Working with your dog? These five tips will help you get the most out of your dog training session:

1. Stay Calm: Getting anxious or upset will only frustrate you and your dog.  Staying calm will help you to connect with your dog and prove to you and your dog that you have confidence to be a reliable leader.  This will help you to build trust with your dog and to speed up training.

2. Be Consistent: Consistency is possibly the most important thing to remember.  Dogs are creatures of habit. Having a consistent daily routine as well as consistent training and direction will help your dog to feel more comfortable with its surroundings.  This in turn will aid you in the work you do with your dog.  Try to keep things such as feeding time, play time, training time, quiet time, and bed time consistent. Also be consistent with your expectations.  Don’t say a command one day and then change it the next (i.e. don’t say “down” when you mean “off”; don’t say “wait” when you mean “stay” and vice versa.)  This should apply to praise and direction as well.  Don’t be over the top gushy on one day and then barely acknowledge an achievement the next day.

3. Be Kind – Not Easy: Dogs are very astute at picking out a ‘soft touch’ as well as learning each of our weaknesses. Be fair to your dog.  Make sure they understand the result you are trying to reach and the trigger word.  However, once they know the commands, don’t allow them to get away without following them.  Don’t make excuses for your dog not following through on a command. And don’t let things that you once trained slide or old habits that have been broken creep back in.

4. Always Think Ahead: Don’t allow your dog or yourself to be put in a compromised situation.  Always scout areas for training or exercise before you take your dog there.  Remember to take any supplies or training equipment you might need.  Consider making a bag to take with you or using a check list.  Also, keep your eyes and ears open for any distractions that may come up.

5. Know When to Say When: When training, don’t push things too far.  If you’ve had a great 45 minute training session with your dog and they are starting to tire, then call it quits.  You should always end on a good note.  If your training session is not going well, then work on easier skills you have already achieved for 5-10 minutes and then end the session.  If you’ve had a really bad day and you’re unable to focus on training, then focus on management.  Work on sharpening old commands, try doing a series of commands before you throw a ball.  Think of ways to fulfill your dog’s needs without allowing their training to regress.  Trying to train when you are unable to focus on your dog will do neither of you any good.

This article was written by Dog Trainer  John Adams from  Dogheart in Ann Arbor, MI.

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Cats often get stuck in trees. What would you say about a dog stuck in a water tank? It was Sunday when firefighters found a dog in a water tank in an old water treatment plant in Charleston. People reported hearing barks from inside. It was not determined yet as to how the Labrador retriever got inside the empty concrete tank but it was pretty clear that the dog needs help.

According to Charleston Fire Chief Pat Goodwin, firefighters climbed down the 14-foot deep tank and raised the dog using a harness. The dog weighed about 80 pounds.

Coles County animal control officer Josh Pfoor said the dog, although scared, is already fine. The dog was reunited with his owners.

We have always dreamed to fly that’s why there’s the airplane. However, nobody has ever seen a flying dog, except maybe in cartoons.

A storm just sent a dog flying for 20 miles away from his home. Luckily the dog lived through the fall and he was found by Kalman Csutor, 20 miles away from Tamas’ house, the owner of the dog. Csutor was kind enough to bring the dog back to his owners so he opted to contact a local radio station to locate the Tamas.

According to Tamas, as he was dismayed by the damage caused by the storm to his house, he later found out that his dog and the dog house was gone.

The owner of the dog decided to change this pet’s name to Lucky. A very lucky dog indeed.

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Study says that our beloved pet dogs actually understand us. When you ask other dog owner if their dog understands them, they’ll probably answer with a yes.

Psychology researchers at the University of Otago are conducting experiments whether dogs can really detect human emotions and the messages that we wish to convey.

Associate Professor Ted Ruffman and a team of students have put in Dunedun dogs over the past 15 months. These dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds.

Some dogs have been shown images of babies laughing, crying, and babbling while others have been shown humans with happy or stern expressions while giving a command.

Indeed, dogs can differentiate a happy human from an angry or sad human. Professor Ruffman said. “We know dogs are very good at picking up on human gestures … and it seems they are very good at picking up on human emotions too.”

