Many times dog owners ask, “At what point should I give my dog a break during training sessions?” Unfortunately, the answer is that it depends on the dog and the method of training that you use. But the bottom line is that your dog does need a break during a training session even if it’s for 30 seconds or a few minutes. Your choices for breaks can vary, it can be letting them sniff around or go potty, playing with their favorite toy, or just sitting down on the ground and rubbing their belly. Some trainers are in disagreement that playing with toys are a break for the dog. Some believe that the dog is still in reinforcement mode. We believe that playing with their toys are a break as long as you are not forcing them to do obedience for their toy.

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Man it's hot. Let's take the feet for a walk!

So how does your dog sweat? All that hair surely doesn't allow sweat glands to function does it? And no! They don't sweat through their tongue either.

It turns out, that dogs sweat from the pads of their feet, as it is one of the only places not covered by fur.

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We all know that our beloved dogs age faster than we do. While we live on, the world whizzes by for them at a speed several times faster that it does around us.

Like the Elves in Tolkien's mythology, who saw the men (the atantari) grow old and die in dismay, we feel a pang of regret as we watch the nose of our dogs slowly turn white, and their energy drop. We remember the time when they used to whizz around non stop after a ball, or with us, tirelessly.
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We as trainers find ourselves discussing this topic quite frequently with pet owners. But we find that many pet owners get confused on the actual diagnosis of the anxiety. For instance, from time to time, in the kennel we see those certain dogs that are escape artist, or drool and maybe not eat well the first few days of their stay in a new place. This does not necessarily mean that your dog suffers from separation anxiety, some dogs are just not use to the kennel environment and do not do well around all of the other dogs, new noises, and new smells.

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Does your dog suffer from heartworms?

Dog heartworm is a common disease among canines in the United States. Discovered in 1856, the worms mainly live in your dog’s heart and major blood vessels.

The worms, especially on worst cases, seriously impair the heart’s operations. Worse, they could also clog your dog’s blood vessels. These infections result in loss of body weight, chronic cough, dropsy, shortness of breath, chronic heart failure, vision disturbances, and ultimately, death.

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For purebred dogs, the standard of the breed refers to what is considered to be the ideal specimen of that particular breed. It outlines in specific detail each and every feature of that breed, both in physical characteristics and in temperament. It accurately describes the dog from head to tail, creating a clear impression of what is to be considered correct or incorrect, the features comprising the type of breed and the probable temperament and behavior patterns of typical members of that breed.

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The Dalmatian is a breed of balance and moderation. You do not want a big head on a little dog or a small head on a big dog. Similarly, you do not want an extremely elegant head on a male dog or a very “doggy” head on a female dog. The females are generally more feminine versions of the males and this male/female difference should be quite apparent. The head should have clean lines and the Dalmatian should have a clean mouth, not drooling or loose-lipped. The standard does a good job of describing eyes, ears, stop, muzzle, nose, lips and scissors bite; and it also notes appropriate size and angle relationships.

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Just as with humans, one of the biggest health problems today for dogs is obesity. Many owners think their pudgy dogs are adorable, when in fact they are extremely unhealthy. Overweight dogs can develop the same kinds of problems that overweight humans can, such as diabetes mellitus, which can be very tricky to treat. Obesity can also reduce your dog’s life expectancy.

If you are not sure if your dog is overweight, there is a very easy way to do so visually and by touch. A dog of normal weight should have an indentation at his waistline, and his ribs should be easily felt under his skin. An overweight dog will not have a waistline and there will be a thicker layer of fat over his ribs.

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A dog wanting to guard their possessions like food and toys is a normal behavior that is learned as a small pup competing for food with their litter mates; however, this behavior can easily become a problem if the behavior evolves to more serious instances like people. From our own dogs we see them growl and snap over a treat when they think another dog is going to get it or beat them to it. We also see this behavior with toys as well; however we let them work it out between themselves because the behaviors are not extreme by any means. The problem can start when, for example, you have a 10 week old puppy that growls at you when they are chewing on a bone and you try to take it away from them. Some people think that it’s kind of cute that they are possessive over the bone, the cute part goes away when the dog meets maturity and by then their behavior has gotten worse, especially if it is not corrected at an early age. Dogs have to understand that you, the owner, are a source of food and that they can depend on you feeding them on a regular basis. If your pup or even your full grown dog is showing the beginning signs of food aggression, the best thing to do is to make them sit or down or any other trick you can think of and reward them with a treat. You are also going to want to pet them while they are eating so they get used to human contact during their snacks or meals. This lets them understand again that you are a source of food, you are in charge, and the dog doesn’t need to guard their food.

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