5 Doggy Links You Should Not Miss

Welcome tor our first Puppy Training Weekly Roundup!  So what exactly is our Puppy Training Weekly Roundup?  Well it all started way back when we decided to compile a list of top dog blogs.

Step 1 my list of top dog blogs is now COMPLETE!

Step 2 is to add the top 50 dog blogs to my Google Reader account. CHECK!

Step 3 visit Google Reader every day and read my favorite blog articles.  CHECK!

Step 4 add cute puppy picture to post to try and attract more readers/subscribers. CHECK!

Dublin A Puppy In Training Endorses This Weeks Roundup!

Step 5 at the end of every week share my 5 favorite dog blog posts from the week…SEE BELOW!

Why am I doing this?  There’s so much information blasted out everyday I thought it would be nice to see just a short list of my favorite readings from the week.  Now you don’t have to scan through 50 blogs and hundreds of posts to find the top 5.  Of course your top 5 might be slightly different then mine in which case you’re welcome to subscribe to all the blogs on the top 50 dog blogs list.

Let’s Talk: Has Your Dog Had Ill Effects from Chicken Jerky? – There was a Chicken Jerky scare back in 2007 and it’s back again here in 2011.  The FDA has advised consumers who feed their dogs chicken jerky to carefully monitor their dogs for hours after feeding the treats.  We stopped feeding the jerky tenders to our dogs after the first scare in 2007, but just to let everyone know we never had any problems with the treats and our dogs.  We figure it’s better to be safe then sorry.Bed Bug Dog Inspection – We knew bed bugs were on the rise, but after checking out the statistics in this article I’m thinking about moving Stetson from K9 Nosework training to Bed Bug Sniffer Training.  Seriously, check this out:

Consider that six years ago, there were 537 bedbug complaints and 82 violations (in other words, verified infestations); last year, complaints topped out at nearly 11,000, with 4,084 violations cited (nearly double that of the previous year).

Super Tough Dog Toys For Super Tough Dogs – So this one isn’t really a blog post, but Johann puts together some awesome Squidoo lenses and this one on super tough toys for super tough dogs fits our Labs to a “T”.  In fact, I’m not so sure these are super tough enough for my boys.  We’ll have to do some of our own experimentation and report back our findings.  Thanks Johann, Gracie, and Nancy for putting together this awesome lens. Top 10 Dogs For The Energetically Challenged – I’m sure there are many of you out there who are just looking for a companion to relax on the couch with you and watch football all day Saturday and Sunday.  Well here’s a list of dogs for those who enjoy the couch potato.  One thing I noticed that I found a bit funny was that many of the couch potato breeds have a tendency to be obese…go figure!Five Training Tips For First Time Dog Owners – It can be a bit hectic bringing home that first puppy or dog.  This is a great article giving you five wonderful tips for the first time dog owners.  We always preach tip #1 – Be Consistent.  It is so important to be consistent with your puppy’s training.  If not, they will have a very difficult time learning any command or behavior you try to teach.

That’s a wrap!  I hope you found this weeks Puppy Training Roundup useful.  I’m sure over the coming weeks we may make some changes like add more posts or have fewer posts.

Anyhow, if you’re a dog blogger and you wrote a particularly interesting post this week then please leave me a comment with a link in the comment section below and I’ll definitely check it out.  Who knows, maybe I’ll include the link in next weeks roundup…there’s a thought (thinking outloud again)…if we start getting some great links to blog articles in the comment section maybe I’ll include my favorite link from the comment section from each week in the following weeks Puppy Training Roundup.  We’ll see…maybe a good chance for you guys to get an easy link back to your amazing posts!

Related posts: When Doggy Treats Go BadPuppy In Training Timeline Part 3Did You Miss Canine Dental Health Month?Dog Training – AKC’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) ProgramPuppy In Training Timeline Part 2

View the original article here

7 Reasons Why You Should Adopt A Rescue Puppy

Are you thinking about bringing home a new puppy?  If so, you should consider adopting a puppy from your local animal shelter or rescue.  We adopted our little Linus from the animal shelter over 8 years ago and it was perhaps the best decision we ever made!

Every year we try to support our local animal rescues and shelters by visiting, donating, and volunteering our time at the large pet adoption events.  We’ve volunteered as fosters for puppies and dogs for Cuddly Canines Rescue.  And of course we always like to share pictures here on the blog and at our Facebook page of adoptable pups and dogs from the adoption events we attend.

There are a lot of misconceptions about rescuing a dog or puppy.  Here are a few we hear all the time.

Looks like a black Labrador Retriever mix rescue puppy!

