How to Potty Train a Puppy

When you first bring your puppy into your home the first thing you’re likely going to want to accomplish is a little puppy house training. You need to establish the rules about this early on with your puppy before they get the idea of going about their business anywhere they please. The best age to start puppy house training is from 8 to 12 weeks, but this is not the only option. From the moment you bring this puppy into your home, they will turn to you for rules and routines, and may even look to you for jobs or duties. Dogs and puppies thrive on rules and schedules. This would be where the clicker method comes in.

A clicker is a small device you hold in one hand. When pressed it makes a clicking sound. Professional trainers use a clicker to signify when a behavior has been performed correctly. It’s much more consistent than a phrase, which people tend to change or pronounce differently and can be confusing for a puppy. It’s also much faster and your puppy will instantly know when they’ve done something correctly. When your puppy learns a new command (in this case “Go potty” or other mark phrase) it’s time for the ‘click’ along with praise and reward.

There are different methods you can use to reinforce puppy house training. A lot of your decision will be based on the type of housing arrangement you have. For those of you expect your puppy potty training to be in the yard of your home, that’s where you should start.

The easiest method to accomplish this type of puppy house training is to start out by purchasing a crate for your pup. These come in several sizes and you can purchase a crate that fits your puppy now, and purchase new ones as they grow. Dogs do not like to eliminate in the area where they sleep or live, so if you give them more room in the crate they can create a corner for their elimination and sleep in an opposite corner. This is why the perfect ‘fit’ of a crate is just big enough for your dog or puppy to turn around and lie down.

You can also buy a crate the appropriate size you will need when your dog is full grown and simply barricade the extra space with a sturdy and safe object that will not pose a danger to your new family member. Under no circumstance should you use your puppy’s crate to inflict punishment. The crate is not only going to be somewhere to safely put your puppy when you can’t be around to supervise while you are work or sleeping, but will also become your dog’s safe area or resting area. They will after a time go there on their own when they feel the need or desire.

How to go about puppy potty training with a crate is simple. When you start showing your puppy its new space, put them inside the crate with a chew toy and close the door. The first few short times, you want to stay in the room where the puppy can see you. Do not respond to any whining. After a time when your puppy has calmed down and seems to have understood, get your puppy’s leash, open the door of the crate and immediately take your puppy out for a bit of exercise or play time.

The next time you practice follow the same steps, except for you staying in the room. This time leave the room, or stay out of eye sight, gradually increasing the time you are away. Your dog or puppy potty training is successful when not only does your dog stop fussing when you put them in their crate but they go in on their own, as well as when they wait for you to take them outside to their designated area for eliminating.

For puppies that will be primarily in an apartment, your puppy house training will most likely is paper training. The most ideal space for paper training is in a location that has easy to clean floors, such as the bathroom or laundry room. You want to choose the location based on the area least intrusive on your daily family life. Start by covering a larger section of the floor with newspaper or potty pads found in many pet stores.

As time goes by and you have been clicking and reinforcing positive results, start to take away sections of the paper until your dog potty training is a success and reduced to one little section of the room. Please note that you should still have a crate for your puppy training and for while you are out of the house and cannot provide supervision. Just make sure after opening their cage you take them to their potty area to get them accustomed to waiting. Picking a mark phrase like ‘go potty’ or ‘hurry up’ will still help your puppy learn the rules, and make sure you use positive reinforcement such as click and praise for a job well done.

How to Remedy and Prevent Dog Urine Lawn Damage

We all love our dogs, but we also love our summer lawn to be green and lush.
When a little dog waste can actually contribute to a greener grass, too much of it will damage and even kill it.

The damage caused to your lawn can be very frustrating: lawn burns and dead patches are very unsightly and difficult to get rid of.

The high content of nitrogen in dog urine can be devastating to your yard, especially if you own multiple dogs.

Although we know of a few dog owners who actually tried this, following your dog with a watering can around the yard each time he/she has to relieve himself/herself, seems like a lot of work…There are better solutions and prevention.

SOLUTIONS

· Dog food selection
Select your dog’s food carefully. Feeding your dog a high-protein diet will produce more nitrogen in its urine. A high quality food will have protein sources that are more digestible (real chicken or lamb meat, therefore, produces fewer waste products.

· Lawn fertilizers
Do not over-fertilize you lawn, as all lawn fertilizers already have very high content of nitrogen.

· Grasses
Plant more resistant grasses, such as Rye grass.

