Background
I purchased my dog Tabasco, a Curly Coated Retriever, from a breeder when he was ten weeks old. He will be three years old in April 2011.
The breeder provided a ‘puppy instruction manual’ which detailed their recommendations for dog food and other dietary needs. As a small puppy, Tabasco and his littermates were fed on Pedigree Advance, and as they grew they were fed on Royal Canin Babydog and later, Royal Canin Medium Junior.
I wanted to make sure that Tabasco was given the best quality food during his important growing period. The growing period is said to be ‘the most important stage in a dog’s life. It determines both the character of the future adult and also its shape and a well-proportioned look.’(1) Therefore, in order to develop into a healthy adult dog, a puppy needs a diet that provides him with the correct nutritional requirements, which takes into account his pattern of growth.
For large breed puppies the growth period lasts from 15 to 18 months, with a weight increase of 70 to 90-fold from birth. This is a long period of time, and a puppy should be given food that provides him with the appropriate energy source, with a moderate fat content to aid bone and muscle formation, but without excessive weight gain.
My vet confirmed with my breeder’s recommendation that Royal Canin products were indeed very good quality. I therefore decided to continue to feed Tabasco on Royal Canin Maxi Junior and moved onto Royal Canin Maxi Adult at the appropriate age (18 months old - end of the growing period).
Tabasco was quite picky with his food as a puppy and adolescent, and I would often have to lace the dry food with a bit of smelly cat food or wet puppy food in order to encourage him to eat his meals. I gradually reduced the quantity of the ‘topping’ until he accepted the dry food completely.
Making changes
When Tabasco was about 18 months old he was diagnosed with a relatively serious heart problem. Because of this illness, I need to make sure that Tabasco isn’t overfed or over-exercised.
I decided that it would be sensible to move him over to a dry food which contained less protein, as his reduced exercise regime would mean he wouldn’t ‘burn-off’ all his food energy as quickly. In addition, Tabasco is by himself when I am at work, so during that time he is usually asleep, and therefore he doesn’t require unnecessary protein.
Burns was recommended to me by a dog trainer as an excellent quality dry food. I experimented by giving Tabasco a small amount of the Burns Fish & Brown Rice variety, which he thoroughly relished. Compared to Royal Canin Adult Maxi which has 26% protein, Burns Fish & Brown Rice Adult has only 18.5% protein.
The Fish & Brown Rice variety is quite smelly, which Tabasco finds attractive. It also contains fish oil, which is good for his coat.
I therefore decided that I would change Tabasco’s diet from Royal Canin to Burns. The change over to the Burns product was made as recommended by the manufacturer (gradually over a 5-10 day period), and Tabasco has not looked back since. Breakfast and dinner is now devoured wholeheartedly, without the need for any enticement.
Apart from breakfast and dinner, I try not to feed Tabasco too many other ‘treats’. During our training sessions, I usually reward him with a portion of his daily allowance. Of course, as part of his genetic pre-programming(2), Tabsaco is certain that he always needs to eat as much as possible, every minute of every day!
Just before he was two years old I had Tabasco castrated. To avoid any weight gain due to his body’s metabolic changes, his daily food intake was reduced (by 25%), as recommended by my vet.
I also stopped giving him Pedigree Dentastix for his dental health. Whilst useful for controlling plaque and helping with keeping his teeth clean, Dentastix are calorific. I instead use a product called ProDen Plaque Off, which contains only specially selected seaweed.
Ongoing requirements
Tabasco visits the cardiologist on a regular basis, so that his heart condition can be monitored. His weight is taken at each visit. In between visits to the cardiologist, I also have him weighed at my local vets. I am careful to ensure that his weight does not wander above about 48kg. If it does, I will adjust down his daily food intake as necessary.
I will continue to give Tabasco Burn Fish & Brown Rice for the foreseeable future.
Works Cited
(1) Royal Canin Puppy Guide, ch.3, p.13 (no author, publication date)
(2) The Dog’s Mind, ch.9, p.138 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Bibliography
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Royal Canin Puppy Guide (no author, publication date)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
The Kennel Club Puppy Handbook (2007)
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Dog food comparisons
Introduction
The following report will contain a price analysis and nutritional comparison of three readily available dog foods - canned food (Pedigree in Gravy), cereal based complete food (Bakers Complete) and meat/poultry based complete food (Eukanuba).
The online store www.zooplus.co.uk was used to conduct the price analysis. Prices are the published price for all products on 2nd January 2011. The price calculation is based on how much it would cost per day to feed an adult medium sized breed weighing 20 kgs, according to the published daily requirements provided by the dog food manufacturers.
NB. It should be noted that in order to more precisely compare the prices of these three products, more than one supplier should be used. I considered that fell outside of the scope of this report and therefore this report is based on the published price from one supplier only.
Price Analysis
Canned Food
Product: Pedigree Multipack in Gravy 6 x 400g
Manufacturer: Pedigree Mars
6 x 400g pack cost: £3.99 (£0.17/100g = £0.0017/g)
Daily feeding recommendation: 1100 g/day (400g x 2.75 cans per day)
Cost per day: £1.87 (£0.0017 x 1100)
Cereal Based Complete Food
Product: Bakers Complete Adult Dog Chicken & Country Vegetables
Manufacturer: Purina Bakers
Daily feeding recommendation: 316 g/day (= 0.316 kg/day)
15kg pack cost: £25.53 (£1.70/kg)
Cost per day: £0.54 (£1.70 x 0.316)
Meat/poultry Based Complete Food
Product: Eukanuba Adult Medium Breeds Chicken
Manufacturer: Eukanuba
Daily feeding recommendation: 180 g/day (= 0.18 kg/day)
15kg pack cost: £46.90 (£3.13/kg)
Cost per day: £0.56 (£3.13 x 0.18)
Price Comparison
Of the three products selected, the most expensive dog food at £1.87 per day is Pedigree in Gravy, the second most expensive is Eukanuba Adult Medium Breeds at £0.56 per day, with Bakers Complete Adult Dog the cheapest (but only slightly cheaper than Eukanuba) at £0.54 per day.
I selected Eukanuba and Bakers to compare because I have found that the general consensus amongst the dog owners I know is that Eukanuba is ‘very expensive’ and Bakers is ‘poor quality’. I wanted to take the opportunity via this report to compare the price and quality of both products.
From a price perspective, there is virtually no difference in the cost per day of these products. At first glance, it would appear that the Eukanuba product is twice as expensive as the Bakers product. However, when you calculate the daily feeding requirements of both, a 20 kg adult dog requires nearly double the amount of Bakers as Eukanuba. As a dog owner I would be concerned about the resulting greater amount of faeces passed if my dog was on a Bakers diet.
The canned food alternative was significantly more expensive compared to the complete foods selected - it works out to be over three times more expensive. I selected the Pedigree product as it appears to be one of the more popular varieties available in supermarkets (in addition to supermarket-branded products).
The increased cost of the Pedigree product may be due to the following:
Nutritional Analysis
The table below summarises the common ingredients and nutritional percentages of the three selected products.
As expected, the protein percentage of the Pedigree product is the highest. This is due to the higher percentage of meat and animal derivatives in this product.
In Sarah Hodgson’s book ‘Puppies For Dummies’, she mentions that the recommended percentage of protein in dog food should be between 21 and 26 percent. Should I be concerned as a dog owner that the Pedigree product contains 38%? High protein foods are used for working dogs and show dogs. Dogs who are a relatively sedentary or who spend hours alone do not need a high protein diet. ‘Feeding a high-protein diet (which, broken down, equals energy) makes a dog jittery and hyper.’(1)
When considering the dry food alternatives, the Bakers product contains a lower percentage of protein than the Eukanuba product. Although the percentage difference is only 2%, is it important to note that the main protein ingredients are very different, thus determining the quality of the foods. The Bakers product contains mostly cereals as a protein source, with additional meat and animal derivatives (but only 4%), whereas the Eukanuba product contains more than 20% chicken.
