What You Need To Know About Dog Walking

If you own a dog, it's recommended that you walk him regularly. According to experts, there are plenty of benefits that come with it. Some of these benefits include:

Benefits of walking him

Bond strengthening: Since you will be alone with him you have quality time together. Experts report that this time is important in forming a deep and trusting relationship with your dog. The time that you spend together with him also plays a vital role in the development of the behavior.

Weight control: Just like humans, dogs are bound to gain plenty of weight when they lead a sedentary lifestyle. If you live in an apartment four-legged friend has little space to exercise; therefore, it gains weight. During the walk, he burns calories thus bringing about weight loss.

Better mental well-being: If you regularly exercise you can bear witness that you feel much better after the exercise. This is because your body releases hormones that improve your mental well-being. This is the same case with your dog. When the dog exercises he feels better about himself thus becoming a better companion.

More exposure: When you walk him you expose him to new people, experiences, and settings. This helps him to learn new things which are crucial for growth.

Decrease loneliness: If you live alone it means that your friend spends most of his time alone. Just like humans, dogs are social beings. When you are walking him you give him company which aids in getting rid of loneliness.

Longer life: Since dogs that exercise are fitter and healthier, they tend to live longer. Since they have longer lives you enjoy the company of your dog for a longer time.

How to walk him

While many people know that they need to walk their dogs, studies show that few dog owners know how to properly do it. To help you out, here are tips on how to properly walk him:

Always keep him on a leash: When he is on a leash you have full control of him and you are the one who dictates the walk-not the dog. The best way of holding the leash is wrapping it around your hand until there is little space between you and him.

Treat him: It's always recommended that you train your dog during the walk. Some of the training that you can expose him to include: walking, sitting and when to pull on the leash. When he behaves the way that you want you should reward him with his favorite treat.

Make the walk comfortable: There is no way that he will enjoy the walk if it's uncomfortable. You should ensure that the leash is made from a comfortable material. Also, ensure that you apply comfortable pressure on him The time that you walk him determines how comfortable the dog will be. For peace of mind avoid walking him at noon as it might be too hot for him.

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How To Stop Your Dog From Destroying Your Back Yard

Destructive behavior in dogs is not only frustrating to deal with but can also be a sign that something is wrong with your dog's health or lifestyle. Here are a few of the most common causes of this type of behavior as well as tips on how to stop your dog from destroying your back yard.

Boredom

Boredom is one of the leading causes of destructive behavior in dogs. When dogs don't have enough to keep them occupied, they will find their own way to entertain themselves. Unfortunately, this often means digging holes in your otherwise perfect flowerbed or lawn, clawing at your brand new fence or chewing on your deck railings.

Putting an end to destructive behavior caused by boredom starts with finding ways to keep your dog occupied. Consider investing in a treat dispensing toy. These toys can be filled with bits of dog food or sticky snacks like peanut butter and are a great way to keep your dog busy for long periods of time. Additionally, be sure that your dog is getting plenty of exercise and that he gets lots of love and attention when you are home.

Separation Anxiety

Many dogs become fearful and anxious when left alone. This fear and anxiety often manifests itself as destructive behavior. A dog that suffers from separation anxiety may bark, urinate, defecate, scratch or dig excessively while you are away.

One way of easing separation anxiety is by making the experience of being alone more pleasurable for your dog. For instance, you could give them a special treat every time you leave the house. Treat dispensing toys are an ideal choice since they often keep your dog occupied for long periods of time. Just be sure to only give the treat when you are leaving so they start to associate delicious food with being alone.

Kong Stuffed with Frozen Peanut Butter

You can also ease their anxiety by being calm when you leave and when you arrive home. Instead of talking in an excited voice and getting your dog all riled up, make it seem like your leaving is no big deal.

If neither of these tactics work, you may want to consider enrolling your dog in doggy daycare. This allows them to interact with other dogs and people, preventing the types of situations that often lead to destructive behavior

Getting your dog to stop destroying your back yard starts with understanding what triggers him to act out in the first place..In most cases, when you address issues such as boredom or separation anxiety, the destructive behavior will stop on its own.

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Why Isn't Punishment An Effective Training Method For Puppies

Have you recently received a new puppy? For many people, this is a very joyous time in their life. Unfortunately, it's not always fun when you are raising a puppy simply because they can become very unruly and are also hard to train. It could be simple things like teaching them not to chew on literally everything that is in your household, or teaching them how to not go to the bathroom on your carpet or floor. It can push you to your emotional limits, causing you to want to punish them every time that they make a bad choice, but this might not be the best way to train your puppy. Here are a few reasons why punishment is not an effective training method for puppies, and what alternatives exist that may prove to be much more beneficial.

Why Punishing Your Puppy Is Not The Best Choice

Starting with a simple example of a puppy that is chewing on a piece of furniture in your home, your first inclination would be to use a rolled up newspaper, smacked them on the nose, and tell them in a very affirmative tone that they have done something wrong. Obviously, the dog is not going to understand the words that you are using, but your tone will speak volumes. However, is smacking them on the nose, or swatting them with your hand, actually the best choice that you can make?

Alternatives To Punishment

There are a couple different alternatives to actually physically striking the dog in order to get your point across. We have already mentioned that the tone that you use is very important when you are trying to train your puppy. This applies to any problem that they may be having which could be biting, scratching, digging, or not waiting to go outside in order to relieve themselves. In conjunction with your negative tone, the alternatives that you will want to use will include removing them from the situation, all the while telling them in a strong condescending tone that they have made the wrong choice. It doesn't matter what words you use, but your actions need to be fast, quickly addressing the issue and removing them from the situation. You could take them to a different area of the home, or if it is a problem with potty training, take them outside and then begin the second stage of the process.

Rewards For Improving Behavior

Once you have removed them from the situation, you will want to immediately reinforce the bad behavior with presenting them with the option to do something good. Once they are in the new location, you can ask them to set, or lie down, something that they already know how to do, and when this is accomplished, you can reward them with a positive tone and some form of treat. By doing this quickly, transitioning them from the bad situation to a good one, and then following that up with a reward, they will become aware that making good decisions leads to rewards and praise from their owner, and theoretically through this process, the need to be praised and receive rewards will carry over to the problematic area. This can inspire them to avoid doing the bad things, hoping to do good things in order to receive positive input from you. Once done several times, and done on a consistent basis, you should start to notice a definite change in their bad behavior, transitioning them into something good.

The reason that this particular strategy does not work all of the time has to do with the lack of consistency on the part of the owner. The transition needs to be immediate, which is why in the early stages of raising your puppy, you need to be there as much as possible. By giving them an appropriate toy to chew on, or placing them outside where they can actually relieve themselves, and rewarding them once the good behavior has been accomplished, they will begin to understand. As long as this form of positive conditioning is used on a consistent basis, you can avoid the need for punishing your puppy in order to train them, it's a philosophy that many dog owners are adopting today.

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