your dog’s health and nutrition

healthy. Keeping your dog healthy involves taking him to
the veterinarian, meeting his exercise needs, feeding him
a nutritious diet and keeping him at his optimum weight.
You should take your dog to his veterinarian for
annual checkups and for any required vaccinations or
treatments. It is important that you feel comfortable
with your veterinarian so that you are able to discuss any
concerns you have about your dog's health and nutrition.
Exercising your dog regularly will keep your dog healthy
and happy. When training your dog, keep in mind that
training and exercise are not the same. Even if
you train your dog throughout the day, you will
still need to exercise him.
When choosing a diet for your dog, make sure
you consult with your veterinarian to ensure his
nutritional needs are being met. If you feed your
dog table scraps in addition to his regular diet,
watch for signs of stomach upset and be sure to
account for the extra calories to prevent your
dog from becoming overweight.

Training and your dog’s age

From birth until maturity, your dog goes through
physical and mental developmental periods.
What happens during these stages can, and
often does, have a lasting effect on your dog.
His outlook on life will be shaped during these
periods, as will his behavior.
The age at which a puppy is separated from its
mother and littermates has a profound influence
on his behavior as an adult. Taking a pup away
from the mother too soon may have a negative
effect on his ability to handle training. For example,
housetraining may be more difficult under
these circumstances. A pup’s ability to learn is
important to becoming a well-trained dog. It will
also affect his dealings with people and other
dogs. So what is the ideal time for your puppy to
make the transition to its new home? All the
behavioral studies that have been done recommend
the 49th day, give or take a day or two.
These studies have also shown that dogs begin
to learn at 3 weeks of age. At 7 weeks old, their
brains are neurologically complete, and all the
circuits are wired. Their mind is a blank page,
and all you have to do is fill it with the right information.
They won’t forget what they learn in the
next few weeks. If you wait until your dog is
older, he’ll probably have picked up several bad
habits, which means you have to erase the page
and start all over, a much more tedious job than
starting when he’s a puppy.

Training Plans Week by Week

Week 1

• Review responding to name
• Review sit and sit-stay for food
• Sitting on command without food in your hand
• Sit-stay longer
• Sit-stay at your side with distractions
• Sit-stay for petting
• Sit-stay with eye contact
• Downing on command
• Come and sit

Review Responding to Name
For instructions on how to teach this, see chapter 3 under “Teaching Your
Dog His Name.”

Review Sit and Sit-Stay for Food
For instructions on how to teach this, see chapter 3 under “Teaching
Commands: Sit, Stay, Okay, and No.”

Collars

Your basic training collar will be a buckle or quick-snap collar. Every dog
should have one. You will attach any tags and identification. This is the only
collar that is safe to leave on your dog when he is alone. Try to do as much of
your training as possible on this collar.
A disadvantage of buckle collars is that some dogs can back out of them.
This is dangerous if you are walking on a street. For this situation, I recommend
a martingale type collar. A popular brand is a Premier collar. This type
of collar closes enough to prevent your dog from escaping, but not enough to
choke your dog.
When it comes to teaching your dog not to pull on leash, you may find
it useful to use something other than a buckle collar. There are several to
choose from, all of which work by making your dog uncomfortable when he
pulls.

Prong collar, nylon choke collar, buckle collar, martingale collar.

My favorite is a head collar. Some popular brands are the Gentle Leader
and Halti. Head collars work by pulling a dog’s head to the side when he
pulls forward. These are very humane and the most effective way to stop
pulling on leash. Head collars have a strap that goes around a dog’s neck and
another that goes around his muzzle. They work like a halter does on a
horse. If a halter can control a thousand-pound animal, it can control the
largest Newfoundland, the most headstrong Lab, or the most stubborn terrier.
Head collars are great for working with dogs who lunge for any reason,
whether to jump on people or chase squirrels, or because of aggression problems.
They can make trips to the vet much less stressful.