Tuesday, March 28, 2006
My Pets- Animals
I own 2 dogs, 1 cat, and over 5 fish! I will probably be getting 1 or 2 hampsters soon.
My cat loves to wrestle with my one dog. It's a Pom. It tackles it and takes it down- the funniest thing they do.
My cat also fetchs things like a dog! I throw it and then he brings it back.
My cat also chases me when I run!
MY CAT ACTS LIKE A DOG!!!!! Craziest cat in the world! My cat cheers me up all of the time. Give me a comment about your cat.
My cat loves to wrestle with my one dog. It's a Pom. It tackles it and takes it down- the funniest thing they do.
My cat also fetchs things like a dog! I throw it and then he brings it back.
My cat also chases me when I run!
MY CAT ACTS LIKE A DOG!!!!! Craziest cat in the world! My cat cheers me up all of the time. Give me a comment about your cat.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Reviews
After looking at my site, tell me what you think. Any suggestions allowed.
Monday, March 13, 2006
TrainingTrix
Here is my website that is full of information about pets. You can learn how to train, love, and care for your pet. This site is mostly about dogs, cats, and horses. If you have any problems or question about your pet this is the site to go to. It is also great if you want to learn about a specific dog or how to train you pet. Check it out its a pretty cool website.http://www.trainingtrix.com/ Here are just come of the few articles in the website!
Dog Obedience Training Basics
Dog Obedience Training Basics
The most important things in dog training are consistency, keeping dog's attention and understanding your dog. To get the respect of your dog you must be consistent. You should make a set of do's and don'ts for your dog. Follow these guidelines to the letter, if a dog does something desirable always reward it, if a dog does something bad punish him or her appropriately. In dogs world consistency is a sign of a leader. You will make your training my easier and effective by being a leader who the dog respects and follows. Ninety percent of your dogs training will be getting his or hers attention and keeping him focused on yourself. If your dog cannot focus on you, it will not listen to you, and thus making the commands you give fall on empty ears. I will describe a technique on how to get and keep your dog's attention with few very simple exercises. First, most dogs will respond to their name, so call them and when they look at you tell them "watch". After doing it few times the dog will associate the command with looking at you. After you have perfected the "watch" command, start doing exercises aimed at expanding your dog's attention span. A good technique is to hold a treat with your teeth and while standing in front of your dog give it a watch command. Stand in position for a few seconds keeping dogs attention, then praise. Repeat the exercise until your dog focus on you for about a minute. The more attention your dog can give you the better student it will be. A vital part of dog training is the understanding of how a dog thinks. Dogs, like small children, have a very short attention span. Most dogs can be focused on training for about ten to twenty minutes, after that time they will start loosing focus and will require a small break. A good idea is to make regular training sessions of 20-30 minutes per day. Another important thing is to make the training fun for the dog. Make the dog look forward to the training time instead of dreading it. To achieve this you should always make their effort worthwhile. After every successful command make sure to give them a treat or praise them with very excited voice. The more willing the dog is to train the more effective the training will be! Incorporate these techniques into your training sessions and in no-time you will be ready to proceed to much more complex obedience training exercises. You and your dog will both enjoy the time spent together, your dog will respect you for being a responsible owner and other people will appreciate your dog's great behavior after you are done!
The most important things in dog training are consistency, keeping dog's attention and understanding your dog. To get the respect of your dog you must be consistent. You should make a set of do's and don'ts for your dog. Follow these guidelines to the letter, if a dog does something desirable always reward it, if a dog does something bad punish him or her appropriately. In dogs world consistency is a sign of a leader. You will make your training my easier and effective by being a leader who the dog respects and follows. Ninety percent of your dogs training will be getting his or hers attention and keeping him focused on yourself. If your dog cannot focus on you, it will not listen to you, and thus making the commands you give fall on empty ears. I will describe a technique on how to get and keep your dog's attention with few very simple exercises. First, most dogs will respond to their name, so call them and when they look at you tell them "watch". After doing it few times the dog will associate the command with looking at you. After you have perfected the "watch" command, start doing exercises aimed at expanding your dog's attention span. A good technique is to hold a treat with your teeth and while standing in front of your dog give it a watch command. Stand in position for a few seconds keeping dogs attention, then praise. Repeat the exercise until your dog focus on you for about a minute. The more attention your dog can give you the better student it will be. A vital part of dog training is the understanding of how a dog thinks. Dogs, like small children, have a very short attention span. Most dogs can be focused on training for about ten to twenty minutes, after that time they will start loosing focus and will require a small break. A good idea is to make regular training sessions of 20-30 minutes per day. Another important thing is to make the training fun for the dog. Make the dog look forward to the training time instead of dreading it. To achieve this you should always make their effort worthwhile. After every successful command make sure to give them a treat or praise them with very excited voice. The more willing the dog is to train the more effective the training will be! Incorporate these techniques into your training sessions and in no-time you will be ready to proceed to much more complex obedience training exercises. You and your dog will both enjoy the time spent together, your dog will respect you for being a responsible owner and other people will appreciate your dog's great behavior after you are done!
