A dog's paw: dog tips
Showing posts with label dog tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dog tips. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Canicross event in Monaghan

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Have you ever run with your dog?
Have you ever tried CaniCross?

Last weekend I went with Jago to a Canicross event in Monaghan.

Canicross can be defined as "running with your dog attached to a belt".

But it is much more than that. At the event there was bikejoring (dog attached to the bike) and also scooter.

I was supposed to run as Jago and I went for a bit of training in the last few months, but unfortunately I am injured at the moment.. so we went only to check the event!

I have to admit that usually I prefer to run with Jago off lead... well he prefers that way.
There is a lot of polemic about off lead dogs and less places where it is possible to let your dog run free.. but I am not entering in that discussion now.

So we got used also to run together with a belt.. I don't have serious harness and belt but just a cheap one bought on ZooPlus.

When we arrived at the event Jago was seriously scared and stressed. He could hear dogs barking and howling in the vans (a lot of huskies, so a lot of talking there :D ). He felt the excitement I guess and didn't really understand what was going on.
But he has been a great dog.. on the lead for hours, just being around, watching other dogs+people running and being friendly with everyone.
Unfortunately he wanted to play with some dogs and he couldn't, because they were "working".

I posted some pictures of the weekend on the other blog but you will find more info about CaniCross on their website
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Another dog lost!

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Again I found a dog lost!
People start making fun of me, telling I am stealing dogs or I have a magnet that attracts dog lost.
To be honest I see that in those situation I am the only one "doing something".

The first time I found a dog, the wee small was crossing the road at a traffic light in a dangerous situation and was shaking scared. People watching and laughing. I stopped the car and took her and after 24 hours he has been reunited with the owner.

The second time coming back from a park another small dog was running literally in the middle of a road.
Cars were slowing down, no people walking and nobody stopping.
I stopped the car again and run after the dog and been able to catch him after 10 minutes.
Again after 24 hours dog reunited with his owner that was looking for him!

Few days ago I was in Tesco in Dublin 11 when a big labrador came in and started wandering around all happy in the fruit sector.
People laughing and security just pushed him out.
He went into other two shops and same thing.
Outside the shopping center he started to jump wagging his tail inside customers' cars.

Again I took the dog with me, thanks to few treats I just bought for my dogs, and ran to a vet.
He was microchipped but not registered and had a tag.

A big happy dog, but not easy for me to manage as I have two dogs at home.
Anyway we spent a nice crazy afternoon all together and thanks to facebook again I found the owner after just few hours.

I don't think I am special, but please, microchip and put a tag on your dog collar, everything would be easier!!

See my previous article for some tips.
http://adogpaw.blogspot.ie/2013/09/what-to-do-if-you-find-lost-dog.html


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Friday, September 20, 2013

dog training: sit

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***Please note that I am NOT a dog trainer, so I am just sharing my experience with my own dogs.. 
I may be doing wrong things and I am open to suggestions :) ***


 Let's start the training series with a basic command: SIT

With Jago has been very easy to teach him sit, but maybe not for all the dogs is so easy.

First thing to remember is that the dog should have fun during the training and should be able to concentrate.
So it's easier to start in a quiet environment, if he is a puppy maybe not when he is hyper excited.
Slowly you can trying moving to more busy places trying to capture his attention.

Sit was the first command we learnt at the puppy classes.
We have been taught to give the command sit as verbal command without body signals.
He should be able to "understand the word" even if we are giving our back to him.

How to begin?
The easiest thing is to use the natural moments when your dog are going to sit down to tell him the word and praise him.
He will start the association and you are not forcing him but gently using his natural movements to teach something.
Then you can start with the training.

Stand up and show to your dog a treat.
Move the treat near his nose.
If the dog sit give him the command "sit" straight away and praise him.
The timing is very important.

Why we shouldn't give the command before?

When we start with a new command the dog wouldn't understand the word.
So it's better to say the command at the same time with his action.
When the association between movement and word will be better you can give the command in advance and expect a reaction.
You should avoid giving 100 times the command expecting a reaction.
If he doesn't get it he will not understand better if you repeat and the command will loose intensity.

