Tips

Training Your Dog Can Save Its Life

Beyond Cans and Kibble

Training Your Dog Can Save Its Life
by Novalee Truesdell

Did you know that the leading cause of death among dogs today is  behavioral issues. That’s right, it is not the much feared parvo, distemper, bordatella, or heartworm that most often takes the life of a dog, but its own undesirable reactions to its environment that can ultimately claim his life. Behavioral problems can prove deadly in many ways: a dog chasing a bicyclist into the road and being hit by a car, consuming a poisonous plant in the house it was told to leave alone, or a dog being euthanized for her potentially dangerous aggressive or territorial tendencies.

Please know that just because one does not intend to show their dog in the ring, it is in the best interest for both owner and canine companion to train them beyond potty training. All breeds and sizes of dogs can benefit from learning and at the very least those basic yet life saving commands such as “Come”, “Leave it”, “Wait” or “Heal”, “Sit” and “Stay. This will not mean you have to start punishing your dog or rob your beloved pet of her fun and quirky personality. There are methods of teaching dogs new things using only positive reinforcement techniques appropriate to his current stage of development. By rewarding a dog for it's positive actions with treats, praise and favorite toys, the need for compulsion training (that uses negative motivations to force new behaviors on an animal) can be completely eliminated.

So don’t delay in your decision to take the pup to a manners class or check out a book on the topic and start practicing some tricks at home. If you need a bit more guidance, there are many great animal behaviorists who will work one on one in your own home which is well worth the fee if you’re feeling hesitant about how to get your dog to obey. Just don’t get discouraged. No matter how old or rowdy your pet is, consistency, practice and lots of rewards will eventually result in a happier, safer dog with which to spend many more joyous years to come. Do it for you, do it for the dog, and believe me, as soon as you get that first command down, you will both be excited and eager to take on more!

As part of my animal behaviorist training I am offering discounted training sessions to help your dog master simple commands. Please visit my rates page for more information.

Beyond Cans and Kibble

This is my message to those people who strive to live healthfully and want to cover all aspects of their life in doing so, including the beloved family pet! I know you love your pet(s) and it is likely you have already gone to great measures to select a brand of dog food. Maybe it is organic or all natural, free of corn or fillers or even says it is recommended by vets. Perhaps it actually is the best possible dog food out there on the market today and that is great but there is one small problem: if you religiously purchase and feed this one designated type of kibble and/or canned dinner, your dog misses a key component of a healthy diet. Just like us our dog needs variety in what it eats to prevent a lack of or overabundance in any one vitamin or nutrient. In addition, different forms of vitamins and nutrients can be easier or harder to digest depending on weather the item is fresh or packaged, natural or synthetic and if the animals digestion is compromised or not. Just as it would be unwise for us to choose one brand of whole grain crackers (kibble) and one companies packaged chicken soup (canned wet dog food) and then proceed to eat only those two items every single day for every meal, we must not let this become routine for our pets either. Even if we had picked the highest quality products and they were free of preservatives and low sodium and even all organic, we would need to include other, fresh foods from various food groups in order to have a balanced diet.

So here is the first thing we, as dog owners, can do for our best friends: make the decision to improve our own diet! That’s right, by choosing to prepare fresh healthy meals for ourselves on a daily basis, we eliminate the need to do anything extra for our pet but scoop a portion into their bowl, too. Let me give you a few examples to get you started thinking down the right path. From there it is just a matter of being creative and incorporating your own personal preferences into your dog favorites. For instance, an excellent way for us to get the abundant vitamins and alkalizing chlorophyll out of dark leafy greens is by adding several stalks into a smoothie every morning and blending it with some fruit plus ground flax and probiotic powder. Please see my section for yummy recipes that are people and dog friendly! All you have to do is save a little bit of what you make—anywhere from a few tablespoons to half a cup—to stir into your dogs regular meal that day. On the same token, those of us who take up juicing may put aside a little of the carrot and apple pulp we had leftover to mix into our dogs kibble along with a drizzle of that vibrantly living vegetable juice to flood the cells with a wealth of easily absorbable nutrients. You might also sprinkle a little dry greens powder with naturally occurring enzymes and nutritional yeast, hemp oil, flax oil, or garlic powder over this. Please see my list of dog friendly supplements that can take your dog to new levels of health to follow. Likewise with your dinner prep, if you're eating right, you're getting at least one type of veggie in at dinner-so share it with the dog. Mash baked sweet potato into a yummy doggie treat or give her some steamed green beans to chew on. If you baked chicken or fish, substitute a chunk of that (with any sauce or hot spices rinsed off) for the canned food you usually give your pet. Homemade human grade proteins are fresher than anything labeled specifically for dogs and have fewer preservatives and hormones by far. If you do vegetarian, let your dog in on a scoop of lentils or peas and carrots. No need to cook anything separate for your animal companion, just keep your own food choices wholesome and your dog can join in everyday.

If you were blessed with a good eater, you will find that this is a fun and an explorative game to experiment with and your dog will love getting to taste new things, gobbling up the food and the attention collectively. However, should you have a more finicky eater as some breeds are, you may find her less than enthused by your new offerings. Do not give up. I have worked with many a picky eater, especially with my own smaller sized dogs who today gobble up green drinks and chew on carrot sticks and raw squash quite contently. Just start out with teeny, tiny, barely detectable amounts of the new food like just a few drips of blended vegetable puree or a dab of mashed pear right in with their normal familiar dog food. Above all have patience! Some dogs who have only had canned meats will be hesitant to taste a shred of real unprocessed turkey breast but once they mouth it, spit it out, sniff it, push it around and taste it again, they are quickly convinced by the superior flavor. Another option that works nicely for a stubborn little one at the dinner hour, is to fast your dog for a meal or two. As long as water is available, most any dog can easily benefit from a day of not eating. It is actually a very natural scenario in the wild and gives a canines digestive tract a nice rest, leaving energy for her body to detoxify and cells to heal and rebuild while priming the appetite to accept some, new, cleaner foods. In order to provide more guidance and show dog owners how easily these ideas can be implemented into your daily pet care routine, I will provide charts, recipes and time saving tips plus a list of foods that may be hazardous to your dogs health for creating a diet that is as healthy to you as it is your precious pup. Please stay tuned!!!!!

Please visit my shop section to find out about one of my favorite healthy supplements for dogs.