Pet parents should get ready to sharpen their pencils Americas best-loved pet insurance provider, Petplan, is dishing a textbooks worth of training tips in a new YouTube series premiering September 2. Whether a dog (and trainer!) is just getting started or is ready to learn some new tricks, these school-themed videos offer instruction on mastering good behavior while safeguarding the pets health and safety.

Each video in the series centers on a different scholastic subject everything from Learning the ABCs to Gym Class and features both a veterinarian and a certified professional dog trainer. Petplan Chief Veterinary Medical Officer Dr. Jules Benson introduces each piece with helpful health information, and CPDT Nicole Larocco-Skeehan, founder of Philly Unleashed, demonstrates each tip with a helping paw from her wonderdog, Uluru. By the end of the series, pups will be ready to graduate with top honors for being a paw-fect pupil!

The Back to School Training Series includes:

Training 101 Training is an essential part of pet parenting but how do pet parents get started? This video paw-fect for aspiring and seasoned trainers alike offers a primer on using positive reinforcement for effective training and advice on what to stock in a training toolkit. (Hint: One of them is totally free, and every pet parent already has it!)

Learning the ABCs Before dogs can read, they have to learn the alphabet! The three core commands introduced in this video Sit, Stay and Come are easy for both trainer and dog to master. And its a good thing, too, since these will form the foundation of good behavior and more advanced training commands down the road. Need another reason to practice them? They can literally be lifesaving.

Gym Class Exercise regimens get boring if theyre not fun, so teaching new tricks can be an exciting way to sneak in a workout. These three commands Sit Up, to build core strength; Spin, to stretch lateral muscles; and Take a Bow, to strengthen the spine also build brain power, and (bonus!) double as fun party tricks!

Recess Good behavior is especially important in social settings, where jumping on visitors, stealing food and begging can land furry friends in hot water or worse, the veterinary hospital. But with practice and patience, teaching a few simple commands can turn the class clown into the pride of the picnic, and save that sandwich from getting gobbled!

Field Trip Training isnt left at the door when its time for a field trip in fact, it can be more important than ever! By learning to teach four commands Sit, Heel, Leave It and Drop It in places with increasing levels of distraction, pet parents can help furry friends focus, and stay healthy and safe no matter where they go. (Which will come in handy when that pesky squirrel streaks by!)

Tune in to Petplans YouTube channel on September 2 to tap into the curriculum and boost the whole familys training IQ just in time to go to the head of the class!

ABOUT PETPLAN Petplan is more than a pet insurance company. We’re dedicated to providing pet parents with the support, resources and tools they need to keep their pets not just survivingand thrivinginto their old age. Simply put, we aim to be the kind of company that will make our pets proud.

Petplan is the only pet insurance company to have been included on Forbes magazines list of 500 fastest-growing, privately held companies in America for two years in a row. Petplans fully customizable dog insurance and cat insurance policies provide comprehensive coverage for all hereditary and chronic conditions for the life of the pet as standard.

Petplan pet insurance policies are underwritten by AGCS Marine Insurance Company in the U.S. and by Allianz Global Risks US Insurance Company in Canada. The Allianz Group was rated A+ by A.M. Best in 2012. For more information about Petplan pet insurance, visit http://www.gopetplan.com, read the Petplan Vets for Pets blog, or call 1-866-467-3875.

Though there is a general impression that reward training is the modern type of training, in reality this training method is very old. As old as ever since the dogs were there to train. Even before that people were using informal reward training methods to train wolf pups, which turned out to be modern dogs. Modern reward training gains popularity only for the past 10 to 15 years. But people were using principle of reward training for many decades. Dog trainers prefer this method to other training methods like leash and collar method. But in some cases the combination of these training methods is found to be more effective.

Training methods will vary from dog to dog. Some dogs can be easily trained by using a leash/collar method where as other dogs need a reward training method. These dogs are happy with the reward they get and listen to a trainer’s command thinking of reward. Some dogs fall between these two categories. They need the combination of both reward training as well as leash/collar training method.

Clicker training is another form of reward training. This method has become very popular among the trainers. When the dog does something good, the trainer will use a clicker to make click sound. As soon as the dog hear the click sound it knows that it will get a reward, a treat. Gradually the dog starts responding to the click sound.