When he will be able to execute the sit following your hand with the treat you can start to training him to only follow your command and giving the treat as praise later.

To reinforce the command you can ask him to sit before opening the door, or before letting him play or before giving him his meal.

Training is an important part of the relationship with your dog, will keep him entertained and you will feel more confident if you are able to control him!

Let me know if you have any issues, advice or experiences to share.

I am not a dog trainer and I am only sharing my experience with my dogs.
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Monday, September 9, 2013

is it possible to train two dogs together?

5 comments
***Please note that I am NOT a dog trainer, so I am just sharing my experience with my own dogs.. 
I may be doing wrong things and I am open to suggestions :) ***


Well I am trying, just for fun :D
I've read that is not possible because they are too distracted or for other reasons.
I am not really trying to train them, but yesterday when they started to be bored / too much tennisball obsessed I started with Sit - Down command and it works really good!

Now, Buddy doesn't give paw and I saw he doesn't like to be touched on the paws.

I will progress with some "stay" maybe in the following days and then let's see :D
It's just because I don't want to stop Jago training and these first days I don't want to exclude Buddy from our activities.

Aren't they cute???


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Friday, September 6, 2013

Fostering experience - Buddy - day 1!

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Everything is happening quickly these days.
Two days ago I found a dog and in 12 hours I found the owner thanks to the facebook page Lors Lost dogs.

In the afternoon I saw on Dog in Distress webpage that there were few dogs in the pound that would need urgent fostering.
I applied months ago for fostering, but I never had the real chance to take a dog.

So I called and yesterday Buddy came at home with me!
He is an 8 years old border collie, that has been surrendered by the owner because he couldn't take care of him due to an illness.
When I first took him he was scared and stressed and he didn't want to go out from the car.
He is not aggressive at all, and he let me pet him and bring him out.

I took my dog Jago and we went all three for a first walk outside!
Jago and him are not playing a lot at the moment, but they are fine together!

Buddy is a very sweet dog, he ate food and slept quiet last night.
Today I had to go to work, so I brought Jago to daycare as I didn't want to leave them unsupervised for the first day.
Unfortunately my flatmate just called me to let me know that Buddy started crying as soon as I left home.
:(
I will go home in a hour during my lunch time to check him, I have toys and a very nice bone.
Hopefully he will settle down a bit.
With me he was very nice and quiet yesterday, but I can understand that he is stressed and needs to adapt to the new situation.
I will be home all these evenings and weekend and I really hope that next week the company of Jago will help him to not feel alone!


You can see here some photos..
As you can see my rule of "no dogs on my bed" had some problems last night :P













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Thursday, September 5, 2013

What to do if you find a lost dog?

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For the second time I found a dog in Dublin and I found the owner as well, so I am becoming expert?
:)

Please feel free to add in the comments if you know more resources or if you have any tip or experience to share.

So what to do if you find a dog?

First of all thanks for trying to help him!
- Usually I walk in the area and I try to ask people if they recognize him or can give me some information.

- Keep the dog safe at home and don't let him wander around or he can get injured or cause accidents!

- If he has no tag or written number anywhere bring him to a vet to check if he is  microchipped.

- Take a picture of the dog and post it with the details on the following websites:

Lors lost dog facebook page (I found the owner of the last dog found here)

www.lostdogs.ie (I found the owner of the first dog found here)
 www.lostandfoundpets.ie www.lostandfound.ie www.munsterlostandfound.com www.lostdogs.ie www.IrishDogs.ie www.irishanimals.com http://www.rescueanimalsireland.ie/lost-and-found

- Contact Dublin SPCA by emailing them at lost@dspca.ie with photo,details and contact no.
https://www.dspca.ie/LostAndFoundPetAdvice

- Put some posters with the photo in the area you found the dog.

- Contact the local pound and the nearest garda station and give them your details.