Why Does My Cat Drink Dirty Water?
Why Does My Cat Drink Dirty Water?
You know that cats should always have a supply of water, especially if you are feeding them dried food. There on your nice clean kitchen floor is a bowl of nice clean fresh water, in a nice clean bowl.
What does your cat do? Maybe gives the bowl a sniff and walks away from it, or just ignores the bowl completely, as if water were the last thing a self respecting cat would consider drinking.
"Okay", you think to yourself, "Kitty just isn't thirsty at the moment". But then later, you happen to spy your cat busily lapping up stale water from a puddle in your garden as if it was nectar.
Cats are self-reliant, independent creatures, but surely your cat is not going to turn its nose up at the nice clean water you provide, just to let you know it can survive without you? After all, kitty does not reject the food you provide even though it is perfectly capable of catching mice.
No, the answer is not your mouser's independence. Tap water is usually treated with chemicals, often chlorinated strongly enough for a cat to smell it. Cats noses are far more sensitive than human noses and many cats find this chemical odor very offensive. Stale water in puddles and pools has a far more attractive smell are far as a cat is concerned. Puddles may be full of rotten vegetation and microbes, but cats find this organic soup very tasty.
As well as the off-putting odor of chemicals in tap water, cats find the smell of detergents repugnant. So, because you diligently clean your cat's water bowl in the interest of hygiene, the detergent that you use deters your cat from drinking from it. You use the same detergent to wash your cat's food bowl, why then, does your feline friend eat heartily from the bowl, and not be repelled by the smell of the detergent? This is because the aroma of the fish or meat is stronger than the smell of the detergent.
With the water bowl, the combination of the two unpleasant smells, the chemicals in the tap water and the detergent, means that your cat will only quench its thirst from the water bowl if there is no better smelling option to be had.
So, what can you do? You need to rinse your cat's bowl more thoroughly than you would a plate for a human. Remember feline noses are far more sensitive than ours, every trace of detergent needs to be rinsed off. Secondly, let the water from the tap stand for a while before putting the bowl down for your cat, this will allow the chemicals to dissipate.
These two things should have kitty drinking happily from the dish, unless, of course, kitty has got so used to drinking from puddles it just can't kick the organic water habit!
You know that cats should always have a supply of water, especially if you are feeding them dried food. There on your nice clean kitchen floor is a bowl of nice clean fresh water, in a nice clean bowl.
What does your cat do? Maybe gives the bowl a sniff and walks away from it, or just ignores the bowl completely, as if water were the last thing a self respecting cat would consider drinking.
"Okay", you think to yourself, "Kitty just isn't thirsty at the moment". But then later, you happen to spy your cat busily lapping up stale water from a puddle in your garden as if it was nectar.
Cats are self-reliant, independent creatures, but surely your cat is not going to turn its nose up at the nice clean water you provide, just to let you know it can survive without you? After all, kitty does not reject the food you provide even though it is perfectly capable of catching mice.
No, the answer is not your mouser's independence. Tap water is usually treated with chemicals, often chlorinated strongly enough for a cat to smell it. Cats noses are far more sensitive than human noses and many cats find this chemical odor very offensive. Stale water in puddles and pools has a far more attractive smell are far as a cat is concerned. Puddles may be full of rotten vegetation and microbes, but cats find this organic soup very tasty.
As well as the off-putting odor of chemicals in tap water, cats find the smell of detergents repugnant. So, because you diligently clean your cat's water bowl in the interest of hygiene, the detergent that you use deters your cat from drinking from it. You use the same detergent to wash your cat's food bowl, why then, does your feline friend eat heartily from the bowl, and not be repelled by the smell of the detergent? This is because the aroma of the fish or meat is stronger than the smell of the detergent.
