Dogs do not seem to understand the meaning of the word “no”. Dogs are not stupid, but they learn in a very different way than most people are able to teach. Professional dog trainers use precise methods of repetition and reinforcement to teach dogs what to do and what not to do. Unless you are a professional dog training, trying to train your dog can actually do more harm than good. However, there are devices that can help. Dogs require precision and repetition to learn, but humans are not very precise nor patient creatures. Electronic dog collars and containment systems can offer the redundancy and speed that you cannot.

Dog containment systems usually use a transmitter, or series of transmitters, and an electronic collar. When the dog wearing the collar gets close to a transmitter, the dog gets a small shock. The shock is not harmful or painful but it is uncomfortable enough that the dog will not want to get any closer. Most systems allow you to tailor the strength of the shock to your dog. You should start with the lowest setting and increase the strength if it proves to be ineffective.

It is a common occurrence when a homeowner has a dog that is allowed certain places, but not others. If there is only one or two “off limits” places or items than training the dog can be little more than a nuisance. If there are several off limits places or items then the training can seem impossible. For example, you may want your dog to be able to roam the backyard, but you do not want him or her to go in the pool. Or maybe you do not want the dog in your rose bushes. An invisible fence and electronic collar can be a perfect solution. Physical fences will keep the dog out, but will also be an obstacle to people as well. Fences can also be an eyesore and cost a lot of time and money to install. Why make it harder for you to get to your pool or rosebushes when you can use a fence that will only affect your dog and will even be invisible to the eye?

Sometimes an invisible fence would be overkill. For example, maybe you just want the dog to stay off of the couch. You do not need to set up an invisible fence around the entire couch using several transmitters; instead you can use one or two transmitters under the couch that will keep the dog away. In this case, you essentially have a warning beacon that warns the dog to stay away from one specific location instead of having an invisible fence border.

Dog containment systems usually cost around a hundred dollars, up to several hundred dollars depending on the features. However, the time and money a dog containment system saves you easily makes up for the cost of the system itself. Putting up a physical fence usually costs a lot more time and money than a dog containment system does, and having your couch ruined by a dog that does not seem able to learn is going to cost you more than a couple hundred bucks. Dog containment systems allow your dog to learn quickly through exact repetition, even when you are not home, so it is a major time saving device than saves you money versus buying a real fence or a new couch.

Mike Laxman is a dog trainer living in the UK. He likes to write about dog training techniques and products. His recent articles can be found at innotekdogtrainingcollar.com/ Innotek dog training collars which includes articles on the innotekdogtrainingcollar.com/ innotek dog fence and specific products like the innotekdogtrainingcollar.com/innotek-blog/innotek-advanced-adv-series-dog-training-collars/ innotek ADV 1000 training collar.

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Tags: dog collars, dog training

For most dogs, puppy hood lasts for about the first year of life. During this time, the puppy needs higher levels of minerals like calcium and phosphorus, protein, vitamins, and energy (Calories) than it will as an adult. Foods fed to young, growing dogs should contain these higher levels of nutrients.

Pet foods in this group will usually be labeled as “puppy food” or “canine growth” to distinguish them from foods designed for more senior dogs. However, you should always keep in mind that overfeeding can be harmful to your pet. Develop a feeding schedule for your breed of dog and stick to it. Puppies will tend to eat everything in sight because of higher activity levels.

Consult your veterinarian for a good brand of dog food and an appropriate feeding schedule. Avoiding giving table food, table scraps, or treats and snacks, these will only unbalance his diet and cause poor digestion and over time, obesity. Puppy hood is the most crucial time in your dog’s development. Bad habits now can affect his health down the road.

Always feed your pup a “meal.” As stated earlier, pups will eat continuously if left alone. It is much better to put down a large amount of food, but only for a limited time, usually 20 – 30 minutes. Let the pup eat all he wants in that time, and then take the food away until the next meal. This will also discourage finicky eaters, as they will learn to eat when the food is available.

If your puppy starts to become overweight, simply shorten his mealtime, or reduce the number of meals each day, as determined by your vet. Overweight puppies tend to become overweight adult dogs with greatly increased health problems, and usually a shorter life span. Good nutrition and good eating habits are your responsibility, so please give them your best attention.

Randy Jones and his partner Brent Jones have been in the pet industry for a long time. Recently they formed Joncopets.com. On the site, customers can read articles about anything pets as well as shop for the latest joncopets.com/ fancy dog collars and more for their best friend. Feel free to check out the site at joncopets.com joncopets.com

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Do you have a happy and irritating dog? If you have, then you probably use bark control collars to control your dog’s barking. In my opinion, this is really a shame. I think that bark controlling dog collars are nothing more than a cruel and unusual punishment for a dog. These devices use the most brutal of behaviorist tactics to stop a dog from barking. Bark controlling collars use a shock, a spray of citronella, a shrill sound, or other methods to irritate or terrorize a dog every time it barks. These devices basically traumatize your dog to the point that it is unwilling to express exactly how it feels about the mail man and other intruders.

