Avoid Treat Training

Here are some more tips on training your new puppy.

Puppies love treats, but don’t rely on the to teach him good behavior.

It would be a big mistake to rely on food treats to teach your puppy – or a dog of any age. What's wrong with "biscuit training"? It's based on your puppy deciding when he's hungry enough to do what you want.

Imagine your puppy running out the front door. You call him to offer a treat. But he'd rather chase a squirrel into the road than stop to munch a treat. In addition to the obvious danger of Puppy getting hit by a car, he learns that he doesn't have to listen to you. He learns that he's in charge of what he decides to do and what he decides not to do. Very bad!

I'm not saying you shouldn't give any treats to your puppy. Treats can be great motivators. But if your training method consists of  only giving your puppy a treat when he does what you say....while doing nothing if he doesn't do what you say.....then you're going to find yourself in serious trouble whenever you want him to do something and he's not hungry....or whenever you want him to STOP doing something and he'd rather go on doing it, regardless of the treats you're desperately throwing at him.

This sad scenario happens a lot with biscuit training. It doesn't happen at all with "Respect Training."

Teaching your Golden Words

At Fit Pets and People we think teaching your puppy words, as well as daily routines is very important. The most important words are "No" ("Stop whatever you're doing") and "Good" ("I like what you're doing"). These correction and praise words should be started at 2-3 months of age.

Praise and correction words will be used to teach many other words that your puppy needs to know.  Using the right tone of voice and the right body language is very important to the success of your training. If your puppy is older than 2-3 months and hasn't learned "No" and "Good" flawlessly, you must start with those words before you can expect success with other word training.

Training your new Golden Retrievers

Fit Pets and People talks about training your new puppy.

Here are some tips on training your puppy.

Puppy training starts the moment you bring your puppy home. Whatever he does, you must react properly or he will learn the wrong things.

Routines are reassuring to puppies. For example, his food and water bowls should stay in one place.

The first thing that is very important is to teach your new puppy his daily routines.

·         Where his food and water dishes are located.

·         What times of day he will eat. Where his bed is.

·         What time he goes to bed.

·         What time he gets up.

·         Where he goes to the bathroom.

·         Where his toys are kept.

If you use the correct teaching method, your puppy will be better behaved and pleased to let you decide how you want him to fit into your family.   If you use the wrong teaching method, your puppy will begin making decisions about how he wants YOU to fit into his life, and that's a recipe for conflict and behavior problems.

Breed Specific Issues for the Golden Retriever

Golden Retrievers are prone to all types of allergies.  Watching what type of food you feed your retriever is very important.   I would suggest feeding grain free food if you see your pet is having itching problems or other allergy symptoms.

The Golden is also prone to blood clotting disorder due to a deficiency of coagulation.

Another disease Golden’s are prone to is cancer. This cancer can involve the blood vessels, the liver, skin or spleen.  Also, cancer of the lymphatic system is seen in Golden's.  Some of this cancer may be able to be avoided if you watch what you feed your furry friend.  Look for food that does not contain BHT, BHA, and Ethoxyquin. These preservatives are known to cause cancer in our pets and should be avoided at all costs.     

Pet of the Month... The Golden Retriever

Hi Pet Lovers,

Each month Fit Pets and People will be featuring a pet of the month.  We will be talking about the history, personality, if the breed is right for you and some things you should know about the breed.

Your comments are always welcome and encouraged.  I would love to learn about your experiences with your Golden Retriever.

This months feature pet is the lovable Golden Retriever.  Let's take a look back on the history of the Golden.

In the late 1800’s the Golden Retriever originated in the Scottish Highlands.  At that time, they were used predominantly hunting dogs.  Lord Tweedmouth developed the breed.  His goal was to create a superb retriever suited to the Scottish climate, terrain and available game.  Lord Tweedmouth crossed his original “Yellow Retriever” with the Tweed Water Spaniel.  The Tweed Water Spaniel is now extinct.  Later breeding with the Irish Setter, Bloodhound, and more Tweed Water Spaniels produced the retriever that we know today.