At some point in your dogs’ early life, it was most likely that is mom corrected him for something like chewing on her, or taking her food.
You’d think mom dogs would share all their food with their puppies. That may be true most of the time, just as most mom dogs won’t get thoroughly upset when their babies chew on her too much.
But, at some point mom needs to protect herself from her puppies, and furthermore, nature dictates appropriate rules of behavior that she is compelled to enforce.
Mom dogs will bat at them sideways with their mouth, while making a guttural sound much like the word out. Kind of like an umpire might be heard to say. This, if you’re pup had ever been corrected by his mom, will have a profound effect on him, much like Pavlov’s bell.
In many instances this sound will stop a dog in is tracks.
If you fail to praise immediately after creating this sound, you will not have the benefits of it.
Labradors trained by their moms
December 17th, 2009Unacceptable dog behavior
October 9th, 2009How about every time your dog steps on your feet?
Don’t you think your dog knows where each of his feet are, and where they belong?
Or, how about his tail? Does he accidentally smack you as he goes by?
Maybe he clears your coffee table as he moves past?
Certainly, you can’t expect your dog to understand that this long, unwieldy appendage can rearrange your knick-knacks or whatever.
“Maybe it’s best to keep him out of those areas. Besides, he’s like a bull in a china shop.
” We don’t need to put up with these sorts of “unavoidable” impositions on our lives or property.
“But, surely there’s no way to correct such innocent impositions”. *
If you believe that, then you’ve wasted your time reading this manual.
Either start over again, or reexamine your thinking.
Let’s look at how you might remedy these situations.
Remember, your dog is going to model your behavior and act in kind. You set the standard for good behaviors by demonstration.
Every puppy goes through a mouthing stage.
It’s usually out grown by the end of teething.
That means he needs to chew something to cut new teeth. Provide appropriate items to be chewed.
Everything else is not to be touched.
Establish appropriate mouth behavior right from first contact.
There’s no excuse for being abused by your dogs teeth until he’s finished teething.
There’s no such thing as being too young to learn any behavior, within the physical limits of his body. His brain is ready to be programmed to learn everything he will ever need to know by the age of 18 days old.
Training your dog is not much different than creating a filing system.
Just as you address each page that appears on your screen, each behavior your dog performs should be dealt with before moving on to something else.
Of course, if you are not prepared to cope with a behavior because of, perhaps time restrictions, make note of that behavior and set and appointed time to re create the situation and address it totally.
The first instance your dog puts his mouth on you is to be regarded as an issue. Each time you permit any inappropriate behavior to continue without being address, you are setting the precedent for more of the same behavior. *
Feeding your labrador
August 24th, 2009When it comes to buying or obtaining a dog, like a Labrador, many things have to be borne in mind and given serious consideration. Puppies are cute but have a tendency to grow, very quickly, into large dogs. They can, just as quickly, begin to lose their appeal. Taking on a dog is a big commitment and one that does not come cheap. Vets bills, insurance, purchase costs are just the beginning. By far the biggest ongoing cost will be the feeding of the animal. This, alone, should be enough to ward off some potential owners. Feeding your pet pooch the cheapest food money can buy is not necessarily the way to ensure the dog has a prolonged and healthy life. The cheapest tins from the local supermarket may not have the correct balance of nutrients that your particular breed needs.
All breeds are susceptible to unique, breed-specific health conditions through out their lives and, therefore, need to be fed with these conditions in mind, along with the size and lifestyle. For example, working dogs - like the American line of hunting Labrador will need a different type of feeding regime and nutritional content as that of, say, it’s English ’show breed’ equivalent. This is because the latter is more suited to a less active lifestyle. It is not sufficient to buy a dog with the sole intention of just buying the cheapest tins or dry mix on the shelf. This attitude is only going to doom the animal to a lower quality of life and, perhaps, a shorter life expectancy. Many of the cheaper brands of tinned dog food for example, are filled with chemicals and fillers to bulk the food out. What is the effect going to be on the dog’s stomach? Well, flatulence, runny poop and a less than healthy looking coat to name a few.