How To House Train a Dog - The First Step

I do a lot of writing in various areas and much of it has
to do with how to do things. Usually, the articles are
fairly general and are related to more extensive and
complex resources available online. After all, one short
article isn't going to be enough to teach you how to house
train a dog. The point though is that, in almost every
case, people's apparent inability to achieve their goal,
whether it's how to potty train a dog or stop a cat's
destructive behavior, is almost always the result of not
actually carrying through and doing it.

There are books, training videos, probably vast MP3
collections, all of which can teach you or show you how to
house train a dog. Now there are some people who are
collectors. They just love to get everything about dog
training, dogs, dog breeds all the way to the that
non-existent but highly desirable "The Everything Dog
Training and Trick Book". Others are really looking for a
solution but keep going from one to another looking for
something that requires no effort on their part. Just like
everything else in life, potty training a dog takes actual
work and effort on your part.

The amount of work involved in potty training a dog is not
a back-breaker, but you need to learn how to go about it.
You need to pay close attention to the process and you need
to carry through with the training. There's just no other
way. Nobody's selling a magic wand you just wave around -
and Shazaam, you don't need to know how to house train your
dog because - miraculously - your dog has become instantly
potty trained. Somehow though, a lot of folks seem to keep
thinking that if they keep looking eventually they'll find
that easy magic solution.

Hopefully, you now get the idea of what the first step in
house training a dog - or, in fact, any kind of dog or pet
training is. You have to decide you are serious enough
about it to actually do it even if it takes some time and
effort. If you can't do that then there's absolutely no
point in spending any money on a course or videos or an
ebook on how to house train a dog. You're going to need
the money for cleaning expenses.

To help get through that first block, think about what a
nasty unending on-going mess you will have to deal with if
your dog is not house trained. Day after day, week after
week. Dogs can live a long time.

This same principle applies to any undesirable behavior. A
well trained dog makes a fair more pleasant companion and
requires far less work on your part. And an untrained dog
can be a serious risk, especially if it has aggressive
tendencies.

Learning how to house train a dog is generally the first
step that people want to take with a new puppy. But it
should also fit into learning how to train your dog to be a
great companion. You are supposed to be the boss and that
means you do need to learn how to be good master or
mistress. That can make the difference between a
wonderful experience and an ongoing miserable struggle with
your dog that no one wins.

There are some excellent guides, in different styles, which
are easily available on the internet. Generally, which
might be best for you depends on your style and how you
learn best. If you prefer to read and are interested in
more detail and information, then an ebook with
step-by-step instructions on how to house train a dog (with
pictures, of course) might be the best solution.

On the other hand, if you learn more easily by watching
video and listening, then a video course might be better.
There are advantages to both and many people have found it
helpful to eventually get more than one guide.

Whichever style is best for you, these guides offer you
more than simply a method on how to house train a dog. The
best ones teach you step by step how to solve other common
dog behavior problems and teach you methods you can use to
deal with whatever undesirable behavior problems your dog
develops. Life with a dog can be very satisfying and
enjoyable, but it is also largely dependent on you taking
the steps necessary to learn how to train your dog.
Copyright (c) 2006 Richard Keir

----------------------------------------------------
Richard is a writer and has had a number of well-trained
happy dogs over the years. If you prefer reading and
detailed training materials in eBook form visit
http://DogObedience.Werkz.info and if you prefer watching
and listening then checkout the video approach here
http://DogTraining.Werkz.info and learn how to house train
your dog and more.

Pakistani villagers taught animal care in wake of quake

By Waheed Khan

SIRIN VALLEY, Pakistan, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Sitting on the floor of an earthquake-damaged house, 25 women from Jigal village in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province listen to a veterinarian doctor tell them about animal husbandry.

For a community that lives off its livestock, caring for animals hasn't been a strong point in the villages of Pakistan's Sirin Valley.

It is only in the wake of last year's horrendous earthquake that some fresh ideas have arrived to shake up a community that has been following the same wasteful practices for generations.

While the Oct. 8 quake killed 73,000 people, a lesser-known statistic is the one for farm animals -- a main source of income and nutrition for the highland communities of Pakistani Kashmir and Mansehra district of Frontier province.

Around 250,000 buffalo, cows, goats and sheep are reckoned to have perished in the disaster.

Many animals were killed by landslides while grazing, while others died when their dry-stone and concrete barns caved in.

In communities like Jigal it meant around 70 percent of their animals died. With them went the supplies of milk, butter and yoghurt crucial to the diets of people of the area.

But shockingly, even without a quake, these communities could count on 50 percent of the beasts dying from disease, due in large measure to the ignorance of their owners.

Fauzia, one of just five women in the village who can read, said she had learnt a lot attending the classes.

"We own two buffalo and four goats. Our buffalo always had swellings in their stomach and I didn't know what to do. I have now learnt to care better for them by improving their hygiene," she said.

WOMEN TEND ANIMALS

Around 120,000 people live in the picturesque Sirin valley, and most have stayed, living in makeshift shelters, constructed from timber and corrugated sheets salvaged from their ruined houses and protected by tarpaulins and mud walls.

As in many parts of the region, it is the women who look after the animals.

"In this area the men usually go to the big cities to work," said Mohammad Banaras Khan, manager of livelihood projects for U.S.-based aid agency Mercy Corps.

"It is the women who are left at home to take care of their livestock that is also a source of income for them, in fact the only source in most rural areas," he said.

Usually their conservative ways prevent the women from mixing with strangers, but some things have changed after the quake.

"We realised if we didn't take care of our animals and didn't allow our women to learn it would become difficult to survive with dignity after the destruction in this area," said village head Mohammad Sarwar.

During the morning, women with infants attend classes run by veterinarians and female field officers, while their animals graze in the pasture.

Cassandra Nelson, Mercy Corps' senior global communications officer, said the idea behind the project, which has targeted 30 villages in the Sirin and Kooch valleys, was to empower women and help families become self-sufficient and less dependent on aid given after the quake.

VACCINATING, INSEMINATING

Many villagers had sold off their animals out of desperation following the quake, but other NGOs have donated some 6,000 goats and 600 buffalo, and people have been encouraged to exchange cash vouchers, given by the government, for more livestock.

Dr Ejaz-ul-Haq, from the British animal welfare organisation the Brooke Hospital for Animals, which works in conjunction with Mercy Corps, explained how the women were being taught with charts and illustrations, and shown how to vaccinate their animals and prepare them for the winter.

"It snows a bit in this area and it gets very cold. But we know now what to do to keep our animals safe," said Kausar Shaheen, half of her face covered in veil.

"We know now how to get more milk from our cows, and in turn butter and cheese, which is a major source of food and money for us," Shaheen said, her two-year daughter clinging to her baggy shalwar, or trousers.

Their female instructor, Lubna Masood, said the women were even being taught about artificial insemination so that they could breed stronger, more productive animals.

"These women are very keen to learn and intelligent. They are eager to know how to produce better livestock, which can give more income to sustain their homes," she said.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.