There’s a big difference between teaching your dog obedience and teaching your dog tricks.  Sometimes, though, the two can overlap.  Teaching your pooch to “go home” or “go to bed” is one example of an overlap.  Trick training requires basic obedience training, and it’s a fun way to mix up your normal routine.  So, grab your pooch and a handful of treats, and start training!

You should never replace obedience training with trick training.  Yes, it is cute when your dog shakes your neighbor’s hand, but it is not too cute when your dog starts chasing a car and you can’t call him back.  Obedience training is necessary to shape your dog’s behavior and to keep him safe.  Trick training is fun, and it should be used as an addition to obedience training.  By performing tricks, your dog can build confidence and show off for friends and family.  So, interrupt your obedience training with a little trick training every once in awhile, but do not let the latter take the place of the former. 

The reason “go home” can be considered an overlap is because it can be fun and useful.  If you have visitors arrive and you don’t want your dog to bother them, then you may need to send him to his “home.”  On the other hand, if you are trying to entertain your visitors, then they may get a laugh when you tell your pooch to “go home” and he jumps up beside you on the sofa!

To teach your dog to “go home” or “go to bed,” you must first decide where exactly it is you want him to go.  Do you want him to go outside to his dog house?  Do you want him to go to his crate?  Or, he is supposed to go to his favorite spot on the sofa?  If you have more than one location where you would like him to reach on command, then consider using multiple commands.  For instance, “go home” may refer to his dog house or crate, while “go to bed” may refer to his dog bed or favorite resting spot.  Whatever you choose, be consistent in your words and your tone.  Your pet won’t understand exactly what you are saying, but he will be able to understand the way you say it.

Start the training in the room with your pet’s “home.”  Say your chosen command, and move your pooch to the desired location.  Once there, tell him to sit and stay and give him a treat.  Call him to you, and repeat this a few times.  Next, say the command as you walk with him to the spot (instead of manually moving him).  Pointing to the spot can sometimes help, too.  Once he gets there, have him sit and stay before giving him a treat.  Continue to do this for ten or fifteen minutes, and then take a break.  The training can be resumed later or the following day.

When you resume the training, start over from the beginning.  Practice each step a couple of times.  Then, instead of walking your pet to the spot, say the command and toss the treat to the spot.  Once he eats the treat, have him sit and stay before calling him back to you.  Repeat a few times.  Now, try to say the command without the reward.  You may have to manually move your pooch to the spot or walk him there again.  This time, reward him after he sits and stays.  Continue to practice this daily until your pet understands where his “home” is.  Once he gets the hang of things, try moving into the next room and practicing the command.  Once again, you may have to walk with him the first few times, since he won’t be near his “home.”  When you are certain that your pooch understands his first “home,” then you can teach him additional commands using the same method.

Training your pooch to “go home” or “go to bed” is a combination of trick and obedience training; it is a cute trick, but it can also prove useful.  Once you figure out where you want your pooch to go, you can start the training process.  It will take many tries, multiple training sessions, and lots of treats, but your pooch will pick up on what you want him to do!

This article was written and provided by pet super store an online pet shop featuring great prices on dog doors and pet strollers.

For many dogs, fetching is a natural behavior.  Whether it’s their curiosity or ambition, some dogs naturally run and retrieve anything that is thrown from your hand.  On the other hand, some dogs may give you a funny look when you throw a ball, lazily returning to their favorite resting spot.  And still, many dogs will fetch, but they won’t even consider returning the fetched item.  No matter which situation you find yourself in, you can use the following tips to help train your pooch to fetch and return!

To start with fetch training, you’ll need a leash, one of your dog’s favorite toys, your dog (of course), and a handful of treats.  Technically, you can start by teaching fetch inside.  If you choose to do this, then go to a quiet room free of distractions.  If you can, teach fetch outside.  It’s much easier, and your dog will be able to better focus on the item.

Start with your pet on his leash, and tell him to sit.  Grab his toy (using his favorite toy gives him more of a reason to be interested in fetching it), and toss the item a few feet in front of you.  Be careful not to toss it too far.  Since you will keep your pooch on the leash the first few times, the distance you toss the item should not exceed the length of the leash.  Also, keeping the toy close gives your pooch more of a chance to focus on it.  If you throw it across your yard, he may not see it or even care about it.

Once you toss the toy, have your dog “stay” for a couple of seconds before you let him fetch.  This will also give him time to become more interested in retrieving his favorite toy.  Now, tell him to “fetch.”  He may show a natural tendency to go pick up the item, or he may not.  If he doesn’t, then walk with him towards the item.  If needed, help him pick it up, and say “fetch” again.  You won’t need to repeat “fetch” all the time, but saying it the first couple of tries will help him associate the word with the action.  Once he picks the item up, then either call him back to you, gently pull him back to you by his leash, or walk with him back to the place you started.

Here’s the important part:  “release.”  For many dogs, the fun in fetching is wrestling you for the item after it is retrieved.  This is why your pet should learn to release the item from the beginning of training.  He won’t understand “release” at first, so show him a treat.  He will more than likely release the item in order to eat the treat.  If he does not release the toy, then do not try to pull it from his mouth.  Fighting him for it will make him think that tug-of-war is the game you are trying to play!  Instead, pretend to be uninterested and walk away, or have a spare toy handy to start over.  Once he releases the item, give him a pat on the head, and repeat from the beginning.  Training sessions should last no longer than 15 minutes at a time.  So, if you have already hit the fifteen minute mark, then resume training later on or the following day.

The next step in training is having your dog retrieve the item on his own.  Follow the same steps, but do not use the leash.  Instead, use “sit” and “stay” until you want him to retrieve the item.  Continue with rewards and praise until your pooch figures out what “fetch” means.

