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Training a dog or puppy is not difficult. All that is needed is patience, dedication and some simple tactics and you will get great results.
Here are five top tips on how to train your dog or puppy successfully:

1. Have only one person be responsible for training the dog initially. This is to prevent your dog getting confused and so that they can learn to recognise commands easily. If too many people are trying to train the dog at the same time this can stop progress in its tracks.
2. Use positive reinforcements. If the dog does something good, you should reward this behaviour. If the dog cannot understand or follow your commands, never push him. Dogs are of course not as intelligent as humans; they will make mistakes. However, you should also realise that your dog or puppy won't easily understand your commands in just one teaching, It takes repetition to train a dog successfully. Do not scold or punish your dog as he might develop fear. This will hinder his learning and willingness to be trained. You can use treats in order to encourage your dogs, although don't overdo it.
3. Teach commands just one at a time. Try to teach your dog or puppy one command after the other. If he cannot absorb it, try to stay on that command only because adding additional commands will just confuse the dog. Start with the basics.
4. In executing commands, you should keep your voice cheerful so that the dog will happily follow your commands. Dogs will respond to a low and coaxing voice. If you shout or talk too loudly or aggressively, he may become startled and unresponsive.
5. Train your dog in various locations. This allows your pet to adjust to different environments and to new people and situations. Take him to the park, the beach or through the neighbouring streets. This will help your dog associate with other dogs and people.

Training your dog can sometime be tough, but it will be worth it. And after all, in the end, you will actually be the one to benefit when your dog is fully trained. Having a well trained pet in your life not only increases the enjoyment of dog ownership it also has a positive effect on your stress levels.

For a powerful system for training your dog visit Brainy Dogs

Toilet training your dog or puppy as early as possible is always advisable. However this can only achieved with a fair amount of persistence and patience. Although dogs are generally believed to be very clean animals, their animal instincts can drive them to relieve themselves wherever they find it convenient. This can be very frustrating for the dog owner and we all know how it feels to your have your floors and carpets soiled and messed when least expected. With the right training, however, your dog or puppy can be perfectly potty trained. Here are a few tips that will help you to toilet train your dog or puppy - and remove the need for that carpet cleaner!

Patience and Persistence

It is important to take note of the fact that the younger the puppy, the longer he may take to learn and get into the mode of the habits that that are being taught to him/her. Therefore, it is very important to be patient and persistent. Your dog will gradually learn the rules and form the right toilet habits when trained on a daily basis. Remember, that every dog has his own individual learning curve. So, punishing your dog every time he makes a mistake is not going to solve the problem.

Creating the Right Habits for Your Dog

Many animal trainers behaviorists believe that getting the dog into a habit mode is the key to perfect toilet training. It is therefore recommended that the dog owner takes the dog out every few hours as well as 30 minutes after the dog eats his meal. Choose a specific spot outside where you would be taking him on an everyday basis. Also, praise your dog now and then or when he obeys well. If however, he refuses to go outside, wait for fifteen minutes and try again. Gradually your dog will understand that going out is a sign of going to the bathroom. Also, pay attention to your dog’s body language and behaviour. If he/she starts to sniff or circle around, it is a sign that they need to relieve themselves. Select a designated spot each time you notice that your pet dog needs to relieve himself and take him/her to that spot every time.

React to 'Accidents' the Right Way

As mentioned above, every dog has its own individual learning curve. This learning curve is greatly affected by the owner’s reaction to any 'accidents' caused by their pets. Each time your dog displays symptoms of relieving himself, call out his name or clap in order to distract his attention. Constant control on his activities will help you determine his/her behavioral patterns as well. Make sure that you don’t vent out your anger or frustration on your dog if he does cause an accident. Carefully clean up the mess and ignore the dog completely while doing so. If he/she does try and approach the accident area, make sure you don’t yell at him or react in any way. Simply ignore your pet - otherwise you may find he may not be able to bond with you. The key is to train the dog and not instil fear in him.

