It is important for any puppy or dog to have training. The amount of training is going to be determined by what you want to accomplish. Most of us just want a fun loving companion that can be taught a few commands and fit into our homes. There are several things to consider in the puppy’s first year regarding training and how some things should be handled.

First we will look at punishment for a little bit. Punishment must be effective. You have to have some type of punishment that will not degrade the dog or be disrespectful, but that will make your point. This is where learning certain commands can come into play when training your puppy. First of all any punishment should be delivered at the first offense. A puppy that is startled with a no or rattling is not always going to work. The best option you may have is going to be in remote correction. In other words you have to make sure the puppy understands that you are correcting their behaviour rather than just yelling out a word. The correction needs to be something they can associate with the behaviour they just had. This can be calling their name and using a startling device, but you have to make sure they know that you are correcting them. It must be something that you can walk up and stop the behaviour and then help them associate the issue as bad behaviour.

You puppy is going to be full of life. This means they are going to start out with some instinctual behaviour. When they want attention they are probably going to jump or even paw at you or at the thing they want. In order to have them associate this with bad behaviour you must make them understand that they cannot jump on you. You must not reward the behaviour, but acknowledge it and punish the behaviour. You can also train them how to come to you for attention and affection. This means that you should turn your response to the jumping and pawing into a negative response and reward them for the proper behaviour. If they sit, and nudge you with their head and this is what behaviour you want you can praise the dog and give them a treat or a pat on the head.

During training it is best not to associate all training with treats. If they always get a treat for a good behaviour they will continue to expect it even if you don’t have a dog treat. They will also find this to be something bad if you don’t have a treat and they may not proceed with the good behaviour. Help the puppy associate good behaviour with several different rewards.

Rough play is a behaviour that most of us do not want to see. You can train your dog when the behaviour is appropriate if at all. You need to teach the dog that there are certain limitations to the rough play. They can get excited and bite. This is not good especially if they think your child’s arm is a toy. It is best to show them what they can play with, and that certain biting and force is not going to be acceptable. Again this is about rewarding the good behaviour over the bad. You must make sure that the dog or puppy is aware of the bad behaviour by a negative reinforcement reaction from you.

Dog care can encompass many different things from supplying the right food to the actual health of your dog. There are several things that you have to be concerned with when you own a dog. For instance ticks are extremely pesky insects that will latch on to your dog’s skin and cause several different issues from heart disease, blood disease, and heartworms. You should know that all dogs can have problems related to ticks, which makes the proper care of your dog extremely important. We will look at what you can do to avoid ticks getting on to the skin of your dog and what you can do for proper grooming when you do spy a tick. There are also removal methods that you should learn about.

First ticks tend to survive in a few places including woods and moist areas. You will find that tick season is generally going to be in the warmer months of summer. When you live in the UK you will find that most dogs will only need to be treated for ticks in the summer months, where as if you are in the south portion of the United States you will find they have to be wary of ticks for at least six months out of the year because of the warm weather. Ticks generally leap from trees and bushes as a person or dog walks by crawling up the body. Ticks are usually found around the ears or neck of the dog. In some cases they may be found further along the body, but most often the neck is harder for the dog to kick the insect off and they can latch on. Ticks are very prolific creatures and left alone on the skin for too long can create babies that will hatch. A tick will latch on to the dog’s skin by using its legs and then burying its head underneath the skin to suck the blood.

To prevent ticks from getting onto your dog’s skin you should avoid certain areas, during the summer season. You should keep your dog out of tick areas such as the woods or moist areas like puddles and such that generally also have fleas. This is the best prevention method. You should keep to the streets, sidewalks, and open areas. There are also medications that can be used to prevent ticks from actually latching on. Instead it will kill them almost instantly. These medications are usually like the flea medications and are administered by a liquid to the back of the neck. In fact some of the medications are combined with flea medications. These medications need to be administered once a month during the height of tick and flea season to prevent health issues to your dog. These prevention methods and of course common sense is extremely important to keeping your dog healthy.

Now let’s look at some of the methods for removing ticks. Ticks that have been able to latch on to your dog’s skin can be difficult to get rid of. During your normal daily grooming you should always look through the hair with your hands to look for insects. With ticks you don’t just want to brush the dog’s hair and hope for the best. You will find that using a brush can remove the body of the tick, but leave the head, which can be dangerous. This means that you really do need to look around the head and ears of the dog to make sure that you see the ticks before giving the coat a good brush. You can use a few methods for removal. If the head is not buried you can just remove the tick with tweezers. If the head has been buried you may need a little heat or certain types of oil or medication that will cause the flea to loosen the head and enable you to pull it out with tweezers.

