AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' CANINE ACADEMY...
HELPING TO BUILD A STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR
DOG THROUGH POSITIVE, BALANCED TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION
Helping Your Dog Adjust To His New Home
- Set up a schedule and follow it consistently.
ALWAYS feed, walk, socialize, put out to make, etc., your dog at the same time. Like the rest of us, dogs feel much more comfortable if they know what to expect. Follow this schedule for at least 4 to 6 months, as it will take the dog some time to feel "at home". Be Consistent - not just with the schedule, but also with everything you do with your dog. Decide on the rules the dog will live by and then stick to those rules. Dogs learn much more quickly and behave much better if you are consistent in your actions and expectations.
- Consistency must start the minute you get the dog home.
Everyone in the household needs to agree on the rules for the dog; how those rules will be taught and how they will be enforced. This means that you will need to be prepared for the dog BEFORE he comes home. Be fair to the dog -- do not get him impulsively. Be ready for him. Dogs don't just walk in the front door and say to themselves "Oh...there's the potty". They need to be trained where to relieve themselves even if they are already housebroken. A new house means new rules and you MUST TEACH HIM the rules.
- Do not get angry. Anger does not teach
-- it may be understood as a threat or a challenge by the dog. Either way, it does not lead to the desired response. Deal with disobedience by using quick, matter-of-fact corrections. Do not get your emotions involved. Many problem behaviors are not the result of the dog's attempt "to get even" but rather a result of being bored, lonesome, frightened or having learned to get attention by some undesirable means.
- Pack leader. A leader is clear, concise, and consistent.
Dogs understand and need to have a pack leader. If you do not assert your right to that position, the dog will naturally move into the leadership role. Often common behavior problems are caused by the dog's assertion of leadership rights over at least some members of the family. That means that the sofa is his, the garbage is his, the Thanksgiving turkey is his, and the new pair of shoes you just bought is his. In short, he is in control. Leaders do not come when called. Leaders may bark when and how long they want. Leaders may bite. Think about it…
- Train your dog.
Obedience training helps you communicate with your dog. Owners who work with their dogs find that the mental exercise is just as important as physical exercise for keeping the dog from becoming bored. People who put in the effort to obedience train their dogs and maintain the training have fewer problems with their dogs. An added bonus is the working bond that develops between you and your dog when you spend time training together. By the way, just because you own a small dog does not mean that obedience training is unnecessary.
- Praise. Praise is the reward the dog receives for obeying your command. There are some simple rules for giving praise/rewards:
A) Make the reward immediate. Praise delayed = praise denied.
B) Reward the dog only for obedience. He does not get any praise without earning it.
C) Praise should be short-term. Only a few seconds of patting is enough.
D) Don't use food as the primary type of reward.
- Let him be a dog.
Enjoy him, train him, have fun with him. Do not expect him to make decisions. That's your job – you are the leader. Expect him to act like a dog -- nothing more, but certainly nothing less.
Pet
Training
Dog Obedience Training | How
to Train a Dog | Puppy Training -
GoodDogTrainingAdvice.com
Understanding HSUS
A Guide to the World's Richest Animal Rights Group
- The Humane Society of the United States is a "humane society" in name only.
Unlike the "humane societies" in thousands of American cities and towns, HSUS doesn't care for dogs and cats, or place them for adoption. HSUS is not an umbrella group for pet shelters: In 2008 and 2009, HSUS shared less than one percent of its budget with them. In fact, it's not affili- ated with a single pet shelter anywhere in the world.
- "Animal welfare" and "animal rights" are two very different ideas.
Most people are in favor of animal welfare. They want animals to be treated humanely. But they also accept the fact that some animals are raised to provide food, some are kept as pets, some are used in research that seeks to cure cancer and AIDS, and others are an important part of sports, entertainment, and education. A very tiny minority of Americans, however, believe in animal rights. They want to eliminate every human interaction with animals, without exception. Animal rights activists believe insects and babies are morally equivalent—and that since "animals are people too," no man, woman, or child should benefit from the use of animals.
- The primary difference between PETA and HSUS is that PETA is honest about its beliefs.
PETA spells out its goal of "total animal liberation" right on its website. But most Americans don't understand that HSUS shares the very same agenda. In its 1980 annual meeting, HSUS formally resolved to pursue the "establishment of the rights of all animals within the full range of Ameri- can life and culture" [emphasis added]. Most of HSUS's current leaders come from the animal rights school of thought. Many of them are former PETA employees.
- PETA is increasingly irrelevant; its main purpose is to make HSUS appear moderate by comparison.
If PETA didn't exist, most of HSUS's goals would be (correctly) seen as quite radical. But PETA routinely throws red paint, attacks politicians with pies, and parades its naked interns on street corners—allowing HSUS to promote the same extreme agenda as PETA while appearing compara- tively reasonable.
- HSUS's CEO is an outsider, not a stakeholder, in how farm animals are cared for.
Like the leaders of other animal rights groups, HSUS top dog Wayne Pacelle is a strict vegan. He has sworn that he will never eat meat, eggs, or dairy foods. But unlike labor union negotiators, who have a strong interest in making sure their corporate adversaries stay in business, Pacelle's main goal is to completely shut down entire sectors of the American economy—including animal agriculture, pet stores, shooting sports, the fur trade, in vivo biomedical research, zoos, and aquariums.
- Many Americans are in an endless war with HSUS—even those who don't want to be.
HSUS will keep attacking American farmers and ranchers, hunters and fishermen, pet owners, biomedical research scientists, zookeepers, and many others because it has no reason to stop. On the contrary, HSUS funded its employee pension plan to the tune of $11 million during the first six years of Wayne Pacelle's presidency: The group is training a new generation of young leaders who plan to be agitating long enough to collect these benefits when they retire.
- Abraham Lincoln was right: "Public opinion is everything."
Less than 1 percent of Americans are vegan, but 83 percent have a favorable opinion of HSUS. This high public-approval rating has come about only because HSUS's leaders intentionally de- ceive the public about their goals and intentions.
- All conventional wisdom is flexible, but there is no such thing as a "public-opinion tooth fairy."
If more Americans understood what HSUS really is, what it does, and what its leaders want, the group's public approval rating would be a fraction of what it is today. But making that happen will require people who care about the outcome to roll up their sleeves and actually do something. The documented facts at HumaneWatch.org are powerful ammunition, but loading the cannons and firing them is up to you.
© 2010 The Center for Consumer Freedom. All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce this handout for educational purposes is granted, provided that it is not edited in any way. HumaneWatch (just like every pet shelter in America) is not affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States. Any confusion related to perceived similarities is unintentional.
