Puppy Dogs Plus

Why is it so important to neuter and spay your dog? Did you know that approximately three millions dogs or more are euthanized each year and the count keeps going up. A large percentage of dogs are being sent to shelters because they are abandoned or their owners can no longer care for them, especially in this economy. Many veterinarians recommend that spaying and neutering be performed around 6 months of age. However some people think that spaying and neutering will alter a puppy’s personality, decrease his or her watchdog ability and natural hunting and this is just not true.

What is true is that dogs have an innate desire to breed. More importantly, spaying and neutering can help prevent cancer. In addition, neutered male dogs he will less likely want to run away or engage in rough-housing with other male dogs. Also male dogs are inherently territorial. If he isn’t neutered, then he will use his dominance over other dogs especially when a female is involved.

Spaying is a medical operation that removes the ovaries of a female dog to stop her from having puppies. With this procedure it has shown that the chance of ovarian cancer is eliminated and uterine and cervical cancer is less likely. Unsprayed female dogs will have to be kept inside when she is in heat so you can prevent her from mating and unplanned pregnancy. When is the best time to spay a female dog? Most vets say before she goes into heat for the first time. Some people used to say that she should have at least one heat cycle before being spayed, but females can be spayed at 6 months of age.

Neutering operation removes the testicles of a male dog to prevent him from breeding. This operation will ensure that your male dog will not develop testicular cancer and makes prostate cancer less likely. Neutering your puppy will help make him less likely to fight with other dogs and he will not wander away from home. Males should be a little older that females before they get neutered closer to one year of age. If they are neutered prematurely or before puberty it could interfere with bone development.

A dog must be anesthetized for these procedures and it normally takes between 5-14 days to recover from surgery. One concern is that the dogs will aspirate or inhale, stomach contents into the lungs causing suffocation. This can be eliminated simply by following your vets instructions of no food or water for 12 hours before surgery.

In an effort to reduce the number of dogs, a spaying and neutering program has begun in some cities and has resulted in a 30%-60% decline in euthanasia. While this is good news, it is up to all individuals across the nation to not only spay and neuter their pets, but adopt them as well. Owning a dog comes with a responsibility to ensure the pet is happy, safe, and lives in a welcoming and caring environment. This is why it is important to take all the necessary step to help decrease unwanted dog pregnancy and decrease the over-population of dogs in the country.

If you puppy pee a little when he meets new people this is normal. It just simply means that your puppy is anxious, and gets over excited and can’t control himself. He is just being submissive, don’t punish him for this it could have a negative effect on him and make it worse. The older your puppy gets the less this will happen. To try and keep your puppy calm when meeting people make sure that the people they are meeting are calm also.

How many times does my puppy need to go out?
Puppy age Average potty breaks
6-14 Weeks 8-10 times per day
14-20 Weeks 6-8 times per day
20-30 Weeks 4-6 times per day
30 Weeks to Adulthood 3-4 times per day

1 organic egg, beaten
2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 tablespoon Romano cheese grated
2 tablespoons organic chicken broth, cold

1) Beat the egg and add to the chopped spinach and grated cheese. Pour the mixture into a buttered small glazed ceramic serving bowl (aka ramekin) and cover it with waxed paper, but not too tightly.
2) Cook in a microwave for 1 minute at medium heat. Check for doneness of the eggs and turn bowl and cook for another 30-45 seconds
3) Add the cooked egg mixture to your dog’s bowl. Break the eggs apart and add the chicken broth to help cool the mixture.

Yields 2 Servings, Serving size 1/2 cup

What age should you start training your puppy? Experts say the earlier the better. Puppies are like sponges at younger ages. It is especially important to start early for the puppies that will grow up to be big dogs. The reason being, large – breed puppies can be too strong for most people to handle easily by the time they reach 6 to 8 months of age. When training at a very early age puppies seem to learn almost effortlessly. So the best time to start training our puppy is as soon as you bring him/her home.

Most good breeders have already started the training process of your puppy around 5 weeks of age; therefore you can pick up where they left off. It is always a good idea to ask your breeder what sort of training has been started. It has been reported from breeders and experienced owners that they don’t have problems with biting for example because they correction comes effectively and naturally right from the start.

Using positive training methods you reward your puppy when he does the right things you are not punishing him when he does something wrong. This allows your puppy to associate specific behaviors with a reward.

Puppy training basic overview:

Training sessions should be kept short but frequent. Training sessions should range from 2-5 minutes. (Once your dog gets older his attention span grows and your training sessions can be extended.) Try to make it a daily routine for training. Always incorporate what you’ve taught the puppy before, and then expand on it. As soon as your puppy learns some commands begin using them routinely and not just during the training sessions. For example if you are going from the family room to the kitchen and your puppy is following you say “Heel” and make sure you reward him as he obeys. Another example is if you take your puppy for a ride in the car; practice the command “sits”. By making the commands a part of your daily routine it will help your dog to learn to listen in all situations and not just in training sessions.

At first your sessions should be in areas with few distractions. You don’t want to be in the middle of training and the kids are running in and out of the room. Having a room with a very few distractions makes you the most interesting thing in the room so your puppy is able to focus more. Once your puppy has a handle on a certain command than you can gradually add distractions into the room.

Remember to keep hand commands constant. When using voice commands use calm, normal speaking voice, there is no need to yell in training. However you can use an excited tone in your voice to reinforce praise for a good job.

When using verbal commands only use one command for each action. You don’t want to say “sit down” the puppy will not know if you mean for him to sit or lay down. Be careful how you phrase things.