Meat protein is the type of protein that is the closest to human quality and is superior to other types of protein. Meat protein can consist of muscle meat or organ meat. A cereal protein is of poorer quality and needs to be consumed in greater quantities in order to meet a dog’s daily protein requirement. Protein from animal derivatives can consist of any part of the animal that contains protein - lips, hoof, hair, etc.
The Eukanuba product, therefore, can be said to be of better quality than the Bakers product mainly because of the higher quality protein it contains.
The percentage of fibre in the Bakers and the Eukanuba products are higher than the Pedigree product. This may be due to the higher percentage of cereal in these products, which is higher in fibre.
The Pedigree product appears to be less rich in minerals than the other products selected.
Product Summary
Pedigree Multipack in Gravy
The Pedigree product has the highest protein percentage, due to the larger quantity of meat and animal derivatives it contains. It also contains cereals, derivatives of vegetable origin, vegetable protein extracts, oils and fats (including min. 0.5% sunflower oil), minerals, and vitamins B, D3 and E. It contains the lowest fibre and ash contents compared with the other two products selected. There are no details regarding preservatives, however the appearance of vitamin E may deal with this as a natural preservative, in some part.
Bakers Complete Adult Dog Chicken & Country Vegetables
The Bakers product is a cereal based complete food, with the lowest protein percentage of the three products selected. It also contains meat and animal derivatives (minimum 4%), vegetable protein extracts, oils and fats, derivatives of vegetable origin, various sugars, minerals, vegetables. Vitamins A, D3 and E are also present. Bakers complete food is a combination of moist ‘meaty’ chunks and bright coloured kibble shapes, which are more likely to be marketed towards the dog owner than the dog himself. Colourants and preservatives are present in this product via EC additives.
Eukanuba Adult Medium Breeds Chicken
The Eukanuba product is a meat based complete food. In addition to more than 20% chicken, it also contains maize, wheat, animal fat, sorghum meal, barley, poultry meal, dried beet pulp, chicken digest, dried whole egg, brewer's dried yeast, potassium chloride, salt, sodium hexametaphosphate, fish oil, linseed, DL-methionine. It is the only product to contain omega-6 fats, which could explain why it has the highest fat percentage of the three selected products. It also has the highest percentage of ash, and is supplemented with a larger variety of vitamins - vitamins A, D3, C, E and Beta Carotine. This product has no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives.
Works Cited
(1) Puppies For Dummies, ch.19, p296 (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Bibliography
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
The Kennel Club Puppy Handbook (2007)
Internet
www.zooplus.co.uk
The following report will contain a price analysis and nutritional comparison of three readily available dog foods - canned food (Pedigree in Gravy), cereal based complete food (Bakers Complete) and meat/poultry based complete food (Eukanuba).
The online store www.zooplus.co.uk was used to conduct the price analysis. Prices are the published price for all products on 2nd January 2011. The price calculation is based on how much it would cost per day to feed an adult medium sized breed weighing 20 kgs, according to the published daily requirements provided by the dog food manufacturers.
NB. It should be noted that in order to more precisely compare the prices of these three products, more than one supplier should be used. I considered that fell outside of the scope of this report and therefore this report is based on the published price from one supplier only.
Price Analysis
Canned Food
Product: Pedigree Multipack in Gravy 6 x 400g
Manufacturer: Pedigree Mars
6 x 400g pack cost: £3.99 (£0.17/100g = £0.0017/g)
Daily feeding recommendation: 1100 g/day (400g x 2.75 cans per day)
Cost per day: £1.87 (£0.0017 x 1100)
Cereal Based Complete Food
Product: Bakers Complete Adult Dog Chicken & Country Vegetables
Manufacturer: Purina Bakers
Daily feeding recommendation: 316 g/day (= 0.316 kg/day)
15kg pack cost: £25.53 (£1.70/kg)
Cost per day: £0.54 (£1.70 x 0.316)
Meat/poultry Based Complete Food
Product: Eukanuba Adult Medium Breeds Chicken
Manufacturer: Eukanuba
Daily feeding recommendation: 180 g/day (= 0.18 kg/day)
15kg pack cost: £46.90 (£3.13/kg)
Cost per day: £0.56 (£3.13 x 0.18)
Price Comparison
Of the three products selected, the most expensive dog food at £1.87 per day is Pedigree in Gravy, the second most expensive is Eukanuba Adult Medium Breeds at £0.56 per day, with Bakers Complete Adult Dog the cheapest (but only slightly cheaper than Eukanuba) at £0.54 per day.
I selected Eukanuba and Bakers to compare because I have found that the general consensus amongst the dog owners I know is that Eukanuba is ‘very expensive’ and Bakers is ‘poor quality’. I wanted to take the opportunity via this report to compare the price and quality of both products.
From a price perspective, there is virtually no difference in the cost per day of these products. At first glance, it would appear that the Eukanuba product is twice as expensive as the Bakers product. However, when you calculate the daily feeding requirements of both, a 20 kg adult dog requires nearly double the amount of Bakers as Eukanuba. As a dog owner I would be concerned about the resulting greater amount of faeces passed if my dog was on a Bakers diet.
The canned food alternative was significantly more expensive compared to the complete foods selected - it works out to be over three times more expensive. I selected the Pedigree product as it appears to be one of the more popular varieties available in supermarkets (in addition to supermarket-branded products).
The increased cost of the Pedigree product may be due to the following:
- portion sizes per tin - due to the short shelf life of tinned dog food once opened, it may be necessary to keep the tin size to a minimum. Dried dog food is available in larger quantities because it can be stored longer when opened. Dog owners can therefore buy in larger quantities, and the cost per 100g usually decreases based on the increase in package size.
- more expensive packaging - tins versus paper sacks
- higher cost and proportion of meat products, compared to cereals - Pedigree contains at least 40% meat and animal derivatives, whereas Eukanuba contains approx. 20% chicken.
Nutritional Analysis
The table below summarises the common ingredients and nutritional percentages of the three selected products.
| Pedigree | Bakers | Eukanuba | |
| Main ingredient | Meat and animal derivatives (=>40%) | Cereals | Chicken (>20%) |
| Fat | Not available | 10% | 15% |
| Moisture | 79% | Not available | 8% |
| Protein | 38% (8% protein on can, with 79% moisture, so 21% dry matter. 8 / 21=0.38x100=38%) | 23% | 26% |
| Fibre | 0.8% | 3.0% | 2.5% |
| Ash | 2.0% | 6.5% | 7.1% |
| Calcium | Not available | 1.2% | 1.2% |
In Sarah Hodgson’s book ‘Puppies For Dummies’, she mentions that the recommended percentage of protein in dog food should be between 21 and 26 percent. Should I be concerned as a dog owner that the Pedigree product contains 38%? High protein foods are used for working dogs and show dogs. Dogs who are a relatively sedentary or who spend hours alone do not need a high protein diet. ‘Feeding a high-protein diet (which, broken down, equals energy) makes a dog jittery and hyper.’(1)
When considering the dry food alternatives, the Bakers product contains a lower percentage of protein than the Eukanuba product. Although the percentage difference is only 2%, is it important to note that the main protein ingredients are very different, thus determining the quality of the foods. The Bakers product contains mostly cereals as a protein source, with additional meat and animal derivatives (but only 4%), whereas the Eukanuba product contains more than 20% chicken.
Meat protein is the type of protein that is the closest to human quality and is superior to other types of protein. Meat protein can consist of muscle meat or organ meat. A cereal protein is of poorer quality and needs to be consumed in greater quantities in order to meet a dog’s daily protein requirement. Protein from animal derivatives can consist of any part of the animal that contains protein - lips, hoof, hair, etc.
The Eukanuba product, therefore, can be said to be of better quality than the Bakers product mainly because of the higher quality protein it contains.
The percentage of fibre in the Bakers and the Eukanuba products are higher than the Pedigree product. This may be due to the higher percentage of cereal in these products, which is higher in fibre.
The Pedigree product appears to be less rich in minerals than the other products selected.