With the water bowl, the combination of the two unpleasant smells, the chemicals in the tap water and the detergent, means that your cat will only quench its thirst from the water bowl if there is no better smelling option to be had.
So, what can you do? You need to rinse your cat's bowl more thoroughly than you would a plate for a human. Remember feline noses are far more sensitive than ours, every trace of detergent needs to be rinsed off. Secondly, let the water from the tap stand for a while before putting the bowl down for your cat, this will allow the chemicals to dissipate.
These two things should have kitty drinking happily from the dish, unless, of course, kitty has got so used to drinking from puddles it just can't kick the organic water habit!
Is Dog Obedience School for You
Is Dog Obedience School for You?
Are you thinking about dog obedience school? Do you know what to expect out of it? Do you know what it costs or where to find a good school?
If not, let me help take out some of the mystery of finding one to make sure you and your dog get the best experience you can.
If you have searched the web in this topic, you probably found some sites that are basically search engines within search engines, no real information about dog obedience schools. Or you might have found some obedience schools that were on the other side of the country. Needless to say, neither one was of much use.
Chances are you have a dog obedience school of some sort in your town, unless you've got a population of less than 20,000. In that event, you might need to opt for dog training videos or books, and I will go over some good resources for that later.
The first thing I want you to do is look for someone with proven experience. You can start in the yellow pages and look under "Dog Training" as opposed to "dog obedience school."
Ask a LOT of questions. These people are going to be molding the mind of your impressionable pup and you want to know that it's a good fit.
Ask things like:
What will the dog be taught? What is the success rate? What happens if you're not satisfied Will you be taught how to continue with your dogs new training? What are their methods of correction when the dog disobeys? Visit the facility too. Check it out. Meet the trainers and see how they act with people and dogs.
Ask if you can watch a training session or a video of a session so you get an idea of what your dog will be subjected to.
Don't make a final decision on a dog obedience school until your dog has met the trainers. Dogs are extremely good judges of character.
For the most part, someone in this line of work is going to be a good person and a dog lover. Some, however, will be doing it just to get a paycheck and may not have your pal's best interest in mind.
If your dog doesn't like them... take another route.
You might want to consider the local 4-H club. 4-H is where I learned how to train my own dog as a child. It isn't a dog obedience school in the traditional sense. It teaches kids how to train their dogs, or a friend's dog. It's a youth education program and it provides many facets of education, one of which is often dog training.
Read more about dog training videos, if you would like an alternative to dog obedience school.
About the Author...
Tina Spriggs is an expert dog lover whose lifelong interest in canines provides the motivation for her site. To learn more about dogs or to find gifts and toys for them visit her site at http://www.Dog-Gifts-and-Toys-for-Dog-Lovers.com.
Are you thinking about dog obedience school? Do you know what to expect out of it? Do you know what it costs or where to find a good school?
If not, let me help take out some of the mystery of finding one to make sure you and your dog get the best experience you can.
If you have searched the web in this topic, you probably found some sites that are basically search engines within search engines, no real information about dog obedience schools. Or you might have found some obedience schools that were on the other side of the country. Needless to say, neither one was of much use.
Chances are you have a dog obedience school of some sort in your town, unless you've got a population of less than 20,000. In that event, you might need to opt for dog training videos or books, and I will go over some good resources for that later.
The first thing I want you to do is look for someone with proven experience. You can start in the yellow pages and look under "Dog Training" as opposed to "dog obedience school."
Ask a LOT of questions. These people are going to be molding the mind of your impressionable pup and you want to know that it's a good fit.
Ask things like:
What will the dog be taught? What is the success rate? What happens if you're not satisfied Will you be taught how to continue with your dogs new training? What are their methods of correction when the dog disobeys? Visit the facility too. Check it out. Meet the trainers and see how they act with people and dogs.
Ask if you can watch a training session or a video of a session so you get an idea of what your dog will be subjected to.
Don't make a final decision on a dog obedience school until your dog has met the trainers. Dogs are extremely good judges of character.
For the most part, someone in this line of work is going to be a good person and a dog lover. Some, however, will be doing it just to get a paycheck and may not have your pal's best interest in mind.
If your dog doesn't like them... take another route.
You might want to consider the local 4-H club. 4-H is where I learned how to train my own dog as a child. It isn't a dog obedience school in the traditional sense. It teaches kids how to train their dogs, or a friend's dog. It's a youth education program and it provides many facets of education, one of which is often dog training.
Read more about dog training videos, if you would like an alternative to dog obedience school.
About the Author...
