4 Factors to Consider When Comparing Local Dog Kennels

When you have to travel while leaving your pets behind, dog boarding kennels offer a place for them to stay. However, you shouldn’t just go with any local kennel. Instead, it’s important to compare local dog kennels to make sure that your pets will be staying in a safe environment while you’re away. When you go over your options, keep the following factors in mind before making your decision.

Options for In-Person Visits

Dog kennels should be willing to let pet owners walk through the facility to see where their pets will be staying. Kennels that don’t allow this might do so in order to hide safety flaws or prevent pet owners from seeing a messy environment. Make sure you’re able to tour the dog kennel you’re considering having your pets stay in. This lets you see how clean and safe the place is before you decide whether or not to have your pets board there.

Vaccination Requirements

Local dog kennels should require certain types of vaccination to be up-to-date. This helps reduce the risk of having dogs become sick during or after their stay. Ask about vaccination requirements, and choose a facility that requires rabies, distemper, bordetella and other vaccines to be current. Places that are strict about their vaccination requirements have your pets’ best interests in mind.

Qualified Staff

Dog kennels should have staff members who are skilled, experienced and qualified to care for dogs of all breeds, sizes and temperaments. Knowing that your pets will be watched by staff members who are good with dogs and have the skills needed to handle certain problems provides you with peace of mind. Keep in mind that some places also have dog trainers available for classes.

Special Requirements

If your pets have special needs, such as a specific diet or medications, it’s important to find a place that can accommodate them. Ask how special requirements are handled by staff members at any local dog kennels you look into. These places should keep a record of when and how these requirements are met and whether or not there were any problems.

4 Tips for Training Aggressive Dogs

When you have a dog that is aggressive, training can become much more of a challenge. However, training is crucial in order to control your dog’s behavior and reduce the risk of someone getting hurt. When you need to work on dog training for aggressive dogs, keep the following tips in mind.

Visit a Vet

Before you begin training a dog with aggression, bring her to the veterinarian’s office for a checkup. Your vet will look for underlying medical problems that could be causing considerable discomfort and aggressive behavior. If medical problems are ruled out, consider turning to a professional for help.

Consider the Type of Aggression

There are different types of aggression that dogs can exhibit, such as aggression based on fear or aggression based on dominance. The type of aggression your dog has will determine the most effective way to handle it. An animal behaviorist can help you figure out what kind your dog has and come up with helpful ways to deal with this behavior.

Get Help From a Professional

Dog training for aggressive dogs isn’t something you might be able to do on your own, especially if your dog has severe behavioral problems. If your dog is hard to handle, look into finding a reliable dog trainer who specializes in working with aggressive dogs. This trainer can help your dog learn to obey commands while you also learn the correct way to teach your dog new commands. Keep in mind that one-on-one sessions rather than group classes are the most suitable training situation for dogs with aggression.

Don’t Punish

While you might think that it’s alright to punish bad behavior when you have an aggressive dog, the opposite is true. Punishing dogs, especially by yelling at them or hitting them, can make them more fearful and aggressive. Instead, focus on using positive training methods for your aggressive dog if you’re training her on your own. This involves rewarding her for good behavior, which helps reinforce it.

Tips for Clicker Training Dogs

Clicker training offers a highly effective way to teach dogs to obey commands. This type of training, which uses positive reinforcement, can be used to help dogs learn a wide range of commands. Keep the following tips in mind when you’re working clicker training dogs.

Use Bite-Sized Treats

Since you’ll be giving your dogs several treats during clicker training sessions, keep them small in size. Break up bits of chicken, or use smaller dog treats as rewards. To get the best results, make sure you choose treats or small pieces of food that your dog loves.

Click at the Right Time

When you’re clicker training dogs, it’s important to get the timing right. Using the clicker helps dogs learn that when they hear a verbal command, they’re expected to behave a certain way. Click while your dog is performing the correct behavior, instead of clicking after he’s done it. Reward him with a treat afterwards as positive reinforcement.

Only Click Once

Don’t use the clicker a number of times when your dog performs the desired behavior. Each time he does so during training, only click once rather than several times. If you want to show enthusiasm, such as when your dog masters a harder command, reward him with more treats instead.

Carry a Clicker Around

Clicking to reward positive behavior on the spot is an important part of clicker training dogs. Have a clicker handy in your pocket, so you can pull it out and click when your dog does something positive, such as greeting someone calmly instead of jumping.

Add a Cue

When your dog knows how to perform a behavior when he hears the clicker, you can add a cue, such as a verbal command or a hand signal. Start using these during clicker training sessions, which helps your dog learn to follow verbal commands or hand signals.

Focus on the Positive

Only click for good behavior, which will end up reducing bad behavior. Don’t use the clicker to distract your dog from doing something he shouldn’t. Instead, wait until he’s doing something good to use the clicker.

4 Commands to Teach Your Dog for Obedience Training

When you start working on obedience training for your dog, there are several different commands you can teach. Some of these are more advanced that you’ll need to wait on, but there are some basic ones that every dog should know. These are some of the most important basic commands you should work on when teaching your dog.

Sit

Teaching dogs to sit is among the most basic commands to include in obedience training. All you have to do in order to teach your dog this command is hold a treat near her nose, then slowly raise your hand. Your dog will naturally follow your hand, which will cause her head to go up and her rear to move toward the floor. When she sits, say the verbal command “sit” and reward her with a treat.

