Train Your Dog To Be A Good Citizen This Summer

Summertime is the best time to be outdoors and have fun. The beach, hiking and camping beckon us all to the great outdoors. And of course vacations are on everyone’s list for the summer. But what about our canine pal? Of course we want to include him in all of our summer outdoor activities. But can he be trusted to behave in public? He can if you teach him to be a good canine citizen! You will be able to enjoy all of your favorite activities with your favorite pal with a little training on your part.

Training your dog doesn’t have to involve a whole lot of work. It can be fun and satisfying for both you and your pet. Training your dog to behave properly in society doesn’t require much equipment, but you do need to set up a training program for both of you. You’ll get better and faster results if you train and practice with your dog every day for 20-30 minutes.

Since you’re not going to teach him formal obedience, you should be able to complete his good citizen training in a couple of weeks. Of course this depends on the dog’s temperament and the frequency of your training sessions. After his training, he’ll be ready to join you in just about every one of your outdoor activities this summer! The equipment you’ll need is a six foot leather leash and a slip chain collar. You may also want to purchase a few tennis balls for games, and a bag of doggy treats.

When you’re ready to start training, make sure you wear comfortable shoes and a watch. A couple of treats in your pocket is also a good idea. The first thing you need to teach your dog is to walk nicely on a loose leash. In public, dogs have to be on a leash, so this is very important. Your dog doesn’t need to be as exact as in regular obedience training; he just needs to learn not to pull on the leash, balk, or jump around wildly.

Put the slip collar on your dog’s neck correctly, (slip the chain inside itself to make the form of a “P”. Make sure it slips easily back and forth). Next, clip the leash on, and with the dog on your left side, happily call his name with “heel” after it. Hold the leash in both hands, jerk it, release quickly and start walking. If he lunges ahead, jerk the leash to put him back by your side, praise and continue walking. Make circles and turns. Praise your dog and talk to him often. Every minute or so, stop and make your dog sit by pulling up on his collar and pushing down on his hindquarters while telling him to “sit”. When he does so, praise him immediately and give him a treat. Have fun!

Continue with this routine for about 15-20 minutes. Praise him all through the training! At the end of the training session, play a happy game with him. If you train your dog every day with this routine, he should be walking and sitting nicely for you in a couple of weeks.

The next important exercise to teach your dog is the “come”. This command is especially important if you’re out hiking or at the beach. Put your dog in the sit position, stand in front of him and run backwards while calling his name happily with “come”! If you have to jerk the leash to encourage him to come to you, do so. Make him sit in front of you. Praise him and give him a treat. Practice this lesson along with the heeling and sits every day for no longer than 30 minutes. He soon will be running to you whenever you call him.

A fun game to teach your dog is the “fetch” using a tennis ball. With the dog off leash, get him excited about the ball. Toss it up in the air, bounce it etc, and talk excitedly about what a good dog he is. When he has his eye on the ball, toss it about 10 feet away in front of you and give him a command such as “fetch” or “go get it”! If he runs and picks the ball up, immediately praise, and call his name with “come”! You can run backwards, clap your hands and squat down to encourage him to come to you with the ball. Praise him and take the ball from his mouth. Keep on tossing the ball further and further away. Repeat the exercise until he gets the idea. Most dogs find this game easy and fun to master. This game is especially great on the beach, and is good exercise for your dog.

After you teach your dog to heel nicely, sit, come and fetch, you will be able to take him with you on your fun summer activities! Always make sure to take bottled water and his bowl with you, and be sure he travels either restrained in a seat with a special dog belt, or is in a crate in your vehicle. And of course remember to never leave your dog in a closed car! You can now enjoy all of your favorite summer activities with your behaved canine pal.

To check out a highly recommended, top notch dog training course, please visit www.sitandheel.com

 

Keep Your Dog Tick and Flea Free this Summer!

Simple and Economical Tips to Keep Fleas and Ticks off of Your Dog

There are so many flea and tick medications on the market today that it just boggles the mind. Which ones really work and which ones may even be harmful to your pet? And the prices on some of these medications are through the roof! So what’s a caring and concerned pet owner to do? I have used a simple and relatively less expensive way to keep my dog’s flea and tick free. This easy regime will probably work for you too.

We all know that ticks and fleas are unhealthy and that it’s imperative to keep these pests off of our dogs. If a household has more than one pet, the problem compounds. I have five adult Australian Shepherds and it’s a challenge to keep these pests off of my dogs! But it can be done successfully.

Fleas and ticks are known as external parasites. They can transmit dangerous diseases and also cause blood loss. It is important to know that early treatments for the prevention of flea and tick infestations are critical in keeping the pest population from developing into a major problem. Severe flea and tick infestations, especially in the home, are difficult to treat effectively.

Whenever you use a flea or tick medication it’s imperative that you read the instructions carefully. Some products (especially the newer ones to the market) can be harmful to pets if they’re used improperly or in the wrong combination. It’s also very important that if you see your dog having any kind of adverse reaction to the medication, to discontinue it and contact your veterinarian.

