For the past three years I have been recommending the Easy Walk™ harness, a product of Gentle Leader, manufactured by Premier to all my puppy and obedience classes. I started using the harness when I got my youngest Australian Shepherd three years ago. Walking both my Aussies was challenging, but with the harnesses they are both under control. Those of my students who have purchased it have been very pleased and now enjoy walking their dog.

The Easy Walk™ harness is different from other harnesses in that the clip to the leash is on the chest area instead of on the shoulder area. Think of this, the dog’s power and strength is in the shoulders. With the clip on the chest when the dog pulls it puts pressure on the chest which stops the pulling. So when they pull out in front of the handler and they reach the end of the leash the tension on the leash turns the dog back to be face to face with the handler. At that moment the handler acknowledges the dog and shows the dog the correct place to walk is next to his leg.

As associate of mine is a professional dog walker and recently sent me this testimonial – (more…)

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Nearly half of all tested pet products contained “detectable levels” of hazardous chemicals, including lead in a quarter of all products and nearly half of tennis balls intended for pets!

Are these dog toys safe?

The testing was done by HealthyStuff.org, which focuses primarily on children’s toys. This is what they have to say:

HealthyStuff.org tested over 400 pet products, including beds, chew toys, stuffed toys, collars, leashes, and tennis balls. Since there are no government standards for hazardous chemicals in pet products, it is not surprising that toxic chemicals were found.

• 45% of pet products tested had detectable levels of one or more hazardous chemical, including:
• One-quarter of all pet products had detectable levels of lead.
• 7% of all pet products have lead levels greater than 300 ppm — the current CPSC lead standard for lead in children’s products.
• Nearly half of pet collars had detectable levels of lead; with 27% exceeding 300 ppm — the CPSC limit for lead in children’s products.
• One half (48%) of tennis balls tested had detectable levels of lead. Tennis balls intended for pets were much more likely to contain lead. Sports tennis balls contained no lead.

You can read the Overview of HealthyStuff.org Findings, but it doesn’t say much more than I’ve quoted here. They do list products by brand, type, and level of concern, but I was unable to find the pet products tested. If you see it, let me know! According to their methodology:

The sampling was not random or necessarily designed to be representative of all products on the market.

It is possible most toys are safe. My recommendation, buy sport tennis balls, avoid painted and dyed products, and do some research. I wonder how much a portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer costs???

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Improve your teeter training success by building a Buja Board with my step-by-step instructions at Online Dog Coach. 

What is buja board you ask? A buja board or wobble board is a piece of dog training equipment used as a precursor to the teeter totter in agility dog training.  Many, if not most, dogs are sensitive to both the motion and sound made by a teeter. You can also use the buja board as a dog exercise and confidence builder. View the Buja Board agility lesson for training instructions.

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When crate training a dog choose a crate that is large enough for your dog to stand, turn around, and lay down comfortably.

When crate training a puppy, get a smaller crate that fits his/her current size, and replace it with larger crates as your puppy gets bigger. If you cannot afford multiple crates, you can purchase one that will fit your puppy when he is an adult, and place a box or barrier inside the crate so that your puppy has just enough room for him to stand, turn, and lay down. Make sure your puppy cannot get trapped or tangled in the barrier – you don’t want to start puppy crate training from the beginning if he gets scared!

Plastic travel carrier crates are the safest for crate training your dog. They will not be able to tear the crate or injure themselves in this type of crate.

Wire and fabric crates should only be used under supervision until you know how your dog responds when left alone in the crate. Once your dog is crate trained, wire and fabric crates are great for the “dog on the go”.

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If you are em”barking” on a new agility career, you will quickly discover that agility equipment can be pricey (competition quality agility jumps typically cost between $75 and $120 each).  However, you can make your own agility jump using these simple and FREE instructions.

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