Just About Jacks

Archive for May, 2009

People have been dropping pets  off at local shelters at an alarming rate.

This is just another sign of how credit card debt is affecting the American household. A family unit is more than just a mother and a father and 1.2 children, but also includes the family pet.

Breed rescues are seeing this on a daily basis, people walking in, making a decision that they think is is not in their control. Many times they feel the burden and anxiety of household debt looming over their heads. This is an unfortunate spin-off of our existing times.

Examples of pet owners making the decision of settling their debt, or taking care of a beloved member of the home have been popping up all over our country. From households  turning in their pets in order to pay for medical bills, to families  killing their dogs and cats so they can afford to dig out of debt and keep their head above water. The economic breakdown is making it ever more difficult for some pet owners  to justify paying as much as a thousand dollars annually or more on the vet care and food for their dogs.

The population escalation at animal shelters around the U.S. shows how the weak economy is also decreasing the pool of potential adopters.
The recoil effect has been overpopulation of shelters resulting in a faster rate of pets being put to sleep, and many shelters turning away pet owners looking to give up pets.  Of the estimated 6 million to 8 million dogs and cats sent to animal shelters every year, over half are killed what is left is placed.

Having to surrender a pet can exact deep emotional scars on a family, more so on the children who don’t understand economic pain. We cannot expect them to grasp the difficult decision their parents have to make, surrendering their pet to ensure after they pay their bills and credit card payments they can be fed and clothed.

The only other option for many people other than abandoning their pet is to dig themselves out of debt. Debt settlement companies can help families lower their monthly house hold expenses eliminating their need to make the tough decision to allow their pet to be killed. The more people understand that there are options; the less stress will be put on the local shelters trying to deal with this issue on a daily basis.

Another option is to find a person or family member willing to temporarily adopt your dog. This would allow you to relax knowing they are well taken care of and loved. This would allow you to take time and create a debt relief plan putting them in a position to once again make their dog a part of the household again.

Since ancient times, the dog has been always regarded as the man’s best friend. This relationship is so obvious and evident with the multitude of stories telling the loyalty and bravery of dogs in protecting their masters If you have a pet dog, part of nurturing or taking care of it is providing a room of his own – the dog crate Placing your dog in a dog crate is not an act of animal cruelty. Dogs think differently from humans; the dog crate will be regarded by him/her as a personal space. Dog kennels are perfectly humane if they are the right size. When choosing a dog crate, you should shop to a dependable dog supplies store because they’ve got a wide range of size and design to choose from. With a crate for your dog, you will feel relaxed because both your belongings and your dog is secure. You can feel calm because in addition to that, the dog can also be properly trained less the bad habits he/she may acquire. The suitable crate for your dog should not be made up of plastic but of metal wires. Plastics can be lighter in weight but it can be damaged when your dog begins to chew it up. It is also important that the crate has removal floor pan to ensure that your pet will always remain fresh and clean Make sure that it is spacious enough but not too big for a comfortable napping and resting. It is important that your dog have something to play with while inside – he/she will find something to chew with and a plastic toy can be the perfect thing to give him. If he/she is still young, make sure that the crate is handy for transporting and carrying him/her to places you want to visit.

When going out for a walk in the park or bayside, it is advisable to let him wear “doggles” the shortened term for dog goggles. Dog Goggles are not just for old dogs that have trouble with their eyes; any dog can use them. Dog goggles are ideal outdoor gears when walking under the heat of the sunlight or through foggy or dusty roads Goggles for dogs are much preferred over the sunglasses because it can provide more protection due to its flexibility and head-fitting frames. The lens are made up of polycarbonate, which is a shatterproof material, and also UV-coated to protect him from these harmful rays. Your dog should wear goggles all the time while outdoors if his or her eyes is sensitive to light. Goggles are usually recommended by veterinarians for dogs that are visually impaired Always obtain it from a dependable dog supplies store in order not to obtain those that are expensive but of sub-standard quality. You can get all of the supplies described here from any reputable online cat supplies company.

At around three weeks old, your puppy is readily able to adapt to new situations and because they are one of the smartest creatures by nature, potty training puppies will not be too difficult for anyone.

When you're a new pet owner, you can make a choice about whether or not you want to confine your puppy. Crating is what many puppy parents prefer for accident prevention overnight night or when they have to leave their puppy for a period of time. However, some people would want to train their puppy to become more responsible by giving the dog access to everything but with limitations and restrictions. This may sound a little harder than the other considering their playful behavior and uncontrollable urges, but if you choose to apply this, here are the tips you may consider:

You may actually instruct your puppy to go potty out of doors or indoors on newspapers. Without question, for whichever method you choose, you must be very consistent. You can utilize newspaper training for a short while or until your pup is learning to go potty in the right spot inside or outside your house, but you need to teach the puppy step-by-step until it eventually masters his or her business routines.

