Patience and Consistency: Key Factors to Training Min Pins
Miniature Pinschers or more affectionately called Min Pins are in actuality very sweet dogs. They possess abundant energy and are known as fearless protectors of their human companions and domiciles. These dogs are fiercely loyal, extremely curious and yes, sometimes quite stubborn. In fact, dog enthusiasts claim that Mini Pinschers are not suitable pets for everyone. Training Min Pins entails two key factors: patience and consistency.
Before training your Min Pins, you have to know some very basic things about this breed. First of all, Mini Pinschers often act like puppies for most of their life. They like to frolic and their energy levels are almost never depleted. They also like wide open spaces and can stay outdoors for long periods of time. Because this breed of dog can become a handful, pet owners often fail to give their pets proper training or instructions. The Mini Pinscher eventually suffers from the “Little Napoleon” syndrome (spoiled or unmanageable,) suffer form obesity and / or both.
Training Min Pins can be tough, and it is said that you as pet owners, must find extra reserves of patience in case you decide to train your dogs by yourselves. Because of their puppy-like attitudes, the Min Pin can become extremely difficult during training. However, holding firm to your resolve may be just the thing to help your pets overcome this seeming “behavioral problems.”
One essential element in training your Min Pin is safety. You need to puppy-proof your home. Because this breed of dog is extremely curious, every part of your house will be subjected to your pet’s inquisitive nature. Also, try to remove possible choking hazards like bottle caps, thumb tacks or even nails. Training a Min Pin is advisable when the puppies are still relatively young. Older dogs will definitely be more difficult to handle, and because older dogs are more strong willed, you may spend many days of exhaustive and exasperating training with little progress.
Gentle but firm: in training Min Pins, one must learn the value of patience and consistency. Min Pins do not relate well at all to any form of abuse or neglect. In fact, they get more destructive or even harmful when subjected to cruelty and depravity. By the way, should you decide to train your dogs personally, you may want to visit one or two dog training center first or seek the aid of a professional dog trainer. Min Pins can be too much to handle without proper guidance, so be forewarned.
Some people who are well versed with training Min Pins often claim that the Min Pins will often mis-perform just for amusement sake. So unless you have a great deal of humor and can see how ludicrous the situation is, you might as well find a different breed to train. However, in case you begin your training, make sure that your pet knows that you will be the boss — and not the other way around. Make sure though that training isn’t painful or distressing to your pet. Otherwise, the next time around, you will only have a harder time training your Min Pins.
Katia Lorenzen learned miniature pinscher training when her dog was a puppy. And now she is pleased to tell you about the ultimate source of min pin training information: http://www.My-Miniature-Pinscher.com.
Dog Spaying and Neutering – Another Good Reason to Get Your Dog “Fixed”
Dog neutering and spaying are now now considered “mandatory” by most pet owners, but your local dog pound is still filled with unwanted dogs. That seems to prove that some people don’t get around to taking their pets to the vet for this crucial procedure.
Some people don’t choose to have their dog “fixed” before it breeds because the dog is male, and they don’t usually have the responsibility of finding homes for the puppies that he fathers on their neighbor’s unspayed bitch.
But why would someone choose to go through the bother of having a dog that isn’t spayed, and that goes into heat at least twice a year? Perhaps it’s because the owners have found that the puppies are easy to find homes for, either because it’s a popular breed, or because the puppies will become small dogs, which are always in demand.
The owners may even be able to sell their puppies to people who appear to have good, loving homes for the pups. So why not?
Because, even if the pups are easy to sell or give away, it doesn’t guarantee that they’ll live out their lives with the people who took the cute, cuddly creatures home with them. If the new owners run into problems, the puppy is very likely to end up at the local animals shelter, although the people who allowed their dog to breed will never know about it.
Here’s what happened to a litter of pups that I helped to find homes for:
A friend asked me to put a notice up on the bulletin board where I work, announcing that five free Border collie/chocolate lab puppies were available.
At the moment, these two breeds are popular, and within a week all the puppies were living with one of my fellow employees.
And within six months after that, I learned that three out of the five had ended up in the local animal shelter.
None of these folks contacted the person who actually gave them the puppies prior to giving them to the Humane Society, so she found out (through me) only after it was too late to do anything about it.
