Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
My dogs' house rules
At Pup Concierge, all of our clients have their own house rules in terms of acceptable behavior and expectations for their dog(s). I want to share our house rules for our boys. My fiance, Paul Sancimino, and I have two Puggles, Marley (3 years old) and Tucker (almost 6months old). They are the loves of our lives, we practice training on a daily basis, and have lots of fun, exercise, socialization, and snuggle time. When our dogs disobey any of the following rules, they get a timeout in their crate (the length of time for the timeout is directly related to the offense). Since we are very consistent, our dogs instantly know when they've done something wrong and will walk themselves into their crate and sit there quitely until they are released.
Here is a letter to our dogs outlining the Bernard/Sancimino dog house rules:
1. You may not sit anywhere near us while we are eating. Begging is unacceptable and we never share our food with you. Any acceptable leftovers (see my blog on forbidden foods) will be placed inside of food-stuffed toys, put in the freezer, and used as an occupier for you at a later point. We use the command "out" and "stay" and our dogs recognize us as a leaders and do not beg since we've always been consistent.
2. You may not steal food from your brother. For mealtime, you will hold a sit-stay with your food in the bowl in front of you, you may begin eating when we give you the release word- Okay.
3. Snuggling on the couch, kissing, nuzzling, bellyrubs, are highly encouraged. You must respond to "off" when it is time for you to get off the couch. You are not permitted on any furniture but the couch.
4. Tucker will always be in his crate at night or in unsupervised times for his first year, crate training is amazing when done properly. Since Tucker is in the crate, Marley is too so he doesn't taunt him. Both dogs love their crate and go running into their dens with the command "go to bed." We randomly put treats and other food stuffed toys in their crates, making it a wonderful destination for them.
5. Make friends and be outgoing! Please warmly welcome our two and four-legged guests into our home, give them lots of attention, play, and snuggle with them.
6. No sleeping in our bed. As a special treat (2-3times a year), we might invite you for snuggle time in the bed but you'll have plenty of snuggle time on the couch.
7. No chasing or whining at the cats when we're in Vermont at your grandparent's house.
8. You may only chew on your toys. I do not give my dogs stuffed animal toys because they're too similar to clothes and shoes and I do not want my dogs to mistake our things for a toy.
9. Going for a walk outside, you will heel nicely, respond to sit, down, stay, look, leave it, hand target, and calmly greet people and dogs or you will not say hello at all- pulling, barking, or jumping is unacceptable and will not be rewarded. You will also sit or lay down in the elevator the entire time so as not to disturb other people.
10. This goes without saying, but no going to the bathroom in the house! An occassional excitement pee is unavoidable but highly discouraged.
Here is a letter to our dogs outlining the Bernard/Sancimino dog house rules:
1. You may not sit anywhere near us while we are eating. Begging is unacceptable and we never share our food with you. Any acceptable leftovers (see my blog on forbidden foods) will be placed inside of food-stuffed toys, put in the freezer, and used as an occupier for you at a later point. We use the command "out" and "stay" and our dogs recognize us as a leaders and do not beg since we've always been consistent.
2. You may not steal food from your brother. For mealtime, you will hold a sit-stay with your food in the bowl in front of you, you may begin eating when we give you the release word- Okay.
3. Snuggling on the couch, kissing, nuzzling, bellyrubs, are highly encouraged. You must respond to "off" when it is time for you to get off the couch. You are not permitted on any furniture but the couch.
4. Tucker will always be in his crate at night or in unsupervised times for his first year, crate training is amazing when done properly. Since Tucker is in the crate, Marley is too so he doesn't taunt him. Both dogs love their crate and go running into their dens with the command "go to bed." We randomly put treats and other food stuffed toys in their crates, making it a wonderful destination for them.
5. Make friends and be outgoing! Please warmly welcome our two and four-legged guests into our home, give them lots of attention, play, and snuggle with them.
