A Few More Dog Tricks

There are many other tricks that can be useful. One of these commands is “retrieve”. Retrieve, getting your dog to get a item from one place and bring it to you, can be used for many things. From just playing at the park and retrieving a ball, to getting an egg from the refrigerator and so on.

Yet how would you train your dog to do this? Simple. First find your dog’s favorite toy. Then get your dog into a clear area to train him free of distractions. Now when you are training him, it is recommended that you have already taught your dog a non-voice command to help him come to you in the beginning.

When you have your dog next to you paying attention, you should throw your dog’s favorite toy about five to ten feet from you. While you are throwing the toy, make sure to say “retrieve” so your dog knows what command to do. When he picks up the toy, use that non-voice command to get him to you.

If your dog comes back with the toy, make sure to reward him.

There are many other tricks that your dog can learn, but the four most helpful are “sit”, “stay”, “retrieve”, and “come here”. Most of the other tricks are most advanced versions of other tricks, like “lay” and “roll over”. Teaching your dog one of those trick can help with the more advance tricks.

Yet if you are going to be out of town or having your dog being groomed, you could have your dog learn some of these tricks if you ask your local boarding place about it. This can help when you are busy at work and your dog needs to learn a trick, or when you are away. Getting your dog to learn tricks and commands can be useful and fun in different situations. At the park to show your friends or if your dog gets out, commands can be useful.

Which Is Better, Vets Or Grooming/Boarding Places?

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Which is better? Deciding to board your dog at a vet clinic or at a local boarding place? The vet can take care of serious sicknesses, can board your dog and in some instances groom them. At your local groom/boarding place, you can have him boarded and groomed for about the same price or less usually…but you must get his vaccinations from your veterinarian. 

Price varies between a veterinarian clinic and a boarding place…many have basic rates and then there  may be “add-ons” at either facility. You may be able to find more special offers and coupons to get a discounted price at boarding facilities. You will need to tour all facilities to ensure quality care, adequate exercise space, comfortable spacious sleeping areas, and friendly/caring caretakers.

But even with the prices being lower at the boarding place most of the time, there are a couple things a vet tends to be better at. If your dog has a chronic illness or has a history of becoming extremely sick, you would be better off bringing your dog to the vet for this. And if he breaks something like a bone, your vet would be available to tend to it quickly. However, there is a downside to boarding at a vet…your dog may be exposed to sick dogs as a vet clinic because along with being a boarding facility, it is a medical facility focused on the treatment of illnesses.

When it comes down to deciding between the two, the boarding/grooming place may be cheaper for boarding, grooming, and may offer training as well. A veterinarian clinic has the medical expertise onsite to take care of  extreme sicknesses, broken bones, administrering vaccines, etc. So when picking a place to board, think about primary needs of your dog.

 

What To Do If Your Dog Gets Out

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If you live in a busy area or next to one and your dog is always trying to go out the door… this can be a problem. The chances of your dog getting out is affected by how well he is trained and if he listens to commands you give him. There are different ways to teach your dog from running out the door and some of those can be used if he gets out, too.

The first thing you can do is to block off this area so only you can get out. It could be set up with a dog gate or some boxes that your dog can’t get through. This will only help with keeping your dog from getting out but will not help with getting him to come back to you if he gets out.

The other one is training him “stay”. This command will keep him from running out the door if he obeys it. If he understands and obeys the command, it will make it easier to get out the door then you don’t have to use boxes or a gate to block the exit/entrance off.  The command will also help if your dog gets out the door.

Now what would you do if your dog does get outside? Well, getting low to the ground and calling your dog’s name, or saying the command “come here” if he knows it, will make it easier. But yet, what if you live in front of a busy street? A couple things you could do is get a fence or have a gate with the area around it blocked off, too.

Now if you try teaching your dog a command, but yet you go off to work and never have time to teach him, your local boarding place might be able to watch and teach him while you’re away so you don’t have to go through the trouble. If your dog happens to get distracted by noise easily, and you live near a busy road, then getting your local boarding place to teach him while your away is probably the best choice to get him to learn the trick quicker. It is always a good idea to have a plan if your dog gets out, and something to help prevent it. This will help make sure your dog will be there by your side when you’re with him.

What To Do If Your Dog Gets Out

If you walk your dog a lot or head out to work every day, there is a chance your dog may get out and try to run away. If your dog gets free of your grip to chase another person or slips out the door… what is the best thing to do to keep him back? And if he doesn’t come back to you… what would be the best thing to do to get him to come back?

Well if he gets away from you, then first thing you should do is get low to the ground and call his name. Getting low to the ground and staying where you are is more effective than chasing after him. If you chase after him, then he will think that you’re playing and will try to out run you. If that does not work, then if your dog knows the command “stay” or the command “sit”, this can be useful for getting him to stay still for a minute so you can get a hold of him. You might be able to get your local dog boarding or grooming place to reinforce some of these tricks and others while you are at work or away.

The next thing to try if commands don’t work is using your dog’s favorite toy, perhaps a squeaky toy, or another toy that makes noise. You may be able to lure your dog to you with the sound, but there is a chance your dog may ignore the sound and keep on going.

If all else fails, try to think of a place where your dog would want to go to. Most likely, your dog will go to a place where he can bark at other dogs and run around. If there are any places where he goes nuts and runs around barking at other dogs, it would be worthwhile checking there first.

If you love your dog and treat him well, he will most likely come back to you, happy to be with you again. And remember, the most important thing is to have an identification tag on your dog, just in case.