20 Nov

We love that you love your dogs!

By Nicola Exercise walking the dog, dogwalking, mans best friend, enjoying your dog, pet dog, pet ownership

Here at The Dog Blog we are constantly trawling articles, websites, facebook pages, tweets and much more to learn how much people love their dogs. This is the amazing thing about having a dog, they really are your best friend - they give you unconditional love, they don't talk back, they are always there to listen, they always are ready for a cuddle and they love keeping fit with you too!

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29 Oct

Puppy out of control?

By Nicola Behaviour dog behaviour, puppy behaviour, pup behaviour, puppies behaving badly, dogs behaving badly

I get a LOT of enquiries about puppies and dogs out of control in the home. I have been recently been thinking about why this is so, why are so many of our dogs and puppies out of control in our homes?

It could be because of the following -

We expect our dogs and puppies to fit in with our environment.
We think they think like we do! - ah definately NOT!
We think they can just put up with everything around them, things like loud noises, big cars, trucks, bikes, skateboards, noisy garden tools, all sorts of things that they don't understand.

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29 May

Is your dog digging holes?

By Nicola Behaviour separation anxiety, anxiety, dogs digging holes, digging, holes, separation anxiety in dogs

I get asked this question a lot....how do I stop my dog from digging holes?

Well it depends how bad they are as to whether you need to take action or not, but mostly your dog digging holes will come down to boredom and perhaps anxiety...separation anxiety to be exact. But this is not the case for all dogs digging holes! So don't stress just yet if your dog is digging away.

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27 May

Fun play for your dog

By Nicola Playtime fetch, games with your dog, dog games, chasing with your dog

We all love to play with our dogs and what better way to do it than in a way that improves your relationship with your dog and they don't have to be expensive or take lots of time either!

Some ideas for games with your dog are as follows -

Chasings with your dog - allow your dog to chase you around and encourage your dog to you in a positive way, give him/her lots of praise when they come to you! This will reward them lots and make them want to come to you more and more.

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25 May

Funny dog fact for the day!

By Nicola Diet teeth, puppy teeth, puppy teething, dog teeth, dog gum disease, dog dental care

Did you know that an adult dog has 42 teeth and when dogs are a pup they teeth for approx. 1 year. Some breeds such as Staffys and 'wider jaw' breeds can teeth longer, even up to 2 years of age.

The upper jaw holds 20 teeth and the lower jaw holds 22 teeth. When they are puppies they have 28 teeth which will fall out and adult teeth replace them.

Puppies love to chew on things when they are teething. Keep their mouth busy by giving your dog lots of items to chew on that you don't mind getting destroyed.

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24 May

Dangerous foods for your dog

By Nicola Diet toxic foods for dogs, dangerous foods for dogs

Did you know that some foods we eat can be very dangerous to your dog! Be careful with the following foods -

Onions
Grapes
Chocolate
Garlic
Sultanas
Macadamia nuts
Garlic
Corn Cob

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1 May

New puppy and chewing

By Nicola Behaviour puppy, puppies, chewing, teething

Got a new puppy and find its chewing everything?

Well follow some basics and you will be well on your way!

Puppies are looking for stimulation and also they need something to constantly chew on - this is a big problem for new puppy owners.

Give them toys and things to chew on that you don't mind getting destroyed. Make the toys interesting and don't just buy the toy and then expect your dog to enjoy it and keep playing with it, if it's not interesting to puppy then it won't be something that your puppy will continue to play with and chew on.

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24 Jan

To hit your dog?

By Nicola Training hitting, corrections, correcting, bad behaviour, vocal corrections

To hit your dog or not to hit your dog, this question is asked of me often when I am out working with clients as to a possible solution for correcting bad behaviour.

In my experience over the years (even from when I was a little girl and grew up with dogs, caring for neighbours dogs, volunteering with rescue dogs and lots more right through to recent years working through various behaviour problems), it is better NOT TO HIT YOUR DOG. There are various reasons for this -

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3 Jan

Extreme heat and your dog

By Nicola Exercise summer, heat, water, dehydration, health and wellbeing of your pet

Well it's summer here in Australia and at the moment many of our states are experiencing hotter than average temperatures and this will affect your dog and your pets. There are some simple things you can do to ensure that your dog and other pets have enough fresh water and shade during the heat of the day.

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2 Jan

Young toddler with a dog?

By Nicola Behaviour toddler with dog, children with dog, baby with dog

So, you have a young toddler with a dog in your household? Or maybe you have two or three young children and a new puppy or a new dog that you have adopted from a shelter or foster carer setup and now need to settle everyone in so that there is harmony in the household. Here are some great tips on what you can do to help ease the pain of bringing these two ever changing things together!

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