When you bring home a new baby, it could really be a wonderful experience for everyone in the home especially for your dog that gets to see a baby probably for the first time. Not all dogs have the same reaction when it comes to babies or small children so you have to address this situation carefully and probably with some common sense.

Biting is most common in young puppies and new dogs.. 

When your puppy comes home, it is important
to be prepared for many training opportunities ...

Frequently we hear that if your dog doesn’t know that you are boss he will walk all over you, try to take over the household, control food or things.

If your dog experiences a sudden change in behaviour then the first port of call is your vet. Take it one step at a time and follow a responsible course of action keeping your dog and others safe while you seek out the cause and appropriate treatment for your dog.

Does your dog bark excessively at the washing machine or other household noises? Here's a video on how to train your dog to stop barking. Pawsome!

How to train your dog not to pull on the leash anymore, great easy to follow video! Let us know below if you used this and how you got on.. Woofs!

How to stop your puppy biting and how to interrupt unwanted behavior by Dogmantics. Do try this at home!

Punishment – A bad word?

Punishment has become such a bad word of late within popular dog training media. There are some trainers that say they only use Positive Reinforcement. The word punishment invokes certain feelings and ideas in many people’s minds. From personal experience it seems, choke chains, alpha rolls, slapping or hitting etc. Yes all off these things could be described as punishing – perhaps! Read on…

Toilet training

Toilet training a new puppy causes great difficulties for owners.  The aim is to train him/her to go to the toilet outdoors and only on the owner’s premises. From the first day the puppy arrives bring him/her outside every morning, within 20 minutes of eating and hourly throughout the day until it learns to ask to go outside. This may take some time, but be patient, once the puppy has gone to the toilet make a fuss of it.  Do not punish a puppy when it goes in the wrong place, this is cruel, confuses the puppy and is not helpful. Take food and water away from 6 pm and ‘crate train’ the puppy by confining it in a small space overnight, such as a pet carrier. This will reduce soiling indoors and make toilet training much easier.

Petchums favorite, Laura Jennings from Dog Training Ireland bring you her 10 top tips for training your puppy..

As Valentine's Day approaches, the wall street journal asks the question: Is your pet derailing your relationship and is it time to boot your pet from your bed? The article looks at whether a pet has the potential to ruin a relationship. There's a couple who realised their dogs didn't get along after they got married, a woman's live-in boyfriend who is allergic to her cats and has to get regular allergy shots and a 36 year old man who will always put his dogs first. To read this article in full click here.

What do you think? Has a pet come between you and a loved one, um... and the bed?!

I came across this article on dog intelligence, a study of the brainy and not so clever dog breeds!