Saturday, January 8, 2011

Reasons to Teach Your Dog Tricks

Sit! Roll over! Jump! Teaching your dog tricks might not be the easiest thing in the world, but it's highly beneficial to you and your dog. Teaching your dog tricks can help strengthen your relationship with your beloved pet in many ways. Below are some great reasons why you should start teaching your dog tricks.

1. Make everyone safe- While learning to teach your dog tricks, you learn many training techniques which can also be used to gain control over your dog. Teaching him basic tricks like sit and stay can also be used in life situations like crossing the street or entering a store.

2. Give Your Dog Something to Do- It doesn't take long before your dog gets bored and decides to take on a new hobby of chewing anything in sight, including your brand new sofa. Teaching your dog tricks will keep him focused on the task at hand, and will entertain him for hours!

3. Help Keep Your Dog's Mind Sharp- Training your dog will keep his mind active and responsive. As dogs get older they become less physically active, but learning tricks will keep his mind active and alert. 

4. Help Create a Better Bond between You and Your Dog- Your dog will look up to you as being the pack leader, and will listen to you instead of trying to get your attention in destructive ways. Best of all, once your dog learns tricks you two become a team when training or performing.

5. Show Off- You can show off your dog if you teach it some cool tricks, and your dog will get people's attention. Dogs love attention and they love being in the spotlight so they will like performing in front of your friends and family. Of course, you will also get the recognition of being a star trainer.

6. Make Vet Check Ups Easier- Both the veterinarian and you hate it when your dog can't control itself during a check up. If you teach it to be calm during the check up, it will make both of your lives easier, and you won't be embarrassed that your dog is acting up.

7. Gives Your Dog a Hobby- We all have hobbies we like to do such as watching TV or playing games, but dogs also need things to do. Training dog tricks is great to do on rainy days when you can't take him for a walk.

If these reasons have inspired you to teach your dog tricks, then you've come to the right place. Dog Trick Academy and our community is devoted to help teach your dog tricks, we keep it fun and entertaining!

Here are more link about training dogs.

How to Train Your Own Dog

There are different meanings of the term "training." It is necessary to understand this 
fact before deciding what you need to do with your dog. Given below are some distinctions:

First of all, there is the "Behavior training - Dog behavior training involves teaching life skills, such as preventing aggression problems, and how to properly interact with others and the environment without undue stress.." This is a training in which a dog is taught to be a "good citizen." This includes house training, good behavior around people and other dogs, leash manners and other things that make your dog a much more pleasant companion to be with.

Next is "Obedience training - Obedience training is one of the best things you can do for your dog or puppy and yourself. Obedience training doesn't solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem.," which is teaching your dog how to do be obedient. This can include traditional exercises such as heeling. The emphasis here is on prompt and accurate performance. While there can be many benefits to this training, this training is usually for the training's sake and not to improve the dog's behavior.

Finally, there is the "Activity training - People who play with their dog, stay with their dog." which refers to training for specific activities like Herding, Hunting, Search and Rescue, Lure Coursing and a number of activities designed to showcase your dog's abilities, particularly in activities for which the dog has been bred to do. These days, such activities also include "sports" such as Frisbee, Flyball, Agility and so on.

Of course there is a thin line between all of these distinctions. A certain amount of obedience training will help with behaviors. For example a dog that is heeling will not pull on the leash. Still you want to keep this in mind when selecting a training class so that it best matches your needs.

For many dog owners, the behavior-oriented classes are the best way to learn how to understand your dog. For those of you who want to enjoy a sport or compete in an activity with your dog will need to move along to more complex training.

You need to be aware of whether you need to correct your dog's behavior (where you will have to find out the underlying reason why your dog digs and not just put chicken wire over everything) or obedience training (to understand specific commands). 

Certainly, the two may be related: a dog that digs because it is bored may become less bored with obedience training and stop digging. It is important, however, to understand that the dog stopped digging because it was no longer bored than because it now knows how to heel. You will need to modify your approach, or select a trainer to help you, with behavior vs. training in mind.

Another factor to consider is that there are many methods for teaching all of these! The different guides available on our website will help you in your endeavor to train your best friend into a Super Dog!

Here Are Some more recourses to help you train your dog

How to Start Your Own Pet Sitting Business

Almost everyone sooner or later dreams of starting a home based business to make some extra money, or to be able to work part time. The one thing that stops most folks from acheiving this goal, is money. They just don't have the financial stability to either borrow the money needed or are not sure they can pay it back. There is one business that anyone can start with no upfront money needed, all that is required is patience and kindness, this is the business of Pet Sitting.

