Experienced and professional animal trainer provide their insights in answering this question :
A. Male dogs are capable of reproducing by the age of 6-8 months. I would not recommend breeding before two years of age as to allow the dog to properly develop and for the owner to assess the dog’s health and behavioral quality.

How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced pet care professionals :

Male dogs are sexually active year-round and can be capable of siring puppies when they`re as young as 5 months, but they are most fertile after 12-to-15 months of age, once they are fully physically mature.
Smaller breeds tend to sexually mature earlier and can be bred at 6 months. Whereas, larger breeds should wait until 18 months. Male dogs can begin breeding between 6 to 12 months of age. Female dogs should be bred later than males, at least after their first heat cycle.
However, just because a male dog is over 12 doesn`t mean that he is incapable of siring puppies. Older male dogs are still capable of impregnating females, but they aren`t as fertile as they once were and may need more tries to get a female dog pregnant.
Your dog is officially an “adult” once they have finished growing. They look and behave like a grown dog. Their age ranges from 1 to 7 years.
While males are typically larger than females even if there the same breed, an ideal couple is close to the same size and weight. The female doesn`t carry the whole weight of the male during mating, but a significantly larger male could hurt her.
Male dogs have homosexual sex under a variety of circumstances. They mount each other in dominance displays, and that mounting can involve anal penetration. (This is probably what happened in Tennessee if, in fact, there was even sex involved.)
Dogs as old as 12 years or older can theoretically become pregnant. However, these late pregnancies are often associated with complications for both mother and pups. Let`s look at why dogs can become pregnant so late in life, and how to know when it is too late to breed your female.
Typically the estrus period for dogs is around 18 days. Why is my male dog whining so much? There are several reasons your male dog is whining so much including; excitement, anticipation, apprehension or anxiety. This behaviour may increase if there is a nearby female dog in heat.
While it`s perfectly natural for dogs to want to mate, it can be a nuisance for owners who aren`t prepared. Some of the most common symptoms of male dogs `in heat` include increased aggression, restlessness, and mounting behaviour. Your dog may also seem more clingy than usual and could urinate more frequently.
Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not age at a rate of 7 human years for each year in dog years.” AKC is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to akc.org.
For example, if your dog was born 7 years ago, he is 49 years old in “dog years.” (Or, stated differently, a 7-year old dog is at a similar stage in aging to a 49-year old human.)
Today, some seven in 10 (71%) younger men aged 18-44 own a dog compared to just three in five (60%) of their female counterparts.
Male dogs should only be bred once they are at least 1 ½ to 2 years of age. Many health tests cannot be run on dogs until they are two years of age, so you should only breed your male dog when he is of age and cleared for breeding.
Pet owners are usually extremely concerned about any kind of sexual or so-called behaviours that they observe in their pets. Asexuality is the reference status for an animal that is supposed to be a kind of living toy and the vet will be immediately called in case of anything that could look like sexual behaviour.
The short answer is that yes, technically speaking, dogs can survive and even do well on a vegan or vegetarian regimen, says Cummings Veterinary Medical Center at Tufts University.
More attention paid to male dogs: If a female dog in heat sees a male dog, she`ll “flirt” with him by exposing and raising her rear in his direction while moving her tail out of the way. Excessive genital licking: A female dog in heat will excessively lick (or “clean”) her genital area.
While dogs are able to – and should be permitted to – mate with each other, your doggo can definitely live without mating! In short, it will never harm your dog if he or she can`t mate, and it`s important to recognize that spayed and neutered dogs can live just as long as other pups who have not been fixed.
Not only are they not fertile, but their reproductive organs won`t open for penetration unless they are in heat so they can`t even engage in intercourse. If you discover that your female dog has engaged in intercourse, chances are that her heat symptoms were minimal or silent, so you did not realize she was in heat.
How long are dogs pregnant for? – A dog pregnancy can vary between 56 – 70 days. Typically, puppies should arrive about 63 days (just over 2 months) after conception.
How long do dogs live? On average, dogs live for 10-13 years which is roughly equivalent to 60-74 human years, although there is no hard and fast way of working this out. When thinking about `how long do dogs live? `, it`s important to note that elements like lifestyle, food and breed can affect a dog`s life span.
What causes `dog depression`? There are many factors that can impact on a dog`s emotional state – these include changes to routine, environment, social group, or as a result of chronic stress or anxiety resulting from fears and phobias or lifestyle.
It`s not that dogs are exclusively attracted to female adults. It`s that dogs like particular things adult females do. Dogs like women`s softer voices and smaller figures. They may be intimidated by a man`s larger frame, deeper voice, and facial hair.
Dogs sometimes lick just to show affection. This is true when they lick us, as well as when they lick other dogs. Licking also helps dogs relax and bond. According to dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, licking releases endorphins that feel pleasurable to the dog doing the licking as well as the recipient.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Q. How do I determine how much my overweight pet should weigh?
ANSWER : A. There are many tools to determine overweight and obesity levels in pets. A new tool, morphometric measurements and body fat index, are available to accurately determine a pet’s ideal weight; this will allow an accurate determination of the amount of food a pet should receive to achieve weight loss. Feeding the correct amount will lead to greater weight loss success.

