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March 2020

  /    /  March

Has begging for food become an issue with your dog? Perhaps your dog used to be good but things have gotten worse over time. Maybe the problem wasn't even created by you — but rather by someone else in your household. Perhaps food falling off the table is a result of your disability — as can happen with those who have loss of motor function. Judgement and finger-wagging aside, no dog should beg for food. Especially not Service Dogs. The good news is that with training and consistency, you can correct this problem. Read on to learn how to teach your dog to stop begging for food. First of all, the key to changing behavior — and this works for children, adults or dogs — is to recognize why the behavior is happening. Why do dogs beg for food? Because it's successful. That is the only reason. If a dog was never successful at getting food from begging it would not perform that behavior. In other words, you or someone else in your house is the problem. Not your dog. Dogs do not understand "sometimes" You can't give your dog food sometimes and then expect them not to beg at other times. This is something where you and everyone else has to be consistent. And being consistent with begging means

Service Dogs working in public come into contact with a wide variety of surfaces. Some examples include floors, the sides of counters and checkout stands, and the underside of chairs or benches. As such, your Service Dog's equipment can pick up all kinds of germs. Keep reading to learn how to sanitize your Service Dog's gear. Service Dogs need a wide variety of equipment and gear. At a minimum, almost every Service Dog wears some kind of jacket or harness, collar or head collar, and leash. Many also wear boots, tags, sweaters, or other clothing. At home, most dogs have bowls, toys, beds, brushes, and other supplies. Keeping your Service Dog's stuff sanitized might reduce the number of germs passed back and forth from your hands to the gear and back. It also keeps you from picking up the germs the equipment carries home from everything it touches in public. You'll sanitize different kinds of gear in different ways. Some gear will prove easier to clean than others. A few items might not be able to be sanitized. Depending on how important sanitization is to you, you may have to get rid of some of your Service Dog's gear or switch it out for stuff that's more easily cleanable. Lots of gear contains multiple materials. Leashes are often leather or nylon with a metal snap. Kennels often contain plastic and metal components. Some toys might be rubber and fabric. You'll have to sanitize each piece of the item appropriately for the best results. It's important to note that cleaning is different from sanitizing. Sanitizing kills bacteria and germs. Cleaning removes visible dirt. Simply cleaning items won't kill germs. How Does Sanitizing Work? When you sanitize something, you kill the germs on it. This reduces the risk of getting sick. Sanitizing something generally requires either high heat for an extended period or a sanitizing solution like a bleach mixture or Simple Green. Certain types of UV light kills microbes on some surfaces and might be useful for soft surfaces like dog beds. Most households don't have the ability to sanitize properly via heat. Noncommercial washing machines and dishwashers typically don't get hot enough to kill bacteria and other germs. Boiling water can be used to sanitize but the items must be completely submerged. Commercial sanitizing solutions like Lysol and Clorox disinfectants work well to sanitize dog equipment. However, the instructions must be properly followed in order for these

Welcoming a new dog into your home is a big event. It's not just exciting for you and your family, but your new puppy too. But as fun and exciting as it may sound, you need to be prepared to put time and thought into preparing your home for your new family member. Before making the house better suited your new dog, it might be best to make sure you picked the right one. Every person has a specific type of breed that they love, but first, take in mind your living situation. For example, if you live in Arizona, a Husky may not be the right breed for you since this breed is bred for colder climates. Consider the size of your house, if it's an apartment or condo, how how large is your yard and even what activities you enjoy. Get a Collar And Tags for Your Dog The first thing three things you should purchase before you begin welcoming a new dog into your home are, in this order, are identification tags, a collar and a leash. Be prepared for your new puppy’s natural curiosity to get them into all sorts of trouble — including wandering off. A puppy is like a toddler and you’ll need to keep track of them at all times. They should never be without a collar and tag. If your puppy is high energy, avoid tags and collars that can get caught on things and cause injury. It's essential to make sure whatever collar you choose appropriately fits your dog. In stores, you can do this by putting the collar on your dog and making sure two of your fingers easily between your canine's neck and the band. Otherwise, be sure to use a tape measure if you're looking to buy a collar online. In addition, you may also wish to consider microchipping your dog. If your dog should lose it's collar or tags, a small microchip embedded in it's skin will help a veterinarian or other animal control officer scan it to find your contact information. Crate Training Crate training is crucial for all puppies. In the wild, a dog’s den is their home — a safe place to sleep, hide from danger and raise a family. Crates function as your dog’s den, where they can find comfort and solitude while you know they’re safe and secure — and not shredding your couch while you’re out getting milk.

Using dog training games helps build Service Dog foundation skills without overwhelming young puppies or new Service Dog candidates. These bite-sized, upbeat training sessions allow lots of high-energy repetitions and practice. Even better, they fit into anyone's schedule! Dog Training Games: Proximity Proximity dog training games build value to being around you, the handler and trainer. These games create a foundation for teaching recalls, heeling, and focus behaviors. For very young puppies, click and treat when they enter the space around you -- your bubble. Don't worry about exact positions like heel or front. Reward proximity itself. Back up, move away, or sidestep so you get more opportunities to reward your puppy. In the beginning, click and treat every single step you take where your puppy remains in the bubble. Over time, your puppy will follow you and move with you for several steps at a time. You want the puppy to move when you move and stop when you stop, all while remaining close. This kind of dog training game helps them see that their choices matter and that you're an important part of their world. As your puppy gains experience, you can start to play Choose to Heel games. To play Choose to Heel, you'll click and treat every time your puppy comes into heel position on their own. As your puppy starts to offer the behavior more and more, introduce movement, turns, and other challenges. Keep sessions short, upbeat, and positive. Service Puppy Training Games: Targeting Targeting forms the foundation for dozens of Service Dog tasks. It's also an extremely easy skill to teach young puppies. For beginning games, work on nose touches to your open or closed hand. Nose bumps to your fist offer a great place to start, although nose touches to an open hand let you use the skill to teach positions and other behaviors later. Click and treat the instant the puppy's nose contacts your hand. Pretty soon, they'll be taking several steps at a time and moving around you in order to find your hand and touch it. Other forms of targeting games ask for paw touches or use objects like a targeting stick, cones, or mats. Always start close to the intended target. Work towards building distance to the behavior. As an example, your puppy might target a mat or cone right next to you. Next, they might move to it from a couple steps away. Eventually, they'll be