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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded inanimal_training's LiveJournal:

Sunday, November 4th, 2012
_5:15 am_[littlekitt]	Kali's Tricks I'm new to this community and I wanted to show off my baby, Kali. She is a one year and eight month tortie. I started training her late but she knows touch, high-five, and spin. She is also learning to beg and lay down. She is very food motivated. Her favorite being chicken, dairy treats, and shrimp. She will do anything asked when given food as a reward, even if she doesn't know the trick she'll do try anything for food. The only problem I have is she's best with hand signals. She knows high five by me throwing up a four hand sign. The problem I have is that I don't know how she knows spin. What I mean is I don't know if she knows it verbally or a hand signal. I usually raise my hand over or away from her head then I say spin. She does spin after a few seconds and usually before I can tell her any cue word or give a signal she spins automatically. 1) How would I make her spin with only a hand signal? Such as twirling the finger?2) How would I stop her from spinning automatically when it's "trick time"?Thanks for reading :) Below is a video of my talented kitty cat doing her high five and spin trick. She only learned spin this past September. This video was shot the day when she learned it and I am so proud of her :)Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 2nd, 2010
_3:25 pm_[27bunnies]	Our genius dog My husband trained our sheltie to do a whole bunch of tricks. Check out the videos. I think he's a great trainer and our puppy is the cutest puppy ever, but of course I am biased!( Two videos here Collapse ) (1 Comment \|Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
_9:39 pm_[soulsrant]	need kitty help Hi, I'm new to this community and I hope that someone can help me. Mods, if this is out of line, please let me know, but I'm desperate for help. I have a loving cat and she's just a little over a year old, almost two. We've never had a problem with litter training until now. About 5 months ago, we took in my brother-in-law's cat, sort of like kitty foster care. Baby, his cat, went into heat before we could get her fix. We had her for about two months when, still in heat, she started to spray the furnature. We were told by a vet that this was unusual and she still might mark her territory even after she was fixed. We kept her in the garage after that with plenty of food, water and litterbox. A few days after Mother's day, we returned her to my brother-in-law. End of problem, right? Wrong. For the last week or so, my cat, CeCe, has not used her litter box. I keep it clean so that's not the problem. She's doesn't seem exhibit any pain when she does go (urine and waste); on the couch, on plastic bags, clothes, towels, beds, papers; any place that isn't her litter box. I've tried sprays, but they don't seem to help right now. I've even shut her up in a room with her box, but she still finds some other place to use. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get her to use her box? Keep in mind, Baby has been gone since Mother's day.Current Mood: aggravated (1 Comment \|Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
_6:12 pm_[kittyquat]	Update Entry This is in regard to my previous entry about my roommate's cat. I was having trouble getting the cat to stop urinating in the sink so I decided to sit down and have a talk with her owner about it. Apparently she didn't realize that it had gotten so bad even though I had caught the cat in the act and said "Hey, stop!" in the owner's presence at least twice last week, but whatever.When hissing at the cat and telling her to stop didn't end the behavior, I took up a spray bottle (as suggested by someone here) but it was no good because by the time I was aware that she had done it again, she wasn't doing it anymore and I was left with a little yellow puddle in the sink again. Figures.So I went online and did some research on other methods and products that might work. Several people online said that cats avoid citrus scented things. I also saw this product called Feliway that mimics calming pheromones that cats naturally produce in glands on the face. So I presented my roommate with what I found and she told me she actually had some Feliway spray but she wasn't using it because it was slightly musky. She let me smell it and I had to roll my eye. It smelled pleasant if you asked me. It was only mildly scented so it wouldn't have been overwhelming anyhow. I asked her to use some around the house. I also went out and bought a citrus scented gel air freshener and citrus scented Febreze to use on the counter and around the sink. My roommate put some Feliway on the corners of the couches and in her room (places the cats frequent) and then we waited to see what happened.It's only been two days but I haven't noticed any urine in the sink and our other roommates have told me that the cat, who usually doesn't like to be touched, except by her owner, had been acting more friendly and wanting to be petted. Hopefully this keeps up. At the very least I can say Feliway is affective at calming cats that are easily stressed. I think I will keep an eye on her still, to see if I can figure out what might be the cause of her stress. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Current Mood: hopeful (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
