This past week in Arizona, seventeen dogs were killed at a kennel from heat distress after one dog chewed through dry wall and the electrical cord to the air conditioner. But is this really a freak accident that could not have been prevented as claimed by the business owner? The Dog Gurus, Robin Bennett and Susan Briggs will tell you this type of incident is a known risk. Professional pet care facilities invest in materials designed to safely house dogs and follow pet care safety protocols to avoid these kinds of incidents.

Understanding the environment where you leave your dog is key to safety, but you also must realize that a dogs behavior in an unfamiliar environment may differ from their behavior at home, stated Bennett. Professional pet care providers first ensure the safety of the physical environment, but more importantly train staff to observe dog behavior for signs of stress. Chewing is normally a result of stress and boredom. Extra safety precautions should be available for dogs who are anxious when they are left in a boarding facility.

So how do you recognize a safe environment and professional pet care center? Tour the facility prior to making your reservation and confirm that all areas that house dogs are constructed with dog management and safety in mind. Drywall is not an acceptable material when providing professional pet care. Those facilities that have drywall, which is common in homes, usually use material to safely cover the walls to prevent damage and injury or the dogs are property supervised to prevent chewing incidents. Electrical cords, plants and other items that can be chewed or ingested should not be accessible to dogs when left alone. Most importantly, professional pet care providers understand canine body language and behavior. They monitor all pets for signs of stress and take steps to alleviate the cause of stress so that they can keep your dog safe and healthy.

Bennett and Briggs wrote an article on Identifying Great Pet Care Centers and are in the process of creating a directory of pet care professionals that offer off-leash play services to assist the public in making good pet care choices. It is heartbreaking to hear of tragedies in professional pet care, states Bennett. Briggs added, When this type of situation happens, it is frustrating as we know it could have been prevented if the public understood what to look for in selecting quality pet care. We created our website with that goal in mind. Our directory will include members of The Dog Gurus community that are invested in ongoing education and providing excellence in pet care services they provide.

Before you make a reservation for your dog online, be sure to visit the pet center and see for yourself the environment where your dog will be kept. These types of accidents are avoidable! A home environment may seem like a happier place for your dog, but safety protocols must be your first priority in pet care selection. If you are using a home-based provider, be sure they are following those safety protocols and are a reputable, licensed business. To your dog having a professional that understands their emotions and offers activities they enjoy will make them happy. Members of The Dog Guru community provide safe and fun pet care every day.

About The Dog Gurus: Co-creators Robin Bennett and Susan Briggs have over 30 years experience as operators and consultants in the dog daycare and boarding industry. Their staff training program, Knowing Dogs, has quickly become the best off-leash dog play training program available and is based on their best selling book: Off-Leash Dog Play: A Complete Guide to Safety and Fun. They continue to create resources for the professional pet care industry with the goal of keeping all dogs safe. For more information, visit their website: http://www.TheDogGurus.com or join their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheDogGurus. Susan and Robin are available for interview at the following numbers: Susan (713) 582-8520 or Robin (571) 336-2078.

Dogs are good companion. They are very lovable and easy to be with especially if you are alone. They will take care of you and you somehow feel safe with them. Plenty of people decide to have dog as a companion. Some decide to buy puppies because they are cuter compared to older dogs. Others decide to have older dogs because they are more mature and behave. However, there is an issue in having older dogs. Older dogs are harder to trained especially housebreaking. This might be true, but it is still possible to housebreak training older dog.

Below are easy tips on training older dog:

Tip 1: Assign a specific place in your house on where the dog can do his business. You may choose a corner or spot in your backyard. This place has the smell that can stimulate the dog to eliminate.

Tip 2: Observe your dog for any signs of urge to eliminate such as pacing ang scratching door or head. Whenever you see these signs, immediately bring the dog outside.

Tip 3: When you witness the dog at the act of incidence, simply say a firm no then bring the dog outside. Never physically punish the dog as it may lead to confusion. When the dog is confused, he night never follow your orders.

Tip 4: Decide a phrase such as Out or Do your Business Outside. These phrases will serve as a command for the dog to follow. As he hears this phrase, he will go out and eliminate there.

Tip 5: Decide a time of the day when you bring him outside. You must be consistent on the time of the day you will walk your dog. You may bring him outside as you wake up in the morning, after breakfast or after dinner. If you do not have the time, you may assign a person to do this.

Tip 6: It is in the natures of the dog no to soil their crate. They do not also eliminate as they sleep. So crate your dog more often but remember to maintain a schedule when you will bring him outside.

Dogs are carefree animals. They do whatever they like such as peeing, pooping, licking, barking, chewing, whining, scratching, jumping, sniffing and running around like there’s no tomorrow. As they are unable to figure out how to act on their own, they do what comes naturally to them. So, they must be trained to instill good behaviors in them.

