Golden Labrador Retriever

Submissive urination in cocker spaniel
Why and When do Cocker Spaniels Urinate? Many Cocker Spaniels have a tendency to urinate (pee) when excited or scared, which can happen to other breeds as well, particularly when they are puppies. Excitement urination happens when infant muscles in puppies cannot hold urine if the puppy gets excited, and it pees. The puppy gets so excited when he sees his owner that he loses control of his bladder. The puppy is not aware of or able to control this and punishment will confuse him and is not fair to him. Often dogs outgrow this problem as they mature and gain control of the muscles that control peeing. Sometimes Cocker Spaniels do not outgrow the problem. Common situations in which Cocker Spaniels get excited or fearful and urinate are: Over-affectionate and boisterous greetings when you arrive home Guests entering your home Arguments between people Scolding Loud noises Playing indoors Angry behavior In order to understand submissive urination, you must understand dominance and submissiveness. Young puppies learn this from their mothers. Averting their eyes, rolling on their backs, and urinating, are all used to express submissiveness. In situations where a dog feels intimidated, their response is to give a submissive signal to show the person or other dog that they recognize their dominance. The most important thing is to never scold or punish your dog for excitement urination; it makes the situation worse as the puppy will then start to pee out of fear! Excitement or submissive urination is part of this breed’s specific instincts. It is not a “behavior�; it is instinctual. The dog is not doing it to be disobedient or punish you! He is excited, scared, or showing submissiveness to a person or animal he perceives as dominant. Excitement urination that causes an owner to get angry can easily become submissive urination. The dog does not understand why you are angry and, in a dog’s mind, peeing is his attempt to calm and appease you. Cocker Spaniels often see other animals and people as dominant, so submissive urination occurs. Even a housetrained Cocker Spaniel may show excitement or submissive urination when greeting you or when in an exciting or scary situation. How to Prevent and Handle Excitement or Submissive Urination? The first thing to do is have your veterinarian examine your dog for possible physical problems causing this problem. Sickness and disease can make it difficult for your pet to control their peeing muscles. If physical problems are the cause, discuss options regarding your dog's situation with your veterinarian, such as surgery, drugs, and coping mechanisms. Dog owners who are too dominant and strict will reinforce submissive urinating. So, calm down and be gentle and kind with your Cocker Spaniel. Get your temper under control! Never scold or punish for excitement or submissive urination. One way to handle the problem is to make sure your Cocker Spaniel is outdoors while you are gone (in a fenced and safe area naturally) so that when you come home, if he urinates, your floors are not damaged. But this does not solve the problem. It is a good idea to do more to help the puppy stay dry. All indoor activities should take place only after taking the dog out for a pee or poop. If a dog is almost ready to pee or poop, but hasn't gotten around to doing it, any physical activity will trigger the urge to go. So, if your dog wakes up and you start playing with her, you're asking for trouble! Take a potty break first, have play time second. Play time outdoors is the best idea, especially for the puppies that have small bladders. Don’t hover over your Cocker Spaniel when you come home. She will see this as dominance and will become intimidated. Don’t look her directly in the eyes. Dogs assume that direct eye contact is a challenge. For a submissive dog, even a moment's eye contact can be intolerable. Eye contact from above heightens the reaction. Another behavior that challenges a dog is bending over or touching the dog's head, neck, or shoulders. Dominant dogs often control by placing the neck or a paw over another dog's neck or shoulders. When a human pats a dog on the head, a submissive dog sees it as a display of dominance and finds it intimidating, leading to peeing. A goal in controlling excitement urination is to prevent your dog from becoming so excited in the first place. Do this by exposing your dog to whatever excites him, over and over until it no longer excites him. If your dog gets excited and wets when you return home, ignore him; don't even look at him. Then take him outside to pee. Then leave again for a few minutes, return and ignore, leave, return and ignore. Keep doing this until you can see that your dog is actually bored with the whole thing. If excitement urination is a problem when visitors arrive, have them do this too. It may take many sessions to get your dog calmed down. When your dog stays calm and no longer gets excited when you come in, then very quietly and gently say hello. If any signs of excitement appear, repeat the coming in-and-leaving routine. A rapid sequence of heel-sits will capture your dog's attention to the game of heeling and sitting instead of urinating. Then, take him outdoors. Praise him when he pees outside; this builds self-confidence. Remember to ignore all excitement urination and never scold or get angry at your dog. As the dog matures, he can learn to sit and shake hands when visitors arrive. Use a small food treat as a reward for not peeing in the house when you arrive home or guests enter. It’s difficult for a dog to eat and pee at the same time. Take the dog outdoors quickly thereafter. If your Cocker Spaniel pees while being trained, be especially careful not to yell or scold him. Be firm and use a confident-sounding, but kind, “No� when the dog misbehaves. If your dog's problem doesn’t improve with the above suggestions, there may be other options. For example, drugs can sometimes be prescribed by a vet for excitable dogs to calm them down. But, remember, this kind of training can take weeks or months before Learn all about Dog Adoption from the unique e-book Super Dogs and Puppies. If you are searching for dog breeders, learn how to choose the right dog breeder.

