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September 2019

  /    /  September

Everyone knows puppies need to go outside more frequently than adult dogs. For the first few weeks of having a puppy home, it often seems that all anyone does is take the puppy out to potty! Using a feeding and watering schedule can help simply housetraining, as can answering the all-important question: how soon after eating or drinking do young puppies need to go outside? Optimal Times Vary Widely Most veterinarians, dog trainers, and behaviorists agree that puppies need to go out "very soon" once they eat a meal or drink water. Generally speaking, the recommended time frame varies from 5 to 15 minutes but sometimes trends upwards to 30 plus minutes. Multiple factors change the recommended time -- size of the puppy, age of the puppy, how much was consumed, activity levels, etc. You'll get to know your puppy, their habits, and their preferred schedule pretty quickly but in the meantime, monitor intake and take the puppy out regularly. The younger or smaller the puppy, the quicker they'll need to go outside to potty after eating or drinking. It's important to note that it's almost impossible to time puppies who have free access to food and water. Puppies should eat on a schedule and be offered water at regular intervals. That way, it's much easier to predict when they'll need to potty. Use These Tricks to Potty Train Faster In the beginning, take the puppy out on a leash so you can watch them and keep them focused on their business. There should be no playing, pouncing, excessive walking, or tons of interaction. Take the puppy to the area you want them to potty in and stand there quietly. Wait for the puppy to do their thing. If the puppy doesn't go quickly, they may not need to go right then. Keep them on a leash until they're old enough to understand the difference between toileting breaks and playtime. Puppies who are just let out easily get distracted and forget to go potty. Then, they come inside and squat on the rug. If you take a puppy out after eating or drinking and they don't potty, then tether the puppy or crate them for another few minutes before trying again. Once the puppy successfully potties outdoors while on leash they can enjoy some freedom to play, exercise, and be loved on. What Goes In Must Come Out Every puppy digests food and water at a different rate.

The leaves are starting to change, there's bit of a chill in the air, and many people are pulling out their trusty hoodies and apple cider recipes. Fall is a beautiful time of year, but it also heralds the holiday season. Here are 10 autumn safety tips to keep in mind for your Service Dog as you both begin to enjoy this wonderful time of year.

Many common dog training mistakes get in the way of your dog learning. Most people have no idea these common errors exist, though! While professional dog trainers make dog training look simple, it's far too easy to do it wrong. Dog training mistakes include simple things like practicing for too long plus more complicated errors surrounding timing, reinforcement, or other technical concepts. If you want to become a better dog trainer and handler, then keep reading. You'll get an overview of the most common dog training mistakes plus tips on how to avoid or fix them. Dog Training Mistakes: Training For Too Long Training for too long results in increased frustration for both dog and trainer. It also causes your dog to retain less material and, furthermore, can build a lack of focus and enthusiasm into behaviors. You don't need to train for 20 minutes at a time in order to get results. Stick to frequent, short (2-5 minute) sessions multiple times throughout the day and watch your dog's progress soar. Dog Training Mistakes: Not Training Enough Oddly enough, not training enough is just as common, if not more common, than trying to train for too long at a time. It's too easy to train your dog for a few minutes one day and then, before you know it, 4 or 5 days have passed with zero training time. Falling into this dog training trap means spending your time perpetually going back over things you've already worked on instead of building new skills and polishing old ones. Set a timer on your phone for the same time every day to remind you to do the bare minimum -- 90 seconds to 3 minutes of active, focused training on a single skill you're seeking to teach. Do this every single day. If you can, add additional sessions throughout the day for quicker progress. Dog Training Mistakes: Under Reinforcing If you want your dog to work for you, you have to pay them for their effort and attention. Trying to get your dog to work for pats on the head is akin to someone trying to get a professional photographer to work for "exposure." No one likes it and the idea is just insulting. Reward your dog frequently and well with things your dog finds valuable. Note: just because you think your dog should like something doesn't mean they do! Behaviors that aren't reinforced don't stick around. This doesn't mean you have

When you first bring home a new Service Dog candidate, it's easy to become overwhelmed at the sheer volume of "stuff" that needs to be mastered. While every Service Dog's end job may vary, there are foundational behaviors and concepts every working dog should know, no matter his or her specialty. Teams should be adept at skills in addition to the ones presented below (this list is not at all all-inclusive), but these are, without a doubt, the first five skills you should teach any Service Dog in Training.

Almost everyone knows it takes a lot of training to become a Service Dog, but few people know how much training or what kind of training. Service Dog training includes several areas of study and can take lots of time. Continue reading to learn more about the types of training Service Dogs require

We are always astounded at the variety of jobs that dogs are able to do. The canines at Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C) are no exception. WD4C trains scent detection dogs to help researchers monitor the health of wildlife, catch poachers, find contraband such as guns and ammunition, find invasive species and more. We caught up with Pete Coppolillo, the Executive Director of WD4C to learn more about how they are changing the world and how you can help. What does Working Dogs for Conservation do? As the world’s leading conservation detection dog organization, WD4C channels dogs’ strong sense of smell in order to protect wildlife and aid in conservation efforts. Pete explained that in the past, wildlife were monitored by catching animals, which is not only very expensive, but also inefficient. However, this all changed when they realized that fecal matter (scats) left over from the species could provide important insights into the current condition of these animals. According to Pete dogs are really good at this task because it’s, “an evolutionary way that carnivores leave messages to other carnivores.” He explains that, “nowadays we can tell individuals apart, who they are related to and we can uncover all sorts of other things from scats like hormones, stress hormones, reproductive hormones. We can tell if they’re breeding or not, if they’re stressed out and even their diets or diseases. So, the value, the amount of information you can get from a scat, just keeps going up and up because the lab techniques are so good.” Currently, along with sniffing out scats, WD4C also assists with anti-poaching initiatives, using trained dogs to locate poaching contraband, such as guns and ammunition, aids in finding invasive species in waterways and natural areas, as well as works to protect endangered and diseased wildlife. Committed to continual innovation, WD4C is always exploring new areas where dogs can work to make a difference. The possibilities are endless. How was the organization started? WD4C was started by four women co-founders who, “were all wildlife biologists, people who had experience working with dogs and all of them were working on species, mostly carnivores that were hard to work with, hard to monitor, hard to count”, explains Pete. After realizing the value of using dogs to aid in wildlife and conservation efforts, they decided to start WD4C which now in its twentieth year works in approximately twenty-five countries, on thirty-nine projects.   What is Rescues2theRescue? WD4C