Great Time of the Year to Purchase Your PupLight

Is anyone else having a hard time adjusting to the daylight savings time change?  I hate that it feels like I should be in bed when it is only 5:30 pm!  Oh well, that is my venting for the day.  With this time change though it did remind me of one thing.  It reminded me how important it is to have our Pup Light for walking the dogs in the evenings.  As I already stated as I was blowing off steam, it is dark much earlier.  For us, we work all day so it is definitely dark by the time we get home.  If we want to keep up with our daily dog walks then we need a good solution for walking them in the dark safely.  The Pup Light does that for us.

I have discussed this product in the past but I wanted to bring it up again because of how it is probably needed even more for this time of the year.  The pup light is a light that is attached to a collar worn by your dog.  The leash is not attached to the pup light so that there is no change in the position of the light itself as you are walking your dog.  The light itself is very bright and can be seen for up to one mile away.  The light runs on triple AAA batteries which is the only dog light to do so.  The Pup Light has a fur guard to prevent the dogs hair from blocking the light and it has a rim over the light so the light will not shine in the dog or dog walkers eyes.  The lights themselves are bright LED lights and the light can be seen from every angle.

I hate to bring up an old topic but, given the time change, I do feel strongly that this light is the answer to walking your pets in the evenings.  I think that this light is important for your dog's safety as well as yours.  With it being attached to your pet, it keeps your hands free and you don't have to worry about trucking a flashlight along with you.

As always, this is one of the many great products that we carry at Baddogsupplies.com.  So come by and check out our store and let us know what you think.

Dog Houses

Have any of you ever been searching for a dog house and done a google search for "dog houses"?  Oh my.  I did that recently.  I did a search for dog houses.  It is unbelievable what there is out there for dog houses now a days.  There are dog houses that are insulated, which makes good sense.  You can get dog houses specially made to the exact replica of your own home.  There are dog houses out there that look like log cabins or igloos.  There are even dog houses that have two stories!  I guess I am out of touch when it comes to what is available in dog houses.  Or, at least I was out of touch, until my recent search and discovery, lol. 

I was just so intrigued with my recent discovery of dog houses that I had to share that with you.  At Bad Dog Supplies we do carry a few dog houses.  There are many options out there so you will have plenty of research to do anyhow in your searches so why not swing by our website and see what we have to offer before you make any final purchases.  While you are on our site you can see all of the other great products that we have to offer.  Happy dog house searching!

Car Chargers for Training Collars

We have discussed many different types of training collars in the past.  Some of those collars were battery operated.  I just want to make sure that people are aware of some of the extra things you can buy for your electronic or battery operated dog training collars.

In addition to being able to buy extra training collars for certain training collar systems, you can also purchase extra batteries.  But, another neat idea, especially if you are training your dog remotely or if you are a hunter using a training collar or collars on your hunting dogs, then the car charger is a great idea!  We talked about the training collars in the past and they do come with different battery lifes.  But, if you know that you are going to be out longer than the life of the battery or if you forgot to charge your unit before leaving the house, then the car charger will come in very handy.  Just plug your unit into your car on the way to your destination and have full battery life by the time you arrive, or close to it. How easy is that? 

Of couse, there are many different types of training collars out there as I have already stated, so you will need to make sure that if you buy a car charger for your unit that it is compatible with the unit you have.  Again, as stated, this is a simple idea but I thought I would bring it up for those who may not have already thought about it.

We do carry many different car chargers for you training collars at baddogsupplies.com.  As always, if we do not have what you are looking for then please let us know so we can assist you in finding you what you want or need. 

How to Train Your Dog to Use a Dog Door

For our last blog, we talked about the wonderful dog door.  I realized afterwards that I may have made light of how easy it is for you to use with your dogs.  I am confident that any dog can get used to using a dog door but I also realize that it may take a little effort on your part to train them to use the dog door.  I know I talked about how easy it was to train our dog, but I know not all dogs will be so easy to train.  So, with this blog, I want to give you some tips on training your dog to use a dog door.  

