Just to be clear, my dogs do have a consistent diet--they get the same dry dog food every day, twice a day. But they also get extras--the extras are what vary a little.

On the contrary, bones are good for dogs! Depending on the bone.
Sounds cruel, but really...tough love! With a finicky dog, you just have to wait them out. Put his food out, if he doesn't eat it within 10 minutes or less, put it away. Try again a little later. Same thing, if he doesn't eat it...put it away. If you give him something else because you think he'll starve himself, he will learn that if he refuses to eat, he'll get something different. You have to teach him that if he passes up a meal, then he's passed up his only opportunity to get a meal. If you continue to give him something different to "get him to eat" everytime he's picky, then you'll create a notoriously finicky dog. My dogs get a random mix of things---their regular high-quality dry dog food, with a teeny bit of another high quality dog food(which changes, not always exactly the same food--just a little variety), sometimes some raw dog food, sometimes some canned food, just varies. So they are never picky--they never know what they're going to get, but if they don't eat it, they don't get anything. (So they've never been picky.) I'M really picky about what my dogs get, so it's all high quality. This mix keeps them from getting bored with their food(I wouldn't want to eat the SAME THING, ALL THE TIME), and also I think is good for their digestive system. When you switch a dog from one food to another, you have to go through a period of slowly increasing the new food and decreasing the old. This is because their system gets used to one food, and can't just automatically digest a totally new food. If you just automatically give them the new food, they will have awful diarrhea for a good while. With the variety of extra foods that my dogs get(in very small amounts), it helps their digestive system get used to a variety of things. So if I were to want to switch them off of their main food, it wouldn't be as hard on their tummies.
I had a client who had a Chihuahua who was really finicky. For a while, they gave him hot dogs with his regular food. He started eating just the hot dogs, and eventually would eat nothing but hot dogs. His owners, like you, were afraid he would starve. So for two years this dog ate nothing but hot dogs, with their vet breathing down their necks at the awful health the dog regressed into. I got them to try a very good food, and do exactly as I mentioned earlier--sit it out for a while, if he doesn't eat it, put it away. No hot dogs unless he eats his food, period. After two years of getting his way, naturally he took a while to adjust, but he did adjust and has now been on a good quality dry food for a year and a half now--and their vet is very excited with the dog's weight loss and overall better health.

Hi, I have a 7 month old beagle whoes more interested in smells than coming when called. What works for us is, instead of just calling his name or telling him "here" in your normal tone of voice, take a deep breath ( for them to hear as if your about to scream your lungs out) and call drawing out the name or command in high pitched tone. My puppy gets very excited from this & comes running, its a bit like a game for him. Its sounds silly but it works for us. Good luck,

Thanks guys for you help, Luckily I read into the whole bark & quiet thing so he knows both, taught him quiet when he whined before bark so I was prepared for that one. Tx you'll have to record yourself on the sax for me....l.o.l. I think he's just too spoilt & has nothing to complain about, That's why he don't howl! Better get the cound system set up for him, see spoilt rotten!!! ha ha

Yes, is important to teach QUIET along with any bark/howl trick, lol!

Lol, guess I truly am a "DOG PERSON"...I do so love a hound dog bay. ^^ Haha!

Also, i think it is best NOT to use the dog's name for "come!" the dog hears his NAME all day long. Choose a specific word for come.
If you've already used the word and are having a high failure rate, consider starting all over from scratch, using a whistle, or a new word.

SWEEEEEEET!!! Sounds like a smart lil pup!!

but, DO come on in, and post your questions, like Ozibe says, what a bonus to get the pups off to a good start!! It IS a friendly place here, all are welcome OF COURSE!!! And you are SO NOT the only member here having litters. There are many many many others, as well!!!

Pet Search Results: Adoptable German Shepherd Dog Dog Pets in Bowie, MD: Petfinder

There are currently about 8,000 homeless german shepherds, and german shepherd mixes, in your state alone. Many of these will be killed because they ARE competing with dogs who are sold. Each and every puppy you create can create many more 100s of puppies. Hope they all do find homes.

Hope it's your last litter!! We have dog overpopulation crisis in this country. Six million dogs a year are put to death for lack of available humans.
SPAY SPAY SPAY!! Encourage folks to ADOPT a dog from the local dog pound instead, purebreds have way more health problems that mixed breeds.


that said, ENJOY THOSE PUPPIES!!

http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/membe...ning-tips.html


http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/membe...ny-advice.html


http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/membe...come-time.html

GOOD LUCK!!! YOu can also post any problems you have onto one of these ongoing threads, for further clarification. Recalll IS a tough challenge, but so worth investing time into it!!!

"Yeah, what Tx said" lol!

You might want to try different kinds of MUSIC. My dog, loves to howl along with religious or gospel music, and is especially fond of "Onward Christian soldiers" (we discovered this by accident while watching movie, "Walk Like a Man" with HOwie Mandel.


BUT--A WORD OF CAUTION---one of the most common complaints from beagle owners is they howl TOO MUCH, so you might wanna consider if you reeeeally want to get that howl thing started, and reward it.

Someone here on DTA once warned me about me rewarding Buddy's bark for a trick, and i kinda wished i'd listened. Buddy rarely barked, ever, til i did teach him "Wanna Beer?".....he became total barking monster after that, and now is more evened out, but, i did regret teaching that trick, wished i had listened.

We have a beagle down the street, whose owners had his vocal cords cut out...(or, they rescued a beagle who already had that surgery, not sure)
but......it almost sickens me the grotesque noise this poor beagle makes at us when we go by.

If you can't find a way to make your dog howl, then you probably won't be able to teach him to. Keep trying! Try different music too---when I was in high school I played the saxophone, and although I was GOOD, my dogs hoooowwwwlled when I practiced, lol! So try finding a recording of some sax playing. Haha!

Just get creative and try to find different types of music or other dogs howling that might set him off. Also, if you know someone with a dog who howls, sometimes if the other dog is continuously getting rewarded for howling, unrewarded dog might give it a shot.
When you have a dog who isn't vocal, you really have to get creative in finding ways to get them to "SPEAK UP." Lol, hope this helps.