Adopting a canine comes with responsibilities. Owners must commit themselves to caring for their pets, providing food, water, shelter, and company throughout their lives. They must be willing to make sacrifices, when necessary. Unfortunately, many people make the decision to abandon their dogs, leaving them to fend for themselves, or face the prospect of euthanization at a shelter. The reasons are varied, and the outcomes are almost always avoidable.

In this article, we’ll present the most common reasons owners abandon their canines. We’ll also offer alternative solutions, so you’ll know there are options.

Health Problems

Many dogs suffer from health issues, some of which can be particularly heartbreaking. For example, hip dysplasia may make it difficult for your pet to move without pain. Digestive issues, skin conditions, and heart and respiratory problems can also test an owner’s patience. These and other health-related challenges prompt many owners to throw in the towel, and abandon their pets.

If your canine suffers from a debilitating health problem, ask his veterinarian whether medications or surgery might help. There may be options you have yet to consider.

Behavioral Issues

This is a common reason for abandonment. Dogs often exhibit behaviors that are annoying and difficult for owners to manage. An owner might make a few attempts to curb the undesired habits, but give up in frustration. There are two noteworthy problems.

First, most behaviors surface because of training. If your pet is displaying behavioral issues, there’s a good chance you neglected to train him properly. It’s not too late. Nearly all unwanted behaviors can be addressed successfully with the right approach.

This leads to the second problem. When owners make attempts to deal with behavioral issues, they often do so with the wrong approach. For example, they might hit a canine that barks excessively. If the animal is barking for attention, such a response will likely encourage him to continue doing so.

If your pet is expressing behaviors that you dislike, consider hiring a professional trainer to help curb them.

Moving Into An Apartment

Most apartment complexes, as well as other communities, have rules against dog ownership. But there are options. For example, some complexes welcome pets, including small canines. If your dog is large, ask the landlord if he or she would be willing to let him live in the complex given certain guarantees.

Also, many owners have successfully worked out special arrangements with their property managers. Some have agreed to pay a slightly higher rent; others happily sign a longer lease; and still others agree to keep their pets indoors during certain hours.

Most people who abandon their canines because they are moving into apartments have not exhausted their options.

Inability To Care For A Pet

Some people become too sick to care for their dogs. For example, an illness might make it difficult for a person to move easily, preventing her from taking her pet for walks. An owner may even become bedridden, and thus unable to feed her canine.

If you are ill, and can no longer care for your pet, check with your friends, co-workers, and family. There’s a good chance someone will step forward to provide your dog with a new home.

Lack Of Funds

Caring for a canine can be expensive. Depending on your pet’s size, food may cost up to $1,000 a year. Toys and supplies may cost another $300 to $400 a year. Grooming and ongoing veterinary care might add another $600 to the annual bill. Medications might cost $500 a year while certain surgical procedures may cost thousands of dollars.

Given this, it’s understandable that some owners feel financially stressed, and compelled to give up their dogs. But again, there are options. Think about ways to stretch your dog’s toy and supply budget; look for clinics that offer routine checkups for a discount; and cut back on the nonessentials.

If you’re forced to leave your canine, and have no other options, do everything possible to find him another home. By doing so, you may ultimately save his life.

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With thousands, if not millions, of maltese owners around the world, it is not surprising if you will notice a lot of people wanting to know as much as they could regarding maltese training. Most owners turn to internet to obtain free suggestions about training and other information regarding the breed while others pay out a small amount on magazine subscriptions, books and electronic books. Anyway, that’s what responsible pet owners must be – keen to learn every info about the breed and making use of what they learn to training and tending their household pets.

Training a breed as intelligent as the maltese is simple. The only challenging thing about it is getting your dog to concentrate on what you are teaching him. Taking into consideration the dog’s, especially a puppy’s short attention span and highly inquisitive character, this one is certainly challenging. It is therefore vital that you know how to manage distractions during training.

When training a certain command for the very first time, pick a quiet spot in the house in which he’s unlikely to hear or see something that could capture his attention. Once he has mastered the command, slowly add distractions into the picture. You may want to switch the radio on softly while gradually increasing the volume throughout the maltese training session. Other deeds that could distract a pet include:

- ask someone to play ball at the center of the room – ask a friend to participate in the training – leave his food bowl or favorite treat on the floor – wave your arms around – switch on the television and choose a show featuring dogs – whistling – let your phone ring – ask someone to create a squeaky sound If he remains focused on the training, give him reward, be it praise or treat. As the training progress, combine several distractions to strengthen his capacity.

