How to Encourage Positive Kid Interaction

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
03
Sep 2010

It is important to maintain a well-balanced household, which includes having your kids interact with the dog in the house.  There are games that are safe, develop socialization skills, and desirable behavior in your pet.  Your kid will be provided with the knowledge to initiate the play.  Here are the best and worst games for the child and pet to engage in together.

Avoid Aggressive Games

Any game that embarks in aggressive behavior, avoid.  This includes tug-of-war, chasing, wrestling and other rough-housing games.  These games could cause something negative to unfold that a child may not know how to handle.  Thus, avoid these types of play between a child and dog.

Encourage Thinking Games

Playing “fetch” is a thinking and physical game.  It allows your dog to expend energy, think, and focus.  This is a great game for a child and dog to play.  First, teach a child how to play.  Hand the child a dog toy.  Tell the child to toss the toy and say, “Fetch!”  This keys the dog in to understanding that the word is associated with the movement.  Then, have the child kneel down, and when the dog returns, have the child state, “Drop it!”  Once the dog does so, the child rewards with plenty of praise and pet treats.  Have the child repeat.  It is a fun game for both to interact and safely bond over.

To find out more about what games are safe for a child and dog to do together, talk to a Florida dog obedience trainer or a k9 obedience instructor today.

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How to Find the Right Vet

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
01
Sep 2010

When you are a responsible dog owner, you ensure your dog receives proper exercise, nutritious food, regular grooming, and exceptional medical care.  But finding an experienced, knowledgeable, and successful veterinarian in your area can be challenging.  Here are help you find the right veterinarian meeting your dog’s needs.

Initial Meeting with the Selected Vet

The first thing you may want to do when narrowing down your veterinarian selection is make an appointment.  This way you can review the facilities, staff, and make sure the space is clean, modern, and well-organized.  Find out how many veterinarians are on staff.  Find out about how many patients currently go this location, and what is the proper chain of command if the main vet is on vacation.  Also, find a veterinarian that you has excellent communication skills.  For when you bring your pet in, it may be under higth stress circumstances.  Therefore, you need to find a vet that is able to defuse the situation, listen to your dilemma, and fix the problem.  If a vet is lacking in the communications department, then the vet will not be able to execute these tasks successfully.

What to Ask the Veterinarian

Once you have narrowed down your veterinarian choices, there are a few questions you need to ask ensuring you found the right veterinarian for your loving dog.  The first is find out what type of accreditation does the practice possess?  Furthermore, what is the standard practice for pain management?  Some veterinarians believe in giving pain medications, while others give up on the dog too easily.  Furthermore, what type of training, education, and licensing does the technician and staff have?  These are all important questions to ask the veterinarian.
When looking for the best veterinarian in your area, talk to a Florida dog obedience trainer or a k9 obedience instructor to find out who he/she recommends ensuring you locate the best trainer possible.

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The Secret to Taking Care of a Dog

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
30
Aug 2010

There are many advantages to owning a pet, including living a fulfilled life.  You receive unconditional love from this affectionate, loyal and committed canine.  You learn to respect other living animals solely from taking care of your own.  And your pet is there to get you out of bed, go for walks, play and socialize.  But you need to make sure you are doing the same for your pet.  Your dog deserves it!  The best thing you can do for your dog is to follow these dog care tips to ensure you providing your dog with the most loving environment.

First thing is make sure you have proper identification on your dog’s tags.  You need to have relevant contact information to ensure if something happens, your dog can be returned.

The other aspect of this is you need to follow local laws for keeping your dog on a leash.  This will keep your dog safe from other animals, wildlife, and moving vehicles.  Do not take this lightly.  You want to keep your dog from being harmed, and this is the best way.

Do your part and cut down on medical issues by having your dog spayed or neutered.  You will be helping the overpopulated dog population by preventing other dogs from being left abandon in the area.  Many local clinics offer this service for free or at a very low cost.  Just ask around and you shall find one in your area.

There are many other aspects to building a strong, loving, healthy dog.  To find out, more talk to a Florida dog training or a k9 obedience instructor today.


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De-Skunk Your Dog

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
27
Aug 2010

If you have been on outdoor excursions with your dog, then there is a chance your dog could get sprayed by a skunk.  Do you know how to get that skunk odor remover out without using the old wives tale involving tomato juice?  What a mess that is!  Instead, follow these tips on ways to rid the skunk smell, before your dog stinks up the entire house.

