This is a great video of a guy signing his puppies to sleep. This would come in use if you have trouble putting your puppy to bed at night. have a look:

With the number of dogs being registered every year, it is evident that many people are amazed with what a furry four-legged creature can do. Dogs have “cuteness” factor that is guaranteed to steal almost every pet lover’s heart. One of those breeds that possess such cuteness is the shetland sheepdog. This breed is not only champion in appearance. They also have high level of intelligence which is important in becoming successful in sheltie training.

Sheltie training is not impossible neither a very easy task. But to achieve your goals of having a behaved pet, it is important that you are well aware of what works best, including training tools, for your pet. Training tools such as collar must top the list of must-haves for your pet. But take note that, you just can’t choose whatever collar you like. You have to consider it’s:

Functionality.

Collars vary depending on their purpose. Choke collars, also called chain collars are commonly used to train service dogs or agility training. This type of collar, though often recommended to first time dog owners, must be used with caution to prevent accident. Head collars, though they look like muzzles, have different purpose. Use this if you want to have more control over your dog particularly when training him to walk on a leash and heel. Pronged collars are ideal for giant breeds while electronic collars can be used to dogs that are seemingly untrainable. However, be cautious when using the latter for it is not advisable for youngd dogs or those with health problems.

Size and comfort.

A collar must fit comfortably around a dog’s neck. It must not be too tight to choke your dog’s neck or too loose to be able your dog to slip off it. You should be able to fit two fingers between your pet’s neck and collar to ensure that the collar is correctly placed.

Affordability.

Although quality is often associated with price, expensive ones may not be neccessary all the time. You may only need simple and cheap collars when training your dog to stop barking or chewing.

Collars are effective sheltie training tools but bear in mind that what they are doing is part of the job only. Remember that using positive reinforcement such as praise and treats are important as well.

by: Richard Cussons

One of the most common problems dog owners confront is how to stop their dogs from barking. Barking is a normal response for a dog, and it would be silly for us to think we could prevent barking permanently. This just isn’t right or even possible. Dogs are animals that can only communicate to us in a number of ways. A barking dog may be letting you know of a problem, or maybe a thief is trying to break into your house. Would you want your dog to let you know any of those things? Of course !

On that note there are dogs that bark too much for no clear reason. This form of barking is frustratingly annoying and not needed. This type of barking can lead to neighbours moaning, lack of sleep or maybe just stop you from doing your day to day chores.

Below I have noted the points that could be the reason for your dog barking alot.

1) As mentioned before, someone could possibly be trying to break into your home. Dogs look at their owners as part of the family pack, their natural reaction is to be protective of you as well as its home. Your dog could possibly be alerting you of an unwanted visitor. You never know these days.

2) Maybe your dog is looking for some attention. This could be any sort of attention. your dog could be barking to let you know that it’s time for a walk , or possibly it’s food bowl needs restocking! As stupid as it may sound, this is the only way they can let you know of there needs.

3) Weird sounds that your dog is not used too can cause your dog to bark. This is probably the most frustrating thing about a dog barking, and is a common problem with many dog owners.

To summarise this article there are many ways to stop your dog barking , this could be in the form of a training tool or a type of guide, or maybe a combination of both tools. Before carrying out any type of training with your dog, please do the necessary research and get advice where available. There are many free forums on the net that you could take a look at or perhaps find in your local general library.

Whining is instinctive for puppies when they are hungry, tired or cold. Mother dogs provide a safe place to sleep, warmth and milk to their puppies when they whine.

Eventually, puppies connect the two actions and begin to whine deliberately. This lets the puppy’s mother know that something is wrong or he needs something.

A puppy should be adopted between 8 and 10 weeks old. This is when puppies discover that their whining doesn’t have any impact with their new family; or they may use whining to compel their new mother (you!) into giving them what they require.

Therefore, it is commonly believed that a new puppy should be left on his own for the first night is his new home. If you respond to puppy whining with warmth, petting, cuddling, your dog is certain to feel that whining will get him what he desires.