Reward training is associated with food. The Dog will get reward as a food. After obeying any order from the master the dog expects food immediately. For more complex exercises this system work wonderfully. People who train the dogs for movies and television uses this reward training exclusively, which gives great results. Police and military dogs are trained by using a reward-training method. They are trained to smell and track. This is helpful in training the dog about basic behavior like obedience. Some reward training include lure in reward training method. The trainer uses the lure to get the dog in certain position according to trainers wish. Later on the dog will get in to that position whenever the dog feels like. It is a sensible thing to train the dog with out physically interfering.

Training the dog without touching is very important. Positive reinforcement is the reward dog gets after every good performance. Reward they get is a positive reinforcement. Not only food but also word like ‘good boy’ and a pat on their head will do wonders.

When training the dog for some important job like in police, detection of drugs etc. the dog need to be reliable. So these dogs need to be trained in such environments. Surrounding people and sounds should not distract the dogs. The dogs need to be social with people and other animals around. The biggest mistake the dog trainers do is to train the dogs inside the house or in the yards. There only the trainer and the dog are present. When the dog is taken out, the trainer will accompany the dog as its protector. These dogs will not be able to perform well at a situation where so many people are there in the surroundings.

Another important thing to remember is that while taking out the dog the dog should always pay attention to its trainer. The dog should be alert all the time what the trainer is doing.

This is just a little bit of information of all the information available on dog training. I hope you have learned a bit from this article though. Good luck!

During the third week in May, Doggone Safe Inc., Pet At Home Sitting Services, Inc., Pet At Home, and other organizations will be calling attention to one of the nations most commonly reported public health problems: dog bites. Half of all children will be bitten by a dog by age 12 and the majority of these bites are by the family dog or other dog known to the child.

Deedra Thompson of Pet At Home Sitting Services will be presenting the Doggone Safe Be a Tree childrens program on Tuesday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. at All Paws Animal Clinic, located at 1011 North State Rd 7, Royal Palm Beach in the Regal Cinema Plaza. Bring your child and learn to be a doggie detective. The class is catered to school age children and there is no charge for the class, but registration is required. Please call All Paws today at 561-790-9225 to reserve a space for your child. One parent is requested to accompany the child.

Doggone Safe, a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention through education offers free information at its website http://www.doggonesafe.com to help promote safety messages during dog bite prevention week. Doggone Safe also promotes the Doggone Safe Be a Tree childrens program. This program is a short presentation with large photos and lots of activities to teach children to understand the signs dogs send with their body language. The central message of this program is Be a Tree. That is, stand still if a strange dog approaches or any dog is threatening or overly frisky. Children learn to be doggie detectives, looking for the clues that dogs give with body language to show how they are feeling.

Doggone Safe and Pet At Home offer the following tips for parents and dog owners to help keep kids safe:

The 3 Most Important Things to Teach Your Kids 1.Dogs Dont Like Hugs and Kisses Teach your kids not to hug or kiss a dog on the face. Hugging the family dog or face-to-face contact are common causes of bites to the face. Instead, teach kids to scratch the dog on the chest or the side of the neck. 2.Be a Tree if a Strange Dog Approaches Teach kids to stand still, like a tree. Trees are boring and the dog will eventually go away. This works for strange dogs and anytime the family dog gets too frisky or becomes aggressive. 3.Never Tease a Dog and never disturb a dog thats sleeping, eating or protecting something.

The 2 Most Important Things Parents Can Do 1.Supervise Dont assume your dog is good with kids. If a toddler must interact with your dog, you should have your hands on the dog too. Even if your dog is great with kids and has never bitten why take a chance? 2.Train the dog Take your dog to obedience classes where positive-reinforcement is used. Never pin, shake, choke, hold the dog down or roll the dog over to teach it a lesson. Dogs treated this way are likely to turn their aggression on weaker family members. Involve older children in training the family dog while supervising. Dont allow children to punish the dog. Condition the dog to enjoy the presence and actions of children using positive experiences.

The 3 Most Important Things Dog Owners can do 1.Spay or Neuter Your Dog Neutered pets are calmer, healthier and less likely to be aggressive. Neutering prevents unwanted dogs that may end up in shelters or in less than ideal conditions where they may grow up to be poorly socialized or aggressive. 2.Condition Your Dog for the World Give your puppy lots of new positive experiences. Train using positive methods i.e. clicker training. 3.Supervise Your Dog Supervise your dog at all times around children. Do not allow children to hug and kiss the dog. If visiting children are bothering your dog, put the dog away or send the children home.

