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Besides teaching your dog manners, obedience training helps strengthen the bond between dog and owner. Training can be done at home easily, as this video shows. Watch April Mackin, a trainer who works with dogs in Disney films, as she shares how to teach a dog to lay down in 2 minutes.
If you prefer to read, here's the transcription:
"Hi, it's April. I'm back again and this episode is how to train your buddy to lay down and stay.
"Ok, this is Rosebud and what we would like to do with you today is show you how to train your little buddy to do a lay down-stay. What you wanna do is have your dog sit in the sit position and I like to give 'em a little treat. I have my treat in my hand and then you guide her down with your hand cue - lay down, stay, good! Good! So let's try that one more time. Stay, good, now I'm going to reinforce that sit so she doesn't know exactly - she has to pay attention to me - now lay down, stay - giving her a stay cue - good girl! Very good.
"The hand signal for lay down is take your hand in front of the dog's nose and lay it down. (Note: you can see April demonstrate this at the 0:52 mark.) Happy training! Remember to always use positive reinforcement and keep your sessions short but repeat them several times a day."
Some key points:
Hand signals work. Visual cues are more easily understood to dogs than the English language. Dogs often learn the hand signal first, then the verbal command. The added benefit of hand signals is you can give the command even if you can't say it.
Make it fun. Treats and short bursts are more interesting to your dog than long work sessions. When your dog is interested, he's more likely to pick up what you're teaching.
Build on existing commands. If your dog already knows sit, you can use it here to help your dog learn stay. (Need to work on sit? Get April's tips on how to teach a dog to sit by clicking the link.)
As April demonstrates, it's simple to learn how to teach a dog to lay down. It just takes some treats and practice and you can train your dog at home.
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Wolves are hunters. They take down their prey and eat it raw, sometimes burying it to store for leaner times ahead. Dogs are descendants of wolves, but over thousands of years they’ve evolved to become the companions that sleep at our feet. Wolves can do it, sure, but can dogs eat raw meat?
This question is at the basis of the BARF movement. Why the b-word? Depending on whom you ask, it stands for either Bones And Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. It advocates feeding an entirely raw diet to your dog, whether you buy commercially-prepared raw food or prepare it yourself. Supporters of a raw diet cite benefits such as a return to dogs' natural diet, healthier teeth, smaller stools, and higher overall health. It’s an answer to many dog owners’ frustrations with traditional commercial dog food.
But is it the right answer? Veterinarians say no for two major reasons. First, raw meat carries risk of disease and infection that cooked meat does not. Second, formulating a nutritionally-complete, balanced diet is beyond the knowledge base of most dog owners. Finding the right commercially prepared dog food is an easier, more effective way for most dog owners to give their dogs a balanced diet.
Proponents of raw food diets counter with the following. First, they assert a dog's stomach is different than ours and therefore better able to handle raw meat and anything that comes in it. The second idea is that vets recommend against raw food because they’ve been taught nutrition by commercial food companies, hence their recommendations of various commercial foods.
As a pet professional and a concerned dog mom, I’ve looked into various feeding methods- raw, homemade, prescription, commercial. With each one, my questions have been:
• Does this provide a nutritionally-balanced diet for my dog’s specific needs?
• Is it safe?
• What benefits does it provide?
• Is this the best way to get those benefits?
• What does my vet think about this method for my dog, based on her medical history and unique needs?
In doing my study of dog nutrition, I consulted veterinarian Dr. Laci Schaible to get her take on raw diets for dogs. Dr. Laci, via her website VetLIVE, has lowered the barrier to pet health care. You can go there to ask a vet and chat live for unbiased and personalized veterinary answers and money-saving tips. In her previous life, she worked for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Services as a Senior Veterinary Medical Advisor, so she’s got first-hand knowledge of what exactly goes into the food we feed our dogs. Here’s what she had to say:
“You've probably heard that raw food has a risk of transmitting roundworm infections, tapeworm infections, Salmonella, Clostridium, etc. etc...Yep, it's all true that these are risks of feeding your dog a raw diet. I've been on the inspection floor of the plants when a cut is made into the meat and you find these parasites. They are killed either by heating or freezing the meat. Feeding raw means that you are accepting the risk that the meat is contaminated and you risk your dog's health.”
Incidentally, the conditions Dr Laci mentions could lead to vomiting, diarrhea, abdonimal obstruction, fever, and blood loss. I don't want take the chance of those infections and parasites getting in my dog’s food. Would you?
Dr. Laci continued to explain how raw meat many feed their companion dogs is different than the meat eaten by wolves and wild dogs. They are eating different things. “(Raw meat is) not clean by any means, the government does not deny this, and that is why it has to be cooked. When a wild dog kills an animal in the wild, he is not eating the carcass of an animal that has come from a filthy belly of a USDA regulated slaughterhouse.” The argument that dogs eat raw meat in the wild doesn’t work because it’s not about their ability to process it, it’s about the quality of what they’re eating.
