Dog training

[peternap]

I've been reading about training lately. I think my kids high school counselor wrote some of this. Here are some of the new terms used.

Crate Training.......... Keep him in a box until he's house broken.

Positive reinforcement .....Pat him on the head and say "Good Dog".

Mouthing......He bit me.

Bloat........Gas.

Pack Alpha.......Me.

Time out.....Make him go in another room.

Command.....Word.

Male aggression.......Dog Fight.

Separation anxiety ....Raises hell when we leave.

Holistic Food.......Damned expensive dogfood.

Raw Diet......Damned expensive sushi for dogs.

Safe area......behind the sofa.

I have a lot to learn! 

[Redoverfarm]

Hey Peter from the post I gather that Zeus has arrived.  I pitty you with these initial steps to raising a pup.  The only advice I can give is to limit the destructive activiity regardless of how innocent it may appear.  It all comes down to later with the saying " you can't teach an old dog new tricks".  First one for us(the boys first) was a aust shep/border collie mix.  Chewed up everything including the wife's wicker furniture .  The last one has been good so far(blue heeler) just too much energy.  Going on 2 years now but coming along nicely.

I once had read a book by the American Kennel Club that encourages the crate training as it gives the dog a refuge area. Discourages using a newspaper except to litter on. 

By the way I got my new puter. Lightning speed.  Still didn't get everything transfered off the old one but it had not crashed.  I can still use it to transfer to the new one. Did manage to save the photo's.  Overnight delivery with the standard shipping. Wow. Got to go to the mountain. Later.

[peternap]

I was wondering if you were on the New one John. That works well now that you can still get your data off the old computer.

No, Zeus won't get here until July 6th. I can pick him up around the 1st but the 4th is our annual board of directors meeting for and at the farm and our family reunion right after (The kids are all directors). I was afraid that having a one and a half year old and a newborn and an 8 week old puppy in a camper on a hot day....might be a little too much.

I'm just trying to get a little better grasp on training. It's been 8 years since we had a puppy and I'm also not as patient as I used to be

WE bought a crate yesterday. I like the idea. Housebreaking has never been much trouble but the chewing gets old quick. This just seems like a good method to take care of both.
Danes are also a little different food wise. They are so big, they need a special diet as puppy's to keep from growing too fast and developing bone problems. I'm also finding out how bad many foods are for all dogs.

Take a look at this link. It's a very good analysis of most dog foods.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/