There are many words which can be used to describe the personality of a Pekingese, but some of the most commonly heard words are aggressive, stubborn and obstinate. A Pekingese can be a very jealous and possessive little dog; often the jealousy manifests itself in displays of aggression. The dog can be aggressive toward other dogs or people coming to visit their home.

Most dogs will easily adjust and enjoy socializing with other dogs, the same cannot be said of the Pekingese, and the dog is a hard nut to crack. The Pekingese breed may at some point become tolerant of other dogs in the home; however, it is usually only displayed towards littermates or a dog that has been present for a long period of time. If a Pekingese does get along with another dog, it is not something that will happen quickly or easily.

A Pekingese can be very non-threatening to people because of their small size, however the breed picks up on this fact and will act out and display a large ego in response. This is a dog that demands respect from the owner and will do whatever necessary to obtain the respect. The dog is extremely jealous and prone to aggression towards any threatening party. The Pekingese prefers to bond to one person and readily chooses the object of their affection, in fact the dog decides early on who they like and who they do not. The dog is extremely loyal to its owner, and may snap or growl if another person tries to discipline them.

The Pekingese is a veritable lap dog and love being with their owners. The dog does not take well to being told “no,” and will not often do something they are told to do. Many owners have testified that their Pekingese will growl at them if they tried to make them do something against their will.

The breed is very loyal to the owner and protective of their household, making them an ideal for home protection; however, the dogs do tend to be overly aggressive as a watchdog. The dog seems to have an inferiority complex and will readily stand their ground and fight to be noticed and get attention.

Many breeders decline to sell Pekingese to people who have small children in the home because of the dog’s unpredictable tendencies. In some cases, if a child is not properly taught, many of them think of a Pekingese as a toy or like a doll and will not handle them gently. In some cases, a Pekingese just does not adjust well to a household with small children.

Anyone thinking about purchasing a Pekingese for a family pet should enroll the dog in some basic obedience classes. The dog will make a great pet, but needs to be firmly disciplined and shown what acceptable behavior is. Unlike other dog breeds, a Pekingese will not work to be a people-pleaser, unless it is in their best interest. Many Pekingese owners find their independent nature to be one of the breeds most endearing qualities.

Breed group: Hounds

Weight: male: 90-110, female: 80-100 lbs

Height: male: 25-27, female: 23-25 inches

Overview

Bloodhounds are an ancient dog breed, and its origin is not entirely known. It is however known that they have been perfected by monks in Belgium. The Normans first brought these dogs into England and the United States. Bloodhound is hunting dogs, but they love tracking more. Seeing that these dogs are scent hounds, they will loose interest quickly and rather follow the scent. These dogs are often used as companion and tracking dogs, especially to track down game, lost children and criminals.

Temperament

The Bloodhound is a gentle, tolerant, dignified, easy-going and adorable dog. They love to show affection, and are very good with children. They are good natured companion dogs that will allow children to climb all over them. The Bloodhound is very fond of attention, especially from children. Children should be taught however to not hurt these dogs as these dogs will not object at all. This breed full of energy, and are very lively especially when still young. These dogs have a tendency to be disobedient, but are very gentle in general. Bloodhounds will get along with everyone, and will welcome wanted and unwanted guests without warmly. Some will however bark to let you know when strangers are in the vicinity. They will get along fairly well with other dogs and pets in the family – they do however have a tendency to drool and snore quite a bit. The Bloodhound is able to go after any scent, even a human scent. This is a very uncommon ability in any dog. It is known that these dogs can follow trails that are over 100 years old. They will also stay on a trail for over 100 miles because they are so determined. These dogs should however be fenced in, otherwise they will wander off. Most Bloodhounds can not be walked off the leash.

Care

The Bloodhound does not require a lot of maintenance, but it is important to clean under the folds of their skin to avoid dry and itchy skin. They should also be brushed often to remove any excessive and dead hair, as they can shed a lot on a seasonal basis. This breed has long and droopy ears, and it should be cleaned frequently to avoid ears that are infected and painful.

Training

The Bloodhound should be trained in a firm, but also gentle manner. They can be stubborn, but owners of these dogs should be patient.

It is very important to be consistent when training these dogs, as they will know how to get around training by their pitiable looks. Although these dogs are not very obedient, they are very calm animals. They will often make their own decision rather than following the orders of their trainers.

Health problems

Although this is a fairly tough breed, they do have a few health conditions potential owners should be aware of such as hip dysplasia, gastric torsion, and elbow dysplasia, inversion of the eyelids and also excessive skin folds and wrinkles.

