Puppies Behind Bars are Trained to Help in Many Ways

I care about all kinds of people, including people in prison. Hubby and I are involved in a prison ministry, but not the one I'm about to tell you about.  Some time ago I watched a program about an organization called "Puppies Behind Bars", and at the time there was also an article in a local paper, so I decided to visit the website.

It is amazing how much it means to people in prison to be able to be part of doing something good.  Through this program they are training puppies so many things, like training inmates to raise service dogs for wounded war veterans, people with various needs and disabilities, to detect explosives, and more. So they are trained to help in the home, in homeland security or law enforcement.  If you would like to learn more, visit the Puppies Behind Bars.

If you know more about this, are part of this organization, or are being helped by a dog that has been through the program, I'd love to hear from you, please share in a comment, and thank you for what you are doing.

Updated 2/27/17

Do You Need Dog Health Questions Answered?

You don't have to look at the categories and pages along the right for very long to realize that we like providing answers to dog health questions.

But we aren't the only blog that likes to help answer your questions about dogs.  We have a friend who keeps another blog called "Ask About Dogs" that you're going to want to take a look at.

The site provides you with dog health and dog care advice of all kinds.

Housebreaking a Dog - Indoors or Out?

Housebreaking me was a challenge for my owners, I am not an easy breed to train...but when I learn something, I really learn it. Even though I wasn't the easiest housebreaking puppy, I do something that a lot of other dogs don't...I'll "go" on command, but it took a long time for us to learn this (my owners and I) together.

Since we didn't have an indoor dog potty, the owners used what they called "wee-wee pads" for a while that were scented in a way that was supposed to make me use the pad...or so they thought. I think the thing that confused me the most was that we didn't do the same thing every time...it was always something different.

First they are trying to get me to go outside, then inside on pads, then outside again. When they were training me either there weren't dog potties, or we didn't know about a dog potty that could be used inside as part of my training.

My owners think that because I'm small, and as long as I go where I'm trained to inside, it's not a bad thing, and they think that for people with small dogs that live in apartments, or in the city, an indoor dog potty may make life easier for all involved, and could be used all the time if it's something that's easy to clean.

A Dog at a Laptop and Dog Training

Today I visited a website with my owner that had a picture of a dog sitting at a laptop...I guess the dog hasn't trained it's owner to do that work for him yet, and now my owner is getting ideas...anyway, we both thought it was a cute picture.

But while we were there, we DID see a lot of things that will help you with dog training.  I've told you before that because I'm a small dog, I tend to get away with things that bigger dogs don't, so training for me is different than it would be for, lets say, a big German Shephard or Labrador Retriever.  For example, if I jump up on my owners lap, or jump on someone who is visiting, sometimes they like it because I'm small and cute, so they don't need to train me to stay down.   If a German Shepard or other big dog did that, it would be very different.

Even though I think I'm perfect and don't need any training, my owner liked visiting dogtrainersearch.com and she thinks you will too, especially if you want to learn how to train your dog, whether it be big or small.  There were quite a few good articles and links there, so stop by and let us know what you think.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and come back soon!

How Your Dog Talks to You

After being with my owners for over 10 years, they have learned to understand my language, and I understand theirs. You have to really love your dog to bother to understand them, I know many who have dogs that are just left outside all day, or left alone all day while owners are at work, that's not really having a relationship with your dog...maybe you don't agree, but I'm a dog, and I know I don't like being left alone all the time.

Kelly Marshall shares some nice tips on "What Dog Sounds Mean" that will help you understand your dog better:

When your dog softly whimpers that means: I’m hurt! I'm frightened. The average human is most likely to hear this at the vet, when a dog is suffering, or when an obedient dog is in a strange location that appears intimidating. This is really a mewing sound that young dogs make when they feel cold, hungry, or troubled.

Loud, long drawn out whining sounds mean: Please give me something . . . or I want something ... A puppy usually uses this sound when he’s waiting for his meal, or for the leash to be put on, or when they are trying to get his master s attention, etc.

When a dog sighs accompanied by a dog's lying down with his head on his forepaws, can have two meanings, depending on the context and his facial expressions. With his eyelids half open, this is a sign of enjoyment, which means I am happy and am going to relax. With eyes wide open, this is a sign of dissatisfaction when something expected has not transpired, this means: I quit!

When a dog is baying: This is the sound of hounds during a hunt. It is translated as Follow me this way! Let us attack him! or All together now!

When a dog yip howls this is really more of a yip yip yip howl, with the final howl quite drawn out. It basically means I am very lonely I feel deserted! or Where is everybody?