Tina Spriggs is an expert dog lover whose lifelong interest in canines provides the motivation for her site. To learn more about dogs or to find gifts and toys for them visit her site at http://www.Dog-Gifts-and-Toys-for-Dog-Lovers.com.
Nutrition and Your Dog's Behavior
Nutrition and Your Dog's Behavior
Proper nutrition is the fundamental basis for every aspect of your dog's life.
It affects their health and longevity by offering an essential balance of proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates and the trace nutrients and minerals their bodies need for growth, repair and the mantainance of a sound immunne system.
Nutrition is a complex and integral part of your dog's ability to think clearly, lower stress levels and produce a calmer behavior.
Thinking takes a lot of energy. Dogs invoved in a training program, expend tremendous amounts of mental energy focusing on the tasks presented to them. If your dog starts with minimal nutrition, they become lethargic, edgy or hyper active when asked to perform the simplest of tasks. They cannot focus and loss concentration after a short period of time or become confused. If the dog is continually asked to do something they cannot comprehend, confusion can lead to an aggressive form of acting out.
In training dogs, the first thing I look at is the dog's diet! I work from the inside out. Training becomes ineffective if the underlying caiuse for the behaviors are not changed.
Hyper, unfocused and out of control dogs often eat foods with high levels of cereal compounds such as: wheat, corn and corn meal.
Aggressive dogs eat foods contain higher levels of incomplete protein which produce excessive amounts of energy. These proteins are often incomplete chains, not offering proper building and repair or may be difficult to digest.
Shy or stressed dogs do not digest their foods well at all and can suffer from intestinal complications such as diarrhea. Their coats are often dry, brittle and shed heavily.
One way to test the foods you are feeding is to soak the food in water for about 30 minutes. If it swells in size and becomes mushy, it is primarily cereal.
Are your dog's stool soft and loose or is the dog gassy? If so, they are not digesting the food properly.
By looking at their food, you will do more to help balance their behavior, as well as, contribute to their health and longevity.
Life Abundance offeres the best combination of balanced nutrients for a proper diet.
The proteins are complete chains and digest easily.
The carbohydrates are complex and do not turn into simple sugars producing energy swings of high and low behaviors.
The Probiotics in the food balance the intestinal tract and make the food digest more easily, which is perfect for the nervous or shy dog and ensures all dogs are recieving the nutrients they need from the food.
Jeanne Perciaccanto is a certified Dog Trainer at http://www.ultimatedogtraining.com and Health Educator.
Information on food can found at http://www.healthydogfood.net
Proper nutrition is the fundamental basis for every aspect of your dog's life.
It affects their health and longevity by offering an essential balance of proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates and the trace nutrients and minerals their bodies need for growth, repair and the mantainance of a sound immunne system.
Nutrition is a complex and integral part of your dog's ability to think clearly, lower stress levels and produce a calmer behavior.
Thinking takes a lot of energy. Dogs invoved in a training program, expend tremendous amounts of mental energy focusing on the tasks presented to them. If your dog starts with minimal nutrition, they become lethargic, edgy or hyper active when asked to perform the simplest of tasks. They cannot focus and loss concentration after a short period of time or become confused. If the dog is continually asked to do something they cannot comprehend, confusion can lead to an aggressive form of acting out.
In training dogs, the first thing I look at is the dog's diet! I work from the inside out. Training becomes ineffective if the underlying caiuse for the behaviors are not changed.
Hyper, unfocused and out of control dogs often eat foods with high levels of cereal compounds such as: wheat, corn and corn meal.
Aggressive dogs eat foods contain higher levels of incomplete protein which produce excessive amounts of energy. These proteins are often incomplete chains, not offering proper building and repair or may be difficult to digest.
Shy or stressed dogs do not digest their foods well at all and can suffer from intestinal complications such as diarrhea. Their coats are often dry, brittle and shed heavily.
One way to test the foods you are feeding is to soak the food in water for about 30 minutes. If it swells in size and becomes mushy, it is primarily cereal.
Are your dog's stool soft and loose or is the dog gassy? If so, they are not digesting the food properly.
By looking at their food, you will do more to help balance their behavior, as well as, contribute to their health and longevity.
Life Abundance offeres the best combination of balanced nutrients for a proper diet.
The proteins are complete chains and digest easily.
The carbohydrates are complex and do not turn into simple sugars producing energy swings of high and low behaviors.
