Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Patio Dog Doors Buying Tips

By: rayter
Here you will learn some helpful strategies in choosing the right patio dog doors for your pet. These simple tips will help you decide which patio dog doors are sturdy, stylish and, most importantly, suit your budget.

Before purchasing patio dog doors, there are several factors you need consider in successfully buying the right item! Here are some important tips that every buyer should take into consideration in choosing an ideal pet patio door:

The first and most important guideline to consider in purchasing patio dog doors is to measure the height of your patio door track. Many people always take an assumption on the measurement of their patio door without knowing that it actually varies. For this, you may use a measuring device and measure the section inside from the top up to the bottom. Then, take note of the adjustment ranges for every dog door and compare it to the actual height of your patio door.

When it comes to design, it’s still appropriate to check the color of your framing. Choose colors that will harmonize with your interior design. Colors such as aluminum white and bronze are perfectly right. If you want, you can still paint any of these colors that will match the color of your house.

Double check if the materials used on your walls or doors matches the materials used for the pet door you are about to purchase. If you think installing it will not work with your patio, then you better look for an alternative patio pet doors that will fit your requirements.

Find out how wide the door flap needs to be. Make sure that it is wide enough so that your pet can comfortably pass through it. Try to provide more space to allow room for growth and adjustment. Also add at least an inch in every side of the minimum width that you already measured. Of course, it is not advisable for you to purchase a replacement flap which doesn’t fit the measurement of your patio dog door.

When it comes to flap dimensions, try to determine the flap height and rise. To accurately measure the height of the flap, measure the height of your pet from the top of his shoulders all the way to his feet. In this manner, your dog won’t have to hunker down in order to pass through these patio dog doors.

In order to measure the rise dimension that will fit to your dog size, start at the height of the flap bottom just above the base of the pet door so that your dog will conveniently step over it.

All in all, the exact measurement of the top of the flap will be the flap height plus the rise dimension. In general, it is better to use a lower rise especially when small pet needs to share with the bigger ones.

Consider the type of weather you have in your area. Of course, if you think your area always encounter a tough climate, its better to purchase a tougher pet patio door.



Author's Resource:

The author is a dog enthusiast and writer connected to a company that provides a huge selection of patio dog doors, wood dog house and patio pet door products at affordable rates.

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

Teaching Your Dog To Sit

By: John Neyman Jr.
Few things in life are prettier than watching a well-trained dog and one of the basic commands is the sit command. There are several methods of teaching your dog to sit. Two of the most popular are the Click and the Compulsory methods. The Click method is based again on purely positive reinforcement while the Compulsory method uses both positive and negative reinforcements. Let’s begin our discussion with the easier of the two, The Click Method.

The Click Method of training a dog to sit is based upon rewarding the animal for the desired behavior. It gets its name from the idea that some audible queue is used to alert the animal of a pending reward with many trainers using a device called a clicker for this purpose. Whenever the audible queue is given, the reward follows immediately. To train a dog to sit by this method requires little effort on the trainers’ part. One begins by lavishing the dog with several treats, one right after the other while giving the audible queue. Then abruptly stop the shower of treats and wait for the animal to direct its attention to you. Now display a treat and give the audible queue as you give the treat to the pet. Now hold another treat at chest level so that the dog must look up to see the treat. After a few minutes, your pet will likely sit down on its haunches because this position makes it much easier to watch the treat. Immediately, when this happens, give the audible queue and reward the pet. Repeat this lesson several times. After a while you will notice your pet sitting in anticipation of the click and the reward so it is now time to add your verbal command to the routine. When the dog begins to sit, say “sit”. This will gradually teach the dog that the command precedes the action and they will learn the meaning of the command in this way. After some practice and a bit of patience, your dog should begin to sit without having to see a reward being offered.