The key to training is being constant. Have just one person doing the training, even is everyone in the family is using the same verbal commands they could come out different and confuse the puppy. Make sure the person doing the training has patients; just like people puppies have their good days and not-so-good days. Have other family members work with the puppy after he has mastered the commands. Remember you can not have one person in your household training your puppy one way showing good behavior and then someone else in your house hold letting your puppy get away with all bad behavior and never reinforcing good behavior. It sends out too many cross signals. Everyone should use the same verbal commands and the same hand commands. If the puppy seems confused or does not follow the commands the way he use to when more than one person works with him, back off and go back to only one person conducting the training.

Always use positive reinforcement and reward the puppy as he learns. Never punish when he doesn’t pick it up right away. If the puppy can associate obedience with something pleasant he is more likely to obey, but if it is the other way around and he associates obedience with punishment he won’t learn as fast and well. Training is not the time to issue the word “No”. This should only be used to correct inappropriate behavior. So if he is not picking up what you are trying to teach him it does not mean he is misbehaving, it could just simply be he his having a off day or he hasn’t learned that yet. Always use treat to encourage your puppy, not every time otherwise you’ll find that your puppy will only obey when you have a treat in hand. Start off frequently then gradually decrease you can then alternate the times in which he will be rewarded for doing good. For example the first and third time, then the second and sixth time and so on and so on.

Train your puppy as you play, for example if you are playing fetch with a ball asks your puppy to “sit” before you throw the ball. The say “Go get the ball” and “Come” as he returns with the ball. This will reinforce your formal sessions and thus make play time a learning time and fun time.

Time Line:
7-8 weeks your puppy should know the commands for sit, stand, down, stay and lie.
4 months your puppy should be able to stay for ½ hour at a time, and sit for 10 minutes at a time.
Many training classes do not take puppies before they are 12 weeks of age; therefore this gives you plenty of time to start your one on one training from the day you get the puppy home. (Most classes want to make sure the puppy is fully vaccinated first that’s why it’s 12 weeks)

It’s never too early to start you training sessions with your puppy. The first two-three months, puppy’s focus is usually on sleeping, playing and eating. Therefore if your training sessions are structured to be fun your puppy will place your training sessions as play time and learning will be easy.

Every puppy in his or her lifetime will experience a digestive problem. Symptoms could be constipation or diarrhea and or vomiting. If your puppy shows signs of this you should consult your vet. Usually digestive problems can be treated easily.

Vomiting: This could be due to eating too quickly or overeating. (Be careful of how may treats you give your puppy when training) But vomiting could also be a sign of a serious disease. If you see blood or he can’t stop consult you vet right away. Also look for signs of being sluggish or in pain.

Diarrhea: This can be a result of an irritation of the digestive tract. This could be due to overexcitement, change in diet, food allergies just to name a few. If the puppy also seems lethargic with the diarrhea you should consult your vet.

Constipation: You can notice this if your puppy is whimpering while trying to attempt to go. The wrong type of diet could cause this. Giving puppy foods that are not meant for puppies for example. But it could also be caused by something that the puppy swallowed and is blocking his digestive tract. Your vet should be consulted for this. Ask Your Dog Question Now.

1 Boneless chicken breast
2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2)Roughly slice the chicken breast into cutlets about ¼ -inch thick. Rub the chicken pieces thoroughly with the olive oil,
3)Heat a grill pan and cook the chicken cutlets until they are browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes each side.
4)Using your hands, tear the chicken pieces into shreds. Spread the shredded chicken on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes until the shreds are dry and firm.
5)Store in a resealable plastic bag in the refrigerator

Yields 1 cup

Training for your puppy starts the moment you take him/her home. Are you considering seeking outside help for training your puppy? If you are you should contact your local humane society or veterinarian who can make a recommendation for you. It’s a good idea to get recommendations because each trainer has a different way of teaching, and their style may not be for you. Select a trainer very carefully. Anyone can call himself a dog trainer. And just like there are great trainers out there, there are also some that use severe, inhumane methods with negative reinforcement instead of positive. You should interview the trainer and ask what type of method they use is it positive or negative reinforcement. Also ask for reference from several clients, a good trainer will have no problem providing you with names. Make sure you call the references, if a dog owner does not have much to say about the trainer be careful, especially since usually people give you reference of people who they believe will only say good things about him or her. Expect to pay at least twice as much for a private trainer then you would if you went to a group class. Make sure you ask about the payment before you start, and if the trainer wants the money upfront for more that just the first lesson be careful that is a red flag, and be on alert. What happens if you don’t like the trainer after one session and don’t want to go back? Can you get a refund? It is best if the trainer helps you learn how to train your puppy with commands, this way once he or she leaves the puppy is use to you giving the commands and not just from the trainer. Otherwise what if the commands only work when the trainer says them then you just wasted your money.

Well I tried to make it up to Romeo and buy him a toy for the one I forgot. But I made another mistake. I came home and placed the bags on the floor like always, Romeo happily went over to the bag and found his toy. He looked at it and looked at it. I could not think what was wrong. He then went over to his toy box in the laundry room and came back with a toy and placed it next to the new toy. And guess what, I had bought the exact same one. This way his way of telling me I messed up again. When he placed the old toy on the floor he looked up at me and walked away. All’s I can say is I did it again. I think I need to find a new way of giving him a treat otherwise I need to take inventory of his toy box before I leave home.

Can she buy me the right dog toy?