I Said Sit… You Idiot!

May 31st, 2009 by Kathy Davison

One of the first behavior routines to be established with any new puppy and perhaps some adult dogs is where and when it is appropriate to relieve themselves.

We have to accept that there will be accidents indoors and never punish your puppy or your adult dog for these accidents. Going to the toilet is a normal bodily function and as far as the dog is concerned and especially the puppy, when they need to go,then they need to go and that is where they happen to be.

The fact that the delivery of excretment or urine on the carpet is obnoxious to us is a concept that dogs do not understand. Do not be tempted to rub the dogs nose in it as contrary to those tales of old ,this does not work. Throwing your puppy outside will not work either. The fact that puppies trained this way do eventually become house trained is more luck than anything else .They would have become house trained anyway.

What this does is build up mistrust between dog and the owner and confuses the dog to only make a human even more difficult to understand than they already are! The puppy will need to go to the toilet frequently and so it is up to you to ensure that when the need arises the puppy is in the appropriate place to do the required action. As such take the puppy into the garden as soon as he wakens, as soon as he has eaten, when he awakens after a sleep ,after playtime and every hour apart from that!

The need to visit the garden will reduce as the number of mealtimes reduces. Remember that at 7 weeks old your puppy could be having up to 6 meals a day which will reduce to 2 by the time he is about 6 months old. Make sure you take him into the Garden. If you simply put him outside he may just sniff around and forget what he is out there to do .

This could result in him coming indoors and peeing on the carpet. If you are not outside to reward him when he goes then he will not learn that going outside to the toilet pleases you whereas when he performs the same action indoors it gets ignored.

If you learn how to use treats to reward him when he goes you can combine this with a simple sound or word so that he will learn to go on command To begin with you may find you have to stay outside for quite a while with the puppy before he performs the required action. Do not be tempted into a game or he will never do what you are looking for.

Without losing sign of him try and ignore him removing any toys he may bring to you to play with. Do not get cross or impatient. It may be cold raining or thundering but he still needs to go to the toilet!

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Cat Training Tips

May 30th, 2009 by Janice Chee

In the wild, cats have a natural ability and instinct to care for themselves. House cats, on the other hand, depend on humans for care and feeding. They require a considerable amount of attention. Bookstores and local humane societies can provide cat owners with a plethora of educational materials on the responsibility of cat ownership and the care of cats.

You may not know it, but cats can be trained. Like other animal training programs gentle, positive training will work best. Offer your cat a treat when they behave correctly or as you have taught them. When they misbehave just ignore them.

It’s true that cats keep themselves clean. They like to clean themselves up a little daily. Nonetheless, your cat needs a good bath every three weeks. Products designed just for cats are available at your local pet store, but any mild soap is sufficient. Some, if not most, cats don’t care for baths. Unless you train your cat from the time it is a kitten to get used to bath water and reward it with a treat following every bath, you will have a scratchy situation on your hands when you try to bath the cat when it gets older. Start when your cat is a kitten and you should be able to acclimate the cat to bathing.

Do everything you can to make the bath fun and rewarding for your cat. Don’t hit or punish your cat at bath time. This will only cause your cat to be more apprehensive about bathing in the future.

Don’t forget to clean your cat’s ears and nails with a gentle q-tip. Towel dry your cat after its bath. Don’t even consider using a blow dryer. The noise and hot air will scare the cat, and the hot air can damage your cat’s sensitive skin. Brush your cat after the towel dry.

It’s a good idea to buy your cat its own bed. While it is common for cats to sleep with their owner, your cat will be just as satisfied sleeping beside your bed. This will keep your clothes and bed linens from always being full of cat hair. Some people are allergic to cat hair, and you don’t want to have to choose between your cat and your sleeping mate.

Keep the cat litter box in a place where the cat can easily reach it, but where the smell will not disturb you or your family. Keep the litter box clean for the health and safety of your family and your cat.

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Getting Your Dog To Stop Barking

May 29th, 2009 by Ted Johnson

Are you bothered by your dog’s constant barking? Learning to control your dog’s barking is challenging, regardless of the breed you own. Different breeds have different reasons for starting to fuss. If you can determine the reason your dog’s barking is out of control it will help you teach your dog to control the barking and to bark when necessary, not at every little thing they see or hear.

Some dogs just seem to bark far too often without any reason. That is just the way they are. While some people can handle the constant barking, others cannot. However, it is important to keep in mind that dogs use their vocal skills like people. They bark to communicate with you or other members of their pack. Never try to stop your dog from barking altogether. Teach your dog when it is okay to bark and when they must stop barking.