Down

This command is a basic one for dogs to learn, but it might take a little bit more work. For this one, hold a treat in your hand and put it close to your dog’s nose. Move your hand down toward the floor. When your dog follows your hand and lies down, say the “down” command and give her a treat.

Come

The “come” command helps you keep your dog safe in potentially dangerous situations. To teach your dog this command during obedience training, put her leash on and lean down toward her. Say the “come” command and tug on the leash gently. When your dog comes over to you, reward her with a treat. When your dog learns to do this on the leash, you can remove it and try the command without it.

Stay

When your dog learns to sit on command, she’ll be ready to learn the “stay” command. Have your dog sit, then hold your hand up with the palm facing out and say “stay.” Move back a few steps, and give your dog a treat if she doesn’t move. As you train her, keep moving back a few steps more. Keep in mind that your dog might take longer to learn this command.

Dog Obedience Training at DoGone Fun

Obedience classes provide dogs with important training that makes life easier for both pets and owners. These classes also offer a chance for dogs to get used to being around other dogs while also learning to follow commands without getting distracted. At DoGone Fun, we offer dog obedience training to help puppies and dogs learn to successfully obey commands.

Puppy Pre-School/AKC S.T.A.R Puppy Program

This 7 week program focuses on covering all aspects of training young pups and giving them opportunities to socialize with others, which is an important part of their learning process. During this program, you can expect us to cover house training and crate training, as well as potential behavioral issues, such as biting and jumping on people. Puppies also learn how to walk on a leash, sit on command, behave around other puppies, how to get used to city noises and how to calm down. Your puppy will also learn how to perform the behaviors required for passing the AKC’s S.T.A.R Puppy program.

Back to Basics

This 7 week program is designed for dogs who are at least 5 months old. During this program, dogs learn basic behaviors that they need in order to behave properly around others. This includes learning to focus when distractions are around and coming to you when called. We also cover other important dog obedience training topics, such as putting a stop to leash pulling, jumping on people, and helping your dog calm down when she’s excited.

Beyond Basics

This 7 week program takes training to the next level for dogs who have successfully completed our Back to Basics program. This program focuses on teaching your dog to ignore distractions and return to you when called. This is a more challenging program that adds more distractions while increasing distance and duration.

Come and Take a Walk

This 7 week program is designed to teach your dog how to walk on a leash on busy city sidewalks. Your dog will learn to come back to you on command and walk properly on a loose leash.

Tips for Choosing Dog Training Classes

Puppies aren’t born knowing how they should behave or how to obey commands. This comes about through dog training classes. If you’re thinking of having your dog go through this type of training, how do you choose a class? Keep the following tips in mind before you sign your dog up for any classes. This helps ensure that you and your dog will both have a rewarding experience with obedience training.

Group vs. Individual

Some dog training classes are set up for groups of dogs, while others classes offer one-on-one training with a dog trainer. Group classes are ideal for puppies who need the opportunity to socialize with other pups. These classes are also good for teaching dogs to follow commands when there are distractions around. Some dogs also enjoy being able to spend time with other dogs and make a new friend or two.

Individual training is more suitable for dogs who have behavioral problems that make it hard for them to be around other dogs. This type of training might also be better for dogs who are anxious or afraid of other dogs.

Class Level

You’ll find that there are different levels of dog training classes. The level your dog needs depends partly on his age and the amount of training he has had already. Puppies should attend puppy training classes that are filled with beginners who have not gone through any training before. Dogs who are a bit older can benefit from a basic obedience class if they have never had any training. Dogs who know basic commands can take higher level classes that teach more advanced commands and behaviors.

Class Size

The size of a dog training class might have an effect on how well it goes for you and your pup. Larger classes give your dog more chances to socialize, but they also have more distractions. Smaller classes are sometimes a more suitable option if you want to minimize distractions and get more help from the trainer during class. Larger classes make it more difficult for trainers to give advice to individuals during class.

Getting the Most Out of Dog Obedience Classes

Going through obedience training is an important part of a dog’s life. This type of training helps keep them safe, and teaches them how to behave around you, other people and other pets. Attending dog obedience classes is a great way for you to learn how to give commands, and it gives your dog plenty of opportunities to figure out how to obey those commands. In order to make the most of this experience, keep the following tips in mind.

Practice Outside of Class

Obedience training isn’t just something that happens during class. Your dog needs to practice learning these commands on a regular basis, which means at home and out in public. Being consistent with commands and working on training a few times or more per day helps your dog learn them in a shorter amount of time. If you wait until class time to work on commands, your dog might forget what she is supposed to be doing, which can make training take longer.

Be Patient

One of the most important things to keep in mind when your dog goes through obedience training is that dogs learn at different speeds. Your pet isn’t expected to learn commands during dog obedience classes within a specific time frame. Some dogs take longer to figure out what they should be doing when they hear a command, while others pick up on these cues much more quickly. If your dog is among the slower learners or if your dog gets distracted, remember to be patient. Getting upset and frustrated can end up making it harder for your dog to learn to obey commands. Instead, stay calm and understand that it might take several tries before your dog successfully obeys a command.

Pay Close Attention to Body Language

You might be learning verbal commands during dog obedience classes, but keep in mind that dogs tend to focus more on body language. Keep hand signals and other movements consistent when issuing verbal commands, so your dog will have an easier time figuring out what she should be doing.