THE LAW STATES THE FOLLOWING- from Irish Control of Dogs Act 1986 Section 13.
(1) Any person, other than a dog warden or a member of the Garda Síochána, who finds and takes possession of a stray dog shall, forthwith—
( a ) return the dog to its owner, OR!!
( b ) deliver the dog to a dog warden, OR!!
( c ) IF YOU CAN KEEP the dog SAFE WITH YOU, give notice in writing containing a description of the dog, the address of the place where it was found, and the address of the place where it is detained to the member in charge at the nearest Garda Station to the place where the dog was found, or to a dog warden.
If you take the dog in you can keep it for 28 days without a licence, then the animal must be licenced and if you decide to keep/rehome the dog, ownership of the dog is not yours until a year and a day have passed. This does NOT apply to dogs adopted/rescued from pounds, only those taken in as strays




I found the owner of these two lovely dogs in 24 hours.
It's very good to be able to help and to see people and dogs happy reunited together!




With these experiences I learn more how important is microchipping our pets!
http://adogpaw.blogspot.ie/2013/09/national-chipping-month-competition.html

Please feel free to add in the comments if you know more resources or if you have any tip or experience to share.
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Sunday, September 1, 2013

National chipping month + competition!!!

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I wrote few days ago an article about the compulsory microchipping in Ireland.

September is the Ireland's National chipping month

That means that there will be initiatives all around the country and there will be more opportunities to have your dog microchipped at reduced price or free of charge!

There are many sponsors and associations involved and you can find updated information here:
http://www.ncm.ie/ and here on the facebook page

There is also a competition  promoted by National Microchipping Month campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of microchipping pets and animals.

The overall winner will receive FREE pet insurance for their pet for one year and FREE pet food for the same animal for a year courtesy of our partners, Royal Canin and Allianz Pet Insurance.

You will find details about the competition here:
http://www.ncm.ie/rules/
It looks like a good opportunity!

If you are not sure about the microchip details you can check it for free at maxizoo stores:
http://www.maxizoo.ie/free-check-your-chip-service-to-help-dog-owners-protect-pets-2/


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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

doggie day care

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Since I got Jago my concern was: will he be bored at home?

I live in a house with a garden, medium size garden.
I work not far from my house, 10 minutes by car.
I adopted Jago when he was a tiny 10 weeks old puppy.
I know that many people are against adopting a puppy if you work full time, but the owner couldn't find a home for the 8 puppies and he was ready to bring them to the pound.

So I took some days off and on a Friday I brought home Jago!
After a couple of days I started to get him used to stay alone, to avoid separation anxiety.
I began leaving him for few minutes in a different room, then going out for 5 minutes and so on.
Obviously he was following me everywhere!
And he was crying a bit when left alone, but he was so tiny and scared!

I bought kongs and other toys to keep him entertained.
He started to think that me going away = treats and toys.

So the time came that I had to go back to work. I put my computer to record Jago and listen what he was doing. I left a stuffed kong and treats hidden.
Jago was fine! I was bringing him outside at lunch time and again in the evening and spending a lot of time with him when not at work.

But... but.. he is an high energy dog. Growing older I saw that he started to destroy, chew furniture and the kongs were not enough. I had sometimes to stay in the office for lunch.
I started to feel guilty obviously.

So I decided to try the doggie day care!
I have a day care near my workplace. It is a dog training structure, with professional trainers, where I went for Jago puppy training classes.
I bring Jago there at 8 in the morning and I collect him at 5 when I finish working.
The first day I was soooo emotional! My puppy alone with a lot of other dogs!!
The day care staff is fantastic, they put photos on their facebook page and they explain you if the dog had any issue, or anything. They divide the dogs into groups, puppies, small dogs and big dogs.
He was coming back happy and tired and in the morning when I bring him there his tail is wagging!

I am sure it's a great opportunity for playing and for socializing.
I am glad to know that he will meet different dogs, with different behaviors and he will get used to share time and space with them.

Obviously they are supervised all the time and they have interaction with the day care staff.
There are 2 breaks during the day, to allow them eating in a safe place and to relax a bit.