There are many weight loss food options to help pets reach their ideal weight. Your veterinarian can help make a ideal weight recommendation. Here are some tips to help your dog lose weight in a healthy and safe way:

1. Diet: Providing a healthy and well balanced diet is essential to your pet’s overall health. Finding the right food for your dog can be a challenging process. For those overweight animals many commercial dog companies offer weight loss diets, but it is important to evaluate food labels for adequate nutritional content.

You want to ensure you are not missing other essential vitamin or mineral content. Volume of food is also important and the amount of food that works for one breed of dog may not be the same for another breed of dog. Portion control as opposed to free-choice feeding can help your dog to drop a few unnecessary pounds.

There are also prescription weight loss foods designed by veterinary nutritionists, such as Hill’s r/d (http://bit.ly/1AoENSd). Some pet owners find that home cooking is the best option for helping to provide a well-balanced and realistic diet plan. There are websites such as balanceit.com that offers recipes to fit your dog’s specific needs. Consulting with your veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist to find the appropriate diet is a great way to help your dog be as healthy as possible.

2. Exercise: Another great tactic for weight loss for your dog is exercise. Whether this is through running, walking or playing with a favorite toy all of these are wonderful types of exercise to help keep your dog at a lean and healthy weight.

For those pet owners with busy schedules utilizing professional dog walking services or playtime through dog daycare services is another option. It has been shown that those pet owners that exercise regularly with their pets generally live a healthier lifestyle.

3. Physical therapy: As animals age pet owners offer encounter their favorite canine having more difficulty walking and have a dwindling desire to play with toys. Physical therapy, specifically hydrotherapy is a wonderful way to help older and arthritic animals gain more mobility and lose weight. Hydrotherapy has been proven to have several therapeutic effects on the body including, muscle strengthening, relief of swelling, decreased joint pain, less stiffness in limbs, improved circulation, weight loss, and increased tissue healing to name a few. For more information on the benefits of hydrotherapy:
http://bit.ly/1w1qqoy

4. Veterinary visit and blood work: Weight gain can also be related to underlying health concerns such as hypothyroidism or other endocrine disorders. Scheduling a veterinary evaluation and routine blood work can be another important component in increasing the longevity of your dog’s life. Conditions such as hypothyroidism that predispose dogs to gain weight can be treated with a daily medication to improve hormonal balance. If feel that your dog is unnecessarily overweight there can be an underlying health condition that needs to be addressed.

5. Healthy treats: Pet owners love the chance to reward their favorite canine companion with treats and most dogs jump at the chance to consume these delicious products. The problem is many treats, which can include commercial dog treats or table scrapes can add many unnecessary calories to your dog’s daily intake. Reading labels and making note of the calories in these treats is an important component of understanding your dog’s overall health. Treats should not exceed more than 10 percent of your pet’s daily calories. There are healthier treats that can be offered to your pet to keep calories lower yet provide a fuller sensation. A pet owner can add steamed or pureed vegetables, such as carrots, green beans or sweet potato to add more fiber and thus a fuller feeling for your dog.

Read Full Q/A … : How Do I Determine if My Dog is Overweight? – Pet Health Care

Q. Whenever I take my dog on walks he always barks at people and others dogs in my neighborhood. What should I do to resolve the problem
ANSWER : A. The very first thing to do is to make sure your dog is getting sufficient physical and mental exercise every day. A tired dog is a good, happy dog and one who is less likely to bark from boredom or frustration. Depending on his breed, age, and health, your dog may require several long walks as well as a good game of chasing the ball and playing with some interactive toys.

Figure out what he gets out of barking and remove it. Don’t give your dog the opportunity to continue the barking behavior.

Ignore your dog’s barking for as long as it takes him to stop. That means don’t give him attention at all while he’s barking. Your attention only rewards him for being noisy. Don’t talk to, don’t touch, or even look at him. When he finally quiets, even to take a breath, reward him with a treat. To be successful with this method, you must wait as long as it takes for him to stop barking. Yelling at him is the equivalent of barking with him.

