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Helping Your Fearful Dog Gain Confidence

Living In Fear, Helping Your Fearful Dog Gain Confidence

Living a life filled with fear or anxiety is no fun for humans or dogs. In fact, it is a terrible way to live. Feelings of anxiety, nervousness fearful dog hidesand fear flood the body with toxic chemicals and can shorten a lifespan. Helping your fearful dog gain confidence can be as simple as introducing exercise into their routine, implementing basic obedience skills, coping skills and using something pleasurable (food or toys) to change the way your dog feels about the fearful object or environment.

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6 Potty Training Tips for Puppies and Adult Dogs

6 Potty Training Tips for Puppies and Adult Dogspotty training tips for puppies and dogs

I receive many calls regarding potty training both for puppies and adult dogs. With the holiday season there will be many more calls as puppies and dogs are high on the Christmas wish list.

Most people know that a puppy must be potty trained. When adopting an adult dog, you may think that they should already be potty trained. However, if the dog is being adopted from a shelter

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4 Simple Tips to Sharpen Your Dog’s Basic Commands

4 Simple Tips to Sharpen Your Dog’s Basic Commands

It’s easy to have your dog become really good at performing the basic commands of sit, down, stay & come when called. Working these basic commands into their daily routine ensures that when you actually need them to perform one of these skills, your dog will be very good at it. This can be a lifesaver!

Think about it… if I taught you a new skill but you only had to use it once in a while, you would most likely not be very good at it. However, if you used that new skill every day then you would be quite excellent at it and could perform it whenever you needed to. It’s the same for dogs! [Read more…]

Bad Dog or Bored Dog? 10 Tips to Increase Good Behavior in Your Dog

Bad Dog or Bored Dog?

Is your dog bad or just bored?

If you ask me, there are no bad dogs, really. They are either bored and/or maybe justbad dog or bored dog haven’t been taught desirable positive behaviors. Dogs don’t want to misbehave. Quite the contrary, they want to make you happy. However, even when they have been taught/trained basic manners, if they are not getting what they need in terms of daily mental stimulation and physical exercise they may vent that energy in undesirable not to mention, negative ways.

 

See if any of these behaviors sound familiar…

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5 Simple Tips for Getting Your Dog to Behave in Public

Getting your dog to behave in public can be frustrating especially if you have a high getting your dog to behave in public isn't always easyenergy dog or if he/she is a young dog or puppy.

Many places we may want to take our dogs are so much more exciting from the dog’s perspective. Take Petsmart for example. Petsmart is pretty exciting from a dog’s point of view (the smell of food, treats, other dogs, happy, friendly people that say hello in a high pitched excited voice while offering treats etc). Get the picture?

To help your dog learn how to remain calm and attentive in these types of [Read more…]

Dog Parks, Good or Bad? 4 Simple Tips

Dog Parks, Good or Bad?

dog walking at dog parks in lawrenceville, ga with max

Walk your dog prior to the dog park.

To dog park or not to dog park that is the question. A hotly debated question that I am frequently asked “ Is it ok to take my dog to dog parks?”. My answer “yes and no” depending on your dog. A dog park is for socializing (learning how to interact with other dogs) not exercising. Will your dog get exercise while at the dog park? Of course they will but never take a fully energized dog into a dog park or you could be setting your dog up for failure. Over excited dog = bad doggie manners = possible dog fight.

Take your dog for a nice walk before taking them into the dog park. They will be calmer, better behaved and make better social decisions. [Read more…]

5 Simple Insights, Microchipping Your Pet, Is It Worth It?

Microchipping Your Pet, Is It Worth It? 5 Simple Insights

Is this your idea of how to find your pet if they are lost?

microchip for dogs in lawrenceville, ga

Considering the fact that pets that HAVE a microchip are more than twice as likely to be returned to their owners when lost than pets that are not.  I say yes.

1. What is a microchip? A microchip is a small (just a bit larger than a grain of rice) indentifying  circuit device that carries a unique identifier which microchip for dogs and catswhen scanned can give the matching pet recovery service (Home Again, Avid just to name a few) so they can be contacted to find out the name of the owner that the chip is registered to. That being said you must keep your registration up to date with current address phone number etc (which you can usually do easily and quickly online). [Read more…]

7 Stress Signals Your Dog May Offer Prior to a Bite

Teach Your Children Well, 7 Stress Signals To Watch for Prior to a Dog Bite

Dogs can and do bite.  In the US alone 850,000 people seek medical fearful dogattention for dog bites annually. When children are bitten it is usually a dog they know (theirs, neighbors, friends). While biting is usually a last resort type of communication for most dogs, it is just that, a way of communicating “I am afraid” or “I don’t like what you are doing to or around me”.  Usually a dog offers another form of communication previous to a bite. Most adults and definitely children either don’t pick up on these signals or ignore them. [Read more…]