There are many day cares in Ireland, I know at least Dog Training Ireland in Blanchardstown and DSPCA in south Dublin.

They are not really expensive, 15/17 euro per day.
Now I bring Jago once a week.

Obviously the dog should not be aggressive and if he is over 6 months there will be an assessment before accepting him. Some of the day care centers will not accept male dogs if not neutered.

I am sure that day care is a brilliant opportunity to entertain your dog, help socialization and avoid anxiety and boredom, but obviously it should not be a way to avoid interaction with your dog, training and play time with him!




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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Training: recall!

2 comments
***Please note that I am NOT a dog trainer, so I am just sharing my experience with my own dogs.. 
I may be doing wrong things and I am open to suggestions :) ***

Well, we all know that one of the most important things is to be able to control our dogs.
And especially... to make them come back when called!

I thought it was kind of impossible... I've never been able!
So with Jago I started early.
I got Jago when he was 10 weeks old, a scared tiny puppy.
Since his 1st walk outside I started the recall training.
I was bringing with me treats and toys.
Obviously EVERYTHING was more interesting than me.. but, as he was very young and still unsure of himself,  he wanted to stay next to me and I used this moment to make him believe that coming back to me was GOOD!

Maybe your dog is not so young, so things can be different.

Obviously you should start in a safe place, like your garden, a dog area in a park or a place where it would not be dangerous for him to be off leash.
It's better to start in a place with not too many distractions.
I started in a green area in front of my house, very quiet.
If you are not confident enough you should buy a long lead, in the pet shops they sell also these kind of equipment.
Choose a command and always use the same.
Every time that your dog comes back to you praise him a lot and give him always very special treats or reward.
He needs to associate the idea that coming back to you is something very good.
It is very important to call him "often" and release him to go play again.
He should not think that coming back means the end of the games and going back home.

We attended puppy classes.
We were letting the puppy playing all together and then trying the recall.
Every few minutes.
It was sooo difficult as the puppies were all excited to play together!
Obviously Jago and me were the Worse of the class!
:)

But now I must say that he is quite good.
He is always coming back when I call him and stopping if I need to stop him.

Do you have any special suggestion you want to share?
Which is your experience with your dog?



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Friday, August 23, 2013

Compulsory microchipping in Ireland

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I just read that it will be compulsory in Ireland to microchip your dog.
I had Jago microchipped few months ago and I believe that it's very important!

It's not an expensive procedure and not painful for the dog.

Unfortunately many dogs are microchipped but not registered to the actual owner.

Just beware that many vet will not register the dog to your name, so you must do it usually online.
And also remember to change online your contact details if you move or you change phone number.
Unfortunately the same thing happens with the breeder.
Often when I read of lost dogs, they are microchipped but registered only to the breeder, and often it's not possible to find the owner.

There are a lot of events to help get many dogs as possible microchipped.
I know at least two of them, Dublin DSPCA

http://www.dspca.ie/index.jsp?a=615&n=232&p=158

 

and Dog Trust Ireland


http://www.dogstrust.ie/az/m/microchipping/#.UhfWXH91uSo

"Dogs Trust are offering free microchipping for all dogs for the months of August and September. "









Some info from Dog Trust website:

1. What is a microchip?
A microchip is a small electronic device, which is the size of a grain of rice. The microchip is coded with a unique number that can be read by a scanner. A microchip works through radio wave frequency.

2. How is the microchip implanted?
Using a specially designed implanting device the microchip is injected through a sterile needle under the dog's skin.

3. Where is the microchip implanted?
In dogs, the microchip is implanted under the skin, between the shoulder blades.

4. Does it hurt?
No anaesthetic is required and the procedure should cause no more discomfort than a standard vaccination.

more info:
www.dogstrust.ie/az/m/microchipping

Here is 5 top reasons why you should Microchip your pet:

           1. Microchip identification is the most permanent way to identify your pet.
           2. Collars and pet tags are great but they can fall off or be removed.
           3. Microchipping is a safe, practical & excellent way to identify your pet.
           4. Your pets microchip is a unique 15 digit number that once registered online is linked to your details.
           5. Microchipping is a sure way to reunite you and your pet.