Nancy Richards has been a dog lover for the past 12 years. She has owned and handled dogs of different ages and have helped many fellow owners in training their dog

Healthy Food For Your Dog
Today’s pet food market is larger and more diverse than ever before. While this offers a large number of choices in various types of pet food, it also presents a dilemma in choosing the healthiest food for your dog. Are generic or store brands suitable for a dog? What about familiar name brands like Purina and Alpo? Are the pricier brands that advertise specially formulated ingredients (Science Diet, Eukanuba) really living up to their claims and worth the extra money? All of these are valid questions that loving dog owners deserve to have answered.

Dog Food Considerations

There are several factors to consider when choosing the right food for your dog. Different dogs have different nutritional needs at different stages in their lives. Some things to consider when selecting the food you’ll give your dog follow.

The Dog’s Age

Puppies have different nutritional requirements than adult dogs just as human children have different needs than adult people. Senior dogs also have different requirements than younger adult dogs. Make sure that you select a food that is appropriate for your dog’s stage in life.

The Dog’s Health

Does your dog have a specific medical condition? If so, the food you choose may need to be partially dictated by that condition. Diabetic dogs need low-glucose foods and dogs with specific allergies (yes dogs can be allergic to all sorts of things, just like people) may require certain foods as well. Your veterinarian can help you choose foods that are appropriate for a dog with a specific medical condition.

The Dog’s Size or Body Type

Some dogs are overweight. Some dogs are underweight. Some have a natural tendency to get lots of exercise while others tend to prefer to lie around a lot. There are, of course, small, medium, and large dogs as well as the ultra-tiny “toy� dogs. All of these different types of dogs will have different requirements for the type of food they need as well as how much of it.

Your Budget

Dog food can be expensive, there’s no doubt about it. And where dog food is concerned, the rule really is “you get what you pay for.� Low cost generics and store brands will lighten the burden on your wallet, but may not be the healthiest choice for your dog as they are made with cheap ingredients and lots of fillers. You should buy the best dog food you can on your budget to help ensure your dog’s nutrition.

Article Written By J. Foley <a href="http://www.sunshine-4u.com/dog/index.html?hop=sophie4" target"_blank">Click Here For 245 Recipes</a>