To be honest, I have always thought that things like bark control collars were in very bad form indeed. You should be willing to accept everything about canine kind if you appreciate a dog as a pet. If you are uncomfortable with their habit of sniffing your privates, licking themselves, licking other people, or any of the other behaviors that dogs are known for, then you should not get a dog. It does not make sense to buy a dog if its barking offends you. You would be better off by getting a cat rather than spending your money for bark control collars and other kinds of training gear.

You should try out different ones so that you do not frighten your dog too badly if you must get bark control collars for your dogs. The devices that give a painful shock might be too much for your poor pooch. The citronella bark control collars are supposed to be more humane. These devices simply emit a burst of citronella which confuses the dog momentarily and makes it stop what it was doing.

The problem is that dogs depend on their sense of smell so using these kinds of control collars is like blinding a person with a bright light. The citronella bark control collars can still be quite traumatic for some dogs. Getting a bark control collar with adjustable intensity might be the best way to go. This way you can give your dog enough of a jolt to hint that loud barking is unacceptable, but not enough to really scare it. Try many different kinds of bark control collars until you find the right one for your pet.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning

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On one of my visits to my chiropractor, he suggested I pick up the book The Well Adjusted Dog by Dr. Daniel Kamen. The book is written by a chiropractor who also does adjustments on animals, although he doesn’t advertise this. Apparently, chiropractors are not allowed to practice on animals in many states, which I didn’t realize, since I live in Canada and this doesn’t seem to be a problem here in my province. However, what is good to know is that veterinarians in the U.S. are allowed to do adjustments on animals… that is if you can find one that’s studied chiropractic medicine. Not an easy task.

In any case, Dr. Kamen wrote this book (among others) so that a dog owner could learn to do their own adjustments on their dogs. The book is very informative and walks you through the anatomy of a dog’s spine, teaches you how to feel for misalignments and provides a variety of techniques that you can do at home. Many of the techniques focus on how to release tense muscles, especially if you’re not comfortable with actually working on spinal column.

While reading the book, I came across a very interesting section which talks about dog collars and how they can easily cause neck problems for a dog. Most of it boils down to our (ie human’s) improper handling of leash control on certain collars. Here’s what Dr. Kamen has to say about dog collars:

“The improper use of collars is the number one cause of cervical (neck) subluxations in dogs. Of all the places to put undue stress, the cervical region, especially the upper two cervical vertebrae, is the most harmful. It is at this point that the body meets the brain.” (Dr. Daniel Kamen, The Well Adjusted Dog, p. 24)

** What Types of Collars Are Available **

I thought I was doing well by using a dog harness. Ha! I quickly learned that this might actually be the cause of my dog’s disc problems located where her neck meets her shoulders. I was even more surprised at what he said was the best collar to use.

Basically, you will find that there are five major types of collars in use by most dog owners: the regular flat nylon and leather collars, the choke collar, the prong collar, the leader or head collars, and the harness.

** Flat Collars **

The regular flat collars are what most dog owners often choose, however they can also be the most dangerous type. These collars are used for hanging your dog’s tags and for simply attaching the leash to the metal loop. This collar type should never be used for dog training… nor should they be used if you have a hard time controlling your dog while out walking.

When frustrated, owners tend to pull back on the leash to stop the dog from pulling and running, or in many cases, to get them to move along if they’ve stopped to sniff something. This yanking will cause tremendous muscle tightening in the cervical neck area, which in turn results in cervical subluxations. This is one of the largest causes of disc and other neck problems in dogs. Unfortunately, most of these disc problems don’t show up until much later in life. At this point, dog owners either put their dogs on medication for pain control and muscle relaxation or resort to surgery to try to repair the damage of degenerating discs.

** Leader Head Collars **

These appear to be an ideal way to train your dog. A leader collar fits over the head of your dog, much like a muzzle does. The leash attaches to a metal loop located on the collar under the dog’s chin. The idea behind it is to turn the dog’s head to “lead” them where you want to go. Sometimes humans may turn the head too sharply or too hard in frustration when trying to train their dog. This, like the regular collar, can cause upper neck problems.

