You may be the biggest dog lover in the world, but that doesn’t mean everyone in your family or circle of friends is a fan of canines “” even your cute Havanese may look scary. They might have had a bad encounter with a dog as a child or they might simply have an irrational phobia.
Or, it’s possible that they may be frightened by specific behaviors your dog may exhibit. It’s important to not only learn what is causing the fear, but then to figure out what you can do, as the dog owner, to cut it off.
The Source of the Fear
Step one is to talk to your family or friends about what is going on. Imagine if you were afraid of someone’s dog because it growled at you. How would you feel if the dog’s owner blamed you for the problem, assuming you have some irrational fear?
So, you shouldn’t do the same to them. Always start by assuming there is a sound reason for their fear and talk to them about it. Ask if they have seen something in your dog that causes the fear or if they were attacked as a child. The second you can figure out what started the cycle, you’ll be able to start dealing with it.
If Your Dog is Causing the Fear
If you find out that something your dog is doing in particular is causing the problem, keep an open mind. Most dog owners have blinders that keep them from seeing the negative things their dogs might be doing. You look at your Havanese and you see a perfect little angel.
If they happen to be growling whenever your friends go near their water bowl, you have a real problem that needs to be dealt with. It cannot be written off as the person’s fault.
To start with, address the behaviour. If the dog is showing aggressive tendencies based on their space or territorial actions, you need to take control of the space and show the dog that you’re in charge. Once you’ve done that, make sure no one is treating your dog improperly. If they’re up front or physical and that makes your dog uncomfortable, it can create an environment where fear is bred.
If the Fear is from a Past Incident
If it turns out that your dog is not causing any of the anxiety and fear that your family or friends are having, it very well may be the result of a past incident. In this case, it can be easy to simply blame them and tell them to “deal with it”.
But, again, would you want someone to be that callous with you? Probably not. I’m not telling you to hide your dog in a corner and keep him there until they leave, but you can introduce certain safeguards to maintain the safety of your home.
First, teach your dog to stop jumping at strangers. Make them stay calm and well behaved when new people enter the house. Second, make sure they understand that they do not have to pet the dog or greet him.
For most dogs, being ignored will breed ignoring. They will respond the same as this is a clear body language signal to be left alone – presuming there is no direct eye contact or touching.
With time, if you can show them that your dog is well behaved and patient, you may be able to communicate to them that the dog is not going to do anything bad. But, first you must show that the dog is under control.

One of the most important areas of training a dog is house training. However, this can be a very frustrating task. One of the best ways to succeed is use the dogs own instincts. By nature, dogs are usually very clean animals. They prefer to keep the areas where they eat and sleep clean and free from soil. Dogs also like a routine and like to know where they are supposed to urinate and defecate. For instance, if they are taught to do their business on gravel or concrete, they will look for gravel or concrete to do this. If they are taught to go on grass or dirt, they will look for grass or dirt. Take advantage of these habits.

First, you must set up a training area. You will need a place that is small and confined, like a bathroom or kitchen. A crate will work for small dogs or puppies but larger animals need more room. You need to spend some time with your pet in this area playing with him. Your pet will also eat and sleep in this area as well.

You should put together a special bed for your dog or purchase one. Don’t fret if your pet soils in this area at first. He will soon learn that this is where he eats and sleeps and stop eliminating there. Once the dog figures out the bed is for sleeping, you can move it to different locations in the house. Make sure you do this only when you are home. If you are not there, move the bed back to the training area.

Next, you will need to set up a bathroom area. Find a location for this purpose, probably outside. But, it needs a to be a place the dog can go whenever he needs to go. You should go with your dog to give rewards for good behavior. Feed the dog at the same time everyday. If your dog is fed at the same time everyday and establishes a schedule for eating he will also establish a routine for eliminating. Once you get a feel for those times, it will be easier to guide your dog to the designated location. Your dog should have easy access to the bathroom area; that way accidents are less likely.

Now, you can continue the house training. When your pet is in the habit of urinating or defecating in the toilet area and not in his eating or sleeping area, you may extend the training area to include the rest of the house. Don’t start to fast. Go slowly at first. Add one room at a time. Don’t go into new rooms until you are sure your pet has good control of his bathroom habits. Do this only when you are present with the dog. If you are not home, keep your dog in the original training area. You can speed the process up, but do so with caution. It is advisable to go slowly rather than have to retrain your pet at a later time. If you do choose to speed things up, make sure you are there to reward your dog. Remember, it is important not to punish for accidents. This will only slow the process down by confusing the dog.

