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How To Switch Your Dog’s Diet

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As more and more new findings about your diet come to the surface, many a dog owner will begin to consider changing the diet to the best available so the dog will have good health and live to a ripe old age.

However, it’s very important for any dog owner to take precautions when trying to change a diet. The following 5 steps are suggested in a manner that can be done effectively without throwing the dog off balance:

Step 1: During such times as changing owner or moving to a new location, it’s best not to change the diet so as to avoid too much unnecessary emotional strain on the dog. Once the dog becomes accustomed to the new owner or living environment, then it would be the right time to change the dog’s diet as planned.

Step 2: When it comes to changing the dogs diet, it should be done by replacing only 25% of the old food with the new. Most dogs will not be able to notice any difference if the old and the new are mixed well enough. They should eat the new mixture as well as the old diet.

Although some might not get used to the new diet initially, patience should be taken to allow for the break-in period to complete. It has taken the dog many months to get used to its old diet; therefore, for the dog to accept a new one it might sometimes take as long. As soon as the dog is eating 25% of the new mixture of diet, then it’d be safe to proceed to Step 3 as shown below.

Step 3: Mix and replace 50% of the old diet with the new this time and make a little less effort to hide the new diet from the dog as it should be more receptive to the new food presented in the new mixture now. When this is evident, proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: This time, it should be easily understood that 75% of the new food be substituted with the old one. And make an even lesser effort to hide the new food from the dog. At this stage, the dog should accept this newly mixed diet in an “as-a-matter-of-fact” manner. It should eat the dog food without any sign of hesitation when first fed.

Step 5: At this point, the dog should be accepting the newly mixed and replaced diet without any problem at all. If the dog accepted the first feeding at Step 4 easily, this final step should just be “a piece of cake.” Just like humans, dogs are uniquely different and some are bound to require more patience and attention.

Therefore, don’t become discouraged too easily when the dog is not fitting into the new diet in the beginning.

After all, changing a dog’s diet is often a time consuming process that should be done with care and understanding.

How To Switch Your Dog’s Diet courtesy Dog Articles.

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Hunting Dogs and Hand Signals

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Training a hunting dog with hand signals is very practical. This can be mixed with verbal commands, when you are initially training your dog, which will reinforce the hand gestures. Though hand signals can be successfully used as the only training method and is a way to train a deaf dog or one that can’t hear well.

You can cue your dog to take a certain action using hand signals. There are several reasons that hand signals are better than using verbal commands with a hunting dog.

When you are hunting, your dog will many times be distanced from you. He might just take off running. Maybe you are in the field with him or on an agility course and he is too far away to hear a verbal command. If he is trained with hand signals, he will watch for your command. It is more probable he will see the hand gesture.

Hand signals are a way to tell the dog what action to take and be quiet. When dogs are worked up, they don’t respond as well to verbal commands, but they do respond  to visual signals. Their listening response is low, but their desire to watch is up. Dogs sometimes just ignore verbal commands but obey visual cues.

Focus is the basis of training your dog. When your dog  is aware that he must look at you to see what you want him to do, then his focus is attuned to you more than if he is listening for the command. Watching for your command makes him less distracted. This makes training him easier to do. When you train your dog with hand signals be consistent. Use the same hand signal for a certain command at all times.

The reason dogs respond so well to hands signals or cues is that it is a type of body language. Dogs already communicate with other dogs through body language; your dog communicates with you through body language like showing his belly to say you are dominant or nudging your hand to get petted.

These are a few of the usual hand training commands.

– Stay: Stretch your hand out at shoulder height. Your palm should face out towards your dog. It looks like the signal given by a crossing guard for traffic to stop.

– Come: There are two ways to perform this hand command. Hold both arms out in front of you and next bring them in and touch your stomach. Or stretch one arm out parallel to the ground and then bring your arm inward and touch your opposite shoulder. Either method should be performed slowly until your dog has caught on to the signal. After that, you can do it quicker.

– Sit: Put your arm to your side with your fingers pointing towards the ground. Move your hand in an arch that goes across your dog’s face and over his head. Hold a treat so that he will naturally follow the movement of your hand. This will cause him to naturally sit down.

– Down: This can be an exaggerated movement, if you like. Point your finger down or raise your hand up some first and point downward.

Remember to reinforce these hand signals with verbal commands at first.

Hunting Dogs and Hand Signals courtesy Dog Articles.

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Dog Breeding Tips

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Breeding dogs is very tempting if you’re a dog lover.  You’ll get to spread your passion for the animals and you can even earn an income.  Even so, there is a lot to think about before you get started.

The first thing you need to realize is that your dog might not fit the bill.  You should breed dogs that are from the highest pedigree.  It is also important to make sure they have an even temperament and are without any genetic defects.

For the good of the puppies, never breed a dog that has these problems.  Even if you sense a problem with the uterus you should make sure your pup can cope with the litter and is at least two years old.  If not, it’s not a good idea to breed.

If your bitch meets all the requirements you almost have a green light.  Next, you need to consider the puppies that would come out of the breeding.  It is important to be sure you have enough room for 12 puppies in a space that can handle the noise level.

It can be very stressful being there for the birth of these puppies and the process can take over 12 hours.  Beyond that you need to be there to clean up after the dogs, wean them, and feed them.  This food and other materials can end up costing a lot of money.  Don’t forget about the vet bills either.

Beyond the first weeks of care you need to figure out what you’re going to do with the puppies.  Whether they are mixed breed or pedigree you may want to sell or give them away.  Obviously, a pedigree dog is worth a lot more money to prospective buyers than a mutt.

Make sure you don’t just give the puppies away to anyone that walks into your facility.  You need to make sure they are going to a good home.  If you find that they were taken to an undesirable location you might even need to take them back in.

If you’ve made up your mind that breeding is what you want to do then you can start to look for a stud dog.  If your bitch is pedigree then you want to make sure the stud comes from the same quality background.  You can also examine the female dog’s weaknesses and find a stud that will make up for those weaknesses.  For example, one might not have a beautiful coat but you can make up for it with the other.

Just remember that money is not the ultimate goal here.  Breeding quality animals and making sure they have a wonderful life is.  You can have a very fulfilling time as a dog breeder as long as you follow these guidelines.

Dog Breed Tips courtesy of Dog Articles

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