6. No sleeping in our bed. As a special treat (2-3times a year), we might invite you for snuggle time in the bed but you'll have plenty of snuggle time on the couch.
7. No chasing or whining at the cats when we're in Vermont at your grandparent's house.
8. You may only chew on your toys. I do not give my dogs stuffed animal toys because they're too similar to clothes and shoes and I do not want my dogs to mistake our things for a toy.
9. Going for a walk outside, you will heel nicely, respond to sit, down, stay, look, leave it, hand target, and calmly greet people and dogs or you will not say hello at all- pulling, barking, or jumping is unacceptable and will not be rewarded. You will also sit or lay down in the elevator the entire time so as not to disturb other people.
10. This goes without saying, but no going to the bathroom in the house! An occassional excitement pee is unavoidable but highly discouraged.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Forbidden food for your dog
If you are a dog owner who likes to give your dog a nibble of your food, please be careful what types of food you share with your dog. It's safest to stick to rice, lean meats, plain bread, and pasta. From a training perspective, I do not recommend ever sharing food with your dog while you're eating. Rather, stuff a Kong toy with leftovers, put it in the freezer, and give it to your dog as an occupier while you're cooking the following night. Otherwise, your dog will beg and look at you, yearning for a bite of what you're eating.
Be sure to avoid giving your dog access to the following foods because they can be harmful:
Chocolate: Large amounts of chocolate, especially dark chocolate or baking chocolate are dangerous to dogs and cats.
Candy: Any candies containing the artificial sweetener, Xylitol, can cause your dog's blood sugar to drop, leading to seizures and possibly death.
Grapes and raisins: Even a single serving can be enough to lead to kidney failure in your pet. Never give these to your dog.
Nuts: Any nuts should be avoided, but walnuts and macadamia nuts are particularly toxic.
Onion: Ingesting onions can destroy an animal's red blood cells causing breathing difficulties, anemia, and weakness.
If you're concerned about your dog eating a forbidden food while you're cooking, I recommend teaching your dog that they're not permitted to be in the kitchen while you're preparing a meal. Using the commands "out" and "stay" will help. Practice these commands without the presence of cooking and food, then increase the difficulty by adding more distractions like pretending to cook, finally when you're ready for the real thing, you're dog will have practiced the appropriate behavior.
Additionally, I recommend teaching the command "go to bed" to teach your dog to play with toys in a designated spot or in a crate/den at that time. I recommend that you hide some of your dog's favorite toys and give them to your dog while you're cooking and eating. Your dog will be so excited by their favorite toy or food stuffed toy that they'll be appropriately occupied while you're cooking or eating.
Be sure to avoid giving your dog access to the following foods because they can be harmful:
Chocolate: Large amounts of chocolate, especially dark chocolate or baking chocolate are dangerous to dogs and cats.
Candy: Any candies containing the artificial sweetener, Xylitol, can cause your dog's blood sugar to drop, leading to seizures and possibly death.
Grapes and raisins: Even a single serving can be enough to lead to kidney failure in your pet. Never give these to your dog.
Nuts: Any nuts should be avoided, but walnuts and macadamia nuts are particularly toxic.
Onion: Ingesting onions can destroy an animal's red blood cells causing breathing difficulties, anemia, and weakness.
If you're concerned about your dog eating a forbidden food while you're cooking, I recommend teaching your dog that they're not permitted to be in the kitchen while you're preparing a meal. Using the commands "out" and "stay" will help. Practice these commands without the presence of cooking and food, then increase the difficulty by adding more distractions like pretending to cook, finally when you're ready for the real thing, you're dog will have practiced the appropriate behavior.
Additionally, I recommend teaching the command "go to bed" to teach your dog to play with toys in a designated spot or in a crate/den at that time. I recommend that you hide some of your dog's favorite toys and give them to your dog while you're cooking and eating. Your dog will be so excited by their favorite toy or food stuffed toy that they'll be appropriately occupied while you're cooking or eating.
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