You must know that it’s never too late to train a dog. Though it gets difficult when they grow older, but it’s never impossible. If you know the nature of your dog and some methods to deal with them, then you can train them effectively in your own way. However, if you want your dog to learn quicker, train them as early as possible. Just like the proverb, “Early bird catches the worm”, you must also train them early to get the best results.

There are lots of ways for dog training and they differ with different breeds. For instance, a training approach used for Yorkshire terrier may not work for Jack Russell terrier. Likewise, beagles also cannot be trained in the way you train your pugs. Different breed of dogs have different level of understanding and learning capacity. So, they should be trained in their own unique and effective ways.

Exception to this, there is one thing that works best for any type of breeds, and one thing that should be strictly avoided for all breeds.

Positive reinforcement

This is a simple dog training method that can be implied to any dogs, yet you can get effective results. Positive reinforcement means rewarding your dog for the good behaviors. You can reward your dogs either by giving treats or by using verbal praises. Rewards or treats will motivate and promote good behaviors in your dog. Therefore, it has been one of the effective ways for training any breed of dogs.

Old School Method

This method, which simply rely on harsh and punitive measures for training should be strictly avoided as such methods only bring abnormal and unnatural behaviors in your dog. They resent you for such behaviors and may not obey your commands as often as they used to. So, don’t ever include this method for training any breed of dogs.

Clicker training doesn’t need much in the way of specialized equipment. It will only cost you a few dollars to get everything you need to train your dog using this technique.

Let’s make a clicker training shopping list:

1.Flat collar and lead. You don’t need a check chain, prong collar or special leash to train your dog. In most cases, your dog’s existing collar and lead will be just fine.

2.A clicker. Dog training clickers are tiny plastic boxes with a flexible metal tongue. When you press the tongue, it bends and makes a clicking noise. They cost only a few dollars. If your budget is tight, you can do without a clicker by training your dog with a specific word. In the beginning, instead of clicking and treating until your dog learns that the click means reward, use your word instead of the clicker. For example, if your word was “yup”, you would say yup, then treat, over and over again. Then, when you are training, say “yup” when your dog does the right thing, and reward him. The one proviso is that you choose a word that isn’t part of your day to day vocabulary. That way your dog won’t expect a treat every time you say that common word, and become confused.

3.A reward. The most common reward for clicker training a dog is a food treat – they can be chopped up small so that you can give him plenty during a session without him becoming full or disinterested, and they are swallowed quickly so you can repeat the exercise straight away. The treat you choose has to be something very delicious and something your dog doesn’t get at other times. Don’t use his regular dried food; it’s not all that interesting and he’s not likely to be keen to work for it. Diced chicken and diced dried liver are favorites, and most dogs love them. These are also no more expensive than specially made commercial dog treats, if you work out the cost per pound.

Food treats may not work for some dogs; they may have food allergies, or they may be on a diet. For these animals, a reward may be a game of tug, or a throw of a ball. If that’s the case, these toys should be kept just for training sessions, which will keep them special for your dog.

In Summary – You don’t need to spend a lot of money to train your dog. Clicker training is very affordable and because it is all positive, it has the added advantage of enhancing your relationship with your dog.

A pronged collar may look cruel or frightening at first glance, but the reality is that they are both effective and humane. Pronged collars are designed to pinch the loose skin around the neck of the dog when pulled tight, or “snapped”. This sensation, while painful, does not injure or harm the dog in any way. In fact, it may even resemble the pinching and nipping that the leaders of packs in the wild naturally use to promote their dominant role. This is a sensation that dogs instinctively expect, and is a far cry from the strange, frightening and stressful sensation created by alternative training tools, such as an electric shock collar.

When using a pronged collar, it is important that guidelines be followed in order to prevent injury to the dog, or breaking of the collar. Firstly, a pronged collar is intended only to be used during training sessions, and should always be removed at the end of a session. Unlike slip collars, or flat collars, a pronged collar should be bought by the required size and strength of the pronged links rather than by length. Pronged collars are intended to be shortened or lengthened to fit snugly around the neck of the dog by adding or removing links. To place a pronged collar on a dog, unhook one of the links and wrap the collar around the neck of the dog. Make sure the collar is placed high on the neck, just behind the ears and under the jaw. Close the collar by reattaching the previously detached link, ensuring a snug fit. If the collar does not stay in place, or falls low on the neck, it is too loose! Rotate the collar so that the rings to attach the leash are on the right side of the neck. To detach the collar, simply unhook one of the links by squeezing together the prongs and gently pulling the links apart.

Many pronged collars come with two rings with which to attach a leash. By using only the outer-most ring, you provide a degree of slack and lessen the impact of the snap. You can remove the slack for a more immediate response by using both rings. In the case of a pronged collar breaking or opening during training, many handlers use a flat collar, or slip collar as a backup to the pronged collar. However, you should ensure that the backup collar does not interfere with the mechanic of the pronged collar.