Top Ten Dog Training Mistakes

Top Ten Dog Training Mistakes
If you are in the process of training your dog or considering it, then you might like to check the following list to ensure that you are not making one of the common mistakes.
1) Giving different words for the same command.
If you want your dog to obey your commands, you must be consistent with the words that you use. For example you may issue the command �Sit� most of the time. It is no good expecting your dog to also sit down when you say �Get down off my favourite chair�
2) Rubbing nose in urine
This has no affect on training a dog. All you are doing is burning is nose. Which is probably something that you don�t want to do.
3) Smacking, hitting and punishing the dog.
Experts dog trainers have shown that this type of human behaviour has no positive effect on a dog,
4) Shouting
This will just confuse the dog. Remember, that the whole point of verbal commands is that you have taught the dog to learn from the sound of your voice to link it to an action that he needs to take.
5) Letting the dog eat at the same time as you.
This indicates to the dog that he is your equal. What you need to do is let the dog eat after you. This will teach him that you are the master and in control.
6) Making training session to long.
15 minutes is just about right for a training session. This keeps it fun for young dogs that can have a short attention span.
7) Starting training too late in the dogs life
It�s far easier to train a young puppy. As a dog gets older you will have to put in a lot more obedience training and may have to take the dog to a training school.
8) Puppy crate to big
Puppies don�t like to be a in a big crate. It makes them feel uncomfortable. You can get crates that are adjustable. So that as the dog gets bigger you can adjust the size of the crate to accommodate him.
9) Training the dog when you are in a bad mood.
Don�t train the dog when you are in a bad mood. This means that the tone of your voice will be different and the dog will not be able to link your verbal commands to the action that he should take.
10) Not giving lots of praise.
To enforce your commands, when the dog has taken the right action give him lots of praise.

Dogs Beg - The Question: Is There Training Available For Our Human Friends?

The focus of many pet owners seems to be directed towards their animals, which makes a great deal of sense in most cases. However, when trying to correct unwanted behavior in your dog you might want to point that finger inward sometimes and have a little glimpse in the mirror. It is easy to become annoyed with your pet when you feel as though you have tried everything and nothing seems to work.
Maybe your Boston Terrier continues to chew on your shoes or other objects while you are not at home. Perhaps the Maltese in your life still has accidents in the house rather than letting you know she needs to go outside. On the other hand, possibly you have a Yorkshire Terrier that snips at strangers, even guests in your home when they try to pet him. All of these and many other undesirable behaviors that dogs may posses can leave a pet owner feeling frustrated and at their wits end with their furry little friend.
Have you ever considered though when faced with one of these situations that the dog is trying to communicate something to you? Is it possible that Sparky just feels neglected during those long days alone at home while you are at work? Sometimes we can have a big impact on our dogs if we look at our own behavior and consider what the pooch may be trying to tell us through their difficult behavior. Obviously dogs can not talk or speak with us as a human can when they need to communicate their feelings. That is not to say that canines are not vocal because as many of us know they can express quite a lot at times through their barking, growling or whining. However, to really pinpoint what the issue is for your pet you may find that you are the one that actually holds the answers.
Dogs have a very keen awareness for their surroundings and the people in their environment. As most dog owners come to realize, the bond between your dog and you can be extremely strong. There are people who report that during a challenging illness or devastating time in their life that their dog responded as though they knew what was going on and they helped their owner through the rough time. Sometimes by just sitting near their owner or laying at their feet, other times dogs may whine and pace back and forth, especially when other people are around because they are trying to indicate that their owner needs help.
Experts have even confirmed that dogs do have an ability to detect several human emotions and many of them will respond in unique ways. For example; when there is a lot of anger or arguing occurring within a household your dog may respond by acting up in a number of ways, which is not a problem with the dog but rather your pet is responding to the hostility and unpleasantness it senses in the house. Everyone goes through difficult periods in their life and it is obviously impossible to avoid exposing your dog to any anger or hostile situations throughout their life. The important thing to remember is that your situation and how you handle it is not your dog�s choice or within their area of responsibility.
Dogs deserve and hopefully get, the majority of times anyway, a good, loving and stable home. They respond well to a structured environment, complete with rules and routines. If you typically get up each morning and walk your dog before you go to work and then you suddenly stop doing it all together, your dog will respond in some way, possibly a negative one. It is not the dog�s fault that you changed your behavior and they have no other way of communicating other than to chew up stuff or have an accident in the house as their way of saying, �hey what is going on.� In some cases dogs can even become depressed, this happens most frequently in situations where the dog was once loved and well cared for and then suddenly became ignored and forgotten about. It is really sad to see a dog that is in this form of doggy-depression because again, they did not ask to come to live with you, you chose them.

