Oftentimes you may hear comments from other people who see you putting your puppy inside a crate that this is an inhuman, abusive method of training your dog. However, we need to make other people understand that putting dogs inside crates is not just for housebreaking them. This is to provide our dogs a safe environment that can be a comfortable place for them also.

Crate training is a harmless way of potty training and housetraining your dog. A crate should not be considered a prison, as many would think. It is actually a comfort zone for a dog, where he may retreat to if he is afraid or when he just wants to rest. Remember that having descended from wolves, dogs still carry in them that trait of being a den animal, where they would look for a warm, cozy place for rest and comfort.

Most people do not like the idea of putting puppies inside crates in order to limit their movements around the house. But this is actually the best way to make your dog understand just how much freedom can he enjoy and what are his limitations.

You can introduce your pup to the crate is to give him treats only when he is inside the crate. This way, the crate becomes a favored place and he will look at this place not as a prison but as a place where his hunger will be satisfied or where he can find comfort. Giving him full meals inside the crate must not be encouraged, though. A dog would still need to know that there is a place for everything, and meals are served in a specific place in the house.

Another good thing about using crates is you can use them for potty training. A dog would never want to stay in a place smelling of poop. Since he recognizes the crate as his den, he will never poop inside the crate. When he feels like he needs to go, he will show it in his movements and you will see that he may be trying to get out of his crate because he needs to do his business somewhere else.

It will be good to be familiar with your puppy’s “potty skeds”, which usually happen when he wakes up, right after a meal, or after he has been playing. When you get used to his body signals, you can immediately take him out of the crate and lead him to a place where you would prefer him to poop.

Remember, as your dog gets accustomed to his crate routine and enjoys the security of having his own space, never leave a puppy crated for longer than three or four hours at a time or an adult dog for longer than eight hours.

By using crate training to teach your puppy good dog behavior, you will also reap the benefit of not having an unruly or too aggressive dog later on.

Ray L. Jackson has been a successful dog trainer for many years and now shares his secrets in his book, “Dog Training Unleashed.”

Source:ezinearticles.com

Do you want a healthy, happy, bouncing puppy? Do you want a puppy who has a shiny coat, bright eyes and a zest for life? Then feed him good quality puppy food–because the better the food, the better the chance your pup has of a long and healthy life.

Feeding your puppy the right puppy food is essential for his long-term good health. But first you’ll need to know what makes good dog chow and what foods a puppy needs.

A good puppy diet is rather like a good human diet. Good puppy food should include:

• protein
• carbohydrates
• fats
• vitamins
• minerals
• water

Good puppy food is similar to human food in other ways. Good dog chow should be free of preservatives, artificial colours, pesticide residues, hormones, antibiotics, parasites and any other additives we wouldn’t accept in human food. After all, if these things aren’t considered good for humans, why would they be good for dogs?But that doesn’t mean you should be feeding your puppy human food!

A puppy’s digestive system and nutritional needs are quite different from a human’s so a puppy or adult dog needs food that is formulated to suit them.

Dogs need a diet based mainly on meat–but that doesn’t mean they eat only meat. In the wild, dogs would also eat bones and internal organs, as well as the stomach contents of their prey (which contain some vegetable matter). So dogs need a variety of foods to get all the nutrients they need.

A high quality, premium puppy food should include meat from a named species of animal, such as beef, lamb or chicken. Be careful of any foods that simply list ‘meat’ without telling you what it is.

The inclusion of grains in dog food is controversial. Some pet nutritionists believe dogs don’t need to eat any grains at all because they don’t digest grains well. Grain can also sometimes be used as a filler in dog food to avoid using more expensive meat.

If grains are in the food, they should be good quality ones such as barley, rice or oatmeal. Even better is potato, which dogs digest quite easily and which contains good vitamins and minerals.

Avoid foods that contain wheat or corn. These grains are hard to digest and dogs may not get any nutritional benefit from them. Some vets believe corn can cause allergies in dogs.

There are a number of other foods you should strictly avoid feeding your puppy or adult dog at any time. Some of them might simply make your puppy unwell but others can be deadly. As a new puppy owner, you’ll also want to know whether you should be feeding your puppy on puppy kibble (dry food) or canned food. But first of all, it’s important to start by feeding your puppy the best food you can afford to grant him a long and healthy life.

Source:Ezinearticles.com