One puppy was given up because a veterinary check found it was suffering from epilepsy, an illness that would become expensive and could be emotionally devastating to the owners. They didn’t feel they could properly care for a puppy with such a serious health problem, and it’s unlikely that the Humane Society was able to find a new owner who was willing to take on the expense.
Another puppy was taken to the pound because the owners weren’t prepared for a typical Labrador problem – the puppy chewed up everything it could find when it was left alone. Again, both adults worked outside the home for long hours, and the puppy had ten hours every day to remove the stuffing from the couch, take the arms off teddy bears, and gnaw on chair legs.
When it was locked in the utility room it managed to find a loose edge in the vinyl flooring, which caused considerable expense. When left outside in the fenced yard it howled, whined, and dug up the flower beds. After several months and hundreds of dollars in damages, the puppy went to the pound.
And the third puppy was given up because an older dog in the house didn’t like the competition. As the puppy got older, the owners were seriously concerned that one of the dogs would be injured in a fight. Since they felt one of them had to go, and they knew and loved the older dog more, the pup ended up in a cage at the pound. Of the three, this one had the greatest chance of finding a new home.
I don’t blame any of these folks for not keeping the puppies, but it was unfortunate that the “cute” had grown out of the pups before they were taken to the Humane Society for a second try at adoption.
And the original owner took every care to find good homes for the puppies in the first place. She couldn’t foresee any of these problems, and did her best to screen the people who came to look at the litter.
Unfortunately, most people never know what happens when they give away a dog or puppy, so the consequences of not spaying or neutering their dog is never fully understood. They believe that if they give a puppy to a good home, he’ll be happy and content with his new owners. In many cases, however, this doesn’t turn out to be true. The animal shelters are full of dogs who once had a home, but the owners, for a variety of reasons, simply couldn’t keep them.
The moral of the story? You already know that, of course. Make an appointment with your veterinarian for a spaying or neutering operation, if you haven’t done so already. You and your dog will both be happier, and the local pound will have fewer unlucky pups to try to find homes for.
To learn more about dog spaying and neutering, read articles to help you choose the right dog for adoption, and to find a complete directory of local Humane Societies and animal shelters, visit http://www.Older-Dog.com
How to Understand Horses’ Tack
If you are going to look after horses, you need to understand their tack.
Colors – Stable colors are frequently displayed on brow bands, blankets and coolers.
Order of Predence – When tacking a horse, he should first be bridled and then saddled; when removing tack, generally the girth should be loosened and the stirrups run up on the saddle – then remove the bridle and replace it with a halter. Removing the saddle last avoids the sudden release of pressure on the horse’s back.
The Saddle – The pommel is the raised forward part. The cantle is the raised rear part. The tree is a form over which the saddle is built. Generally, it is made of wood with metal reinforcement, but frequently, it is made of light solid metal. The skirts are the small pieces of leather near the pommel covering the stirrup bars. The flaps are the large pieces of leather covering the girth buckles.
The weight of an adult’s English (flat) saddle with girth, stirrup leathers and irons, is approximately 15 to 18 pounds. Saddles vary considerably depending on their use. They are usually specially designed for the following purposes: general riding, polo, hunting, jumping, the show ring, military, flat racing, cattle work (the western or stock saddle which weighs from 30 to 40 pounds without silver).
Girths – There are several types of girth: A folded leather girth is most usual. A balding girth is one composed of three interlaced straps, providing freedom at the horse’s elbows. A Fitzwilliam girth is one with a thinner strap superimposed on the larger main girth. A Lonsdale girth is shaped so that it is narrow at the horse’s elbows and is reinforced with a thinner superimposed strap stitched to the main girth.
A canvas girth is used largely on saddle horses. A string girth is used when a horse is tender or has just recovered from girth sores. It is frequently used regularly by military and police organizations. An overgirth is an elastic web surcingle passing over the saddle and under the horse’s belly. It is used in addition to the regular girth, generally in racing, to assure the security of the saddle.
Stirrups – Stirrups are generally made of metal, although, for western riding, they are generally made of wood with leather wrappings on the tread in leather hoods. Metal stirrups are made in various sizes and weights – the widest about 52 inches. Metal stirrups are frequently canted toward the rear and hung off center to assist in the natural placement of the foot with heels down and toes pointing slightly upward and outward. Stirrups on flat (English) saddles are frequently referred to as “irons.”