Product Summary
Pedigree Multipack in Gravy
The Pedigree product has the highest protein percentage, due to the larger quantity of meat and animal derivatives it contains. It also contains cereals, derivatives of vegetable origin, vegetable protein extracts, oils and fats (including min. 0.5% sunflower oil), minerals, and vitamins B, D3 and E. It contains the lowest fibre and ash contents compared with the other two products selected. There are no details regarding preservatives, however the appearance of vitamin E may deal with this as a natural preservative, in some part.
Bakers Complete Adult Dog Chicken & Country Vegetables
The Bakers product is a cereal based complete food, with the lowest protein percentage of the three products selected. It also contains meat and animal derivatives (minimum 4%), vegetable protein extracts, oils and fats, derivatives of vegetable origin, various sugars, minerals, vegetables. Vitamins A, D3 and E are also present. Bakers complete food is a combination of moist ‘meaty’ chunks and bright coloured kibble shapes, which are more likely to be marketed towards the dog owner than the dog himself. Colourants and preservatives are present in this product via EC additives.
Eukanuba Adult Medium Breeds Chicken
The Eukanuba product is a meat based complete food. In addition to more than 20% chicken, it also contains maize, wheat, animal fat, sorghum meal, barley, poultry meal, dried beet pulp, chicken digest, dried whole egg, brewer's dried yeast, potassium chloride, salt, sodium hexametaphosphate, fish oil, linseed, DL-methionine. It is the only product to contain omega-6 fats, which could explain why it has the highest fat percentage of the three selected products. It also has the highest percentage of ash, and is supplemented with a larger variety of vitamins - vitamins A, D3, C, E and Beta Carotine. This product has no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives.
Works Cited
(1) Puppies For Dummies, ch.19, p296 (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Bibliography
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
The Kennel Club Puppy Handbook (2007)
Internet
www.zooplus.co.uk
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Interaction with my dog during walks
Introduction
I suggested in Question 1 of this unit that the interaction/non-interaction ratio between dogs and owners during a walk would be about 20%/80%. This has lead me to consider how I interact with my dog Tabasco during our regular walks.
Tabasco is a Curly Coated Retriever dog. He has been neutered and will be three years old in April 2011. He has been diagnosed with a relatively serious heart problem. Because of this illness, I need to make sure that Tabasco isn’t over-exercised, especially in hot weather conditions.
The following essay will describe the various locations we go to for our dog walks and the interaction we have whilst on them. Other exercise-based activities will also be detailed.
Locations
I live in Maidenhead in Berkshire. There are a number of locations a short distance from my home where Tabasco and I usually go for our walks.
Cookham - A huge area of common land next to the river Thames. The area includes several fields, cattle pastures, hills and riverside tracks with short sandy beaches.
Thames towpath - We often walk the towpath along the River Thames from Maidenhead to Windsor. One-way takes about two hours to complete, at a walking pace. (We sometimes catch the train home!)
Burnham Beeches - 500 acres of ancient woodland, which has many paved paths running through it, as well as some areas of open grassland and swampland.
Ockwells Park - Another large area with two huge sports fields and other adjoining meadows. A shallow stream runs along the far end of the park. We usually walk to this park from home, which usually takes about 20 minutes.
In the winter months I take Tabasco to one of these locations for a long walk on Saturdays and Sundays. During the summer, when the evenings are lighter, we go for walks here on week nights. My dog walker also takes Tabasco to these locations, three days per week. (See below ‘Dog Walker)
Our Interaction
I try to make our daily walks as enjoyable as I can - from both our points of view. As well as letting Tabasco explore his immediate surroundings, there are a number of other ways available to me to let him burn off his predatory energy, which are detailed below.
Socialisation with other dogs
The locations we visit are great places for dogs to socialise. On any given day, we can expect to bump into at least five or six other owners with their dogs. There is so much space for the dogs to run around in and play games of tag and chase, without the worry that they might stray onto a nearby road. As long as the other owners are happy about it, I encourage Tabasco to ‘say hello’ to as many dogs as possible during our walks.
Socialisation with people
It’s important for Tabasco to meet people as well as dogs. He has never had any problem approaching unknown people, especially if they have a tasty treat or two in their pocket!
From my point of view, I have to say that meeting other dog owners is one of the most enjoyable parts of our walks. I have never had so many conversations with complete strangers in my life! This has been a very useful confidence builder which has helped me in terms of my own personal growth.
If I invite a friend along for a walk with Tabasco, although we do use the time to catch up on gossip, we always ensure that we interact with Tabasco in the same way that I would if I was walking him by myself.
Recall training
Up until about a year ago Tabasco’s recall was appalling. The situation improved significantly after I made various changes to our living situation and routine. I also took Tabasco to training courses and spent time with a dog trainer. The best way for me to ensure that he keeps on top of his recall is to practise it as much as possible when we are out on our walks.
When Tabasco goes off to greet other dogs, or to go exploring, I make sure that he doesn’t go too far by calling him back to me at the appropriate time. When he reaches me, he always gets a big “good boy!” and “well done!”.
Tabasco rarely wanders more than 30 meters away from me now.
Hide and seek
What was I saying about him rarely wandering off? There are always going to be those times when his nose leads him in another direction to the one I’m walking in. When this happens, I take the opportunity when he isn’t looking to quickly hide behind the nearest tree or bush. Not many seconds pass by until Tabasco realises that I’ve disappeared, and he comes back to find me. As with our recall practise, when he finds me he is always given enthusiastic praise.
To retrieve or not to retrieve
Tabasco is a dog who doesn’t really live up to his breed name. Despite having no problems in our training sessions at home with retrieving, moving this skill into the world outside our property has been more challenging.
I play a few retrieve games with Tabasco when we are out on our walks. He will jump into the river to retrieve a stick that I’ve thrown in, and he will bring it back to me - just as long as it isn’t too far from the shore. He will run after the ball that I toss - but when he reaches it loses all interest in the ball.
I’ll just carry it instead
Tabasco seems to be more content with simply carrying sticks, balls or plastic bottles that he finds in his mouth and walking alongside me with them. If he drops it and we have walked on for a bit, I will tell him to “Go find the ball”, which he immediately does. Otherwise, I will race him to the ball and try to steal it away first. This is one of Tabasco’s favourite games.
Find the treat
I’ve recently started taking treats with me in order to play ‘Find It!’. I tend to choose a quiet area where Tabasco can concentrate without being distracted by other dogs, etc. I’ll put him in a sit-stay before sending him off to find the treats. This is another one of his favourite games - surprise, surprise.
New Year’s resolution
And so to my New Year’s resolution - cross-country running! I’ve recently bought a pair of cross-country running shoes for the purpose of getting more exercise myself while we are on our walks. This will have the added benefit of helping Tabasco to burn off more energy as he runs along beside me.
Other Interactive Exercise
As well as our regular walks together, I make sure that Tabasco gets as much exercise and interaction as possible via other methods.
Dog walker
Tabasco is with a dog walker three days a week for a one hour walk. This gives him the opportunity to meet with a bunch of pals and to let off as much energy as he needs to on a regular basis. It is a useful lesson for him to obey other people as well as myself, and the dog walker reinforces the training that I have undertaken with him (my dog trainer was recommended to me by my dog walker).
Agility
I take Tabasco to a dog agility class every Saturday afternoon. We have been going for nearly a year and we thoroughly enjoy this sport. It has been very rewarding to see his improvement over the year, and I am certain that this has helped to improve his obedience and has strengthened the bond between us.
Summary
I would like to think that if Tabasco and I were the study subject for another student on this course, that they would observe the many different ways we interact during our regular walks. The student would see us socialising with other dogs and people, practising recall and retrieves - and possibly see me diving behind a large bush! Walks are an important daily part of an dog owners ‘for life’ commitment - I intend to continuing enjoying each one.
I suggested in Question 1 of this unit that the interaction/non-interaction ratio between dogs and owners during a walk would be about 20%/80%. This has lead me to consider how I interact with my dog Tabasco during our regular walks.