No matter whether it's in doors or outside, you must pick a spot for your pups to go potty. Let him or her sniff that spot and wait until he or she finally goes potty and take him or her to the same place each and every time. The scent that remained will help stimulate him/her to use the spot again the next time he needs to eliminate.

For young pups, take them out on a leash or carry them to the specific spot within twenty minutes or immediately after each meal, after play sessions, and after a rest period. A firm schedule is the key factor to successful house training of a puppy so don't forget to be consistent. Use the same routine every day and be sure to watch for the indications that your puppy needs to go potty.

During each and every potty break, give your puppy a command such as "go potty" or "go pee" to establish an association between the command phrase and the dog's potty break. Repeat it quietly as many times necessary until your puppy gets familiar with it. This way, it will be easy for him to understand and follow the same command the next time it is given.

When potty training puppies, you can expect that there would always be mistakes and accidents. A puppiy can be just like a baby because they can't tell if they need to go potty or not. Be sure to watch out for the warning signs such as sniffing or squatting and then immediately distract the puppy by clapping your hands or stamping your foot while directing them from the restricted zone.

Finally, don't forget to praise your puppy using encouraging words like "good job" or "good puppy" when the dog performs in the right spot. Let him know you are delighted by giving small rewards or privileges like allowing him to play inside your room. As soon as he becomes more dependable and responsible, you can allow him to move freely inside the house.

San Jose puppy training

There are a lot of schools of thought when it comes to dog training in San Jose as well as how to train a puppy.  The different dog training methods range from strictly motivational to strictly compulsion based and a number of variations in between.  One of the most misunderstood methods of training is the utilization of the E-COLLARS VS SHOCK COLLARS.  Before we get into that lets talk a little bit more about the traditional types of training.  Strictly motivational dog training in theory sounds great. You take the dog and their favorite treat, (dog biscuits, liver treats, diced up hot dogs, etc.) tell the dog to sit, use the food to lure the dog into position, and when the dog is in the correct position reward the dog with a treat.sounds great, but the problem is that around real world distractions assuming that you want to be able to have your dog listen when you take your dog for a walk, there are going to be variables. what I mean is this, lets speak in terms of money, something that every person can understand.  Take the dollar bill.  If you have a $100.00 dollar bill and a $20.one dollar bill and someone says choose one which bill are you taking?Sounds obsurd to even ask that question, right?But that is the whole foundation for training purely motivational.The one upside is your dog will be well fed and happy, but you will have no control around distractions.

The other side of the coin is strictly compulsion based training.  The theory behind this type of dog training is you give the dog a command, then give him a moment to comply, and if he does not then he is heavily corrected via choke chain, pinch collar, throw chain, or shock collar.  Dogs have been trained this way for years and the truth of the matter is you can teach a dog to sit, down, come and so on with this method, but the PROBLEM IS, YOU WILL CRUSH THE DOGS’ SPIRIT in the process.  Now that we have a base and comparison of different types of training lets talk about E-COLLARS vs SHOCK COLLARS.