Bridle – The bridle is usually composed of a crown piece, cheek straps, throat latch, brow band, bit, cavesson (nose band) and one or two reins. If a curb chain is used on a bit, it is held in place along the horse’s chin groove by a thin piece of leather known as a lip strap.
The bit may be attached to the bridle by a sewn-in leather loop, by buckles or by hook billets (metal fasteners in the shape of hooks).
Bits – Bits are usually made entirely of metal, but frequently the portion in the horse’s mouth is made of hard rubber. Bits are generally classified as: curb (or bit), snaffle (or bridoon), pelham or double (bit and bridoon or curb and snaffle).
A bit is a single bar in a horse’s mouth with shanks, and a curb chain to provide leverage, controlled by a single rein. A snaffle is a single bar (sometimes jointed) without a shank, controlled by a single rein. A pelham is a single bar with a shank and a curb chain controlled by two reins. A double bit is two separate bits – the snaffle (bridoon) and the curb (bit).
When the bridle is placed on the horse, the following should be checked for proper adjustment:
A. the bit – regulated by the cheek straps; B. curb chain; C. throat latch; and D., if used, the cavesson (nose band).
Now you know about horses’ tack, you will be able to take better care of your horse.
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The Horse in Myth and Fable
The horse has been, over the ages, variously a symbol of: courage, strength, speed (swifter than eagles), the passage of time and human life, pride (get on your high horse), death (Book of Revelation, horses of The Apocalypse), and war (sacred to and sacrificed to Mars).
In the Bible, persons with military rank were generally mounted on horses – those without rank very seldom; and the association of horses with war is frequent.
A white horse signified conquest and victory and was a good omen. In medieval days (chivalry) a white horse also signified innocence and chastity.
The ancients attributed special sanctity to a vow taken on horseback – one that could not be violated.
The horse was frequently the emblem of the sun, symbolizing creative life and giving solemnity and fruitfulness to the marriage vows. The Ruler of the Day – the Sun – was drawn in his chariot by celestial horses in his daily journey across the skies. The Dawn (The Goddess Aurora) was called the “White Horse” and had Pegasus as her steed after he had disposed of his earthly rider.
To the ancient Norsemen and the Romans (Diana) the horse was also similarly associated with the moon – drawing that god’s chariot across the skies.
The horseshoe in mythology represented the crescent moon. Nailed on doorways it was deemed to ward off witchcraft, the evil eye and Satan. It is still, today, a symbol of good luck. Attached to a wall or doorway, the open end should be up, otherwise “the luck will run out”.
Horses disturbed and restless in the morning and with their manes and tails tangled and twisted are supposed, according to old English legend, to have been ridden in the night by the pixies.
Superstitions about color include these: A good horse is never a bad color.
ONE white leg, buy him.
TWO white legs, try him.
THREE white legs, send him far away. (Sell him to your foes)
FOUR white legs, keep him not a day. (Feed him to the crows)
(He’s sure to cause you woes) The Hungarians and Spanish believe all black horses are lucky – the French think the reverse.
There is an Irish superstition that a pure white horse – when ridden by the owner – confers upon him the special gift of advising how to cure physical ailments.
The White Horse – The Saxon King Alfred in the ninth century had carved in a precipitous chalk cliff on the Berkshire Downs in England an enormous white horse, 374 feet long and 120 feet high, to commemorate his victory over the Danes at Ashdown. It is still visible today. The “Tale Horse of the Saxons”, in varied forms, is found in the coat of arms of several British Regiments, of noble houses descended from the Saxons and in the ensign of Kent.
The Trojan Horse – The Trojan Horse is well known to all who have read Greek history. This was the tremendous image of a mare, built of wooden planks, concealing a group of Greek soldiers. The Trojans were led to believe that this was a peace offering to the goddess Minerva by the Greeks as they ostensibly abandoned their ten year siege of Troy and sailed home.
The stratagem worked. The Trojans opened their gates and widened the gap in their walls to take in the wooden mare (and its soldiers). The Greeks, under Ulysses, returned from their nearby island hideout – and Troy fell!
According to legend, Troy – built by Neptune who was the god of horses as well as the sea – was taken three times and each time a horse was the cause of its downfall. First, when the Trojan king refused a promised reward of six sacred horses to Hercules for the rescue of his daughter; second, the Greek’s wooden mare (The Trojan Horse) and third, when a Greek horse stood in the gates, preventing the Trojans from shutting them against their enemies!
The horse has indeed figured in many superstitions and fables!
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