Hello, Axel the Wire Fox Terrier here. Mom has agreed to let me write this review since it is a product called, "People Training Scarves." Are you a lover boy/girl who can't resist licking any stranger that approaches for a pat? Are you not the most friendly of canines? Are you possibly a service dog in training?
Well, if you answered yes to any of the above questions, you need to tell your humans to buy you a special people training scarf. The bandanas come in bright colors and bear messages that reflect your temperament.
The 22x22x31” triangle scarf is just the right size to tie around your neck. Each design is available in lovely bright colors. One size fits all. 100% cotton is machine washable. Silk screened by hand in Colorado just for Bold Lead Designs. They are just $10 each.
Is your dog having a hard time walking with you? Do they pull, or run making your walk not very enjoyable? Well then maybe you and your pooch need a little help from The Clicker Leash.
The Clicker Leash is a leash that is also a training tool for your dog. With a simple click, you are able to gain your dogs attention, reward with a food treat and continue on your way. The click will soon come to mean "good dog". Your dog will want to hear that sound because after wards the dog knows that something yummy will be coming to him or her and will continue behaving well for you.
The Clicker Leash is getting a lot of positive PR right now because it has been selected to be the only leash in a basket of doggie goodies for the new "First Dog", that is joining his new family in the White House. As we all know, what comes with a new puppy is a lot of training and the Clicker Leash is the perfect tool to use.
The Clicker Leash does not need to be used only on walks. You can also use it for teaching basic commands such as, sit, stay, kiss, and if you want to get a little fancy, roll over. As soon as your dog equates a quick click with "good dog", your training will go on and on.
The Clicker Leash website is very informative and has specific instructions on how to use the leash. I recommend looking around the site and maybe you'll see that this is what you need to help train your dog.
Want to have some fun with your dog this weekend? Try out (for free until Easter!) the #1 dog trick app on iTunes: Bark Machine & Dog Tricks. This neat little app works on either an iPod Touch or iPhone, and is a comprehensive step-by-step app featuring tips, tricks, games and more!
Normally $2.99 for the download, you can try it out now for free!
Have fun impressing your friends and family and spend better quality time with your favorite pet!
You’re probably thinking Kong toys? Old news. Every dog owner has one. They’ve been around since the 70’s. So why am I taking up space on this trendy dog site with yesterday’s news? Because the Kong toy has saved me from insanity on more than one occasion.
I have two high-energy dogs, one of which hasn’t yet reached her first birthday and whose puppy power oftentimes spins her way out of control. She can turn a quiet movie night into puppy-palooza, and if my boyfriend and I aren’t feeling her vibe she begins to bark and playfully-yet-painfully bite at any appendage she can get her little teeth on.
But these outbursts don’t always occur during leisure time. Sleep is a necessity, but my dog is up and ready to party at 5:00am, cutting at least 2 hours out of my beauty rest. Perhaps the biggest dilemma here is that, as a writer, I need a quiet workspace, but when my dog begins her rambunctious barking, jumping, nipping, biting etc., she scares my muse right back to her secret-muse hiding spot.
Then, one day, during a rare cleaning frenzy, I was sweeping under the couch and out rolled the little red Kong toy we used to coax our 1st dog into her crate. I filled it with peanut-butter and stuck it in the freezer in preparation for the next puppy explosion. When the opportunity presented itself, I surprised my dog with the stuffed, frozen Kong, which calmed her down and kept her occupied for at least an hour.
These toys are so versatile, and are practically indestructible (there’s always an exception, but mine have endured the jaws of Pit Bulls and are still intact). They can be used simply as chew-and-fetch toys, or work as a kind of dog treat dispenser. The Kong company makes many treats that fit snugly into the toy so that your dog has to really work to get them out, but there are also numerous ingredients and recipes you can make at home to keep your dog both occupied and interested (see end of blog for recipes).
Stuffed Kong toys, however, can be messy. Whatever ingredients you stuff them with can certainly get into carpets, furniture, etc. Here’s a tip: tie a piece of string through the Kong and loop it under the leg of a chair in an easy-clean-up location. This also keeps your dog within your sight and stabilizes the toy so that your dog doesn’t end up licking it around the house and into a hard-to-reach place (like under the couch).
Some of these recipes are runny, so tape up the top (small hole) of Kong to avoid leakage. Remove the tape before giving Kong to your dog.
