The Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter (FOSMAS) will host a training class for individuals interested in becoming foster parents for animals-in-need from the San Martin Animal Shelter:
DATE: Sunday, March 15
TIME: 1 - 5 p.m.
PLACE: The Granary, 17500 Depot St., Morgan Hill (second floor conference room)
By Pete Keesling
Q:
We recently got a new puppy and at our first visit to the vet, we found out he has roundworms. We have two children, ages 4 and 7. My concern is for my children’s health, they don’t clean up after the dog, I do. But they did get licked on their face and hands. Kids being kids, I am sure they touch every part of their faces afterwards at some point, should I be concerned with transmission?
By Laurie Frazer
Puppies need socialization and training. Training usually encompass behaviors dog owners appreciate, like sit, stay, come. They recognize the importance of such behavior and are willing to pay for someone to do it or someone to teach it.
Most puppy owners know nothing of socialization. No amount of training will correct a complete lack of socialization. A lack of socialization can results in a dog that has poor learning and problem-solving abilities, is hyperactive, fearful and aggressive.
Courtesy of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers emphasizes the importance of training your new dog right from the start. Training and early socialization are the keys to avoiding behavior problems and easing the transition into your home and family. The importance of early planning when it comes to puppies has been highlighted by the current media buzz around President-Elect Obama’s announcement that he and his family have narrowed down their choice of dog to a Portuguese Water Dog or a Labradoodle.
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (http://www.apdt.com/) asked their members to provide some essential tips to help new owners. Whether you’re the everyday dog owner or our new President, these tips will help you get your relationship with your new dog off on the right paw.
Courtesy of Informed Publishing
New home reference makes caring for pets easy, with guidelines on daily care, first aid, travel advice, emergency planning and how to respond to a pet injury, illness or emergency.
Informed Publishing, leading publisher of resources for emergency preparedness and response, has introduced the Pet Emergency Pocket Guide, a tool that provides quick access to information that makes caring for pets easy.
This compact 3”x5” guide delivers step-by-step guidelines to help pet owners care for pets daily, and be prepared so they can respond quickly and confidently in the event of a pet injury, illness or emergency.
By Laurie Frazer
At a party held by the Gilroy Dispatch to launch this Blog site I met several people with similar dreams to mine: to do more for the communities homeless pets and to have a sane connection for those looking to adopt them to the South County Animal Shelter in San Martin.
With our philosophy of treating people well, with respect, love and without judgment , a friendship with Doreen Copeland, her group of All About Critter staff and myself was formed. From this friendship we launched Bow Wow Adoptions.
The “sane” connection to the shelter is that animals are available to good homes, period. You do not have to pass a FBI background investigation, provide blood samples or bring in 10 witnesses to your animal husbandry skills. You will not be subjected to a humaniac lecture on how animals should be kept, fed, trained, exercise or life partnered.
By Laurie Frazer
Consistency is the key component to dog training. It is that simple. Tell your dog to do something, such as sit or stay and make it happen every time. If you tell your dog to sit fourteen times in a day, you must enforce the sit command fourteen times. If you only enforce seven of the commands and let your dog walk away seven times, you have started to decay your dog’s response to less than 50% of your commands.
Last evening I was training a pit bull named Mac I am fostering, to stay in a bed in the training area at Petco. Because he is a serious looking pit bull people are afraid of him. I don’t want him approaching people with dogs without my permission. I worked on this training for over an hour. I counted at least 150 times I had to get up and order him back to the bed with the snap of my fingers. Eventually I could just give him the evil eye and he decided not to move.
By the time my class arrived with dogs, Mac made no attempt to move. No dog trainer magic. Customers and students wanted to know if their dog could be trained to do that. The answer is yes! Give your dog a command and enforce that he does it, every time!
By Laurie Frazer
I have a pack a day habit! My highest priority is satisfying the pack. After all my pack is alive, living creatures with needs…dogs. It is my responsibility first and foremost to fulfill those needs since the pack cannot fulfill them, with out me.
When I take a member of the pack to Petco to use as a demo dog for my classes, I am always complemented on how well behaved and great my dog looks. I am always approached and asked if the dog on my lead is “up for adoption?” This sometimes takes me back as the dog may be one I paid several thousand dollars for and have spent several thousand hours training with
I have decided what this question really boils down to is that at a glance my dog is representing itself as a dog that anyone could picture themselves owning. With nearly twenty five years experience, training hundreds of dogs I am quite sure anyone can learn the methods to make a dog just like mine. It just doesn’t happen very often. People go out and bring home a dog and it doesn’t develop into what they wanted. Under the pretense of authority, dog owners have told me every reason why it didn’t happen, of course it was the dog.
The real reason is the pack a day habit. Most new dog owners have a false sense that they have just brought home some new appliance who`s job it will be to make life better. They can use it when they want and when they are tired or busy they can throw it out in the “big yard”. During all those lonely hours in the yard the dog is learning! Learning to dig, chew, bark..
Dog owners are very good at telling you why they “can’t”. Usually it is they don`t have time! We all have time. Time is ticking by while you fold laundry. Did you know you can train a dog during that time? How much time do you spend on the computer, picking the kids up from school, cooking, watching TV? All of those times can be spent doing the chore and training the dog. I instruct my classes on this method and I get rave reviews on the success that dog owners experience with it.
The method is simple. Spend some of your dogs energy, preferably with a walk. Then simply keep your dog on a leash in the house. Have the dog sit, lay down and stay at your feet while you spend time living your life and training your dog. Your dog will learn quickly who is the pack leader. Your dog will learn a routine and settle into it. Eventually the leash will go. You will find you have all kinds of time to spend with a well trained dog.
Make a commitment to a pack a day habit! Your dog will reward you.
By Laurie Frazer
This is the most common question I am asked. I hear it two to three times a week at least. So to answer this question, let me say there are thousands of ways to become a dog trainer. You can attend a pay for knowledge collage of dog training. Spend years training dogs. Hand out a business card and learn as you go. Grow up as a dog boy in Mexico…
Almost everyone loves dogs. Are you sure you want to turn that in to a profession? Most people have no idea that dog training is mostly about people. People are the owners, the consumers of the dog training trade. Dog owning consumers are a tough crowed for many reasons. They want and expect endless free advice. They love to talk about there pet to the extreme. They will call you anytime day or night and show up at your home for a chance to do so. Very few will fallow through on there end of the training experience. I could go on! So, do you enjoy dealing with human psychology? Lets not forget a trainer needs to get paid. This challenge will encompass that human psychology and a business management plan. Do you see that DOG is moving further down the list?
As many ways as there are to become a dog trainer, there are more ways to be a dog trainer. The real question is what what kind of trainer. A collage for knowledge can turn out a person knowledgeable of training principles but they lack the experience that training hundreds of dogs can give them. So it is only a place to start. A lot of so called trainers take the learn as you go approach but they don’t last long in the business.