Dog Airline Travel Tips
If your dog is used to car trips, then travel by plane should not create any problem for you or for your pet. If you want to fully enjoy your trip with your canine companion, then you should take into consideration the following suggestions that help you to provide a better trip for your companion and you. · Verify the dog's health before starting an airplane travel trip with your dog. This is not only for the dog's sake, but rather because legislation actually asks for it. It is required from each dog that travels by plane, to be vaccinated and to have no transmissible diseases which will need to be approved before travel. All this must be done within ten days of travel. Make sure you bring an inspection letter from your vet before any sort of air travel. · The owner should keep his pet away from extreme temperatures. Make sure that your dog is safe during the air travel and fly with your dog only when the temperatures are between 35 and 85 degrees at both ends of the flight. There are airlines that will have “cold embargos� or “heat embargos� in the winter and summer months. That means that the flight, under these circumstances are banned. Call your airline agency if you are unsure if you are traveling during these times. Foreign dog air travel may require quarantine. There are some isolated countries like England or New Zealand that requires upon arriving on land, will definately quarantine your pet after landing. You should get used to such obligations and practices. Moreover, if there are several international departure flights, you may have to handle these situations on numerous locations. Although it may not be very pleasant, you have to conform. · It is not advisable to tranquilize your dog during the flight. It seems that tranquilizers are the primary cause of illness or even death in dog air travel, according to statistics. During air travel, the dogs simply cannot have professional and quick medical assistance. The medication at hand could be pointless and cause injuries for the dog. For preventing such cases, various airliners have prohibited tranquilized pets aboard. · Your pet should be trained before the flight. All airliners require parting of the dog, from its owner during the flight, if the dog is a medium to large sized breed. Smaller breeds are allowed onboard. Large and medium sized dogs have the misfortune to be transported in a shipping case during the flight. As to make your dog feel more at ease during the air travel, you should have it previously prepared by training it. You could do this by getting your pet accustomed to be confined in a travel box for a long period of time. The dog must be trained to socialize with strangers in the most unusual environments. · Use labels during the dog air travel, as not to lose your pet. You should write your name, your dog's name, and any other helpful information on the dog's collar and on the crate. There were many cases when dogs were lost or taken by other owners, so these measures are very important. You can also use a specialized pet air transporter for your dog. There are professional companies that will take your pet to many various locations. Due to their great experiences, these companies are aware of the legislation required during the air travel. The companies offer all that a dog needs to feel comfortable. Actually, many air companies have banned the booking of dog air flights to the public. On Iata.org or uShip.com, you can find the top preferences for pet transporters. Maybe you found these pieces of advice interesting and helpful. We warmly suggest you follow these instructions on your following flights and will enjoy a pleasant and safe travel your canine friend without being too troublesome. It is the dog's right to be treated with care and to be offered guidance in our modern way of living.

For more <a href="http://largedogbreedz.com/large-dog-training-articles/dog-obediance-training/dog-air-travel-training-tips.html">great dog airline travel</a> tips, <a href="http://largedogbreedz.com/large-dog-breeds/">dog specific breed information</a>, dog galleries, dog forums, and an everexpanding large dog community, visit us at <strong>largedogbreedz.com.</strong>

dog adoption costs
Before you decide to bring a dog home, it is absolutely essential that you give some thought to the costs that you will be incurring in the process. It’s not the purchase alone, though even that is likely to be expensive in the case of some superior breeds of dogs, but also the cost of the equipments you will have to buy to make your home habitable for your pet. Then there are the visits to the vet, which have to be regularly made, and the expensive vaccinations, which the puppy has to be given. So, all in all, you will have to make pretty sure that your wallet can take the beating before you bring your doggy home.

What then, are the costs, and how much are they? Let’s start at the beginning. You have to buy the dog unless you are lucky enough to have it presented to you by a friend or a family member and the cost of this initial purchase can vary very widely. The variance will firstly depend on the type of dog you are buying. A purebred “companion only� puppy usually starts from around $800 but can go up to astronomical amounts for rare or exotic breeds. If you prefer to adopt a non-purebred variety from a shelter, it will cost you from around $150 to $300.

Costs also differ in different geographic locations so it is difficult for us to tell you of one fixed sum that you will have to pay for any given variety of dog. Visit the sources in your locality from where people normally buy dogs and check on the prices. And this includes the internet. After some queries on your part, you will be able to come to a fix on what your desired dog costs.

Now that you’ve got your dog, it’s time to look at the other costs you will have to start to incur. Let’s start with the one - time costs.

One Time Costs Average Cost
Fence $300 - $1500
Bowls $25
Collar $6
Training Collar $10
Leash $12
Bed $40
Crate $100
Brush/Grooming tools $20
Shampoo/ Coat care $15
Neuter/ Spay ( Based on weight ) $300
Microchip $50



Then there are the annual costs, which you have to be prepared for. I enumerate them below:

Vaccinations $185
Heartworm Test $35
Heartworm Preventive $65
Flea/Tick Preventive $120
Food $480
Toys/Treats $45
Tag $5

And then there are other costs:

Boarding â€" per day ( with 2 playtimes ) $25
Grooming â€" per time $50
Training classes ( Per 6-8 classes ) $100
Individual training ( Per session ) $100



And remember, this list is for grown up dogs and not puppies. If it’s a puppy you are adopting, the costs increase. There’s a check up, a series of 4 sets of vaccines, worming, heartworm tests, all of which will cost you close to $300. Then there is puppy food, which will set you back around $450 and toys/treats, which will cost approximately $65.