There are only mixed breeds at rescues and shelters: The Humane Society estimates that 25% of dogs in shelters are purebred.  We love our Aussie, Lab, Husky, Chow mix breed (actually that’s just a guess) Linus, but there are plenty of breed specific rescues out there too.  Just go to PetFinder.com and search for your breed of choice.They don’t have puppies – Linus was an adorable 10 week old puppy when we picked him up from the Carson Animal Shelter.  Check him out: Linus the Aussie mix puppy.  Cuddly Canines rescues puppies and has adoptable puppies all the time.  Check out their page: Cuddly CaninesThey don’t have purebred puppies – While it may be more difficult to find a purebred puppy of your choice we do see them all the time at rescues and shelters.  I’ve seen litters of purebred Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherd puppies recently up for adoption.  I also saw a litter of Labradoodles (technically not a purebred, but a very popular hybrid cross) up for adoption at PetFinder.com a few days ago.

So now that you know that there are puppies even purebred puppies available at animal shelters and rescues what are the 7 reasons why you should adopt a rescue puppy?

A rescue puppy will change your life!  Every day I see the popular paw print bumper sticker “Who Rescued Who?”  It’s so true!

Who Rescued Who? Adopt a rescue pup and you’ll know what it means…

First of all, a puppy won’t just make you more social it will make you the most popular person amongst your group of friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers.  Trust me, as a puppy foster and guide dog puppy raiser everyone becomes your best friend.

A second benefit is as your puppy gets old enough to go on walks through the neighborhood you’ll notice that you talk to your neighbors a whole heck of a lot more than before you had a puppy.

Check out this study on stress relief and pets.  Just in case you don’t want to click through to that article recent studies have shown that spending time with your pet may be a better stress reliever than talking your problems out with a friend!

Recent research shows that, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present! (This may be partially due to the fact that pets don’t judge us; they just love us.)

Linus and Stetson are great listeners!

A new puppy will help get you more exercise.  When they are puppies they probably won’t make great jogging partners, but as they get older they will make at least a good walking partner.

Of course as puppies you’ll probably be walking them back and forth to their potty spot in the backyard…also great exercise!

Some people have told me that this isn’t necessarily true because who wouldn’t have adopted that adorable puppy?  I do agree that an adorable puppy will get adopted, but the longer he stays at the shelter or rescue the more likely other puppies and dogs will not be able to occupy his space in foster care or at the shelter.

That’s right I said other puppies may not have a place at the shelter.  Did you know that some shelters will euthanize puppies if they are too young (under 8 weeks of age).  This is because even though the pups would easily get adopted the shelter does not have the resources to care for a young litter of pups and if a rescue cannot come in and save these little guys the animal shelter is forced to euthanize

Please, please, please do not purchase a puppy from the pet store!  I’ve heard and read that 99% of puppies at pet stores come from puppy mills.  While I’m not sure where this statistic comes from I do know that the percentage is very high.  So please, please, please, do not purchase a puppy from the pet store.

Adoption fees for a puppy from the animal shelter or rescue are much less than going to a breeder.  Many breeders will charge thousands of dollars for their puppies.  However, rescuing a puppy like Linus from the animal shelter cost us $37 and that included microchip and his first set of vaccinations.  When I fostered for Cuddly Canines the adoption fee was $350 (a bargain in my books), but that included spay/neuter, de-worming, first round of vaccinations, grooming, and microchipping.

YES!  The Puppy Breath!  It’s kind of a stanky, skunky smell, but if you’re a puppy lover I’m sure you already know and love the PUPPY BREATH!

There you have it!  7 reasons why you should adopt a rescue puppy!  We adopted Linus just over 8 years ago and we haven’t regretted it one bit.  Linus is a unique, one of a kind Australian Shepherd, Chow Chow, Labrador Retriever, Siberian Husky, and who know what else mix.  We wouldn’t give him up for the world!

So how about you?  Are you looking to adopt a rescue puppy or have you adopted a rescue puppy in the past?  If so, tell us your story in the comment section below.

If you are looking to adopt a rescue puppy and you don’t know where to start might I suggest checking out PetFinder.com?  That’s how we found our little Linus

View the original article here

What Commands Are Best For Dog Training?

Puppies usually have an annoying tendency to chomp on household items. Not training your puppy can lead to a trail of torn up chairs and pillows in its wake. Teaching a dog not to chew on household items is a part of dog training. Dogs are social animals by nature so they have the ability to interact so well with human beings.

You would train a domestic puppy to obey your commands. On the other hand, you would show caution with a wild dog that is aggressive and displays the behavior of its pack. Dogs need to have a good diet as much as human beings too. A dog's diet is usually a contributing element to its stability.