While she does not endorse a raw meat diet for dogs, Dr. Laci offers these tips for those who still want to feed raw:
• Get your meat from a local butcher you know conducts his operation with the highest attention to care, monitoring, regulation, and sanitation to avoid the pitfalls of factory-raised and slaughtered meat. If they are careful enough, you won’t have as high a risk of infection and parasites.
• Make sure your dog’s diet is nutritionally complete and balanced. This means supplements and vegetables in addition to the meat.
• Beware of marketing jargon. Some companies advertise “human grade” raw food you can buy commercially. “Unfortunately, a raw company claiming their food is ‘human grade’ means absolutely nothing legally,” says Dr. Laci, “meaning they have no standards they have to adhere to.” It sounds nice, but it’s no guarantee that it’s safer than any other raw meat for dogs.
So, can dogs eat raw meat? Technically, yes. Does that mean they should? So far, the answers my questions have always steered me away from raw diets. Where a raw diet loses me is the question of whether it's the best way to get those benefits I mentioned earlier. There are far better ways to give my dog a healthy, balanced diet without the risks raw meat carries. So for my dog's diet the answer is clearly no.
Please do your own homework. After that, if you feel the benefits outweigh the risks, make sure the raw meat you buy is not a potential vessel for disease. Also, consult with a vet nutritionist to ensure your dog’s diet is balanced and complete. For those of you wondering, a custom diet is the route I chose, due to some specialized needs my dog has. If you need a recommendation to a nutritionist, let me know here - Contact us.
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The best part is we have worked out a special arrangement with ROTATIONS. As a thank you for reading our blog, we've arranged for you to get your first bag of dog food for free. Just fill out the form below. We will email you the details and instructions on how to receive your free 15 pound bag of ROTATIONS.
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Thanks to the Puppy Bowl, we can imagine puppies playing football. What about puppies hosting a late night show?
Wonder no more. Conan O'Brien has asked and answered that question. Take a look:
There are two things I love about this video: first, everything is puppy sized. That comfy chair was perfectly sized for Puppy Andy. Second, you can tell they adore these dogs, from relieving them of hats and wigs as soon as the puppies showed they didn't want it to picking them up and cooing. So many TV personalities strive to stay professional when working with animals that they don't let that simple love and enjoyment of a puppy shine through.
Here's to more puppies invading pop culture! Click "like" at the top if you agree.
A reliable recall command, or "come," is the best thing you can teach your dog. Knowing how to teach a dog to come empowers you to make this skill second nature to your dog. It will open up a world of possibilities for you and your dog to explore.
Some examples of when a good recall is critical:
- If you're at the dog park and a scuffle breaks out, you want your dog to come when called rather than check out a risky situation.
- If you and your dog are exploring off-leash in the woods and you spot a dead animal, you want your dog at your side before he checks it out and ingests dangerous parasites.
- If your dog runs outside and a car is coming, you need your dog safely beside you before his life is in danger.
And many, many other scenarios. So let's get to how this works.
How to teach a dog to come
First and foremost, you don’t want to teach your dog not to come. Sounds obvious, right? But dog owners do it every day without realizing it. Here’s how: you catch your dog doing something bad, so you yell to get his attention. “Fido, no! Come!” That’s what you say, but here’s what your dog hears you say: “I’m mad! You don’t want to come near me!” He learns to avoid you when he hears "come," rather than coming when called.
Instead, always be positive when you give your dog the command to come. Every time. Even if your dog is doing something bad, if you give him the command to come, praise him for responding appropriately, then handle whatever else you need to. One trainer I talked to recommends using a treat every single time your dog comes when called.
Here are the basic steps to come:
1. Choose an environment where your dog feels comfortable, such as your living room or patio, where there are few distractions.
2. Tell your dog to sit and stay in front of you, back up a few feet, say “come,” then when your dog comes to you, offer a treat and lots of praise. That shows your dog that coming when called is a good thing.
a. If your dog starts to come but then heads a different direction, say “come” again in a higher-pitched voice. Dogs love that. Your dog may respond to the tone at first, then connect the word with the command.
3. Practice for about 10 minutes at a time. Any more than that and your dog will lose focus.
4. As your dog’s recall gets more reliable, add in the 3 D’s: distance, duration, and distraction.
Distance
Slowly add to the distance your dog must cover to get to you. Work up to 5 feet, 10 feet, until your dog comes from across the room or yard. Another variation: Get a partner and stand at opposite ends of yard. Start with the dog sitting beside you. The partner calls the dog to come, praises him when he does, then gives him the command to sit. Then you call the dog back to you. That turns it into a game while teaching him what you expect.