_11:04 pm_[ooalegriaoo]	Sea World Adventure Parks Hey guys. I'm cross posting this from the marinemammals community because I think it's dead. :[I was wondering if anyone has ever worked for Sea World or knows someone who has? I applied to be an education intern for this summer and I would like to work for them in the future also. I was wondering if anyone has any experiences they could share. Thanks guys!If you don't, comment anyway! I'd love to meet some more people interested in animal training! I have my own dog, cats, bird, and a horse I lease :] (4 Comments \|Comment on this)
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
_8:13 pm_[kittyquat]	Introduction and Question Hello, this is my first time posting here. I'm KittyQuat and I live in the United States in California. I'm not an expert nor have I entered any animals in competitions. my training skills mostly encompass teaching and maintaining good behavior. My only pet at the moment is Nelson's Milk Snake and my parents have a Terrier mix. With my snake I just practice behavioral management which include handling gently and often so she isn't afraid of people and feeding in a separate enclosure to control her feeding response and avoid being bitten. My parent's dog is well behaved mostly; we tell her "No" when she misbehaves and she listens. We've taught her how to do certain things like rolling over, speaking, and playing dead for treats. She had a chewing problem but my parents got her to stop by giving her toys. I think she knows now what she can chew on because I haven't heard of her destroying anything since she ripped off the spa cover over a year ago. I'm interested mostly in behavioral training because I believe it is important to the relationship between people and their pets. My family has owned a few dogs over the years and we've trained them all to be well behaved. I've owned a few reptiles as well so I've developed an understanding of them and how to achieve good behavior from them as well.Cats are my weakness. I've never owned one (I'm actually allergic to them). My roommate has two cats. I don't let them in my room and I clean the house regularly since their dander triggers my asthma. So I don't know much about feline behavioral management which brings me to my question. LJ cut to save space.( Question About Feline Behavior Collapse ) Current Mood: okay (4 Comments \|Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
_2:03 pm_[small_chicken]	I don't know if anybody here is into herding, but they take that and jack it up to a whole new level. (1 Comment \|Comment on this)
Monday, September 14th, 2009
_8:05 am_[gigglecam]	surfing dogs! How do you teach your dog to surf? I would love to teach my Jack Russell. (3 Comments \|Comment on this)
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
_10:12 pm_[doorbell]	Potty Problems My girlfriend's dog is a male Chihuahua mix, about 4-5 years old (we're not sure how old exactly because he was adopted from a family friend) who has a problem with urinating on his feet and stomach. When he pees, he initially lifts his leg, but while urinating he slowly falls forward/lets his leg drop a bit, and in turn ends up with pee on his legs/feet/stomach. This is a problem since he is an inside dog, and we have to wash off his feet when he comes back inside after going to the bathroom. Is there any advice anyone can offer about how to correct this problem? Or would anyone consider this not to be a problem? Anything other advice/questions anyone has for me?Thanks.( This is Lucky, the aforementioned chihuahua!> <a href=Collapse ) (2 Comments \|Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
_10:41 pm_[abserdman]	I need help! OK, so there's a local talent cotest going on here just now called "Fife's Got Talent", yes they stole the idea.Anyway, my boyfriend entered last week and got through to the final. A good friend entered this week and didn't. They both suggested I enter Sparky and do some "Doggy Dancing".I agreed to give it a go...So I need:(a) A song idea. Something up-beat but not too long (roughly 2 minutes). The cheesier the better! I was kind of thinking "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin, but I don't know... Ideas!(b) Some relatively easy "dance" moves I could teach Sparky. He currently knows how to:sitdownroll overstay/waithide (put paw over nose)jump over my armsgive pawwavebegspintake a bowlook sad (lie down with chin on floor)weave through legswalk between my legs with his paws on my feetAnd we're working on crawlHe also knows how to heel and does rudimentary heeling whilst I turn and walk backwards. We can work on those.And any choreography idea are amazing too!This still isn't a definite, but I'm still looking for ideas! (Comment on this)
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