· Lime
Sprinkling lime on the damaged areas and watering them often will help in restoring the grass. And again, water often!



· Sodding
Sodding lawn dead patches is a quick efficient fix.


PREVENTION

· Dog supplements*
There are many diet supplements that you can find at local pet stores. NatureVet* grass saver wafers and NutriVet* green grass supplement are among many.

A UK company claims that Dog Rock*, a mined Australian mineral rock, added to your dog’s water will take care of the problem.

· Natural supplements
The PH of dog urine has no effect on lawn damage: adding vitamin C, baking soda or apple juice to your dog’s diet will not be effective, and might actually increase the risk of infections or bladder stones.

· Drinking water
Encourage your dog to drink more water to dilute its urine. This will lead to less concentrated nitrogen deposit when relieving himself/herself.
Keep a couple of water bowls outside during the hot summer days. Make sure to refill them often with fresh water.

· Training
This is by far the best solution and prevention!
Train your puppy when he/she first arrives to its new home.
Establish a “bathroom routine”. Lead him/her on a leash, to a remote, designated area and use food rewards.

Before you know it, he/she will go to the specific area on its own.

This will save you a lot of frustration, time and money.

For an older dog you might want to change its “summer routine”.
We have done it with our Black Lab, Bird.

We encourage him to “go all the way”, meaning “go all the way back in the yard, where I cannot see it”.

And he does!…Yes, he is that smart! Yes, we are that lucky!
Now, we all can enjoy the summer lawn!
Right Bird?… Good Boy!

Whiner and Diner Eco-chic Pet Accessories

Tray Chic: the ultimate way to serve Fido breakfast in bed!

Tray Eco-Chic!

Whiner and Diner wine crate serving trays offer an attractive and unique way to serve and display your favorite foods and wine. Handcrafted from wooden wine crates, out on the patio or in the house, they will certainly be a great conversation piece among your wine connoisseur friends!

What a unique wine gift or wedding gift!

And yes, we know a few dog owners (no names please!) who would use these trays to serve their Pooch breakfast in bed...

Nothing but the very best!

How To Choose The Right Dog Bowls For Your Dog

How To Choose A Dog Bowl or Dog Feeder.

There are many options available in today's market. You should choose accordingly to your dog's size, eating and drinking habits, your personal style and taste, and of course safety issues.

Plastic Dog bowls

Plastic bowls might be inexpensive, but some dogs become allergic to plastic and develop skin irritations, and or lose the pigmentation of their noses.

Plastic being porous can trap dirt, odors and germs, which even your dishwasher will not be able to eliminate.

Plastic can also leach plasticizers (most commonly phthalates) and colorants, into your dog's food, which are very harmful to its health.

Plastic bowls being lightweight will tip and spill over easily and can be chewed on by aggressive or too playful dogs.

Ceramic Dog Bowls

Ceramic dog bowls can be a good choice if chosen wisely.

They are usually heavy enough to be spill-proof, but some decorative glazes can contain lead and other toxics (mainly found in foreign products). So it is important to make sure that the bowls were intended for food usage and have a lead-free glaze finish.

Check the bowls regularly for cracks (especially fine ones which can be difficult to detect), chips and scratches, as they encourage the growth of bacteria. If such a bowl breaks replace it, and do not attempt to super glue it! It is not safe for you dog!

Stainless Steel Dog Bowls

They are the most healthy choice for your dog. Stainless steel has been the material of choice for food processing, dairy and brewery industries. It is durable, sanitary, rust-free, and non-leaching. Such bowls will last a lifetime.

For Older Dogs Or Taller Dogs

Getting an elevated dog feeder for a taller or older dog (or both) is a good idea since it will help them to eat and drink more comfortably from a dog feeder which is at a more natural body level
Some are outfitted with a single bowl or double bowls to accommodate your space or your dog’s drinking and eating habits.

If bending causes you discomfort, you won't need to bend down as much to pick up or put down heavy, full dog dishes: the stainless steel bowls are light enough to remove for easy cleaning and filling.

Keep Your Dog Bowls Or Feeders Clean

Whichever kind of dog bowls you choose, always keep them clean. Hand-wash them in warm, soapy water (and rinse them well), or put them in the dishwasher regularly. If you have an elevated feeder, wipe its top often to keep it dry and clean.