The first step is to check your canine’s eyes.  Sometimes the skunk spray may affect the eyes.  If they look irritated or red, rinse them out thoroughly.  Once you have done that then it is time to start making the mix that will get rid of that awful stench.

Mix together one-quarter cup of baking soda, one teaspoon of liquid dish washing soap and one quart of three percent hydrogen peroxide.  While wearing rubber gloves, start washing your dog with this immediately.  Be sure to be careful that you do not get any of this in your dog’s eyes.  If these are products you do not wish to use, then you may use water diluted vinegar.  It works well too!

Once the initial rub into the fur is complete, rinse this concoction out.  Make sure you get all the fur and rinse it out thoroughly.  You do not want any traces of the smell or this mixture left behind.

Once this happens, rinse your dog with your regular dog shampoo and voila.  The skunk smell should be gone.

For more tips about what to do if your dog tangled with skunk spray, talk to a Florida dog training or a k9 obedience instructor today.

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How to Stop Howling

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
26
Aug 2010

Howling is a communication tool used by some dogs.  It is sometimes used as a warning sign to alert others about a dangerous presence in the area.  But there are other dogs that use howling as a means of desperation.  It can be a sign of separation anxiety or a means to inform of pain from an injury.  But what do you do with a dog that howls too much?  How do you get your dog to stop?  A Florida dog obedience instructor would be able to guide you through on the positive reinforcement techniques discussed in today’s blog.  In the meantime, use this as a guide to get you started in the right direction.

Stop Howling with Positive Reinforcement

If your dog howls as a means to seek attention, then use positive reinforcement to reward desired behavior and ignore the negative.  For instance, whenever your dog howls, ignore your pet.  This is tough for your dog could continue to howl.  However, as soon as your dog stops howling and is silent, reward your dog with pet treats and praise.  Keep repeating this technique until your dog starts to remain silent.  Your dog will catch on that remaining silent equals positive rewards.  It won’t take long for your dog to figure this out.

The key in stopping howling is to remain consistent in implementing positive reinforcement.  To find out more about how to stop your dog from howling, enroll in a k9 obedience class today.

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How to Feed Your Puppy-Part #2

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
25
Aug 2010

In yesterday’s blog, we talked about the dos and don’ts of how to feed a puppy.  Today we shall continue that discussion and give you further tips to provide your puppy with a strong foundation to grow up and be a healthy adult dog.

When puppies reach three or four weeks old, they start to eat puppy food.  And the first time they see it, do not be surprised if they solely play around with it.  Puppies are not used to getting their food in such a manner.  Do not fret.  It does not take long for a puppy to understand the food is there to eat not to play around with.  Just allow your puppy time to figure it out.  Keep in mind, by the time a puppy reaches around eight weeks old, then dry puppy food should be eaten on a regular basis.

For medium, large and giant breed puppies, the food should be administered in a portion control technique.  It helps keep a puppy’s weight at a healthy number.  For if puppies develop too quickly then there are issues with growth spurts.  Too many calories taken cause a puppy to grow too quickly and develop bone growth issues.  However, if you notice any issues with your puppy be sure to consult with a veterinarian.

To find out more about how, when and what to feed your puppy and other puppy care tips, enroll in a puppy kindergarten or puppy preschool class today.  Florida dog training experts are here to help.

Category: Florida Puppy Training, Puppy Classes, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Preschool  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment

How to Feed Your Puppy

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
23
Aug 2010

Puppies born into a new home is an exciting time for everyone involved.  The entire household gets to watch the puppies develop and grow.  But to make sure you start your puppy off on the right paw, there are a few rules experts agree upon across the board in regards to feeding your new puppy.  Here is a basic outline providing you with a guideline on puppy feeding rules.

When puppy newborns arrive, it is important to keep the puppy with the mom.  The puppy, for the first four weeks, receives complete nutrition from a mother’s milk.  Thus, you want to keep the two together until the puppy has passed this stage.  And do not make any food substitutions for the mother’s milk.  It is a necessity for the puppy to grow up strong and healthy.  It is the foundation of the puppy’s entire life.

Next thing to pay attention to is that puppies expand much energy.  It takes a lot for the little one to move around.  So you need to feed your puppy lots of protein for this is what allows your puppy to have the energy to move about in a fit manner.  You need to check with a Florida dog obedience professional regarding the requirement for specific breeds, but for the most part, you need to feed your puppy food that contains twenty-five to thirty percent protein.