Tabasco is a Curly Coated Retriever dog. He has been neutered and will be three years old in April 2011. He has been diagnosed with a relatively serious heart problem. Because of this illness, I need to make sure that Tabasco isn’t over-exercised, especially in hot weather conditions.
The following essay will describe the various locations we go to for our dog walks and the interaction we have whilst on them. Other exercise-based activities will also be detailed.
Locations
I live in Maidenhead in Berkshire. There are a number of locations a short distance from my home where Tabasco and I usually go for our walks.
Cookham - A huge area of common land next to the river Thames. The area includes several fields, cattle pastures, hills and riverside tracks with short sandy beaches.
Thames towpath - We often walk the towpath along the River Thames from Maidenhead to Windsor. One-way takes about two hours to complete, at a walking pace. (We sometimes catch the train home!)
Burnham Beeches - 500 acres of ancient woodland, which has many paved paths running through it, as well as some areas of open grassland and swampland.
Ockwells Park - Another large area with two huge sports fields and other adjoining meadows. A shallow stream runs along the far end of the park. We usually walk to this park from home, which usually takes about 20 minutes.
In the winter months I take Tabasco to one of these locations for a long walk on Saturdays and Sundays. During the summer, when the evenings are lighter, we go for walks here on week nights. My dog walker also takes Tabasco to these locations, three days per week. (See below ‘Dog Walker)
Our Interaction
I try to make our daily walks as enjoyable as I can - from both our points of view. As well as letting Tabasco explore his immediate surroundings, there are a number of other ways available to me to let him burn off his predatory energy, which are detailed below.
Socialisation with other dogs
The locations we visit are great places for dogs to socialise. On any given day, we can expect to bump into at least five or six other owners with their dogs. There is so much space for the dogs to run around in and play games of tag and chase, without the worry that they might stray onto a nearby road. As long as the other owners are happy about it, I encourage Tabasco to ‘say hello’ to as many dogs as possible during our walks.
Socialisation with people
It’s important for Tabasco to meet people as well as dogs. He has never had any problem approaching unknown people, especially if they have a tasty treat or two in their pocket!
From my point of view, I have to say that meeting other dog owners is one of the most enjoyable parts of our walks. I have never had so many conversations with complete strangers in my life! This has been a very useful confidence builder which has helped me in terms of my own personal growth.
If I invite a friend along for a walk with Tabasco, although we do use the time to catch up on gossip, we always ensure that we interact with Tabasco in the same way that I would if I was walking him by myself.
Recall training
Up until about a year ago Tabasco’s recall was appalling. The situation improved significantly after I made various changes to our living situation and routine. I also took Tabasco to training courses and spent time with a dog trainer. The best way for me to ensure that he keeps on top of his recall is to practise it as much as possible when we are out on our walks.
When Tabasco goes off to greet other dogs, or to go exploring, I make sure that he doesn’t go too far by calling him back to me at the appropriate time. When he reaches me, he always gets a big “good boy!” and “well done!”.
Tabasco rarely wanders more than 30 meters away from me now.
Hide and seek
What was I saying about him rarely wandering off? There are always going to be those times when his nose leads him in another direction to the one I’m walking in. When this happens, I take the opportunity when he isn’t looking to quickly hide behind the nearest tree or bush. Not many seconds pass by until Tabasco realises that I’ve disappeared, and he comes back to find me. As with our recall practise, when he finds me he is always given enthusiastic praise.
To retrieve or not to retrieve
Tabasco is a dog who doesn’t really live up to his breed name. Despite having no problems in our training sessions at home with retrieving, moving this skill into the world outside our property has been more challenging.
I play a few retrieve games with Tabasco when we are out on our walks. He will jump into the river to retrieve a stick that I’ve thrown in, and he will bring it back to me - just as long as it isn’t too far from the shore. He will run after the ball that I toss - but when he reaches it loses all interest in the ball.
I’ll just carry it instead
Tabasco seems to be more content with simply carrying sticks, balls or plastic bottles that he finds in his mouth and walking alongside me with them. If he drops it and we have walked on for a bit, I will tell him to “Go find the ball”, which he immediately does. Otherwise, I will race him to the ball and try to steal it away first. This is one of Tabasco’s favourite games.
Find the treat
I’ve recently started taking treats with me in order to play ‘Find It!’. I tend to choose a quiet area where Tabasco can concentrate without being distracted by other dogs, etc. I’ll put him in a sit-stay before sending him off to find the treats. This is another one of his favourite games - surprise, surprise.
New Year’s resolution
And so to my New Year’s resolution - cross-country running! I’ve recently bought a pair of cross-country running shoes for the purpose of getting more exercise myself while we are on our walks. This will have the added benefit of helping Tabasco to burn off more energy as he runs along beside me.
Other Interactive Exercise
As well as our regular walks together, I make sure that Tabasco gets as much exercise and interaction as possible via other methods.
Dog walker
Tabasco is with a dog walker three days a week for a one hour walk. This gives him the opportunity to meet with a bunch of pals and to let off as much energy as he needs to on a regular basis. It is a useful lesson for him to obey other people as well as myself, and the dog walker reinforces the training that I have undertaken with him (my dog trainer was recommended to me by my dog walker).
Agility
I take Tabasco to a dog agility class every Saturday afternoon. We have been going for nearly a year and we thoroughly enjoy this sport. It has been very rewarding to see his improvement over the year, and I am certain that this has helped to improve his obedience and has strengthened the bond between us.
Summary
I would like to think that if Tabasco and I were the study subject for another student on this course, that they would observe the many different ways we interact during our regular walks. The student would see us socialising with other dogs and people, practising recall and retrieves - and possibly see me diving behind a large bush! Walks are an important daily part of an dog owners ‘for life’ commitment - I intend to continuing enjoying each one.
Observation
Location
Each weekend, and in the evenings in summer, Tabasco and I can usually be found at Cookham, near Maidenhead, walking through common land next to the river Thames. This is a huge area which includes several fields, cattle pastures, hills and riverside tracks with short sandy beaches. It is a very popular place for walkers, joggers, mountain bikers and also people with dogs.
View of riverside path at Cookham, Berkshire
Owners and their dogs usually walk the ‘circuit’ - following the path along the river and through various fields. The full course is probably about 2 miles long.
It is an ideal place for dogs to socialise and let off steam.
Observations
Tabasco and I come across many other people with dogs during our walks in Cookham. The following is a selection of the people and dogs that we have met recently.
Lady with two Golden Retrievers (dogs, aged 8-10 years)
Both dogs seemed to have quite different personalities, which the owner catered for individually. One wandered off investigating the undergrowth, while the other stayed relatively close to the owner.
The dog that wandered off was happy to play with Tabasco and they had a couple of fun games of chase. The owner was not concerned about this and made no attempt to stop the play session. When it was time to move on, she called for the dog, who came back to her almost immediately.
The other dog was content to walk alongside the owner, and to retrieve balls which the owner was throwing with a ‘slingshot’. He was not interested in playing with Tabasco.
Lady with four Jack Russell Terriers (mixed sexes, all littermates, 2 years), a German Shepherd (dog, 20 weeks) and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (bitch, 12 weeks)
Wow what a mad, rowdy bunch this was! The four Jack Russells (hereinafter referred to as the ‘JR Gang’), created a dust storm of their own, chasing and playing with each other, whilst always keeping up with the owner as she continued to walk along, and moving in her general direction.
The JR Gang at one stage decided to break away, and ran under a fence into an adjoining field, in order to chase something. They were all called back, and eventually returned to the owner one by one. Each gang member was verbally chastised in turn. As they were told off, they all crouched down in a submissive manner.
The walk resumed, and the JR Gang dutifully ran alongside the owner, eventually being given a ball to play with (after incessantly jumping up at the owner demanding it).
The German Shepard was very well behaved, and stayed close to the owner during the walk. He joined in to play with the JR Gang from time to time. The owner also spent time with him, individually practising recall exercises, which he excelled at.