The Probiotics in the food balance the intestinal tract and make the food digest more easily, which is perfect for the nervous or shy dog and ensures all dogs are recieving the nutrients they need from the food.
Jeanne Perciaccanto is a certified Dog Trainer at http://www.ultimatedogtraining.com and Health Educator.
Information on food can found at http://www.healthydogfood.net
A Cat Tale
A Cat Tale
My son and I have a cat. Her name is Princess, aka Sugar Bear or Bear. She is part Himalayan and part Siamese. I was just thinking, I rarely, if at all have ever mentioned her and I really don't know why. She is a huge part of our family and has been a great emotional support for me and Dakota. Which brings me to my next subject, emotional support animals. I have noticed that a lot of people are now obtaining animals for "emotional support" , but honestly they have always been for that purpose right, only now the law labels them as this and in most cases if you have a doctor that is willing to say you need support, your pet maybe the one to give you just that. I have had anxiety in the past and I know from experience that my pet, Bear, gives me great support and I have to give all my pets that respect . I know all pets past, present and future give me a great deal of love and affection and are devoted in ways no human would ever begin to understand.
My son has his Mini Schnauzer from when me and his dad were married and he is always with that dog, his name is Squirt. I don't think I could ever go for long without some type of pet and companion. When I was married we had the two Minis, Natasha and Squirt, we split them up after we divorced so Dakota would have a dog at each house, because he was so attached. I even have visitation rights, well David allows me to see him when I want and sometimes he brings him to my house, Squirt that is. Bear doesn't like that to well but she accepts it anyways. This cat is quite a character, every cat I have ever owned has never been the typical, independent cat. My cats always followed me everywhere, and would even take walks with me and Dakota. I kid you not, they would even walk a mile with us if we went that far. I don't know many cats willing to follow you to the front door let alone a mile, sometimes I feel like I am in that Homeward Bound movie, with the two dogs and the cat.
Dakota and bear have a great time. I swear it is like having two kids. If she isn't bothering him then he is bothering her. He can be laying on the couch and she will sneak over and get down by his head and swat him in the back of the head ,and she will be lying on the back of the couch and he will just have to grab her by the tummy or something to get her started, they play hide and seek together and I play that too. It is actually fun. Hide behind a corner and call her and she sneaks up the hall and jumps up it is sweet. I don't even always call her by name, sometimes I just say brrr like a purr and she comes running or will start meowing at me. I love her to death and Dakota loves her more than anything and is very protective of her. Even his friends have nicknamed her and play with her, but she is loyal to us. She will even growl when someone knocks on the door and I have never, ever heard of that.
When I get mad at her she reacts violently too. One day she hit me in the eye with her scratching post and I know this is mean but I said, 'freaking cat', and she ran over and swatted me on the head, I guess telling me to not yell at her, it was really funny. I had to write this, she gives me so much support and love and is devoted more so than any other cat I have known, and I am so glad we got her. She definitely is a part of this family and she is right now, sitting here under my chair as I write, maybe waiting on Bub to get home, probably waiting for me to give her a treat, either way we love her and are so glad she is family
My son and I have a cat. Her name is Princess, aka Sugar Bear or Bear. She is part Himalayan and part Siamese. I was just thinking, I rarely, if at all have ever mentioned her and I really don't know why. She is a huge part of our family and has been a great emotional support for me and Dakota. Which brings me to my next subject, emotional support animals. I have noticed that a lot of people are now obtaining animals for "emotional support" , but honestly they have always been for that purpose right, only now the law labels them as this and in most cases if you have a doctor that is willing to say you need support, your pet maybe the one to give you just that. I have had anxiety in the past and I know from experience that my pet, Bear, gives me great support and I have to give all my pets that respect . I know all pets past, present and future give me a great deal of love and affection and are devoted in ways no human would ever begin to understand.
My son has his Mini Schnauzer from when me and his dad were married and he is always with that dog, his name is Squirt. I don't think I could ever go for long without some type of pet and companion. When I was married we had the two Minis, Natasha and Squirt, we split them up after we divorced so Dakota would have a dog at each house, because he was so attached. I even have visitation rights, well David allows me to see him when I want and sometimes he brings him to my house, Squirt that is. Bear doesn't like that to well but she accepts it anyways. This cat is quite a character, every cat I have ever owned has never been the typical, independent cat. My cats always followed me everywhere, and would even take walks with me and Dakota. I kid you not, they would even walk a mile with us if we went that far. I don't know many cats willing to follow you to the front door let alone a mile, sometimes I feel like I am in that Homeward Bound movie, with the two dogs and the cat.