These are basic feeding tips for your puppy.  To find out more enroll in a puppy preschool or puppy kindergarten class today.

Category: Florida Puppy Training, Puppy Classes, Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Preschool  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment

Dog Exercise Tips #1

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
20
Aug 2010

Do Not Over Exercise Your Dog

There are different dogs that need various amounts of exercise.  But one problem, believe it or not, is over exercising your puppies and certain breeds.  You need to be careful when deciding to take your dog on your next run.  Here are some tips to remember ensuring your pet stays healthy without overdoing it.

Exhaustion Causes Dog Injuries

It is possible for your dog to be harmed during over exercise.  For when you exercise your dog, the dog’s body automatically becomes heated.  The danger occurs when the heat-stress becomes too much.  Your dog could become over-heated internally.  It happens.  When this occurs, it could cause internal organ damage.  It is fatal to your dog.  So if it is warm outside, hold back a bit on the outdoor running.  And always keep plenty of water ensuring your dog stays hydrated.

Start Canine Exercise Slowly

If your dog is starting a new exercise routine, start gradually.   Go a little bit further with each walk, but do not go all out at once.  This could cause hip issues with your dog.  And dogs tend not to show the injuries for they believe if they stop, the fun interaction will come to halt.  Thus, dogs tend to continue even if in pain.  Therefore, take it easy.  Pay attention to how your dog acts and moves.  And do not do too much.

For more information about how much exercise is appropriate, talk to a Florida dog training or k9 obedience professional today.

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Why Positive Reinforcement Works!

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
18
Aug 2010

When you implement Florida dog training, it is easy to see how the lessons work.  For after time, your dog follows commands making the results visible.  Nevertheless, have you ever wondered why positive reinforcement works?  Here we take a closer look at this specific method of dog training.

Pay-Offs Do Work

By going to work every day, you earn wages.  It does not matter how little or large there is still some sort of financial acknowledgement for the labor you have completed.  Now, if you take this model and use it towards dog training it is the same.

For instance, you teach your dog to sit.  Whenever your dog sits, your pet receives a treat.  However, if your dog does not sit on command, then your pet is ignored.  Therefore, the pet starts to realize sitting on command means treat.  Thus, I am going to sit on command.  The pay-off is the treat, and the pay-off for you as a dog owner is a desirably behaved dog.  It is a win-win situation.

Positive reinforcement is an effective and fun way to teach your dog wanted behavior.  And what you are doing is laying the foundation for your dog’s development.

For more information about how to teach your dog commands through using a rewards system, talk to a k9 obedience instructor today.  He/she will be able to review with you the dos and don’ts ensuring you are executing the method correctly.

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Why Dog Training is Important

By Jeffery Andrew - K9 Korral
16
Aug 2010

There are many reasons why dog training is important, but I would like to share with you a personal story about why dog training is essential to keeping your dog safe, happy, and healthy.

I rescued an abandon dog that I repeatedly saw at the local park.  Finally, one day I decided to bring it food and over time, the dog would come to me during my daily exercise walks at the park.  The dog seemed receptive to tagging along, so I decided to bring the dog home to have as her pet.  The dog went home with ease, but I quickly realized how destructive a dog could be without any dog training experience.

My new dog was not familiar with following rules, respecting home belongings, and steering away from specific objects.  My loving companion would tear up the furniture, clothes, whatever he could get his paws on.

Socialization is Key to Healthy Dog Living!

And my pet was very loyal and loving towards me, but it became apparent that he was not socialized.  This is where the immediate danger occurs.  He was not friendly from the beginning towards other dogs or people.  He did not know how to behave on walks through the neighborhood.  Thus, whenever faced with another animal, my pet would act in an aggressive manner.  This would cause other dogs to switch to combat mode.  It was going to be a huge problem if I did not nip this in the bud immediately.

Luckily, no dog was seriously injured from the aggressive interactions.  And now my pet is charming, loving and displays positive behavior due to enrolling in Florida dog training or k9 obedience classes.  I believe training courses saved my dog’s life for otherwise; he would be in a dogfight resulting in fatal consequences.

If you would like your pet to live a safe, healthy, and happy life then enroll is a dog training course today!

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