So remember, microchipping your dog will be compulsory, but even without a law we must know that is very important!
Unfortunately it happen quite often that a dog get lost.
A lot of times the tag could be lost as well, or the collar, so it would be very difficult to trace back the owner!
If you love your dog, please consider microchipping!


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HOUSE TRAINING YOUR PUPPY – my experience

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Here we are!
The puppy is beautiful and cute... but how difficult is to house train him?
Obviously it depends!
I got my first dog when he was 6 months old, coming from a pound.
We were living in an apartment and he was NEVER soiling in the apartment!
Incredible! 
I don’t know how he learnt himself... but he was brilliant!
I spoke with a friend that got his Labrador from the breeder when he was a tiny pup.
He learnt alone as well to don’t pee in the house!
With Jago… another story!
He needed to pee? Everywhere was good… except for the garden!!!
In the first week I was at home, so I started the “crate training”.
The pup should be in the crate and hourly (or every 30-45 minutes, depends from the age) you should bring him outside, maybe running a bit and hopefully he will pee. When he finishes you should give him the command, a treat and praise him a lot.

It was December when Jago arrived.
So, following the directions, I had him in the crate with toys and every hour we were going outside... he was staring at me like asking: “now what?” And I was just standing there … freezing … for 20 minutes!!!
 2 on 3 times he was not doing his pee... we were going back inside frustrated…. and YEAH! PEE TIME!
J
I went back to work.
I didn't want to lock him in a crate for 4 hours, so I gave him access to the garden and the kitchen.
Obviously coming back from work the kitchen was dirty, so the training was proceeding slower than expected, as I wasn't always there to teach him which was the right place.
DO NOT use aggressive strategies, don’t be angry or upset, and don’t put his face in the pee. He won’t understand, he will lose confidence in you, he will be scared and think he needs to hide his pee and it will make everything worse! If you catch him on the act just say a no and take him outside, hopefully he will finish there...

It is very important the product that you use to clean. It shouldn't contain ammonia or other perfumes that will stimulate him to go toilet there again.
It’s very important to cover the smell or he will use that place as his favorite spot.
I think that for at least 3 or 4 months I had ALWAYS the cleaning instruments ready to clean the floor.


The key to house training is preventing "mistakes" and rewarding the puppy for going in your chosen spot.
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Dog sick in the car

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Jago used to be always sick in the car.
Since the first time I brought him home, he started… vomiting :S
It continued for EVERY trip, no matter how long and no matter if he had food or not before.
Obviously I started  to carry around a lot of blankets, napkins, and cleaning products..

I have been asking around on forums and to the vet.
He didn't have any health issue, but he was very stressed obviously and he started hating the car.
Every time that he saw me taking the car keys he was running away, hiding, laying on the floor desperate!!
I spoke with his trainers from the puppy classes and they told me that the first thing to do was to get him used to the car.
The stress plays a big role.
So we started to spend time every day in the car, even just for few minutes.
He never wanted to enter, so I used to carry him, but that’s wrong because he has to “choose” to go in the car.
So again, I tried to make the car an “attractive place”.
I brought toys and treats and we were going for just few meters every day.
They say to begin with the engine off, after few days to start the engine, and after few days to start moving.
I bought a seat belt for dogs and I let him sit outside his crate.
I was trying to keep him busy with Kong and treats.

The dog should associate a car trip with something nice, like a park, beach, fun and not only the vet or stressful situations.

The vet also told me that growing older he could start to feel better, as when puppies they have the internal ear very sensitive.
I can say that at 11 months now he is not sick anymore!!
He doesn't like the car too much, but he is going inside on his own (very slowly and I have to “convince” him a bit) and he sleep very quiet (and a bit sad).
I tried some natural tablets but to be honest never worked.
Anyway I still avoid giving food before going for a car trip.


Do you have any suggestion or experience to share about dogs and car travel?
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