Dog bite settlement cases can vary drastically, depending on the circumstances and situation of each individual case.

In a recently settled case in New Jersey, the victim of the dog bite received a $1.75 million dollar payout. In this case, the victim was a home health care worker providing physical therapy for a relative of the homeowners.

Without any apparent warning, the couple’s small dog suddenly bit the therapist on the hand, causing 3 deep puncture wounds to his index finger. While this may not seem like much, the injuries were indeed very serious. There were complications which resulted in significant pain, swelling, and surgeries. There was a decreased range of motion, as well. Some of the injury involved a permanent spinal cord stimulator.

A lawsuit was filed in this case, and a settlement was reached through the mediation process. As the victim was found to be on the property legally, the dog’s owners were found to be legally liable for the injuries sustained.

While every case is different, this is an extreme case, as they were significant injuries which affected the victim’s ability to work. If you have been involved in a dog bite attack, you will first off need to seek proper medical treatment and evaluation immediately. Even if the bite does not seem to be very serious, it is extremely important to have the wounds professionally treated. In this case, there were only 3 small puncture wounds, there was nothing immediately appearing that the wounds were as serious as they turned out to be.

You may be entitled to receive a settlement which would include monetary compensation for your pain and suffering, all medical expenses you have already incurred, funds to cover any future expected medical care, and lost wages due to the inability to work due to your injuries. Future medical expenses may include reconstruction or plastic surgery, physical therapy, and psychological counseling for emotional trauma.

Some cases are much smaller financially, but still have significant costs involved which you should not be responsible for paying. Your lost wages should be restored to you as well. If you were in no way negligent, or were legally on the property of the dog’s owner, you are entitled to receive proper remuneration for your injuries.

If you or a loved one have experienced injury by being bitten by a dog, you need to consult with an experienced and proven successful personal injury attorney experienced in dog bites.

Malic acid is both developed and then consumed in significant quantities by your dog’s body daily. It is needed on a constant basis because it is a critical part of the Krebs cycle. This is the process in which the body uses biochemical processes to produce water and energy. The British biochemist Sir Hans Krebs won the Nobel Prize for physiology in 1953 for identifying this process which literally keeps your dog functionally daily with energy and good dog health. Malic acid is also a natural substance found in fruit and vegetables – one of the richest sources being apples. Thus it was given the name malic which according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is derived from the French acide malique and Latin malum for apple. It is also found in cranberries, pineapple, apricot, and strawberries.

All these fruits can be fed to your dog but be careful with apples in that you only feed the “meat” of the apple and not the stem, core, or seeds since they contain small amounts of cyanide. It was first discovered in 1785 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. This distinguished natural scientist and co-founder of modern chemistry who is best recognized for his discovery of oxygen in our air also discovered other significant substances such as chlorine, glycerin, manganese, lactic acid, and tartaric acid.

In addition to the significant benefits of transforming proteins, fat and carbohydrates into water and energy, malic acid offers many other benefits for proper dog health. It helps keep muscles and the heart from experiencing fatigue and weakness, it enhances the immune systems, it is an active chelation agent of toxic heavy metals, and it is very effective in maintaining healthy dog teeth and oral health.

As a chelation agent malic acid supports proper dog health by reacting with both good minerals and harmful heavy metal toxins in the body. With the good minerals it disrupts the chemical bonds of original inorganic compounds creating malates which in turn promote efficient absorption of the mineral. With harmful heavy metal toxins such as aluminum, lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic it is able to combine with them making them inactive which allows them to be excreted from your dog’s body via the kidneys and liver. This greatly reduces the risk of liver disease and nervous system disorders in your dog.

One of the most effective uses of malic acid for maintaining proper dog health is in the area of oral hygiene. First for treating dog bad breath it acts as both an antiseptic and stimulates the creation of excess saliva in the mouth. This combination significantly reduces the amount of bacteria and infection in the mouth which is the number one cause of dog bad breath. This is why malic acid is often used in toothpastes and mouthwashes. Then just as your dentist uses malic acid to clean teeth before adding fillings and to whiten teeth you can use it for cleaning dog teeth. The best product for cleaning dog teeth the natural way is to use strawberries. Strawberries contain malic acid at a strength that is safe to use in the mouth and on dog teeth. You can make a simple toothpaste by smashing up a few berries with a little baking soda and water. It is recommended to only use this mixture for cleaning dog teeth no more than once a week.