Now let’s discuss the more traditional method of training…. The Compulsory Method. This is the method grand dad used on his dogs. Tell the puppy to sit while enforcing it. Saying the verbal command “sit” and pushing down on the puppy’s tail section to make it contact the floor accomplish the lesson. With some dogs you might have to hold their chin up during this process or they will go ahead and lie down. The object behind the lesson is to teach the pup when you say “sit” that there is no other choice but to sit and so eventually the animal will respond on its own rather than having to be coaxed into position. Some owners use a tool called a choke collar for this training method. They will leash the dog with the choke collar in place and upon the sit command push the dog down. At the same time they will hold the choke collar down by way of the leash allowing only enough slack for the dog to sit but not stand up. If the dog tries to stand the choke collar tightens around the animals’ neck producing extreme discomfort. The author does not recommend this method as it can produce a nervous and fearful animal, which can become quite aggressive when it feels threatened. Such training also makes leash training much more difficult as it teaches the animal to fear the leash because of the pain inflicted by it. This also tends to lessen the bond between master and dog because the dog comes to associate the master with the pain and discomfort as well and may lash out at the owner or others if the treatment continues.

In whichever method you choose for training your pet, one thing remains constant. Always be consistent. Also be sure to pour lavish affection upon your pet for good behaviors and responses as this improves their bond to you and makes them desire to please you more fully. With a moderate amount of time and patience, your dog will be rivaling any animal presented at the local dog competitions for his well-trained style and mannerisms.



Author's Resource:

John E. Neyman, Jr. is a Pastor, an internet marketer, a counselor, life coach. www.dogsareforever.com/

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

What You Can Learn From Training Your Dog

By: John Neyman Jr.
We think of dog training in pretty simple terms most of the time. The trainer teaches, the dog learns and that’s it. We see dog training as a one-way street upon which a trainer imparts guidance to a dog. That, however, is a great oversimplification. Though it does describe the way a dog’s life can be improved through good training, it doesn’t remind us of another wonderful benefit of training.

You see, in reality dog training is an interaction. And in any interaction, all parties involved take something away from the experience. In the case of dog training, the dog does learn appropriate behaviors. He, however, is not the only learner in the process. The dog trainer also gains from the interaction.

The advantages to the canine half of the training duo are clear. There are advantages for the human, too, which are pretty obvious. In the end, he has a fine companion with whom he can develop a great relationship. The owner also benefits from having a “good” dog, one who doesn’t destroy his property or try his patience at every turn. These are very real benefits and should not be disregarded or trivialized. However, when one closely examines dog training, they find that the teacher gains even more from his interaction with the canine pupil.

Owners gain insight into their own personality during the training process. They find their weaknesses amplified by their pet and their personality strengths underlined. They may learn that patience is not their natural strength and that training forced them to be more considerate and calm. Alternatively, they may learn their threshold for frustration was actually higher than they had imagined. These lessons, learned through interaction with a dog, are transferable into other segments of one’s life.

For example, the trainer who has successfully worked with a problem dog may find it easier to deal with a difficult client or employee—they have learned that they can be patient and see a situation through without “losing it.”

Owners also gain insight into what they really want from their life. There was a reason they sought a dog as a companion and a reason why they spent the time and energy necessary to train that dog. Their interactions throughout training can inform their perspective on self and personal motivation. They may find a new realization of how much they appreciate life and can learn a great deal about friendship building, as well.

There is of course, the tremendous sense of satisfaction that comes from training a dog to consider, too. Training requires a commitment over time and a willingness to give of oneself a great deal. A trainer may reflect on that experience and discover a selfless aspect to their personality of which they had previously been unaware. Tapping into that component of the personality might spur them to undertake other positive activities.

When one realizes they have successfully completed a long-term task, they may better understand their innate ability to set goals and to achieve them by acting consistently with those goals in mind. Dog training can become a great example of what one can accomplish with clear goals in mind.

Training dogs is not just about teaching “sit, heel, and rollover.” It is about working with and interacting with another living being over an extended period of time. It is about giving instruction, of course, but it is also about receiving wisdom.

Thinking of dog training as merely the enforcement of rules and expectations simply does not do justice to the wonderful process. There is much more to it, and there is a great deal a trainer can learn from both his dog and the training process itself.

