Here are some of my favorite sites and blogs that I have been referred to by dog trainers:
ABRI: Animal Behavior Resources Institute
This is a great site with a ton of videos and articles free for download and viewing. It features some of the best dog trainers and behaviorists, like Patricia McConnell (my favorite), Jean Donaldson, and Ian Dunbar. Click on education, and you can choose from podcasts, articles, and videos. It has lots of articles on reactive dogs, and aggression in dogs, inculding several great videos by Dr. John Ciribassi, a vet and animal behaviorist.
San Francisco SPCA Library:
This is another great site that has free downloads of articles relating to all sorts of problems, ranging from potty-breaking to aggression, to even how to stuff a Kong.
Dog Star Daily Digital Dog Training Textbook:
This is another awesome site that I got a lot of good information from when Denali was a puppy. They have free downloads of Dr. Ian Dunbar's Before You Get a Puppy and After You Get A Puppy. It also features videos on each of the topics covered in the article.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Grab an Antler!
All dogs need to exercise their jaw muscles, and if you give a puppy a proper object to chew, he'll be less likely to chew on other things (like coffee table legs) that he's not.
Because rawhide is not entirely digestible, I don't recommend giving your dog it. However, if you MUST and are completely dead-set on it, make sure that the rawhides are from the USA not China. A good company is Dizzy Dogg or Wholesome Hide Rawhide (surprisingly available at Trader Joe's). In addition to being indigestible, most are laden with tons of chemicals, and some are dyed colors. See this article about rawhide in the Whole Dog Journal. Again, I do not advocate giving your dog rawhide, however you should have all the facts, and as always make the choice yourself.
A much better option, in my opinion, is deer antlers. They last much longer, are totally digestible, and don't smell! Even with Denali's super jaws, our antlers would last at least 4 weeks, sometimes up to 9 weeks. Like anything else, when the antler gets too small and is a risk of swallowing, take the antler away. We get ours from Sirius Cooks, who use Lucky Buck Antler. They are naturally shed from deers, and people find them--never harvested! Antlers are made out of keratin, which is the same protein that comprises our hair. They are a bit expensive at first, but think if you can divide the cost by how many weeks it lasts vs. that bully stick!
Because rawhide is not entirely digestible, I don't recommend giving your dog it. However, if you MUST and are completely dead-set on it, make sure that the rawhides are from the USA not China. A good company is Dizzy Dogg or Wholesome Hide Rawhide (surprisingly available at Trader Joe's). In addition to being indigestible, most are laden with tons of chemicals, and some are dyed colors. See this article about rawhide in the Whole Dog Journal. Again, I do not advocate giving your dog rawhide, however you should have all the facts, and as always make the choice yourself.
A much better option, in my opinion, is deer antlers. They last much longer, are totally digestible, and don't smell! Even with Denali's super jaws, our antlers would last at least 4 weeks, sometimes up to 9 weeks. Like anything else, when the antler gets too small and is a risk of swallowing, take the antler away. We get ours from Sirius Cooks, who use Lucky Buck Antler. They are naturally shed from deers, and people find them--never harvested! Antlers are made out of keratin, which is the same protein that comprises our hair. They are a bit expensive at first, but think if you can divide the cost by how many weeks it lasts vs. that bully stick!
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