Get your dog accustomed to whatever causes him to bark. Start with whatever makes him bark at a distance. It must be far enough away that he doesn’t bark when he sees it. Feed him lots of good treats. Move the stimulus a little closer (perhaps as little as a few inches or a few feet to start) and feed treats. If the stimulus moves out of sight, stop giving your dog treats. You want your dog to learn that the appearance of the stimulus leads to good things.

Teach your dog the ‘quiet’ command. Oddly, the first step is to teach your dog to bark on command. Give your dog the command to “speak,” wait for him to bark two or three times, and then stick a tasty treat in front of his nose. When he stops barking to sniff the treat, praise him and give him the treat. Repeat until he starts barking as soon as you say “speak.” Once your dog can reliably bark on command, teach him the “quiet” command. In a calm environment with no distractions, tell him to “speak.” When he starts barking, say “quiet” and stick a treat in front of his nose. Praise him for being quiet and give him the treat.

As in all training, always end training on a good note, even if it is just for obeying something very simple, like the ‘sit’ command. If you dog regresses in training, go back to the last thing he did successfully and reinforce that before moving on again. Keep sessions short, 15-20 minutes max, and do this several times a day.

Read Full Q/A … : Help! My Dog Barks & Lunges At Other Dogs! — Your Dog's Friend

Q. Rescued a dog almost two weeks ago, and now that her kennel cough is gone her personality shines!! No previous training, how should I start?
ANSWER : A. POST FOUR:

After your dog is familiar with the behavior you lured from scratch, and taught to your dog, you can start to use the “no-reward marker” I talked about. What you do is ask the dog to perform the behavior, and if the dog does not perform the behavior, you simply say your no-reward marker (choose one: eh-eh, hey, uh-oh, oops) show them the treat, put it behind your back, and BRIEFLY ignore your dog. Just turn your back for a second or two, before turning back to your dog and saying, “let’s try that again.” When you’re ready to start over with your dog, make sure you move around. If you are repeating the same cue while in the same position, while your dog is in the same position, you are likely to receive the same results. The more you move around, and start fresh, the better your chances are of having your dog listen to your cue the second time around. BIG rewards when they dog it successfully! Lots of praise and treats.

My no-reward marker is “hey.” When my dog does something wrong I say, “hey” and she immediately understands that she needs to offer a different behavior. This is clear to her. I don’t have to say it in a mean way, I simply say, “hey” in a normal tone of voice and she understands what the word means.

Once you’ve built up that connection and communication with your new dog, you can work on all kinds of fun behaviors! I personally enjoy the more zen-like behaviors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruy9UMcuGh8

I like to teach my dog fun tricks that offer her a “job” to do of sorts like object retrieval: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4iertZSva8

(object retrieval training completed; what it looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx0Dml28FGY)

Scent-games are fun too! Very confidence building. Hide a REALLY smelly treat in a box, and place that box in a line of boxes. Let your dog go in the room while saying something like “search!” or “find it!” and watch them hunt for that smelly treat! Lots of rewards when they find it!

Read Full Q/A … : M – Happy Tails – Dachshund Rescue of North America

Q. My Beagle listens to me, but cries & whines when I’m gone & doesn’t listen to my parents. I adopted him just a couple days ago. Any tips for my folks?
ANSWER : A. I really highly doubt that your Beagle listens to you and has formed a connection with you in just a couple of days. It takes months to build up any kind of serious connection with your dog. You need to work on communication with your dog through training them to understand different cues. For instance the Leave-It cue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1TS5nA7z5Q

You have to work on bonding with your dog through mental stimulation. Training is very important. Luring each new behavior from scratch, and training using treats is how you form a strong bond with your new dog. No scolding is ever necessary… work on being calm, and positive, all the time.

If your dog is crying/whining when you leave, this may be separation anxiety. You’re going to have to separation train this dog from scratch. This dog needs to learn that separation can be a good thing! Tell your “folks” to NOT scold the dog when he is crying/whining after you leave, because that will make your dog MORE anxious when you leave next time. Your dog will be dwelling on the negative if your parents fuel your dogs negative feelings towards you leaving. FUN things should happen when you leave. Your parents should pull out the treats and start doing some basic obedience training with your dog. Your parents should stuff a Kong filled with awesome treats (peanut butter) and give it to him so he feels happy when you leave.

I have some excellent separation anxiety exercises you can work on. If you’d like, you can purchase a consultation with me, and I will go over how to separation train from scratch. It will make your dog comfortable being alone, guaranteed.

Read Full Q/A … : I Don't Like My Mother

Q. What can I do to stop my dog from barking at people and front doors?
ANSWER : A. Ignore your dog’s barking for as long as it takes him to stop. This means don’t give him any attention at all while he’s barking. Your attention only rewards him for being noisy. Don’t talk to him, don’t touch him, and don’t even look at him. When he finally quiets down, even to take a breath, reward him with a treat. To be successful with this method, you must wait as long as it takes for him to stop barking. If he barks for an hour and you finally get so frustrated that you yell at him to be quiet, the next time he’ll probably bark for an hour and a half. Dogs learns that if they bark long enough you’ll give them attention.

