5.01 Puppy Husbandry Practices

 

In this episode we continue our puppy training  theme by talking about proper puppy husbandry procedures.  What exercises can you do with a puppy to prepare them for being groomed and treated by...

Puppy Classes And Canine Parvovirus

I have just read a paper in the March/April issue of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association describing a study that concluded, puppies vaccinated at least once prior to starting puppy...

Adopting an Adult Dog

Adopting an adult dog can be a marvelous alternative to raising and training a puppy. Alternatively, a new adult dog can be a full-time project. Adult dogs can be perfect or problematic — carrying

Pet Food and Canine Nutrition: Best Brands

I just read the Independent Pet Food Nutrition Research Study by John Martinez based on a modification to Goldstein’s Wellness & Longevity Program — Natural Care for Dogs & Cats.

245 pet foods...

Choosing Your Puppy


Choosing a puppy is a very important decision, and everyone who lives in the household should agree before any puppy is brought into the home. If the puppy is to truly become a member of the family,...

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The Impact of Importing Dogs

Cindy Bruckart  |  Thu, 02/14/2013 - 08:56

It's become quite popular in many areas to move dogs from one shelter to another in the hopes that they will have a better chance to be adopted.  The original idea of shelter transfers was a good one, I believe, when done right.  In my opinion, doing it right means that shelters and rescues are helping one another to better serve their communities by trading animals, giving long time shelter residents new exposure in a new location or transferring a dog with special needs (health or behavioral) to an organization with the resources to meet those needs.

Sadly, this original idea has morphed

 
Tags:  dogs animal shelter dog adoption

4.09 It Didn't Work For Me

There are a lot of things that can go wrong in dog training, mistakes which will make any method or exercise significantly less effective.  Dog training is complex and requires some important skills, it requires some patience, persistence and timing.  Also, there’s something about dogs which tends to short-wire some people’s critical thinking skills.  Probably the biggest problem people run into is expecting too much from their dog, too quickly.  They don’t recognize the incremental improvements, which means they don’t capture and build upon those improvements.

 
iWoofs Seas:  Season 4
Dove is an Open Paw shelter dog available for adoption from the Alachua County Animal Shelter

Open Paw: Turning Animals Shelters Into Dog and Cat Universities

Kelly Gorman Dunbar  |  Tue, 02/05/2013 - 14:32

Hello everyone! It’s been ages since I blogged here at Dog Star Daily and that is a shame. I’ve been very busy with the redesign of the site, revamping puppy training protocols for SIRIUS®, traveling teaching fun scent work games for pet dogs, and with the encouraging boom of Open Paw® shelter training workshops. Regardless, my apologies for staying away for so long!

 

Have you heard of Open Paw? It’s one of my very favorite projects and I don’t think I’ve ever written about it here on DSD. People like to call it a shelter dog and cat training and behavior program, but I like to call it

 
Tags:  Open paw animal shelters dog dog training kelly gorman dunbar

23 Best games for a New Puppy

Dog Star Daily®  |  Tue, 02/05/2013 - 10:21

 

Games are great!  In this episode the Dunbars talk about the best games for a new puppy, especially one that’s going to be living with a couple of young children.  Games can be used for motivating behaviors that are really useful, like Go To Your Crate or Off & Take-it.  Scent games can be a lot of fun, and quite useful, as can Go To for finding members of your family.  And really, in a family of four, any training activity can be turned into a game or competition, and probably should be.

 

 
Video iWoofs:  Season 2

Dog Training, With a Pint of Guinness to Help

Sue McCabe  |  Wed, 01/23/2013 - 12:05

Using distraction, as a reward for correct response to commands.

The video shows novice dog, Hungarian Visla, Bruno, enjoying a game of chase with more advanced dog, Border Collie, Guinness. In order to allow freedom off leash, regardless of what’s going on, dogs need to listen, understand & respond to commands. When I ask Bruno & Guinness to perform a ‘down’ mid chase, their response must be non-negotiable, as one day it may save their lives. In addition, I don’t want all my hard work convincing a dog I’m the best fun, to be wasted as he gets too much thrill from playing

 

Bruin's Poem - A Board and Train Journey

Rachel Friedman  |  Mon, 01/21/2013 - 15:48

Bruin is winding down his first (and possibly only) Three Day Board and Train. With respect to developing better leash manners, off leash (supervised) reliability out in the planet and within the home, better manners with his own kind and people, hats off to Bean. My 9 1/2 year old English Springer Spaniel is an extraordinary teacher. While I sometimes consider his punishment  dose a bit more emphatic than necessary, I concede that he is usually right. If he has to get into it once in a while with a real upstart (not the situation with Bruin) -- that is, an extremely overbearing and under

 
Bruin power naps between lessons.

Bruin's Poem - A Board and Train Journey

Rachel Friedman  |  Mon, 01/21/2013 - 14:47

Bruin is winding down his first (and possibly only) Three Day Board and Train. With respect to developing better leash manners, off leash (supervised) reliability out in the planet and within the home, better manners with his own kind and people, hats off to Bean. My 9 1/2 year old English Springer Spaniel is an extraordinary teacher. While I sometimes I consider his punishment  dose a bit more emphatic than necessary, I concede that he is usually right. If he has to get into it once in a while with a real upstart (not the situation with Bruin) -- that is, an extremely overbearing and under

 
Tags:  A Better Pet Har-Vest Dog Mentor Board and Train
Zooka sporty in red Har-Vest

Grow With Me Har-Vest Video Testimonial

Rachel Friedman  |  Thu, 01/17/2013 - 09:30

For more information on Grow With Me Har-Vest Program, please click HERE.

To see a video demonstration of a recent Grow With Me Har-Vest pup, Go HERE.

 
Tags:  Har-Vest A Better Pet LLC service dog vest dog backpack calming effect
Greyhound dog stretching on a fit ball next to cavaletti poles

Fitness Routines for Dogs

Genie Tuttle CPDT-KA  |  Tue, 12/18/2012 - 14:43

It happened one day when I wasn’t looking. Time snuck by and suddenly my “new dogs” turned into my “aging dogs” seemingly in the blink of an eye. We adopted them from a greyhound rescue on the same day 9 years ago, when both were 2 years old. The thrill of getting to know them and show them the world was captivating and certainly something all dog-lovers understand. So much to learn and do, so little time. But we never looked at it that way.

 

Dear Santa...

Michelle Douglas  |  Thu, 12/13/2012 - 08:04

If you’re planning to get a little something for your dog this holiday season, here are some suggestions on popular toys, trends, where to shop, and what to avoid.  First, What rates high on the dog-favorite list these days?  At the top of the list, are interactive toys that don’t simply offer your pet something to chew on, but that make your pet solve a puzzle, or offer rewards for playing.  Interactive games and toys, can be as simple as a Kong®, which offers hours of fun and combats behavior problems when filled with food or treats (and FROZEN).  More complex toys are also increasingly popular as well.

 

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