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Can You Train A Cat?

By Alison Wood on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 | No Comments

The best way to train a cat is by letting it imitate you as though you were its mother. This is easier done when it is a kitten as older cats become a lot more difficult to teach.
We all know how cats have a mind of their own and are very independent animals. This only becomes more so as they age.

You need to get your cat to trust you and shouting and growling at it is not the right approach to do this. Speak softly and encourage and reward it when it does the right thing as this is the fastest way to get your cat to do what you want.

Cats love praise, and teaching them that they will get more from doing something that you want them to do, will ensure that they will be more inclined to obey you for the reward. If you do have to reprimand your cat don’t use its name when doing so as you don’t want it to associate its name with something that might upset it.

When you are training a cat you have to remain consistent at all times and be very diligent until you get the desired results. Expect it to take considerably longer than if you were teaching a dog but don’t believe that you can’t teach a cat to do many things very well.

If there are other members in your family, they can help by always ensuring that the same commands that you give to the cat are also given by them. With the help of other people doing this you will have a better chance of training your cat a lot faster.

Cats can be a lot of trouble, and that’s part of the reason why we will love them so much, but there will be times when you will need to reprimand your cat and stop bad habits. This can be done by flicking a bit of water at it or by giving it a small fright by making a bit of noise when it does something wrong. A trained cat is a lot more fun and as we have them for many years it is well worth the time and effort.


Learn Some Dog Language

By Alison Wood on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 | No Comments

What’s the difference between seasoned dog owners and new ones? They can bond with their dogs on a deeper level. They have learned the dog language. It is mostly body language of course, but is important to know if you want a healthy long relationship with your dog.

So, how can your dog speak to you without saying a word? Unless you are Dr. Doolittle, the barks are just noise, but how he moves when he barks is the clue.

• Wagging the tail – When your dog is happily wagging his tail and his tongue, he is in a playful mood. He may even lower the front of his body to the floor and raise his little hind end in the air. He is probably full of energy and ready for play time.

• Ears standing up – Something has caught his attention. He may stop wagging his tail and even lean his head to the side to pay closer attention to whatever is catching his eye. This is not necessarily a call to alarm, but that he has found something new.

• Bearing his teeth – This is considered a show of aggression. He may do this with strangers or when confronting an animal that he feels threatened by or that may be threatening you.

• Lying on the ground with tail down when he greets you – This is a way of greeting you that shows loyalty also. When you walk into the house, your canine companion may lower himself on the ground. This pose is also referred to as an “active submission.” He doesn’t feel threatened or fearful. It is an act of friendship, realizing that you are the boss and a friend.

Now, your dog makes other noises besides barking. Barking can have many meanings in itself, so we are going to talk about other sounds that your dog may make that you kind of want to be aware of.

• Growling – Your dog shouldn’t be growling at you, but he may growl at strangers. It could also be in response to his sensing that you are uncomfortable with someone. If your dog does growl at you when you take something away from him, it could be a play for the alpha position.

• Whining – This is such a cute gesture. Unfortunately it can also be annoying if you are trying to get him to do something that he doesn’t particularly want to do, like go to the vet. In these times, ignoring the whine lets him know that it won’t get him out of doing his duty. Whining can also accompany their show of loyalty and greeting.

Are any of these gestures and sounds familiar? If they are, now you can communicate with your dog more effectively. You can “speak” his language.

Don’t Feed Your Cat These Foods

By Alison Wood on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 | No Comments

There are several foods that you should never feed your cat, as they will not only make it feel unwell but in some instances can be extremely detrimental to its health and well-being.

cat_eating

One of the biggest problems people have is when there is a dog in the house and the cat eats the dog food. Dog food is nutritionally undervalued for cat’s requirements, as it does not contain enough protein or taurine to meet the cat’s nutritional needs. If the cat eats dog food on a regular basis it will become unwell.

Many people will also feed their cat the scraps from their own dinner and once again the food that we eat is not of the correct nutritional balance that is sufficient to ensure that the cat has optimal health.

Just as chocolate is toxic to dogs, the same applies to cats and you should ensure that you never give your cat chocolate to eat otherwise it could become very ill and even die.

Don’t give your cat bones as they can splinter and get caught in their throat and intestinal track. This can cause a lot of damage or serious injury.

It is well worth investing your money in your cat’s health by giving it a recommended and nutritionally balanced diet that will have the right proportions of protein and other vitamins and minerals that are required for it to stay healthy.

There should always be a supply of fresh water available for your cat to drink, particularly if you are feeding it dry food where most of the moisture has been taken out. Cats will need fresh water to replace this moisture after having eaten dry food.

Clicker Training For Dogs

By Alison Wood on Sunday, December 6th, 2009 | No Comments

Clicker training is a technique that is highly successful for training dogs. The trainer uses a simple clicker that can be purchased from most pet stores and the dog is trained to respond to the sound of the clicker.

dog training

The dog will quickly learn that the sound of the clicker is followed by a reward and they will respond to commands when the clicker is used knowing that a reward is to follow. It is a great technique for home training of dogs as it is a simple technique that the owner can use to get fast results.

Some other dog training techniques can be a little difficult to master and unless the trainer has a good understanding of the training process it can become quite frustrating when the results don’t come as fast as expected. Clicker training generally gets results relatively fast and the owner and the dog can have a lot of fun during the training with both parties getting what they want out of the training sessions.

Clicker training leaves the dog with no doubt what it needs to do to get the reward. Clicker training doesn’t involve any forms of punishment if the dog doesn’t do as it is told, because it will know that it will not get the reward.

Punishment training can lead to confusion where the dog does not know what it has done wrong and this confusion can lead to an unhappy dog. There is no such problem with Clicker training. It is actually a form of positive reinforcement for the dog and this will help it bond and build a better relationship with it’s owner. Dogs have also been shown to learn a lot faster when positive reinforcement is used rather than any form of punishment. It is much better to let them know when they have done something well rather than bad and this process can also be used to eliminate bad behavior.

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