Maple Ridge Dog Info

West Highland Terrier Pup

Welcome to Maple Ridge Dog Info. As time goes on we intend this to become your one-stop source for information about dogs.

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If you live in the city and want a compact dog to share your apartment you need to consider getting a Westie puppy. They’re small, yet not so small that they get underfoot. You can find them when you want to. Unlike a Chiuahua or Pekinese, they also have a satisfying feeling on the end of the leash when you walk them.

Really young (less than three months) Westie puppies look like little polar bears. They’re endlessly cute and entertaining to watch, but you have to keep in mind what they are going to grow up to be i.e. full-fledged terrier dogs.

All the terrier breeds are high-energy, very intelligent dogs. They love to go and they should be given a lot of exercise. Unfortunately, because of their small size they are often cooped up and treated like lap-dogs. Westies can survive this but they really aren’t happy.

Keep in mind that terriers were bred to hunt and fight. Westies are meant to go down holes after foxes. Their natural instinct is to pursue anything that moves, especially if it’s running away. That makes it sound like Westies can’t be mixed with other animals like cats, but that isn’t true. Our Westie shares a house with three tomcats and they all get along fine. Mostly. If one of them runs away, though, especially outside, all bets are off. We’ve experienced several wild chases. To tell the truth, a lot of the time the cats seem to instigate the chase. If the cat being chased stops running and stands his ground, then the game is over. A mature cat can definitely keep a young West Highland Terrier in line.

There’s only one group of potential owners that I would discourage from getting a Westie, and that is seniors. These dogs do best with a lot of exercise and a firm hand and a senior may not have the time and energy to be able to give them what they need. With that exception, I would recommend a West Highland dog to anyone. They’re good looking, intelligent, loving and loyal. Despite being white they are actually very easy to keep clean and looking good. For sure, if you’re looking for a new dog and you are willing to invest the time to train it and exercise it properly, you should investigate the Westie breed. It could be the perfect dog for you.

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Susana Labradors responsibly breeds Black, Chocolate, and Yellow Labrador Retriever puppies. The color of our Yellow dog ranges from White to Dark Fox Red. We also specialize in offering trained Labrador puppies. We are a local Southern California Kennel. We also ship to the other 48 lower states.
1. All of our breeding dogs are hip and elbow X-Rayed.
2. Puppies come with a written unconditional One year and conditional Two year guarantee

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These grooming your dog at home suggestions are usually beneficial when you decide to try and do your own personal grooming. In case your puppy has particular cuts to the fur, you’ll be able to effectively groom your puppy should you stick to these important dog grooming suggestions. The very first of the puppy grooming ideas is having the correct supplies. You’ll need brushes, trimmers, shampoo, combs plus a special claw clipper. The do-it-yourself doggy grooming can be done if you take your time. This is another of the doggy grooming guidelines that assist you and the puppy. Remember to always have the products close to your work place.

Utilizing the appropriate doggy brush on your doggy falls in to the category of your basic doggy grooming suggestions. Dogs should be brushed between baths to remove dander and virtually any lifeless hair. The kind of brush you have is determined by what type of dog you have. This is how you can move the natural oils in the hair around to keep the dogs skin from getting dry. The main thing to remember about these dog grooming guidelines is that it will probably help to make your job of grooming easier if done daily or every week if this is a short hair puppy. The following link has info regarding dog grooming tables

Additional dog grooming suggestions concern long hair dogs. When you maintain the hair shorter and carry out this weekly or monthly, the puppy hair has less chance of getting matted or twisted. Good doggy grooming ideas to remember in this case is to make use of a clipper with various blades and perhaps a snap on comb for even cutting. Don’t just commence clipping or you may well spook the doggy. Dog grooming ideas are to aid in correct grooming habits. Here’s additional resources about dog grooming at home

A useful reminder to bear in mind regarding dog grooming suggestions is that bathing needs to be done with the top shampoo and/or conditioner for your dog’s coat. Several shampoos aid in ridding your puppy of fleas and some are made for delicate skin. Additional dog grooming tips concerning bathing are always keep water and shampoo out of the pet’s ears and eyes. A shampoo with a conditioner for untangling hair would be good for longhaired dogs. Your job in the washtub is going to be simpler if you simply exercise caution. Check here for dog grooming tables information.