The Chinese Crested dog breed is one of the smaller breeds and considered in the toy breed group. Their name speaks to the origins of their breed, and it is unknown precisely when they began. They have a hairless body that makes the warmer climates more important to their over all health. You will find the Chinese Crested has actually two coat variations. There is the Powderpuff that has a long coat and then the hairless. The hairless Chinese Crested dog is rather easy to groom since they just need attention to their feet, ears, eyes, and skin. The Powderpuff breed needs extensive professional grooming for most owners. They need to be brushed on a daily basis to avoid issues with matting and tangles. The good thing is the Powerderpuff doesn’t shed that much. With the hairless Chinese Crested you have to make sure to apply suntan lotion when they are going to be out in the sun to avoid skin issues. The size of the dog is usually 5 to 12 pounds, and 11 to 13 inches in height. These dogs can be any color.

The character of both Chinese Crested breeds is similar. You will find they are sweet, energetic, and full of love. They are also very intelligent animals in that they can climb and dig holes. They can also learn tricks. Despite their size they rarely bark or nip. You will find them obedient, happy, but aloof with strangers. As a new dog owner you will find this is one of the best breeds for the care and simple pleasure they can give. You will need to enroll them in obedience classes, but they do learn well. Another thing to consider is socialization during puppy life and adult life. They can be timid dogs and need to be around strangers to help them be well adjusted. They are also great with children.

For training you will find they are intelligent and eager to please. This means they will love agility training or any sport training you provide. You must have a consistent, yet firm hand. Harshness is uncalled for during training. You will also find these wonderful dogs can learn several tricks and have even been apart of some circus acts in the past.

When you are considering the proper care for you dog remember it is important to understand that each will be slightly different. The hairless Chinese Crested is going to need more attention when they are outdoors to make sure their skin doesn’t dry out or burn. They can develop skin issues and cancer if you are not careful. For proper feeding you should provide small meals at least twice a day. The meals should be high in protein. You will also want to check and make sure the food you provide is healthy for them and not synthetic. For exercise you will find the Chinese Crested needs regular play sessions and short walks. Their tiny bodies can’t handle an hour of walking, but a mixed bag of exercise is often great. They do really well in apartments so you don’t have to worry about having a small yard. As long as you provide plenty of toys you will find your Chinese Crested to be very happy. You should also keep them indoors during harsh sun, and cold weather as they do not do well. Taking care of your dog is very important and as long as you understand the needs of your Chinese Crested you will have a long life together.

Did you know that there are a lot of private owners of search and rescue dogs? Well there are. Many people find they need to do something during catastrophes and because they love dogs they decide to adopt and have a dog trained for search and rescue. If you are interested in adopting a search and rescue dog or just in knowing how to care for one you will want to read the below article.

Search and rescue dogs are very hard working heroes. They can work in earthquake aftermaths, hurricane rescues, and even as water rescue dogs. They are very loyal, lovable, and determined dogs. They also require special training, handling and care above other dogs. You will find that most often a search and rescue dog will go through training on a daily basis to make sure they have not forgotten any skills and to keep the dog’s minds active. In some cases new training is added. As a private owner of a search and rescue dog you have to keep them in tune. This means you need to go through the class with them, and provide as much support and skill to the session as they do. You should also know that a search and rescue dog usually thinks of the training and actual rescue situations as play. This means that if they aren’t having a little fun, and being useful they will want to quite- in other words it is too much like work.

There are certain dogs that work really well as search and rescue dogs. First the dog have to be a good tracker, hunter, hound, and good swimmers. Since dogs often have to smell for blood, or human scent they have to have great noses. This means that bloodhounds, Labradors, German shepherds, Old English sheepdogs, and St. Bernard’s are usually the best. Golden retrievers are also really great at working as search and rescue dogs. Keep in mind that the dog thinks it is a game; for the owners you have to be sure you can handle the issues you will be dealing with. Most people are great in rescue situations, but some individuals may have lasting problems of the death and destruction they have had to deal with. So it is not just find a dog to go with the owner, but making sure the owner can handle the job required as well.

Most of the time search and rescue handlers are volunteers, like the private dog owners we have been discussing. This means they show up when they can and must also be physically fit. They are going to be training with the dogs, working a lot of hours at a seen, and of course need to have a handle on rescue criteria for survival as well.

Training as mentioned above is very important. You can not just watch a video and say "I have a search and rescue dog." In fact what you need is a training facility that will help you learn how to be a handler as well as how to train the dog. You must have certification as well as rescue equipment. Training will last for the dog’s lifetime in the service. This means that you must keep up with the training on a daily basis and be extremely committed. Search and rescue dogs are heroes and so are their handlers, but remember you should be fully prepared for the tasks at hand.