Men and Their Puppies 08/15/2011
Purely for your enjoyment      Add Comment What Can Your Dog Chew On When It's Playing? 07/15/2011
David LetterDog’s List of Things Dogs Cannot Do While Chewing a Chewtoy
 When Can You Hold Puppies? 07/09/2011
Apologies for the late posting! Webservice down, alas, here is a cute one to make up for it:  When Can You Hold Puppies? Puppies benefit largely from human touch but it needs to be done correctly so they don't have a bad experience. 1) Move slowly and reassuringly. . Do not approach if the mother is being protective. 2) Pet newborn puppies as soon as their mother cleans them and they are nursing. Your touch should be very gentle and you may run your fingers softly along their sides and back and slide your hand under their body, moving slowly and deliberately. 3) Lift a small puppy by sliding your hand under its tummy. If the puppy is large, use both hands and support the puppy’s head. Cradle a puppy’s legs close to its abdomen. Gently snuggle the puppy’s legs with both of your hands, making it feel safe. 4) Supervise small children around newborn puppies. In general, puppies shouldn’t be picked up, carried around or played with until their eyes are open and they can walk easily. This is around three weeks of age. Until then an adult may hold a puppy and allow a small child to pet it carefully. 5) Continue to monitor a child’s activities around a puppy even after three weeks of age. 6) Give newborn puppies lots of attention and human touch in order to increase their ability to interact later with their owners. How To Teach Leave It! 05/16/2011
 Meet one of our students Clark! ½ English Bulldog, ½ Frenchie. On the 2nd lesson, Clark learned how to leave some food alone. Here’s how you teach it: 1) Put food in your hand and close your fingers so your puppy can’t actually get any of the food out of your hand. Put your hand where your pup can smell it and say ‘Leave It’ over and over again until your puppy gives up. When he does, immediately say, ‘Yes!’ and give him a treat from your other hand (NOT from your ‘Leave it’ hand – that’s important). 2) When your puppy is good at Step 1, put the food on the floor, and say ‘leave It’. If your puppy goes for the food, cover with your foot and say ‘Leave It!’ 3) Practice until perfect ☺. You shouldn’t have to put your foot over the food after a few tries. 4) Hint: the food your put on the floor should be a big piece of something. That way if your puppy accidentally eats it, you can get it out of their mouth easily. Puppy Learning Stuff! 05/07/2011
 I'm going to be starting to chronicle of a few of our puppy projects. The first to come is Clark, a 1/2 English 1/2 French Bulldog! He's growing super fast, and learning some skills...like Leave It, which he learned in approximately 4 minutes. . .  Puppy Swimming and Obedience Classes 09/23/2010
 >>>>>>>LINK TO VIDEO<<<<<<<< Stay tuned for a new puppy obedience class paired with a puppy swimming class! An exciting new tribute to exercising and stimulating our puppies, Water4Dogs will be holding Puppy Swim classes and Dapper Dog Training will be holding Puppy Obedience classes in tide at 77 Worth street in Tribeca! 4 Months is about the right age...check out our first pup, who got the hang of it and can swim all by herself after this session! Popular Dog Myths - Dispelled! 08/02/2010
Dogs are highly popular pets, which leads to some popular myths. Here are five common ones debunked: Mutts Are Healthier than Purebreds: The short answer is that the healthiest dog is the one that’s well taken care of. While some breeds are prone to certain diseases, mixed-breed dogs are susceptible to every disease in their genetic history. Don’t buy dogs from *shady* breeders and take good care of your dog — that’s the best way to ensure canine health.  Cold, Wet, Nose = Good. Warm, Dry Nose = Bad: A dog’s nose can change a lot through the day. While one minute it might be wet and cool from licking, it can be dry and/or warm without any negative impact on the dog’s health.  Garlic Is Good For Bacteria and Fleas:This advice might be helpful if your dog could be a vampire, otherwise in every other circumstance it should be avoided. Garlic (and onions) can be poisonous to dogs - and even cause anemia.  Licking Wounds Signals Healing:Licking wounds can actually be good AND bad. While some licking can help keep the wounds clean which can accelerate healing, too much licking can cause further damage, bacterial infection, and bad habits. For bad wounds, seek medical attention and redirect your dogs attention from licking it.  Feces-Eating Signals Poor Diet:Dogs eat feces (known as coprophagia) for a variety of reasons, from hunger to habit. Eating feces doesn’t necessarily signify anything about your dog’s health; if it is truly rampant, you might have to sacrifice your willingness to leave huge piles of feces all over your house and begin to clean up after your dog.  Here is a short note on conditioning puppies to the world, to keep with the puppy love theme; Whereas eight-week-old puppies are universally accepting of people, adolescent dogs naturally become wary of anything unfamiliar, including noises, objects, dogs, people and places. It is not uncommon for adolescent dogs to become fearful or reactive. As puppies grow older, the world becomes a scarier place. To prevent dogs from becoming wary of children, men, strangers, skateboarders, other dogs, loud noises, vacuum cleaners, nail clippers, collar grabs, etc. etc. etc., take your time when exposing your puppy, adolescent, or newly adopted adult dog to novel (unfamiliar) stimuli, settings and situations. And make sure you condition your dog not only to tolerate, but also to thoroughly enjoy all of these potentially scary stimuli. *It is easier to condition BEFORE your pup shows any fear, both as he grows older, and during the training.  PUPPY LOVE + Puppy Deadlines 07/05/2010
 Here are some great rules to follow if you are thinking of getting a puppy, OR already have one :) PUPPY DEVELOPMENTAL DEADLINES 1st DeadlineBEFORE you search for a puppy, you need to complete your education about puppy education. You need to know how to select a good puppy and how puppies work. Selecting a puppy is similar to buying a car: Do lots of research and “test drive” a wide variety. But first, you need to learn how to drive! 2nd DeadlineBefore you choose your puppy, you need to know how to assess your prospective puppy’s current socialization and educational status. Regardless of breed and breeding, if socialization, housetraining, and basic manners are not well underway by eight weeks of age, the puppy is already developing slower. 3rd DeadlineMake certain that an errorless housetraining and chewtoy-training program is instituted from the very first day your puppy comes home. 4th DeadlineYour puppy needs to be socialized to people before he is twelve weeks old. As a rule of thumb your puppy needs to meet at leastone hundred different people during his first month at home. 5th DeadlineBite inhibition is the single most important quality a dog must learn. The narrow time window for developing a “soft mouth” begins to close at four and a half months of age. 6th DeadlineTo ensure that your well-schooled puppy remains well- socialized and friendly towards people, during adolescence and adulthood, he needs to meet unfamiliar people (especially children) every day. Not the same people, new ones :) | ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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