Dakota and bear have a great time. I swear it is like having two kids. If she isn't bothering him then he is bothering her. He can be laying on the couch and she will sneak over and get down by his head and swat him in the back of the head ,and she will be lying on the back of the couch and he will just have to grab her by the tummy or something to get her started, they play hide and seek together and I play that too. It is actually fun. Hide behind a corner and call her and she sneaks up the hall and jumps up it is sweet. I don't even always call her by name, sometimes I just say brrr like a purr and she comes running or will start meowing at me. I love her to death and Dakota loves her more than anything and is very protective of her. Even his friends have nicknamed her and play with her, but she is loyal to us. She will even growl when someone knocks on the door and I have never, ever heard of that.
When I get mad at her she reacts violently too. One day she hit me in the eye with her scratching post and I know this is mean but I said, 'freaking cat', and she ran over and swatted me on the head, I guess telling me to not yell at her, it was really funny. I had to write this, she gives me so much support and love and is devoted more so than any other cat I have known, and I am so glad we got her. She definitely is a part of this family and she is right now, sitting here under my chair as I write, maybe waiting on Bub to get home, probably waiting for me to give her a treat, either way we love her and are so glad she is family
Picking Up a Horses Hoof
Picking Up A Horses Hoof
The idea of picking up a horse's hooves can intimidate some owners since a well-placed horse kick would really hurt! Such caution is good, but in reality if you pick up a horse's hoof properly you provide him with no leverage or ability to kick you. This is a situation where a person's worst fears can cause him to imagine an incident that is highly unlikely to occur with careful handling.
Here's how to safely pick up a horse's hoof:
Starting with the front hoof, approach your horse diagonally from his front so that he clearly knows you are there ? you don't want to surprise him. Place yourself even with his shoulder and make sure to face his rear; you will both be facing opposite directions during the hoof picking process.
Making sure that your feet aren't too close to the horse's hoof, start running the hand parallel to him down his shoulder and along the length of his leg, finally stopping just above his ankle. Gently grasp the ankle portion and click (or otherwise verbally cue him) to ask him to raise his leg. If he's well trained, that small cue will be more than enough and he'll do just what you requested. You're now free to begin picking his hoof.
If your horse is being a bit stubborn or hasn't learned how to pick up his legs yet try leaning into his shoulder as you run your hand down the back of his cannon bone. You can also gently squeeze/pinch the tendons to further cue him to what you would like. As you perform these physical cues make sure you provide a verbal one also (I make a clicking sound) so the horse later associates your sound with the requested response. Increase the weight you push against his shoulder until he finally lifts his leg as requested.
When picking a horse's hoof you want to remove all debris from the hoof clefts as well as the rim and frog. Be careful around the frog because it can sometimes be a bit sensitive, particularly if the horse has thrush.
Once you have finished cleaning the front hoof carefully guide it back to the floor; you don't want to allow the horse to slam it, potentially hitting your foot in the process. Praise your horse and pat him on the front shoulder a bit so he understands that you are pleased with his cooperation, then run your hand along his back to his rear leg. Place yourself in the same position as you did with his front leg and do the process over again.
There is a slight difference between lifting a rear foot and front foot, even though your basic positioning and actions are nearly identical. When you lift your horse's rear foot he will probably give a little jerk that you might misinterpret as a kick. This is a common reflex reaction among horses and nothing for you to worry about.
Secondly, when you raise your horse's rear leg you'll want to step into him a bit so that your hip is underneath his leg. Rest his leg on your thigh, grab his hoof and gently flex it upwards. By doing this you lend him some support and more importantly the position of his leg and his flexed hoof will prevent him from being able to kick you.
Clean the hoof, lower it cautiously as you did the first and praise him. Congratulations ? you're halfway done! The opposite side will be done exactly the same way, but try to return to his front and start the opposite side rather than move around his rear. It's bad practice to approach or circle all but the most trusted horses via the rear in such close quarters since a horse would be within range to strike.
When lifting any hoof try to make sure your horse is properly squared (balanced evenly on all four legs) so that when you lift one hoof he can easily balance on his remaining three. At no time should the horse actually lean his weight on you! Even when you rest his rear leg on your thigh you're not allowing him to use you as a crutch.
Once you have picked your horse's hooves a few times it will probably become very simple and take less than 5 minutes to clear all hooves. Most trained horses will raise their hoof for you the moment they feel your leg run down their leg.
