Fun Ways to Swag out your Dog

The fashion world has moved on to the animal kingdom and it's about time. That means it's time to spruce up your pooches image and add a little pizazz to your little furry friend's wardrobe. Boring collars and chains are out, it's all about finding your pet's personality with the cutest accessories imaginable.

 

Here's a list of ways to Swag out your dog and keep up with the fashion trends:

1. Bow ties

   This is the cutest and easiest way to add a sense of classiness and turn your dog into a dapper dog.

2. Flowers

   Adding colorful flowers for all the ladies of the k9 world will add a flare of femininity and softness

3. Sunglasses

   Yes that's right sunglasses! Your pup will look like a star with a nice pair of shades. It might take some getting used to but even if your pup decides he doesn't like them they sire will make for a super cute photo op.

4. Doggie nail polish

   Um yes, nail polish is no longer just for the human kind. Snazz up your little lady's nails with hot pink, a bit of sparkle and don't forget an accent nail!

5. Ties

   Yup ties are in and look very smart in an array of styles and prints you can go funky, retro, classic or playful.

6. Hoodies

   Nothing cuter than a dressed up doggie wearing a hoodie. Perfect for chilly weather and comes in such a variety, you can even coordinate and match.

7. Fairy Wings

   For the fearless. Fairy wings add that youthful playfulness of dress up time us girls cherished that will make everyone that glaces at your pup crack a smile – guaranteed.

8. Bandanas

   These things never go out of style. You can wear them a few different ways. My personal favorite is rolled up thin like a collar.

9. Snoods

   I love snoods with ears for humans and pups. They will warm up your little buddy and look amazingly cute. You can even crochet your own!

10. Costumes

    Last but not least Costumes are so much fun and no longer just for Halloween anymore. Dress up your dog as a dinosaur or a bunny perhaps and hit your local yappy hour. If you don't have a yappy hour make your own. Invite all of your friend's and their pets to your home and serve refreshments for the humans and pooches. It'll be tons of fun for everyone.

Now go on out there and show the world how fashionable your special pooch is!

My Basic Training Techniques

I get asked all the time for advice and training tips when people see how well behaved Bentley is and how many tricks she knows. The truth is that Pit Bulls are great dogs to train due to their strong desire to please humans. This is why everyone that owns a Pit, or any breed for that matter, should train them and if you do not know how hopefully these simple basic training tips I've put together will help. These are the methods I use in early training.

I got Bentley when she was a puppy so of course I started training her right away but let me tell you she went through the whole puppy chewing phase, that is inevitable, and yes, I left things unattended and returned to find them destroyed. The quicker you learn that a puppy is just like a child and wants to get into everything it's not supposed to, the better off you will be. With that being said, rule number one, of course, don't leave anything valuable lying around and rule number two invest in a number of chew toys so when your pup is bored with one, there will be another one to get his attention instead of your brand new pair of shoes that cost an arm and a leg.

As soon as you bring your dog home, no matter how old he is, you must start the training process. The first things you should teach your dog are his name and “no”. These are the easiest things to teach any dog, even kids can teach their dogs these two things. Treats work best when training your dog so I advise that you use a treat when starting off. When your dog starts getting into things he's not supposed to, say “no” sternly but don't yell. You want to get his attention and respect but not to have him scared of you. Soon enough your dog will know the meaning of “no”.

Teaching your dog to sit is simple and should be the first trick your dog learns. To teach your dog, simply call him to you and tell him to “sit”, your dog won't understand but will eventually get tired of standing and will sit. As soon as this happens, praise your dog and give him the treat. Practice this until your dog can sit on command.

“Lie down” is the next easiest command and is basically taught the same way as the sit command. If your dog is not wanting to lie down you can always use treats as motivation. Try placing the treat close to the ground and your dog's head should follow. Repeat the “lie down” command as you push the treat closer to his chest. This will cause him to lie down to get into a more comfortable position to eat the treat. After he is laying down, praise him and give him the treat. Repeat this until you no longer have to coax him down. You may use a hand signal when you are teaching your dog so he will reference the word and hand signal with the action you want him to make. I point my finger to the ground and snap but you may use whatever signal you are more comfortable with.

The next command I recommend that you teach your dog is “stay”. This one takes more patience but is a very valuable command for your dog to know, especially in public. You can teach your dog stay when he is in a sit or lie position as it will be easier. Slowly start walking away and saying the word “stay”, using a hand gesture if you want. The signal I use for stay is my arm out in front of me with my hand pointed straight up, just like a traffic signal officer would do. If your dog follows you say no and have him either sit or lie down again. Once you are able to walk a short distance with your dog in the stay command, stop and praise him. Keep repeating this with your dog until you are able to go further and further away. With Bentley, I am able to go into different rooms and even outside while she stays. I do this with treats right in front of her too and she won't touch them until I give her the release command. When I have made her stay as long as I want I give her a release command of “okay”. You may use any release command you please. The release command will come in handy for future tricks.

After these three easy commands have been taught you can start basing new tricks and commands off of them such as rolling over, shaking hands, going in a circle, sitting pretty, jumping through hoops and much more. Once you have the basic three you can expand and there's no limit to what you can teach your dog with lots of patience and understanding.