Dog training is more than an exercise in learning and understanding for a dog. It is an exercise in learning and understanding for the master, too. There is a lot we can learn from our experiences with dog training if we expand our perspective on the matter to include all of the wisdom and understanding acquired throughout the training process. A broad perspective on dog training shows it to be a remarkably valuable enterprise for both the pet and the owner.
hope to see you at a competition near me soon.



Author's Resource:

John E. Neyman, Jr. is a Pastor, an internet marketer, a counselor, life coach. www.dogsareforever.com/

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

The Importance Of Dog Grooming

By: rayter
Dog grooming is very vital because the physical appearance of your dog influences the way he feels and the way we look at him as well. Remember, a clean dog is a happy and healthy dog!

Dog grooming is also essential not only on your pet’s physical health but also his physiological and psychological wellbeing. What your dog feels and how he acts depend on his physical state. If you’re dog is not properly groomed, he must be likely show some bad behaviors like excessive barking.

By reading this article, you will see the importance of proper dog grooming.

• Keeps your dog healthy. Taking care of your pet by giving him a good bath will eliminates germs and dirt that he got from playing outside. Clean dog equals healthy dog.

• Your pet feels comfortable. Bathing with a rich lather using a great dog shampoo will remove dog and fleas from your pet’s skin. No more dry and itchy skin if your dog is free from harmful insects. And washing your dog can be made easy by using pet bath.

• Trimming your dog’s nails will prevent the germs from accumulating inside of them. Also, trimmed nails will prevent scratch when your dog jumps over you and keeps your home furniture safe.

• Brushing you dog’s hair regularly will keep it shiny and from building up. If you currently have long-haired breed dog, you must need to cut it or occasional clipping is needed to keep him look nice and neat. Keeping the hair short around his eyes will give him a better view.

• Boost his energy. Clean dog means a happy dog. Just like human, your pet needs to be cleaned to awaken his senses after having a good wash. Proper grooming is just like rejuvenating his confidence to have the energy to face the activities that awaits him.

• A well-groomed pet is much easier to love. Of course, a responsible pet owner doesn’t want his dog to be dirty. A clean and healthy dog is very nice to look at. Others will also appreciate all the proper care that you do to your pet.



Author's Resource:

The author is a dog owner and writer connected to a company that offers a huge selection of pet bath products, underground fence and other pet supplies at affordable prices.

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

Keeping Your Dog Safe With Petsafe

By: trinity smith
If you are a dog owner and want to train your dogs, you will definitely need the help of Petsafe pet collars. It is designed to help you prevent your dog’s most unnecessary behaviors. Some pet collars are not effective but Petsafe pet collar is perfectly designed to train your dogs.

If you are using the traditionally designed collars, your dog might not feel comfortable with it and you will find it difficult to train them. If so, you need to get them a Petsafe pet collar so that you can train them easily.

You need to choose the best training collar for your dog. There are lots of pet collars that are available in the market today. However, you need to make a very wise decision in choosing a pet collar because it will not be useful if it will not work for your dog.

Before buying a pet collar, you need to check first if your dog is ready for training. If you think that he is, then its time that you teach him physical and mental training. You also need to decide what kind of pet collar you need for your dog. If you want a pet collar that is specially made for training while wearing the collar, you need a hunting dog collar.

However, if you want the majority that pet owners use, buy your dog a Petsafe pet collar. When buying Petsafe pet collars, choose the one that fits your dog perfectly. It would be best to bring your dog with you if you decide to buy at a local pet store because you might end up buying a small collar that might cause wheezing and undesirable choking.

Using Petsafe pet collar is safe and a great tool that you can use to teach your dogs for them to obey your commands. It also helps your dog to prevent excessive barking and controls rough behavior especially when there are passersby. Just make sure that you buy from a dependable manufacturer of pet collars to ensure your dog’s safety without restraining them. With Petsafe pet collars, you are guaranteed to have a successful training with your dog.
Author's Resource:

To learn more about Petsafe Dog Collars, Training Collars and other training tips and tricks please visit Hunting Dog Collars Online.

Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

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