Author: PetGd

Nighttime walks with your dog are fun — and necessary — but they can also be hazardous. Visibility is diminished, meaning that not only will you not see all of the obstacles and ground level hazards (e.g., sharp objects like rocks and glass), you will also not be as visible to motorists and other pedestrians, such as bikers and joggers, who may unintentionally invade your dog’s personal space. There are also the nighttime critters to take into account — the raccoons, the opossums, even the neighborhood cats that prowl at night, all can be distractions for your dog. Improving Visibility   There are so many useful and easy to find products for night walking that we only need to list them to get you started. Of course, the easiest and thriftiest solution is to get a roll of reflective tape and attach it to your dog’s collar, leash and harness. But if you want a product that has been specifically designed for nighttime visibility whether light is shining directly on you and your dog or not, there are plenty to choose from. The most no-nonsense are the blinking light collars, leashes and attachable collar lights (similar in size to a typical collar tag), the latter which can be found in long lasting, far reaching lights — as strong as a standard flashlight in some cases. Look for the products that have easy battery replacement to guarantee that you always have what you need. Collars and leashes with reflective strips and lights, so that even when a light is not shining on your dog, the lights will illuminate your dog in the dark — blinking lights and steady lights are both available Clip-on blinking lights, to attach to your clothing and to your dog’s leash Collar tags with reflective coating Brightly colored and reflective vests for you and your dog Reflective leg bands for your dog Flashlights that attach to your dog’s collar, or onto your own head (e.g., the type used by mushers, climbers and miners) Lighted pooper scooper or combination flashlight waste bag holder/dispenser High pitched whistle

By Diana Bocco Aging can bring many changes to the life of a senior dog—and one of those changes is a decline in or loss of hearing. Deafness in senior dogs is often irreversible, unless caused by something like excessive buildup of waxy substances or ear infections that can be treated, according to Dr. Simon T. Kornberg, a board-certified veterinary neurologist who routinely diagnoses deaf dogs using electrodiagnostics (BAER) technology. While seeing your dog lose his hearing can be difficult and sad for many pet parents, there are ways to deal with it so your dog’s quality of life doesn’t suffer. Keep in mind that dogs can adapt to hearing loss better than humans. It often comes on gradually, so they have time to adapt their other senses to compensate. Signs of Hearing Loss in Dogs Hearing loss connected to aging is often subtle and many pet parents miss the early signs, which include things like not coming when called and lack of response sounds they used to respond to, such as doorbells, whistles, or TV sounds. “Other signs which I find are good indicators of hearing loss are dogs that are difficult to wake up, or startle easily when they are touched,” Kornberg says. Still, Kornberg points out that hearing loss can be difficult to assess in dogs until it is in the latter stages, as they tend to compensate so well. “Excessive barking or anxiety can be cues to hearing loss,” he says. “And excessive and deep sleeping and lack of usual alertness are also major indications.”

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by Victoria Schade Have you ever asked your dog to do something simple—sit, for example—only to have him look at you as if you’re speaking another language? You know your dog knows how to do it; it was the very first thing you taught him! You ask him to do it several times a day, in fact, and he always complies. So, what gives when he doesn’t? How come it seems like your dog sometimes “forgets” his training? The first question you should ask yourself in situations where it seems like your dog is blowing you off is, “Did I teach my dog the full behavior, or just a very specific version of the behavior?” For example, let’s say that you taught your dog to stay before you put his dinner bowl down and he knows how to hold while you fill his bowl and walk it over to his dinner spot. Awesome! But do you ever ask your dog to stay in other situations? Meaning, can he hold a stay when you open the door to get a package? Or when your kids are chasing each other around the dinner table? Asking your dog to stay in those types of situations is vastly different than doing his rote “I do this then this happens” daily pre-dinner stay. It’s up to you to help him increase his stay “fluency.” To do so, imagine all of the different scenarios where you think it would be helpful for your dog to stay—beyond that dinnertime stay—and work towards achieving them as a team. Speaking of fluency, have you ever taken a language class? Initially your teacher walks you through the basics of grammar, then you move on to speaking simple sentences, and then eventually you and your classmates can have very basic conversations. You start to feel confident in your abilities. Now imagine that you and your class take a field trip to a market in the country you’re studying. Suddenly, everything you learned in the classroom no longer applies. Everyone is talking too fast, the accent sounds strange, and everyone is crowding you. It sounds like a frustrating and scary scenario, right? The exact same thing happens to our dogs when we take them out of the “classroom” and into the real world. Asking your dog to do a “sit” around your house is very easy for him because he’s comfortable and familiar with the environment. Asking your dog to sit at the vet office, however, is an entirely different experience. Just like the sights and sounds might overwhelm you in a foreign country and make you “forget” your burgeoning language skills, the same goes for your dog. The vet office is fraught for a dog. The smells, sounds and not-so-happy memories there are enough to override the basic training you’ve done together. It’s not a case of your dog being willfully disobedient when he “ignores” you in this type of scenario, it’s more likely that your dog is overcome by the surroundings. The same holds true in the dog park. There’s a lot to sniff and explore! Sometimes the environment trumps the trainer and your dog might “forget” to respond when you call him. An easy way to help your dog remember his manners is to make sure that his responses are close to perfect when in a familiar environment, like your yard. This is your important foundation training—don’t skip this step! Then you can practice at the park when it’s not prime-time and filled with other dogs. Visit the park in the early morning or in the evening when the environment is less distracting and practice the recalls using a very special, high value treat. Try to set your dog up for success by initially only calling him when he’s not fully engaged with another dog. Finally, look deeper when it seems like your dog is “forgetting” his training. I’ve worked with many dogs that are uncomfortable when they try to do a sit-stay on hardwood floors. It might seem like these dogs are blowing me off when I ask them to do it and they hesitate, but they’re actually trying to avoid slipping and sliding all over the place! (We opt for a down-stay instead.) Some dogs are superstitious about household equipment, so they don’t want to respond to a recall if you’re standing right next to the noisy fan. And sometimes pain might be a mitigating factor. An older dog might not want to do a down because it hurts him when he has to get back up. Simply observe your dog and consider all of the possible influences before you blame him for insubordination. Believe it or not, your dog is not trying to be willfully disrespectful when you ask him to do something and he “forgets” how. If you’ve done a good job with your dog’s basic training and he doesn’t respond to a cue when you ask, there are usually other factors at play that make it challenging for him. Figuring out the how and why behind the refusal will make life easier for both you and your dog. Victoria Schade is a professional dog trainer. Learn More: Image:  Javier Brosch / Shutterstock Related Well Timed Rewards Matter for Puppies in Training Top 5 Puppy Training Tips Why Do We Need to Give Treats to Our Pets