You can feed your dog with the food it needs by visiting pet stores where various suppliers offer many kinds of nutritious food. Some trainers make the mistake of bribing their dogs to respond to their commands. If your puppy gets used to getting a treat before responds to your commands well, it will not perform a command unless a treat is there. Giving treats to your dog should not be an everyday affair to prevent the risk of bribery.

Your dog does not have a mind like humans because it cannot reason and think like you do. Similarly, it cannot respond to commands that you give haphazardly. If your pet bungles one command, go back to the start of the instructions and make it respond to them all again. Circus dogs are those that are trained specially for entertainment. Trainers coach circus dogs to do several amusing tricks such as jumping hoops or rolling balls.

You can teach your own dog a trick or two to catch fun and entertain your friends. Training your dog means having a firm knowledge of dog training skills. You can either get dog-training skills from a dog trainer or coach yourself through related literature. Without the right amount of patience you will be unable to communicate your needs to your dog because dog training needs much patience.

Don't spoil your puppy by petting it too much. Dogs like kids need a firm hand occasionally to live up to your expectations. A lax attitude in training your dog will leave you with one that chooses to do what it pleases.

Karl Meyer writes targeted articles and helpful tips on dog training and is a keen health enthusiast. Juicer

6th Annual Pet Adoption Fair – Home For The Holidays!

Twice a year the Irvine Animal Shelter has a big Pet Adoption Fair and we try to make both events every year.  The Super Pet Adoption happens every summer and really is a must see for any pet lover if for no other reason then to see some awesome adoptable pets and make a few donations to your favorite animal rescues.

The second big Irvine Pet Adoption Fair is happening this Sunday from 10am – 3pm.  The weather forecast is for PM showers so make sure you arrive at this years pet adoption early so you don’t get wet.

THE EVENT WILL BE HELD RAIN OR SHINE – OVER 500 homeless animals are depending on you to find their forever home. Please don’t let discouraging weather prevent you from visiting us!!!

Here are some of the details on this years Home For The Holidays Pet Adoption Fair:

Pet Adoption Fair

WHAT: Home For The Holidays 6th Annual Pet Adoption Fair
WHEN: Sunday, December 2nd 10am – 3pm
WHERE: Irvine Animal Care Center
6443 Oak Canyon Road, Irvine, CA

Here’s the full flyer from for this years Pet Adoption:

Home For The Holidays Pet Adoption

We love going to the pet adoption every year (usually twice a year if we can catch the Super Adoption in the summertime).  We do our best to support our local shelters and rescues and in past years we even used to have a Guide Dogs of America booth that we’d volunteer at!

We plan on spending the majority of the day at this years event so we can talk to the many wonderful rescues to see how we might be able to help them with their cause.  Our hope is that we can help spread the word with our online presence here on the Puppy In Training website and through our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+.

Here’s a pic of one of the pups we met at last years Home For The Holidays.

Adoptable Pups

If you are involved with an animal shelter or rescue please feel free to contact us through our contact form or by leaving us a comment below.  We’d love to hear ideas on how we can help out animal shelters and rescues.

So how about you guys?  Are any of our fellow Southern Californians going to join us at this years Home For The Holidays Pet Adoption Fair?  If so, what are you most interested in seeing at this years event?  If you happen to see us don’t be shy…stop us and say hello!

View the original article here

Playing Fetch With Your Dog? Be Careful!

<< Back to Articles List

Playing Fetch With Your Dog? Be Careful!

Ah the joys of Spring and Summer, when you can be outside with your dog enjoying the fresh air! You’re hiking along a trail and your dog picks up a stick. Your instinct is to throw it. Although many dog owners like to play fetch with their dog, there are some perils you need to be aware of.

If you’re use to picking up a stick for your dog, think carefully. A stick can cause scratches to the lining of your dog’s mouth in addition to esophageal punctures, blood loss and acute and chronic infections.

Because dogs like to chew, they often bite off parts of the stick. This can lead to both injury and an infection. Small parts of the stick can lodge in your dog’s throat and cause choking. Additionally, sticks are riddled with bacteria, fungus and yeast, leading to infections that can prove to be fatal.

Just as we tell kids not to run with scissors (do you sound like your mother or what?), dogs can puncture their eye when scouting a good stick from a dangling limb or adjacent branch. This can lead to conditions ranging from blindness to a corneal abrasion that can turn into an ocular ulceration.

Unfortunately, stick-chasing can be a very hazardous activity. According to the Royal Veterinary College Hospital, some of the most common dog injuries, often lethal, are caused by sticks thrown by their owners. Be on the safe side and buy tennis balls, Frisbees or purpose made throw products!

View the original article here