Confining Your Dog or Puppy

At times confining your dog or puppy is the best approach towards their toilet training. Large crates or cages are used to hold them and restrict the area of their movement. Dogs will usually refrain from reliving himself at the spot where he sleeps or sits as they are essentially sanitary creatures. Whenever, Mother Nature calls, a dog would instinctively move out of the cage or crate in order to relieve himself. This gradually would become a mode of habit for him. However, it is important to ensure that the pet owner gets large sized crates and cages to confine the pet dog so that he/she has enough room to move about. This helps in creating a pattern that the dog will follow even after he is no longer confined to a crate or cage.

Use of Repetitive Commands

The home owner should use a certain set of words for the dog repeatedly until the dog understands what exactly it is a sign for. For example, if you take your dog or puppy outside, you could say “go potty”. Dogs have a keen ear and the ability to learn quickly. They would gradually understand what exactly the owner is signalling by the use of these specific words. Use of these commands on a regular basis is important so that your dog becomes familiar with them and begins to follow them. them.

Keeping Your Dog or Puppy Happy

It is important that your puppy or dog bonds with you, its owner. This only comes with love, affection and care. Reward your dog with treats once in a while and praise him every time he obeys your command or responds well to the training.

With patience, persistence and consistency you can have a dog that is not only well trained for the toilet, but which is obedient, loving and a joy to own.

One of the biggest problems for all pet food producers is contamination. Unfortunately this is extremely widespread and the consequences can be disastrous. Usually the manufacturer will recall the product, but often not before illnesses and even deaths have occurred. Some recent examples are:

• in 2007 a large number of pet foods were contaminated with melamine sourced from China. Thousands of dogs and cats were believed to have died as a result of eating these foods
• Orijen withdrew from the Australian market in 2009 after its irradiation treatment process was linked with paralysis in cats.
• in 2010 Eukanuba and Iams withdrew their products due to salmonella contamination.

Sadly, there seems to be an ever-increasing flow of product recalls due to contamination. Salmonella bacteria is becoming one of the most common. This is a concern because the bacteria can be passed on to humans from handling infected food. This can cause health problems such as severe nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea that can last for several months.But now for some good news…..
There is ONE (and ONLY one) company that has NEVER had a single case of salmonella contamination of its pet foods.

In fact, this is the ONLY company has never had a SINGLE food recall for ANY contamination of ANY kind.That company is Midwestern Petfoods, producers of Pro Pac Superpremium and Earthborn Holistic.
It's an incredible record, especially as the company has been producing pet food for more than twenty-five years!

The reason of this astounding safety record is to be found in the company's quality control systems, which, due to the difficulty and cost, are used by very few pet food producers.Essentially, EVERY batch of Pro Pac and Earthborn Holistic are tested by the laboratory for a wide range of possible contaminants. No batch is ever released until the test results are obtained. This is referred to as "Positive Release". VERY few other manufacturers go to this trouble to ensure every bag of food is in perfect condition.
Pro Pac and Earthborn Holistic are the envy of the industry for their perfect safety record. You can feed your dog or cat these foods with absolute confidence that not only are they getting the best in nutrition (no by-products, fillers or artificial ingredients) but they are the safest foods on the market.

Pro Pac Superpremium and Earthborn Holistic Grain Free dog and cat foods are sold in New Zealand by Petfood Direct, with free nationwide delivery. To purchase, visit www.petfooddirect.co.nz or call toll free on 0800 DOG FOOD (0800 364 366)

Though sometimes we would like to think otherwise, the reality is that for a dog food is their first priority. Because of this, one of the very first steps in training your dog successfully is to make yourself seen by your dog as being the leader. You can use food to do this by showing your dog that he can only have his food at your discretion and command. Give him his dinner and allow him to eat for a few seconds. Then take his bowl away from him. Use an appropriate sound each time you do so, such as "leave" or "stop", and keep the bowl for a few seconds. Provided he didn't show any aggression as you removed the bowl, tell him how 'good boy',give it back and allow him to continue eating. Repeat this two or three times during each meal for a few days, then once or twice a week for a few weeks.
Some dogs are never possessive with their food, but you may find if your dog came from a large litter, the only way he could obtain his share of the food was to threaten his brothers and sisters. Finding that this action achieved the desired result (getting more food), he may well try it with you. If you don't sort this out very early on, this possessiveness will transfer to other things, such as bones, toys, furniture and so on - perhaps even to other members of the family. this is all clearly unwelcome behaviour.