_5:03 pm_[small_chicken]	Ever wonder why it's "caterwauling"? Maybe I should title this "context matters". Just got back from the vet's, where the Tweeb had some blood drawn for a blood test. The Tweeb yowled up a shitstorm on the way there, and on the exam table. I was just there for the blood test--a physical exam wouldn't have told me anything I didn't already know, so I opted to skip it. Now, the Tweeb has been an indoor-only cat for the last 8 years of her life. We have no idea how old the little grump actually is. Thanks to a plethora of broken and badly-healed bones, handling her is nearly impossible, even for me, and I'm the one who does cat maintenance. Doctor shaves a little patch on the Tweeb's neck, and the tech grab hold of her (cats are notoriously slick creatures, and if you don't have a good grip you've lost). Y-O-O-W-L! Pushes the needle in. Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! Cant't hit the vein (even though it's blatantly obvious) because she's yowling so much. Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! And in the meantime she's got all 17 claws out (she's missing her right dewclaw) and her tail is poofed to squirrel-like proportions and she's still Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! and the vet has to try again with much the same results. Except she still hasn't calmed down. Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! Y-O-O-W-L! Finally, I tell the vet tech, "Just let me hold her."The Tweeb puts up a little fight as I try to push her towards the vet, but she's quiet. I tilt he head back, and she's silent. Vet pushes the needle, gets his requisite amount of blood, and the Tweeb is done for the day, and climbs back into the carrier. I've been jokingly offered a job with them twice, now. Maybe I should take them up on it :-) (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
_5:16 pm_[abserdman]	A-Frame! Someone near me is selling an unused A-Frame and my Mum has said she'll buy it for me for my birthday!So, how do I teach Sparky to do the A-Frame?It's adjustable, so I'm assuming I start off with it low and build it slowly higher? It's not painted so I'll need to paint contacts on it, right?Sparky's perfectly happy to walk/run along walls and things, I've got him to do that since I bought him, so I don't think he'll have a problem with walking along it. It's more getting him to understand that he's got to touch the contacts at either end.I suppose if I get him used to touching a target (say a piece of paper) and stick them on the contacts that would work, right?I'm quite excited about this! I'm getting 3 or 4 jumps from her too (she's not too sure how many she's got spare at the moment) and my boyfriend is in the process of building me a couple of home-made jumps so along with my weave poles and my tunnel I'm getting quite a good set-up!x-posted to dogsintraining (3 Comments \|Comment on this)
Friday, April 10th, 2009
_2:55 pm_[abserdman]	Introduction questions! ( Clicky!Collapse ) (3 Comments \|Comment on this)
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
_10:08 am_[nocturneai]	Hello! :D, Here's my newbie survey! -In which country/state are you located? Ca., USA-What is your experience with training animals?-Nothing professional just a few simple tricks with my old cat and new dog, like fetch or dancing for treats.-What sort of pets do you own?Right now, I only own a dog we adopted from a rescue agency. Her name's Sydney, we also call her Mooch, and she's a golden retriever/ cocker spaniel mix. -Which sort of training have you found works best for you and your animals?lots of rewards and praise of course.-Are your animals involved in trialing/competition and if so have they attained any titles?nope :P-Which forms of training are you interested in exploring?Sydney is very obedient and quiet dog since we got her but she's also very submissive as well and rolls onto her back when you call her too you, I'd like to teachher simple commands like sit.-Pictures of you and your training subjects: -Lazy pooch XD-someone doesn't want to go out in the rain XDCurrent Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
_2:42 pm_[z_o_e]	Neutering my dog Hello. This community has been an immense help in the past, so I'm looking for a little friendly advice. My husband and I have not yet neutered our dog. He is about a year and a half, and I know that time is running out. We're a little apprehensive though because we don't know what it will do to his personality. Right now, he's snuggly, sweet, adorable, just plain wonderful. He loves to snuggle more than anything else. He rubs on our legs like our cat does, he wants to be right up in our face so he can be closer to us. He gets crazy excited when we get home from work and just wants to spend time with us. Will this change when we have him neutered? He's a pure-bred chocolate lab, if that makes any difference. Thank you. :) (10 Comments \|Comment on this)
Monday, February 16th, 2009
_1:48 pm_[crysania4]	Intro I've been in this community for quite some time, but never posted an intro. When I first joined I HAD no training subjects as I was petless (much to my disappointment). Last May I joined the ranks of dog owners, so I thought maybe it was time to introduce myself.( Introductory survey Collapse ) (8 Comments \|Comment on this)
