There is general consensus among animal psychologists and other professionals in the field of dog obedience training that positive reinforcement training is the best way to train your dog. Positive reinforcement training is all about providing rewards for good dog behavior. When rewards are consistent over a long period of time dog training will be accomplished.

This is unlike some of the once widely used dog training methods which included inflicting pain, intimidation and inhumane aversion training methods, including electric shock collars.

Dog obedience training with positive reinforcement works very well with dogs. Remember that your dog has a natural inclination to try to please you – which makes positive reinforcement effective. Your dog will also remember these lessons better and repeat the desired behavior more consistently.

Here are more tips and ideas that you can use to do dog training. Don’t try to train your dog on a lot of different commands in the first day. Only work on one command so your dog does not get confused.

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Many people have difficulty training their dogs, because they make basic mistakes. Dog training is not difficult. These are the biggest mistakes people make. Be aware of them. Avoid making them and you’ll find that you’ll have an obedient dog, anxious to please you, in a very short time.

(1) One of the biggest mistakes is lack of consistency in your behavior. Your dog must learn to trust you. It is very confusing for the dog if it is uncertain when it has done wrong.

There must be consistency in your rewards and reprimands. If the dog is reprimanded for something it has done wrong, you must not allow it to get away with the action one day and then reprimand harshly the next day

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For those of us that already own dogs finding a place to keep them can be as easy as a fenced backyard. But what if the backyard doesn’t have a fence or one day your wife and kids come home with a cute puppy but you have no place to keep the new family addition. Fencing in the entire backyard can be cost prohibitive but keeping the little guy in the house all the time is not a good idea either, particularly if he grows up to be a big dog. The answer to the problem may well be to build a chain link dog kennel. A chain link dog kennel is not difficult to build. Of course before you build your dog kennel you will have to formulate a plan and decide how big the kennel needs to be. The size of the kennel will depend on the size of the dog when he is full grown. A small dog will obviously only need a small space but a bigger dog will need plenty of room to move around, not to mention the size of a shelter or dog house in the kennel. The height of the fence needs to be considered carefully for bigger dogs because some breeds have the ability to easily jump a four foot fence. After you decide how big to make your chain link dog kennel the next step is figuring out where you will build it and what materials you need to build it with. (more…)

HAYGAIN has launched an informative new website dealing with everything you need to know about the benefits of horse hay steamers.

The user-friendly website is packed with useful information for all horse owners from farmers, small time enthusiasts to leading race specialists. As well as explaining the process and the science behind the hay steaming development, it has testimonials, FAQs, Ask the Experts and News.

You can also use it to keep up with HAYGAIN team riders Matt Ryan, Bettina Hoy, Diana Burnett, Emily Llewellyn and Peter Storr.

The extensive research done on the HAYGAIN is given in the “Pudding!” section, showing that using the HAYGAIN horse hay steamers, hay is transformed into dust free palatable forage.

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All horses need a healthy respiratory system to perform to their maximum ability. Dust and fungal spores naturally found in hay compromise this.

HAYGAIN hay steamers solves the problem completely.

HAYGAIN hay steamers have been created by the experts at Propress Ltd, who have more than 60 years of specialist experience in the steam industry.

More than 1 in 6 horses suffer from breathing problems, severely affecting their health and performance. Additionally, 80% of horses stabled part of the time have a degree of airway inflammation, even if they are asymptomatic; this undoubtedly has a detrimental effect on their performance. HAYGAIN hay steamers provide the ideal solution: the unit steams the hay at over 100?C, to destroy all the dust, spores and mould that are found in hay.

New HAYGAIN is a fully insulated unit with a unique function enabling steam to penetrate the centre of the bale, releasing steam which defuses outwards, ensuring the entire bale is steamed at the critically necessary temperatures [in excess of 100°C throughout.]

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Do you want to learn more about feeding hay, the problems associated and how to eliminate these?

Visit Haygain, the experts in steaming hay at Badminton Horse Trials. Situated in the World of the Horse, their exhibit gives an insight into this fascinating technique of steaming hay which will change your perceptions.

All horses need a healthy respiratory system to perform to their maximum ability. Dust and fungal spores naturally found in hay compromise this. Steaming hay completely solves this problem.

The HAYGAIN hay steamer has been created by the experts at Propress Ltd, who have more than 60 years of specialist experience in the steam industry, supplying clothing steamers to leading designers and high street brands worldwide.

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PROPRESS Equine have launched the new HAYGAIN, a revolutionary hay steamer. Haygain transforms any quality of hay into dust-free forage giving horses a healthier respiratory system and maximising their performance.

HAYGAIN has been created at Propress Ltd, experts with more than 60 years of specialist experience in the steam appliance industry, supplying fabric steamers to leading fashion designers and high street brands worldwide. As leaders in steam products for a wide range of applications Propress bring a wealth of knowledge to the equine market.

One in six horses suffer from breathing problems in the UK and 80% of horses stabled part of the time have a degree of airway inflammation even if they are asymptomatic. The HAYGAIN hay steamer helps provide the ideal solution and steams the hay at over 100?C, to destroy all dust spores and mould and mites that are found in hay.

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Let’s face it; when you have a diabetic
cat, you must pay more attention to your feline friend’s health. Although cat diabetes doesn’t lead to blindness or circulatory problems like it does in humans, there are certain problems that go with this disease that you must be aware of. Here are some complications that a kitty with feline diabetes may face.

Feline Ketoacidosis

Your kitty’s body normally breaks down glucose for energy. However, if your kitty is an untreated feline diabetic, glucose is not available for fuel, so his body will try to break down fat instead. When this happens, ketones are produced as a waste product. These ketones will build up in his body, leading to some very serious problems.

Symptoms of feline ketoacidosis include:

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If you’re like most people, you don’t know much about feline diabetes. However, the rate of diabetes in cats is skyrocketing, with more and more cats being diagnosed as diabetic every day. If you are owned by a feline, here’s what you need to know about cat diabetes.

Feline Diabetes And Your Kitty

You probably know that your pet’s pancreas produces insulin. This hormone helps to balance glucose levels in your pet’s blood. But where does the glucose come from?

All the food your pet eats is digested by his body into a form that can be used. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are all broken down into glucose, which fuels the body. The glucose goes into the bloodstream, and it’s sent all over the body. However, there has to be a balance between glucose and insulin. If there’s too much insulin, the amount of glucose will drop too low, which leads to hypoglycemia. If the levels become dangerously low, it affects the brain and neurological functioning, and can cause death very quickly.

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Dogs gain practical information about the social and physical environment through the consequences of their behavior so they can control and manipulate significant events vital to their interests. Animal behaviorism defines reinforcements ans punishments as follows:
Reinforcement (R) increases the relative probability of the behavior it follows.
Punishment (P) decreases the relative probability of the behavior it follows.
So dog decides what is reinforcement or punishment, and what is not. We can only observe the dog and its gesture and behavior. It is also good to decide and know what kind of behavior you want before you start training, because reinforcement will affect to dog´s behavior. Example food is calming reinforcement to the most of the dogs, but playing with toys is exciting.

Reinforcers and punishers can be divided to positive (+) and negative (-):
Positive reinforcement (R+) occurs when dogs behavior is strengthened by producing or prolonging some desirable consequence.
Negative reinforcement (R-) occurs when dogs behavior is strengthened by reducing or avoiding some undesirable consequence.
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