Ranch Rants

Do you wonder why your sweet loving dog lunges and acts aggressively towards other dogs?  Did you realize that everytime they bark or growl it brings the results of causing the other dog to go away.  Those successes have now reinforced the behavior and causes it to continue and even increase.

Since your old ways aren't working, why not try a new training method.  This time when the dog barks and lunges, the other dog doesn't go away.  The exact opposite happens ... the dog stays.  You wait until the dog becomes calm and relaxed and then the dog goes away. 

What will eventually happen is your dog will no longer need to act aggressively to make the other dog go away and when he becomes more calm and relaxed about an approaching dog, he will start to have a positive response to an approaching dog i.e. tail wagging, natural relaxed body positioning.  His emotional response will follow the change in his behaviorial response.

If you need more information to help you with training your dog, send a form submission and I will send an email to offer more information.

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Do you love cooking for your pet?  Are you feeding a home cooked diet exclusively?  One of the things most pet owners do not know is that a home cooked diet for a canine needs to have calcium added to it if you are not feeding your dog bones that they are ingesting.

Dogs need about 800 - 1000 mg of calcium per pound of food they eat per day plus the proper proportion of phosphorus.  If this sounds complicated, it isn't too bad but you mustn't make the mistake of just ignoring these requirements.

Meat diets contain lots of phosphorus so you will need to adjust the calcium to get the proper 1:1 and/or 2:1 ratio.  Adding 800 to 1000 mg of calcium is fine as long as the calcium supplement doesn't already have phosphorus in it.

The easiest way to get a calcium supplement is to grind eggshell in a coffee grinder yourself.  Make sure it is wash, rinsed and dried thoroughly.  Then grind to a fine powder and mix into food.  One large eggshell contains about 2000 mg of calcium so add about 1/2 tsp per pound of  prepared food.

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I know the dogs look so cute and adorable.  It is nearly impossible to keep your windows rolled up as you drive by.  You just want to say hello to all the dogs and let your pup bark a few times at his new friends. 

Please do not do this.  It excites the dogs in the yard and has been known to incite a dog fight in the yard.  They view the car as an invader in their physical space.  Arousal can quickly become elevated to a level that can lead to a dog fight. 

So as you drive in and see all the happy pups, just whisper a little hello and smile and wave to our yard attendant as you come into paradise with your windows rolled up!

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Are you seeing fleas on your dog even after using a spot on treatment from your vet?  It may be time to switch to a different product or type of product.  Fleas can become chemically resistant and your product may not be doing the job it did last year.  We find that switching things up can be the hot ticket.  If you have used Frontline in the past, try Revolution this month.  These spot treatments work best when applied 2 days after your bath or groom.  A groom removes the oils from the skin and coat which is the exact method the product utilizes to disperse itself throughout the pet.  Also be sure to de flea your house at the same time with either a service or product to rid your house of the adult fleas.  You will need to repeat this treatment in 10-14 days as the eggs will begin to hatch at that time.  If your pet has ingested any fleas, you will also need to get to your vet for a parasite removal medication otherwise you may start to see tapeworms coming from your pet.  Not a pretty site!  I also recommend deworming yourself if your pet sleeps on your bed.  You can pick up a natural remedy at any chiropractor's office or natural food store. 

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