Naturally, you will need to be reasonable and show good judgment. A frightened puppy will need affection, reassurance and attention. It is key that you react quickly so the puppy doesn’t feel that his whining got the desired result. Your pup must not be conditioned to whine every time he wants something.

In order to train your puppy to be content when he is on his own, leave him alone even while you are at home. This will help to prevent separation anxiety when you leave the home. Once you are sure that all your puppy’s physical needs have been met and you have taken the time to get him accustomed to isolation, then he must be taught that whining is unacceptable.

This does not mean that a puppy that is highly distressed, whining, and crying should be cruelly ignored. When he has stopped whining, you should show him some attention and calm him down. Some puppies whine for an extended period of time so it is not always feasible to wait until they have stopped whining.

If this is the situation, you don’t have to let your puppy’s suffering drag on – open the door of the crate as soon as he stops whining, even if it’s just for a matter of seconds. This is certainly not ideal but, under the circumstances, it’s probably the best you’ll be able to do.

Most dogs have grown out of puppy whining by the time they are six months old. A puppy that continues to whine after this period is either doing it instinctively, or has learnt that it helps to get him what he wants.

by: Sandra Scott

Al Bullington keeps all kinds of pets including a dog, cats, quail, bantam chickens, standard chickens, guinea fowl and parakeets.

Shih Tzu puppy training can be done faster than you may think. Here are the tricks to get started right…

Shih Tzu puppy training is essential if you’re going to have a well-behaved adult Shih Tzu. It isn’t that an older dog cannot be trained, but it’s so much easier to start your dog off right. With just a few general training principles your puppy can get off to a great start.

Remember that what is cute behavior in a tiny little dog could be annoying at best in your adult pet. Remember too that no matter how much you love your new puppy, that puppy will grow to be an adult dog. Many times unacceptable behavior in an adult dog results in the dog leaving it’s home, not by choice either. So, you must not let behavior go that will endanger your long-term relationship with your pet.

We are talking about discipline here. You must first do some thinking about what is acceptable behavior to you. You as the pet owner must make decisions. And start early to set boundaries for your pet. What do you expect from your pet? What are your responsibilities? Do not let behavior problems go unchecked. Caring for a Shi Tzu puppy is a major responsibility, but a fun one too!

If you see a behavior problem developing and you do not know what to do, get some help. Training resources are widely available either with a local trainer or on the Internet plus books and videos. See, your pet is looking to you for guidance. You must not fail your pet. It may be you that really needs the training and not your pet.

But it is a large mistake to expect too much from a tiny puppy. Little Shih Tzu puppies are very easily distracted and have tiny small attention spans. Your little puppy can learn quickly, but do not push too hard and fast with training. Be patient, very patient with puppies.

To be successful with Shih Tzu puppy training, try to link rewards with desired behavior. Link a less desired outcome with undesired behavior. Please don’t think violence is necessary. Firm but gentle is the way to head off problems.

One of the first training steps is housebreaking your puppy. Don’t start too early. Check with your dog’s breeder for a suggested time to start training. Housebreaking is a task that must be done or else your pet will probably not stay at your house.

One way to handle this is to monitor your pup closely and scoop the pup up and get to the proper place for elimination before it happens. There are several methods plus several different products to help. Products to help include dog litter boxes, doggie diapers and potty pads.

House training is just the start. You can move on to obedience training and even on to teaching tricks to your puppy.

Your puppy can grow to be a fun and important part of your family with just a little guidance from you.

Pets bring happiness to us and drive away our dullness and difficulties. You can have a dog, a cat or any other animal as your pet. But the most serious thing is the strategy in which you treat your pet. It helps bring a big difference in your relationship with them. Raising a pet is surely an uphill task. It is perceived as tricky as bringing up your own kids. Your pets must be supplied all the comforts needed and their desires should be attended to and satisfied. Pets are supplied with many kinds of items needed for their healthy growth by the wholesale pet suppliers. Pet owners should see to it that their pets are made to feel good and given comfort in aspects like health, entertainment, discipline, grooming as an example. If your pet basically is a dog, you may continually give it a bath to keep it clean and hygienic, take him out for lengthy walks as it will help it in getting correct exercise, make sure that you take it to the vet for regular check-ups, provide it with a good and sensible diet.