Your traditional method of shock collar training is correction based.  This type of training has been used for field trial training for a long time as well as for police dogs.  The first type of shock collar training is similar in nature to your pinch collar training.Give the dog a command give him a second to comply and if he refuses then the dog is given a very high level correction.  The purpose of this high level correction in theory is that it will create a big enough deterrent that the dog would not dare disobey again.  The other type of shock collar training is HOT SPOT TRAINING.  Here's how it works.  Lets say that your dog is at a distance and you are teaching him a recall to heal position with a military finish.  You would tell the dog heel and hold down the continuous button which distributes a constant high level shock until the dog happens to get into position to turn off the pain of the correction.  The dog learns that the only way to stop the pain is to get to the safe spot associated with the verbal command which in turn is when the button is then let go and the pain stops.  This type of training creates frantic erratic behavior in the dog because the level of anxiety is so high due to the fear of encountering that type of severe pain again.  On top of all that 95% of dogs go one of two ways:  they go into avoidance (they give up and shut down) or they lash out and try to nip and bite the handler and now you have a handler aggressive dog which usually winds up being euthanized due to the poor training.  The other 5% percent have enough drive that they are able to work through the terrible training condition and their pain tolerance is high enough that they do not shut down.  PROPER E-COLLAR training is very different.  There are a few people in the US that understand PROPER E-COLLAR TRAINING.  TIM SMITH with www.sfcdogs.com  is among the best in the country that understands the system and how to teach it with clear understanding even with the most novice handlers and trainers.  The first thing that you have to understand is that E-COLLAR TRAINING is neither a negative nor positive, it is strictly a neutral means of getting the dogs attention.  What you want is for the dog to be ELECTRONICALLY LITERATE.  The definition of the dog being ELECTRONICALLY LITERATE means that he understands the VERBAL, PHYSICAL and STIMULUS intertwined together.E-COLLAR basics: Lets say it was the first time we were teaching the dog to sit.You would have the electronic collar, regular collar and a leash.  You would then proceed to tell the dog to sit and at the same time you should be guiding the dog into position and pressing the nick button at the same time.Once the dog starts to sit without the aid from the handler then it is time to move on to the sit portion of the command.  With the remote sit you will have a hold of the leash and then tell the dog break, which means he is free to be a dog and run and jump and play.  Once he is at a distance you would tell him sit.The dogs first reaction will be to move towards you since he only knows sit in one facet of the command and that is sit at your side.  Use the pulley method to keep him at a distance so that the dog can start to learn separation of angle.Once he is starting to sit remotely without the help of the leash you are going to sit him at a distance, walk away and turn and face the dog.Then recall the dog towards you and about half way tell him to sit.Before progressing in the process the dog should have already demonstrated that he is ELECTRONICALLY LITERATE.  There are a number of ways to know, but today we are only going to talk about one.  You will see it when the dog starts to break position and you tell him to sit and he self corrects his position back to where he originally was which will be the key for every transition in the sit. The purpose of E-COLLAR training is so the dog can learn in the fastest period of time without compromising the dogs attitude.  You should not be waiting for the dog to make a mistake and then fix it you should be looking for the subtle shift in weight before the dog breaks position so that he has success every time. The other big question is what is too high or low of a level and that answer is that there is no such thing.  This is what I mean.  The common denominator is that you should just be getting the dogs attention so putting it into perspective if you were siting at home watching a basketball game and your wife wanted to get your attention she could tap you on the shoulder lightly and that would get your attention but I can guarantee you that if you were at game seven of the LAKERS-CAVS game and Lebron just stole the ball to tie game with ten seconds left and he is charging up the floor, I can promise you that the light tap that you felt in your house, you would not feel in that situation.  So my point is, you are going to adjust according to a given situation or distraction, but you should not be on a ten if the distraction is a seven and you should not be on a two if the distraction is a ten.It should be three to three or seven to seven.Hope this gives you something to think about in the cutting edge world of e-collar training.  For more information on T.R. systems visit www.sfcdogs.com.

Your pet is your favorite travel companion. You can go to a lot of places with your pet but he has to have to be ready and equipped for it. Pet ramps for example are an example of the tools that you as the dog owner should not forget. Why? This tool is ultra useful for your pet when he gets off your boat, couch, or climb up on your bed from your tile floor, especially for your little Chihuahua or your trusted Labrador. This will be your way of keeping them away from injuries.

Well-known veterinarians advise against having pets jump up or down from heights that are too much for their size, weight, or body structure. Pets that have stout bodies and short legs are prone to spine and joint injuries when they are made to jump heights. Fat pets are even more in danger. That’s how a pet ramp becomes a required preventive tool for your pet’s protection.

Dog steps can be intended for your home pets. Most of these ramps are fixed and can only be used for a certain height. If your pet goes to many places with you, you better choose the multi-purpose one, which is expandable and can be used for greater heights. Pet ramps are a great tool for your old, arthritic, and sick pets.

Some ramps are cushioned or foam covered and they are best suited for your pet cats at home. Your furry cat likes window watching or curling up in bed with you. That’s how significant it is to choose a pet ramp that is light and handy which you can easily carry from one place to another. You have to choose a pet ramp that has thick cover and cushion to avoid scratching the furniture.
Several varieties of pet ramps are made up of plastic or aluminum and some of them are either folding or telescoping. There are some of types of ramps that can easily be folded and stored or used as half ramps for the pool. The material these ramps are made up of can withstand a heavy weight of up to 200 lbs. Pet ramps are meant to save lives of pets if they accidentally fell off the pool.

No matter what ramp you choose make sure that both edges are steadily attached which will prevent movement or slippage that are major causes of injuries. Sometimes you need to support it with your foot for your pet to be able to cross the ramp. There may be times when nonskid pads should be used for vinyl and tiled floors.

Now that you know how significant it is to use pet ramps, it would be better to train your pets on how to use them for their own safety while they are still young.