I suggest that you buy a clicker when you want to move on to more advanced training techniques. I have trained both with and without the clicker and have gotten positive results both ways but I feel that the clicker works very well. As soon as your dog hears the click, he knows he has done the trick correctly. When you start clicker training, you can start with old tricks and click when the command has been acted out and then give him a treat. This way he will associate the click with a treat and will know when the trick has been properly completed. Always click and give a treat. When your dog knows the commands well you won't need the clicker anymore.

As with anything, practice makes perfect. Don't give up or get frustrated because your dog may not be learning at the speed you would like. Instead have patience and keep at it. Remember, even as humans, we have been trained and conditioned from birth with patience from our parents so have some empathy for your learning pooch.

Cheers,

Nitro the Hero American Staff

This Amazing Pit Bull Story comes from Frankie Piccone and is about his wonderful dog Nitro
an American Staffordshire Terrier and his beloved son of 13yrs, may his sweet soul RIP.

It was Frankie’s first time owning this breed, having only had Golden Retrievers, Labradors and a German Sheppard but Nitro was by far the smartest of them all. At not even 4 months, Nitro was trained with just hand commands and basic words but by the 5th month he was doing tricks, climbing trees, jumping over 6 ft walls and following everything and anything he was commanded to do. Frankie taught him to be friendly and non aggressive, to walk by his right side without a leash and to not cross the street without a hand gesture. He was well behaved off leash and Frankie never had to worry about him chasing after any dog, cat, squirrel, or other animal. Nitro was so trained to listen to Frankie’s commands that even when a friend of his tossed a steak into the street and told him to get it, Nitro didn’t budge until Frankie gave him the gesture. By the 7th month Nitro was being trained to guard and protect and knew a trigger word, “tijerras”, which means scissors in Spanish and was only to be used for defense.

The story begins one night when Frankie, who worked with a professional drag racing team at the time, got back home to New York City from the NHRA circuit event in Texas and took Nitro out in his not so great neighborhood for a walk. Nitro was in the bushes taking care of business when out of the nowhere a man sneaks up behind Frankie with a gun to his back and tells him to give him all of his belongings. As Frankie reaches for his wallet, Nitro jumps out of the bushes and bites the man’s hand causing him to drop the gun. The man tries to grab the gun with his free hand so Frankie yells the trigger word “tijerras” and Nitro starts biting down harder as Frankie proceeds to kick the mugger. The man starts yelling and just a few minutes later a squad car pulls up. One of the neighbor’s must have called due to the screaming. The cop draws his gun out and says that he’s going to shoot the dog so Frankie stops kicking the man and commands Nitro to release him. Nitro releases the mugger and Frankie grabs him so the cop won’t shoot his dog. The cop is scared and asks where the leash is all the while the mugger is inching closer to where the gun was in the bushes. Frankie screams to the cop that the mugger is trying to reach for the gun he just tried to rob him with as another squad car pulls up. This time a woman cop draws her gun out and points it at Frankie screaming for him to get on the ground and release Nitro. Frankie doesn’t want Nitro to get shot so he lays on top of him covering him from open fire while the mugger gets cuffed. The cops then come over to Frankie wanting to detain him as well and still pointing their guns at him and Nitro. He explains what just transpired and after an id check they release him and tell him what a great dog he has and that he is brave for protecting his dog because had he not, Nitro would’ve been shot.

Now Frankie is very good friends with those officers and it’s been over 9 years since that incident happened. Nitro has always left a great first impression with anyone that he has met. He saved Frankie’s life 3 times at gun point in NYC, he just wishes he could have returned the favor as cancer got the best of Nitro. Frankie misses him dearly as he is the son he never had. Nitro was honestly loved by many people in this country and has touched many hearts. Frankie knows he’s in a far better place now and is looking for places to take Frankie when they finally reunite.

“RIP my beloved son daddy truly misses you.”- Frankie Piccone

It is stories like this that truly show what great companions Pit Bulls can be. They love and protect you with their whole being. Please don’t judge the breed, judge the deed.

Homemade Valentine's Day Dog Treats

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner I thought I would share a quick and easy dog treat recipe that I found on the Whole Foods website that you can make for your lucky pooch for this special occasion because let's face it, dogs want to be spoiled just like you.

PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA DOG TREATS

Makes 2 dozen

The parsley in these treats makes them a secret breath freshener for your pooch; substitute dried mint for half of the parsley, if you like. Don't hesitate to adjust the size of the treats to accommodate very small or very large dogs, baking them a few minutes less or a few minutes more, as needed.

Ingredients:
1 banana, peeled
1 cup oat flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dried parsley
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 egg, beaten
 
Method:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Put banana in a large bowl and use a spoon or potato masher to mash it thoroughly. Add oat flour, oats, parsley, peanut butter and egg and stir well to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Roll mixture into 24 balls, using about 1 tablespoon dough for each; transfer to a large parchment paper-lined baking sheet as done. Use the back of a spoon or the heel of your hand to press each ball into a (1 1/2- to 2-inch) coin. (I used a roller and heart shaped cookie cutters but you can choose whichever method you like) Bake until firm and deep golden brown on the bottom, 40 to 45 minutes. Set aside to let cool completely.

