Monday, July 17, 2017

7 remedies to help an anxious dog - & off-lead training




7 remedies to help an anxious dog?
We all know anxious dogs and would love to know how to help relieve that anxiety.  Here are two different articles on the topic.  The first on MotherNatureNetwork.com says that anxiety can be personality or situation-based and the author suggests 7 natural remedies to help anxious dogs.  She states that training is still essential but recommends trying one or more of these remedies to calm the dog.  She details the 7 remedies which include dog calming music, distraction, exercise and something called a Thundershirt. 
In the second piece – a short 2 minute video on PetMD.com – a vet says that phobias usually develop between 12 and 24 months. Usually there is a specific stimulus.  Signs of anxiety include panting, ears back, pacing back and forth, trembling, urinating and being destructive.  Separation Anxiety is extremely common and she says there are a number of options including building up the time that you spend away from your dog – don’t just disappear for 8 hours having had the dog in your company 24/7.  She suggests hiring a pet sitter, using doggie day care or keeping your dog in a crate while you are out to stop him/her being destructive.  She also recommends working with vet and dog trainer to sort out behavioural issues.

Training your dog to be off the lead
This is a really good, if long, article on ThatMutt.com about training your dog to be off the lead – do read through to the end as there are great practical tips and a very honest account of the training process!  Lindsay’s tips include – you must have a strong bond with your dog before you start this training, start in a smart, controlled area and drag the lead (make it longer by attaching a training lead).  She recounts how her trainer used different techniques including doing all the training outdoors – this meant that the dogs were more alert and had to pay attention.  The trainer was also very definite about not treat-training!

Some truths about dog owners!
While the English are known as a nation of dog lovers, we in the Republic of Ireland actually leave them in the halfpenny place!  25% of adults in the UK own at least one dog, with 35% of adults in Northern Ireland doing so – but 40% (or 1.5 million) of RoI adults are proud owners of at least one mutt.  These weekly insight articles from Irish Marketing Journal/adworld.ie always throw up interesting facts and stats.  For example, this article tells us that people who own 2 or more dogs are more likely to say they won’t buy toiletries or cosmetics tested on animals and dog owners are also more likely than the average adult to trust homeopathy.   Interestingly, dog owners are less likely to be vegetarian and families with older children are more likely to own a dog than families with younger children.





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