Once you have the dog door installed then you want to give your dog the opportunity to check it out a little by nosing around it.  If they don't just walk right up to it then try to reassuringly ease them to it.  Then it is recommended that you tape the flap of the dog door up so that they can see out of it freely without the flap being in the way.  Next, try to push your dog gently through the door a few times so they can get the idea of going through it.  The last time you push them out, give them a few minutes to see if they come back in on their own.  You can even use a little treat or maybe even their favorite toy to coax them back through the door on their own.  Once they are back inside, whether on their own accord or with a little help from you, then trade places with them and you go outside and try to get them to come out in the same manner you tried to get them to come in.  If you have friends or family members that have dogs that use a dog door then you can even recruit them to help with the training.  If your dog sees other dogs going in and out through the door, then they are likely to follow suit.  You may have to repeat these steps several times before your dog has the hang of it.  Once they do, then lower the flap back into place.  Now with the flap lowered, see if they will still go through.  If not, you may have to repeat all of the original steps until they are comfortable again.  With these simple steps, you will have your dog using his or her dog door in no time.  It just takes a little energy to install the door and then a little patience to train your dog, and then sit back and enjoy the benefits!

If you are interested in finding a dog door for your home then please check out our website at baddogsupplies.com where we carry almost anything you could need for your dog supply and training needs.  If we don't have it, let us know so we can find it for you.  Thanks for stopping by.

Doggie Doors

I am sure that we are all familiar with what a doggie door is.  If not, then a doggie or dog door, is a small opening that you place into any style door in order to give your dogs the freedom to go in and out when they want or need to.  I love our dog door!  My husband often says that our dog door saved one of our dogs lives.  Not really, he is just kidding, but we have a dog that we had a very hard time potty training when we first got her as a stray.  It did not matter how long we were out of the house, as soon as we walked out, she would urinate on the floor.  We were at our wits end until we finally tried a doggie door.  Believe it or not, we pushed her through it a few times to show her how it worked, and she never went on the floor again!  Now, maybe not everyone has those results but it sure did help us.  I love the dog door because it also saves us the up and down and having to get up at odd hours in the evening to let our dogs out.  They are free to go out whenever they need to.

As I stated, they have dog doors to fit any door style.  So, even if you have a sliding glass door, you can still get a dog door that will work with your sliding glass door.  They even have motion sensor pet door kits now that you can buy for your sliding glass doors that will open your door automatically to let your dog in or out.

These really are a simple but wonderful, time-saving product.  Like I said, we love ours.  I don't know now how I went so many years without it.  At baddogsupplies.com we have a variety of dog doors to fit every need and budget.  This really is worth looking into if you have a dog.  If you are concerned about weather being an issue, don't be.  There are dog doors that are more energy efficient so that you don't need to worry about it being to hot or too cold and then having this opening for your dog door.

As always, we aim to try and help you in any way we can.  Check us out and if we don't have what you need, please let us know so that we can help you find it.

How to Train Your Dog With a Prong Collar

The last blog discussed what prong collars are. With this blog I would like to discuss how to use a prong collar for training.  Again, this is a brief blog, just a general overview.  This does not take the place of you doing more research yourself or seeking the advice of a professional regarding your prong collar training.  With that being said, let me now give you some tips on training with a prong collar.

As we discussed previously, prong collars are an effective tool to use in training your dog to walk properly without pulling on the leash, or dragging you along, lol.  In the last prong collar blog we discussed the proper placement of the prong collar so I will not go through that again in any detail. I will just reiterate that you need to unhook the collar to put it on and take it off. Do not just slide the collar over the dog's head.

Now that you have the correct size collar properly positioned on the dog's head, lets get started.  Begin walking your dog as usual on their leash.  The leash should be relaxed.  You do not need or want a constant pressure on the dog's neck.  As you are walking, if the dog begins to pull, lunge, bark, or acts in any other unacceptable behavior, then you are going to provide a correction with a sharp "pop" or "yank" on the leash.  This is just a very quick correction with a quick release. Again, no constant pressure.  If you need to make turns then you can either use your body as guidance to let the dog know what you are trying to do or you can use the leash and prong collar and provide a gentle guidance pull on the leash.  You can also teach your dog to sit with a prong collar by pulling up and back on the leash while providing the sit command.  The up movement lets them know to stop while you are walking and the pulling back lets them know you want them to sit.  The pressure you are using to provide correction is just enough force to stop the undesirable behavior.

