If you have ever wondered if  online dog training courses are for you, I found an excellent blog post on the “Online Courses” blog. It talks about online learning in general, but much of what is included can be applied to E-Training for Dogs courses.

The post is titled: Challenge Your Online Learning Expectations  and includes the following three pieces.

Here is the link to the blog post –  https://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/online-learning-expectations.

The resource provides the realities of online college programs and what students need to know about them.

Weight Gain in Dogs

Do you worry about or have a dog who suffers from too much weight gain or obesity? I have a free dog diet recipe just for Liking us on Facebook.

My 13 1/2 year old dog , Mazzy, was a great bird dog in her day. She could cover a field with the harshest cover (thick grasses and such) all day long, and then do it the next day over and over…for hours. When she reached about 11-12 years old, she started slowing down with arthritis, sore old joint injuries, etc. Just like the rest of us. With the slowing down came weight gain. Always “an easy keeper” (I swear that dog could maintain weight on eating dirt) she became obese. I couldn’t exercise it off of her so I started cutting down on her food giving her small amounts twice a day. She was so hungry. I knew that I would be hungry if all I ate was so small amount of food, no matter how laced with “everything I needed” it was. Some of these GREAT dog foods, recommend such a small serving, as they are so “good” …. but the problem is the dog is still hungry after eating it’s one slight cup. Of course! Who wouldn’t be?!

So I started making her dog food with fresh ingredients. It is about 3 hours of my time once a month, but the weight came off, and some of her health problems such as intermittent UTI, high blood pressure, stopped.

To get the Free Dog Diet Recipe, please Like us on Facebook and send me a Facebook message requesting the recipe.

Enjoy the following stats!

Pet obesity graphic produced by Matt Beswick for Pet365. Click here to view the full post.

One of my favorite blogs, Pet365, did a survey last month of over 1000 dog owners to find out what they thought about “dog training” and a “trained dog.” Most of the respondents were located in the UK and the US but there were respondents from all over the world.

She has posted her “raw data” online for you science geeks (that’s me too) in case you have other things you wish to check using the data.

Here at E-Training for Dogs, we put a strong emphasis on breadth of study for dog trainers and dog lovers. What do I mean by  THAT?!??

What I mean is, though it is important that a dog trainer knows how to teach a dog something or change behavior, it is just as important that they know dog communication, dog first aid, dog anatomy and physiology, canine basic ethology, breed differences, etc. These are TOOLS for a trainer’s “toolkit” that, to me, are fundamental and necessary.

So, what did the study find? Here are the results!
Enjoy!

Dog Training graphic created by Matt Beswick for Pet365. Click here to view the full post.

Education on the development of a dog from conception to adult must be covered genetically, physiologically, biologically, mentally, emotionally and environmentally. Having all of the right factors in place gives each dog the best chance at a healthy and happy life with humans.

At E-Training for Dogs, we have several FASCINATING courses for those interested in canine development:
Introduction to Breeding and Whelping
Puppy Imprinting and Bonding
Dog Orgin and Early History
Canine Biology and Behaviour-Part I
Imprinting and Handling Puppies Birth to 10 Weeks-Webinar

Our upcoming courses are:
Canine Biology and Behavior-Part II
Canine Biology and Behavior-Part III
Introduction to Genetics

Watch for these. Sign up for our Newsletter to be the first to hear about these!

The Pet365 Blog, a wonderful blog on all things pets, has put together a fascinating graphic story of dog development from embryo to end of life. Enjoy!

Puppy Development graphic created by Matt Beswick for Pet365. Click here to view the full post.

I just discovered a canine research center that focuses on Dingeos. (Yes, the “e” is correct when talking about more than one Dingo.) The Dingo Discovery Research Center in Australia, a sanctuary and educational center for the Dingo. Not that it is a new Center, it has been around since 1990, but it was new to me and I was so impressed that I wanted to share it with you.

Our guest lecturer this month, February, 2013 is Dr. Bradley Smith. He is a researcher from the University of South Australia. He did much of his research with Dingoes at the Dingo Discovery Center sanctuary near Melbourne, Australia.

The sanctuary was established in 1990 by two veterans of the dog show world, Peter and Lyn Watson. These founders were resolved to preserve the now almost extinct in the wild gene pool of the Australian alpine variety of dingo. Since then, the sanctuary has been a source for positive media coverage, education of the public and a population of Dingoes available for non-invasive research studies.

Our speaker this month, Dr. Bradley Smith, through a series of experimental studies has documented the Dingo using tools. This finding has been bringing researchers from around the world to elaborate on his studies.

One popular hypothesis as to the origin of the Dingo is as a descendant of dogs brought by early colonists…gone wild. This is not true. The Dingo is more like the Australian wolf.  The Dingo existed in Australia long before any settlers brought dogs there and had been occasionally “tamed”, much as the North American Gray Wolf, by socializing young puppies.

To learn more about this fascinating canine, its past, present and future place on this planet, join us and sign up for the webinar:

Dingoes, the ‘missing link’ between wolves and domestic dogs?

When: LIVE online from Australia, February 6, 7:00-8:30 PM EST (10:00 PM GMT)
Available as a recording also!

IAABC and CCPDT CEU’s available

Go HERE to learn more and to register.