A common problem when training coon hounds today is that of slick treeing or making trees that are empty. However, I am going to give you some tips I’ve used to break coon dogs from slick treeing. For beginners, you need to know your coon dog. What I mean is that you need to know how your hound will react to punishment.

If you have a timid coon hound then please proceed carefully. With coon dogs that have this type of personality I will usually just completely ignore them when they slick tree. I will simply walk up to the tree and leash them without saying a word. I will then search the tree for a raccoon. If it is obvious the tree is slick then I will just got untie the dog and walk away from the tree. The most scolding I will do to this dog might be a harsh word.

However, for this method to work you have to do the opposite when they do in fact tree a raccoon. But always approach them in the same calm manner at each tree. Walk up leash them and tie them back. After you find a coon, you can untie the dog, but keep it leashed, and let them get back on the tree. Once they are back on the tree treeing then pet them up and use a encouraging tone to let them know that you are praising them.

If you have a hardheaded type of coon hound then you will need to take a different more direct approach. This also works on older dogs that need a tune up. From my experience, young coon hounds will often try to be “lazy” and might look for an easy way out such as pulling up short because the track got to tough to work. These coon hounds just need a little reminder sometimes. I recommend you approaching the hound just as mentioned earlier. After you have decided that the tree is empty find you a good switch. You can also use an extra leash if you use only the leather part, don’t hit a coon dog with the chain. Give them a few swats and some stern “no’s” and then immediately walk them away from the tree and recast them.

For this method to be effective you need to make them tree a coon. You want to be able to praise them. Eventually they will realize it is better and easier for everyone if they just try to have the coon when they tree. Keep in mind that no dog can ever be 100% accurate at treeing coons. If you coon hounds are consistently treeing coons over 70% of the time then you are doing great. I have had some coon hounds that literally seemed to never miss a raccoon while others were close to fifty-fifty or worse.

I should also mention that bloodlines tend to influence the slick treeing some as well. I’ve been fortunate to own some of both so I can speak from experience. However, I strongly feel that almost any coon hound can be trained to lessen their slick trees. So I hope these tips will help you while training your coon hounds.

Like people, dogs are motivated by gain and to avoid pain. Hence, to train a dog, reinforcements or punishments can be used.

So What Are Reinforcements and Punishments?

Reinforcements are anything that increases the probability of a dog repeating a particular behaviour. Similarly, punishments are anything that decreases the probability of a behaviour being repeated.

What may not be too clear though is that there are 2 kinds of reinforcements and likewise, 2 kinds of punishments. Here’s why…

The 4 Quadrants of Operant Conditioning

To reinforce a dog for a particular behavior, you can give it something it likes (e.g. a treat) or takeaway something it does not like (e.g. an aversive). Both ways, the dog is rewarded to repeat the behavior. The former is called positive reinforcement (R+) and the latter negative reinforcement (R-).

And to punish a dog for bad behaviour so as to decrease the probability of the dog repeating that behaviour, you can administer something the dog does not like (e.g. physical punishment) or simply take away something it likes (e.g. a withdrawal of privilege say in the form of a time out). The former in this case is called positive punishment (P+) and the latter negative punishment (P-).

As can be seen from the above examples, the word positive and negative is simply used to indicate if something is being administered or taken away. And because you can reinforce or punish a dog by adding or taking away things, we end up with 2 distinct types of reinforcements and punishments each or in short, the 4 Quadrants of Operant Conditioning.

Examples of the 4 Quadrants Being Used in Dog Training

Here are common examples of the four quadrants in action during dog training:

Positive Reinforcement (R+): Asking a dog to sit and giving it a treat when it sits

Negative Reinforcement (R-): When teaching a dog to retrieve, to pinch the dog’s ear (aversive) and releasing it (taking away aversive) only when the dog retrieves the object.

Positive Punishment (P+): Using a leash pop to correct a dog for an undesirable behaviour.

Negative Punishment (P-): When a dog is happily playing with another dog, to Instituting a time out by taking a dog to a boring corner (taking away play time) the moment it becomes too rough or aggressive (undesirable behaviour)

Clicker Vs Compulsion Dog Trainers and how they use the 4 Quadrants

Clicker and another positive rewards based trainers generally apply lots of R+ in their training. On rare occasions where punishment is required, they typically administer P-. In clicker training, dogs are frequently set up to succeed, giving trainers the opportunity to mark, reward and reinforce desired behaviours. Such training is therefore generally termed as more humane and dog friendly.

