To teach your dog tricks even easy ones you need to have some small reward treats, be in a quiet suitable place and keep the training sessions to 10 – 15 minutes or your dog will start to get board, remember when he gets something right lots of praise and a reward treat, just be careful not to get him over excited or he will loose concentration.

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Getting your dog to give you his paw, first get your dog to sit, then as you say the word ‘paw’ take your dogs paw in your hand, give the dog a treat, repeat this, after a few times do not take his paw so quickly, say the word, count to one then take it, you should notice he is bringing his paw up as you say the word if he does not go back to saying it at the same time, do it a few more times then slow your response again. After 2 or 3 sessions most dogs pick this one up quite happily.

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The high five, like a lot of tricks the high five is a progression of an earlier trick, in this cast the paw trick. Hold a treat in your fingers and raise your hand slightly higher than you would for the paw trick. You dog will think you want to do the paw trick and will reach for the treat with his paw as we taught him earlier, as he reaches up you say “high five” and give him the treat. Once your dog has mastered the paw trick this one should be very easy to learn and with just a few sessions he will be doing it on hand signal rather than voice control.

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Getting your dog to jump through a hoop, before you start this one I would just like to ask you to be a little sensible and not hold the hoop too high as you do not want your dog to heart himself while doing the trick. Sit your dog on one side of a hoola hoop, get the dogs attention on your hand on the other side of the hoop take a treat in your hand and give the dog the command to release him from the sit, at first he may attempt to go around or under the hoop, if this happens start again, your dog wants the treat and will soon learn that going around or under does not get it so he will soon start going through it, when he does say hoopla and give him the treat. He will soon be jumping through the hoop on the command of hoopla. When I started doing this trick I had a medium sized dog (a Labrador) so I started with the hoop 6 inches from the ground and slowly raised it to waist height, if you have a smaller dog you might want to start with the hoop touching the ground so the dog just goes through the hoop and then slowly raise it as he gets used to the trick.

Dog Biscuits

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered milk
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg — beaten
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup ice water

Combine the flour, milk, salt, garlic powder and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles cornmeal. Mix in egg; then add enough ice water to make a ball. Pat dough to 1/2″ thick on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter and bake on cookie sheet for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

To vary the flavor and texture, at the time the egg is added, add any of the following:

1 c. purred cooked green vegetables or carrots;

6 T. whole wheat or rye kernels;

3 T. liver powder.

(The last two items are available in health food stores.)

Butter, margarine, shortening, or meat juices may be used.

Before you start dog breeding as a business or past time, you should first know about its fundamentals.

When you decide to do something, you should set your goals. This is also true with dog breeding. First on the list is good temperament; the dogs you breed should have good temperament so that future owners will not hesitate to care for them. As a breeder, it is your responsibility to lookout for unexpected changes in the behavior of the dogs like shyness, fear, excessive activities, and negative response to leave their common environment. Such characteristics are easily passed to their puppies. Genetics is a very important factor when breeding dogs and you should ensure that good temperament is passed on to the puppies. Try to check if the ancestral genes of the dogs possess good temperament.

Many breeders tend to put a male and a female dog in a certain room in the hope that the dogs will mate eventually. This is wrong. You must be certain that the female dog is already sexually matured so that she can be impregnated. The heat period will often start from the 6-month to one year. Still, this is not the perfect time for breeding. You need to wait until the female dog reaches two years or so because this is the best time for the female to carry a pup.

Good breed of pups can be realized if you’ve chosen the perfect parents. The male and female dogs should not possess any inborn or inherited faults. Get to know the dog breed by discovering more about their ancestors. You must ensure that the mother dog does not possess negative characteristics such as savageness and shyness. The male dog determines the sex of the puppies because he possesses the sex chromosomes. As a breeder, you should also ensure that the male does not have any reproductive difficulties. Such defects are hard to correct; if the male does not have enough sperm, the female will not be impregnated.

Before you start dog breeding, you should be well informed about the ancestry of the dogs you’re handling. You should determine the mixed, recessive, and dominant characteristics of the dogs. Dog breeding is a rewarding activity; you can increase the number of your pets through breeding and you can also earn money if you decide to embark on a business venture. You should be prepared mentally and physically. Why? Well, dog breeding requires breeders to conduct a lot of research. You will need to spend a lot of time researching because if you’re not well informed, you’re not going to be a good breeder.

Dog breeding has its advantages. You can raise many pups which you can take care at home or you can also share them with your relatives and friends. Puppies make excellent gifts, right? If you want, you can also sell the puppies. Good natured and intelligent pups are saleable and since most households have pet dogs, you will mot find it hard to get a buyer.

Now that you know the fundamentals of dog breeding, you should find out more about the different dog breeding methods such as line breeding, cross breeding, and out breeding. Take your time in reading books and other information materials. Don’t forget to consult the expert breeders in your area as well as the local vet; these people can help you.