April 10th, 2010
One word answer. YES!
Why this is even a question that would arise in this day and age makes me gag. We would never as if car insurance is worth it, or even our families health insurance either so isn’t our pet part of our family? Of course it is. They would devastate a family that loved them if they became ill or worse pass away.
The question as to whether the pet insurance cost is worth it is another matter all together. There are many, many animal insurance companies around today so you should do some intelligent research. No matter what personal value you place on your pet there will be a monetary value as well. This pet insurance monetary value is all the pet insurance company needs to know. They will only agree to a value for your pets worth based on many factors of which the cost of replacing this particular pet of yours in actuality. Obviously the exact pet cannot be financially replaced but a similar type of pet will be part of the pets value the insurer will work with.
Pedigree insurers are just the same. They will base their value of your pet by comparing different prices amongst your breed of dog or cat. But we really want to insure our pets to help us with the ever increasing cost of Vet bills when our loved pets get ill. Some sicknesses can have our pets incarcerated for days if not weeks which can add up to a lot of money so this is where our pet insurance, especially if it has Veterinary cover included helps us immensely.
Nearly every pet, no matter what type, will at some time need extra care due to either sickness, illness or just stress. If you own a pedigree animal and wish to breed from it you will need to involve a Vet in this process some where along the line. At the very least the pups will need to be examined. Health or your pet is greatly increased when the owner has pet insurance as there is little financial considerations that come in to play when the pet falls ill.
At the very least and for such a small amount pet insurance could also be called owner piece of mind insurance as well. Knowing you can always afford to have your pet ;looked after professionally when it i s required puts my mind at ease so get your pets insured if you haven’t already and put a smile on your children’s faces.
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Posted in Dogs, Pet Insurances, animal insurance, insurance | No Comments »
October 19th, 2009
You have understood why positive reinforcement is the best dog-training tool to use for you
dog and now you would like to know exactly how to use this tool. You are in luck, because this article will give you the basics of how to use positive reinforcement as well as some books that you can read to further your understanding of this very successful
dog training tool.
There are two elements that you need to understand about this tool in order to use it successfully. The two elements are: correct timing and consistency.
Correct timing means that you need to give the praise or reward immediately to the dog upon completion of the desired behavior. Immediately means within two seconds and BEFORE the dog does any other behavior.
Consistency means that everyone in the family has to use the same command for each desired behavior. Consistency will reinforce the training and will guarantee that you will not confuse the dog about what is desired. It is equally important to not reward bad behavior in the dog and to be consistent in that every family member understands to reward good behavior only. If you are trying to teach the dog to not beg at the table and one family member is continuing to feed the dog table scraps under the table, then the consistency will not be there. The dog will be rewarded for bad behavior as well as for good behavior and the dog will not only be confused but will get very fat.
Here are some command words to use:
Come
Stay
Sit
Down
Stand
Off
Heel
Leave it
Settle
Watch me
Although praise works best when using positive reinforcement to train your dog; other items such as food treats, a favorite dog toy or even a game with your dog all will serve well for rewards. Pick the reward that works best with your dog, not all dogs respond well to food treats, some prefer a favorite toy, or commercial foods such as a small square of cheese, cooked chicken pieces or small chunks of hot dogs. Use a fanny pack or small plastic baggie to carry treats in while training your dog. If you are rewarding the dog with play, make sure to keep the play brief.
The new behavior must be rewarded every time in the beginning. This is called, “continuous reinforcement”. It is a technique used to “shape” the dog into making the desired response or behavior. Sometimes when teaching a behavior that is new to the dog; rewarding may be done as the behavior is learned in steps. An example would be if the dog does not know how to shake hands with you, then you can reward the dog for each step in the behavior. When the dog correctly lifts his paw, reward with a treat. When the dog lifts and hold the paw higher off the ground, give him a treat, then when the dog successfully allows you to hold his paw, and finally accepts the “shaking hands”, behavior reward with a treat.
Once the behavior is learned than you can reward the dog intermittently (3 out of 4 times he does the behavior, then half the time, then occasionally).
Me cool
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