Paw Pals: Tip #1

Tino and Neo are my best buddies EVAR! Whenever I'm feeling down, just having them in my presence and watching them do the darndest things will automatically put a smile on face. I love them to death and will do almost anything for them. I prolly don't walk them as much as I should but I make up for that by allowing them to sleep with me ... yes on the bed ... and I let them take up as much room as they want. I get sad thinking that I may have to give Tino up one day since he's just too big and hyper. My mama told me that there's no way I can keep him and have a little one of my own. So most days, I ask myself which one would I'd rather have: a baby? or my dogs ... and sadly enough ... I want my DOGS!

I made the mistake of letting my dogs do pretty much whatever they wanted their entire lives so when I yell at them for being bad, I'm sure deep down they're not fazed at all. I always figured that they would get scared and stop doing bad things when I would scold them and give them a firm "NO" ... sometimes it worked ... sometimes it didn't ... but I have since learned something else that MAY work.

and with that I give you ...

Tip #1:

Dogs crave attention and want to interact with their bestfriend (aka owner but I don't like to use that word because I feel like it belittles them) whether it is in a positive or negative way. At times, they may do things that they know they shouldn't knowing that you will get mad and punish them. They do that because even though they're in trouble, they have your attention and you're interacting with them even though it's a negative type of situation. A good way to train your furry friend is to simply IGNORE them because THAT in itself is more dreadful to them than being yelled at. So the next time you come home and your hyper-active dog starts jumping all over you, instead of the usual berating, just ignore them until they have calmed down and then go over and give them oodles of hugs and kisses and yummy compliments!