The Staffie puppy was kept on a lead throughout most of the walk, and was picked up from time to time to avoid her trudging through some deep, sticky mud. In the larger open spaces, the owner also practiced recall with her.
Couple with Staffordshire Bull Terrier (bitch, 18 months)
The owners kept a close eye on their dog. She was very sociable, and for that reason the owners were conscious of her wandering off too far with other dogs in order to play. The owners were happy for her to play Tabasco, despite his larger size.
The Staffie was very energetic and covered a lot of ground very quickly. She did not return to recall commands very well and to help her with this, the owners had her wear a remote controlled spray training collar. It did have the effect of stopping her in her tracks. I did wonder if they left it too long before firing the remote control as the Staffie was out of remote control range quite quickly. When she did return, she was rewarded with a treat.
When she was off the lead, the owners were always aware of the Staffie’s whereabouts. After a while, she was put back on the lead in order to (in the words of the owner) “calm down for a while”.
Man with Collie/Labrador mix (bitch, 1 year)
The owner dealt with this dog’s ceaseless energy by walking along whilst throwing balls for her with a slingshot, which she endlessly retrieved. Tabasco did venture over to her to say hello. She was friendly, but more interested in chasing balls than being chatted up by my lad.
When I stopped to talk to the owner, I noticed that the dog did jump up at him quite a lot, requesting the next ball throw.
As the owner continued to walk (and throw), the dog stayed with him continuously.
Lady with Husky (dog, 2 years)
The Husky was a very friendly chap with lots of energy. He invited Tabasco to play wrestle and a game of tag. The Husky did wander off a few times (over to the other side of the field on one occasion) to say hello to other dogs and/or people. The owner commented that he found ‘everything else more interesting than me’.
When the Husky did return to the owner after being called, I noticed that he wasn’t given a treat for coming back. He was praised, but not over-enthusiastically.
The owner mentioned to me that he was a very friendly dog who ‘bounced over to everyone, big or small, to go and play’. This in itself wasn’t a problem, but I did feel that when he did run off to greet other dogs, he was quite a distance from the owner, who would not have been able to control him at all, if something did go wrong.
Findings and Conclusion
Preparing for this report has been a very interesting exercise. The opportunity to observe other people and the way they interact (or not) with their dogs when taking them for a walk, has proved to be very enlightening, and having to think about what I have observed in order to write this report has really opened my eyes.
The five dog-owner combinations I chose to report on all interacted with myself and Tabasco during our walk in Cookham - I chatted to the owners and petted the dogs, while Tabasco greeted the owners and sniffed, greeted or played with the dogs.
Three out of the five owners I observed interacted with their dogs by throwing balls for them. Two of the owners practised recall with their dogs, but only when the dogs wandered off too far.
The interaction/non-interaction ratio for this study is 60%/40%. I would suggest that in a real situation, where I would observe a much higher quantity of dogs and owners, the ratio would be more like 20%/80%. From my experience, most dog owners (to quote the text from our course handbook) are ‘occupied with their own thoughts’, while still others are talking on mobile phones.
I think one of the reasons why I selected the five dog-owner combinations detailed above was because it gave me something to write about! If my selection would have been more random, this report would have been a lot different - and a lot shorter.
Each weekend, and in the evenings in summer, Tabasco and I can usually be found at Cookham, near Maidenhead, walking through common land next to the river Thames. This is a huge area which includes several fields, cattle pastures, hills and riverside tracks with short sandy beaches. It is a very popular place for walkers, joggers, mountain bikers and also people with dogs.
View of riverside path at Cookham, Berkshire
Owners and their dogs usually walk the ‘circuit’ - following the path along the river and through various fields. The full course is probably about 2 miles long.
It is an ideal place for dogs to socialise and let off steam.
Observations
Tabasco and I come across many other people with dogs during our walks in Cookham. The following is a selection of the people and dogs that we have met recently.
Lady with two Golden Retrievers (dogs, aged 8-10 years)
Both dogs seemed to have quite different personalities, which the owner catered for individually. One wandered off investigating the undergrowth, while the other stayed relatively close to the owner.
The dog that wandered off was happy to play with Tabasco and they had a couple of fun games of chase. The owner was not concerned about this and made no attempt to stop the play session. When it was time to move on, she called for the dog, who came back to her almost immediately.
The other dog was content to walk alongside the owner, and to retrieve balls which the owner was throwing with a ‘slingshot’. He was not interested in playing with Tabasco.
Lady with four Jack Russell Terriers (mixed sexes, all littermates, 2 years), a German Shepherd (dog, 20 weeks) and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (bitch, 12 weeks)
Wow what a mad, rowdy bunch this was! The four Jack Russells (hereinafter referred to as the ‘JR Gang’), created a dust storm of their own, chasing and playing with each other, whilst always keeping up with the owner as she continued to walk along, and moving in her general direction.
The JR Gang at one stage decided to break away, and ran under a fence into an adjoining field, in order to chase something. They were all called back, and eventually returned to the owner one by one. Each gang member was verbally chastised in turn. As they were told off, they all crouched down in a submissive manner.
The walk resumed, and the JR Gang dutifully ran alongside the owner, eventually being given a ball to play with (after incessantly jumping up at the owner demanding it).
The German Shepard was very well behaved, and stayed close to the owner during the walk. He joined in to play with the JR Gang from time to time. The owner also spent time with him, individually practising recall exercises, which he excelled at.
The Staffie puppy was kept on a lead throughout most of the walk, and was picked up from time to time to avoid her trudging through some deep, sticky mud. In the larger open spaces, the owner also practiced recall with her.
Couple with Staffordshire Bull Terrier (bitch, 18 months)
The owners kept a close eye on their dog. She was very sociable, and for that reason the owners were conscious of her wandering off too far with other dogs in order to play. The owners were happy for her to play Tabasco, despite his larger size.
The Staffie was very energetic and covered a lot of ground very quickly. She did not return to recall commands very well and to help her with this, the owners had her wear a remote controlled spray training collar. It did have the effect of stopping her in her tracks. I did wonder if they left it too long before firing the remote control as the Staffie was out of remote control range quite quickly. When she did return, she was rewarded with a treat.
When she was off the lead, the owners were always aware of the Staffie’s whereabouts. After a while, she was put back on the lead in order to (in the words of the owner) “calm down for a while”.
Man with Collie/Labrador mix (bitch, 1 year)
The owner dealt with this dog’s ceaseless energy by walking along whilst throwing balls for her with a slingshot, which she endlessly retrieved. Tabasco did venture over to her to say hello. She was friendly, but more interested in chasing balls than being chatted up by my lad.
When I stopped to talk to the owner, I noticed that the dog did jump up at him quite a lot, requesting the next ball throw.
As the owner continued to walk (and throw), the dog stayed with him continuously.
Lady with Husky (dog, 2 years)
The Husky was a very friendly chap with lots of energy. He invited Tabasco to play wrestle and a game of tag. The Husky did wander off a few times (over to the other side of the field on one occasion) to say hello to other dogs and/or people. The owner commented that he found ‘everything else more interesting than me’.
When the Husky did return to the owner after being called, I noticed that he wasn’t given a treat for coming back. He was praised, but not over-enthusiastically.
The owner mentioned to me that he was a very friendly dog who ‘bounced over to everyone, big or small, to go and play’. This in itself wasn’t a problem, but I did feel that when he did run off to greet other dogs, he was quite a distance from the owner, who would not have been able to control him at all, if something did go wrong.
Findings and Conclusion
Preparing for this report has been a very interesting exercise. The opportunity to observe other people and the way they interact (or not) with their dogs when taking them for a walk, has proved to be very enlightening, and having to think about what I have observed in order to write this report has really opened my eyes.
The five dog-owner combinations I chose to report on all interacted with myself and Tabasco during our walk in Cookham - I chatted to the owners and petted the dogs, while Tabasco greeted the owners and sniffed, greeted or played with the dogs.
Three out of the five owners I observed interacted with their dogs by throwing balls for them. Two of the owners practised recall with their dogs, but only when the dogs wandered off too far.
