Miss Porter Diary

When your dog won’t listen to your commands, it can be frustrating — and it can also be dangerous. After all, this kind of communication can help keep your dog out of trouble, preventing him from running out into a busy street or eating something he shouldn’t. It can also help keep you sane by helping you manage problem behaviors. Develops your Dog's "Hidden Intelligence" To eliminate bad behavior and Create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams. CLICK HERE! But it’s not always easy to get to the root of the problem. So where do you start if your dog doesn’t obey — either in specific situations or all of the time? Here are a few problems you may be encountering. If you’ve ever tried to communicate with a hyper toddler, then you know how excited energy can be distracting. It’s no different with dogs. When your pup is raring to go, his only focus is on releasing all that pent-up energy inside, and he’s going to have a hard time listening to you. So remember to prac

I like to use food to train dogs whenever we can for many reasons. First, food is what’s known as a primary reinforcer. That’s a fancy way of saying “the dog needs it to survive.” Think about it, dogs (or us, for that matter) can’t live without food. So it’s pretty important to a dog. Second, food is usually a really nice reward for a dog. It tastes good. It smells good. They like it and will work hard to earn another tasty tidbit. Develops your Dog's "Hidden Intelligence" To eliminate bad behavior and Create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams. CLICK HERE! However, some dogs are picky, like my dog. He refuses chicken. Won’t take a hot dog. Won’t even consider a dog treat. Which limits my options for using food as a reinforcer. I mean, if he doesn’t like it, it’s not a reinforcer. Period. I’ve found that he does like cheese. It’s relatively cheap when bought in the econo-saver blocks and it lasts over a week in the refrigerator. It’s easy for me to handle — not

All dogs, regardless of size, age, or lifestyle, should be taught basic leash skills. You should be able to take your dog for a walk around the block or into a crowded vet office without having your legs wrapped up. Good leash skills are also important for safety, both your dog’s and your own. Develops your Dog's "Hidden Intelligence" To eliminate bad behavior and Create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams. CLICK HERE! Begin by capturing your dog’s correct behavior on leash. Even if he’s a whirling dervish or major-league puller, there will be times when he stops the craziness enough to let the leash go slack. He may even turn to look at you (probably to find out why you’re plodding along). If your dog walks pretty nicely without pulling or dancing, mark and reward him every so often to give him a “reference point.” If he understands that you like him to walk calmly without pulling, and he gets excited and forgets his manners somewhere down the road, be sure to

The truth is there's no one answer to why dogs bark at night. It really depends on the dog and what is going on his environment. Most dogs who bark at night do it while they are outside, which means causes of the behavior are related to the outdoors. Dogs have very good hearing, and it's significantly better than ours. They can hear sounds that we can't notice. So, while you may not hear anything while standing in your backyard at night, your dog might. If your dog is noise-sensitive and reacts to strange sounds with barking, you can be sure faraway sounds will set him off. Develops your Dog's "Hidden Intelligence" To eliminate bad behavior and Create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams. CLICK HERE! Dogs become bored easily when they have nothing to do and will make their own fun. Barking at every sound they hear, joining in with the neighbor dogs in a group barking session, or just barking to let out energy are all reasons behind night barking. Dog

Most of my professional life, it seems, has been spent trying to help pet owners deal with the health issues of unfit or overweight pets. The problems of pet obesity are so severe and widespread that I was caught off guard recently when a dog owner asked me for advice about having her dog run with her as she trained for a marathon. Develops your Dog's "Hidden Intelligence" To eliminate bad behavior and Create the obedient, well-behaved pet of your dreams. CLICK HERE! While I'm always delighted to hear from pet owners who understand the value of exercise — for themselves and their animals — running for fitness is not my area of expertise. When you’re raised on a dairy farm as I was, fitness comes naturally, by way of being alive. We never stopped moving, and who needs weight-lifting when there are hay bales to move? I do work out daily under the loving guidance of my wife, Teresa, who’s an expert in fitness and nutrition. And I still move those hay bales. But the runn