About Pet At Home Sitting Services:

Pet At Home began serving pets in the community in January 2004 and is a family owned professional pet sitting service, insured, bonded, licensed and certified in Pet CPR and First Aid by the America Red Cross. Pet At Home is a proud member of NAPPS, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and PSI, Pet Sitters International. They offer professional pet sitting service to pet owners who want their pets treated like members of their family. Beginning a pet sitting service was second nature for the owner and President Deedra Thompson coming from a family that owned and operated a small zoo in Austin, Texas. Pets are my passion, and I take the responsibility of caring for them and the security of my clients home very seriously commented Deedra Thompson. I chose to teach the “Be A Tree” program to protect children from being hurt and to protect our canine friends from being in situations that would cause them to bite. To learn more about Pet At Home Sitting Services, Inc. or to schedule the “Be A Tree” program for a school age group or organization in the West Palm Beach area please call 561-686-2900 or visit its website at http://www.petathome.com.

About All Paws Animal Clinic:

All Paws Animal Clinic opened for business in July 2002 and is owned and managed by Dr. Patricia Forsythe, Medical Director. All Paws has rapidly grown into a well-established and respected veterinary hospital. The clinic has been chosen Best of the West for veterinarian in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 by the readers of the Wellington Forum. We are dedicated to our mission statement Quality Care with Compassion for your Best Friend. Visit us at allpawsanimal.com!

About Doggone Safe Inc.:

The not-for-profit Doggone Safe organizations mandate was based on jurors recommendations following an inquest into the mauling death of 8 year old Courtney Trempe in Ontario, Canada. Along with their many educational programs, Doggone Safe also provides victim support and administers the Courtney Trempe Memorial fund, in honor of her memory, to help provide trauma counseling (not provided by insurance) for child dog bite victims and their families. Visit http://www.doggonesafe.com

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First Responders of 31 local Armstrong County Fire Departments are now best-equipped to save pets lives during a fire thanks to two local Invisible Fence Brand dealers.

This donation is just a small part of Invisible Fence Brands Project Breathe program, which was established with the goal of equipping every fire station in America and Canada with pet oxygen masks. The Invisible Fence Company of Pittsburgh, located in Greensburg and the Invisible Fence Company of Western PA have both been very active in their efforts to gain awareness and fulfill the program for this part of Pennsylvania. To date, through these two dealers, over 200 masks have been donated and nationally, over 10,000 are now on first responder vehicles ready for use.

When a family suffers the tragedy of a fire, lives are turned upside down, said Albert Lee, Director of Invisible Fence Brand. Pets are valued family members, so we want families to know that their pet can be cared for if tragedy strikes.

These masks truly are blessings for the Armstrong County area, said Lt. Luke Linnon Weve seen residents run back into burning homes to save a pet. Its understandable, but extremely dangerous. These masks will give residents comfort in knowing that we can save their pets if they are suffering from smoke inhalation.

The donation event was held at the Manor Township Volunteer Fire Department and included instruction on how to recover a frightened pet, first aid and pet CPR demonstration and Pet Oxygen Mask training. We are honored to be working with pet professionals like CART, Pet Emergency Training and Learning to Lead to fully equip and train first responders. said Carolyn Mento co-owner of Invisible Fence of Pittsburgh. It is not easy to find, rescue and treat a pet during the randomness of a fire. But this training gives first responders the tools to make a difference when they are out there. A reported 120+ pets have been saved by the nationally donated masks so far, including a number of dogs and cats in our area.

Armstrong County is now joining the ranks of cities like Pittsburgh, Denver, Chicago and Memphis, who have all received donated pet oxygen masks from Project Breathe program.

We still have a long way to go, says Mento of the efforts to succeed in the programs mission, But every donation takes us a step further.

Invisible Fence Brand has set up a website, http://www.invisiblefence.com/O2 where people or companies can assist with contributions.

About Invisible Fence Brand Invisible Fence Brand is the original electronic pet containment system and offers a comprehensive family of containment, avoidance, and access products to keep pets out of harm’s way and prevent unwanted behaviors throughout both the home and yard. Owned by Radio Systems Corporation in Knoxville, Tenn., Invisible Fence Brand solutions are sold nationwide by professional, authorized dealers who provide Perfect Start Pet training and custom installation that have safely contained over 2 million pets. Invisible Fence Brand has taken pet care beyond the home and started the Project Breathe program, which has donated more than 10,000 pet oxygen masks to fire departments and first responders. For more information on Invisible Fence Brand or to find a local dealer, visit http://www.invisiblefence.com.