Monday, October 30, 2017

Dog Breeder in Buffalo Junction VA: Appropriate Puppy Treats

A dog breeder in Buffalo Junction, Virginia can help round out your family with a new furry companion and give you some helpful advice on how to integrate your new fur baby into your home. Since training will undoubtedly be involved in making a solid, happy home for your newly expanded family, the question of what treats are good for your new pet and which ones should not be considered is something you may want to discuss with the breeding facility; however, to get you started, below are a few of the possible treat time ideas that you may want to discuss…read on!

Commercial Treats
Just about every supermarket, drugstore and super retail center have aisles dedicated to pet food and treats. Commercially produced pet treats are available in many flavors and types for you to try to add to your pet’s diet as a reward for good behavior and as an incentive to learn tricks. However, your dog breeder may have some suggestions as to which brands you may want to avoid for reasons such as low protein content or specific ingredients that a particular breed may be sensitive to digesting. Asking your breeding facility what types of commercially available treats they recommend can help a great deal.

Make Your Own Treats
Some puppy owners enjoy making their own treats for their fur babies. A simple kitchen dehydrating machine can help a pet owner churn out healthy, natural snacks for your pup. Using thin slices of chicken or beef can give your puppy a nutritious protein boost and reward their behavior when he or she has put their best paw forward. If your dog breeder has raised your new pet with homemade treats, this may be a great way to keep them on the same diet and avoid some of the pitfalls you may find with commercially available treats.

No Matter Which Way You Go…
Whether you choose the DIY approach to giving your puppy a treat or have bought a commercially available brand, breaking treats down into smaller bites is a great tip. Your dog breeder can verify that your new pet doesn’t really care what size their treat is, just that they get one. So for instance, if you have chosen a commercial treat, breaking it into small pieces gives your dog more treats and more pleasure than if it is kept whole. Plus this tip helps you to give treats in a more economically efficient manner while still giving your fur baby the training tools it needs.

For more information about a dog breeder in Buffalo Junction VA and how to choose the best treats for your new puppy, call 434-374-2969 or click on the provided link.

Sunday, October 8, 2017

Dog Breeder in Buffalo Junction VA: Curbing Your Puppy’s Problem Behaviors



A dog breeder in Buffalo Junction, Virginia can help your household grow with a new fur baby family member. While bringing home a new puppy can be a joyous time full of excitement and happiness, pups must become acquainted with house rules and what acceptable behaviors are in their new family. After the initial adjustment period and some initial training occurs, you may notice some problem behaviors begin to surface, such as excessive barking, chewing and other destructive behaviors. There are many ways to curb these problems so that your household can enjoy its newest family member. Here are a few ideas to help during this critical phase…read on!



Choosing Training Methods

Talking to your dog breeder about the various training methods can give you some insight into what will be likeliest to work with your new pet. With how many pups a breeding facility has in their care, training would be one of the many specialties that they can be called in for as an expert. Most trainers will advocate a behavioral approach, using positive reinforcement such as treats and attention or other small rewards to allow your new puppy to learn good behaviors. Using only positive reinforcement methods will take more time and more work to get the behaviors you want in your new fuzzy family member, but the results are longer lasting and don’t have the drawbacks that adding negative reinforcements or punishments for bad behaviors, such as instilling fear or even hurting your puppy. Talk with your local dog breeder about the differences in training methods and even ask if there are different methods that work better with particular breeds. Sometimes, these professionals have noticed patterns or know some tricks that really work with the types of dogs they breed.



Not Just Treats

Making sure that you vary your positive rewards for good behavior will help your puppy greatly. While giving treats can be a very satisfying way to reinforce behaviors for you and your new family member, dependence on treats can cause a dog to gain unhealthy weight or always come to expect food when they have done something good. Affection and attention can be just as welcome as a treat to a puppy, plus by snuggling your “good boy” or “good girl”, you nurture a stronger bond between you and your pet that will be even more rewarding in the long run.



For more information about a dog breeder in Buffalo Junction VA and getting tips to help you choose a puppy training method that really works, call 434-374-2969 or click on the provided link.