Sunday, February 15th, 2009
_9:28 pm_[w3nna]	Whee! Hai guys! -In which country/state are you located? I'm in the states. Louisiana to be precise!-What is your experience with training animals? I got into it about 4 years ago when I got my first dog. (as in MY dog, not a family pet) I took him through training at Petsmart at about 3 months, and was just fascinated by the way dogs learn things. I kept in touch with my trainer, who later became my boss! Now she is retired but the Petsmart trainers in the area still have meetings at her place once a month. She's one of my mentors and I respect her a lot! She was very supportive of my interest in training and provided me with a lot of information and sources.-What sort of pets do you own? Currently I have my lab/great dane mix, Munch. And a Bearded Dragon, Briscoe! I'm also fostering 2 baby kittens, about 4 days old. I live for fostering, it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.-Which sort of training have you found works best for you and your animals? I've always believed in the saying "You catch more flies with honey." Positive reinforcement training will always be my preferred method!-Are your animals involved in trialing/competition and if so have they attained any titles? Munch? Naw. He's just a velcro dog. Although my next dog is going to be a Welsh Corgi and we will definitely be doing agility and therapy work with him!-Which forms of training are you interested in exploring? Anything you can throw at me. I find it all interesting. Particularly agility, that dancing thing (dunno if it has a fancy name) and service and mobility.( -Pictures of you and your training subjects:Collapse ) (1 Comment \|Comment on this)
Sunday, January 11th, 2009
_5:23 pm_[fame_and_dirt]	I need some help.... My dogs are great, loving, loyal little babies. <3 I love them! They're very friendly and well-behaved except for one thing....which needs to change ASAP because I have a real baby coming soon....They start barking at noises outside. All the time. A car drives by. Someone is outside talking. Another dog barks. Someone is mowing their lawn or snow-blowing or shoveling...They bark. If they're occupied (like playing with each other or me or my fiance), they won't notice. But if they're just sitting there...they notice and start barking and looking out the windows.This is my only issue with them, and it doesn't bother me so much except when my real baby gets here, I don't want them barking all the time and waking him up! Anybody have ANY ideas on how I can correct this?TIA!( P.S. Intro Survey...Collapse ) (2 Comments \|Comment on this)
Friday, January 2nd, 2009
_11:47 pm_[eterri]	Intro :) ( Survey Collapse ) (2 Comments \|Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
_9:11 am_[jennelise83]	New Member Survey -In which country/state are you located?Augusta, Georgia, USA-What is your experience with training animals?I have tons of cat experience, and little to none with training puppies. Which is the current issue at hand. While I've had dogs for the last 10ish years, the housebreaking has usually been my mom's responsibility, because I was at school all day. My husband and I recently acquired a young puppy and I have little experience with housebreaking.-What sort of pets do you own?We have a 4 month old gray tabby kitten, Bella; a 3-5 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy, Keegan; and a Panda bear hamster, Po-Which sort of training have you found works best for you and your animals?Currently we are just watching for the signs that Keegan needs to go out. Sniffing, circling, etc. He's been ok up until now, but sometimes he doesn't do those things. We'll find out he's messed in the apartment when we smell his little present. He is pretty much crate trained. The family we adopted him from crated him with one of their older dogs. -Are your animals involved in trialing/competition and if so have they attained any titles?N/A-Which forms of training are you interested in exploring?Housebreaking, general commands, basic puppy training.-Pictures of you and your training subjects: Not at the moment. I am in my home office and cannot have pictures on my work computer. We recieved Keegan, our puppy, for free from the vet tech at the VTF that we adopted our kitten from. He was relinquished from a family that was PCSing to Korea and could no longer care for him. The vet tech was generally unsure of his age but from his size she was guesstimating him at 6 months or less. He was crated all day at her house since her and her husband both work. We are very excited to have him join our family. However, I have never housebroken a puppy before. I am basically looking for some general tips/tools that can make this an easy process for both me and Keegan. Also, I work from home. While he does not need to be crated all day. Would it be best during the house breaking process to keep him crated when I am working? I cannot pay as close attention to him as I would like while I work. Thanks in advance for any information that you can give me! Current Mood: good (1 Comment \|Comment on this)

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