How to make your pet dog a part of the family

How to Make your Pet Dog Part of the Family

The most important component of making any dog part of your family is learning to speak his language. You may well laugh, but whether spoken or signed, dogs communicate.

We all know what a wagging tail means; same for growls and barks. Or do we?

A tail wagged high and fast generally means a dog in a playful mood is expressing his willingness to play. Almost everyone knows this. A low slow wagging tail can be curiosity or aggression. Barking fast, sharp and loud can be excitement, the “hooray my person is home is home” type of excitement or the “you’re a stranger don’t come near me” type of excitement. Once you’ve heard that fast, sharp and loud bard directed at strangers as well as family a few times you will notice a difference provided you’re listening to your dog.

The placement of the dogs head, looking down or up, not meeting your eye, or meeting it directly, all have different meanings. Rolling on its back, trying to lick you, these are all communications your dog knows instinctively. If you don’t understand why and where your canine companion is using them, communication is difficult. If you can’t communicate with your pet, your relationship will never be all that it has the potential for.

Consistency is also vital to your dog knowing his place and feeling comfortable. If one member of the family feeds your pet at the table, your dog will expect everyone at every table to feed it. If no one feeds it at the table, your dog will never expect to be fed there. Don’t confuse him by feeding at the table sometimes and not others.

Do not discipline your dog for something, say chewing a shoe, one time and not the next. Be consistent. Do you confuse your pet by giving him a shoe as a chewtoy and then discipline him for chewing one of your good shoes. How is a dog to know the difference? Don’t set him up for misbehavior, he’s smart but not that smart.

Show affection, not aggression. A dog who is petted and rubbed and talked to, one who is played with and walked, who you treat like a family member, is going to be a much happier dog than one who is limited in its physical contact with humans. A happy dog is an affectionate dog.

Dogs are social animals. They enjoy contact with others be they canine or human. You don’t have to hold your dog in your lap or let it sleep in your bed, you don’t have to be in constant physical contact 24/7. You should though, let it sit or lay near you when you’re home or accompany you when you can safely take it on errands or trips. Have a spot on the floor near your bed, if you’re not comfortable with it actually on the bed, to sleep at night. Your dog will feel more comfortable and you may well feel that way too.

Learn to talk to your dog, be consistent in your treatment of him, they need love and attention, and you will have a happy faithful companion for years.

Teach your cat to fetch – Part 1

Fetch is not at all a hard trick to teach a cat, if you take advantage of the cat’s natural tendency to pounce. The sweetest, cuddliest cat was designed by nature as a predator; it is in his or her DNA. It is this trait that fetch training exploits.

Any cat training should be done at a time when there are few or no distractions, and when the cat or kitten is in a wide awake and playful mood. I strongly advise that only one cat be trained per session, and that sessions be short enough that the cat does not become bored and restless. Fetch is very easy to train though, and it is possible the cat will be fully trained after one session.

Pet supply stores sell a variety of toys suitable for fetch training, for example the light fluffy balls from Whisker City that are designed to be recharged with catnip. You do not want to use catnip at this time though, so use a stale puff. Any other small light cat toy will work as well, or you can make one with lightly crumpled foil. Attach a line of white or clear sewing thread tightly to the toy. You will also need some of whatever treat you normally use to reward your pet.

Now, to the actual training: Wave the toy around to catch the cat’s attention, and then toss it on the floor a few feet away. The cat will most likely leap on it. When it does, slowly reel the ball in, bringing the cat with it. Then praise and reward the cat. Wave the ball around again, and repeat. Eventually, you can detach the string, because the cat has learned the trick.

Reinforcement is the psychological term for the praise and rewards you give your cat to encourage the behavior you want to see. Scientists say that behaviors are established most quickly with consistent reinforcement. Therefore, reward the cat each time he or she fetches while learning. However, once the trick is mastered, the cat will perform for the most times without a reward if the rewards you dole out are intermittent. Essentially, once the cat knows the trick, you should begin training him or her to wait for a reward for good behavior. So use consistent rewards to teach the cat how to fetch, and then switch to inconsistent rewards to keep him or her performing.

Some cats just will not learn this trick. They are cats, after all, and free beings. Most cats though, will be delighted to learn. Before long, your cat may well begin to pester you to play many happy games of fetch.