BASICS OF DOG TRAINING

Have you recently brought home a little puppy? Then you may be interested in giving your dog some basic training. You can get an obedience instructor for the job, or you yourself can train your pet.

The fees of the obedience instructors can differ, and you would also have to take your dog to the class where the training would take place. But if you are the trainer, you can have the whole thing done almost without any expense, and that too at your own home. So if you have decided to be the trainer, you must have some knowledge on dog training first.

You should teach your dog three basic things first – sit, stay, and come. The first thing you need to teach your dog is to sit. The one thing you would surely need for this is dog treats.

Make sure that you choose a quiet place for this training, so as not to distract your dog’s attention. Ask the dog to sit again and again while you hold the treat over his head. Thus, he will have to turn his head up, and will sit there willingly to get the treat.

If he still doesn’t sit, gently push his back down. When you have made him sit, praise him and give him his treat. If you repeat the word ‘sit’, your dog will realize that the command is related to sitting and will obey you to receive his rewards.

The next thing you need to teach your dog is to stay. This part of the training can be a little difficult. This is a command which your dog would have to learn when you teach him to “come”. Make him sit in a place without any direction.

Repeat the word “stay” as you gradually walk back. Maintain an eye contact with the dog, and if he rises from his position, say “no” and start all over again. This training does take some time and patience. It would be easies if you initially get someone to sit and hold him back if he doesn’t “stay”.

If he has learnt this part, try walking away with your back towards the dog. He will probably rise now to follow you. Tell him “no” and repeat the process asking him to stay in his position as you move away.

When your dog has passed this test, teach him to come. Make him stay and then call him in a cheerful voice and thump your knee as you repeat the word “come”. Reward him, as he will probably respond to your call promptly enough.

The key word of dog training is praise, and not punishment, as dogs respond more to a positive behavior, rather than a negative one. Keep these tips in mind and you would be able to install these three basic commands into your dog.

If you follow this process of training, you would surely be the proud owner of an obedient pet whom everybody praises.

The Karelian Bear Dog

The Karelean Bear Dog is a close cousin of the Russian Laika and there is a very strong similarity between the two. However the Karelean Bear Dog is a native of Finland. The Finnish name for the dog is Karjalank Arhukoira. the earliest settlers of Finland had to survive in a rugged land and hunting rather than agriculture was their main source of food. They needed a dog that was strong and fearless to hunt and bring down the animals of the region, which included deer, elk, moose and bear. The Karelean Bear Dog has always been the hunting dog of Finland and has changed very little from the earliest times. Because it is of a limited genetic pool the lines are quite pure. It became a very popular hunting dog for large game and there was a considerable number of these dogs at the turn of the century in northern Europe and Scandinavia. However the two World Wars decimated the population. It is now a rare dog and today all of the Karelean Bear Dogs can be traced back to only forty dogs which were still in existence after the war.

The dog has exceptional hunting ability although not exceptionally large. The height at the withers is about 22-24 inches. It is always black with white markings . The body is of a Spitz type (short backed and squared off with a tail which curls over the back.) Some Bear Dogs are born with a bob tail. The coat is not profuse or long, but is quite dense and double in nature. He is a dog with good "substance" but not the appearance of massiveness. He needs to be an agile and speedy hunter and is therefore of moderate size and is slightly longer than he is tall. The ears are upright. He has a keen sense of hearing and smell and is considered a scenting dog rather than a sight hound.

The Karelean Bear Dog has today gained a popular following in Canada where it is used as a dog which does hunt and bring down the large game and especially bear, but this of course is only done during "bear hunting season". However there is now another use for the Bear dog. Today there are resort owners who keep two or three of these dogs and use them on a regular basis to patrol their resorts and keep the bears away as a protection for the summer tourists. There happens to be an extremely interesting experimental program in progress at a place called the Wind River Institute in Canada which is utilizing the Bear Dog to "train" bears to stay away from populated areas. It is unknown at this time whether this program is effective but to all appearances it may very well be a new and quite useful application of the Bear Dog. The dogs are trained to bark and chase away ( rather than chase down and kill) the problem bears which raid the garbage dumps and so on...and correspondingly the bears are "trained" to stay away from the populated areas. This breed has a courageous and fierce natural hunting instinct, it will follow its game to the end and is persistent and unyielding. This is a breed which has never deviated from its original purpose and should not be owned by the casual pet owner.

