Brett

Even if you’re diligent about not feeding your pet people food, they smell it and see it on the dining table. Never feed your pet from the table as this whets his appetite for steak and lowers your position as alpha.

There’s a difference between a picky eater and a finicky eater. A picky eater will only occasionally refuse to eat and can be easily tempted with a slice of cheese added to his bowl. A finicky eater is what we deal with here, a dog who has decided he’s giving up dog food for good. First, you want to rule any health issues out first when a dog makes any behavioral change but if your vet gives your pup the thumbs up, there are several ways to get him to eat without disrupting his stomach.

Ways to Persuade a Finicky Eater

1. Tone Down the Treats- A finicky eater is more likely to eat if he’s not comparing his dog food to a liver treat.
2. Feed Often – Try feeding smaller amounts of his regular food three or four times a day.
3. Exercise – It’s good for so many things and it increases a dog’s hunger. Try always exercising your pup before a meal.
4. Spay or Neuter – If you haven’t already, fix your pup. Besides the many health and behavioral benefits, it can help prevent a finicky eater.
5. Make it Positive- Always make feeding time a positive experience. If your pup associates it with irritability or punishment from you, he will be less likely to want to eat.
6. Keep It Quiet – Feed your dog in a quiet area without children or other dogs mulling around.
7. Try Different Times – Some dogs eat better in the afternoon, others eat better an hour after you’re home. Test it and see what time and situation work best for yours.
8. Resist Temptations – Try the other tips before giving into the urge to tempt your finicky pup to eat with people food. You’ll find that a few pieces of cooked chicken will perhaps tempt him for a time but he’ll soon grow bored of that, too.

Read the rest at dogster.com

“Veterinarians report that periodontal disease is the most commonly diagnosed health problem in dogs,” says Dr. Larry Corry, former president of the AVMA. “This can lead to painful infections in the mouth, and in severe cases, these infections can spread and become life-threatening.”

Below, doggie dentists weigh in on how to identify and prevent dental problems in dogs.

Inspect Your Dog’s Teeth at Home

Dr. Katy Nelson, a veterinarian who is also a member of the Iams Pet Wellness Council, suggests you quickly assess your dog’s mouth by looking at his or her gums: Healthy gums are pink as opposed to red, with no buildup of tartar along the gum line. Additionally, a healthy mouth does not produce horribly bad breath.

Your dog’s vet should do an oral exam at each annual visit, says Nelson. “In older dogs especially, they can get abscesses with no easily visible signs. A thorough assessment may require sedation.”

What to Expect at the Vet’s

Dr. Linda DeBowes, a Seattle-based veterinarian, acknowledges that periodontal illness is often a silent disease.

When your veterinarian diagnoses it in your dog, it’s because she has seen plaque, abscesses, loose teeth and lower-jaw fractures, which can occur with chronic dental problems.

“At that point, we need a cleaning to get below the gum line, which requires anesthesia,” says DeBowes. Once under, your dog’s teeth will be cleaned with an ultrasonic scaler or a hand scaler. The veterinarian will look for loose teeth, deep dental pockets, exposed roots or other signs of disease. Some teeth may need to be extracted.

Prevention Really is Key

“Once there is disease there, it’s painful and costly to deal with,” says Dr. Trisha Joyce of NYC Veterinary Specialists. “But you can protect your dog’s teeth just like you protect your own, with daily brushing and regular checkups.” She adds: “The only difference between your dental health and your dog’s is that he can’t do it for himself. His owner has to watch out for him.”

Dr. Brook Niemiec, a board-certified veterinary dental specialist in San Diego, suggests beginning a dental routine with your dog as soon as possible and using the following methods for brushing.

Read the entire article here…

Both with puppies and dogs with established potty problems, a combination of management, training, and appropriate sanitization is recommended. For adult dogs that have had reliable potty behaviors and suddenly begin having accidents inside, a veterinary visit including urine and/or fecal samples is advised. Instead of thinking of “how to housebreak a puppy” think about how to housetrain a puppy! It is the training, not the puppy that is broken.

Assuming a healthy dog, you’re ready to start training! First, you’ll need some supplies:

• Crate/Ex-Pen
• Tether (a six foot leash is fine)
• Nature’s Miracle enzymatic cleaner
• Treats, toys
• Notebook/record keeping forms
• Patience

Now you’re stocked, and can start training appropriate elimination behaviors.

Step one: Feed on a schedule. Dogs that eat on a schedule eliminate on a schedule.

Step two: Use a notebook or chart to keep track of when your dog eats, drinks, and eliminates. Also note what the dog was doing before the elimination – dogs frequently must “go potty” after: meals, naps, and playtime. Look for “pre-elimination” behaviors and note these – many dogs will sniff around, paw at the ground, or offer other indicator behaviors pre-elimination. These behaviors should become a cue to you to take your dog out for a potty break. Look for patterns; find your dog’s elimination schedule by reviewing your notes after a week or two.

Step three: Management. Use a crate if you are unable to supervise your dog. Purchase a crate that is just large enough for the dog to enter, turn around in, and lie down. Too large crates give dogs enough room to eliminate on one side and relax comfortably out of the mess on the other side. Crating takes advantage of a dog’s natural desire to live in a clean environment.

While crates are great housetraining aids, avoid crating your dog for longer than he can reasonably be expected to hold bladder/bowel movements. Generally, puppies can last one hour more than they are months old up until the age of 6 months, but this will vary for each individual (toy breeds especially may have difficulty “holding it” this long).

