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Learn what type of food or drinks your Dog can’t digest

Dogs love to watch what you are eating and it is hard for owners to ignore those innocent eyes. It is seen often that dog owners share their meals and food with their pets without even thinking that feeding human food might harm their dogs.

List of food which are not good for dogs

We have complied a list of a few foods which are not good for your dog.  While the effects of these foods may vary per breed, generally speaking all the foods mentioned here can be harmful to some extent to all dogs. The foods mentioned here may not show immediate effect but if given regularly, these food may cause problems for your dog.

1) SugaR:

High sugar content food is dangerous for your dog.   It can cause obesity and skin diseases like eczema in dogs, so it is advised to avoid sugar mixed foods or milk.

2) Avocado:

This may be good for the human body but the avocado is a  harmful fruit for your pet.  It contains “persin” substance which is toxic and if your dog eats avocados in large amount he could become sick.. If you have a avocado tree in your garden keep your dog away from eating the seeds and leaves of avocado plant, as they too contain persin.

3) Alcohol:

Alcohol in any form, be it  beer, wine or whisky is very dangerous for your dog.   Even a little amount of alcohol can put your dog in danger, Alcohol attacks your dogs digestive system and may cause liver damage. In the event your dog has consumed alcohol mistakenly he may exhibit signs such as difficulty in walking or breathing or he may begin vomiting.  If you suspect your dog has ingested alcohol contact your nearest veterinary clinic immediately.

4) Onions, Garlic and Chives:

Avoid the regular use of garlic, onions and chives in food for your dog. This often leads to gastrointestinal issues and destroys red blood cells which can cause anemia in dogs.

5) Caffeinated Drinks and Food:

Caffeine can cause poisoning in dogs so keep your dog away from caffeinated drinks and food.  Coffee, tea, beans, grounds, coca cakes, coco cookies, carbonated sodas and pure caffeinated drinks are rich sources of caffeine.

6) Grapes, Raisins, Nuts:

These might be good for humans, but grapes, raisins and nuts are harmful for dogs if eaten in large amounts.  High intake of these items may cause kidney failure in dogs.

7) Raw Egg, Meat or Fish:

Avoid giving raw meat or unprocessed meat and products straight from farm or super store. The raw meat, eggs and fish can have bacteria like E-coli which can cause food poisoning to your dog.

8) Food Prepared With Yeast:

Owners often give bakery products and breads to dogs but  these foods can cause swelling in dog’s stomach. Additionally fermented yeast dough also produces toxic alcohol.

9) Persimmons,Plums,Peaches & Macadamia Nuts:

Persimmons seeds can cause inflammation in the small intestines of dog and plums and peach’s seed contains  amygdalin, a form of cyanide (in small amounts).  Peach and apricots have amygdalin in potentially harmful amounts.

10) Chocolate Bars:

Chocolate contains toxic agents and high sugar, which can cause diarrhea and vomiting.

11) Dinner Left overs:

Your dinner scraps, while awfully tasty for your pup, can spoil if left out develop and harmful bacteria which could make your dog sick.

12) Pure milk And Dairy Products

Regular use of pure full fat milk and pure milk products can cause obesity in your dog and rich intake of pure milk will lead to vomiting, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems.   Dog owners are advised to avoid pure milk products like cheese.

13) Bacon

Yes! This is one of favorite human food of dogs, but this is not good for your pet. Bacon is rich in fats and regular intake of bacon can cause pancreatitis which can damage the pancreas.

14) Fat Trimmed Meat and Bones

Be careful while giving fat trimmed from meat and bones to dogs.  Trimmed fat meat can cause pancreatitis in dogs. Bones can lodge in or damage your dogs trachea.

In the next blog we’ll be covering some good human foods you can give to your dog. Stay tuned!

Brought to you by American Canine Training which provides dog training in Las Vegas, Henderson and Summerlin, Nevada area.

