How to Socialize a Puppy

Contribution from Richard Cross
Editor of TheDogClinic.com

Puppies that have positive experiences with a wide range of dogs, environments, people and objects grow up to be less stressed and more adaptable. This is why socialization is one of a new dog owner’s most important tasks.

It can be hard to keep track of your dog’s experiences though. To help new dog owners, The Dog Clinic has created a checklist for puppy socialization. This is great for printing and sticking on your fridge, so everyone in the household can see your dog’s progress.

Socialization isn’t just about giving your dog lots of experiences though – these experiences need to be positive and controlled. The article also contains a complete guide to safely socializing a puppy with almost any new experience.

Puppy Socialization Checklist
Click Here to Jump to Checklist

Keep You and Your Dog Safe From Distracted Driving

Guest Post by Tia Philipart

Driving around town with your furry friend is one of the more blissful moments in life, and we want to help you keep it that way! CarRentals conducted a survey observing dog owners’ driving habits in order to bring awareness to a potential tragic situation. See below for the top three tips to keep you and your dog safe while driving.

  1. Everyone should buckle up – The laws of physics apply to you and your dog, having them unrestrained can lead to a forceful projectile. This could injure the dog and passengers in the car.
  2. Restain your dog to decrease distractions – Dogs are curious and also get anxious when trapped in a car. This leads to them climbing around the car, distracting you from focusing on the road.
  3. Don’t let your dog hang out the window – Even if your dog is smart, other drivers aren’t. A dog hanging out the window may be struck by something heavy, including another motor vehicle!

We hope that these tips help you to choose the safe route when driving with your dog. Check out the rest of the study data on pet owners’ driving habits here and see the full infographic below on driving safely with your dog.

Continue reading

Three Things to Teach Every Dog – and How to Make It Fun!

Guest Post by: Mat Coulton, founder of Wiley Pup.

Our dogs not only bring us joy and purpose in life, they also increase or overall health and wellbeing. Don’t we owe it to them to make sure we are looking out for their health and safety as well?

Teach Your Dog - Make it Fun!

Teach Your Dog – Make it Fun!

When we talk about what we can provide for our dogs, we often focus on things like making sure they keep their weight down through proper exercise. Sometimes we talk about basic dog manners and diet as well. However, we should also be looking for opportunities to train behaviors that can protect our companions from potential dangers and emergency situations.

In this article we will explore three such behaviors that might just come in handy to protect your dog. The training methods for all of these “tricks” are easy and fun. When you can structure training as a game, you will be surprised how motivated your dog is to learn, and how quickly they pick up new behaviors. Continue reading

DogBlog Review: Zuke’s Mini Naturals

Review by

Zuke's Mini Naturals Dog Treats

Zuke’s Mini Naturals Dog Treats

DogBlogger Julie Walton
DogBlog: A Dog’s Eye View
dogblog.inet-success.com
BestDogBlog.com

Product: Zuke’s Mini Naturals
Received from: Chewy.com

Blue Belle loves to do tricks and one of the best treats for rewarding our dog are small treats like these little mini treats from Zuke’s.  We received the Zuke’s Mini Naturals Fresh Peanut Butter Formula from Chewy.com to review.

The 6 oz. package is actually a pretty large package.  And I see that they are on sale at Chewy right now.

These treats are wheat, corn and soy free and there are less than 3 1/2 calories per treat.

Blue Belle really likes these tasty treats, in addition to using them for training purposes, we also use them inside her Odin Toy.

Ingredients

Peanut Butter, Ground Rice, Ground Barley, Malted Barley, Gelatin, Vegetable Glycerine, Tapioca, Natural Flavor, Cherries, Sunflower Oil, Lecithin, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Rosemary, Turmeric, Sorbic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Mixed Tocopherols

Assistance Dog Week (Aug 2nd – Aug 8th)

Put your hands (or paws) together for assistance dogs.  International Assistance Dog Week is August 2-8.

There are three primary types of assistance dogs.

  1. Guide Dogs – help people with vision issues
  2. Hearing Dogs –  help people with hearing issues
  3. Service Dogs –  help people with other disabilities.

I have a great love for dogs and really appreciate their intelligence.  I happen to have epilepsy.  Even though my dogs have not been trained to be service dogs, I do notice that they stay very close to my side when I am feeling like I could have a seizure.

Please let us know about your experiences with service dogs.  Thanks to After Hours Veterinary Emergency Clinic for the awesome infographic helping to  spread some knowledge on assistance dogs.

Assistance Dog Week Infographic

Assistance Dog Week Infographic

Potty Pad Training Adult Dog Ideas That You Need To Know

Guest Post by Ryan Laporte

A dog litter box is a useful tool in dog potty training. House trained dogs use potty boxes in case of accidental toilet needs, an added benefit to train your dog. Potty training can be hard if you are not using the correct technique. In order to successfully train a puppy or a dog you need to be determined and consistent. If you are not consistent your dog will feel confused as to what to do. Dog potty boxes are beneficial to potty training adult dogs. Dog owners who are living in highrise buildings and apartment must use potty pads inorder to train their dogs.

Training your dog to use a dog litter box is easy and it’s just like the old technique of using “paper training”. If you can still remember during the old times when there were hardly any dog supplies people would use paper inorder to potty train. Potty box training is the same idea as paper training. It is not easy but if you follow the correct steps, you will find out that potty training in a potty box is not a difficult thing to do. Here are the following steps that you can follow for effective litter box training.

  • The first thing that you should do is select a place where you will permanently put the box. It is important that it has its own specific place. Your dog will be disoriented or confused trying to find the liter box every time he needs to go to the toilet.
  • It should be stable place and difficult for your dog to drag and move around. Some manufacturers have trays to hold the dog box in place. It is ideal to have a potty tray or holder to avoid your dog from dragging it around. This will also help them identify the potty box from your carpet. The play area and toys should be on a different side as well as the resting area. Giving a different setting for every activity of your dog would help him understand the right place to do each thing.
  • Observe your dog at this time. You can play with him if he wants to play. Wait for the time when he needs to go to the toilet for urination or defecation. Instruct him to go to the litter box and say something like “go potty”. In cases that he is not on the dog grass, bring him to it and say “go potty” again repeatedly. When he is already finished do not forget to say “good boy” or “good dog”. Praises and rewards is a form of motivation to do the same thing again next time. As a reward you can treat him with food or toys.
  • Be consistent in training your dog for a couple of days. Continue the process until he can determine where he needs to potty. Consistency is very important so you need give more time in training them. In due time he will know that he needs to go to the potty pad whenever he needs to urinate and defecate. You will be surprised later on that he will quickly go to the area where the potty box is even his in on a different area of the house.

Following these simple steps will help you be an effective trainer. You also need to recognize the fact that every dog is different from each other and the length of the training varies from dog to dog. The duration of the training depends upon how immediate your dog’s response.

There are a lot of resources out there so I encourage you to do your homework prior to committing to potty training your adult dog. There are a lot of options availabe to you so I recommend you visit your local pet store and compare prices and quality between the different liter box options.