A few extra things I want to cover here are a slight overlap from the last blog.  Prong collars come in sizes small, medium, and large.  Many professionals recommend the lighter collars even with larger dogs as the large collars are sometimes just too bulky or heavy.  You will however need to add additional links to a smaller collar to make it fit a larger dog.  Remember, the collar should fit up high on the dog's neck just behind the dog's ears and along the jawline.  If you remember, the collar has two rings.  The solid ring goes against the dog's neck, while the swivel ring is the one you hook your leash to.

Another brief  but important tip.  Make sure that the collar is not twisted when you place it on the dog's neck.  If you take the collar apart in the middle and just let it hang you can check to make sure it is not twisted.

So, there you have it. Some very quick tips on using a prong collar.  When used correctly, they are great collars for training.  If there are any questions though about whether you are using it the right way, then please contact a professional who can help.

At baddogsupplies.com we do carry dog prong collars.  As always, we aim to please.  If we don't have what you are looking for then please let us know so we can help you find exactly what you need or want.

What Are Dog Prong Collars?

There are many different types of dog training collars available.  For every type of dog training collar available, you will find people who do or don't use them or who agree or disagree with the use in the first place.  The purpose of this blog is just to make you more familiar with what a dog prong collar is and how it is typically used.  

Prong collars are dog collars that typically have a chain similar to the martingale chain as its base.  A martingale chain is a collar that has two loops.  One loop is a smaller loop used as a control loop that will tighten the second loop or the larger loop.  This helps to prevent the dog from slipping out of the collar and at the same time allows for a limited constriction on the dog's neck with an evenly applied pressure.  To make it a prong collar, in addition to the martingale style chain, the collar will have a series of chain links with blunted open ends that turn toward the dog's neck.  The combination of the martingale style collar which limits the constriction with the angle of the prongs will prevent the dog from being pinched by the prongs.  The main purpose of these collars is to prevent the dog from pulling by applying a pressure to the dog's neck at various points.  

If you decide to use a prong collar as a training tool, here are some important tips to keep in mind.  Many trainers will not begin with using the prong collar right away and if they do it is usually when the dog is around the twelve month old mark.  It is critical that the collar is fitted properly for the size of your dog.  When the collar is on your dogs neck it should sit up high on the dog's neck just behind their ears.  The collar should be snug so the prongs cannot move around to the  front of the dog's neck where they may cause unwanted pinching on your dog's trachea.  You can tell if the collar is on correctly by putting two fingers between the collar and the dog's neck.  If you can turn your two fingers sideways, then the collar is not too tight.  Also, you need to carefully follow the directions for placing the collar on your dog's neck by unhooking one of the links and then hooking the link back together once around your dog's neck.  The prong training collar should be removed when you are not training your dog.  You should not try to just slide the prong collar over your dog's head to put it on and take it off.  It is also important to note that many trainers believe that the prong collars should be used as a training tool when you are training the dog one on one rather than in group settings as it is believed by some that group training with the prong collar may cause aggressive behaviors in some dogs with long term training and use.  

Although the prong collars may look medieval and scary, if used properly with the right amount of training yourself, they can be a very effective training tool.  It is even suggested that the prong collars are often better training collars than the choke collars which are said to put more pressure and cause more damage to the dog's trachea in the long run.  

As with any dog training tool, you need to do your research.  You need to research not only the best training tool for you and your dog but also to make sure that whatever training tool you do use, is being used correctly to prevent poor outcomes or injury to your dogs.  This blog is very short and there is much more information out there as far as training with a prong collar.  As always, at baddogsupplies.com, we carry prong collars as well as many other valuable training tools for your dogs.  If you have any questions or concerns then please let us know so that we can help in any way possible.  Thank you for stopping by.