It’s a lengthened list of roles. Whichever animal your pet could be it’s a must that you give them correct attention, entertainment, hospital therapy and lots more. You can make these needs more sufficient for you with the help of wholesale pet supplies where you can get nutritive and tasty food, bones and gnaws, grooming items like shampoo, brushes, brushs, dryers and the like.

Owning a pet is a massive responsibility. The rationale is usually because apart from making certain that your pet is well fed, properly groomed, and properly trained, there are a number of special needs for your pet, so they’ll live a long and active life. A method to approve your pet is healthy is to give them tons of exercise. The good news is that there are quite a fair number of good for the pet supplies you want to be sure the pet are met. This indicates that you can simple obtain access to the pet dishes, pet toys, pet beds, and pet food you want. Pet supplies can be highly costly and at the same time we won’t afford to provide low quality supplies and accessories to our pet and as such the most effective way to be sure that our pet can get the best and the most reasonable supplies is to buy in wholesale. The wholesale market for pet supplies has actually opened up. All types of supplies and accessories that try and make the pet feel cosy and healthy have come up. For drugs and other pet supplies, consider shopping on the net.

Many sites are specifically designed for these sorts of products. Many of those web sites will also mechanically mail your pet’s drugs when it’s time for more. This will help you to avoid running out if you forget to buy more drugs.

You may also check with the maker’s site, as you could be ready to purchase some items immediately.

The best way to stop puppy jumping is to simply ignore him when he does.  Turn your back to him fold your arms and stand still until he has fours paws on the ground. Then quickly get down to his level and give him lots of praise and rewards if he jumps up again, stand up and turn away until he stops jumping, and repeat. We are rewarding the desired behaviour and ignoring the bad behaviour. We also need to make sure that all people who come into contact with pup know this is what is to be done when pup jumps otherwise some unsuspecting visitor could unknowingly be undoing all your hard work by patting the dog or telling him to get off, both of these are rewarding the dog as he is getting the attention he seeks

The following exercises are also very effective for the jumping dog:
Put your puppy on a lead and tie the end securely to a doorknob.
Make sure you have yummy treats with you and from a short distance move towards the puppy with excitement.  As soon as he jumps up, stop moving towards him and take a step backwards away from the pup.  As soon as he stops jumping move towards him again. Continue this approach until you can get all the way to the pup and give him a cuddle without jumping lots of praise and rewards from that position, moving back again if he jumps up in excitement.
You could also do this exercise but you are the door know and you have another person approach the dog, as above once the person gets all the way to your dog without him jumping give him lots of praise and rewards.
This method will also teach him how to greet people, and to pay attention to you rather than them.
If you can catch your dog before he is about to launch himself off the ground give him something else to do like sit. But only if it’s before his paws have left the floor.
Happy Training.

Chewing is common among dogs. They do not chew to purposely destroy your belongings because they are angry or spiteful. A dog’s mouth is actually not just for eating or destroying things only. To creatures who don’t have hands just like humans do, the mouth is the best tool to pick up and check on things and transport things from one place to another. They also use their mouth to communicate which is very important especially in jack russell training. Chewing therefore is a natural behavior of dogs and you cannot just training them to stop chewing completely.

The best thing to do in order to handle this situation is to train them what they can and cannot chew. Keep your belongings out of your pet’s reach. Shoes, socks, books and other things you do not want destroyed should not be left lying around. Even old shoes, clothing and socks should not be given to dogs to chew on because they cannot tell the difference between the old and new.