Good luck!

IAniimate Elite Games Workshop 3 character animation to tell a story.

iAnimate.net announces the Elite Games Animation Workshop 3, an interactive 14-week program directly pairing students with top working animators at the most recognizable game studios in the industry. The workshop offers a collection of master classes designed to sharpen artists game animation and storytelling skills. Courses begin September 8, 2014.

Watch the iAnimate Games Video.

The Elite Games Animation Workshop 3 includes a series of live talks, demos, reviews, and assignments that are designed to resemble an actual games production pipeline. In the workshop, instructors focus on techniques for games animation, which include timing, creating strong body mechanics, posing characters, player reactions, responsiveness of action, and more. Students also learn how to create interactive battles, cinematics, staging, and integration with popular game engines such as Unity.

“Our Elite Games Workshop brings together students and top animation instructors from triple A games studios around the world to share what it takes to excel in games animation today,” says Richard Arroyo, Head of Games Animation, iAnimate.net. “We give our students the tools and techniques they need to showcase their true value and be industry ready for games studios.”

THE COURSES AND INSTRUCTORS

Interactive Battles (weeks 1-2): Instructor Kevin Rucker, senior animator at Blizzard Entertainment, kicks off the workshop with the does and donts of game animationfrom planning parametric sequence references to simplifying the approach to execution.

Workflow, Camera Theory, and Cameras in Practice (weeks 3-5): Instructor Simon Unger, lead animator at Robotoki, has more than 13 years professional animation experience and recently served as animation director on the award-winning “Hitman: Abosolution” for Square Enix. Unger will cover the layout process, parametric animation, posing and framing as well as context, implementation, camera theory and cameras in practice, including basic composition, and how to stage a charcter on screen.

Creature Behaviors (weeks 6-7): Instructor Darryl Purdy, who before joining Eidos was animation director at Warner Bros. Games, Montreal, will use his more than 13 years experience in animation to demonstrate the processfrom layout to blocking. Purdy will also cover aligning worlds, setting up sequences, the block-in process, straight ahead and layered animation techniques, and more.

Cinematic and Games Performance/Interactive Games Cinematics (weeks 8-9): Lead Cinematic Animator and Instructor David Lam has more than eight years experience in games animation, working on numerous triple A titles for prominent games studios such as Activision, Lucas Arts, Bungie and Naughty Dog. Lams courses focus on cinematics, performance, and interactive games, including animation over technology, using references or mocap, keyframing, Interactive Game Cinematics (IGC), and more.

Special Lecture: How We Did It (weeks 10-12): Instructor Kristjan Zadzuk, animation director at Ubisoft Toronto, has more than 15 years industry experience, including credits on Ubisofts Splinter Cell Blacklist and Assassins Creed. Zadzuks course is a special lecture covering how we did it for an existing gamefrom animation, blocking, and setting up sequences to animation tips and techniques, workflow, and more.

The Game Engine (weeks 13-14): Instructor Bennie Terry III has more than 18 years experience as an art director and technical director in the film and games industry, working with companies such as Rhythm & Hues, Disney, and Marvel. Terry will focus on game engine development and analyzing and integrating an animation system.

JOIN THE WORKSHOP

For more details or to apply for the Elite Games Animation Workshop 3, begining September 8, 2014 and ending December 14, 2014, please visit iAnimate.net.

View the iAnimate Games Animation Student Showreel and Previous Games Workshop 3 Student Assignment Video.

ABOUT IANIMATE.NET

iAnimate.net puts students and veteran animators from top studios in direct contact to deliver the most effective online training in the industry. Our instructors are passionate about their craft and are dedicated to giving students the knowledge they need to be the best animators they can be.

iAnimate is a trademark of iAnimate.net. All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Did you bring a dog to your home recently? There are lots of people who love pets and specially the dogs. Dogs are not only one of the wonderful pets but they are quite obedient and trustworthy. But it is important to train your dog so that he can perform his task better and listen to your commands.

Some of the common commands are sit, stand, co and go. When you train your dog with a single command make sure he learns it properly before moving on to the next command.

If you follow certain dog training tips then you can successfully train your dog within a few weeks. You can also take the help of a dog training collar to teach the essential commands to your dogs. Before you choose the collar it is important to check out certain things.

