News and Updates |
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Update
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Raising & Training the dog using Dog Sense (not non-sense) Unfortunately the Bull Terrier Training Manual 2n Ed is now fully sold out and I will not be printing more (long story as to why not) - so I offer all of you a dog training manual based on the above manual but with extra chapters that will help you find the right dog for your family, perhaps the right guard type dog, all about socialisation and training etc. This dog training manual is available in CD format. If you wish to purchase this very interesting and informative book please contact me. |
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Following Below: News & Articles: Do want a Guard Dog? You can influence the intelligence of your dog... The definition of Dog Socialisation Dog bites & Aggression Think before you breed
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News
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Do you want a Guard Dog? Most of us do not have guard dogs, we have Watch Dogs. They “watch” everything and bark at everything they “watch”. Their suitability as guard dogs is zero. It would be the easiest thing to break into other people’s yards, your yard, not matter how many dogs run around in that yard. Let me elaborate: Because most dog owners choose their dogs from Pet stores or from who knows where because they felt sorry for the dog, or they chose the dog because of reputation and expect the dog to ‘naturally guard them and the property’, there are a few factors that come into play, namely: that most dog owners do not teach their dogs the “Rules of engagement” which are all about teaching the dog to know the difference between what is truly a threat and what is not even a threat. Therefore, because your dog is probably anti-social towards other dogs I could just bring any dog along (if I were a crook) and let your dog have it out with my dog while I happily break into your home, perhaps even assault the humans inside the home. Your so called guard dog is guarding you from other dogs very effectively but not from the real threat which is the actual crook! So do you have such a dog? One which wants to kill every other dog that passes at your gate? Did you ever make the effort to teach the dog what is really a threat and what is not? What makes a good guard dog............. To learn more about acquiring the correct guard dog for you and your family please feel free to purchase me above mentioned book which contains special information regarding the purchasing and owning of such an animal. ________________________________________________ You can influence the intelligence of your dog …. Yes, some breeds are more intelligent than others and learn quite quickly whereas others are classified as challenging to train if not untrainable. I have met some so called intelligent dogs such as Border Collies, German Shepherd Dogs, Rottweilers, Labradors etc who were downright impossible to train and I could only label them as down right "dumb". I have also met those who are labelled as impossible to train and found some really trainable and intelligent specimens, dogs such as Bull Terriers, Great Danes, Dachshund, Jack Russel, Shar Pei & even Chow Chow. Through research the following came to light: 1. If the mother & father dogs are working dogs who work for the purpose they were bred and who are constantly mentally, physically & socially stimulated their pups will inherit 60% of their parents intelligence, temperament & willingness to work/co operate with humans. Again certain factors apply where how much time the pup spent with his mother is also an important influence. 2. These pups can still become "dumb" or challenging to train if the new owner neglects to stimulate the pup appropriately through formal Puppy Training & Socialisation Classes and further Obedience Education and stimulating activities & toys. This process must begin when the puppy is 8 weeks of age. 3. Dogs can be "made" intelligent if the new owner provides lots of stimulation such as: a) Mental stimulation in the form of Brain puzzles, engaging activity toys & having a "job". b) Physical stimulation in the form of appropriate daily exercise (that could mean 2 -3 walks per day). c) Social stimulation in the form of contact with other people of varying ages, creeds etc, contact with other dogs and animals who do not form part of the dog's pack on a very regular basis. d) The above must begin in the very early weeks of the dog's life and be continued indefinitely and well into the dog's senior years. 4. Doggy Alzheimer and Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (Old Dog Syndrome) can be avoided or at least lessoned by owners who "work" their dogs and also provide plenty brain puzzles right into the old age of the dog. The dog's life span may even be increased through the constructive efforts of the owner. 5. Dogs who are physically fit, this includes senior dogs all the way up to 10 years plus, will be less likely to be injured during play, exercise or sports such as hiking, agility, swimming etc. Afterall, didn't you get your dog to enjoy his companionship? |
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Following Below: The definition of Dog Socialisation New: Dog bites & Aggression Think before you breed |
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More interesting websites: www.apbt.co.za - American Pit Bull Terriers www.dog-community.de.vu - American Bulldogs |
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The definition of Socialisation
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At our dog training school we harp a lot on socialisation and leadership. For a dog to be social, or socialised, towards other dogs, humans and other animals means that: THE DOG IS TOLERANT TOWARDS OTHER DOGS, HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS. Tolerant means that the dog accepts other dogs, humans and animals without aggression or fear. This does not means your dog has to become best friends with every other dog, human and animal. The best time to socialise a dog (or teach tolerance) is actually between 8 and 16 weeks of age (the only window of opportunity you are going to get), and thereafter maintaining exposure for another year. The best way to socialise a dog is to expose the young dog repetitively to other dogs, humans and animals on such a frequent basis that your dog accepts these as part of his life. The importance of socialisation speaks for itself. If your un-socialised dog does not tolerate other dogs, humans or animals then you will not be able to bring your dog into the same area/space with these creatures as your dog will freak out - normally in an aggressive way. Anything that your dog does not know and he encounters this for the very first time at an adult age will scare him. Most scared dogs react aggressively towards scary things as they believe that the scary thing may hurt them. I hope the above will encourage you to socialise (expose) your young dog to other dogs, humans and animals in order for your dog to learn to tolerate them. |
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DOG BITES & AGGRESSION Bite statistics in SA are rising! Feb 07 - Man is mauled by his Boerboel, April 07 - 5year old killed by the family’s 3 German Shepherds, child mauled by Pit Bull Terrier! And who knows how many cases are out there that have gone un-reported. Aggression towards other dogs & humans .....