Storage note: It's best to store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or, freeze them to give to your pal later; just be sure to thaw the treats before handing them out.

Nutritional Info:
PER SERVING: Serving size: 1 each, 45 calories (15 from fat), 1.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 10mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 2g protein

Now go and spoil your little pooch!

The Los Angeles Pit Bull Problem

I was born and raised in Los Angeles County, more specifically the San Fernando Valley and as you may or may not know I have been obsessed with dogs for as long as I can remember. When I was younger my father would take me to the local L.A. County shelter on a regular basis because I would always  beg him to go see the dogs. Since I couldn't have one do to our living situation I would go visit them as much as I possibly could. Now that I'm older I still visit and it always breaks my heart to see as he sad eyes as I walk by each cage but something dawned on me back then that rings true still to this day. The majority of dogs are Pit Bull or Pit Bull  mixes. It's sad that these dogs are in there to begin with but what makes it worse for me as an avid Pit advocate and dedicated lover is the fact that the predominant breed is of the Pit variety. Now this got me to thinking and wondering why that is. I know they may not have the best reputation due to the manipulation of negative media portrayal so I started doing some analyzing on my own. Stray dogs obviously got caught and Pits can be quite crafty escape artists and with no tags or microchip it is inevitable that they get picked up but then there are a large number of owner surrenders. So why are so many owners surrendering their Pit Bulls?

Moving? No time? The cute puppy grew to be too large? Whatever the reason may be this is a sad thing to do, to surrender your dog? Los Angeles has an epidemic of Pit Bulls on death row. This needs to stop.

The statistics from the Los Angeles Animal Services website states that between the years of 2010 to 2014 15,307 Pit Bulls were euthanized.

That's only L.A. County and only in a four year span. Now think about the United States as a whole, the world as a whole. That's a lot of Pit Bulls dying!

How you can Help

1. If you are interested in getting a Pit Bull please do your research. Understand that a puppy grows and needs more space and activity so be ready to take on the responsibilities that come with owning these dogs. Dogs live for a number of years. Be ready to commit to these years.

2. Socialize, socialize, socialize! Introduce your dog to as many new people, dogs, cats, kids, animals as possible. Well behaved dogs all have one thing in common, socialization. This is the key to help against aggression problems that stem from lack of social stimulation.

3. Train your dog! I cannot stress this enough. Train your dog as soon as you bring him into your home. Untrained Pit Bulls are seen as hazards even though they may mean no harm. You must train your Pit Bull and avoid the negative stereotype.

4. Spay or Neuter. This is a huge reason Pits end up in Shelters, over breeding. Please if you are not a licensed breeder that has quality lineage, do not breed your dogs! I cannot tell you how many times I see backyard breeders pumping out puppies for profit and it disgusts me.

5. Look into adopting versus buying. The more dogs are adopted the less end up dying in shelters.

6. Become a breed ambassador. Show others how great owning a Pit Bull can be and promote positivity with your own well behaved dog as a role model. This does a great deal. I have encountered people who were scared of Pit Bulls but after meeting Bentley changed their minds.

7. Do not advocate dog fighting. Not only is it illegal it is highly immoral and horrible. Dogs are not made to fight each other to the death. Report any dog fighting you may come across at once. There is no excuse for this violence.

If everyone practices responsible techniques we could drastically reduce the number of unnecessary Pit Bull deaths. Imagine if you were given away to a shelter because you were no longer wanted only to live a lonely existence and eventually die. It's not fair for anyone. Let's work on this problem together.

Cheers,

6 Leash Pulling Tips

Leash pulling is a common problem and can make a walk with your dog very unpleasant. Have you ever decided you would rather not walk your dog just because he pulls too much and you don't feel like being dragged? Don't give up just yet. Walks are an excellent way to exercise your dog and yourself. If you work on these following tips, you will be able to enjoy your dog walks.

1. Most dog gets very excited when they hear the word “walk” or see their leash. When this happens some dogs might even start shaking. Let your dog calm down a bit before even putting on his leash.

2. Once you notice your dog has calmed down and is in a sitting position, put the leash on. If your dog cannot sit still then you need to go back to basic training commands and teach him to sit and stay.

3. If you are having a really hard time calming your dog down you can try wearing him out a little before the walk. Throw a ball around to tire him out a bit.

4. Once out the door, if your dog starts pulling just stop walking. When your dog stops pulling and sits, you may start walking again. Every time your dog pulls, just stop and wait, then resume after he has stopped. This step is time consuming and requires patience but it will condition your dog. Even if your walk consists of you stopping every ten seconds, keep doing it. Your dog will learn that he doesn't command the walks, you do, and you will only go when you want to.

5. If you have problems getting your dog to stop you can use treats to get his attention. His focus must be on you, you are in charge.

6. Last but not least, praise your dog to reassure good behavior.

Now get out there and enjoy some fresh air with your pooch.

Happy walking!