Doggy grooming ideas concerning claw clipping are all about the ‘quick’. You never want to cut the claw too short or blood loss and discomfort will result. This may also frighten the puppy for future claw clippings. Yet another important word of advice concerning toe nail clipping likewise consists of using the correct claw clipper. A nail clipper you have on yourself is not going to work on a dog. If you happen to clip the toe nail too short make sure you use a styptic pencil to stop any bleeding which could occur.

Laser Surgery

(This article was originally published on the Dog Leash Training Blog)

Umbilical training is dog training jargon for  a very simple idea. Tie the leash around your waist instead of holding it in your hand. In this article I will describe what umbilical training is, what equipment you need and why it works so well.

I had seen people jogging or carrying groceries that used the leash in this manner and always figured it was just a matter of convenience. I learned different when we got our latest dog, a little West Highland Terrier, last year. Watching Brad Pattison’s TV show At the End of My Leash really opened my eyes and made me aware just how powerful umbilical work is in leash training.

Umbilical training requires a longer leash. Usually a six footer works nicely. Feed the snap end of the leash through the hand loop and drop it over your head. Hook the dog up and you’re ready to go. This is all that’s necessary. The only drawback is that once the dog gets the idea of what is going on the leash is slack most of the time and it has a tendency to loosen up and drop off your waist. Leashes made of stiffer material, like synthetics or leather drop off the most. If you use a cotton web leash it won’t be as much of a problem.

I have to confess that I never liked this method of attaching the leash and prefer to tie it to my belt with a slip knot. This lets you adjust the amount of slack in the leash with more precision and gets around the problem of the leash dropping off.

Another way of solving the problem is to have a special leash designed to work around the waist. You can do what I did and make one out of rope, or you can buy one ready made. Brad Pattison has a specially made umbilical leash for sale on his web site, and I’ve seen various incarnations of the principle for sale in pet stores around Maple Ridge. So you can get as fancy or as simple as you want. I’ve finally settled on a six foot cotton leash tied to my belt and it suffices for anything I want to do.

Umbilical training has a bunch of advantages over holding the leash in your hand.

1. Makes it harder for the dog to pull you over
2. Makes the dog pay attention to your movement
3. Keeps you from nagging at the leash
4. Creates respect for you and helps you become the pack leader

Harder for the dog to pull you over

One big upside of having the dog tied to your waist is that it changes the leverage and makes it much harder for a strong dog to pull you over with a sudden yank. If you are holding the leash in your hand when the dog makes a sudden lunge the first thing that happens is that your arm extends. That creates a long lever from your shoulder down to the dogs collar. Because the actual pull point is so high, you’re inherently unstable. When the dog is on umbilical and makes a lunge, nothing changes in terms of the arm extending. The pull point is still at waist level instead of up at your shoulder so you’re much more stable. Also, when your arm extends under normal circumstances, it gives the dog quite a bit of slack in the leash so he can give you a good yank. When the leash is tied around your waist he doesn‘t get that slack and the snap he can give the leash is reduced. This is a very good way of compensating for the inherent power of large dogs. The bigger the dog the closer the leash is going to be to horizontal.

Makes the dog pay attention to your movement

When you hold the leash in your hand its very hard to keep from telegraphing what you are going to do next. That means that the dog doesn‘t have to pay much attention to you because he’s already getting cues through the collar about what is coming next. When he gets a hint that something is coming that he doesn‘t like its easy for him to brace or take other evasive action. On umbilical there are no cues coming down the leash and he has to look at you and listen to your footsteps if he doesn‘t want to get pulled around.