When a dog howls: I’m over here! This is my space! or I hear you out there! A confident dog will howl just to announce where he is. Howling also often happens in response to a yip howl from another canine. It has a more echoing sound to the human ear than does the yip howl, which is often called mournful.

When a dog moans: ar owl wowl wowl . . . over a short period of time. It is a sound of impulsive pleasure and excitement that means I am flabbergasted! or Let’s play! A dog usually moans when something he anticipates something exciting to happen.

When a dog is panting: Let us go now! This means he is very excited. [or if I can butt in here, I pant when I'm hot, or when I'm afraid and worn out from worrying.]

Pets can also learn vocalizations. For example, the bark that dogs often give to the command speak sounds are very different from an impulsive bark. The same can be said for the bark that police dogs are taught. Many dogs can be taught certain sounds for certain settings, from simple barks, moans, or play growls to more complicated sounds that may sound like yodels.

Other Dog Bytes:

To learn more about your hound and what it may be trying to tell you like what digging is all about right in the middle of the back yard, head to helpful resources on the web and locally. You can find plenty of free pet tips, for example, on pet websites – like those at Squidoo, MySpace and Hubpages under “dogs” searches in each place.

Or check with your local librarian to order a bookstack on the topic, available for pickup later on in the week for studying back at your home.

Author Resource:-> Article by Kelly Marshall from http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com/dog-supplies/dog-carriers Oh My Dog Supplies - the top place to buy http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com/dog-supplies/dog-beds dog beds online

Stop Your Begging Dog

I'm not very excited about my owner sharing this article with you, I'm the "queen" of begging, and she says she thinks she's guilty of thinking my begging is cute...it may be too late for me (I hope) but not for your dog.  Enjoy the article and let us know if it helps.

Your Dog’s Behavior:

Why You Should Never Let Your Dog Beg For Food & Attention

By: Kelly Marshall

Unless they are trained not to do so, most dogs will form the habit of begging for attention and food. Some dog owners actually allow this behavior and think it s cute…not. Many people get extremely annoyed very quickly when their dog begins to beg every time he wants love, attention, and especially when he smells something delicious coming from your kitchen.

What is wrong with a begging dog?

Everything! Begging is another form of demanding and it gives your dog an aspect of control within the family pack . I describe a family as a pack because that is exactly how your dog sees it. While it may seem cute when Rex rolls over on his back expecting a belly rub every time you enter the room, or just sits all teary eyed staring straight at your hero sandwich when you re eating during the Super Bowl game, this behavior has the possibility to gain momentum and become hostile.

Just how hostile can a dog actually become?

If you do not think that your dog could ever actually bite your hand because he expects you to give him a fun snack every time he begs, think again. For years a friend of mine would hand feed his dog pieces of food at any time of the day he was eating. If it were breakfast, his dog would get a two pieces of toast. At lunch time my friend would hand feed his dog a few bites of his Rueben sandwich. The same went for super.

Months later, his dog matured and grew larger, and my friend did not realize that he was reinforcing a dominant leadership role into his dog every time he gave in to begging. Once he decided to alter this behavior with his dog, he learned very fast just how dangerous the situation was. At one of his meals, my friend refused to feed his dog anything and the begging and crying turned into hostile barking. Then without suddenly his dog jumped up onto his plate and snapped at his cheeseburger, taking a little bit of my friend’s finger along with it.

Begging can be eliminated with proper training

The example of my friend may seem a bit extreme and you still probably could never imagine you re cute dog biting you in the attempt to get a meal that he was wanting. This can develop into a real problem and you must start early in your dog’s life with instilling the rules when it comes to begging.

During meal time, you need to train your dog to sit and stay in a separate area when the family is eating food. This may take some time but eventually he will remain in a sit position until after your dinner is over and then of course you should praise his actions by offering him up a delicious meal that he can eat in his “own” food bowl, and only after everybody else is finished eating their meal.

Author Resource:-> Written by Kelly Marshall of http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com/dog-supplies/elevated-dog-feeders Oh My Dog Supplies - your source for luxury http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com/dog-supplies/dog-carriers dog carriers online

Article From Selling With Articles

Dog Biting, What Is It?

Recently I had to ask my owner what biting is, what does it mean when a dog bites you?  She smiled, and explained to me what it is, I just didn't know because I've never, ever done it or thought of doing it. I've made my version of a growling sound before, which for some reason makes everyone here laugh, I guess it's not very convincing...but that's about as bad as I get.

Biting sounds so mean, but since there are dogs that have this problem, we decided that we're going to ad an article page about it to the "pages" section of the blog, so look for it in the list under "Pages" to the right.