Pet Shop Haven

Greyhounds are wonderful animal racers.  As they race and perform through their profesional careers, they normally work until they are between 1.5 and 4 years old.  During this time, they become adjusted to being walked and lead on a leash, so upon retirement from their profesional careers, they make wonderful pets!

As a former athlete, they are intelligent, quiet, calm, clean, gentle, and all around good-natured and ready to adapt to a new home environment.  They react well to positive attention and reinforcement and thus they are a joy to train and work with for the new homes they become a part of.

They love attention and although they do want exercise, they do not need as much room to run as people might think.  Inside the home, they prefer to curl up in a corner on a gentle rug.  They are gentle creatures and perfectly well behaved inside a home and around people.

Greyhounds spend most of their lives with other dogs, people, and handlers, thus they are very sociable breed and get along well with others.  Their personality makes them an wonderful breed to be near kids.  Their intelligence and dedication make them an excellent companion.  And because they are well mannered, they are great around company and in public.

There is certainly a local Greyhound Pets of America chapter near you.  So think about adopting a former Greyhound racer.  For more information, check out the Tucson Greyhound Park.  Various chapters have different requirements and fees, but each will encourage you to come visit and find out more about whether a Greyhound might be right for you!

You can also help by volunteering your time.  All local clubs need volunteers to help with supplies, vet appointments, or even just shopping for doggie supplies.  Of course, financial donations are also welcome, but your time and love is needed most!

If you're considering some form of training program for your dog, concentrate on the end result you're after, rather than what you don't want. As you get ready for each new class or training day, you need to have clear understanding of exactly what you want to happen, and concentrate on that. Steer your thoughts away from the actions and behavior that you want to avoid.

If you don't have a destination in mind, how are you ever going to arrive there? That's true of most things in life, particularly when it comes to dog house training tips as well

Sometimes we fall into the habit of thinking mostly about what we don't want. This is particularly relevant with regards to training dogs as well. We sure don't want the dog to urinate on the furniture, or to chew the sofa, or ignore us when we tell him what to do, or start barking incessantly when our sweet old aunt comes to visit.

But consider this for a second. Suppose you're about to adopt a puppy. Are you actually considering spending the next eight to fourteen years chasing your dog telling him off for things you didn't want him to do? Don't you think it's a better idea to coach your dog to be obedient and socially acceptable?

For example, instead of thinking, "I really do not want the dog to chew the furniture," try, "I want my dog to chew his toys." Better than, "I hate it when the dog harasses and jumps up on people who visit the house," how about, "I would like my dog to sit to greet people."

By focusing on the positive aspects of your training goals, you'll better appreciate how to achieve what you want. Wouldn't you agree that's a much better way to approach your new dog training course.

Do Rewards Really Work?

A crucially important area that people have finally realized in house breaking puppy in the past few years is the trend away from concentrating on correcting bad behavior, or punishment, and moving towards rewarding good behavior.

Rewarding a dog is a very effective training technique especially for potty train puppies. One of the critical reasons for this is that whenever you scald you dog for making a mistake, the consequences may be irreversible. It's not overly common, but your dog may react to being punished by becoming aggressive or fearful. Some dogs, especially timid breeds, may close off completely. They seem to lose their sense of adventure. Some may simply curl up and shy away all the time.

Many people also find that reward-based training feels better. It's nice to be a source of praise and treats, instead of a constant disciplinarian.

But the icing on the cake is that rewards based dog behavior training works a treat. That's because rewards help to nurture and strengthen behaviors we want in our dogs. If a behavior is rewarding, your pet will want to repeat he behavior as often as possible. By practicing with your dog the best way to use this technique, you will be able to use this method for pretty much any training goal you want to achieve.