Wisdom of Life

Dog Facts

Something to Chew On

Something to Chew On So there you are walking up down the toy and chew aisle at your local pet store and wondering, “What’s good and safe for my dog?” It can be confusing with so much to choose from and maybe you don’t know where to begin. There’s a lot to consider when selecting a chew. For starters if you have a puppy you should know they are more susceptible to breaking teeth, but they’re also teething and have a great desire to chew.

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Pet Turf?

Pet Turf Recently our family made the decision to put Pet Turf in our backyard.  It wasn't an easy decision and there was a lot to consider.  In today's Focused Dog blog I'd like to pass along some of the things we learned along the way.  I hope it's helpful to you! Pros 1.  Here in California we're going through a water shortage, and one big plus is the water savings. 2.  Natural grass is difficult to keep looking good when you have pets.

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Common Questions and Answers

Common Questions and Answers 1.  Is it alright for dogs to sleep with you and be on furniture? This is a matter of owner preference.  As long as the dog isn’t resource guarding their resting spot I see no problem in allowing a dog to be on the bed or furniture. 2.  If my dog eliminates in the house should I rub their nose in it and scold them? Never do this.  It’s quite likely such methods will lead to your dog becoming fearful of eliminating

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Begging

Begging at the Dinner Table There are quite a number of myths floating around these days concerning our dogs and one of them has to do with begging.  Does this sound familiar: “I don’t give my dog people food because I don’t want him to beg at the dinner table!”  But is that really true? You might be surprised to know that many positive reinforcement trainers, including myself, give so-called people food to their dogs.  And my dogs don't

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Introducing Yourself to a Dog

How to and not to Introduce Yourself to a Dog As a dog trainer I meet a lot of dogs as you might imagine.  Since I really don’t know the dog, or how they’ll react to strangers it’s important to be mindful of my greeting posture.  Whether you’re at the dog park, or over at a friend’s house you can adopt this same greeting posture to ensure your safety and help the dog be more at ease.  If your dog is fearful of strangers, it’s also

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Which Breed is Right for You?

Picking the Right Breed for Your Lifestyle Before you bring home your next dog, it’s a good idea to do some research on the various breeds you think you’re interested in.  While not every dog within a breed group are alike, there are some common characteristics and tendencies you should know about. I once spoke with a dear lady who said her dog was destroying her yard, digging, chewing and jumping all over them any time they went in the backyard. 

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