Dog Quote: My advice to any diplomat who wants to have good press is to have two or three kids and a dog. ….Carl Rowan So you have a problem with a whining dog? It is not unusual for people to have problems, particularly with puppies whining all day long. Most puppies will outgrow this behavior. They generally whine for two reasons. For attention and when they are anxious. More Information: Dog Training Tactics If they want attention, they will continue to whine if that attention attracts a reward. It is better just to give your dog attention in the form of eye contact rather than a reward to stop it from whining, as a reward will only encourage it to whine all the more. Often the best solution is to ignore the dog completely until the whining stops no matter how long it might take. When the dog realizes that it is not getting the reward it expects from whining it will tend to stop. An alternative method is to blow a whistle when your dog is whining and when it stops you stop. Often this method works faster than simply ignoring it. Another reason why dogs whine is because they are anxious. Particularly when nobody is around and they have separation anxiety. This can be more difficult, if you are unable to find somebody to mind the dog when you’re away. Leaving your dog with suitable toys to play with, fresh food and water can assist, and also getting it used to you being away by starting off with shorter periods apart as discussed in a previous newsletter. Another method to stop your dog from whining is to buy a clicker from a pet store and ignore the whining until it stops. Once the dog stops whining, wait for a few seconds and then click the clicker, and then reward it in some manner. The dog will soon learn that the reward comes from its silence. More Information: Dog Training Tactics -
Dog Quote: Ladies and gentlemen are permitted to have friends in the kennel but not in the kitchen. ….George Bernard Shaw Dogs can suffer from similar ailments that we get as we age, including arthritis and pain in the joints. Some breeds of dogs are more prone than others to getting certain ailments and you need to be aware of the possible problems that your particular breed of dog might get as it grows older. By giving your dog a warm place to lie when it sleeps you might be able to ward off arthritic pain. By keeping the body weight down to acceptable levels for dogs that are prone to overeating and weight gain might stop your dog from developing other symptoms that can affect the quality of life. More Information: Dog Training Tactics It is far better to control things that can affect the dogs health during the course of their life than to make them, and you, pay for ill health as they age. According to many dog experts our pets should be living for a lot longer than the current life expectancies that we have come to accept. With good medication we can expect to enjoy more years with our dogs but it is just as easy to add many quality years to their life by ensuring that they get the optimum nutrition and suitable living standards during the course of their life. Most dogs are very hardy but even they will benefit from additional comforts and care. More Information: Dog Training Tactics