** Choke Collars **

This is the type of collar most often used by dog trainers. The idea behind it is that if a dog pulls too much, it starts to choke and therefore will ease back and release the tension of the collar. In reality, the instinct of a dog when it feels the tightening of a chain is to pull away from it, effectively tightening the collar even more. Your dog could literally choke itself into a coma! Improperly trained dogs and more importantly, improperly trained owners, could cause extreme damage using a choke collar.

** Harness **

A harness is designed to fit over a dog’s shoulders and be secured around the chest area. While a much better choice over a regular collar or a choke collar, these harnesses can cause subluxations in the lower neck, shoulder, chest, and foreleg area. Again, the primary cause to this is often attributed to frustrated owners yanking back on the leash, which causes the harness to put a large amount of stress on the shoulder and chest areas.

** Prong Collar **

This collar looks like some medieval torture device. Made of metal, the prong collar has a circular ring of spikes on its inner surface. When training the smallest amount of resistance distributes pressure evenly around the neck area effectively restraining the dog. As Dr. Kamen states in his book: “Some trainers liken the prong collar to “power steering” where even the slightest touch will produce the desired result.” He has found that dog’s that use this particular collar have far less upper cervical subluxations than with any other collar type. So in essence, this is actually the best collar to use when training and walking your dog, believe it or not.

** What Else May Cause Cervical Subluxations in Dogs? **

There are many other issues that can also cause problems with cervical subluxations. The requirements of how dog’s are trained (taught to sit on the left and look up at the owner causes neck strain) is one area of concern. Mismatching dog size to dog owner size, dog obesity, improper bedding, dangerous play practices, leash length, and the way certain dogs are bred, are a few of the other causes of canine neck problems.

Of course, you would be hard pressed to monitor every move your dog makes. Perhaps he likes sleeping on the hardwood floor near the fire rather than the comfy dog mat you bought. Maybe you played a little too hard today with the Frisbee and caused your dog to jump too high, causing neck pain. The important thing is to try to correct possible activities that could cause neck subluxations in your pet so they don’t continue to do more damage. You may also want to pick up the book - The Well Adjusted Dog - and learn how you can check for possible misalignments in your dog’s neck and spine, then learn how to do some of the corrections yourself. By doing so, you’ll be giving your dog a much happier and less painful life.

by Rose Smith, (c) 2005

About the Author:
Rose Smith owns

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If you have a dog you know that a dog collar is a must to have. The dog collar will make sure the dog is safe if separated from its loving owner. The custom leather dog collar today reflects the personality of the dog. They also reflect the character and style of the owner. The reason for this is because the owner is the one who picks out the dog collar. When you get a dog, it won’t take long to get close to the dog. When this happens you will want him as unique with his accessories as he is to you.

Dog Owners are Picky People Even thought there are many dog accessories available when it comes to the dog collar, many dog owners are very picky and particular. There is good news though; you can have a custom leather personalized dog collar of your choice.

Why a Custom Leather Personalized Dog Collar The reason why you should consider creating your own custom leather dog collar is because you can design it and customize it as you choose. Then match your dog’s personality and your wardrobe so you two can always be in style and that will display your love for your pet.Custom leather dog collars are strong and durable, which is yet another necessity when it comes to dogs because as we all know they play rough and that can bear its marks on the collar with time. Custom leather dog collars can have any inscription you want, for example, your dog’s name, his or her date of birth, medical state and if any medication is needed in case of emergency and your phone number in case he or she gets lost.

Where to Get a Custom Made Personalized Leather Dog Collar Pet shops are the best choice as you can choose the material or even bring some of your own if you have an old belt you want to convert or a piece of leather you want to use for this purpose. You can also order a personalized leather dog collar online where you will be able to find a large variety. However, keep in mind shipping charges are always extra and that can make your bill go up.

Tips Here are some ideas to help you when you are considering ordering a dog collar. When you order your custom leather custom-dog-collars.com/dog-class-style-rhinestone-personalized-dog-collar-2.html personalized dog collar, try to order two at the same time. This is going to save you some money on shipping and labor. Try to keep in mind the personality and size of your dog. Custom personalized leather dog collars are mostly used for medium to larger dogs. You usually don’t see a leather dog collar on a small dog. But it really depends on the style and type of dog collar that you have in mind. The main thing to consider when buying a custom leather dog collar is that when the dog is wearing the collar he or she must be comfortable. It cannot be tight. Think if you had to wear a piece of leather around your neck all the time, you would want it to fit so you didn’t even know you were wearing it.

Have had many articles published on a variety of subjects. Co author of the best selling golf ebook called “Putt Lights Out”. You can find this ebook at puttlightsout.com puttlightsout.com For more information on dog and pet related topics visit custom-dog-collars.com custom-dog-collars.com

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