Adopting A Dog – Dog Training

 There are very many reasons to love a dog. The dog is appreciative, patient with its owners, loyal and protective. Because of these, even the sternest of dog owner's fall into the trap of pampering the dog sometimes unmindful of the effect of the temporary indulgence. Who would not? It is so difficult to refuse a dog giving you dog eyes when you are sitting at your table begging for man food.  The charm though is easily lost once there are guests. It feels very nice to be welcomed by a dog with a furiously waging tail, very excited at your coming home, jumping at you, or bolting out the door to meet you. It is embarrassing though when the dog does the same when there are other people around.

On occasions such as these, the owner will attempt at stopping the dog from continuing, but when the dog is not trained, all the dog hears from its owners is just another bark, an important bark maybe but incomprehensible.

It is also a natural instinct among us to not create "fences" among those we love but if the dog is allowed full run off the house, sooner, even those characteristics in a dog that charmed us will be an irritant. Obviously and for very practical reasons, the dog needs obedience training. Little coaching like sit, heel, stop, stay, and come, goes a long way in teaching your dog manners that are very useful in situations when you would want to communicate with the dog and be understood. The dog is also likely to respect the owner more if the owner is consistent and firm with what he wants the dog to do. 

Setting limits on what the dog can and cannot do is within the dog's nature. In fact, dogs enjoy hierarchy; it wants to know who the boss is. It is its tendency that is natural to dogs. Dogs trained in obedience are not only much more enjoyable as companions; dogs also are less likely to suffer and are loved more when it knows its limits. 

While mans love affair with dogs are many centuries old, dogs originally were predators in the wild. Even through all these years these instincts are not totally shed. In the wild, dogs lived in packs. As such, there has always been an established hierarchy among them that were useful if they were to survive, and so dogs instinctively obey rules. If rules are not provided and the dog is allowed to do as it wants, it starts thinking that it is the alpha male and will become dominant because contrary to our beliefs, it does not see people as people but as members of the pack where he is a part or where he should lead.

Loyalty, sociability, protectiveness, gentleness with those that the dog is familiar with, fierceness to those it does not know and sometimes meanness when there is a perceived violation of territories are real to the dog that endears him to us but these traits are natural instincts practiced within the pack which by extension is given to humans. 

Dog training then is very important if these traits are to be sharpened to our benefit.

Adopting A Dog – Companion Dogs

 Many dog lovers will argue that any dog is a good companion. Indeed dogs by their friendly nature are good companion dogs. In the strict sense though and for differentiation, dogs that do not work and do not particularly excel at any task other than companionship is a companion dog. When the decision for adopting a dog is to have a companion, the choices will be limited generally to smaller dog breeds that are expected to serve no particular task other than as a pet and as a comforter. 

This tradition of having small dogs for decoration dates back thousands of years to Chinese nobility where the Pug and the Pekingese where favorites. In Europe, lap dogs are also popular with royalties and the wealthy throughout history and are still used as gifts today. In fact because of their generally small breed, companion dogs loves to sit on their owner's lap that earned them the term of lap dogs aside from their comforting warmth. 

Several companion dogs for example the Maltese, terriers and spaniels were breed with the intention of serving good company for refined ladies and gentlemen during the 19th century. Children and dogs though have this natural affinity to each other that popularity of companion dog breeds increased. In the 20th century, middle and lower classes began having companion dogs to chum up with their children. In fact, the parameter by which a good dog breed is measured on is in the dogs being a good family pet. By that it means that the dog is friendly to both man and other smaller animals and gentle. 

Companion dogs have a life expectancy of up to 16 years. They weigh, depending on the breed, from 4 to 16 pounds and are prone to ailments that are related to their size. Before adopting a dog for a companionship, it would be well to do a little research regarding health, ailments, and other breed specific issues on health.

 Companion dogs being generally small dogs are energetic and rambunctious. While they are not ideal around children because they move very fast, they are good company to older people who could use extra cheer around the house. One of the downside to having a companion dog is that because of their size, they are vulnerable to larger animals. When you are located in areas where winters could be very cold, you would want to consider companion dog breeds that are fluffy or are longhaired. 

The benefits far outweighs the risk though as these dogs are content to follow wherever their owners go, are very easy going, and are content to sit with their owners  for long periods of time. They are excellent pets for people living in small apartments, they also cost less to maintain and are excellent for people that are less active since the running around the house is exercise enough for them.  

Some of the most popular companion breed dogs are the Chihuahua, Pomeranian, Yorkshire Terriers, Pugs, Dachshunds, and Shih-Tzus.

Adopting A Dog – Building A Doghouse

Once decided on adopting a dog, the next step to take is the type of doghouse that you will need. The doghouse depends on the dog breed that you want. Dogs grow very fast and allowances must be taken to insure that the doghouse will shelter the dog when it is full-grown. 

The Doghouse Type 

This is a fine time to practice creativity. There are as many doghouse styles as there are houses for people. For people that want to exercise fun and creativity, doghouse styles could be constructed to look like a miniature single room white house complete with a blue room or just have the blue room instead. It could even look like the basic structure of your house with the inside looking like your room. It could be constructed to look like a chalet, a lean to, a box or a cage. There are a lot of choices. The only must is that the doghouse will fit the dog enough to have him move comfortably and that the roof will not be so hot during summer months. Another very important item is a door. In areas where there are very cold seasons, a door should be opted instead of the usual open hole.

Determining the Size

Determining doghouse sizes are personal choices. You could build the doghouse as big as you want. However, you cannot build a doghouse smaller than this:

Height: to determine a comfortable height that is also enough to insure good air circulation, add 9 inches to the height of a fully-grown dog of the same breed. 

Length: to determine the shortest length for a doghouse, add one and one half foot from the length of the dog starting from the tip of the nose to its rump. 

Width: to decide the narrowest width of the doghouse that would provide enough space for the dog to move around, add one foot to the length of the dog, this is the narrowest space for your width.

Choosing the Location

The ideal area to be chosen as the location for building the dog house is a level ground that is free from water run-off. Clear the site where the doghouse will be built down to the short grass. Pack the ground tightly before building. In areas where there are extreme changes in weather, you may need to insulate the doghouse or consider air conditioning. This is more important when you have an outdoor dog breed. There are many choices for roofing but often, a wooden roof is sufficiently cool. For flooring you may want vinyl or lumber as these are easily cleaned.  

For health reasons, the doghouse is usually constructed a few inches from the ground. This also wards off insects and other small animals from entering aside from insuring that the place remains dry. Then you begin building. 

When pressed for time and you would prefer doghouse kits, there are so many varieties that are available that are pre-fabricated and are available in your local pet shops.