Teach your dog the ‘quiet’ command. It may sound nonsensical, but the first step is to teach your dog to bark on command. Give your dog the command to “speak,” wait for him to bark two or three times, and then stick a tasty treat in front of his nose. When he stops barking to sniff the treat, praise him and give him the treat. Repeat until he starts barking as soon as you say “speak.” Once your dog can reliably bark on command, teach him the “quiet” command. In a calm environment with no distractions, tell him to “speak.” When he starts barking, say “quiet” and stick a treat in front of his nose. Praise him for being quiet and give him the treat.

When your dog starts barking, ask him to do something that’s incompatible with barking. Teach your dog to react to barking stimuli with something that inhibits him from barking, such as lying down in his bed.

Make sure your dog is getting sufficient physical and mental exercise every day. A tired dog is a good dog and one who is less likely to bark from boredom or frustration. Depending on his breed, age, and health, your dog may require several long walks as well as a good game of fetch and playing with interactive toys.

Read Full Q/A … : How to Get Your Dog to Stop Barking : The Humane Society of …

Q. Should a dog stay in the house?
ANSWER : A. This question is somewhat vague, but if you’re asking if a dog should be an indoor animal, the answer is most likely yes. Many dogs are not suited to live outdoors. Dogs with shorter coats cannot withstand the heat OR the cold weather. Dogs with longer coats cannot withstand the heat. Keeping a dog outdoors unsupervised is not very smart, as they can be stolen, can get into trouble (hurt somebody/something), or become destructive out of boredom and hurt themselves (swallow something large).

Dogs need a lot of mental and physical stimulation in order to be happy. They need plenty of exercise (walks in lots of new places) and plenty of mental stimulation through training and playing. Many people who have “outdoor” dogs tend to believe their dogs are mentally and physically stimulated enough.. which is just not the case. Dogs are a familial animal, and they need plenty of physical contact.

Read Full Q/A … : Crate Training 101 : The Humane Society of the United States

Q. My unfixed grown male dog is slobbering and trying to mount my new male puppy. What’s that about?
ANSWER : A. Mounting behavior can be both a sexual thing in dogs, or a behavioral one. If both dogs are male, it may be that your older dog is trying to establish that he is the boss of the house by trying to mount your younger one. Stopping the behavior is best to prevent any fights from breaking out. Both female and male dogs can do this to each other, and spay/neuter status does not usually play any factor if behaviorally related.

If your younger dog is female, or not spayed, and is about 6-7 months of age, it may be that she is coming into her first heat and your male is very interested in her. Dogs should not be bred during their first heat, and if you do not wish to have puppies in the future, one or both dogs should be fixed.

Read Full Q/A … : unfixed male acts like spayed female is in heat. Why …

Q. Why does my dog eat grass?
ANSWER : A. As another user mentioned, dogs can eat grass when they want to vomit. Sometimes, when a dog has an upset tummy, they will eat grass. If you notice your dog eating grass frantically, you can assume vomiting will shortly follow. Grass does not digest and pass normally. If your dog eats too much grass, it can cause serious issues with pooping. Your dogs poop can end up all tangled inside of her, and it can need veterinary assistance to remove it. The same goes for celery, so avoid feeding celery to your dog.

The other day my boyfriend accidentally left the laundry room door open where we were keeping the trash that was filled with cooked chicken bones. She ate one of the chicken bones lightning fast. We had to induce vomiting by feeding her some hydrogen peroxide. After we had fed her the peroxide, she immediately began frantically eating grass because her tummy was upset.

If there is something lacking in your dogs diet, it could be that your dog is eating grass to make up for it. I am sure that my dogs diet is extremely well balanced (I do not only feed her an air-dried raw food-type diet (Ziwipeak), but a wide variety of safe, healthy foods), so when she eats grass, I know that it is because she has an upset tummy.

That is why I think it is important making sure your dog has a very well balanced diet. If your dog is on a low quality kibble, your dog may be trying to let you know by eating grass (or eating poop).

Read Full Q/A … : Why Dogs Eat Grass: Causes and Prevention – WebMD

joliana smith

My name is Sarah Smith and I am a dog owner, lover, and trainer. I have been working with dogs for over 10 years and have a passion for helping them learn and grow. I am a certified dog trainer and specialize in positive reinforcement methods. I believe that all dogs can learn and that the best way to train them is to build a strong relationship based on trust and respect.