Wags for Wishes - San Diego Dog Event

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 | Dog Food, Health & Safety, Dog Obedience & Behavior, Dog Training Camp San Diego | No Comments

San Diego ranks very high in the dog friendly places. Wags for Wishes draws dogs from sporting events to a great place to bring your pet dog for all the latest and greatest in the dog world.

Wags for Wishes July 10-12, 2009, Chula Vista CA is going on with events like Field Luring, Splash Dogs, Canine Good Citizen, Rally-O and Freestyle. Agility, Flyball and Disc Dogs and many more dog sport enthusiast events. Find the newest dog toys, dog training equipment and fun dog clothes at vendor booths and much more dog.

Follow us on Twitter for more dog training tips, fun dog photos, and cool dog news at www.Twitter.com/GoTrainYourDog

Tags: dog training boot camp, dog twitter, Jt Clough, san diego dog training, San Diego puppy training, Wags for Wishes

Dog Obesity & You: 3 Behaviors You Can Adopt

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | Dog Food, Health & Safety | No Comments

Dog Obesity and You - 3 New Behaviors You Can Adopt Today
By Jt Clough

A health trend is becoming more of a focus as the number of Americans who are obese has increased by 2% in the last two years. Those Americans’ statistics also say that up to 70% also own a dog. And guess what? Yep, the dog is most likely a bit overweight as well. The good news about that is if you find yourself feeling like it’s time to take off a few extra pounds and you do own a dog, you have yourself the perfect training partner.

More Americans now believe they are overweight and with the current economic state have realized the importance of losing weight and getting back into shape. The simple need to stay healthy, cut costs, and be able to maintain current homes and work positions is abundant.

Health care costs have spilled over to vet care expenses as well. A trip to the vet is at least $100 these days and can easily go upwards into the thousands of dollars. An overweight dog is more likely to have health problems as well as the life expectancy decreases dramatically.

There is no magic bullet in losing weight and getting more fit other than cutting calories and increasing your exercise. Make sure the calories you eat are healthy, meaning not full of fat or a large percentage consisting of carbohydrates. One rule of thumb that makes it simple for people to gage how much to eat is only eat the amount of food that equals the size of your fist.

This is true of dogs as well. Free feeding is out. That means filling the dog bowl up with food and letting your cutest best friend eat whenever and however much food anytime during the day is not a good way to promote a healthy lifestyle for your dog.

Many dog food companies are recommending too much food right on the bag. There are many reasons for this (information for a future article), but for simplicity lets just say it goes along with many downfalls of our health care system. Providing recommendations for health isn’t the underlying agenda; providing recommendation to keep you at the doctor or vet have become the industry standard.

If you cannot feel your dog’s ribs, generally you have an overweight dog. Start cutting the amount of food you are feeding as well as increasing your dog’s exercise level. Remember the recommendation on the bag may not be what you really should be feeding. The amount of fat that is on your dog is the best way to gauge if you should be cutting food quantity and make sure to feed a quality food. You are what you eat is true for your dog as well.

Here are three things you can do today to adopt some great new behaviors and start on the road to weight loss and fitness for you and your dog:

1. At meals eat only the amount of food that would equal the size of your fist
2. Give your dog measured amounts of food twice a day; do not free feed
3. Start walking with your dog at least 20 minutes a day* (plan to build this over time)

*If you have not been exercising please make sure to get a physical to know what kind of health you are starting with, be safe, and know where you want to go with your health care needs.

Get out and get your health and happiness back with your dog! You’ll both be wagging more and barking less.

Jt Clough joined the skill of running successful business & marketing with the art of training dog to inspire others to achieve a higher level of success and attain the life they’ve dreamed of attaining. Finisher of 9 Ironmans, Degree in Business, & a Holistic Health Practitioner you can find her private coaching, e books, private & online dog at http://SitK9Sit.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jt_Clough
http://EzineArticles.com/?Dog-Obesity-and-You—3-New-Behaviors-You-Can-Adopt-Today&id=2442414

Tags: dog food, dog health, dog problems, dog training boot camp, dog training online, dog training private lesson, san diego dog training, San Diego puppy training

Potty Training for Your Dog-Dog Training San Diego

Thursday, February 12th, 2009 | Dog Food, Health & Safety, Dog Obedience & Behavior, Dog Training Camp San Diego | No Comments

K9 Coach has dog training for the greater San Diego County area & Temecula, CA.  We’ve helped dogs and their families in Carlsbad, Cardiff by the Sea, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, El Cajon, Escondido, Encinitas, Olievnhain, Fallbrook, La Costa, La Jolla, La Mesa, Leucadia, Mira Mesa, Miramar, Mission Bay, Ocean Beach, Oceanside, Poway, Point Loma, Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, Riverside, San Marcos, Santee, Scripps, Solana Beach and Temecula, just to name a few.

