Another cool post from our guest blogger CeCe:

Hello all I hope you are having a fantastic week so far and we are getting very close to Thanksgiving! So this week I would like to talk about your puppy or adult dog's diet! Diet is a very important part of you dogs day to day life so it is important to know what you are giving to your dog and what should be in a dogs diet and since it is getting closer to Thanksgiving I know a lot of dog owners love to spoil their dogs with yummy food for their Thanksgiving treat so I will go over some foods that are ok and some that are hazardous to their health!

 

First, it is very important to have your dog on a good healthy diet. The reason for this is because your dogs diet can also affect your dogs behavior! For example, if your dog has too much aggression then he/she may be getting too much protein in his/her diet so it may be beneficial to have them on a low protein diet. Another example is your dog is constantly itchy and scratchy yet they are on flea and tick meds and have just been bathed but it continues so you take them to the vet and they give him/her a good clean bill of health. Well it could be your dogs diet. Some dog foods can be deceiving as advertising themselves as being made with "Real Chicken" yet if you read the labels carefully you will see they yes it is made with chicken but it is made with "Chicken by meal product" which means that is the beak, feet, and all the stuff that has no nutritional benefit for your pup and is the cheapest possible method to say that is made with "Real Chicken". You must also watch out for a lot of "fillers". Fillers are things like corn, corn meal, gluten and wheat, soy, etc. These type of ingredients you should watch out for! A lot of times if you have an overly itchy dog and have ruled everything out your dog may be having a reaction to the fillers in the food! Instead you want to look at food with the first ingredient as "Chicken", "Lamb", "Beef", and so on. You also have the option of getting grain free dog food.  If you have any question on what your feeding your dog you can go online to www.bluebuffalo.com and take the true blue test. Blue buffalo is one of the highest ranking dog foods out there a long with Taste of the Wild, and many more. You know the saying "you get what you pay for" this is especially true when it comes to your dogs diet. Giving your dog a good diet can also help prolong your dogs life span! So make sure you do your research and find out what your feeding your beloved family member!

 

Since Thanksgiving is almost here I would like to go over some foods that is ok to give your dog and what is not ok.

 

Foods that are ok are:

- Peanut butter

- Cooked chicken (never cooked poultry bones, only raw)

- Cheese

- Baby carrots

- Yogurt

- Salmon

- Pumpkin

- Scrambled egg (or hard boiled, but no more than 1 per day)

- Green beans

- Apple Slices (note that apple seeds are harmful for your dog)

- Oatmeal

 

These are just a few of the human food that you can give to your dog but remember to try them in small amounts.

 

Hazardous food are:

- Chocolate

- Onions

- Grapes

- Raisins

- yeast dough

- Artificial sweeteners

- Macadamia nuts

- Avocadoes

- Alcohol

- Coffee

 

Remember before giving your dog any people food, do your research to make sure it's safe! Consult your veterinarian if you have any questions on what is safe and what is harmful. Also, if you would like to feed your dog scraps or something special make sure you give it to him/her in their food bowl so that they do not learn to beg at the table or learn to beg for people food. I hope you have enjoyed this weeks blog and next week I will begin to blog about my progress with training my own German Shepherd puppy Emery a Sophie/Huey pup from Rosehall German Shepherd Kennel! I will be writing and recording video's of my ups and downs with training Emery as a Service Dog starting as a puppy! So make sure you join me next week! :)

 

CeCe's Kool K-9

www.ceceskoolk-9.com

ceceskoolk9@gmail.com

 

Rosehall Shepherds has been given permission by CeCe's Kool K-9 to post to their websites.

 

It's Friday . . . Eliot here & its time for our second post from our guest blogger Cecilia, dog trainer and owner of . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CeCe's Kool K-9. . .

 

Last week we went over choosing the right breed for your family and slightly touched on when it is ok to start training your puppy. Today I am going to go more into when to start training your puppy and what to train them when you first bring them home.

 

Last week I had mentioned that the time to start training your new puppy is right when you walk into the door of your home! It is important to start setting boundaries for your new puppy as soon as you bring him/her home. If you do not set the boundaries and let your puppy get away with things they normally wouldn't get away with when they are bigger it will be more difficult for you to break them of it! For example,  if you bring your new puppy home and it has been a day since they have been in their new house and they begin chewing on your nice shoes that are sitting at the front door it may seem cute at first but not correcting that behavior right when it happens will let them know that it's ok to chew on shoes. Instead, correct it with a vocal correction such as (ah ah) and then hand them an acceptable toy to chew on. It will save your shoes later on when they really start teething and tearing things up. And that goes for anything you do not want your puppy chewing on. Rule of thumb is practice makes perfect so if you allow them to practice bad behaviors chances are they will get really good at it thus making it hard for you to break. So set your boundaries early with your pups!

