Owning a Dog can Prevent Eczema in Kids

Worried about eczema? Get a dog! according to study conducted by reseachers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine, beeng exposed to a dog at home, early in life, decreases the risk of developing eczema.
The head of study, Tolly Epstein, M.D., says that children that who have been exposed to dog allergens (before their first birthday) ma actually develop resistance against future allergies. Owning cats, however, has the opposite effect; children who were exposed to cats before turning one were 13 times more likely to develop eczema according to Epstein. This, the reseach team says, could help parents of eczema-prone kids in choosing the right pet for the family.

4 WORDS YOUR DOG SHOULD KNOW

Whether you adopt, rescue, breed or buy a dog, its necessary to teach him “life skills” to help you communicate with one another. To get started, here are four of the most important words you should teach him.
1 “Sit” is the common word and the easiest word to teach a dog. If your dog (lets name him Bingo)tends to jump on you to lick your face and greet you. asking him to sit prevent him from topping you over, keeps him from accidentally causing injury to both of you. Plus, when your walking Bingo and are about to cross the road, asking him to sit allows you to look around and make sure its safe first.
2 “Down” is one of the corner stones for more advance obedience skills. Teaching a dog to go into a “down” position is more challenging since your asking the dog to go into a submissive position. If Bing is having a hard time with it, that’s normal. Ask Bingo to go “down” in the public place will make hi less intimidating to other people. its also sends a message to other dogs that he means no harm, and is less likely to end up in a fight when other dogs are around.
3 “Wait” is a word that differs from other words since it’s a concept rather than an action. Teaching Bingo to “wait” develops patience and “frustration tolerance”. Don’t confuse it with “stay”, which means “hold your position”. Bingo can percieve “wait” as holding himself back for a few seconds, in any position he prefers. It’s teaching him self-control. When Bingo gets exited during mealtime, ask him to wait a few seconds while you put the bowl down so you don’t spill food  on the floor, He may go into a “down” or a “sit”  or simply move away; it’s his choice. Or when visitors ring the doorbell, asking him to wait before opening the door teaches him to greet visitors politely instead of jumping up and frightening them.
4 “Come” Asking Bingo to come when called may be a difficult thing to do especially when he is off-leash, at a distance from you, and smelling cat poop in the bush. But teaching the word “come” enables you to call your dog back to you in a highly stimulating place like a park, and away from potentially dangerous situation. Mastering this is not easy and involves bringing Bingo to different places and training him where there are a lot of destructions, But bingo must respond immediately upon hearing this word in any place, in any circumstance . Having a clear understanding of the word “come” will give Bingo greater freedom off-leash and even outdoors!

The ability to get attention and keep it is the key to training any dog. When dog is both physically and mentally present, learning comes so much faster. All these word are best taught through positive reinforcement method to maintain a happy, enthusiastic dog…

GETTING STARTED WITH CLICKER TRAINING…

1 FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR DOG WILL WORK FOR. Ideally, it should be something small-the size of M-M or smaller for smaller dogs-so your dog doesn’t get full quickly. It should also be easy to consume (so you can work with lots of quick repetition). Biscuits, for example, won’t make for a good treat because it takes a lot of time to chew them!
2 PAIR THE CLICKER WITH THE TREAT. Click and simultaneously give a treat to the dog. D this repeatedly, about 15 to 20 treats, Then, little by little, add a slight to the delivery of the treat so that the gets used to it. When the dog has learned that a click signal treat, start clicking and rewarding for simple desire behaviors, like looking at your face or coming to you.
3 GET THE DESIRE BEHAVIOR BY ONE OF FOUR WAYS. *Targeting- This involves teaching the dog to a touch a target object (i.e a stick or your hand) with his nose or his paw and then moving that target for the dog to follow until he gives the behavior. *Shaping- This involves clicking and rewarding incremental step toward the behavior that you want. For example, if you are teaching the dog to step on a mat on the floor, you would start by clicking and rewarding each step he takes toward the mat, until he eventually gets into it with all four paws (the desired behavior). * Capturing- This is one-step training method, when you clicking every time the behavior happens. However, the behavior must usually be one that is displayed frequently enough to catch, like barking, if you are teaching your dog to bark. *Luring- This method is when you use food to lure a dog into the behavior (like a sit or down).
4 CLICK AND REWARD THE DISIRED BEHAVIOR. Repeat several times and reward each time the dog gives you the behavior.
5 ADD THE COMMAND. Once the dog is offering the behavior, you now add the command by saying it just before the dog offers the behavior. Reward each time.
6 FADE OUT THE CLICKER/TRAETS. Once the dog is reliably giving you the behavior you want, then the clicker and treat are faded out as soon as possible so that the dog doesn't become dependent on them.