It’s a good idea to keep fetching toys separate from regular toys -with the exception of using your pet’s favorite toy during the initial training, of course.  If your pooch has access to the fetch toy all the time, then he’ll loose his interest in retrieving it.  Frisbees, softballs, tennis balls, and rubber toys all make great fetch items.  These items can also be left outdoors without worry.

Some dogs are natural fetchers, while others watch confusingly as you throw a toy in the yard.  Either way, honing the fetch response is a great way to train.  Teaching fetch is pretty simply:  all you need is your dog, a leash, a toy, and a few treats.  Remember to never fight your dog for the retrieved item; teaching the “release” command is just as important as teaching the “fetch” command.

Pet Super Store provided this article - they are an online pet store featuring dog training collars and orthopedic dog beds.

Bringing home a new puppy can be both fun and tough.  There are so many house rules that you must teach him; and, similar to a child, sometimes you think he’s just not listening.  Training a puppy can be a long process, but it’s always a bit easier when you start from the first day you bring him home.  He may have no clue what you are doing at first, but he will learn pretty quickly.

You should have a crate ready for your pooch long before day one.  If you know what kind of breed you are getting, then it’s easier to choose a crate.  If you don’t, then you may need to start with a small crate, and buy a more fitting one at a later date.  Either way, the crate should be large enough where he can move around, but small enough where he can’t urinate on one side and still be comfortable.  You can buy an “eventually” crate, and use dividers to make it small in the beginning.  Along with the crate, you need a food and water bowl; and, of course, bedding to make the crate comfy.  When you get the crate setup, it’s a good idea to place a small stack of newspapers in one corner.  Understand that young puppies can’t necessarily control when they urinate, so accidents inside the crate will happen, hopefully on the newspaper.  Place the crate in a quiet, comfortable area; it will be the place where your pooch eats and sleeps.

The second you step out of your vehicle with your new family addition, you should head straight for the yard.  Choose a designated area where you don’t mind your puppy doing his business.  Take him there, sit him down, and tell him to “do his business.”  No, he will not understand anything that you are trying to get him to do, but it’s important that you start a routine early on.  Wait on him to use the bathroom before you take him inside.  It could take a couple of minutes or it could take forty five, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

You need to immediately start a schedule with your puppy and follow it.  Once the schedule is set, it will be easier for you to figure out his bathroom schedule.  Generally, a dog will want to do his business when he wakes up (in the morning or following a nap), a half hour or so after eating, and right before bedtime. So, as an owner, you need to be able to take him out at those times.  As mentioned before, a puppy won’t be able to control when and where, so you need to pay close attention to his actions.  If he starts circling the floor and sniffing things out, then he’s probably looking for a place to go.  If he whines when he’s in his crate (you’ll have to put up with a little whining for the purposes of training), then he may just need to potty.

The method you use to crate train is completely up to you.  However, there are a few extra suggestions that I can give.  Feed him in his crate, and leave him there until it’s time to do his business (remember the half hour rule of thumb).  When you think it’s time for him to do his business, then take him out of the crate and straight to his designated area.  He will eventually associate the feel of the designated area beneath his paws with doing his business.  If you let him roam around your house when it’s that time, then he’ll probably associate your tile or carpeted floor with business time.

Great advice for any training is to never get angry with your pooch.  Remaining positive and rewarding him for his good behavior are better ways to get results.  If you don’t catch him in the act, then you might as well not catch him at all.  Punishing him tonight for what he did this morning will not prove successful.

Be prepared when you bring that new puppy home!  Yes, it will be a wonderful and crazy experience (both at the same time), but it will be much easier if you are ready to train.  Have the crate ready, and keep the puppy on schedule.  It may take a little while, but he will eventually realize what it is you want.  An extra treat or two is never a bad idea, either.

This article was provided by Pet Super Store an online pet shop carrying pet crates and dog crate pads.

If you asked me several years ago about an elevated dog feeder, I'd probably draw a blank stare. It was rather difficult to be able to rear pets when you just patterned your love of animals by genes and not (yet) by heart. Elevated dog feeders were just making it's way to popularity when I finally gave-in and provided my pets with one each. Grudgingly, I had seen a change in my pets appetite and attitude while eating.

Before my pets would be not that interested in their food unless they eat off from my hand at a comfortable angle.  Depending on their level of activity, pets would rather doze off than have to strain to feed. Having this feeding problem, I was told about the elevated feeders which can be purchased according to a dog's height.  When a purchase was made, our pet surely did eat regularly without the attitude.

Sometimes, what we are so used to does need a little innovation and updates. From then on, being a pet parent meant for me to be updated and brave in trying out new things for pet's sake.

I remember our first dog, when I was around 6 years old. She was a pincher and chihuahua mix with smooth golden fur, we named her Goldie. It was the 70's and I do remember knowing that this adorable dog was the third little miss of the household (I was 2nd Li'l Miss). Even before "forever home" concept or "pack animal" theories my mom had shown us how to love a pet.

She never reached her first birthday with us though, all because of a pellet of mouse poison we mistook for a snack called "Beef curls". My parents brought her to the Vet and came home with a flowery shoe box, Goldie in sweetly sleeping forever.

Back then, there was no way to keep pets safe from poisonous plants or substances (besides we thought dogs knew how to smell danger!). Barriers like a pet gate would have been ideal in keeping Goldie away from the area where the mouse pellets were strewn. Looking back, our house was not ideal for a pet with no safety barriers. Our stairs were thick wooden planks suspended on the banister grill work-it was easy for even us to slip in between the steps and fall. Because of the loss of our first pet dog, I know not to take home safety for granted. Besides, pet gates and barriers come in great designs, no one would think it was ever for the safety of little ones and our dogs.