It is a very good idea to control your horse's head while you are picking his hooves. This can be done by attaching his halter to crossties or asking a partner hold your horse's head. By controlling his head you ensure your horse can't move away from you while you're trying to pick his hooves, or worse? turn around and take a bite at your rear!
Jeffrey Rolo, owner of AlphaHorse and an experienced horse trainer and breeder, is the author of the above article. You will find many other informational articles dealing with horse training and care as well as games and other horse fun on his website: http://www.alphahorse.com.
The idea of picking up a horse's hooves can intimidate some owners since a well-placed horse kick would really hurt! Such caution is good, but in reality if you pick up a horse's hoof properly you provide him with no leverage or ability to kick you. This is a situation where a person's worst fears can cause him to imagine an incident that is highly unlikely to occur with careful handling.
Here's how to safely pick up a horse's hoof:
Starting with the front hoof, approach your horse diagonally from his front so that he clearly knows you are there ? you don't want to surprise him. Place yourself even with his shoulder and make sure to face his rear; you will both be facing opposite directions during the hoof picking process.
Making sure that your feet aren't too close to the horse's hoof, start running the hand parallel to him down his shoulder and along the length of his leg, finally stopping just above his ankle. Gently grasp the ankle portion and click (or otherwise verbally cue him) to ask him to raise his leg. If he's well trained, that small cue will be more than enough and he'll do just what you requested. You're now free to begin picking his hoof.
If your horse is being a bit stubborn or hasn't learned how to pick up his legs yet try leaning into his shoulder as you run your hand down the back of his cannon bone. You can also gently squeeze/pinch the tendons to further cue him to what you would like. As you perform these physical cues make sure you provide a verbal one also (I make a clicking sound) so the horse later associates your sound with the requested response. Increase the weight you push against his shoulder until he finally lifts his leg as requested.
When picking a horse's hoof you want to remove all debris from the hoof clefts as well as the rim and frog. Be careful around the frog because it can sometimes be a bit sensitive, particularly if the horse has thrush.
Once you have finished cleaning the front hoof carefully guide it back to the floor; you don't want to allow the horse to slam it, potentially hitting your foot in the process. Praise your horse and pat him on the front shoulder a bit so he understands that you are pleased with his cooperation, then run your hand along his back to his rear leg. Place yourself in the same position as you did with his front leg and do the process over again.
There is a slight difference between lifting a rear foot and front foot, even though your basic positioning and actions are nearly identical. When you lift your horse's rear foot he will probably give a little jerk that you might misinterpret as a kick. This is a common reflex reaction among horses and nothing for you to worry about.
Secondly, when you raise your horse's rear leg you'll want to step into him a bit so that your hip is underneath his leg. Rest his leg on your thigh, grab his hoof and gently flex it upwards. By doing this you lend him some support and more importantly the position of his leg and his flexed hoof will prevent him from being able to kick you.
Clean the hoof, lower it cautiously as you did the first and praise him. Congratulations ? you're halfway done! The opposite side will be done exactly the same way, but try to return to his front and start the opposite side rather than move around his rear. It's bad practice to approach or circle all but the most trusted horses via the rear in such close quarters since a horse would be within range to strike.
When lifting any hoof try to make sure your horse is properly squared (balanced evenly on all four legs) so that when you lift one hoof he can easily balance on his remaining three. At no time should the horse actually lean his weight on you! Even when you rest his rear leg on your thigh you're not allowing him to use you as a crutch.
Once you have picked your horse's hooves a few times it will probably become very simple and take less than 5 minutes to clear all hooves. Most trained horses will raise their hoof for you the moment they feel your leg run down their leg.
It is a very good idea to control your horse's head while you are picking his hooves. This can be done by attaching his halter to crossties or asking a partner hold your horse's head. By controlling his head you ensure your horse can't move away from you while you're trying to pick his hooves, or worse? turn around and take a bite at your rear!
Jeffrey Rolo, owner of AlphaHorse and an experienced horse trainer and breeder, is the author of the above article. You will find many other informational articles dealing with horse training and care as well as games and other horse fun on his website: http://www.alphahorse.com.
Chihuahua Training is Easy
Chihuahua Training is Easy!
You may be wondering if Chihuahua training is easy or hard. Well, from my experience it is very easy! If you've already managed to raise a dog with behavioral problems (this is easy too!) you can correct them in a very natural way by following a few simple recommendations.
