Traitors!!

I thought that the training was going so well but I was wrong. Since the backyard contains less and less leaves everyday, Nick and Sam find that the world on the other side of the fence is so compelling and I am having a hard time calling them back. A noise of people closing a door of their car can trigger Nick and Sam to run to the back fence like a wind so once again I consult my dog training books.

In Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog by Pat Miller, I found a section talking about training this “Come when called” command. The book suggests that you do this in a quiet room first with a very short distance away from your dog. A clicker is introduced for this training. When you master the short and easy version then you can extend the distance bit by bit. At the end, you add distractions to the training until your dog come to you no matter what. This sounds like a challenge to me but for a cuter and good behavior dogs, I have to try. So keep checking back for more!

Come, my dog

As far as training Nick to sit goes, I think he just needs practicing so I would adding this sit command when ever I can but  for now I switched from teaching him the sit command to come when called. The reason was that this is the most excited time of the year for both dogs because those leaves growing on the back fence were gone and both dogs can see people and other dogs at the other side of the fence. There is another world out there for them and they like to bark (a lot) about it.

So every time when I let Nick and Sam out, I would go back into the house to grab some treats so they wouldn’t know that I had treats. Then came back out and wait by the door and every time they came to me, I gave them half a piece of treats. I encouraged them to run away so I could give them treats when they came next time. I repeated this until their returning was predictable and then I added wording. When the dogs came back, I said “come Nick (or Same)” and give them treat. I kept doing this for 10 to 15 minutes and called it quit. So far so good but if there were activities beyond the back fence, I had to chase them home some time. I will keep doing this until I reach my ultimate goal which is to have both of the dogs returns when I call, no matter how much activities is going on behind the fence.  So we'll see!

These are what I found while teaching the dogs:

• Do not let you dog know that you have treats because he would hang around you and don’t want to leave.
• You don’t need a big piece of treats. All your dog cares is the frequency not the quantity. I personally like the Mini Bakes because it comes in perfect bite size and it can be easily broken in to half.

Pet Obesity - Part 2

While we are worried about grain-free or raw diet, we forget about weight balance and exercise for our pet. Let alone cooking, cleaning and other daily chores, I admit that at the end of the day all I want to do is to sit in front of the television and watch my favorite shows. It is tough take your dog out for a long walk or intense exercise after coming back from work. So let’s look at easy ways to prevent our pet from obesity.

In our subconscious, we know that our pet needs exercise regularly but what do you do when you can’t?  Have you felt guilty that you skip taking your dog out for a walk? I do and as a result, I try to make up by giving my Yorkies treats. Susan Nelson, a veterinarian and assistant professor of clinical services at Kansas State University, believes that giving your pet too much treats is like people with junk food because typical treats contain high calories and they lack of nutrition. She recommended that you shouldn’t give treats more than 10% of your pet’s daily calorie intake and you should stick to the serving suggestion stated on the label.

Also watch out the feeding portion.  There are some people who leave a bowl of food out all day for their dog.  If a dog knows when to stop, it won’t be any problem but most of the time the dog ends up either developing finicky behavior or over eating until there is nothing else. A better way to feed your pet is to follow the feeding guide. Normally the label shows daily feeding amount. If you feed your dog twice a day, split the suggested amount of food into 2 portions. For puppies, they need to eat perhaps 3-4 times a day so you split the food into 3-4 portions and use a portion for each feeding. This way your pet won’t be over fed.

Believe it or not, challenging your pet’s brain is another way that helps. Tony Buffington, a professor at Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition believes that stress has something to do with pet obesity.  Being inactive and bored promote weight gain in your pet so he suggests Foraging devices or food puzzles to make dogs and cats work for their meals, stimulating their bodies and brains at the same time.

Wagatha’s Organic Dog Biscuits Review

I had a chance to try a can of Wagatha’s Cranberry Cheddar and so far I like it! As soon as I opened the canister, the smell of the biscuits surprised me. It smelled so good and I had to have a nibble…well I don’t normally eat all of my dogs’ treats but there are a few that I tried and Wagatha’s is one of them. With just a very tiny nibble, I tasted a very mild sweet flavor to it.

The texture was not too crunchy but it would not be crumble so easily. To compare with human’s cookie, I would say it’s almost similar to short bread but slightly crunchier. For my 2 Yorkies, I think the texture is good for their tiny teeth. Flax seeds could be seen easily blending through out the biscuit, the same for cranberry. I didn’t have to look hard to find it.

Each biscuit is about ½ inches high, 1 ½ inches wide and ¼ inches thick. So if you have a medium to large size dog, a piece is not too big. If you have a small or toy breed dog, half a piece is perfect. I gave half to Nick and he seemed to enjoy it. I gave the other half to Sam. He sniffed it at first and then took it from me. He was not excited about it like Nick did but his picky behavior didn’t surprise me. He watched Nike ate his half a while and decided to have his piece. So Wagatha’s Cranberry Cheddar got 2 approvals from Nick and Sam and my conclusion is that it is wroth to try.

Note: This is not a grain-free biscuit but it is wheat-free with benefit grains.

Available Recipe: Breakfast Biscuit, Super Berry Biscuit, Senior Recipe Biscuit, Cranberry Cheddar, Tomato & Herb Biscuits, Original Flavor Biscuits
Size: 9 oz canister (approximately 31 biscuits)

Ingredient: whole spelt flour, barley flour, oat flour, canola oil, cranberries, flax seed, white cheddar cheese, whole eggs, brown rice flour, and spearmint.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein, minimum: 10.75%
Crude Fat, minimum: 12.34%
Crude Fiber, maximum: 1.44%
Moisture, maximum: 8.71%
Ash, maximum: 1.81%
Calories per biscuit: 30

Yes, Still Playing…

The past 2 weeks, I did not care much about teaching Nick how to sit. That is because I enjoyed playing with him and Sam so much. Instead of hiding myself for Hide and Go Seek game, I made them searched for their treats. The same as the previous version of Hide and Go Seek, I started from an easy level. I asked them to sit and wait. Then I let them sniff my hand with some treats in it. Next I placed 2 pieces of treat about 3-4 feet from the dogs and said “Go get it” to release them from sitting position. When they understood what to do with “Go get it”, I moved the treats to the other room, in this case, I started in the kitchen with Nick and Sam. I put the treats on the floor of the living room and came back to the kitchen to release Nick and Sam. It was funny to hear their sniffing sound. It was pretty loud actually. The ultimate task of this game was that I randomly placed many pieces of treat on the floor and covered them with dog toys. For the first few times, I had to give them a hint but after that, they did not need my help anymore. They just relied on their nose.