Our dog Blog

Dog Exercise
raleigh

Top 10 Favorite Places to Walk Your Dog in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill

Our Top 10 Favorite Walking Trails As we head into the new year many are working hard to get in their 10,000 steps a day. While your getting in your daily exercise requirement wouldn’t it be great for your dog to fill their daily exercise needs as well? Dogs need anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours of exercise each

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Dog Nutrition
raleigh

My Dog’s Weight – What’s the BIG deal?

Guest Authored by Emily Shirey There’s an epidemic in dogs across the world that many people are unaware of. It’s happening everywhere, even in our own neighborhoods. People are unknowingly killing their dogs with kindness. By causing our canine companions to be overweight, we are putting them at risk for a massive amount of health risks and we are shortening

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Dog Nutrition
raleigh

Should I Feed My Dog Raw?

Image By: Perfectly Rawesome Authored by Emily Shirey Part 2: Raw Fed Dogs When we think of dog food, we think of one thing: kibble. But in the recent push for humans to eat less processed and more whole, fresh foods, the same push has been made for our canine companions. More and more people are now feeding fresh, raw

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Dog Nutrition
raleigh

Best Dry Dog Food

Authored by Emily Shirey Part 1: Best Dry Dog Food; Best Grain Free Dry Dog Food As dog owners, one of our biggest responsibilities is what to feed our beloved pet. What we feed them is the most important decision we can make to aid in a long, happy, healthy life for our pup. But there are so many brands,

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Training Dogs
raleigh

How many hours a day should I train my dog?

Lots of people want to know how much time needs to be spent each day training their dog. While I can easily provide a general guideline to people, especially through the learning phase, the actual answer is that training is a lifestyle. It isn’t 30 minutes, twice a day or some other time that one can quantify. Obedience is something

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Kids and Dogs
raleigh

Best Family Dogs – Managing Dogs and Kids

As a dog trainer, I see many families who struggle with young children and unruly dogs in the home. I am asked all the time “How do I get my dog to not nip, jump, or bite at my child?” “We have a baby coming. How can I help my dog adjust?” “What is the best family dog?” “What is

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Aggression / Reactivity
raleigh

My dog is “protective” of me!

We hear the words, “My dog is protective of me and I think that is why he/she is aggressive.” Or some variation of this, a lot at Off Leash K9 Raleigh. Here is what most people simply don’t understand… most of these dogs aren’t actually aggressive. They are worried! That’s right… worried. Many fearful or insecure dogs act just like

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Aggression / Reactivity
raleigh

How do I get my dog to stop nipping, play biting, and mouthing?

This is one of the first questions we are asked in our puppy training class. Some dogs are more prone to this than other dogs. Breeds like the Belgian Malinois, Australian Shepherds, German Shepherds, Huskies, etc are all, what we refer to as, “prey driven”, “herding” dogs; meaning, they instinctively want to herd and chase things. As puppies, these dogs

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Puppy Training
raleigh

Socializing a new Puppy

Why Is Socializing A New Puppy So Important? What is socialization and why is it so important? At our puppy class, we get asked about socializing a new puppy over and over, again. Here is the bottom line: Socialization is getting your puppy acquainted with as many different animals, people, smells, sights, sounds and different environments as possible. In my

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General Care
raleigh

Dog Skin Allergies and Ailments – How to Deal

Dealing with dog skin allergies and ailments can be extremely frustrating. You can’t ask your pet how she/he feels; you can only observe his/her behavior and treat the outward symptoms. As a pet owner we want our pup feeling great even when suffering with allergies. If you are accustomed to seeking out natural remedies for yourself, it won’t surprise you

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Training Dogs
raleigh

Pack Leadership

As trainers, we consistently give people pointers and information on how to be the pack leader. Appropriate pack leadership is the key to a healthy, happy relationship between your dog and you. First, some background. What does it mean when we hear, “Dogs are pack animals.”? It simply means that dogs stick together and roam as a pack. Within the

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Aggression / Reactivity
raleigh

Fixing Food Aggression in Dogs

We deal with dogs’ food aggression daily at Off Leash K9 Training, Raleigh/Durham. Many people ask, “How can I stop food aggression with my dog?”  First, food aggression in dogs can be caused by numerous factors, including poor pack leadership, food desperation where the dog doesn’t know if or when he will get more food (common in rescue and

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Puppy Training
raleigh

Housebreaking your Puppy

The number one question from a new puppy owner is always, always how do I housetrain my new dog. It is also probably the number one cause of stress to bringing your new puppy home; right next to will it sleep through the night. In fact, house training your puppy doesn’t need to be stressful or disconcerting. There are two

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