So, as you will have counted up from the figures given above, in the first year, you will be spending approximately $1500 to $2500 over and above the cost of buying your dog. After the first year, you will spend less per year â€" about $1000. Smaller dogs cost a bit less and larger dogs cost more.

Apart from all this, your dog will have lifelong healthcare needs. There will be shots and medicines you will be administering as preventive care and there will almost certainly be unexpected accidents, injuries or illnesses, however well you look after your dog.

It is therefore utterly essential that you objectively evaluate your budget and come to a decision as to whether you can really afford a dog. He will look to you for your support in all things and you owe it to him to give him, not only your love, but proper care, food and medical attention. These don’t come free â€" so ask yourself whether you can afford to get that dog you always wanted. If you realize that you can’t, it’s best to do without, both for your sake and his.

Anybody is free to use the article in their website as long as an acknowledgement is given Nancy Richards' and a link to the site www.traindogsandpuppies.com

Choosing Dog Training Equipment
To train your dog you need some good equipment to do it! It's easy enough to find places that sell dog training equipment these days. You can find stores in your local phonebook or on the internet. The internet has everything these days and is usually a lot less expensive. So I suggest having a look there first. Dog training equipment comes in all shapes, sizes and colours so there is something to suit everyone. Dog training equipment can be used anywhere, at home, at a friend’s house or even in a field in the middle of nowhere. The equipment is usually lightweight and portable and very easy to pack so you should have no problems carting it around. Not only can you get dog training equipment for dog agility but you can also purchase items for dog obedience. Dog obedience items are simple things like clickers, treat balls (which are amazing), extendable leashes and other similar items. They are a lot easier to get than agility items. When you decided you want to compete with your dog you usually pick one or the other, dog agility or dog obedience. For dog obedience you only concentrate on dog obedience, for dog agility you need your dog to be obedient so there is a little bit more training involved. Dog training equipment can be funky or old fashioned, bright or dull it’s up to you. Many stores cater for individual needs so you can specify what you would like your equipment to be like. Dog training equipment is sometimes needed for obedience when you have a stubborn dog, and for dog agility training equipment is essential. Dog training equipment needn’t only be for competition purposes. You can get equipment for fun training to. When you want to teach your dog to come, sit and stay and some other commands toys are always a great help. You and your dog need to enjoy special moments together to make a bond with each other, why not make a bond and train at the same time? The better the bond the more fun it will be!

Razak Ariyo is a computer scientist. An experience owner and lover of dogs. Get a free 10 part dog training mini course that can easily speed up the training of your dog at http://master-dog-training.blogspot.com

Choosing Your Dog's Name
Because dog confusion is a major obstacle to training success, what you name your dog and how you use that name can determine your success in his training and behavior. Dogs are vocal, not verbal. How words sound is important to them, so consider that then choosing names and commands. To your dog, the words "No," "Know," "Beau" and "Joe" are the same sound; the dog will have trouble knowing which you mean. If you name him "Beau" and use "No!" as a reprimand, saying, "Beau, you know what I want!" reprimands him twice although you didn't intend a single one! You always want your dog to come to you when you call him, so how much sense does it make to name your dog "Beau" and use "NO!" as your reprimand? He'll have trouble knowing whether you called him or yelled at him. I like to have a dog choose his name. There are two ways to do this. First, spend enough time with the dog to really get to know his personality and select a suitable name. For example, when new to us my Husky-mix not only jumped on me, he pinned me to the wall and took stuff out of my shirt pocket! I said to my wife: "Look at this! I'm getting mugged! " Naturally, he became Mugger! A client had a very rambunctious Great Dane pup and I love the name she chose: Chaos! Let the dog earn his name! Another way is to make a list of your favorite names and--in a playful and animated voice--try them on the dog. The one to which the dog reacts best is IT! And he WILL react differently to different names! Try it! Contrary to popular belief, a dog's name should change with every new owner. The old thought was that once a dog recognized hits name, you couldn't or shouldn't change it. Wrong! Since many owners make the mistake of using the name with a reprimand, or even AS the reprimand, if you keep the old name you tell the dog you're one of THEM--the former crew. If the dog is now yours, you can't presume former owners did everything right. If they did, you probably wouldn't have him. And you're trying to tell the dog this is a new start in a new home, right? Then why use the old name--especially when it was likely used negatively in the past? Be sure to teach the dog his new name by using it only with things the dog likes such as treats, praise, meals and love and affection. And don't choose a new name that sounds a lot like the old one, like "Bo" and "Noah". Use the new name consistently and positively ONLY with things the dog likes and within a week or two he should respond nicely. We changed the names of two of our dogs and now they ignore the old names. Article written by Dennis Fetko, Ph.D., "Dr. Dog".