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Potty training your puppy can be one of the most challenging aspects of his education. Unfortunately, there truly is no magic wand and the only way to effectively teach your pup to where to eliminate is through consistency.
Potty training can be viewed as a two phase process. In phase one, teach the pup where you want him to go and in phase two teach him where you don’t want him to go. The phases are not mutually exclusive which means that you can and should implement both phases at the same time.
In order to facilitate potty training it helps to understand several basic concepts:

 

1. If you control what goes in, you control what comes out.
Try and feed your puppy on a schedule. Many puppies have to eliminate 30 seconds to 30 minutes after they eat so if you know what time your dog eats you can probably predict what time he’ll eliminate. Unless your vet recommends it to prevent hypoglycemia, avoid free feeding in which food is left down all day for the dog to eat when ever he wants. Put the food down and leave it down for fifteen minutes. Then pick up whatever is not consumed. Your dog will learn that if he doesn’t eat it while its there it goes away. This also helps to prevent finicky eating and allow you to control your dog’s weight.
Offer the dog water several times a day and do not allow him to suck down massive quantities of water needlessly. The more water he has in his bladder the more he’ll have to pee.
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2. Dogs repeat rewarded behaviors.
Another key to successful potty training is remembering a key concept regarding dog training in general: Dogs repeat rewarded behaviors. Soiling in the house is one of the most rewarding things your dog can do because if he’s a little uncomfortable and he relieves himself on your rug he feels better. Make soiling in the wrong place unrewarding by catching him in the act and interrupting the dog while he’s doing it. Then take him where it is acceptable and reward him for eliminating there.
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3. It’s easier to prevent a bad habit than to fix one once it’s started.
Confine and supervise your puppy 24/7 until he’s potty trained. Use a crate to create a den-like haven which he should be less inclined to soil. If you’re not watching him he should be confined, and if he’s not confined you should be watching him.
TAKE YOUR PUP OUT FREQUENTLY DURING THE DAY!!! That way you prevent him from going to the bathroom in the wrong place and control his going in the right place where concept number two can be implemented. He’ll probably have to potty after sleeping, eating, playing, etc and the more times he potties where you want him too the less times he’ll potty where he shouldn’t.

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CLICK HERE FOR: STEP BY STEP POTTY TRAINING

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Den Training Advice from Las Vegas Dog Trainer, Carol Frisby

 

Don’t “Cage” your Puppy

Not long ago, I saw a comic strip of a smug looking dog telling a crestfallen looking cat that the reason people don’t keep cats on leashes is because they want catsdog den training to run away. It’s a favorite cartoon of mine except that in the edited version in my mind, the dog (complete with its superior expression) is in a crate. Curiously, while most people would never allow an unsupervised, un-diapered infant to crawl around outside of a play pen, many pet parents still just can’t spin the concept of crating – which is the canine equivalent – to the point where it works for them. Therefore, I encourage them to explore Den-training.

Simply put, den training is based on the theory that dogs are “den” or “denning” animals. All that means is that dogs are actually instinctively programmed to like small, dark, cave-like places or dens that they can use as safe havens. Den training means that the dog learns to accept being confined in a den whenever the doggie parent says so. By the way, denning doesn’t have to mean using a crate. A barrier, or baby gate in the doorway of a bathroom or other small room also works well. Now, if the denning instinct is never actually called upon when a dog is young, it may disappear and trying to teach some dogs that using a den is a good idea can be a challenge. Most dogs however, when properly trained actually love their dens and return to them frequently and willingly on their own.

So, lets get to why we should den train. A key concept in understanding and influencing dogs is that dogs are “in the moment” creatures. Basically, if we want to teach a dog that we do or don’t want him to do something, the easiest way is to catch him in the act of whatever it is. Then we can reward him if we want the behavior, or correct, or redirect him if we don’t want the behavior. As a general rule, dogs (and a great many other living creatures for that matter) tend to increase rewarded behaviors, and decrease unrewarded or corrected ones. So, in order to get Fido trained, we have to react to each and every thing he does until he learns what’s okay and what’s not. Remember, we can should also act to prevent him from doing things we don’t want.