RECIPES
Peanut Butter Crunch: Mix some peanut-butter with dry cereal and freeze.
Kong Mash: Mix instant mashed potatoes with your dog’s kibble and freeze
Banana Cream Kong: Mix mashed bananas with plain yogurt and freeze.
Tuna Delight: Mix canned tuna with yogurt and freeze.
Honey Nut: Mix honey and peanut butter and freeze. You can also add banana or cereal.
Cheese Pleaser:Melt some cheese and mix with your dog’s kibble. Pour mixture into Kong and freeze.
Cheesecake Kong:Mix together cream cheese and graham or animal crackers and freeze.
Meat & Potatoes:Take leftover meats and mix with mashed potatoes or rice. Add melted cheese and freeze.
Bagel with Lox:Mix cream cheese and salmon (or any other fish) and freeze.
Komelet:Mix scrambled eggs, bread, meat and cheese and freeze.
If there was a gold medal in barking at the Pawlimpics - you could be sure that my wire fox terrier Axel would beat out all the competition. Ever since he was a wee pup, he's responded to any outside noise with a high pitched bark. When we are home, we stop his barking with a sharp, "Enough!" or step in front of him.
One day, we found a note in our mailbox from our disgruntled neighbor to our right (we'll call him DN) asking us to do something about Axel's barking. DN works nights and is home all day. Being considerate neighbors we took immediate action. We rearranged our furniture so Axel would not be able to sit a-top our couch and look out the window to bark at anything that moved outside. We sequestered him behind a puppy-gate. We tried crating. We tried Comfort Zone diffusers comforters assuming he was suffering from separation anxiety.
A while later, we got a letter from Animal Control politely informing us there had been a complaint, and would we be more considerate. I was furious and upset at DN for reporting us! Thus began our search for a product out there to help curb Axel's barking. We tried a citronella collar for a while - it worked when we tested it but we really did not enjoy having a pooch who reeked of citronella. But along came another warning from Animal Control. I was getting frantic! Next we purchased sonic and ultrasonic silencers that emit a high pitched sound when a dog barks, stopping him in his tracks because it is uncomfortable to his hearing. We thought that too was working, until believe it or not, a Philadelphia policeman arrived at our front door. DN had called the cops! The cop was very kind and did nothing more than discuss the issue with us. We explained all the steps we had taken to curb the barking, and he seemed entirely satisfied that we were doing all we could. The cop wished us well and left - no warning or fine.
But I was overwrought. I was anxious everytime I left Axel alone and terrified of what would come next. We'd tried every product on the market, and they'd all failed. So I started looking at bark shock collars. Up until this point, I had not been willing to consider shock collars. However, none of the other products seemed to work, and we were desperate. I spoke to the knowlegeable people at Gun Dog Supply. After hearing our situation, they recommended the Tri-tronics Bark Limiter XS. The collar has 5 correction levels from vibration to shock. It also has a very useful bark odometer which allows you to see how many times your dog was corrected since you put the collar on. This was vital for us as we would now have proof of whether or not Axel had been barking during the day and could keep a log.
When we put the lightweight Bark Limiter on Axel for the first time, I was worried sick. We put it on the lowest level to start and waited nervously for him to bark. When he did, he let out a yelp and ran to me to be comforted. It was horrible, but after the initial shock, he recovered quickly and went about his business. Best of all, Axel has never been shocked since - he is smart enough to know that when that collar goes on every morning before we leave the house, he cannot bark. It amazed me how fast he picked this up. He growls, he "talks" but he never barks with it on. And he never shows any fear towards the collar. All complaints stopped when we started using the collar - that was over a year ago.
The Tri-tronics Bark Limiter XS was a godsend, and I have recommended it to friends with the same problem over and over again, especially to dog friends in the UK where their Animal Control can actually remove a dog from a home for excessive barking.
A shock collar should not be your first solution to a barking problem - always check to see if there is an underlying issue causing your dog to bark excessively, and it doesn't hurt to try other products on the market. Just because they were Axel-proof, doesn't mean they won't work for your dog.
But it's great to know that if all else fails, you can rely on the Tri-tronics Bark Limiter XS. You can purchase it online at Gun Dog Supply for $99. Shipping is free.
Picture this: on your day off you wake to a clear, bright sky. Your first thought: beach day. To confirm, you hop online and click the weather report. Sunny. Temperatures reaching up into the 90's.