can be due to many reasons. We have listed some below: Towards Humans: 1. Dog removed from mother at 6 weeks of age 2. Bad breeding (genetics) - the regular dog owner who mates his dog with another dog but does not take into consideration temperament, or health (HD, ED, Idiopathy etc) Temperament, incl. Aggression is inherited by the offspring!!! 3. Bad up-bringing by owner 4. Un-educated first time dog owner 5. Owner has dog to please his ego 6. a common one is Incompatibility of dog & owner and of course 7. No socialisation 8. Owners who encourage their dogs to be vicious to certain category of humans. 9. Owners who do not respect hierarchy or pack dynamics. 10. Dogs being chained/tied up 11. Pet shop puppies. Towards other dogs: 1. No/late socialisation 2. Bad breeding (genetics) [as mentioned above] 3. Bad up-bringing by owner 4. Un-educated first time dog owner 5. Dog did not get a chance to imprint fraternally. 6. Dog removed from mother at 6 weeks of age. 7. Bred to fight - Pit dogs 8. Owner interferes in pack dynamics. 9. Owner encourages aggression Towards other dogs - intentionally or un-intentionally. 10. Dogs being chained/tied up 11. Pet shop puppies. Friendliness towards humans and other dogs
can be due to the following reasons: Towards Humans: 1. Proper socialisation - exposure to other humans from young age. 2. Proper planned breeding (Genetics) by responsible breeder. 3. Proper up-bringing (& training) by owner 4. First time dog owner educates himself before acquiring dogs and chooses the correct breed for his life style. 5. Owner strictly implements Leader- ship Guidelines. 6. Dog removed from mother at 8 weeks of age. 7. Owner respects pack dynamics. 8. Owner never encourages aggression towards other humans - Intentionally or un-Intentionally. 9. Owner takes dog on errands to expose the dog to other humans Constantly. Towards other dogs: 1. Proper socialisation - exposure to other dogs from young age. 2. Proper planned breeding (Genetics) by responsible breeder. 3. Proper up-bringing (& training) by owner 4. Dog exposed to as many other Breeds of dogs as possible while very young. 5. Owner strictly implements Leader- ship Guidelines. 6. Dog removed from mother at 8 weeks of age. 7. Owner respects pack dynamics. 8. Owner never encourages aggression towards other dogs - intentionally or un-intentionally. 9. If it's a single dog the owner arranges play-dates with other social dogs on a regular basis. |
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Think before you breed!
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So, you want to breed with your dogs Have you really considered everything that goes into breeding? You need to be registered with KUSA, this costs money. When the pups are born you have to register each one of them, this costs money. A registered breeder will tell you that breeding is at most a very expensive hobby. Done correctly breeding is the method in which to better a specific breed. The only dogs that are bred from are supposed to be superior specimens of their respective breed. Everything from genetics to temperament must be taken into account. Just because you may have a smart dog, a beautiful dog, a handsome dog etc, does not mean that you could possibly better the breed by breeding your dog to another of it’s breed. Do you truly understand the breed standard of the breed of dog you own? Does your dog conform to this standard? Have you properly socialised and trained your dog? Do not ever forget that temperament and environmental influences are inheritable by the offspring. Does your dog have any genetic flaws eg HD, ED, luxating Patella, SCC, etc. Are you willing to have your dog tested for these and other conditions that the offspring can inherit. Will you make the effort to make sure that whichever dog you breed yours to will also be thoroughly tested? Then, you need to make sure that your breeding dogs are fit and in perfect health, this means getting them thoroughly checked by the Vet, not forgetting that both dogs must be dewormed and vaccinated, the bitch more so than the male. Did you know that although you may do your best to deworm the bitch, some of the worms will have bored through her gut and attached themselves to muscles inside her body which are later passed to the puppies. This means you must deworm the puppies. Being a responsible breeder means deworming and vaccinating each puppy before they go to their new homes and should there be problems in the new home you must be willing to take the puppy back and refund the owners. Remember that some dogs can have between 5 - 10 puppies, can you afford to deworm, vaccinate, even feed them? The bitch must be on really high quality food or she will have inferior pups. The pups must later be weaned onto a high quality puppy food, of which you need to give some to each new dog owner for a start. That’s if your bitch does not have birthing problems. She may struggle because you bred her too young, her first heat is not a good time to begin breeding a bitch. If your bitch needs a ceasar this can become financially very costly. Done too soon or too late the bitch and her puppies may die. Ask yourself again whether you are prepared for all this. I would like to quote Yvonne Muratroyd of the Buxton kennels who said while discussing genetic problems with some breeds "To a certain degree HD is a problem, as with the majority of large breeds. This is due mainly to the indiscriminate breeding by people who just want to have a litter of puppies with no thought to the fact that there may be an underlying problem with their dogs. People who insist on breeding must have their stock x-rayed, and obtain a grading from Onderstepoort, or any recognised International Body, and not by their Veterinarian Surgeon. This is then shown on the animal's registration form when the offspring have been registered with KUSA." Are you truly willing to breed your dogs for the sake of showing your children the facts of life? Dogs tend to give birth when the children are sleeping at night. There is even more to breeding than what is mentioned above but there is not enough space in this column to give all this information. Please leave the breeding to the experts!
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