Since it is not right to totally curtail a dog’s instinct to gnaw on things, direct his attention to things that you want him to chew such as chew toys. Your dog should have lots of it and must be appealing in order to keep him interested. If your dog is fond of chewing things with your scent on them, leave the toy in your laundry hamper for days before giving them to your dog. You may also want to rub something tasty or stuff the toy with anything your dog finds rewarding. When you feel like your dog is up to something, remove the item and give him chew toys instead to divert his attention.

When shopping for dog toys, choose toys that are safe for your pet. Toys that are easily broken or with small parts can be dangerous to your pet so beware of these items. There are also washable toys available.

And just like other behavior problems, the desire to chew can be minimized with regular exercise. Dogs that are physically and mentally stimulated are less likely to get bored thus they are also less likely to chew and become destructive. Interesting and fun jack russell training is the way to go!

If you live in lighter residential areas and suburb areas of your community, chances are you have probably seen someone’s lost dog wandering around the neighborhood. You probably think about the family that the pet may belong to. Most of us want to be able to help get that dog back to its family, but may be hesitant to take responsibility of the situation. If you follow a few guidelines, handling these situations don’t have to be overwhelming.

First off, you should never approach a stray dog if you have any concerns about your safety getting involved in the situation. If you are uncomfortable approaching it, call animal control and have them handle it. Most of the time the first place people check after they are unable to find their dog by searching locally is animal control.

If you are comfortable approaching the dog, once you’ve secured the animal, check to see if it has a number, or address, or GPS tracking device first. If no identifying items are found begin by asking around your neighborhood and immediate area. Most of the time, the dog probably lives within a few street of your residence.

If you and your neighbors are unable to determine the pet’s owner, and you do not wish to take the animal to a shelter, you can make some flyers and post them in the area. You can call your local animal control and give them your name, number, address and description of the dog so they can notify the owners to get in contact with you if they are contacted.

Check around to see if the owner’s placed flyers for it and check the lost dog section of your local news paper.

If time goes by and the owner is not located, the only choices are to take the dog to your local animal shelter or keep and care for the animal as your own pet or until the owner is eventually found.

More than likely someone is searching for their loved one. Reunited a pet, which sometimes is viewed as a family member by some is one of the greatest things you can do for someone. Hopefully if you run across a lost pet you can help it find its way home.

by: John Chilton

You have your bedroom, your children have theirs, but what does the dog to have to call his own? Usually he has a pen and the backyard to be his “personal” area. Clearly as you would make absolutely sure that your child’s room is as safe and pleasant as feasible for him, you want to do the same for your dog.

To begin with take a hard look around your yard. Are there any plants that are potentially toxic or dangerous to your pet? If you do not know the names of each and every single plant that grows in your back yard, remove them for safety’s sake. Is the yard fenced and if so, is the fence in good quality repair? Are there any holes that would allow a dog to running away or even worse get hung up on as he tries to escape? If your dog is a digger, how will you prevent him from digging his way out from under? If there is not a fence already, will you install one or will you use an invisible fence to keep your dog from wandering off?

Next, make certain that there is an area that will provide adequate shade for you dog in the summer months and shelter through cold and rainy weather. Are there unusual textures for him to explore, or is it all grass or another material? If it is all concrete, will you provide an out-of-doors cushion for when he wants to lay down outside?

Will the dog have unlimited access to the backyard or will he need to be taken out there by a human companion? If he does not have to wait for assistance, will he is using a doggy door, or something else? (Don’t count on your dog accepting or liking a doggy door right off the bat, some of them will reject point blank to use them. Gingeri the Wonder Pug thinks that doggy door is just plain old bad.) However your pet will get out there, know that even with a fenced yard and vigilant planning, there might be dangers lurking out there, so it is imperative that you check on your dog often if you cannot be out there spending every minute with him. Make sure he has plenty of fresh, cool water at all times.

If your dog shares the back yard area with your non-furred children, make sure he has a place to call his own and remind the kids that they must stay out of the “dog zone”. This area should be out of the line of major activity and should provide the dog with the feeling that it is his own refuge.

Of course, there is nothing better than getting out there to share time with your pet, so grab a good book, a glass of lemonade and get out there and enjoy time with your pet.