That means that the dog should be either confined or supervised constantly until he learns the rules. By teaching the dog to den on cue, we actually control almost all of the dogs behaviors so that we can reward the ones we want and prevent the ones we don’t want. For example, a denned dog can’t chew up the leg to your coffee table while you’re out. He can’t chew it up because he can’t get to it of course, but if he attempts to chew it up while you’re watching him you can correct him or redirect the chewing to an appropriate object.

Another advantage to den training is that it often helps with potty training. Dogs are programmed not to soil their dens and confining them and letting them out on a schedule can help prevent accidents.

Also useful for getting a dog on the right track is the idea of setting them up to be successful. We want our canine buddy to get stuff right as often as possible and using a den really helps with that. If you head out for a bit and when you get home your house is in shambles, your reaction to Fido may not be very warm and loving. However, if you head out for an hour and leave your dog in his den, when you get home, he’ll be happy to see you, and rather than spending time cleaning up a mess and greeting him with anger, you’ll be able to let your dog out immediately and spend quality, positive bonding time with him. Denning also keeps Fido from injuring himself by preventing him from eating things that may be harmful, or from becoming trapped behind wall units or entangled in electrical wiring etc.

So change the way you look at the concept of confining your dog! You may find it’s just the ticket for ensuring a safe, happy, well adjusted buddy!

Coming soon…the steps to den training.

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Dogs repeat behaviors based upon the consequences of the behavior.

If a dog does something and the consequences are pleasant the dog will consider the behavior rewarded and repeat it. DOGS USUALLY REPEAT REWARDED BEHAVIORS.

Rewards can be food treats or life rewards. Life rewards are things that occur on a day-to-day basis that your dog is willing to work for, like dinner, attention, praise, walks, games, car rides etc.

If a dog does something and the consequences are not pleasant the dog will most likely not repeat the behavior. DOGS USUALLY DROP BEHAVIORS THAT ARE NOT REWARDED.

The fastest way to train a dog is to consistently reward the behaviors you want and to consistently correct (or not reward) the behaviors you don’t want.

Remember, dogs also develop “self-rewarded” behaviors which have pleasant consequences or rewards that don’t necessarily come from you. Relieving his bladder on the carpet makes the dog feel better and is therefore rewarding for him and may be repeated if you’re not vigilant. Chewing up your remote control may be lots of fun for your dog and therefore could be perceived as rewarding for him and repeated – especially if you’re not around to be either more rewarding or to make chewing the remote unpleasant.

Corrections (or aversives) can be time outs, squirts from a water bottle, loud unpleasant sounds, ignoring the dog or leash corrections among other things.

 

Dogs Aren’t Born Knowing What We Want.

If the dog does something you want, let him know he got it right by saying good and rewarding him. The word “good” is called a “positive word marker”.

If he does something you don’t want say “uh-uh” or “no” and re-direct the behavior or correct the behavior and then say good when he’s right. The sound “uh-uh” or the word “no” are called “negative word markers”.

When you give your dog a command like “sit”, “down”, or “stay” be sure he remains in the position until you give him his “release word”. The release word tells the dog it’s all right to stop doing what you’ve asked for. Avoid common words for release words like “o.k” that the may mistake for a release.

 

Reasons Dogs Don’t Do What We Want Them To Do.

He Didn’t Hearboring stuff

Dogs have excellent hearing. Generally, if a dog doesn’t do what we want it’s not because he didn’t hear us. However, be sure to speak clearly when communicating with the dog.

He Wasn’t Paying Attention

Be sure the dog is focused on you before you ask for something. Get his attention by saying his name first.

He Physically Can’T Do What We Want

If the dog is on the patio and the door is closed he cannot come when called.

Yorkshire Terriers cannot pull drowning victims to shore. They’re physically too small.

He Doesn’t Understand What We Want

Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Teach the dog what you want by showing him, and then repeating the steps until he can remember them. Use one word commands. “Sit down” is a very confusing command for a dog.

He Just Doesn’t Want to do What We Want

THIS IS THE BIGGIE!!!!

Teach the dog that it is in his best interests to do what we want by using rewards and corrections consistently.

 

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