A Healthy Dog Is A Happy Dog!
Whiner and Diner Eco-Luxury Pet Accessories

Help Out Our Pets

All our favorite four-legged friends got a nice present for Christmas...
But have we thought about the less fortunate ones? It doesn't have to be the Holiday Season to help out...

In this poor economy, an alarming number of pets are being abandoned.
Too many people cannot afford to pay their mortgage, lose their homes, sometimes jobs, and therefore, cannot care for their pets any longer.

Pets have been found in vacated homes, sometimes alone but healthy, other times ill, dying or even dead.

Not knowing what to do with their pets, some owners have set them free to roam the neighborhood, or even left them at the local animal shelter's doorsteps.

We are now facing a real epidemic of unwanted animals.

How Can We Help?

Being informed and willing is the key.

If you know someone who needs help with their pet(s), talk to them. Let them know what their options are, how and where to get help. Abandoning their animal(s) is not the only solution. You can even offer to foster their pet(s).

If you are thinking about getting a pet, adopt one from a local shelter:
ASPCA has a wonderful program, called "Meet Your Match" (MYM), which is used by hundreds of rescue groups and animal shelters around the country. They will match pets and owners based on compatibility.

Adopt A Pet is also a wonderful organization which will help you search by breed, size, age, and location for your new companion.

Best Friends Network (which has launched a new campaign to convince the Obama's family to adopt a dog), offers wonderful advice and resources.

And, of course, we all certainly can donate money, time, supplies and toys to a local rescue group or a shelter. We, at Whiner and Diner have a few favorite charities, for pets and people...

Whatever you do, it's easy to make a pet happy! And the favor will be returned in a way only a pet knows how to!

Christmas Pet Shopping: will our pets suffer from a poor economy this Holiday Season?

In such a volatile and fragile economic environment, the consumers' normal tendency is to cut back on spending.

But in doing so, many people do not realize that they often end up buying a lesser quality product, which ultimately has to be replaced more often than if they had invested in higher valued (and often better quality- after all, there is great truth in the expression "you get what you pay for"...) merchandise.

The wise thing to do is to look for a few criteria when purchasing any item, including pet products:

Functionality, quality, safety, durability, price and of course style.

Whiner and Diner is a pet product company which puts high value on all of the above.
Their wine crate Eco-luxury dog and cat accessories are functional, high quality, durable, safe and healthy for pets. Because they are expertly hand-crafted out of reclaimed wooden wine crates, they are indeed stylish and Eco-friendly to boot.
They simply offer great value and are made in the USA.


Check out the Whiner and Diner pet toy boxes: in any color, but red or green would make a great Holiday gift for any wine and pet lover.
And why not fill it with cute, pet toys to complete the ultimate Christmas gift.

And let's not forget our less fortunate furry friends: the US economy is in dire straits, and too many pets are paying the price. The raising number of abandoned dogs and cats is becoming overwhelming. Our shelters are filling up with "foreclosure pets", given up by owners affected by the economic turmoil.

"Sorry, I can't pay my mortgage, I can't take care of my kids, I can't take care of my dog...Please, take care of him..." reads a note attached to a dog tied to a shelter's front door. This is just heartbreaking!

But we can all help: donate what you can (pet food, clothing, toys, etc...) to your local shelter, visit The Human Society to find out how you can help them.

And if you are thinking about giving a pet as a Christmas gift to a friend or a family member, please don't!!! Unless it has been discussed with the gift recipient, it is not a good idea! Too many Christmas Pets end up in shelters after the Holiday Season.

Instead, give a Pet Adoption certificate from you local shelter , along with a book about animal care and training, and let them decide...Hopefully, they will rescue a dog or cat from the shelter.

There are many ways to help restore our economy. And refueling it by spending our money is one of them! We just need to do it wisely!

Keen on Green for Spring!

Going Green and going and going......

I saw a web site designing company slogan today "Go Green, Plant a Web site!". Brilliant!
— Don't you think?

America is finally waking up!...I want to see all shades of green.
Simple.
— Don't you think?

Do it every day. You'll see, when you start doing it, you cannot stop. It feels wonderful to make a difference!
— Don't you think?

Spring time is a yearly renewal. After the harsh New England winter (not so this year, thank you global warming?) ,we, at Whiner and Diner decided, to help spread the word:

Respect our Earth, take care of it and love it, don't ever take it for granted: this is where our future generations are going to live...How do you want it to be?
Let's be kind to it and take care of it!
— Don't you think?

Think green, be green, live green with Sundance Channel