Skin and Gill Flukes in Tropical Fish

Skin and Gill Flukes in Tropical Fish
While parasites of various types are often responsible for fish rubbing themselves against objects in the tank, sometimes to the point of causing raw skin, it can be difficult to identify which parasite it is, unless you have a very good visual of it.
In the case of skin fluke, which is a parasitic flatworm, they are unlikely to show themselves to the extent where you would be able to remove them manually as you can with leeches or fish lice. One of the common denominators they have with other parasite infections, is they can cause redness of skin, but so can rubbing against stones and wood. However, skin fluke also causes a fading of color, and because the treatment is common to other types of parasites, you are best to go with a general medication, such as Droncit or formalin baths, when unsure whether it is skin fluke or not. Remove severely affected fish to a hospital tank.
The standard treatments of adding 1 tbs. of aquarium salt to a daily change of water in the home aquarium, and raising the tank temperature by four degrees also applies. This is used for most parasites, including gill fluke, which has more obvious and visual symptoms.
Gill fluke is a worm that specifically attacks the gill membranes, causing them to turn red and acquire a coating of slime that makes it difficult to breathe. Fish will hang at the water's surface, gasp, and lose weight rapidly. The same tank treatments as skin fluke can be used, but with gill fluke, removing to a hospital tank and adding short baths in either formalin, salt or ammonium hydroxide to the regimen will help kill what is on the fish, and you can then treat their environment.

What Are Bottom Water Tropical Fish?

What Are Bottom Water Tropical Fish?
Bottom water fish are those that prefer living at the lowest level of the aquarium. It's not that they can't swim into the upper regions, they will when spurred by a fish that pesters them, or just for the sake of a quick dash around the tank. But for the most part, they live on the bottom, which is where most of their food comes from.
Tropical fish that prefer the bottom of the tank, usually eat algae that grows there, as well as leftover food that falls on the substrate or the broad leaves of some plants. In a way, the bottom water fish are the housekeepers of your aquarium, cleaning up scraps and preventing the build up of algae. But this is not always a sufficient diet, and they need to be given food that comes in a form or shape specifically designed to reach, and appeal to the bottom feeder.
This is usually a wafer shape, dense enough that it sinks past the top and middle feeders, to rest on the bottom and soften. The bottom feeders can then browse at their leisure, returning later to clean up the remains. In that respect, they are not like top and middle feeders, where food is given a pinch at a time, and feeding should stop as soon as they lose interest. Those tropical fish that hang around the bottom tend to be "grazers", and not the gulpers that you'll find dashing for the surface when they see you coming.
Some of the better-known bottom water fish are the loach, and catfish. There are also algae eaters, Botia, Corys, Knifefish and the more unusual specimens like Goby and Needle Nose.
About The Author
Nate Jamieson
Love Tropical Fish? Find out how to create a beautiful, low-cost tropical fish aquarium with complimentary tips at http://www.TropicalFishIsland.com.

White Spot (Ichthyophthirius) in Tropical Fish

White Spot (Ichthyophthirius) in Tropical Fish
One of the most common diseases encountered by tropical fish hobbyists, is the common parasite known as "ick" or "ich", for ichthyophthirius. In most cases, white spots on a fish's scales are the first sign noticed, although it's possible fish may begin rubbing themselves against objects as well, since it's a very irritating condition.
In severe cases, the fish may even have a gray slimy appearance to their body. By the time obvious symptoms develop, your tank would be well-infested. In the initial stage, the parasite will burrow under the fish's scales and skin, where it lingers, feeding off the skin cells and blood of its host until it's fully developed.
The Ich then breaks through the skin of the fish and falls off into the water, landing on the substrate where it forms a cyst, and begins to multiply, producing up to 1,000 new parasites. The entire life cycle can take as little as 4-6 days.
Because the most vulnerable stage is when they are free swimming, it will be necessary to treat the entire tank, because once a parasite has started to replicate, the tank is already contaminated. You can however, remove severely infected fish to a hospital tank for some extra, topical treatments to try and help it recover, and to prevent secondary infections.
The home tank should be treated by raising the temperature four degrees, and adding a small amount of aquarium salt. Any inhabitants that can't tolerate the salt, should be moved to their own, separate tank until the original one is free of parasites. Medications for adding to the water are available at your fish supply store. Remember that because of their life cycle, and needing to treat the free swimming stage, you will need to medicate the tank every few days, and the entire course of treatment can take up to three weeks.
About The Author
Nate Jamieson
Love Tropical Fish? Find out how to create a beautiful, low-cost tropical fish aquarium with complimentary tips at http://www.TropicalFishIsland.com.