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A Puppies for Sale Sign Plus an Accident
Have you ever felt compelled to do something, and not known why? Yet you have just done it, followed the urge, and found yourself in an amazing situation to do good, and do something almost heroic, and yet known, why you ever had that urge in the first place? One of my ideas in life is that everything happens for a reason. I do not always see that at the time it is occurring, however upon reflection I can make the links. A near tragedy, which changed my daughter’s life forever, can be linked to a fateful day when she saw a puppies for sale sign in a yard two blocks from our home. Many times before we had gone past and many times she had asked for a puppy from that house with the a puppies for sale sign, and I had said no! I was resolved that a puppy, lovely as it might be was impractical at that time in our busy household. I had no intention of changing my mind. My daughter has always loved dogs. We had a gun dog that was in his senior years. My husband and I knew that we were not going to have him as part of the family for much longer, but we did not know how we were going to break this news to our daughter. She was ten years old at the time and much attached to the dog that was eleven years old. She came home from school one day very excited because she said a friend had been allowed to have a puppy. A lovely puppy for sale at the place we passed so often, and also there were more in the litter still for sale. Her friend had seen the sign from the school bus. So my daughter wanted to know if we could go see the puppies. I told her that her father only bought dogs that were registered and that we had not idea what kind of puppies the neighbors had for sale. The people that had the puppies for sale were fairly new to the neighborhood so we did not know them or what breed of dog they owned. She pleaded to go see the puppies. In the end I perversely promised her we would walk over after supper and see them. I had no intention of buying. I felt it was something I must do. Just go there. We went to the house that had the puppies for sale and knocked on the door. You could hear dogs barking and a baby crying but no one came to the door. We rang the bell several times and then knocked on the door. I was concerned because the child crying sounded frantic. I looked in the side window by the door and saw a woman lying on the floor. I tried the door and it was open. Then immediately I could see that the woman was obviously very pregnant and unconscious. The telephone was lying on the floor next to her. In a playpen was her 12 month old son crying. In another playpen was a mother dog with seven puppies. I moved gently rolled her on to her side for her safety and called 911. Within minutes the paramedics arrived and there was nothing they could do but deliver her baby in front of us, and soon a Doctor arrived as well. My daughter was awestruck. The mother recovered and the shock eased. The lovely puppies, watched us. The 12 month old kid who we fed and bathed, and then the crying, but that came from a perfectly healthy baby being born, and all this happening in the house with us. The woman’s husband has been out of town on business and had not been due back until the next day. She had tripped and fallen, striking her head as she fell. The doctor told her that if we had not come over at that moment she and the baby might have died. The puppies for sale sign saved her life. Did my daughter get her puppy? What do you think?

<a href="http://www.dog-and-puppy-news.com">The Dog and Puppy News</a>. Steve Evans is a regular dog article contributor and also has a web site at <a href="http://www.dog-breeds.me.uk">THE Dog and Puppy Lovers Site</a>.

dog adoption costs
Before you decide to bring a dog home, it is absolutely essential that you give some thought to the costs that you will be incurring in the process. It’s not the purchase alone, though even that is likely to be expensive in the case of some superior breeds of dogs, but also the cost of the equipments you will have to buy to make your home habitable for your pet. Then there are the visits to the vet, which have to be regularly made, and the expensive vaccinations, which the puppy has to be given. So, all in all, you will have to make pretty sure that your wallet can take the beating before you bring your doggy home.