Keeps you from nagging at the leash

This is similar to the previous point. When we have the dog in hand we are almost always tugging and twitching on the leash. A lot of these pulls are almost microscopic, but they still create static in the system.
Leash training is set up as a very simple communication system. The collar is the receiver, you are the transmitter and the leash is the communication channel. Ideally, nothing goes down that channel except clear commands. The constant little tugs and twitches are like static in the system and after awhile the dog tends to ignore them. When that happens, the cues you actually want the dog to pay attention to have to be louder and more violent just to wake him up.

Creates respect for you

Dogs in a pack always give way to the alpha dog. If he moves through the pack all the lesser dogs get out of his way. When they are on the move, all of them pay attention to him and try to stay close. In umbilical training your dog has to pay attention to what you’re doing. If you get up to move he has to come along. Because his head is attached to your waist he has to accommodate to whatever you do. This takes advantage of the dogs natural wiring to stay close to the pack leader. Because the dog has to pay attention to you he begins to respect you as the alpha dog.

In this post I’ve explained what umbilical training is, what equipment you need and the advantages of this training method over conventional in-hand training. Future posts will go into more detail about umbilical training and get you well on your way to proficiency with this fascinating training method.

At DogTrainingStore.com we specialize in shock collars and many other fine remote dog training supplies. We’re as passionate about dogs and dog training as you are. We take dog training seriously.

Dog shock collars are used for problem solving (such as jumping on people, chasing cars, stealing food, avoiding snakes) or for more general training (such as obedience training or hunting dog training). Aggressive behavior is NOT a suitable candidate for electronic collars under any circumstances without a behavior specialist supervising the activity.

Many people think of a “shock collars” as a last resort, designed to punish a dog when he performs poorly. However, used properly, a shock collar collar can be a boon in ANY training situation. It is used to communicate, not punish. It can give a dog confidence and give you peace of mind.

Remote Dog Training should be accomplished at the lowest stimulation level that gets an attention response without causing fear or yipping pain. Your dog should look up at you when he feels the stimulation. His neck muscle might give a small twitch, but no vocalization, lowered ear set, cowering or otherwise showing fear should be apparent. Unleashed dog training collars have a model with no shock feature at all. It is a wonderful training collar and, if used correctly, does not require the shock mode.

Many electronic dog training collars have a tone-only or vibration mode that is a wonderful candidate for positive reinforcement (reward) training. By praising the dog for a good performance simultaneously with the use of the tone button, you can condition the dog to respond positively to your praise signal. Later in his training, when he is at a distance from you, you can use it as a recall button or a “you’re getting warmer” fine-tuning communicaiton.

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At dogtrainingstore.com we specialize in Dogtra collars and many other manufacturers of fine remote dog training equipment. We’re as passionate about dogs and dog training as you are. We take dog training seriously. Dogtra collars are used for problem solving (such as jumping on people, chasing cars, stealing food, avoiding snakes) or for more general training (such as obedience training or hunting dog training). Aggressive behavior is NOT a suitable candidate for electronic collars under any circumstances without a behavior specialist supervising the activity.

Many people think of a “shock collar” as a last resort, designed to punish a dog when he performs poorly. However, used properly, a Dogtra training collar can be a boon in ANY training situation. It is used to communicate, not punish. It can give a dog confidence and give you peace of mind.

Remote Dog Training should be accomplished at the lowest stimulation level that gets an attention response without causing fear or yipping pain. Your dog should look up at you when he feels the stimulation. His neck muscle might give a small twitch, but no vocalization, lowered ear set, cowering or otherwise showing fear should be apparent. Dogtra training collars have a vibration-only mode that is a wonderful candidate for positive reinforcement (reward) training. By praising the dog for a good performance simultaneously with the use of the vibration button, you can condition the dog to respond positively to your praise signal. Later in his training, when he is at a distance from you, you can use it as a recall button or a “you’re getting warmer” fine-tuning communicaiton.