine and feces can be unsightly, cause odor problems, and, in some cases, even be a part of disease transmission. Feces not picked up can attract...
Box A case study for dog personality research the Dog Mentality Assessment test
Recently, investigations led by Svartberg and others see text published a series of studies on dog personality based on the Swedish dog population that was subjected to the Dog Mentality Assessment DMA Test from 1997. This data set consists of more than 10 000 dogs belonging to a variety of breeds. Importantly, this test was designed not in order to investigate dog personality but to improve breeding standards in working dogs Svartberg and Forkman 2002 . The utilization of such a large data set...
Ten Great Choices for Your Dachsie Bookshelf
Millions of dog books, so little time Here are a few fun Dachshund books to add to your collection, if you have one and if you don't, why not start one right now The Culture Clash, by Jean Donaldson James amp Kenneth Publishers . You'll never look at training a dog the same way again. When you read this, you'll keep saying, Ohhhh I get it Don't Shoot the Dog The New Art of Teaching and Training, by Karen Pryor Ringpress Books Ltd . Another really helpful book on dog training. Dig In Earthdog...
Taking a Little off the Top Introducing the Clipped Breeds
Somewhere along the evolutionary ladder between wolves and dogs, humans discovered that certain types of coats lurked in canine canis lupus familiaris genetics. Although I'm sure a bald wolf, one in need of a haircut, or one whose coat became naturally tangled didn't last long in the wild, after humans started tinkering with these unusual canine breed characteristics, those kinds of dogs became popular. People not only liked the look and feel of the various coats, but in some circumstances,...
How To Train Your Dog To Find Mushrooms The Hunt For Truffles
Your book is fantastic And when I follow your advice, it works to a tee. I have a dog that is about 16 months old. She loves to fetch and find the ball. Even when I throw it in the brush, she just does a search pattern and finds it. I would like to train her to find a certain mushroom. Yes, I said mushroom which seem to grow in our area. Can you give me some help on training her to sniff out this mushroom You've got exactly the type of dog you need to train this type of exercise. And that is, a...
Box The dog as a convergent behavioural model
Despite large morphological differences between humans and dogs, the notion of some sort of 'spiritual' similarity has been always around. Darwin 1872 also often refers to behavioural or mental parallels between dogs and humans, but it seems to depend from case to case whether the comparison is made on the basis of homology or convergence, Scott and Fuller's 1965 model of development of social behaviour in dogs was intended clearly as a homologous model for humans Chapter 9 , similarly to...
Tolling Retriever
he Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever or Toller originated in Nova Scotia in the early 1800s. The breed tolls or lures ducks within shooting range of the hunter by playing along the shore. Once the ducks have been shot, the dog then retrieves the birds. Tollers stand between 17 and 21 inches tall and weigh 40 to 55 pounds. The head is wedge-shaped, the eyes are almond-shaped, and the eye color either blends in with the coat or is dark. The ears are dropped and frame the face. The body is...
Practicing Good Grooming
Keeping your Dachshund well-groomed is an important part of maintaining her overall health, for the following reasons i A healthy, mat-free coat makes examination of the skin easier and doesn't harbor pests, dirt, or bacteria. i Tartar-free and plaque-free teeth aren't susceptible to gum disease. Brushing also prevents more serious conditions like heart disease, which can result from bacteria in your dog's mouth traveling to her heart. i Short, clipped nails keep your Dachshund's feet healthy...