What then, are the costs, and how much are they? Let’s start at the beginning. You have to buy the dog unless you are lucky enough to have it presented to you by a friend or a family member and the cost of this initial purchase can vary very widely. The variance will firstly depend on the type of dog you are buying. A purebred “companion only� puppy usually starts from around $800 but can go up to astronomical amounts for rare or exotic breeds. If you prefer to adopt a non-purebred variety from a shelter, it will cost you from around $150 to $300.

Costs also differ in different geographic locations so it is difficult for us to tell you of one fixed sum that you will have to pay for any given variety of dog. Visit the sources in your locality from where people normally buy dogs and check on the prices. And this includes the internet. After some queries on your part, you will be able to come to a fix on what your desired dog costs.

Now that you’ve got your dog, it’s time to look at the other costs you will have to start to incur. Let’s start with the one - time costs.

One Time Costs Average Cost
Fence $300 - $1500
Bowls $25
Collar $6
Training Collar $10
Leash $12
Bed $40
Crate $100
Brush/Grooming tools $20
Shampoo/ Coat care $15
Neuter/ Spay ( Based on weight ) $300
Microchip $50



Then there are the annual costs, which you have to be prepared for. I enumerate them below:

Vaccinations $185
Heartworm Test $35
Heartworm Preventive $65
Flea/Tick Preventive $120
Food $480
Toys/Treats $45
Tag $5

And then there are other costs:

Boarding â€" per day ( with 2 playtimes ) $25
Grooming â€" per time $50
Training classes ( Per 6-8 classes ) $100
Individual training ( Per session ) $100



And remember, this list is for grown up dogs and not puppies. If it’s a puppy you are adopting, the costs increase. There’s a check up, a series of 4 sets of vaccines, worming, heartworm tests, all of which will cost you close to $300. Then there is puppy food, which will set you back around $450 and toys/treats, which will cost approximately $65.

So, as you will have counted up from the figures given above, in the first year, you will be spending approximately $1500 to $2500 over and above the cost of buying your dog. After the first year, you will spend less per year â€" about $1000. Smaller dogs cost a bit less and larger dogs cost more.

Apart from all this, your dog will have lifelong healthcare needs. There will be shots and medicines you will be administering as preventive care and there will almost certainly be unexpected accidents, injuries or illnesses, however well you look after your dog.

It is therefore utterly essential that you objectively evaluate your budget and come to a decision as to whether you can really afford a dog. He will look to you for your support in all things and you owe it to him to give him, not only your love, but proper care, food and medical attention. These don’t come free â€" so ask yourself whether you can afford to get that dog you always wanted. If you realize that you can’t, it’s best to do without, both for your sake and his.

Anybody is free to use the article in their website as long as an acknowledgement is given Nancy Richards' and a link to the site www.traindogsandpuppies.com

