Training Leads for Dogs

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Howard Young

Training leads are a very useful tool in helping your dog understand commands from a distance. Basically, the lead is a long leash that is 20 to 50 feet in length which enables you to work standing apart from your dog.

Some dog owners use leads in an open area such as a public park that requires your dog to remain on a leash at all times. This gives your dog freedom to roam around a bit while still under your control. Using leads as a leash for daily walks is not recommended since your dog will tend to get ahead of you and think that it is the pack leader. You want to make sure that you are leading and not being lead.

I first used a training lead at PetSmart with Chloe. It was part of her sit-wait-come instruction where I had her sit and wait at the end of a long isle and I walked holding the lead down to the other end.

“Chloe come,” I commanded and she ran towards me dragging the blue 50′ lead behind her. Funny sight to see especially when your dog is a dachshund!

Odie went though the same dog training as Chloe where he did the same thing. I didn’t take Molly to obedience school because she learned all the tricks on her own by watching the other two. Now I have all three sit-wait-come at one side of the house and when I say “okay” the come running to me.

Here’s a video of Odie using the sit-wait-okay process where he first learned on a leash, then a training lead, and now he does it one command.

Training leads expedite the process where you need to work from a distance with your dog. If you are planning to teach your dog obedience, this is something you will use as a training tool.

Dog Bed Warmer

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Howard Young

Odie, a short-haired miniature dachshund, is always cold and recommends a dog bed warmer to all his pet friends. There are many pet bed warmers out there on the market but the K&H shown here is about the best.

We’ve tried many things to keep him warm during the day and we were afraid to leave the electric blanket on for him so we simply place this inside his pillow in his dog bed and it keeps him warm.

The device turns on pressure is applied or when he lays on his pillow and then turns off when he gets off. The maximum 102 degree heating element is about the normal body temperature of dogs so it’s not too hot for them.

For safety, we have the cord exiting the back of the bed so Odie doesn’t trip and pull it the cord out during the day.

We use the small 4 watt version, but the medium and larger sizes provide a larger surface area and probably will work better for larger dogs. The medium uses 6 watts of power and the large size outputs 13 watts of blissful heat.

We bought one here

Odie does like to “nest” and will rough up the pillow in his bed (or our bed) to get comfortable, so if your dog likes to nest, you need to check the cord to make sure he doesn’t pull it out.

Like all electrical devices, make sure you follow K&H instructions to prevent any fire or shocking hazards to your pet.

Dog Gates for the House

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Howard Young

Every pet owner should consider strategic locations to place one or more dog gates in the house to isolate their animals from visitors or simply to keep them from total access to the house. This is especially important training to keep your puppy or elderly dog in an area where it is easy to clean up in case they soil.

We kept our Dachshunds inside the kitchen during the day while crate training them; however, like most kitchens, the have an wide opening that needs to be blocked off. The six foot wide entry way required an extra wide pet gate which I custom made.

Two 8 foot long 2×2 cut into 2 and 6 foot lengths created a 6 foot wide by 27 inch high puppy gate when covered with chicken wire kept Molly, Odie and Chloe safe in our house during the day. Of course, you can find one online that looks professionally made and nice to have around the house, but I couldn’t locate one at any of the pet stores so I ended up building one for about $20.

Some of the baby gates can be used for dogs. These sturdy gates are latched so you can walk through them and close them leaving the toddler or pet behind in the other room. Once the dogs got out of the puppy stage, we bought an accordion one which expands to the size of the opening. It has rubber feet to keep it secure against the wall or door jam.

We keep it in the hallway and it expands to about 4 feet and is a nice barrier to keep the little Doxies from running to the front door when we know a guest or pizza is about to arrive. The gate locks in place against the wall when you press down and unlocks when you lift it up.

The 30 inch height clearly is an overkill for miniature dachshunds, but it is high enough to prevent most dogs from jumping over it. My wife would prefer a dog gate with a door, but I’m tall enough where I can step over it.