Rachel’s Dog Training

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Dogs are amazing creatures. They are our wonderfully loving and nonjudgmental friends, but they also work. Many dogs have regular jobs, and all of us depend on these working dogs to do those jobs and do them well.

Dogs would likely survive without humans, but humans probably wouldn’t fare as well without dogs. Do they get paid? Well, not in cash. What would they do with cash? No, they get paid in love and gratitude which is the only pay that they expect or need. That’s cheap labor. Try finding a human being who would rush into a burning building to save life or run around rounding up cows until their tongues hung out for nothing more than a pat on the head and a bowl of kibble.

Dogs do many jobs. They pull sleds, herd farm animals, hunt for game, find clues of crimes, inspect luggage for illegal drugs or food items, and hunt for missing persons. They serve as service dogs for those with disabilities. There are seeing-eye dogs and hearing-ear dogs. Dogs pull wheelchairs, turn lights off and on, pick up dropped items, and even call for help when it is needed. Dogs act as our guards and protectors without even being asked.

There are hundreds of breeds of dogs, and dogs come in all shapes and sizes, but there is one thing that all dogs have in common. Dogs have the ability to love unconditionally. There is another thing that all dogs have in common. All dogs want a job to do. A dog might be a search-and-rescue dog that saves lives every day, or he might just bark at the postman to keep him from stealing your stuff. But ALL dogs want to be employed!

All the best,

Rachel and the Dogs

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Naming the new adopted four-legged child is always a challenge. It’s fun, of course, but choosing “just the right” name for your new best friend is important. You want to get it right.

You can name your dog anything you want to name him, he’s yours. There’s no “wrong” answer here. But there are some guidelines that you might want to consider before you hang a moniker on that cute little pup.

The first thing that you need to consider is that he’s not going to stay a puppy, he’s going to grow into a dog. You don’t want to give him a name that won’t suit him in later years, for example calling him ‘Baby’ when he is going to grow into a rather large German Shepherd. This name will not suit him.

Even if your dog is a purebred with a pedigree and comes with a registered name, you’ll still need to give him a name that he’ll learn means you’re talking to him. But the name needs to be short. Dogs are smart animals, however there’s no sense in stretching that intelligence be demanding them to learn to come when you call him by a long name. His name should contain no more than two or three syllables.

Never change your dog’s name once you’ve named him. Stick to that name, so you really do need to get it right the first time. Once you have selected a name think about what it woould be like calling your dog with this name in years to come; will it suit him? Would you like to call your dog by this name? Also, if you are planning for your new puppy to be the family pet make sure that all of the family likes the name you give him.

Good Luck!

Rachel and the Dogs

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Dogs need plenty of attention to keep their minds active and out of trouble. But the main part of attention they need is play. Most dogs love to play with each other but if your dog doesn’t have a play mate then you need to make the time to play with him everyday.

if your dog is a puppy he will usually want to play rough with you even if you have another dog as well. It is good to let him be a little rough but if he starts biting hard and continuing to bite and grab hard when he grows older you have to stop him before it gets out of hand.

Simply stand with your arms folded and ignore him. If your arms are folded he can’t grab your fingers or long sleeves. If you ignore him he will soon get bored of trying grab you and find something else to do. Once he does start patting him again. But if he starts trying to grab and bite again ignore him or go into another room.

This will teach him that you won’t pay him any attention if he behaves that way. If you take your dog for a walk every afternoon, he needs to be well behaved. Because you are taking him out of your yard it is even more important that he behaves in a good way. I strongly suggest that you teach him the four Basic Training skills before taking him walking, especially for the first time.

He needs to obey all of your commands when outside of your yard so that he doesn’t get injured or lost. However if you have him on a leash the whole time that is less likely to happen. For tips on taking your dog walking and training him how to walk by your side, read Leash Lessons.

It is also important to have fun playing with you dog. Dogs are mans best friend for a reason, they always try to make us happy and we should try to make them happy too.

Good Luck!

Rachel and the Dogs

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