In the U.S. over 70% of all homes contain at least one pet, there are over 65 million dogs and 77 million cats, and in 2005 American's spent over $14 billion on their pets. All of these pets need care and treatment, and at many times throughout the year each pet has to be left unattended a large amount of the time. During these times, a pet's owner often needs the services of a 'Pet Sitter'.

There are two ways you can operate your own pet sitting business, if you own your own residence, you can watch pets inside your home, having the pet owners drop off their pets at your residence. This puts you more at ease, and you have more time to devote directly to your home duties as well as the pet sitting business, since you don't have to spend time traveling to the pet owners residence. Just make sure you have proper areas sit up for the pets that will be arriving, they must not interact with your own pets, as this can cause fights, unwanted breeding and the spreading of fleas and diseases. Plus pets dropped off at your residence will be scared because they will be in unfamiliar surroundings.

You may wish to stay at the owners residence and watch the pets while they are not home, like a babysitter. This has benefits and disadvantages as well. For one thing you will be traveling and will have to spend a great deal of time away from your own residence and money on gasoline. You may also break or damage something in the pet owners home, causing trouble for you. Or you may find yourself in a hostile environment, due to fighting between the pet's owners, or other household members. Staying in someone elses residence could also get you accused of stealing something, even though you didn't, but a babysitter faces these same obsticles also. The benefits of watching the pets in the owners home is you will have a lot less chance of exposing your own pets to diseases and unwanted breeding and fights, and the pets you are sitting will be calm and relaxed since they are being left in their familiar environment.

Either method of pet sitting you choose has its advantages and disadvantage, so you must carefully choose which is better for you. Just make sure that whatever type of service you choose, that you think of the job as carefuly as a babysitter would. Think of the pet as a small child, because a lot of pet owners love their pets as if they are children.

Make sure you have some knowledge of the pets you will be sitting, for instance read and learn about them all you can, dogs and cats are pretty easy, birds are harder, but snakes and lizards or turtles may be totaly unique and could even pose a danger to you, if your not familiar with them. Pets need sleep and rest time, they need activity or exercise, they need food, water and warmth, some even require medication at certain times of the day, but all pets need patience and love. Make sure you have emergency telephone numbers, so you can call the owners veterinarian or pet clinic in case you have too, and you may also need to get in contact with the pets owner, so don't forget the telehone number where they can be reached at.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Benjamin

The Easiest Way to Train Your Cat

Cat training is not always easy, but it is possible if you want to have a well trained cat that will add a lot of fun, joy and laughter to your family. A cat that is not properly trained will not understand what is acceptable and what is not, which is why cat training is so important to both the cat and his/her owner.

It is much easier to instill good habits on a kitten as opposed to an older cat, which is something that every cat owner should take into consideration prior to selecting a new addition to their family. It is thus best to begin your cat training as early as possible.

Well first, let us at some basic fundamentals when training your cat:

1) The bonding process is especially important while you attempt cat training.

2) It is important to remember that reprimands don't work well in cat training. This is a totally unacceptable method and instead of having a positive impact will have a negative impact.

3) Cat training tries to encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior.

Now, let's look at some of the problems you may face as a cat owner and how to resolve them.

So is there any method to prevent or reduce scratching?

One method would be to spray some lemon juice on certain targeted areas where your cat is about to scratch. Another method is to use repellants instead. However, using repellants may not be a good way as your cat may be sensitive to them. Of course the cat will never stop scratching but using caps is also a good method to prevent damage when your cat scratches something. Cat training for indoor cats may also involve the implementation of a scratching post, which will prevent them from ruining furniture or carpet with their nails.

These are some of the house cat training methods to prevent your cat from scratching your favorite furniture or objects.

Another typical problem that many cat owners face is training them how to use the litterbox.

One method to train your cat will cover a period of several weeks during which the litterbox is elevated and moved until it is near the toilet. During this period, the litter can be suspended above the toilet using either a small bowl or box. At the end of this training period involving the toilet, the cat will be able to use the toilet by perching over the bowl.

Being a cat owner is not a one day process, it takes time and patience to train your cat to your ideal expectations but remember not to rush things as it will have a detrimental effect instead.

Here are some more sites that tell you how to train your cat.

How to train a Dog?