First of all you need to make sure that you do not get the wrong collars because they can suffocate the dogs. You must keep the comfort of your dog in mind. Do not go by the good looks of the collar.

Check out whether the collar is the best choice for your dog. When you go to the pet shops to buy the dog training collar make sure you take him along with you to check which of the collars fit him perfectly.

You must also be aware of the fact that loose collars can be dangerous for your dog. It might invite certain situations that might not be suitable for your dog. If you want to learn how to train your dog then try to follow the dog training tips as much as possible.

To train your dog you must be very patient as well as consistent. In the beginning your dog might make mistakes. But you should always stay calm and cool. Make sure you do not yell or shout at your dog at the slightest provocation.

This can create problems and your dog might deny learning any of the commands. You must be very patient and keep enough time to your dog to learn the commands. You should also train your dog about his elimination area.

When you find your dog sniffing as well as circling around then you must understand that he is looking for a place for elimination. You should immediately take him to the right place so that he learns where to do it.

You can take him out for elimination each day at the same time so that he can grow a habit. Maintaining proper timing is very much necessary in this case. Obedience training for dogs might not be very easy. You can go for pet training courses to learn better about this.

Crate training a dog is a matter of concern for most of the dog owners in the world. If you are a dog owner, for sure you must be looking for crate training ideas so that your dog does not break into your house when alone. Crate training a puppy is very important as it keeps him disciplined and controls the destructive behavior. It not only makes your but his life easy too. So, take a look at our following tips on obedience training and for crate training a dog.

Importance of a crate
A crate is of great importance, not only for you but for your dog as well. In fact, most of the dogs love their crate as it is a small warm place that belongs just to them. If you might have observed, even stray dogs like to create a small place for them on a corner of the street. A crate gives the feeling of a safe place to dogs, which they can take control of. On the other hand, it is difficult to manage their area for dogs that have wide spaces and hence they try to control entire household.

Crate training a dog
The crate training should ideally start when your dog is just a puppy. It is so because it is really difficult for grown up dogs to get used to the crate. Moreover, it is easy to create train a puppy as they are easily adaptable. Once your puppy will adapt with sleeping in its crate, there will be no problems for the rest of the life.

To start with crate training a dog, place it in a room where your dog can see a lot of people during the day. Initially, you can place it in your bedroom in the night so as to assure him that there is a safe presence around. After a month or two, keep the crate on the same place as during the day, but closer to you so that you can monitor it.

Make sure that the crate is clean whenever your dog enters into it. It will assure him that he is given a clean space to live just like other areas of the house. Do not get a very big crate or your dog will create a mess in it. It should be wide enough so that it can rest and turn in it comfortably.

Never get too pushy or impulsive while crate training a dog and giving him obedience training as it may upset him. When your dog enters the crate, be quiet for 5 minutes, do not give any attention and let him be comfortable inside. Then, appreciate him that he did the right thing. Start the crate training sessions for short periods like one or two hours and gradually extend it to full day or full night.

If you will deal with your furry friend kindly while crate training him, he will get adapted quickly. In fact, he will simply start loving his crate.

Are you looking for the best dog training guides? How can you choose what is best for your pet? Do you want to use the dog lead but you don’t know how? First of all you need to know that dog training is much more than a few sessions with an expert; it is a lifestyle that requires time and dedication during the first months of the new puppy and stability throughout the life of your pet.

If you are a dog owner try to avoid the common mistake that most people do: do not consider dog training a small and initial step in your pet’s life because you are most likely to fail. An experienced and savvy professional will tell you that effective training lasts for years and is based on the good communication between the owner and the pet. However, you should follow some basic underlying principles in order to start the long process of training your dog. A solid and effective training should consist of:

• Basic obedience orders and commands – how to use dog lead, how to teach your dog to obey you when outside the house and much more.
• Performance of tricks ( not related to sport acts, just to tricks that can help your pet learn basic everyday acts)
• Performance based on his instincts when needed

The best dog training guides reveal that trainers focus not only on dog training, but also on training the owners; you cannot expect to send your dog to school without actually participating in the entire dog training procedure. Attending the same classes give the owners the chance to understand their pet better and bond with it. Using the dog lead for instance, is something that people learn through classes.

The relationship of the dog with his owner is determined at the beginning of the dog’s life. In addition, participation to the classes ensures consistency in commands and guidance of the dog.

If you are a dog owner try to find not only the dog training guides that suit your dog, but also the ones that suit you and be prepared for a long- term but fun process that involves both you and your pet.