To stop your dog being aggressive with his food, don't give him possession of it! By this I mean feed him by hand for a couple of weeks. Prepare his food in the bowl as usual, but don't put the bowl on the floor for him. Simply feed him a handful at a time. The bowl of food on the floor almost instinctively makes him want to guard it, so if he is not put in this position of needing to guard, he will not bite!Feeding by hand also helps if your dog is dominant in other areas. It makes him completely reliant on you for the most important thing in his life (such as his food) and this will reinforce your position of pack leader, as he is only receiving the food from you and not from the bowl. You can also use this period of hand feeding to your benefit by making him perform for some minor order from you for some of the food. Get him to sit first before one handful, or to lie down for the next, and so on. Don't make him run around for the food as this could cause digestive upsets.
You will find that after a couple weeks of this regime, his general attitude over possessions will change. You can then try giving him his food in a bowl again, and, provided there is no sign of aggression, continue to feed him normally.

For dogs that are food possessive, do not give them bones or toys, as they will attempt to guard these in the same way. Once the food possession has been sorted out, you can try introducing a toy, but make sure the dog understands that it is your toy, and he is only allowed to play with it with you, and when you decide the game is to end, you must end up with the toy.For more great ideas on how to train your dog effectively visit the Dog Training System here Click Here!

The world of pet food is a fast changing one. With new products coming onto the market all the time it can be hard to keep up with finding the best food to feed your dog or cat. However, in the face of this, a couple of clear trends are emerging.
Firstly, the internet is having an increasing influence. This is in two areas. There are now more companies selling online direct to the customer and providing home delivery. Secondly, however, the internet is the place where people go to do their research. Online sources (such as www.dogfoodadvisor.com) are proving to be far more informed and independent than the average vet or pet shop assistant in showing people just what the good foods are and why. Vets and pet shop staff are given very little (if any) nutritional training and tend to be influenced solely by their relationship with the companies whose products they sell.

The second big trend is that the big companies are losing market share to smaller, more innovative companies. Without big marketing budgets, smaller companies tend to put more effort into the quality of their ingredients and use that as their selling point. They can also often afford to sell their foods at a lower price and therefore offer both better value and quality.Petfood Direct is at the forefront of both of these trends:

• Buying direct from us you get your pet food delivered direct to your door, freight free throughout New Zealand.
• Our feature foods, Earthborn Holistic Grain-Free and Pro Pac dog foods are both independently rated as amongst the best quality foods on the market. Dogfoodadvisor.com, the world's leading online dogfood reviewer, rates them much higher in quality than brands such as Eukanuba, Hill's Science, Nutro, Royal Canin or Pro Plan.
• Rather than being more expensive than other foods, Earthborn Holistic and Pro Pac are up to 30% cheaper. We don't need to buy expensive advertising or subsidise retailers to promote these products. Word of mouth is spreading the message about these foods so we can pass the savings on to you.
• Pro Pac and Earthborn Holistic are growing at a phenomenal rate around the world and are currently sold in 76 countries.
• Pro Pac has increased its sales worldwide on an average of 22% per year - for the last decade!
• Worldwide sales of Earthborn Holistic more than doubled in the last 12 months.

More and more people around New Zealand are discovering the dramatic difference that these foods make to the health of their dog.

The best foods for your dog at a lower price. It's a winning formula that is part of a worldwide trend.Earthborn Holistic Grain Free and Pro Pac are available in New Zealand from Petfood Direct. For more information and to order visit www.petfooddirec.co.nz or call 0800 364 366