Did you know dogs have the genetic ability to live well into their 20’s?  If you want the best for your dog’s happiness and health, proper nutrients and exercise for your dog and you are possible.  In these tough economic more and more people are examining what is really valuable in our lives.  Taking the best care of our animal companions will pay off in priceless dividends in the long run.  We offer several web sites and blogs to help you improve your dogs behavior and health.

For those very lucky dogs: K9 Coach San Diego & Temecula provide dog obedience training camps with positive results! 5 month old Poodle mix, Zoey is a good example of a family saved from a life-time of hassle.  She nipped way too often & a little too hard . This puppy barked incessantly if you didn’t pick her up hold and pet her, very time consuming for her work-at-home Mom.  Her play was too rough and scared the kids and last but certainly not least, Zoey wasn’t potty trained.

Zoey’s people have good intentions, but didn’t realize they were encouraging bad behavior. Fortunately, for Zoey and the family, the vet told them they need professional help, and they got it!  If your dog has a behavioral issue, the sooner you seek help the better.  It is a myth that “puppies will just grow out of nipping and rough play”.  Left unchecked it can turn into aggressive dog behavior.

Zoey’s familyt in Carlsbad, CA family is very happy they invested in K9 Coach dog camp for their dog.  Zoey is a very lucky dog too, because her family walks her on the leash and practices skills learned at as a part of their daily life.  Her behavior is calm and fun now that she has focus and direction in her life. The kids can hang out and play with Zoey.

If you want improve your relationship with your dog, we can help you!

The first 8 to 16 weeks of a pups life are extremely important, if you get a dog older than this, they may have missed proper training in that all important age, creating a variety of behavioral issues.
We use the same potty training tips listed below for any age dog.

Supervision is the key to success, if you cannot personally supervise the dog, they will be safer in their den!

• Use a couple of pieces of kibble to entice and reward your dog with the crate.
• Use a crate; this is a safe den for your dog and much easier to clean than carpet!
• Dogs should be able to sit up and have their head just clear top of the crate and have just enough room to turn around and lie down, think small den not a whole house.
• Tap on the crate and calmly say quiet if they fuss, give them an opportunity to settle down.
• Feed your dog all meals in their crate, so they will associate something they really like with the crate. Pick up any food not eaten in 10 to 15 minutes.
• Use controlled feeding, no free feeding. Take them to go potty outside after they are done eating. If they do not have a bowel movement, return them to the crate and try again in 10 to 15 minutes until they accomplish their task.
• If your dog evacuates in the crate AND the crate is not too big, get a second back-up crate.  Clean your dog and the crate and try again, if you don’t give in, they will!
• Do not put water in the crate.  They should only spend 2 hours max in the crate or exposed to extreme heat or cold when crated. A pup 8 weeks and even up to 16 weeks old cannot hold “it” more than 2 hours. I offer them water on their way outside or you can offer it to them outside depending on their behavioral patterns.
• If you work long hours… get help with a dog walking service or friends.
• Tether the dog to you with a 3-4 foot or so parachute cord, use a drag leash or hang onto a leash OR put your dog in their crate when you cannot directly supervise them.
• Make sure your dog just fits in the crate, if it’s a pup, block off part of the crate, until they grow to fit the crate.
• Make sure you give your dog every opportunity to go potty outside.
• Use the same phrase when you take your dog outside, praise them with the same phrase with every success.
• Do not punish your dog for mistakes:  If you see them in the act, use a firm “NO” pick them up & take them to the place they should go, if they do finish their business outside be sure to praise them.
• Do not punish your dog for mistakes:  If you DON”T see them, it is your fault, clean up the mess and try to do a better job of supervising your dog.
• Besides praise and petting, give them a small play session & supervised free time in the house after success.
• Keep the crate within hearing distance when sleeping, if your dog wakes up and makes noise, take them outside to potty and return them to the crate. Limit water late evening, after dinner depending on the activity of the dog.
• Take them outside to potty whenever:

1. You take them out of their crate.
2. Before you put them in their crate.
3. Wake up from sleeping.
4. Eat a meal.
5. Drink a bunch of water.
6. Play excitedly.

It can take several weeks to the worst case I’ve heard of several months to potty train your dog, so most important don’t give up and remember it is your job to train your dog. If you are having problems get professional help, dogs often don’t know what we want, because you are not showing them in the right way!