The interaction/non-interaction ratio for this study is 60%/40%. I would suggest that in a real situation, where I would observe a much higher quantity of dogs and owners, the ratio would be more like 20%/80%. From my experience, most dog owners (to quote the text from our course handbook) are ‘occupied with their own thoughts’, while still others are talking on mobile phones.
I think one of the reasons why I selected the five dog-owner combinations detailed above was because it gave me something to write about! If my selection would have been more random, this report would have been a lot different - and a lot shorter.
House training
House training problems are quite common and cause both puppy and owner distress. Discuss how you would house train a puppy, indicating how long this may take, and by what age you would expect him to be reliable by day and by night.
Introduction
Even if the extent to which dogs (Canis familiaris) are intrinsically related to the wolf (Canis lupus) is debated at a ‘pack’ level, there are certain several ‘genetically pre-programmed’ similarities between the two. One such similarity is urine marking. Dogs and wolves often use urine to mark their territories. Another similarity is their cleanliness instinct - the habit of soiling outside the nest. When they are still very small, puppies are cleaned of waste by their mothers, and have an instinct to move away from the nest at around three weeks of age to go to the toilet. By the same token, adult wolves are very meticulous with their toilet habits and ‘empty their bowels twice daily away from the den’.(1)
Our human houses with their plush carpets, soft sofas and polished floors, are of no importance to a puppy who needs to go to the toilet away from his puppy bed. If we care about our decor, we need to help puppy to understand where to eliminate, and, eventually, how to tell us when he needs to.
Elimination patterns
In order to get house training off to a positive start, it is important to establish a connection between being outside and eliminating. Bruce Fogel states that ‘various internal bodily sensations such as a full bladder, combined with external stimuli such as the smell of urine are the influences that cause the pup to urinate. House training involves classically conditioning the dog’s mind to associate these stimuli with the outdoors rather than the indoors.’(2)
Young puppies will usually need to eliminate soon after the following:
One of the best ways to maximise the chances of successful house training is to ensure that the puppy is outside after each activity.
Creating an elimination schedule
At such an early age a puppy doesn’t have the physical capacity to hold his motions for long. The ‘bladder muscle is the last to develop: Flimsy and small, it fills up very fast, and until social maturity (around 5 months), it needs to be emptied often.’(3)
Very young puppies (younger than 12 weeks) may need to go out every hour to eliminate. The following guidelines generally apply:
A house training schedule should be established as soon as possible, and the puppy will need to be taken outside on a regular basis, every 1-2 hours, day and night.
Whilst on the lead, take puppy to a designated toilet area in your garden and let him walk and sniff around the area. Stay with the puppy and wait for him to go. It should only take a few minutes.
It is useful to associate a cue word, such as ‘pee pee’, or ‘toilet’, with the action of elimination. This will be handy in the future when he gets older and you need him to eliminate on cue.
If he eliminates in the required area, reward him lots of calm, happy praise while he is performing the action. Give him a couple of special tasty treats after he has finished. It’s important that the puppy is rewarded while he is still outside, not when back inside the house.
As with all other experiences in the puppy’s early life, by making toileting a happy experience, he will soon get the message, have positive associations and learn quicker.
Punishment doesn’t work
‘Going to the toilet is a necessary and natural behaviour and any form of punishment in house training will lead to confusion.’(4) The ’old school’ method of punishing the puppy after discovering the evidence, either by physical (smacking or ‘rubbing his nose in it’) or mental (shouting or prolonged isolation) punishment will only delay the house training process. If the puppy associates your anger or physical abuse with the sight of urine or faeces, he will learn that it is safer to go to the toilet in places where the evidence cannot be found. Furthermore, he may also refuse to eliminate in front of you, thus delaying the success of house training.
Owners may misread the ‘guilty look’ on their puppy’s face after finding urine or faeces on the kitchen floor. Human concepts such as guilt, regret, spite, do not exist in dogs. This is instead a display of submissive/appeasement language by the puppy in the anticipation that he is going to be punished. In the puppy’s mind, there is no correlation between the punishment he is receiving and his previous action of going to the toilet, and he is only deflecting the owner’s anger.
Catching him in the act
Anytime the puppy is sniffing around the ground, and crouching down about to go to the toilet or is actually in the process of eliminating inside the house, the best thing to do is to quickly get his attention by clapping, slapping the wall, or shouting out something innocuous and non-threatening like “turnip!”. The purpose of the shout, or loud noise, is to alert him, thus breaking his attention and causing him to stop ‘mid-flow’. When the puppy has been interrupted, adopt a relaxed posture and calmly lead him outside to relieve himself in the right place. Ensure that he is enthusiastically praised if he does continue to go.
Dealing with ‘accidents’
Accidents should be cleaned up calmly, with as little amount of fuss as possible. It’s important to clean the area with specialist cleaning detergents, specifically designed to help with house training. Standard household cleaners do not effectively remove all the proteins found in puppy urine, and even if we think the area is clean, and we can’t smell them, guess who can! It’s also important not to use an ammonia or bleach based cleaner as the puppy will identify it as a toilet area due to it smelling similar to the ammonia in urine.
How long should it take?
On average it takes about two to three weeks to reasonably house train a puppy during the daytime, however he will not be able to last through the night without eliminating until he is about 14 weeks old.
Puppies don't really develop full control of bladder and bowel muscles and sphincters until they are about 5-6 months old. Therefore, depending on the breed, the individual puppy and how much effort the owner puts into house training, it may take up to 8 months for a puppy to be completely house trained - day and night.
Crate Training / Confinement Area
It is during the times when it is not possible for the owner to keep an eye on the puppy, or during the night, that accidents will most likely happen. During these periods the use of a puppy crate and/or confinement area is recommended.
A puppy crate can be used at night, with the crate kept in the owner’s room initially. The owner should be prepared to be woken up a few times during the night, as it is likely that the puppy will cry. If the puppy cries, he should be calmly taken outside immediately to eliminate. When he is finished he should be praised and then taken quietly back to his crate to sleep.
Alternatively, the puppy’s bed should be placed in a area which is relatively confined. The remainder of the floor area should be covered with newspaper, onto which the puppy can eliminate. The size of the newspapered area can be gradually reduced and moved further away from his bed. In this way, the puppy will learn to go to the toilet on the newspaper, if the owner is not present to encourage him outside.
House Training Errors
New puppy owners should try to avoid making the following additional house training mistakes:
Conclusion
House training is an essential part of puppy ownership which needs to begin as soon as possible. Helpful breeders would hopefully have started the process off before the puppy is collected by his new owner. It can have its frustrations, but with a bit of patience and positive reinforcement, the puppy will eventually understand that he needs to be outside when he needs to ‘go’.
Works Cited
(1) The Dog’s Mind, ch.9, p.144 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
(2) The Dog’s Mind, ch.7, p.106 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
(3) Puppies For Dummies, ch.12, p176 (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
(4) Puppy Behaviour and Training, ch.4, p.26 (Heath, Sarah 2005)
Bibliography
How To Speak Dog (Coren, Stanley 2000)
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Puppy Behaviour and Training (Heath, Sarah 2005)
Take The Lead (Watson, Heather 1998)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
The Culture Clash (Donaldson, Jean 2005)
The Kennel Club Puppy Handbook (2007)
Internet
www.canineconcepts.co.uk/Solution Centre and Guides/New Dog and Puppy Guides/Dog and Puppy housetraining - the modern way!
Introduction
Even if the extent to which dogs (Canis familiaris) are intrinsically related to the wolf (Canis lupus) is debated at a ‘pack’ level, there are certain several ‘genetically pre-programmed’ similarities between the two. One such similarity is urine marking. Dogs and wolves often use urine to mark their territories. Another similarity is their cleanliness instinct - the habit of soiling outside the nest. When they are still very small, puppies are cleaned of waste by their mothers, and have an instinct to move away from the nest at around three weeks of age to go to the toilet. By the same token, adult wolves are very meticulous with their toilet habits and ‘empty their bowels twice daily away from the den’.(1)
Our human houses with their plush carpets, soft sofas and polished floors, are of no importance to a puppy who needs to go to the toilet away from his puppy bed. If we care about our decor, we need to help puppy to understand where to eliminate, and, eventually, how to tell us when he needs to.