First, research the type of dog you want before you get a dog. Knowing the purpose of a dog breed will give you a lot of information about how much the dog may bark. Don’t choose a dog bred for hunting or for stopping intruders.

Sometimes, dogs are better at training us than we are at training them. Don’t jump up and respond to your dogs commands when he or she barks. If they want to go outside and play, allow them to bark to signal, but do not let them out if they continue to bark. Teach them to get quiet first. Don’t respond until the dog is quiet, the dog will learn that to stop barking is a good behavior which brings rewards.

When your dog starts to bark, give him a few seconds to get it out of his system. If the barking persists clasp your hand firmly, but gently around your dog’s muzzle. If the dog tries to escape your grasp and continue barking reach out with your other hand and hold her by the collar.

Hopefully, you can figure out why your dog barks non-stop. Sometimes, it is too difficult to figure out and you may need some outside help to stop annoying barking behavior. A barking problem can be helped, with assistance I was able to stop my two dogs from barking at every little noise or movement.

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Plans to Kick Off Building of Chicken House

May 28th, 2009 by Paul J. Easton

If you are interested in building a chicken house in your property, you will need to have a solid chicken house plan in order to make most of this project as this will be your starting point. Luckily, you can go to the internet for help. There are many websites that are devoted to this topic of chicken house plans.

Some homes are going back to basic methods to grow their foods like with a vegetable garden. In addition, families are saving money by adding a chicken house on their land to provide fresh eggs and poultry. This, over the long-term, can save on some expenses especially food.

A few tips you must know before utilizing whatever chicken house plans that you find whether on books or online is to make it sure that the chicken house plans are simple to follow. If you are looking at them over a book or your computer, and can not discern what they are trying to tell you to do, then you should proceed to the next. You will not be effective to construct your own chicken house with chicken house plans that are not easy enough to understand.

You must also make sure that the chicken house plans also take a full list of materials needed. You don’t desire to be in the middle of everything simply to find that the plans neglected to credit many critical parts that are inevitable to finish the project. Ensure you read over the total set of chicken house plans before jumping ahead so that if there is a piece of material that is mentioned later, you will be conscious of it.

When you acquire your chicken house plans, make it sure they are complete and that no measures have been excluded before you lead off building on your chicken house. It is serious to do all of your homework before ever starting the project.

Finally, make sure your chicken house plans don’t cost more in comparison actual building of the chicken house. The cause for constructing a chicken house is simply to save money and spending a good amount on chicken house plans is not simply effective.

Want to know more? Check out for valuable information on Chicken House Plans and designs.

For related topics to this posts, check out Chicken Coop Designs Blog for more reference and construction guides. Also see Plans Chicken Coop for related articles.

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How to Build a Chick Coop Essentials

May 27th, 2009 by Paul J. Easton

If you want to learn how to build a chick coop for raising chickens, here are few components you should bear in mind you should necessitate yourself before you initiate the chick coop project.

First off, if working with a chick coop, are you planning on reusing the chick coop? When projecting on a plan to raise chickens to gather eggs, then your introductory chick coop should be made small and must not be a permanent structure. This is on the assumption that you are not projecting on raising more chicks to produce more chickens. You will just build a more permanent structure for your chickens if they are mature enough to produce eggs. And if you are planning to fertilize the eggs with a rooster, then the chick coop must be a permanent dwelling for the chicks’ safety, comfort, and their security.

The other issue if you must be studying how to build a chick coop is the location of the chick coop on your land. You chick coop should be close enough to your household for security and for maintenance. You must have a special place for brooding or incubation as well. The chick coop must be a warm and dry place as well. In addition, it should also be reached by natural sunlight to keep the chicks healthy.

Lastly, when establishing the chick coop, make sure you build it in a way that the cleaning process is convenient enough to maintain the cleanliness. You want to preserve your chick coop very clean to prevent diseases. This is exactly how you will keep it pristine as a baby’s room would be maintained. Your incubation area should always be free from dirt as well. Even until the chicks are more conditioned to withstand the dirt and dust which is very common in a chick coop, cleanliness is still a must as you want them to keep healthy. You can do this by having a way to efficiently absorb the waste and moisture that are remained behind by the chicks. Keep in mind as well that the chicken droppings are good organic fertilizers for vegetable gardens.

Want to know more? Check out for valuable information on Chicken House Plans and designs.

For related topics to this posts, check out Chicken Coop Designs Blog for more reference and construction guides. Also see Plans Chicken Coop for related articles.

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