 

Next, there are a few methods of potty training your puppy. My favorite method and the most affective method is crate training. Not only are you potty training your also allowing them to get used to being in their crate when you are not home so that later on they won't have a hard time going into their crate when they are told to do so! The crate will become their safe zone and feel comforted inside of the crate. When potty training your puppy it is important to really use that crate and set a schedule that will work for you and your family. For example, you have an 8 week old puppy and their bladder isn't fully developed yet which means more potty breaks. An 8 week old puppy should be taken out to potty every hour & a half to 2 hours no longer than that otherwise you will end up cleaning a lot of messes. So, make sure you can work your schedule to fit that. In the AM as soon as you wake up make sure your puppy immediately goes out to go potty. I would recommend picking them up and taking them outside to the area you want them to go to so that there are no accidents inside the house before they can make it outside! Once they have gone outside they can have 15 min to eat and drink water and once that 15 min is up the food gets picked up and they go right back outside to use the bathroom again. Let them stay outside for at least 20 min because that is about how long it takes for them to go after they have had their meal. If you have to go to work put them in their crate. If you can't take a lunch break to let your puppy out be sure you have a plan so that they can get let out after 2 hours. Once you get home they should immediately go outside again. If they have not gone potty after being taken outside then they have to go back to their crate until the next time they get let out. Then you can allow them to play outside or inside the house,  but make sure you are always watching them when they are not in their crate so that there no mistakes being made when your not watching. If you can not watch them because you have things to do it's ok to put them in their crate during that time.  In the PM when they get fed again their food gets put down for at least 15 min just like the AM. It's important to know that at bedtime before going to bed they should not have food or water at least 2 hours before bed. That will reduce the amount of times they will have to go potty at night giving you more time to sleep and then water can resume in the AM. Keeping track of the puppies food and water intake will make it easier for you to control their potty habits making it easier for them to learn to go outside when it's time to go potty. Once they get older the amount of times they need to be let outside will become greater. For example: 8 weeks they need to be let out every 2 hours, when they are at 10 weeks 2 & a half to 3 hours, 15 weeks 3 to 4 hours and so on. Eventually they will be able to hold their potty for 8 hours. Crate training your puppy also teaches them independence so that they do not develop separation anxiety so it is ok for them to be in their crate even when you are home. A lot of people ask me how will they bond with their puppy if they are in their crate. The answer: keep their crate in the room that you're in most of the time i.e. your living room. Dogs are pack animals and need to be with their pack so keeping your puppies crate where you are at most of the time so they can see and hear you will still allow them to bond with you. You can even keep them in your bedroom inside their crate and still bond with them while you sleep. Your puppy will fall asleep listening to you breathing and they will bond with you that way as well! Just make sure your puppy is getting plenty of exercise and play time with you as well. Going on walks is a great way to bond with your puppy while also teaching them to walk nicely on a leash!

 

During your playtime with your new puppy you can use that time to teach them new commands such as sit, down, stay. Puppies can learn those commands as early as 5 weeks. So don't be afraid to begin teaching them when you bring them home!

 

Well that's it for this week! Next week I will talk about the importance of diet and what foods to look out for when feeding your puppy or your adult dog. I hope you have enjoyed this weeks information and be sure to tune in next week. 

 

CeCe's Kool K-9

www.ceceskoolk-9.com

ceceskoolk9@gmail.com

 

 

Rosehall Shepherds has been given permission by CeCe's Kool K-9 to post to their websites.

Rosehall welcomes new guest blogger

Hello! . . . Eliot here . . .  let me introduce you to a new guest blogger here.  Cecelia is a professional dog trainer and will be writing about training issues for your puppy/dog.  She welcomes your questions directly to her business e-mail (listed below.) Cecelia is busy with her work so may not get back to you immediately and reserves the option not to answer directly but address your question/issue in an upcoming blog . . .

 

Hi my name is Cecelia Kuhn and I am the owner of CeCe's Kool K-9 Dog Obedience Training.  I have been training for 5 years now professionally and I absolutely love it!  I also train service dogs for people with disabilities who already have dogs with the ability to be a service or therapy dog.  I am currently waiting to pick up my new German Shepherd puppy who is  a Sophie/Huey pup from Rosehall German Shepherds.  I will begin to train my puppy to be my own personal service dog.  I will be doing my best to write weekly blogs about training dogs and my experience with my new puppy while we begin the obedience and service dog training and much more.  But before I do that I would like start from the very basics! I would like to be able to help answer any questions you may have about training because it is very important to understand the importance of training your new puppy!

 

The first thing you should know when you are planning on bringing a puppy home is to figure out if that breed is right for you!  For example if you like the Boxer breed but like to be a couch potato then the breed would not be right for you because it is a very active breed that needs a lot of exercise!  So before you decide on bringing home a puppy make sure you do your research on that breed because every breed has different qualities and characteristics and decide which breed will fit best in your family.

 

Second, once you have picked out the puppy you want to add to your family and you are ready to bring him/her home make sure you are prepared.  Just like when you bring home a baby you want to make sure you have your house puppy proof. Just because they have paws doesn't mean they can't get into trouble!  So be sure small objects are put out of reach.  Also be sure you already have what you need for your puppy.  (i.e. crate, puppy food, bowls, appropriate chew toys, harness, leash, etc.)  When picking out a crate make sure you have the right size for your puppy. If you are planning on crate training your puppy make sure that the crate is just big enough for your puppy to be able to stand and turn around.  But it should not be too big where your puppy can just go lie down in the corner if he/she has an accident.  A question I get ask a lot as a trainer is "when should I start training my puppy?"  Well the answer to that question is as soon as you bring your new puppy home!  You can never start too early! 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and that you continue to tune in each week to learn something new. Next I will be getting into the importance of training and the basics of training a puppy once they are in your home!

 

 

 

Cecelia Kuhn

CeCe's Kool K-9

ceceskoolk9@gmail.com

 

 

Given permission to post on Rosehallkennel websites.