Surely this is a confirmed beach day. If you don't go you'll sit around wishing you did.
You proceed to gather all of the beach necessities (shades, a good read, sun oil and block), step into your swimsuit, and head out.
But here is where you meet your first obstacle. [Your dog's name here] is parked in front of the door, blocking your exit to paradise with the my-owner-is-leaving-it's-the-end-of-the-world face. For many pet owners this look doesn't just indicate a guilty walk to the car. It means a urine soaked carpet, complaints of a shrill and unending bark, and quite possibly a destroyed couch. You now must decide which is more important: your tan or your living room.
Unfortunately, our pets don't speak English, so attempting to tell your dog that you'll "only be gone for the day," offers him or her absolutely no comfort. Your pet has watched you gather up stuff and move throughout the house, and has deduced that you are leaving, but has no idea as to when you will return home. This provokes anxiety which in turn leads to destructive behavior: the cushion-less couch is quite simply an expression of your dog's fear and stress.
So it seems as though, until either dogs learn to speak English or humans begin to bark, there is really no solution to this very big problem. Not so. A few savvy veterinarians developed a product called Comfort Zone® which, believe it or not, creates an atmosphere of safety and security for your pet.
Comfort Zone® is a plug-in air diffuser that lasts 30 days and covers up to 650 square feet. You simply plug in the room where your animal spends most of his or her time. Here's how it works: humans and animals alike both produce and react to pheromones. Through research, veterinarians have discovered that there are specific pheromones secreted by the parent animal to help their young cope with fear and stress. Comfort Zone® ingeniously mimics these pheromones to help your dog feel safe and invulnerable, which in turn works to control your pet's destructive impulses.
This product is also available as a spray that can be used inside a crate, on your dog’s collar, in the car etc. You can find Comfort Zone® at most pet stores. Be sure to print the coupon good for $10.00 off your next purchase.
Find a Pet Sitter (and more) online through Sittercity!
Did you know that you can find qualified, screened pet-sitters, dog trainers, groomers, dog walkers, and more on Sittercity? It's simple. Type in your zip code, and you will be able to see a number of people in your neighborhood willing to help you and your pet.
You can see basic information as a non-member, but to see detailed info and to contact sitters, you will need to join. (There is a fee to join, which comes out to about $7.99 per month)
Also note that if you have kids, you can use Sittercity to find qualified babysitters as well.
Check it out and save 10% on your registration fee with code SwankyPup.
Reduce leash pulling with the Sporn Training Halter
I see it every day: people being dragged around by their dogs on walks and dogs choking themselves on leash. Sound familiar? It is not a pretty sight walking down the street with your swanky pup pulling your arm out of the socket and/or choking himself and it makes it hard to enjoy taking your dog out and about. The Sporn Training Halter may be what you need to get control out on the walk so you can have those leisurely walks you dream of.
I have tried a lot of different harness and almost all of them just gave my dog more leverage so he could pull with his whole body. The Sporn halter actually gave my dog gentle feedback as he pulled, making it much more comfortable for him to walk at my side and discourage pulling.
The Sporn Training Halter goes around your dog’s neck and under the armpits, where the braided cord is covered by sherpa sleeves so it will not hurt or rub. When your dog pulls on the leash, the harness tightens under your dog’s armpits encouraging him to stop pulling. The Sporn is not a substitute for training your dog to heel but it is a great tool to have at your disposal and can make a big difference for those big pullers out there.
A better walk is priceless right? Well, the halter is only $25.95 and worth every penny. Check out the video on their site for exactly how the Sporn Training Halter works and see if it is right for your dog.
Wouldn't it be nice if your dog could say to you, "Hey! I gotta go out!"? Well, now they can with Poochie Bells. Poochie-Bells are jingle bells that are hung on decorative ribbon. You simply hang the bells on your door that your dog most uses to go out, and with a little training and, of course some positive reinforcement, your dog will ring the bells when he or she has some business to attend to outside. The bells come with a small instruction card on how the training should be done. There are a wide variety of ribbons to choose from to match any room decor. It's not likely that you are ever going to hear your dog speak, but Poochie-Bells are a great alternative. At checkout, enter "SWANKYPUP" and receive free standard shipping on your purchase. Ding-a-ling-a-ling!