Conversely compulsion trainers focus a lot on using P+ and R- to get the job done. Dogs are at times deliberately set up to make mistakes, giving the trainer the opportunity to correct the dog. Hence the term correction and compulsion are commonly associated with such form of dog training.

Have you ever wanted to sit down and have a conversation with your dog? Or just ask your pooch “Why are you barking?” Well, that just might be possible according to Sean Senchal. In her book “Dogs Can Sign, Too”, she presents a method for communicating with your canine — a system of gestures that she calls “K9Signs” which could allow your dog to “talk” to you. The goal is to teach dogs to use this sign language to ask for things, to ask or answer questions, and to respond to your commands or comments.

Senechal has established an “academy” (the AnimalSign Center) where people are working every day with dogs and other animals to see just what their limits are as “language learners”. The author emphasizes that it will probably be years before any definite conclusions can be drawn as to the ability of non-primate animals to communicate with us, but she offers a number of examples of what she has accomplished in working with her own pets.

One example had to do with her dog Chal who she has worked with for several years. Chal came into a room where Senechal was talking to a friend and tapped a storage drawer with her nose, then lifted her right front leg which is the K9Sign for an object. When Senechal made the sign for “What?”, Chal lifted her right front leg and flicked it slightly, the sign for “keys”. The author opened the drawer and there was the key to the yard gate; Chal immediately ran out to the gate and waited for Senechal to open it for her.

That story may not seem all that unusual or interesting; after all I had a border collie whose parents herded cattle and sheep and were able to respond to a wide variety of hand and voice signals. The main difference is that in Chal’s case she not only responds to various signs, she offers her own canine signs. If you thought Lassie was brilliant, imagine a herd dog that could come to you and sign “Lamb caught under branch in gully over there; wildcat sneaking up on her — hurry”. That’s the fascinating part of K9Signs; not just the ability to communicate but the complexity of the information that can be exchanged in just a few signs.

K9Signs training, as Senechal points out, is fundamentally different from obedience training. It calls for encouraging your dog to show creative behavior rather than obedience. Your dog has to be prompted to initiate communication and make requests rather than just respond to commands. Conversation implies a give and take, a two-sided method of communicating and that means your dog has to feel free to “talk back”.

Maybe the most important thing to remember in K9Sign training is to make signing fun. If your dog is obviously having trouble understanding what you’re doing and seems to be getting frustrated or losing interest, back up and try to break the lesson down into simpler steps and reward the accomplishment of each smaller step. Or go back to something your dog has already learned and enjoys (like playing with a favorite toy) and make that sign. Later you can go back to working on the new sign. Senechal constantly emphasizes the importance of patience, rewards, and slow, easy steps in teaching K9Signs.

I’m not sure I would have the patience for K9Sign training and really, like most dogs, my two already communicate with me without animal signing. For example my Lab will bark and let me know if someone comes to the front door. But if he and I could make use of K9Signs, who knows — maybe he could tell me “Pat at front door, has pizza” or “Two strange men at front door, smell friendly”. Or instead of simply moving around restlessly, maybe our Rottweiler could tell me “Feel bad – need go out and eat grass”. It would require a good deal of time and patience, but maybe one of these days I’ll work up the courage to give K9Signs a try (and find out what my dogs are really thinking).

If you’re interested in learning more about Sean Senechal’s K9Signs system or her method of animal signing in general, her books “AnimalSigns To You” and “Dogs Can Sign Too”, are both available at http://www.amazon.com.

The hairless nature of this breed can predispose to solar radiation exposure and sunburn. Repeated sunburn can cause skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma which is like nasty ulcerated sores that never heal and slowly get bigger. The squamous cell carcinomas get infected, and can bleed and cause discomfort. Actinic dermatitis can also develop from chronic ultraviolet radiation and changes in the skin that block hair follicles. Large discharging sinuses can develop which exude material that accumulates deep in the skin.

The Chinese Crested dog breed also suffers from atopic dermatitis. many of these dogs are affected. Atopic dermatitis tends to show up on hairless parts of the body. In a normal hair covered breed, atopic dermatitis shows on the feet, the groin, the axilla or arm pit, the abdomen and the concave or inner surface of the ears. Until recently, the understanding of canine atopic dermatitis was that the allergens were inhaled. This key fact remains true but is only a part of the story. A recent breakthrough was the discovery that dogs with canine atopic dermatitis have a faulty skin barrier. The skin barrier is deficient in a protein called sphingosine. The absence of sphingosine makes the skin leaky. Moisture escapes from the skin causing it to dry out. Allergens cross the skin triggering an immune reaction that manifests as an itchy rash.

