Dogs

Continue to practice taking just a few steps away from your dog in different directions, and work up to turning your back and walking away for a few steps. Slowly increase the number of steps you can take from your dog, but throw in an easy repetition every so often. Work on this cue all over your house, and then introduce it outside as well. When your dog is reliably holding a stay both inside and out, add some real-life distractions. For example, get your dog to hold a stay while you unload the dishwasher, or have him hold a stay while you put away groceries. The goal is to incorporate the stay into your everyday life so that you can use it to keep your dog from underfoot, and more importantly, keep him safe.,3. A Trustworthy Recall. While it’s easy to teach your dog to come when called in controlled circumstances, getting a strong response in real-life situations requires dedication and a strong history of positive associations. Many dogs learn that coming when called means the fun is ending, and instead of running joyfully to their people, they opt to ignore the cue. If your dog has a history of “blowing off” your recall cue, you can build a stronger response with a brand new, baggage-free word.,By Victoria Schade

Yes and no. While some kinds of walnuts are safe for dogs to eat they are not the best choice for a pup treat. There’s no need to freak out if your dog eats a walnut you’ve dropped on the floor, says Dr. Ashley Hughes, DVC, but feeding them as a treat on a regular basis is not advised. The dangers for dogs of eating walnuts includes choking hazards, intestinal obstruction and upset stomach to more serious conditions like pancreatitis and illness from black mold that can occur on walnuts and can be toxic to dogs. Why risk any of that, right?

Summer sunshine, warm sand, crisp ocean water, and your best fur friend at your side: the key ingredients for a top-tier beach day. And you can make your outdoor adventure even better—and safer—by supplying your pup with all the necessary dog beach essentials.  From basics like a water bowl for midday refreshments to extras that add a little more pizzazz to your outing, we’ve put together a helpful dog beach checklist. 

More and more of us are willing to pay extra for organic groceries—and for good reason. Eating organic helps us avoid foods that have been treated with potentially harmful chemicals or are genetically modified. Your pet is part of your family, and you know that they deserve the same high-quality food. Feeding your pet organic food leads to a ton of benefits, like stronger immunity and better digestion for a healthy dog. “Many dogs and cats suffer from food allergies,” says Dr. Rachel Barrack, DVM, certified veterinary acupuncturist and certified Chinese Herbalist at Animal Acupuncture in New York City. “Dog allergies can manifest as red, itchy, paws; itchy, infection prone ears; and severe skin disease.” Other symptoms of a food sensitivity often include skin irritation, chronic ear and skin infections, and gastrointestinal troubles, such as vomiting and diarrhea. Food sensitivities can also trigger chronic pain and weight gain. In addition to dog allergies, more canines are overweight and developing serious chronic health problems as they age, including cancer and heart disease. “These conditions can severely impact pet health and daily quality of life,” says Dr. Barrack, who urges her clients to take a hard look at nutrition to rebuild their pet’s health from the bowl up.

Turkey is often included in dog food, but is it safe to give your pup a piece of turkey from your plate? Can dogs eat turkey?  While turkey is safe for dogs (and can be good for them too), it doesn’t mean you should go overboard with the table scraps.  We talked to two veterinary experts about the benefits and risks of turkey for dogs, how to safely feed turkey to dogs, and more.  Before introducing any new food into your dog’s diet, always check with your veterinarian. 