The dogs that were shown a crying and laughing baby have different responses. Some try to “find” the baby and showed signs of concern.

The studies were designed to find out whether dogs have an empathetic response to human emotions or are their reactions simply a result of the positive reinforcements that they receive.

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Depression does not only affect humans but dogs as well. When dogs are depressed, they are sleepy, do not eat properly, and do not like to go out for walks. In extreme cases, they lose a lot of weight.

Dogs are used to the environment where they live. If there is a change of location or owner, it can make a dog depressed. Weather changes can also be a cause of depression in dogs. Dogs can sense a death of a family member and this can also cause them to be depressed, just like the family members.

A depressed dog can show a lot of symptoms such as loss of interest in the activities that happen around him. He will not want to play or run around and be unmotivated. If your dog is always asking for food when you are eating, you will noticed that this will cease when your dog is depressed. A drastic weight loss is can be a symptom so bring your pet to the vet immediately.

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At Cumberland County, PA, one of the dogs of a family bumped a knob on the stove and caused fire. This happened in the 5300 block of Erbs Bridge Road in Hampden Township  Sunday morning. The fire spreadto the whole kitchen.

Another one of the family’s dogs, a 2-year-old coonhound woke Tyler Hay up, whose bedroom is near the kitchen.

“He pulled me off the bed and then I woke up and I just saw pitch black,” said Hay.

The family said that they usually take the knobs off. The dog that nudged the knob, Paige, died in the fire along with other pets.

“I get emotional when I think about it. We can replace dogs — not their personalities, but we can get more dogs. We can’t replace Tyler,” said Howard Hay, Tyler’s father.

According to the fire investigators, the family is lucky enough to be alive. The house had no working smoke detectors.

Flyball is a fun sport for you and your dog. This is a relay race where there are teams of 4 dogs, their humans, four jumps, and a box which tosses a ball. The dogs are then released one at a time. Then they race over the jumps, land on the box which triggers a ball and then race back over the jumps with the ball in their mouth.

Then the next dog is released to start running. There are two lanes of dogs that race side by side. The first team to complete the course wins. This is going to be definitely  fun for dogs, and human.

Hot Diggity Dogs flyball club started in 1999 by Natalie and Denny Cornell. After many years of hard work they now have an indoor training ring and has diverse members coming from all ages from all over the area.

For more information about the Hot Diggity Dogs Flyball Club call 1-613-398-0002.

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Six severed dog heads found in a trash bin behind a restaurant at Largo, Florida. However, they were said to have been used for legal veterinary studies.

According to Largo Police, Monday, these remains that were found were not result of animal cruelty.

The canine heads were obtained from dogs that had been euthanized. These were legally acquired and used by a licensed medical company for veterinary training.

Police say the investigation is continuing.

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A family dog was able to save a Clearwater household from their burning home. The one year old Shih Tzu named Scooter kept on barking ealry Sunday morning which called the family’s attention. Thanks to Scooter, the family was able to escape from a fire which started in a car parked in the driveway of their home.

According to Roberto Segovia, the 18-year-old son of the homeowners, the dog usually barks but they usually don’t pay so much attention. But this time,Scooter kept on barking until they woke up to check what is going on.

The fire started in a 2001 Ford Expedition parked in the driveway about 4 feet from the house and it spread to the attic. It took about 40 minutes to put out the fire. The house is no longer fit to live in.

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AT&T has partnered with Apisphere, a location-tracking specialist to create a dog collar that has an embedded SIM card so that you will no longer lose your beloved pet ever again. Pet owners simply have to put on the collar to their dogs and set up a fence that will enable alert whenever your dog goes far. You can easily track your dog by using a software.

Since this is utilizing a SIM technology, there is a list of contacts that can be notified whenever your dog has gone away.

“There are few things as important to my daughter as knowing the whereabouts of our dog. The peace of mind that a wirelessly connected collar will bring my family and pet owners across the country is long overdue,” said president of AT&T’s Emerging Devices division, Glenn Lurie.

This smart dog collar will be available on the later part of the year.

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