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Keep in mind when reading these tips on dog training, food is a good motivator. You should always try to train your puppy without the use of treats. You can use the, but use them sparingly. Dogs are smart, vary the location you  keep your treats. I did not realize this with my own dogs, now anytime I place my hand in my pocket, the Roscoe and Sheba sit at my feet.

Just a reminder, through out training you need to use some caution when using food as the only reward. Although treats are a great motivator for your puppy, or a dog of any age for that matter, you need to be careful as to how much and what kind of a food treat you are giving. You do not want to start your puppy out with being overweight and unhealthy. You also do not want to use food so much as a reward that when you withhold it, the puppy begins to disassociate the act with any type of reward; rather they are looking for that specific reward of food.

Chillin

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This dog training article will give ways to housebreak your dog or puppy.

As with teaching your puppy its boundaries, when you are housetraining your puppy remember your puppy has very little, if any, control over itself. It is important to keep an eye on your puppy whenever they are up and about the house. You will want to let your puppy out first thing when they wake up to eliminate. It is best to use a command word here such as “out” so the puppy will eventually understand it will be going outside. Once you say your command word, immediately act upon it. In this case you want to put your puppy on a leash and take them outside. Once out of the home, if your puppy does not eliminate immediately you may want to walk them to a spot that you prefer they use and say “potty” or something along that line, and stay there until they have done their business. After they have always give praise and some type of affection to show you are happy with them. After feeding them breakfast keep a close watch to see if you can tell any change in their demeanor, if they appear anxious or if they are sniffing around perhaps for a place to eliminate. You may also want to take them out shortly after they finish eating and repeat the first thing in the morning routine. Whatever you as the owner are most comfortable with you must always remember, as a puppy accidents happen. If you puppy soils in the home clean it up as thoroughly as possible and take them outside. Do not scold or otherwise reprimand them unless they are caught in the act and, if this is the case, simply give them a stern “NO”, then take them outside. Never push their face into what they have done as they will not understand you did not want them do their business there, they will understand you did not want them to do their business which will cause them to try to hide it when they do. Also you need to remember dogs do not like to soil where they live so this is where some crate training may be useful. If you need to be apart from your puppy for long periods of time, keeping them in a crate during that time may help them learn to control themselves here. However, it is even more important here, you must be sure to take your puppy out to relieve themselves as soon as possible if they have been in a confined area for a long period of time, for a puppy this would be anything over an hour.

With your larger breeds of dogs, bladder control increases at a rough 1 hour per month of age.

 
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This dog training tip will help you teach your new puppy their name.

We believe most folks think the first rule of obedience is housebreaking your puppy. Although it was mentioned before as a priority, there is more that goes along with housebreaking. At the same time you are training your puppy with this, you should also be training your puppy to know its name and its boundaries. In addition, as we mentioned before, working slowly and methodically with your puppy will help in the training periods. You need to devote short amounts of time several times throughout the day, starting with when your puppy wakes up in the morning; to be sure you are doing what you need right from the beginning to give you the obedient, well trained pet you want. Always remember in early obedience training to keep your commands to one or two words and always keep a positive, happy tone in your voice.

To get your puppy used to its name, this little game may come in handy. You and another member of the household, preferably another person of authority in the house, should sit face to face on the floor, six to eight feet apart, with the puppy in front of one of you on its leash. The puppy should be facing the person holding the loop end of the leash. That person should start calling the puppy by name, repeating its name slowly over and over again while slowly pulling on the leash toward them so your puppy understands when it hears its name it should be coming to the person calling it. Once the puppy reaches the caller they should praise it and reward it with pets, scratches and treats. This exercise should be repeated eight to ten times in a row over 10 to fifteen minutes at a time. Once your puppy gets comfortable with this, add other household member or frequent visitors to let your puppy know who they should be listening to. After a while you can try this exercise inside without a leash or take your puppy outside but keep it on a leash, at least until it is trained more on obedience commands such as come or here and stay.

Following this training tip will create a very strong bond with your puppy. Spending this time teaching your new puppy their name will have benefits that will payoff in the long run.

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There are a few things of which we can be sure, one being if you love your dog or dogs, an obedient dog will make your household a happier one. Of course, the time to start training your puppy is right away utilizing the dog training tips found below, getting it used to good habits and listening to you and those in the immediate household is a way to ensure success for everyone.

First things first though, even before you bring your puppy home you need to scope out a place for it to sleep and have down time. This should not be a place that has traffic all hours of the day and night, say for example a laundry room or the kitchen. It should be a place that, when down time or quiet time is needed, your puppy can go and feel safe and be comfortable. Some folks will put a bed or a crate in their own bedroom, which will help your puppy get used to your routine, some will set the puppy up in a spare room that is not used unless the homeowners are up and about. Whatever you choose, just be sure your puppy will be comfortable there. Something else to consider, to get your puppy used to your scent, when making up its bed you could include an old tee shirt or linens you no longer use so they associate the scent of you with being comfortable and safe.

In training your puppy to be obedient with regard to boundaries, the owner or owners need to keep a close watch on the puppy at all times when it is not in a confined area, whether that be a crate or closed in a room. Putting it bluntly, THIS IS ALL ON THE OWNER. Your puppy is going to want to explore its new surrounding so if you do not want cables, clothes, shoes, cosmetics or other small items chewed, put them out of reach. It is the same as baby proofing a home. As dogs get older they are more able to comprehend what they should and should not get into but as a puppy, forget it, again it is all on you! The extra time you spend with a puppy here will help ensure an obedient, well trained dog later

This is tip a to train your dog to know its boundries. But the key is consistancy on your part. By following these basic dog training tips, your labor of love will seem effortless.

                                                                     Why can’t I go there Dad?

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2 cups whole wheat or all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

¼ cup wheat germ

2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder

½ teaspoon yeast extract

1 large egg

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup hot water

Heat oven to 275 degrees

Mix flour, cornmeal, wheat germ, bouillon powder & yeast together. Add egg, oil & hot water, stir well.

Roll onto floured surface to ½ inch thickness, cut in to dog sized biscuits and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on center rack for approximately 2 hours until dry and very hard. Let stand overnight. Makes 10 average size or 14 puppy size biscuits.

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Ingredients -

3 ½ cups unbleached flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

½ cup powdered skim milk

1 tablespoon dry yeast

3 ½ cups chicken or meat broth

1 egg

Heat oven to 300 degrees

Mix together both types of flour, cornmeal & powdered skim milk. Set aside.

Warm the broth, add and dissolve the yeast. Let set for 10 minutes. Then add in the flour mixture.

Roll out the dough until it is approximately ¼ inch thick, cut into dog sized biscuits. Beat egg and brush biscuits with egg wash. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes. Turn off oven but leave biscuits in overnight to harden. Makes approximately 60 average sized biscuits.