If you are gone all day at work and your dog cannot hold it that long, you must either arrange for someone to take the puppy out mid-day or provide a “safe spot” (many people use “potty pads”) until he is mature enough to control his elimination behaviors for the duration of your workday.

Use tethers for management when you are home. Freedom in the home is a privilege that should be earned after potty reliability is established. Tethering the dog to you allows you to recognize pre-elimination behaviors and thus, provide well-timed potty breaks.

Read the rest at Dogster…

But don’t worry, you don’t have to give up your favorite traditions to have a safe holiday. Watch out for these hazards, supervise your pets closely and try our substitution tips and everyone can have a Hoppy Easter!

The following seven holiday products are the most common Easter dangers:

Eggs – Dyed and Plastic

Shiny plastic eggs may look like toys to your pets. If they chew and swallow the plastic, it can cause intestinal problems that may require surgery. Fresh, hardboiled eggs are not dangerous, but eggs spoil quickly. If days later your pet finds and eats an egg that was undiscovered during the Easter hunt, it can make them very sick. Tip: Keep track of the number of eggs hidden and make sure all are accounted for at the end of the hunt.

Easter Grass

Cats are especially attracted to these shiny shreds, and just like tinsel, ingesting this “grass” may be lethal. Pets can not digest it, leading to the threads getting stuck in and damaging their intestines. Tip: A better choice? Try using paper, or even real grass!

Chocolate

Most adults already know how dangerous chocolate is for pets, but it is important children know as well. Make sure to tell your kids that sharing with the family pet could make them very sick. Still, supervision is key. Tip: With chocolate bunnies in every basket, and chocolate eggs hidden around the house, it may be best if your pets are in kept in an “Easter free zone” during the festivities.

Easter Lilies

These flowers and beautiful and festive, but should be avoided at all costs if you share your home with pets. Easter lilies are one of the most poisonous plants for pets, especially to cats. Vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite are symptoms of lily poisoning. Cats who take a bite of the flower can die from kidney failure in less than two days if left untreated. Tip: Try faux lilies for the same look without the risk.

Read the rest here…

If your dog doesn’t respond appropriately to a command after several attempts, don’t reward him. Resume training a few seconds later using a simpler command. Return to the more complex task later.

Always end training on a positive note. Ask your dog to respond to a command you know he will obey. Then reward him for a job well done and issue a finish command such as “free” or “release.” Avoid common words such as “okay.” Following a training session, both owner and dog should be left with a feeling of accomplishment.

2. Every dog should be familiar with the basic obedience commands, including come, heel, sit, down and stay. Teaching your dog to sit-stay and down-stay off leash is also a valuable lesson. Additional commands that are useful include: leave it, give it, stop it, and enough or cease.

Keep in mind that a dog’s motivation to respond to a command decreases as the complexity of the task increases. The odds of success, hinge not only on the degree of sophistication of the task but also your dog’s motivation to respond. From a dog’s perspective the question is, which is more rewarding, chasing the squirrel or returning to the owner? Understanding this aspect will increase your patience and chances for success.

3. Training should not involve any negative or punishment-based components. There should be no yelling, no hitting, no chain jerking, no hanging, and absolutely no electric shock. Each session should be upbeat and positive with rewards for jobs well done.

Remember that the opposite of reward is not punishment; it is no reward. If you ignore unacceptable responses, your dog will not be rewarded for his failed response. Most dogs want to please their owners or, at the very least, to obtain highly valued resources (food, attention and toys).

4. Ensure that your dog’s motivation for reward is highest during a training session. If food is the reward, train before a meal, not after. If praise, petting and other aspects of your attention are to be used as a reward, schedule the training session at a time when your dog hungers for your attention (for example, after you have returned from work).

For complex tasks, such as the off leash down-stay, your dog will be more motivated to comply if he has received moderate exercise before the training session. Asking a dog that is bursting with energy to remain in a prolonged reclining position is asking for failure during the early stages of training.

5. Make sure the reward you offer in training is the most powerful one for your dog. Food-motivated dogs work well for food, but the treats used should be favorite foods for the dog, such as small pieces of cheese or freeze-dried liver. You want your dog to be strongly motivated to obey commands to receive the treat.

Food treats, if used, should be small – no bigger than the size of your little fingernail. The texture of the treat should be such that it does not require chewing and should not crumble, otherwise you will lose your dog’s attention as he Hoovers up the crumbs. Large treats, like Milk Bones®, take too long to eat, causing the dog to lose attention.

If praise is used as a reward, deliver it in high singsong tones, which are most pleasing for the dog. Also, enthusiasm in your voice will be much appreciated. If petting is to be used as a reward, it should be in a way that the dog enjoys, such as stroking the dog’s hair on the side of his face in the same direction that it grows, or scratching him on the chest. Note: Petting on top of the head is not appreciated by most dogs.

6. Timing of the reward is important. After a correct response, reward your dog within ½ second of the command to ensure that your dog makes the connection between his behavior and the reward.

7. Use short commands such as sit, down, leave it, quiet, out, and off. Say the word once. Do not repeat the command. Dogs will remember a command for about two minutes before the notion is lost. Shorter words are better than longer words and words that end in a hard consonant (C, K, T, X) are better than those that end in a vowel because you can “spit” them out.

The only command that should have three sounds associated with it is come. In this case, you first have to attract the dog’s attention by saying his name, ROVER, then COME (the actual command word) and GOOD BOY, even before the dog comes so that he knows he is not in trouble. Make sure your tone is crisp and cheerful.

Read the rest on basic dog training here…