There is one book that I highly recommend (I wish I had written it!) that goes well beyond what most dog trainers talk about and gets to the heart of how your dog feels about and experiences life. In the book The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell, you'll read that dogs naturally feel like they still belong to a pack and they want to interract with you as part of the pack.
Our Chihuahua is named Yoda (our son is a huge Star Wars fan) and he's so happy now that he doesn't have to worry about leading the pack anymore. He's no longer "top dog" ...unless of course we change our behavior in a way that promotes him up to leader of the pack again. But then it's easy enough to change positions again by performing our newly learned Chihuahua training methods!
You can try some simple things the book recommends yourself to see how they work, like making it look like you've eaten some food first and then giving your dog his/her food to eat. Then, if after 5 minutes or so the dog hasn't eaten the food, take it away. This lets the dog know that you're in control of the food supply...a classic top dog role! And the next time you feed your precious pet they wil be sure to gobble up whatever leftovers you've provided for them. With a small breed like the Chihuahua it's also important not to overfeed them, but that's a subject for a Chihuahua Health article.
Another thing to try is to ignore (this can be very hard with Chihuahuas since they're so cute!) your dog for the first 5 minutes after you come home. The top dog never makes a fuss over the pack when returning home. But it's OK to worry about and make a fuss over your Chi when it returns home (like after going outside to "do it's duty").
It's amazing to see the difference in Yoda's behavior when we follow a few simple rules of how to live life in a [Chihuahua] dog pack. Chihuahua training becomes easy!
If you're like me (I'm not known to be a patient shopper...I want it now!) you'll want to go out and pick up the book at your local bookstore today or check out your local library to see if they have a copy. I don't know the author and the only reason this was written is we both feel it can do so much good for so many people and their pets. Especially if you may be thinking your dog is out of control and may have to be put down. Please, please read this book before taking any such drastic action!
Joan & David Anderson are creators of a site dedicated to pictures of Chihuahuas, plus Chihuahua resources. Visitors and Chihuahua picture submissions are welcome. Please visit http://www.chihuahua-pictures.com
You may be wondering if Chihuahua training is easy or hard. Well, from my experience it is very easy! If you've already managed to raise a dog with behavioral problems (this is easy too!) you can correct them in a very natural way by following a few simple recommendations.
There is one book that I highly recommend (I wish I had written it!) that goes well beyond what most dog trainers talk about and gets to the heart of how your dog feels about and experiences life. In the book The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell, you'll read that dogs naturally feel like they still belong to a pack and they want to interract with you as part of the pack.
Our Chihuahua is named Yoda (our son is a huge Star Wars fan) and he's so happy now that he doesn't have to worry about leading the pack anymore. He's no longer "top dog" ...unless of course we change our behavior in a way that promotes him up to leader of the pack again. But then it's easy enough to change positions again by performing our newly learned Chihuahua training methods!
You can try some simple things the book recommends yourself to see how they work, like making it look like you've eaten some food first and then giving your dog his/her food to eat. Then, if after 5 minutes or so the dog hasn't eaten the food, take it away. This lets the dog know that you're in control of the food supply...a classic top dog role! And the next time you feed your precious pet they wil be sure to gobble up whatever leftovers you've provided for them. With a small breed like the Chihuahua it's also important not to overfeed them, but that's a subject for a Chihuahua Health article.
Another thing to try is to ignore (this can be very hard with Chihuahuas since they're so cute!) your dog for the first 5 minutes after you come home. The top dog never makes a fuss over the pack when returning home. But it's OK to worry about and make a fuss over your Chi when it returns home (like after going outside to "do it's duty").
It's amazing to see the difference in Yoda's behavior when we follow a few simple rules of how to live life in a [Chihuahua] dog pack. Chihuahua training becomes easy!
If you're like me (I'm not known to be a patient shopper...I want it now!) you'll want to go out and pick up the book at your local bookstore today or check out your local library to see if they have a copy. I don't know the author and the only reason this was written is we both feel it can do so much good for so many people and their pets. Especially if you may be thinking your dog is out of control and may have to be put down. Please, please read this book before taking any such drastic action!
Joan & David Anderson are creators of a site dedicated to pictures of Chihuahuas, plus Chihuahua resources. Visitors and Chihuahua picture submissions are welcome. Please visit http://www.chihuahua-pictures.com
Training Trix
All of these are just some of the articles found in this website! 1000's of other articles!http://www.trainingtrix.com
