Dog Care & Dog Training Tips

Did you just buy a new puppy? Are you thinking about doing so sometime in the near future? If so, you will also want to become familiar with puppy training. The fact of the matter is that if you do not train your puppy you may end up with a problem on your hands. Luckily, with a bit of puppy training you can get past all of this and be well on your way to living a happy life with your new pooch.

Most people who do not look into puppy training fail to do so because they are not aware of what it entails. Although each obedience school has a different way of doing things, most of them touch on the same basics. For instance, your puppy will learn the basic commands. This includes sit, stay, lie down, heel, and come among others. When you teach these commands to your puppy at an early age they will remember them for the rest of their life.

Additionally, training will help to get your puppy used to being around other people as well as other dogs. And as you can imagine, this is quite important. When your puppy is trained to socialize with anybody that they are around, you will have a much easier time keeping it under control.

As you can see, puppy training is well worth the time and money. Many people do not move forward with the puppy training process and end up regretting it in the end. Remember, when you train your dog at an early age you have a much better chance of getting through to it.

So before your puppy gets too old, find a training class in your area. For a minimal amount of money you can teach your puppy the basics of behaving and socializing before they are too old.

By: R. Bird -

Puppies who chew are normal. Chewing is a natural and necessary puppy behavior. Puppies at about four months of age are more prone to chewing because this is when they usually start teething. Other dogs that chew, especially when you are not at home, may be suffering from separation anxiety. Separation anxiety requires an entire new behavior treatment plan. In this newsletter, I want to give you a few tips for your typical, normal-behaving puppy chewer!

Some things you can do is try to teach your puppy not to chew inappropriate items. You can sit on the floor with him, casually place an object before him like a shoe, or a pencil (something he has chewed on inappropriately). As puppy approaches the object, give a firm "No," and replace the item with appropriate chew toy. When puppy takes the appropriate chew toy, praise him. You might even offer him a treat to try and reenforce the appropriate behavior and also.....that chewing on treats is alright too.

Have a variety of chew toys on hand. Give him no more than 3 or 4 chew toys at a time. Rotate the chew toys to provide variety and to help stimulate interest. Puppies can be compared to children who enjoy a new toy or returning to a toy they have not played with in a while.

Keep plenty of Bitter Apple Spray on hand and use it on spots where you find puppy has chewed or is about to chew. This has been the absolute best trick I have ever found in keeping puppies/dogs away from objects I don't want them chewing on.

My Puppy Bites my Hands When we Play!

If you have ever watched puppies playing together or moms playing with their puppies, you will notice how they nip and bite each other sometimes to the point of what sounds like a blood curling scream.....Very Normal Behavior, however. Not so pleasant though when puppy plays with you and attempts the same kind of antics. You will need to teach puppy not to play biting games with you. Try screaming: "Ouch!" Walk away from her for several minutes. You don't want to give her attention for this behavior. You want to plainly tell her "THAT HURTS," and I do not like it!!! If she just barely touches your skin with a little nip, just gently say "No." Try feeding her treats straight from your hand and do not throw them on the floor or leave them out for her to nibble on. Sort of like, puppies/dogs will not bite the hands that feed them, most usually, unless they have some kind of severe psychological disorder. You can also grab her mouth, hold it together firmly and say "NO BITE."