There are different meanings of the term "training." It is necessary to understand this
fact before deciding what you need to do with your dog. Given below are some distinctions:

First of all, there is the "Behavior training - Dog behavior training involves teaching life skills, such as preventing aggression problems, and how to properly interact with others and the environment without undue stress.." This is a training in which a dog is taught to be a "good citizen." This includes house training, good behavior around people and other dogs, leash manners and other things that make your dog a much more pleasant companion to be with.

Next is "Obedience training - Obedience training is one of the best things you can do for your dog or puppy and yourself. Obedience training doesn't solve all behavior problems, but it is the foundation for solving just about any problem.," which is teaching your dog how to do be obedient. This can include traditional exercises such as heeling. The emphasis here is on prompt and accurate performance. While there can be many benefits to this training, this training is usually for the training's sake and not to improve the dog's behavior.

Finally, there is the "Activity training - People who play with their dog, stay with their dog." which refers to training for specific activities like Herding, Hunting, Search and Rescue, Lure Coursing and a number of activities designed to showcase your dog's abilities, particularly in activities for which the dog has been bred to do. These days, such activities also include "sports" such as Frisbee, Flyball, Agility and so on.

Of course there is a thin line between all of these distinctions. A certain amount of obedience training will help with behaviors. For example a dog that is heeling will not pull on the leash. Still you want to keep this in mind when selecting a training class so that it best matches your needs.

For many dog owners, the behavior-oriented classes are the best way to learn how to understand your dog. For those of you who want to enjoy a sport or compete in an activity with your dog will need to move along to more complex training.

You need to be aware of whether you need to correct your dog's behavior (where you will have to find out the underlying reason why your dog digs and not just put chicken wire over everything) or obedience training (to understand specific commands).

Certainly, the two may be related: a dog that digs because it is bored may become less bored with obedience training and stop digging. It is important, however, to understand that the dog stopped digging because it was no longer bored than because it now knows how to heel. You will need to modify your approach, or select a trainer to help you, with behavior vs. training in mind.

Another factor to consider is that there are many methods for teaching all of these! The different guides available on our website will help you in your endeavor to train your best friend into a Super Dog!
 
Here are some more links about this topic 

Sunday, October 11, 2009

How to Promote Your Pet Sitting Services

Whether you are just starting up your pet sitting service or you have an established clientele, it is important to always be looking for new clients, and other additions to keep your business at the top of the list. Promoting a business can be very hard work, especially if you are new to the industry. Putting in the extra time and work however, can prove to be not only profitable but also help provide better care of the animals.

The common places to post fliers or business cards are at local pet stores, grooming salons, and veterinary offices. The majority of these businesses will allow you to do this with little to no hassle as it has no impact on their business.

Once you have hit the physical places of advertisement it is then on to the world of technology. It is quick and cheap to have a suitable website designed for your business, or you can take the free marketing route through social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and many others. These take little to no time to set up and can be profitable and easy to promote.

You can pay kids or teenagers to hand out fliers on street corners, and word of mouth is always a great way to go starting with friends and family members. Once you have covered the primary pet owner visited locations, tackled the internet world, it never hurts to throw an advertisement in the local newspaper or once again the free option, Craigslist.

As you can see this can be done on any level of budget. For the new pet sitting services there are a lot of cheaper options, and for the well established businesses it never hurts to go back to old tactics or invest money to revamp the old advertisement process.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

How to Choose the Right Pet Sitter

When it comes to finding the right pet sitter for your pet there are a lot of things to take into account. You are trusting someone to treat your best friend and family member like they were the sitters own while you are away. You should take great care in selecting a sitter considering most of us pet owners consider our pets to be our children.

You always want to ask for a pet sitters references, preferably previous clients or veterinary offices, to show that the have successfully cared for pets like yours and will speak for their qualifications. Every pet is different and has different needs. While someone may have done a great job with taking care of someone's boa constrictor or dachshund, can they handle the demands of your Great Dane?

Another item you want to research is the pet sitters facilities. A visit to where your pet will be kept, if not an in home sitting, is almost always essential. Any pet sitting service can sound great on paper but be lacking in the reality of the quality of atmosphere in which your pet is being cared for.

Finally, you want to make sure that you feel comfortable with the person that you are leaving your pet with. Once you feel comfortable with the person, it is highly recommended that you bring your pet along to make sure that your pet agrees with the individual as well. Just like we sometimes do not get along with people, our pets have the same nature to like or dislike other people.

Once you have found a place that is qualified, has the proper facilities for your pet, and both you and your pet agree that the sitter is acceptable, then you have found the right person.

Los Angeles Pet Sitting Service

New York Pet Sitting Service

Chicago Pet Sitting Service

San Francisco Pet Sitting Service