The best way to treat your four-legged friend for these pests is by treating both the dog and his environment and also your house (if he’s allowed to come into the house). This way, the fleas, eggs and ticks won’t have a safe haven to live and breed. You should treat your dog, his environment and your house at the same time. For treatment I use a combination of flea and tick drops, Sevin Dust (5%), flea and tick spray, foggers and a dog shampoo.

To start your flea and tick treatment, first bathe your dog with a dog shampoo. There are many different kinds to choose from on the market, including moisturizing shampoos and flea and tick shampoos. After he is clean and dry, you can apply his flea and tick drops. The most common drops are Frontline, Advantage, and Hartz (Hartz is the least expensive). Be sure to buy the medication appropriate for your dog’s weight. Read the instructions carefully! Some drops instruct you to just squeeze the medicine between the shoulder blades, while others tell you to start at the shoulder blades and continue to the base of the tail. In any case, make sure that you apply the medication on the dog’s skin, and not just on his fur.

Next, wash all of your dog’s beddings and vacuum your house. (Be sure to dispose of the vacuum bag). Use a hand held flea and tick house spray to spray in the corners, closets, on baseboards, and throw rugs. Foggers won’t penetrate these places. Depending on the size of your house and the number of rooms, buy enough foggers to treat the entire home. You should place one fogger in each room and close the door. Be sure to follow the directions!

Your dogs outside environment, including runs and the yard where he occupies should be sprayed with a yard and kennel flea and tick spray. Make sure that the “rest areas” are kept clean. I like to use the 7Dust about once a week as it is effective and not very expensive. You can make an easy homemade “shaker” jar to dispense the dust onto both the dog and all of his indoor and outdoor beddings. Simply find a clean glass jar with a lid. Take a nail and hammer holes into the lid. Fill the glass jar with the Sevin Dust and screw on the lid. You can shake the dust on your dog and his bedding about once a week or when needed.

I hope these tips were helpful for you in solving the summer flea and tick invasion. Remember, prevention is a lot easier than trying to combat an ongoing infestation. Your dog will thank you in return by staying happy, healthy and bug-free!

There are so many flea and tick medications on the market today that it just boggles the mind. Which ones really work and which ones may even be harmful to your pet? And the prices on some of these medications are through the roof! So what’s a caring and concerned pet owner to do? I have used a simple and relatively less expensive way to keep my dog’s flea and tick free. This easy regime will probably work for you too.

We all know that ticks and fleas are unhealthy and that it’s imperative to keep these pests off of our dogs. If a household has more than one pet, the problem compounds. I have five adult Australian Shepherds and it’s a challenge to keep these pests off of my dogs! But it can be done successfully.

Fleas and ticks are known as external parasites. They can transmit dangerous diseases and also cause blood loss. It is important to know that early treatments for the prevention of flea and tick infestations are critical in keeping the pest population from developing into a major problem. Severe flea and tick infestations, especially in the home, are difficult to treat effectively.

Whenever you use a flea or tick medication it’s imperative that you read the instructions carefully. Some products (especially the newer ones to the market) can be harmful to pets if they’re used improperly or in the wrong combination. It’s also very important that if you see your dog having any kind of adverse reaction to the medication, to discontinue it and contact your veterinarian.

The best way to treat your four-legged friend for these pests is by treating both the dog and his environment and also your house (if he’s allowed to come into the house). This way, the fleas, eggs and ticks won’t have a safe haven to live and breed. You should treat your dog, his environment and your house at the same time. For treatment I use a combination of flea and tick drops, Sevin Dust (5%), flea and tick spray, foggers and a dog shampoo.

To start your flea and tick treatment, first bathe your dog with a dog shampoo. There are many different kinds to choose from on the market, including moisturizing shampoos and flea and tick shampoos. After he is clean and dry, you can apply his flea and tick drops. The most common drops are Frontline, Advantage, and Hartz (Hartz is the least expensive). Be sure to buy the medication appropriate for your dog’s weight. Read the instructions carefully! Some drops instruct you to just squeeze the medicine between the shoulder blades, while others tell you to start at the shoulder blades and continue to the base of the tail. In any case, make sure that you apply the medication on the dog’s skin, and not just on his fur.

Next, wash all of your dog’s beddings and vacuum your house. (Be sure to dispose of the vacuum bag). Use a hand held flea and tick house spray to spray in the corners, closets, on baseboards, and throw rugs. Foggers won’t penetrate these places. Depending on the size of your house and the number of rooms, buy enough foggers to treat the entire home. You should place one fogger in each room and close the door. Be sure to follow the directions!

Your dogs outside environment, including runs and the yard where he occupies should be sprayed with a yard and kennel flea and tick spray. Make sure that the “rest areas” are kept clean. I like to use the 7Dust about once a week as it is effective and not very expensive. You can make an easy homemade “shaker” jar to dispense the dust onto both the dog and all of his indoor and outdoor beddings. Simply find a clean glass jar with a lid. Take a nail and hammer holes into the lid. Fill the glass jar with the Sevin Dust and screw on the lid. You can shake the dust on your dog and his bedding about once a week or when needed.

I hope these tips were helpful for you in solving the summer flea and tick invasion. Remember, prevention is a lot easier than trying to combat an ongoing infestation. Your dog will thank you in return by staying happy, healthy and bug-free!