Dealing with your hyperactive dog
About six years ago we brought home an adorable, sleepy, five-week old puppy. We knew it was too early for her to leave her mother, but the dam had stopped feeding the pups and walked away. She was done with them, so the humans took over. At that tender age, Kaylee was sleepy, darling and sweet. She’s still darling and sweet, but rarely do her batteries run down. We describe her as having two speeds â€" full and off. And off isn’t often. If your dog is like Kaylee, whether because it’s an active, fun-loving puppy, or because it’s “not quite wired rightâ€� like ours, you need strategies for coping. You need a peaceful household where everyone knows the rules and plays fair. We get dogs for many reasons; primary among those reasons are companionship and fun. If your dog is constantly harassing you to “play,â€� the probability is that neither of you are having much fun. It may even have gotten to the point that you don’t look forward to going home and spending time with your dog. You can change the situation, if you’ll commit just a few minutes a day and your patience. Things won’t change overnight, but over the course of just a few days your life will improve. In a few weeks, you may have the canine companion you hoped for. The first step is to realize that you are the boss in your household. Not your dog. You decide when to play. And you decide how long playtime will be. It’s important to schedule a daily play time. It doesn’t have to be long â€" ten minutes will do. As long as during that time, all you do is play with your dog. That’s it. Just play. As a first step: remove your dog’s favorite toy. The one he constantly obsesses about and brings everywhere he goes. Put it up on a shelf. Kaylee’s obsession is her little latex soccer ball. Other toys are fine, she’ll carry them around, but her special toy is that particular ball. (To avoid complete meltdown, we do have a couple spares on hand. No toy lasts forever.) Next: get a brand new kitchen timer, with a ring or a beep that doesn’t sound like any other timer in the house. This is your dog’s timer â€" he’ll recognize it very quickly. To start playtime, ask your dog if she wants to play, get her timer, set it for however many minutes you choose, then get her special toy and start playtime. Let her recognize the ritual. Dogs love routine and quickly adjust to new ones. For as long as the timer’s running â€" have fun with your dog. Tug, toss, wrestle â€" play intensely and focus on your dog. When the timer’s bell goes off â€" stop immediately. Tell your dog “that’s it!â€� show him the timer and turn it off. Then say “let’s go get a drinkâ€� and walk over to his water bowl. When he drops his toy, replace it on the shelf. It doesn’t come down until the next session. If you need to “tradeâ€� a treat for the toy â€" do so. You’re not rigorously training your dog to perform a task â€" you’re teaching him the house rules so that everyone can relax and enjoy your time together. We always take Kaylee out for a quick “potty breakâ€� after a play session â€" it’s another part of our routine. She knows what to expect. When she comes back in the house, she finds a place to lie down. Sometimes she finds a chewie toy, sometimes she just lies down. She doesn’t ever really relax, but she’s now a dog we can live with. Dogs love ritual and routine. When you got your dog, chances are you pictured yourself at home, dog by your feet, relaxing and enjoying life. You can still make that happen, every evening, if you establish that routine for your dog.

Hope Saidel is the co-owner of <a href="http://www.gollygear.com">GollyGear.com</a>, a bricks-and-mortar and online small dog shop featuring fun, affordable and practical products for small dogs. She has trained and competed in Obedience with small dogs for over a decade and is Registrar of the North Shore Dog Training Club.

Train your dog even when you do not have time
You need to train your dog, but can never find the time? There’s still one more “must have� item to add to your list. “Bun-Gee Pup-EE� The Expandable Dog Leash is a first step training tool and one of the more fun and functionally designed products to appear on the market today. Just as important, the Bun-Gee Pup-EE goes a long way when controlling your excited pup. Sound interesting? You bet! It’s the best new concept in dog leashes! As you encounter your dog’s pull, the Bun-Gee Pup-EE leash stretches just a little but enough to absorb the resistance your pet experiences and helps teach them not to pull, helping you to train your dog! Sometimes you don’t even realize the pain your current dog leash is inflicting on you and your pets. The main function of the Bun-Gee Pup-EE is to absorb the shock of a tug or pull relieving the tension from your dog’s neck. Made from durable, fabric-covered shock cord, “Bun-Gee Pup-EE� The Expandable Dog Leash extends in a fashion that makes your walks fun. Still skeptical and not sure if the bungee leash is for you? Well, Bun-Gee pup-EE has been sold for the past 10 years and is used by organizations such as The Guide-Dogs or the Blind UK and the Houston Humane Society of Houston. The reason the bungee leash was invented was to prevent injuries to both the owner and the dog. However, after users of use pet owners claimed that the leash actually trained their dog not to pull. After much consultation and study it was found that if we were to stretch the leash and hold it for several minutes our muscles would be come sore and we would not continue to stretch the leash. The same is found with your pup and that is why the Bun-Gee Pup-EE is called a "1st Step Training Tool" So don’t let your dog walk you, use a Bun-Gee Pup-EE and see for yourself!

Kelly Seylar has been taught to help train dogs by dog trainers from around the world. The Bun-Gee Pup-EE Leash is to be used to help assist you in your dog training efforts, but should not be your only method of training. Visit www.bungeepupee.com to find out more.