Elimination patterns
In order to get house training off to a positive start, it is important to establish a connection between being outside and eliminating. Bruce Fogel states that ‘various internal bodily sensations such as a full bladder, combined with external stimuli such as the smell of urine are the influences that cause the pup to urinate. House training involves classically conditioning the dog’s mind to associate these stimuli with the outdoors rather than the indoors.’(2)
Young puppies will usually need to eliminate soon after the following:
- Immediately after waking up
- After every meal (eating stimulates the digestive system and puppies normally urinate within 15 minutes of eating, and defecate within half and hour of eating)
- After drinking
- After playing or running around (exercise stimulates the bowels)
- After any excitement (e.g. after visitors greet your puppy)
One of the best ways to maximise the chances of successful house training is to ensure that the puppy is outside after each activity.
Creating an elimination schedule
At such an early age a puppy doesn’t have the physical capacity to hold his motions for long. The ‘bladder muscle is the last to develop: Flimsy and small, it fills up very fast, and until social maturity (around 5 months), it needs to be emptied often.’(3)
Very young puppies (younger than 12 weeks) may need to go out every hour to eliminate. The following guidelines generally apply:
| Age |
Number of times out per day
|
| 6 - 14 weeks | 8 to 10 |
| 14 - 20 weeks | 6 to 8 |
| 20 to 30 weeks | 4 to 6 |
| 30 weeks to adulthood | 3 to 4 |
A house training schedule should be established as soon as possible, and the puppy will need to be taken outside on a regular basis, every 1-2 hours, day and night.
Whilst on the lead, take puppy to a designated toilet area in your garden and let him walk and sniff around the area. Stay with the puppy and wait for him to go. It should only take a few minutes.
It is useful to associate a cue word, such as ‘pee pee’, or ‘toilet’, with the action of elimination. This will be handy in the future when he gets older and you need him to eliminate on cue.
If he eliminates in the required area, reward him lots of calm, happy praise while he is performing the action. Give him a couple of special tasty treats after he has finished. It’s important that the puppy is rewarded while he is still outside, not when back inside the house.
As with all other experiences in the puppy’s early life, by making toileting a happy experience, he will soon get the message, have positive associations and learn quicker.
Punishment doesn’t work
‘Going to the toilet is a necessary and natural behaviour and any form of punishment in house training will lead to confusion.’(4) The ’old school’ method of punishing the puppy after discovering the evidence, either by physical (smacking or ‘rubbing his nose in it’) or mental (shouting or prolonged isolation) punishment will only delay the house training process. If the puppy associates your anger or physical abuse with the sight of urine or faeces, he will learn that it is safer to go to the toilet in places where the evidence cannot be found. Furthermore, he may also refuse to eliminate in front of you, thus delaying the success of house training.
Owners may misread the ‘guilty look’ on their puppy’s face after finding urine or faeces on the kitchen floor. Human concepts such as guilt, regret, spite, do not exist in dogs. This is instead a display of submissive/appeasement language by the puppy in the anticipation that he is going to be punished. In the puppy’s mind, there is no correlation between the punishment he is receiving and his previous action of going to the toilet, and he is only deflecting the owner’s anger.
Catching him in the act
Anytime the puppy is sniffing around the ground, and crouching down about to go to the toilet or is actually in the process of eliminating inside the house, the best thing to do is to quickly get his attention by clapping, slapping the wall, or shouting out something innocuous and non-threatening like “turnip!”. The purpose of the shout, or loud noise, is to alert him, thus breaking his attention and causing him to stop ‘mid-flow’. When the puppy has been interrupted, adopt a relaxed posture and calmly lead him outside to relieve himself in the right place. Ensure that he is enthusiastically praised if he does continue to go.
Dealing with ‘accidents’
Accidents should be cleaned up calmly, with as little amount of fuss as possible. It’s important to clean the area with specialist cleaning detergents, specifically designed to help with house training. Standard household cleaners do not effectively remove all the proteins found in puppy urine, and even if we think the area is clean, and we can’t smell them, guess who can! It’s also important not to use an ammonia or bleach based cleaner as the puppy will identify it as a toilet area due to it smelling similar to the ammonia in urine.
How long should it take?
On average it takes about two to three weeks to reasonably house train a puppy during the daytime, however he will not be able to last through the night without eliminating until he is about 14 weeks old.
Puppies don't really develop full control of bladder and bowel muscles and sphincters until they are about 5-6 months old. Therefore, depending on the breed, the individual puppy and how much effort the owner puts into house training, it may take up to 8 months for a puppy to be completely house trained - day and night.
Crate Training / Confinement Area
It is during the times when it is not possible for the owner to keep an eye on the puppy, or during the night, that accidents will most likely happen. During these periods the use of a puppy crate and/or confinement area is recommended.
A puppy crate can be used at night, with the crate kept in the owner’s room initially. The owner should be prepared to be woken up a few times during the night, as it is likely that the puppy will cry. If the puppy cries, he should be calmly taken outside immediately to eliminate. When he is finished he should be praised and then taken quietly back to his crate to sleep.
Alternatively, the puppy’s bed should be placed in a area which is relatively confined. The remainder of the floor area should be covered with newspaper, onto which the puppy can eliminate. The size of the newspapered area can be gradually reduced and moved further away from his bed. In this way, the puppy will learn to go to the toilet on the newspaper, if the owner is not present to encourage him outside.
House Training Errors
New puppy owners should try to avoid making the following additional house training mistakes:
- Access to water too close to bed time or during the night
- Feeding too close to bed time
- Over-feeding
- Feeding salty foods (which makes them drink more)
- Not sticking with persistent and consistent training
Conclusion
House training is an essential part of puppy ownership which needs to begin as soon as possible. Helpful breeders would hopefully have started the process off before the puppy is collected by his new owner. It can have its frustrations, but with a bit of patience and positive reinforcement, the puppy will eventually understand that he needs to be outside when he needs to ‘go’.
Works Cited
(1) The Dog’s Mind, ch.9, p.144 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
(2) The Dog’s Mind, ch.7, p.106 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
(3) Puppies For Dummies, ch.12, p176 (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
(4) Puppy Behaviour and Training, ch.4, p.26 (Heath, Sarah 2005)
Bibliography
How To Speak Dog (Coren, Stanley 2000)
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Puppy Behaviour and Training (Heath, Sarah 2005)
Take The Lead (Watson, Heather 1998)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
The Culture Clash (Donaldson, Jean 2005)
The Kennel Club Puppy Handbook (2007)
Internet
www.canineconcepts.co.uk/Solution Centre and Guides/New Dog and Puppy Guides/Dog and Puppy housetraining - the modern way!
The importance of play
Write an essay in which you identify the benefits for the dog in playing games, and devise a game, which will be enjoyed by dog and owner, indicating the skills it encourages the dog to use.
Introduction
Play is a natural canine activity which is initially developed during puppyhood while a puppy is still with his mother and littermates. During the first 4-6 weeks of life a puppy will use play as an important means of communication and social contact with the other members of his litter. And when he moves away from his birth home, the communication and social contact continues, through play, with his owners.
Why is play important for a puppy?
In addition to promoting essential social interaction with other dogs and their owners, in the early stages of life, play also functions to help a puppy with the development of physical strength and flexibility brought about by playful exercise. Furthermore, play helps to promote improvements to balance and coordination. And it’s during play sessions with his littermates that a puppy will learn to develop a ‘soft mouth’ (bite inhibition).
Communication through play teaches a puppy ‘play cues’ and invitations to play via the ‘play bow’. Puppies quickly learn how to build on their natural predatory instincts by inventing games of ‘chase’ and ‘tug’. And their in-built inquisitiveness is amplified by embarking on adventures with littermates.