Duration
Make your dog wait longer between each stay and come command. If he knows you have treats in your pocket, it will make him more anxious to come, which strengthens his response to the command.
Distractions
It’s one thing if your dog’s recall is reliable 100% of the time in the backyard, but that’s not when it really counts. It’s when there are cars driving by, aggressive dogs approaching, and things more exciting than you that you need to know your dog will come when called.
Here’s how to work on it. Get a retractable dog leash with plenty of length to it. Take your dog somewhere there are distractions such as people, cars, and other sights, sounds, and smells, such as in front of your home where it's familiar but exciting. Put your dog on the retractable leash, extend the leash to about 5 feet, and lock it at that length. Then use the steps above just like you did in the back yard. As your dog gets better, extend the leash length. The advantage of this technique is that you have the benefit of distractions plus distance to train your dog without the risk of him being off-leash and running. The added advantage is that your dog won't be rewarded if he runs. If your dog was off-leash and ran away, he would be rewarded for not listening (getting what he was chasing, etc.). Once you’re confident in your dog’s recall in that scenario, try new scenarios and distractions: at someone else’s house, at a park, near a bike path, etc.
It's not quick to teach a dog to come, but the rewards are worth every moment it takes. Follow these steps for how to teach a dog to come and you'll be confident that your dog will be at your side whenever you need him to be.
Ready to get started? Get a Flexi lead, the retractable leash that is ideal for use in this training scenario. It extends up to 16 feet long, giving you plenty of room to add distance to your training exercise. The built-in brake allows you to lock the leash's length at any length up to its full 16 feet, giving you flexibility at each stage in training. Click here to order your Flexi lead today.
Does it ever feel like every time you look at your dog, he's sleeping? Dogs sleep more than humans do, at least it seems like it. The truth is dogs sleep very differently than humans do (and not just in the way they sprawl out). Everything from duration to frequency is different. So let's examine:
How much do dogs sleep?
The short answer: it depends. Unlike humans, who typically are awake for 10-12 hours or more straight, then sleep for 8 or so hours at night, dogs don’t have such a regular pattern. They typically take a series of short naps throughout the day. They’ll wake up for food, exercise, to scare off the mailman, etc., then fall right back asleep for another nap.
Research estimates that dogs spend as little as 10% of their sleeping time in REM sleep, the deep sleep stage where dreaming occurs. To compare, humans spend 20-25% of their sleep time in REM sleep. Why the difference? Dogs sleep in shorter bursts, so they’re less likely to reach that deep sleep stage. Because they don't get as much deep sleep, dogs may need more sleep overall to get enough rest.
Once you total it all up, dogs typically sleep anywhere from 12 to 18 hours a day. The “normal” amount of sleep for a dog varies greatly, but certain factors predict if a dog will be at the higher or lower end of that range. These factors include:
Age
Puppies tend to sleep more than adults do. Their batteries have shorter charges, so they wake up bouncy, run around until they’re exhausted, then fall asleep to recharge.
Senior dogs tend to sleep more as well. As they age, it takes more effort for them to do the things that came easily in their younger years. Much like puppies, they need to recharge their batteries more often.
Activity Level
Active dogs sleep less than inactive dogs do. Part of this is they tend to have more energy and are doing things for a greater percentage of the day than inactive dogs are. Working dogs, like service dogs and search and rescue dogs, are working for more of the day and sleep less.
Less active dogs, such as companion pets and dogs who are home alone during the day, are likely to sleep more out of boredom. If this sounds like your dog, see our post How Do I Keep My Dog Mentally Stimulated? for ideas on keeping them mentally and physically active.
Poor Diet
Low quality diets slow down your dog in two ways. First, they don’t provide your dog enough of the right nutrients to give your dog the energy he needs to be more active. This leads to a lethargic dog. Secondly, poor quality foods contain fillers and ingredients that are difficult to digest. Think about how you feel after a big meal: you just want to sleep because your body is diverting your energy towards your digestive system. It has a lot of work to do. Likewise, when your dog’s food contains ingredients that are tough to digest, your dog’s body has to spend more energy digesting and less energy playing.
Size
Many giant breed dogs, like Saint Bernards and Newfoundlands, tend to sleep more than smaller dogs, sometimes as much as 18 hours a day. This is why those breeds make excellent apartment dogs: their energy level is low enough that they do well in small spaces so long as they get daily exercise.
It’s a good idea to get a sense for how much sleep is normal for your dog. That way, if you notice a sudden change in his sleeping habits, you'll know something is going on. A change in sleeping habits may be as a result of a change in diet, needing more exercise, a change in life cycle, or something wrong internally. If you notice a sudden change, take a look at what may be causing it and call your vet if needed.
How much do dogs sleep? It varies greatly, anywhere from 12 to 18 hours a day. It will vary based on your dog’s size, energy level, and age.
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