The hairless Chinese Crested dog therefore has large parts of the body that are not protected with hair. In Chinese Crested dogs with canine atopic dermatitis the maddening itchy rash can envelop almost the entire body.

There are many natural treatments that can really help.

A dog that destroys his toys.

Do you have a toy destroyer dog? Are you spending a lot of money buying expensive dog toys and you see how he converts them to small pieces in just minutes? Well let me tell you that you might think this is a highly expensive dog hobby to afford, not to mention that it will harm you dog because he may consume the small destroyed pieces of plastic, wood or whatever the material of the toy is. It also makes your dog has less toys to play, thus he’ll start chewing bigger things like your home furniture. In this article I’ll try to help you solve that problem, so that your dog can still enjoy his toys in a safer way.

The strategy to avoid this aggressive behaviour.

The strategy I’m about to explain you is excellent for that type of dog called “happy go lucky”, these type of dogs enjoy destroying things all the time. In case you have another type of dog: stressed and sensitive and toys protectors, this technique won’t work. So the first thing to understand is about the appropriate toys you should get for your strong chewing dog. Buying the proper toys for these kind of animals, will be more secure for him and less expensive for your pocket. The key here is to get bigger toys of what you use to buy him.

Teach him the right way to play with his toys.

So you get nice toys for your dog, now is the time to teach him how to have fun with them without destroying them. Sometimes the most strongest toys in the market are no challenge for strong chewing dogs. So to begin with ask him to do a trick he knows or just to sit. In the event he complies, just give him the toy and stay there with him. If he plays normally with the toy give him a treat as prize. When I say playing normally I mean mouthing the toy or moving the toy nicely. But if he starts to destroy the toy, just say eh! or hey! to make him stop. When he starts playing nicely with the toy again, reward him again and stay there with him until he stops playing with the toy. After that hide the toy so he can’t find it, and start the routine the next training session. Do this in front of the TV, to get better results.

What is he doesn’t pay attention to you when playing with the toy.

In case he doesn’t stop the destroying behavior when you say eh! or hey! you can try clapping your hands to change his focus to you. The most important thing here is not to punish your dog, but to stop him the aggressive behavior. Don’t do this in case your dog looks very tense when chewing, this means that your pet has very string issues of safeguarding. In the event the clapping doesn’t work, spray him quickly with a spray bottle containing water.

What to do when the toy is new.

Don’t leave your dog alone when you get him a new toy. You need to be sure that he has understand that a new toy is not something he just can destroy. You may experience that he might learn the lesson for old toys, but not for new ones, so apply the technique for new toys as well until you notice he plays nicely with the new ones as well. After you notice the progress start leaving him alone with the strongest toys for short periods of time. What will happen is that you’ll keep him busy and prevent him of getting anxious. After some time, you’ll notice your dog will start playing nicely with these strong toys, thus you can start giving him other types of toys he might enjoy to play with. Remember to apply the technique every time you bring him a new one regardless if it’s a strong one or a normal one.

Small dogs, large, hairy… No matter the size, it is likely he will pee on your car wheel! But what do car wheels and dogs have in common? The explanation is that dogs are attracted by the smell they feel on tires, which run through several places. It will always be like this, one pee here and there. And that can often end up with any type of wheel. Can be made of iron, aluminum, it will ruin because of the acid that is the urine and causes oxidation. The mechanics have tons of classic stories, as the deterioration of the head of the bolts, eventually getting stuck. The problem can be so serious that at the time you want to unscrew the nuts, there is no choice but end up crashing the wheel to get them out of the vehicle.

But dog pee also does other damage. It can cause stains and peeling on the wheel. The manufacturers say the problem has been worse. Today steel wheels and light weight alloy, undergo a treatment to be more resistant. But there are other problems like the lower parts of the car, which still cannot pass by chemical treatments, such as nuts and bolts may get stuck with the pee or even if your wheel gets scraped in a gutter and lose a bit of varnish, it will be more vulnerable to corrosion.

For those who have a dog and do not want to suffer a future problem with the car wheels, the suggestion is to take a neutral detergent and wash the wheels constantly. Another solution is to protect the wheels with a type of “bag” made of vinyl or similar, to each wheel.