DogBoy's Dog Blog

No dog is safe from heartworms. It may sound sensational but any dog can get heartworms, and Texas is among the top ten states for heartworm infections. It is imperative that you understand how heartworms are transmitted, and how to protect your pet from them.

Have you ever wondered what your dog is up to while they spend a rainy day at the Ranch? Just like any other day, we focus on safety, health and fun for our client dogs.

For dogs, parasites are just a fact of life. Even owners of indoor dogs aren’t safe from these persistent invaders. While it may seem like there’s no getting around these pests, you can definitely take steps to keep your dog safe.

Microchipping your dog can be the determining factor in whether your dog comes home safely after being lost. However, we know there’s a lot of hesitation that comes with putting your dog through any kind of invasive procedure.

Submissive urination is a fairly common problem, especially with smaller dogs and puppies. However, sometimes it can be difficult to determine if the urination is caused by other issues, such as:

The first step towards soothing your dog’s upset stomach is to pay close attention to their symptoms. Every situation is different, and requires different methods to remedy the problem. So make sure you are keenly aware of what symptoms your dog is displaying in addition to their upset stomach.

We’ve all had this problem before. Your dog gets a wiff of some tasty human food, and now they’re glued next to the table at dinner time. Whether their begging is cute or not, the table scraps your dog wants are often unhealthy and possibly dangerous for them to eat.

Here’s how you can protect your dog from dangerous people food and get them to quit begging once and for all (even if it’s adorable).

# 1 - Don’t Ever Give Your Dog "Table Scraps"...Period.

The best way to stop your dog from begging is to never give them a reason to beg in the first place. Any time you feed your dog from the table, couch, counter, or wherever you prepare and eat your meals, you increase the likelihood of begging in the future. If you don’t ever feed them scraps from your plate, they’re less likely to think they can beg for food at all.

If your dog has started begging regardless of being fed from the table, the best thing to do is ignore them. It may seem cold or mean, but if you give your dog attention then you’re reinforcing the begging behavior. Moreover, if you continuously give in to their begging, they see the food as a reward for the behavior you don't want.

The better option is to just ignore them, and realize that it's better for you and your dog to not give in. Eventually, your dog will understand that the cold shoulder means no food and no attention. Then they will quit begging.

But, what should you do with the leftovers?

Exercise is crucial to your dog’s health, in more ways than you might expect. Even something as basic as walking doesn’t simply manage your dog’s weight, it also helps to reduce hyperactivity and social anxiety as well.

However, just going on walks can be a bit boring for you and your dog. Here’s our list of interesting and challenging exercises that will get your dog moving, thinking, and having fun!

# 1 Agility

Dog agility is a dog sport where you direct your dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. In competitive agility, dogs run off leash without food or toys as incentives, and the you can't touch the dog or the obstacles. One reason we like it so much is that it doesn’t just work your dog’s muscles, but it works their brain too. Your dog is not only physically tired, but mentally exhausted from figuring out how to tackle all the different obstacles.

Agility is great for dogs of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. There are indoor and outdoor courses and many of the obstacles are adjustable. At DogBoy’s we do “Fun-gility” where there’s no competition and dogs are free to go at their own pace. However, if you want to take it to the next level, the AKC has registered events and competitions you can compete at.

The best thing about Agility is how it strengthens your bond with your dog. You’ll watch your dog slowly gain confidence and even overcome their fears right in front of you. It’s one of the most rewarding ways to exercise with your dog.

Adding a new dog to your home can be a very exciting time. Usually the whole household is happy, but we often don’t think about introducing this new dog to our current one. They’re both dogs so they have to get along… right? Not necessarily.

Here are some helpful tips for making some smooth introductions (with dogs that is).

#1 Keep Your Current Dog In Mind When Picking A New One

For instance, you might not want to adopt an exuberant puppy if you have a 15 year old dog in failing health. Many dogs are very specific about what types of dog’s they’re comfortable with. They could have problems with a new dog’s:

• Gender
• Breed
• Activity Level
• Size

The first step to having a cohesive household is making sure that your dog’s personalities match. Be familiar with your dog’s preferences and steer clear of dogs they won’t get along with. Don’t adopt a hyper-active Vizsla and expect them to be a good fit for your grumpy couch potato.

We’re doing something a little different for this blog post. We have a lot to say about this topic, but it’s all been said pretty well by the article linked below.

However, this article uses some harsh language and could be taken the wrong way, so we ask that you please read our preface below before you dive in. Remember that you can always contact us if you wish to know more (or just want to hear our personal opinions on the matter).

DogBoy’s Is Passionate About Positive Reward-Based Training

Unfortunately, our passion can sometimes get us into trouble. We find ourselves walking through dog parks and watching people using choke chains, pinch collars, or prong collars on their dogs and it riles us up! It makes us sad for the poor dog and angry at the dog owner because we think that they should know better by now.

However, to be honest, not everyone who uses these methods actually understands the mental and physical damage that they're inflicting on their dogs. Some of them have even paid good money to a “well respected” trainer who has told them to use those methods, and the sad truth is that those methods do work. They just work for the wrong reasons.

These dog training methods are effective because the dog is scared of being hurt by you instead of being excited and happy to please you. They create obedience from fear and trade a loving relationship for a dominating one…

Is that really what people want for their dogs? We certainly don’t think so.