-By: Michael Russell

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Dogs

Karelian Bear Dog Puppies

The Beautiful Karelian Bear Dogs

I first met the Karelian Bear Dog in 1997, and when I saw this beautiful breed with its excellent conformation and color contrast, I fell in love with it. This breed is an Arctic breed from Finland originally and because of wars, later a breed of Russia. Like many far Northern Breeds the dog is hardy and has a thick coat that keeps it warm in severely cold weather. Different from many Northern Breeds like Malamutes or Siberian Huskies, the Karelian Bear Dogs' coat is short (in comparison) but dense.
This breed can be strong willed and yet very willing to please and they are extremely quick to learn anything. They pick up obedience training very fast, much faster than many other breeds, and do well in competitions. They are not seen very often in Obedience Competition because they are a rare breed.
This breeds' fame lies in that it is a natural protector of property and has the courage to move bear or large animals out of its area. The KBD is a natural hunter and is very devoted to its owner.

Information about Karelian Bear Dogs from American Kennel Club

Karelian Bear Dog Did You Know?

•The Karelian Bear Dog has been assigned the Working Group designation.

•The first petition to add the Karelian Bear Dog to the Foundation Stock Service program was May 2005. It was approved on June 9, 2005.

•The Karelian Bear Dog originally was a dog of native Russian Peasants, and Finnish peoples of northeastern Europe. They were used for hunting and as a watch dog.

•In Finland, its country of origin, it is spelled Carelian, with a C. In the Finnish language it is called Karjalankarhukoira.

•The Karelian Bear Dog is primarily a hunting breed, but can be trained for and compete in obedience trials, search and rescue trials and sled dog trials in its native Finland.

•The Karelian Bear Dog is a silent hunter, and only barks once the game is stopped or treed. Working with an experienced hunter, he communicates the type of animal he has located at by the sound of his bark.

•Today, the Karelian Bear Dog is one of the 10 most common dog breeds in Finland.

Karelian Bear Dog History
The Karelian Bear Dog originated in northwestern Europe, and was originally the dog of Russian and Finnish peasants. The breed was mainly used for hunting and as a watch dog. Only the toughest survived fightings, and hunting under very hard conditions.

The Karelian is a Finnish breed. Early dogs had red, red-gray and black & white coats. The Komi dog is considered to be the origin of the breed and basic stock dogs originated from Ladoga's Carelia, Olonets & Russian Carelia. In further breeding, the progeny was selected to the Karelian Bear Dog type and black & white dogs were preferred for breeding. The first breed standard was established in 1945. The first Karelian Bear Dogs were registered in the Finnish Kennel Club in 1946. Today the breed is one of the top 10 most common breeds in Finland.

Origin of the Karelian Bear Dog

The area once known as Karelia in Northern Europe has always been populated by tough, big-game hunting canines. For a long time, similar dogs had been bred in Karelia for hunting large game. These dogs were known to have followed the first settlers to Finland thousands of years ago. These early tribes of people survived on what they could hunt, which is why dogs that were hardy, brave, smart, and tough enough to tackle bear, wolf, lynx were so important.
The Karelian Bear Dog closely resembles the Russo-European Laika. It evolved in the part of Finland claimed by the Soviet Union earlier this century. The Karelian Bear dog, which is more numerous outside its own country than any of the Russian Laikas, is used by elk hunters throughout Finland, Sweden, and Norway. It was first exhibited at a dog show in Helsinki in 1936, but after World War II the breed almost became extinct. All modern Karelians are traced back to forty dogs found and saved after the war. The Karelian Bear Dog was very popular towards the turn of the century when it could be found in vast numbers. Its numbers declined in the 1960's, but its popularity has been on the rise and it is now being bred in North America and many European countries.
Among this avid hunter's game are buck, wild boar, hare, and moose. He is also fearless enough to fight the wolf and bear and therefore, functioned as a protector by hunting these large wild animals. In his homeland of Finland, the dog is used mostly on elk and is the favored dog of native big-game hunters.
(from dogbreedinfo.com/karelianbeardog.htm)

Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. -- Mark Twain