If he can be trusted with the command already regardless of the distractions, it’s best to train him to different areas such as the living room, kitchen or porch. These areas tend to be frequented by people hence the distraction. This aims to make him realize that he needs to obey the command regardless of the spot, the scenario and the people around him. If he stays focused on the training and obeys the command, give him something truly worthwhile such as the most delightful treat you have in your house.

While giving of treats is an effective approach to achieve successful maltese training, be reminded that the use of it ought to be controlled and must be gradually replaced with praise or time to play to prevent him from becoming treat dependent. It prevents weight problems too.

Dealing with distractions during training can be irritating sometimes. Just be prepared to extend your determination a little longer to help you get by.

Clare Rosewood has been writing articles about maltese training. Check out her site to learn more about the breed and maltese training in general.

If you have a dog and you need to train it but you don’t have the energy, patience or time to devote to it, you aren’t alone. This is an undertaking that requires a lot of all of these things, and what you want is a safe, well adjusted dog and for you to be happy with the results, too. What may help you get there is to hire a professional dog trainer.

When it comes to hiring a dog trainer, in general, the quality and cost will vary. Training philosophies, too, will also vary considerably between trainers, focused on human and animal interactions as they are. Therefore, utilize these parameters to narrow down your selection.

Take a look at your budget and what you need in terms of obedience training services. In some cases, training may even be free, supplied weekly by volunteers who work in shelters or parks. In other cases, you may pay up to $100 or more per session. A “reasonable fee” will vary, depending on where you live, the trainer’s experience, how long the program is, and what goals you have for your pet.

Take a look at your schedule. Some training programs happen every week, others do so more often. You may have to leave your dog at the training facility and pick it up afterward, or you may opt to sign up for a program where the training involves you as well as your dog. Most training programs do suggest that you spend some time with your dog training him or her every day, either at the trainer facility or at home.

In some cases, you may want to consider so-called “boot camp” training programs. In that case, your dog will go away to a special facility for quite awhile, up to several weeks. The training the dog receives is intensive, happens over the training period of time, and it happens very regularly, too. However, don’t be concerned that this is too hard on dogs. Dogs love this type of treatment. Near the end of this type of training, you, too, will usually have to participate so that the dog’s obedience is “transferred” from the trainers to you.

The results of these programs are truly amazing much of the time, though. For those dogs that graduate, they become disciplined and are very eager to follow your instructions. This is true even when they’re not special service dogs. Seemingly contradictory, though, these dogs usually don’t show any ill effects or signs of repression. Instead, they are enthusiastic and play happily.

Next, take a look at the goals for your obedience training. Do you want a dog that you can enter into shows, or do you just want a dog that won’t chase other pets or gnaw on your furniture? In addition, you’ll need to consider the breed and temperament of your dog to determine what type of and how much training is going to be needed.

Take a look at your dog’s temperament; for example, is your dog fearful, either because he was mistreated before or just because it’s submissive? Or, your dog may be assertive, either because it’s been abused previously and has had to fight back, or simply because it wants to be “leader of the pack.” The training you choose is going to depend on how you want to influence your dog and the characteristics you want to mold.

No matter what your goals are, and no matter your budget or commitment to time, you’ll want to choose a trainer who has a lot of patience and a lot of energy, in addition to a deep affection for dogs in general. Most have these characteristics in abundance, or they wouldn’t be in that profession.

Besides these things, though, you want a trainer who agrees with you in terms of philosophy and who wants to achieve the same goals for your dog that you do. Some trainers feel that dog training is just as much or even more about training the owner than training a dog, and there may be some truth to that, sometimes. Some trainers are friendly, lenient, and seek to “connect” with the dog, while others are almost military in their bearing and expect to be able to “command” the dog. Many trainers utilize a mix of both styles.

Your training style preferences will vary, but regardless, training style is not usually entirely subjective. Even if you have disagreements with your trainer, you’ll usually have some areas of agreement, too. Consistency, persistence and patience, as well as your need (as the pack leader) to lead are just a few of these commonly held principles.

When it comes to choosing your trainer, ask for recommendations from those you share similar values with and don’t be afraid to shop around. You may have to change trainers over the course of things in order to find one that meets your needs. However, be careful that you don’t change things without careful thought. Something dogs need most is consistency, as well as a steady environment so that they can learn well.

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