Curious K9s

So, last week I was horrified when on my Instagram feed I see Cesar Millan has some new muzzle called Funny Muzzle . He’s marketing for people to use to introduce their unfriendly dogs to other dogs on walks... First of all, yeh, real cute funny muzzle with a faux tongue hanging off the side... uhhhh, this muzzle is the style of muzzle used for vet visits and in emergencies so your dog does not get the opportunity to BITE!  This is not the style of muzzle you put on your dog for a stroll to or through the park or in my case, where I live in NYC, a walk through the streets! Dogs need to PANT. This muzzle does NOT allow for that and given that it’s the beginning of summer, dogs are panting before they even saunter off down the road!  One of the reasons I suppose I was so mortified is because I know most dog owners aren’t aware of the dangers of putting a closed mouth muzzle on a dog and they blindly trust and obey The Dog Whisperer.... which HE KNOWS and my question for him, is, How could you sell out on this level and put dogs health and lives at risk blasting your smiley face product?  Lame lame lame!!!! $$$$$  (deep breath)

I have a dog that wears a muzzle on walks and I can tell you if he was wearing this Cesar Millan Funny Muzzle he would have probably had heatstroke early on from not being able to PANT. 

Dogs pant because they do not sweat the way humans do.  Dogs bodies are cooled down by the air hitting their tongues.  Their tongues are like cooling systems for their entire bodies. They do have sweat glands in the pads of their paws but that’s a whole other posting.  

If your dog is unfriendly with other dogs chances are he’s gonna probably pant from stress, or certainly need to wearing that inappropriate muzzle. 

I highly recommend the Baskerville Muzzle. It allows panting, drinking, treats and yes, barking.  Plus if your dog is “unfriendly” and there is a threat of lunging or possibly biting another dog or person, the last thing you wanna do is put a smiling muzzle on your dog and walk up to the one thing he/she hates most! 

There’s an entire process to desensitizing and properly socializing your unfriendly aggressive dog and putting him/her under added stress is just straight up cruel and setting them up for failure.  

If you have a dog that needs to wear a muzzle for the safety of itself, other dogs, children or even humans the Baskerville is the way to go and call a positive reinforcement trainer asap.  

Teach your dog how to put the muzzle on by ALWAYS having a handful of treats at the bottom of the muzzle as you give the command MUZZLE.  Then they put their head in the muzzle to get the treats, it’s their idea, it doesn’t feel like they are being punished and it’s a good positive thing, like wearing a collar. 

Never leave a muzzle on a dog unsupervised, also believe me dogs can still be aggressive wearing a muzzle.  Imagine being muzzle punched in the gut! It can happen and does and I bet it could even happen with a smiling muzzle!! Haha!

The moral of this post is that if you are going to muzzle your dog for any longer than a vet visit, please be smart and buy a Baskerville Muzzle.  If Cesar Millan’s Funny Muzzle makes you laugh, buy that one for visits to the vet and for your dog emergency first aid kit.  

Education.  Every Dog’s Moral Right. 

by karencurious of curiousk9s

First of all, the old school way of rubbing your dog’s nose in his/her crap and piss DOES NOTHING EXCEPT MAKE THE DOG AFRAID OF YOU AND GIVE YOUR DOG ISSUES!!!!  STOP DOING THAT!

Your puppy or rescue dog does not KNOW that having a normal bodily function on your floor or carpet or bed or couch is BAD.  You need to TRAIN your puppy or rescue dog where it is acceptable to release it’s urine and poop.  

HOW do you do that? Well, with a lot of consistency, patience and praise!

If you are using potty pads and your pup/rescue is missing the target but getting close, MAKE THE TARGET BIGGER!

Do not let your puppy/rescue have free reign of the house/apartment or any space you are in if he/she is not potty trained because guess what? He or she WILL GO FIND A POTTY SPOT!

How do you prevent this?  Tether your pup/rescue to you. Yep, attach your pup/rescue to your belt loop, your wrist with their leash and if he/she starts sniffing around, immediately take them outside or to the elimination spot.  Once Fido has eliminated in the proper place, massive amount of praise are given and 5 little treats!!!! With the words GOOD FIDO, POTTY OUTSIDE or POTTY ON THE SPOT or what ever you want to give the art of eliminations name… YES GOOD BOY/GIRL TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS…. GOOD BUSINESS! You get the idea, right?  Give your dog’s potty business a NAME and stick to it.  Once your dog has FINISHED eliminating then LAY ON THE PRAISE AND TREATS.

You can teach FIDO how to ring a bell to let you know they GOTTA GO! How do you do this???  

Well, put a bell by the door and every time you take Fido out to do his/her business you ring the bell… Then you teach Fido the command TOUCH. Then you teach FIDO to RING THE BELL as you are going out to take care of business… So eventually FIDO will know to RING THE BELL when he/she needs to get outside and do their business.

Potty Training your dog is no easy task, but it’s only as hard as you make it!

Potty Training your dog is a temporary transition so you need to keep that in mind and keep a cool head while teaching your puppy/rescue the ropes.

At night!!!! Keep Fido in the crate or tethered too your wrist via leash. If Fido is super small, put Fido in the crate so you don’t roll over in bed and suffocate the poor pup in the night.  If Fido is of a decent size you can tether to your wrist with the leash and when you feel your arm rise or movement and it wakes you up, you IMMEDIATELY TAKE FIDO OUT.  No stomping on your part, deep breaths and be grateful you aren’t having to clean up a mess in the house….

Fido is starting to get it!

Fido needs to be taken out every two hours until you can figure out the space in between movements.  Keep a log on a notebook.  Time and Type.

Fido needs to go out and potty when he/she wakes up, after meals, after drinking, after playing.  Just deal with it.  Once you can successfully get out every two hours without accidents, stretch it to 3 hours, then four.  No puppy should be made to hold it without a safe elimination place for more than 4 hours.  

Good luck and remember to breathe! This is temporary and soon Fido will absolutely prefer to go take care of their business outside!  Feel free to share your #potty #training experiences below.  And another thing, don’t get mad at Fido. You are just giving him/her serious issues.  Set Fido up for success.