Everything you wanted to know about DOG PHOBIAS… Posted on August 27, 2014

Some of the most challenging behavior issues that comfort many dogs owners are PHOBIASS–  this refer to extreme and persistent fear  of objects or particular situations. While fear is a natural and useful emotional response to a life – threatening situation, and most dogs will experience some amount of fear throughout their lives, a phobia is a fear that, under certain circumstances, becomes an exaggeration of the actual danger posed.

What are some examples of dog phobia?One example is the case hunter, a four year old Golden Retriever that will happily take a stroll in Bonifacio High Street during the early part of the day, but when his owner takes him there late in the afternoon, he will have a panic attack for no apparent reason.  Even while still in the car, Hunter will begin to salivate profusely and become agitated. And no amount of coaxing or bribing will get him out of the car.

Then there’s the case of Harry, a seven year old Jack Russel Terrier that has a terrible tantrum every time he goes to the vet clinic. From a block away, Harry starts to get agitated, he has hysterical  fits and barks madly as he is brought down from the car. Because of his attitude,  people form the clinic already know he’s coming, and this has been a perennial source of stress for his owner. Both Hunter and Harry’s cases vividly illustrate how a phobias can cause a life of anguish to both human and pet.

Apart from Thunderstorm and vet clinics, other more common dogs phobias include fireworks, gunshots, and car rides. Il less common situations, dogs may even develop phobias to certain odors, people on crutches or wheelchairs, or even open spaces, Its normal for dogs to be afraid for this things, but when they exhibit extreme physical and involuntary reactions like shivering, panting, or salivating in a state of panic, then it has become a serious issue that will need professional help.

How does a dog develop a phobia of something?

In almost all cases, phobias are learned by  association. Occurring  usually around the period of social maturity between 12 and 36 months of age, a dog may go to through a traumatic experience and may quickly associates that terrifying  moment with something totally neutral. From then on, any event associated with it, or the memory of it, is sufficient enough to trigger a response. In Hunter’s case he associates the place around Boni High Street with the unbearable loud noise of thunder, specially  when it is dark od cloudy. In Harry’s case he associates the image of the vet clinic with pain and suffering that the might have experienced in the clinic. Many dogs are born with a temperament that predisposes them to developing phobias. Shy and timid, these dogs will show signs of fearfulness at a very young age even without the occurrence if anything traumatic. As a puppy, Hunter would run away at the sight of a laundry basket, a plastic bag, or upon hearing the vacuum cleaner, When he was four months old, he played with a tablecloth and when he tugged it, all the plates and cutlery came crushing down around him. That was his first traumatic experience involving intense sound.

Adding to the genetic component, the lock of socialization in many puppies may also lead to them developing phobias. Manny well-meaning owners, following the instruction of their vets not to take the dogs out of the house until after the vaccinations are complete, will miss out on the socialization period between two to four months of age, during which puppies must gradually be exposed to new things it will later encounter in the human world. New people, new objects, other dogs and animals— all of these arre potentially frightening situations to a puppy. And with little or no socialization, these dogs may become highly prone to developing phobias of them in time.

How do you deal with it?

Thankfully, many new studies have led to several treatment protocols that dead with phobias. Clinicians are now encouraged to  treat rather than just manage them. And because every dog is different and because phobias will vary in severity, there is currently no one treatment that will work for all dogs. Some dogs will miraculously recover quickly, some may take a long and tedious process, and others will at most show at least some improvement.

No matter what treatment protocol is selected, it is important that before a dog undergoes any behavior program, he must be healthy. Any medical issues must first be addressed prior to therapy, so consult  your vet beforehand. Keep in mind that any treatment must not make the problem worse, A poorly designed and implemented program can do more harm that good, so work only with certified professionals.