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This tip sounds fancy, but it’s not. You’re essentially finding ways to rewire your dog’s brain to associate something they were once afraid of with something the love. Let’s say your dog is afraid of skateboards. Try placing a skateboard on the floor with dog treats sprinkled on it. “The dog’s going to investigate and realize, ‘Oh, wait a minute, this could be a moving tray with treats.’ In effect, you’re trying to help change the dog’s opinion of this,” says Melese. Once the dog is comfortable with the stationary skateboard, try moving it one inch with the treats on top. Once the dog is no longer fearful of the skateboard moving slightly, start moving it more until mimics what they might find in real life: a moving skateboard with someone on it. This technique reprograms the dog’s response through a combination of managing the exposure (so that you don’t have the dog constantly reacting to that same thing) then reintroducing the stimulus (the thing that is scaring the dog) in a controlled manner and associating it with positive experiences, like food, says Melese. He adds that for this technique to be effective, the treat needs to be high value (consider small pieces of cheese or boiled hot dog).,Raising a dog who is shy or fearful can make it difficult to go to new places or experience new things together. But worry not. Building confidence in dogs takes some work, but it can make new experiences less daunting. So how do you build confidence in a dog? First, determine if they are shy or fearful by looking at your dog’s body language, says Dr. Patrick Melese, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at Veterinary Behavior Consultants in San Diego, California. “It’s most obvious when a dog is showing body signals of fear: tucked tail, ears back, avoidance, shaking, trying to hide, things that most people clearly would recognize as an avoidance and a fear behavior,” says Melese. Additional signs you should look out for include panting, lip licking, shaking off, dropping his tail and maybe even crouching. Fearful dogs may also check in often with their owners or, if they are extremely afraid, may become aggressive to make the source of their fear go away, says Dr. Liz Stelow, a behavior clinician at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Davis, California. From allowing your dog to observe other dogs, to putting your pooch in a new environment the right way, here are six ways to help boost your dog’s confidence:

Image via iStock.com/nycshooter By Victoria Schade Fetch is the go-to game for many pet parents because it’s simple; a dog plus ball equals fun. It’s a great way to exercise dogs, and most pups love to play it. Show them a tennis ball and they’re good to go! But that’s not the case for every dog. Some dogs have no interest in playing fetch with their person, and even though it’s far from a make-or-break problem, a fetch-resistant dog can be a bummer. However, there’s hope for dogs that don’t dig fetching. Whether it’s introducing the parts of the game in segments or trying a new version of the game, there’s a way to go from “My dog won’t fetch” to “My dog loves fetch.”   Breaking Down Fetch Refusal Some dog breeds are literally born to retrieve, so making a game of that inherent desire is simple. For others, running after a ball over and over doesn’t make sense, so they opt out. Dogs that won’t fetch often react to the game in the following ways: No interest in chasing the ball: These dogs refuse the very first step of the game. The ball flies overhead and they just watch it sail by. Chase but no retrieve: Going after the ball isn’t a problem, but these pups don’t want to pick it up or bring it back to their person. Retrieve but no relinquishment: For these pups the first two steps of the game, the chase and the retrieve, are no problem, but the aspect that keeps the game going (releasing the ball) isn’t an option. These pups either play with the ball by themselves or settle down to chew on it. There’s a chance that fetch-resistant dogs haven’t had exposure to fetch. Even though it seems like a simple game, the sequence of steps isn’t necessarily natural for dogs. Chasing a rapidly retreating object is easy, but relinquishing that object once captured isn’t. The good news is that it might be possible to teach your dog to fetch.

Bringing home a new dog or cat is so exciting that it can be easy to forget how taxing it can be on your new pal. Going into a foreign environment with strange sounds and smells—and possibly other animals—can be stressful for your furry friend. Fortunately, it’s simple to ease her into her new home with a little planning, preparation and the right dog and cat supplies.

Image via DenisProduction.com/Shutterstock By Russell Hartstein, CDBC, CPDT and owner of Fun Paw Care in Los Angeles If you’re like most pet parents, getting your dog to lie down and relax while out in the “real world” can be frustrating. But if we become frustrated, we are not at our best, and the dog is not learning in an ideal setting. Not only is it important to teach a dog the “down” cue, but it’s also important to transition your dog from lying down in your living room to following the cue in real-world settings. Of course, you should first teach a dog the down cue at home, since dogs learn best in less stressful, less distracting, familiar environments. But once your pup has mastered the cue, it won’t be useful if your dog only listens to you while you’re in your pajamas at home. Clients often tell me, “My dog does great in the living room but doesn’t even know I exist in a restaurant, park or store.” You want to be sure that your dog can follow the down cue while out on a walk or surrounded by unfamiliar stimuli, animals, sights, sounds and smells. What’s the secret for getting your dog to lie down in any environment? In dog training and obedience, there are no secrets. Your success in teaching a dog down is based on practice, your skill set, the dog’s athleticism and consistency in teaching your dog. The more you learn about your individual dog’s temperament and what motivates them, the faster your dog will learn to lie down. A good dog trainer or behaviorist will not only teach your dog, but will primarily teach you and your family how to teach your dog.