‘Play affects and moulds adult social behaviour’(1), and is a good indicator of future dominance behaviour. Through play is it easy to identify which individuals will be more dominant or more submissive as adults.
Don’t stop playing!
When the puppy is removed from the litter, his human owners take over responsibility from his littermates to ensure that play remains an essential part of his life. Game play can be used to promote a dog’s natural predatory instincts and developing games that are based on a dog breeds natural behaviours are a useful starting point. For example, retriever breeds naturally ‘find and fetch’, terrier breeds naturally tug and tear.
Dogs need continuous mental and physical stimulation. Play stimulates mental dexterity, including problem solving, which should be increased in complexity and duration as dogs get older. ‘It ensures that the dog’s brain is actively engaged, … and the more a dog is played with the more he uses his brain’.(2)
Physical stimulation and exercise through play is a useful weight control mechanism for dogs as they get older.
The physical and mental exercise a dog receives through play helps to slow down brain deterioration, thus promoting a longer life.
“Find It!”
“Find It!” is great game which acts as an outlet to help your dog burn off his predatory energy. The game simply involves hiding a high value object and sending your dog to search and find it. The high value object is dependant on what is rewarding to your dog, i.e. piece of cheese or other tasty treat (possibly hidden in a ‘kong’-type toy) for dogs who are food oriented, a tug toy for dogs who enjoy tug-of-war games, or a favourite ball for those who love to retrieve. In each of these cases, the reward for finding the object is either: eating the object, partaking in a quick game of tug in between ‘finds’, or having a few ball retrieves before starting the next search.
The game is started by setting your dog in a ‘sit-stay’ or ‘wait’ position out of eye-shot of the area you are hiding the object, or even in a separate room with the door closed - he will try to cheat if given the chance.
Hide the object and return to the dog, ensuring that he has not ‘broken’ the sit-stay position. Use the release cue “go find it”, and he will be away like a shot, nose to the ground, feverishly searching for his favourite tasty treat or toy.
Give your dog a helping hand by saying “uh-oh” if he is has moved away from the object, and “good boy” if he has moved closer to it. As your dog becomes more adept at the game, stop helping him to find the object, so that he learns to have confidence in his own ability, rather than learning to rely on you to help him.
Gradually increase the difficulty by finding tougher hiding places for the object.
The great thing about this game is that it can be played either inside or outside, and it can also be played by more than one dog at a time.
This game is very easy to learn and it is very rewarding as a dog owner to see your pet enjoying a game so much and getting so excited.
“Find It!” is beneficial for your dog because:
Conclusion
There is something very heartwarming when watching animals at play, and dogs, the proverbial ‘Peter Pans’ of the animal world, are no exception. When dogs play they have a wonderful ‘lightness of being’(3). They pretend to be submissive, they show terrific gentleness despite their strength, they invite each other for adventures and invent collaborative games. In addition, play teaches dogs important social lessons, and most of all, it helps to prolong their lives. If you teach your dog anything - teach him to play, play, play!
Works Cited
(1) The Dog’s Mind, ch.6, p.83 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
(2) Let’s Play With Our Dog, ch.1, p.2 (Woodcock, Dee 2005)
(3) The Dog’s Mind, ch.6, p.83 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Bibliography
Let’s Play With Our Dog (Woodcock, Dee 2005)
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Puppy Behaviour and Training (Heath, Sarah 2005)
The Culture Clash (Donaldson, Jean 2005)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Introduction
Play is a natural canine activity which is initially developed during puppyhood while a puppy is still with his mother and littermates. During the first 4-6 weeks of life a puppy will use play as an important means of communication and social contact with the other members of his litter. And when he moves away from his birth home, the communication and social contact continues, through play, with his owners.
Why is play important for a puppy?
In addition to promoting essential social interaction with other dogs and their owners, in the early stages of life, play also functions to help a puppy with the development of physical strength and flexibility brought about by playful exercise. Furthermore, play helps to promote improvements to balance and coordination. And it’s during play sessions with his littermates that a puppy will learn to develop a ‘soft mouth’ (bite inhibition).
Communication through play teaches a puppy ‘play cues’ and invitations to play via the ‘play bow’. Puppies quickly learn how to build on their natural predatory instincts by inventing games of ‘chase’ and ‘tug’. And their in-built inquisitiveness is amplified by embarking on adventures with littermates.
‘Play affects and moulds adult social behaviour’(1), and is a good indicator of future dominance behaviour. Through play is it easy to identify which individuals will be more dominant or more submissive as adults.
Don’t stop playing!
When the puppy is removed from the litter, his human owners take over responsibility from his littermates to ensure that play remains an essential part of his life. Game play can be used to promote a dog’s natural predatory instincts and developing games that are based on a dog breeds natural behaviours are a useful starting point. For example, retriever breeds naturally ‘find and fetch’, terrier breeds naturally tug and tear.
Dogs need continuous mental and physical stimulation. Play stimulates mental dexterity, including problem solving, which should be increased in complexity and duration as dogs get older. ‘It ensures that the dog’s brain is actively engaged, … and the more a dog is played with the more he uses his brain’.(2)
Physical stimulation and exercise through play is a useful weight control mechanism for dogs as they get older.
The physical and mental exercise a dog receives through play helps to slow down brain deterioration, thus promoting a longer life.
“Find It!”
“Find It!” is great game which acts as an outlet to help your dog burn off his predatory energy. The game simply involves hiding a high value object and sending your dog to search and find it. The high value object is dependant on what is rewarding to your dog, i.e. piece of cheese or other tasty treat (possibly hidden in a ‘kong’-type toy) for dogs who are food oriented, a tug toy for dogs who enjoy tug-of-war games, or a favourite ball for those who love to retrieve. In each of these cases, the reward for finding the object is either: eating the object, partaking in a quick game of tug in between ‘finds’, or having a few ball retrieves before starting the next search.
The game is started by setting your dog in a ‘sit-stay’ or ‘wait’ position out of eye-shot of the area you are hiding the object, or even in a separate room with the door closed - he will try to cheat if given the chance.
Hide the object and return to the dog, ensuring that he has not ‘broken’ the sit-stay position. Use the release cue “go find it”, and he will be away like a shot, nose to the ground, feverishly searching for his favourite tasty treat or toy.
Give your dog a helping hand by saying “uh-oh” if he is has moved away from the object, and “good boy” if he has moved closer to it. As your dog becomes more adept at the game, stop helping him to find the object, so that he learns to have confidence in his own ability, rather than learning to rely on you to help him.
Gradually increase the difficulty by finding tougher hiding places for the object.
The great thing about this game is that it can be played either inside or outside, and it can also be played by more than one dog at a time.
This game is very easy to learn and it is very rewarding as a dog owner to see your pet enjoying a game so much and getting so excited.
“Find It!” is beneficial for your dog because:
- it teaches him to utilise his natural ability to search and find
- it helps him to learn to discern from a variety of different scents
- it builds his self-control by making him repeat a sit-stay whilst excited
- it is a great predatory energy burner
Conclusion
There is something very heartwarming when watching animals at play, and dogs, the proverbial ‘Peter Pans’ of the animal world, are no exception. When dogs play they have a wonderful ‘lightness of being’(3). They pretend to be submissive, they show terrific gentleness despite their strength, they invite each other for adventures and invent collaborative games. In addition, play teaches dogs important social lessons, and most of all, it helps to prolong their lives. If you teach your dog anything - teach him to play, play, play!
Works Cited
(1) The Dog’s Mind, ch.6, p.83 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
(2) Let’s Play With Our Dog, ch.1, p.2 (Woodcock, Dee 2005)
(3) The Dog’s Mind, ch.6, p.83 (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
Bibliography
Let’s Play With Our Dog (Woodcock, Dee 2005)
Puppies For Dummies (Hodgson, Sarah 2006)
Puppy Behaviour and Training (Heath, Sarah 2005)
The Culture Clash (Donaldson, Jean 2005)
The Dog’s Mind (Fogel, Bruce 1990)
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