Labrador Retriever Dogs Blog

Watch some amazing labs work pheasant..

The Briard is a large, powerful dog with the shaggy dog look. She makes a good watch dog and a good guard dog. She loves her human family and is intelligent and fairly easy to train. She needs quite a bit of grooming and attention to keep her coat healthy and looking good.

Approximate Adult Size

The approximate adult size (two years old or older) of the male briard is 24 to 27 inches to the withers (highest point of the shoulder) and 75 to 90 pounds. The female ranges from 22 to 25 inches to the withers and 75 to 85 pounds.

Special Health Considerations

Most dog breeds have certain inherited health problems associated with that specific breed and the Briard is no exception. Keep on the look out for canine hip dysplasia (genetic based looseness in the hip joint that can lead to arthritis pain and lameness), progressive retinal atrophy (inherited disease of the retina that can cause vision loss and blindness), cataracts, stomach torsion and bloat (Gastric Dilation-Volvulus, the second leading killer of dogs, can kill within the hour, this space is too limited for a complete explanation but you should read up on this). Feeding more then once a day and avoiding exercise right after meals may help guard against bloat. This disease list is an informative guideline only. Other diseases may also be significant threats, please contact your veterinarian for a complete list.

She should visit the veterinarian several times in the first year for shots, boosters and check up. Then, as an adult, she should visit the veterinarian yearly for shots and check up. As she gets older, six years and on, she should visit the veterinarian twice a year for check ups and shots. Remember; avoid feeding your dog sweets.

Grooming

The Briard has a coarse, dry and hard coat in long, waving locks. She needs extensive grooming to look good and avoid mats. Brushing will help her maintain a clean and healthy coat and also help you keep a closer eye on her health and strengthen your emotional bond with your pet. Her pads of her feet need excess hair removed.

Her ears should be checked once a week and be kept clean. If you have her professionally groomed, make sure ear cleaning and inspection is part of the package. No water or excess fluid should get in the dogs ears, and do not try to irrigate the ears. Ear cleaning is too complicated and critical to instruct here. Look for hair growing in the ear canal, excess wax, or moisture. If her ears have a discharge, foul odor or she seems to be in distress and you suspect an infection, or tumor, consult your veterinarian.

Her teeth should be brushed at least twice a week with toothpaste and toothbrush designed for dogs. Brushing removes the accumulation of plaque and tartar which can cause cavities (rarely) and periodontal disease. Dog periodontal disease can lead to pain, loss of teeth, bad breath and other serious disease.

Her nails may need to be examined for growth and clipped regularly. The toenails of the rear feet grow slower than the toenails of the front feet. Generally a guillotine type trimmer is the best for this chore and competent instructions to accomplish this can be found on the net.

Life Span

The Briard can live between 10 and 12 years with proper nutrition, medical care and excellent living conditions.

History

The Briard is from France and descended from some of the oldest dogs. It is believed that Emperor Charlemagne had them some 1200 years ago. Thomas Jefferson may have been the original importer of the Briard to America. She was first registered by the American Kennel Association in 1928.

When people hunt small prey, they usually use hunting dogs to bring their kills. If hunting dogs didn’t exist, hunters would need to go find the prey they hit on their own, losing time. A hunting dog that is trained properly will reduce the amount of useless work that the hunter needs to do.

But, you can’t just train any dog to help with hunting. There are special breeds designed to perform best in the conditions that hunting requires.

But, you can’t find a hunting dog like you would any other normal dog breed. These dogs are well trained to be able to meet the requirements of hunting. The training process for a hunting dog is usually a long one, that needs the trainer to be patient and to know how to work with the dog. As for the dog, he needs to have the right attributes to become a proper hunting dog.

Choosing the right breed

As I said before, you can’t use just any type of dog to train for hunting. You should work with a dog breed that is specially designed for this, and that has a history of serving men in this capacity. You need a dog breed that is made to do this kind of job.

Some of the dog breeds that are well suited to be hunters include pointers, spaniels and retrievers. Each of these three have their own traits that are unique to them. Once you choose such a dog, the trainer needs to make the most out of their unique traits.

One trait that all hunting dogs have is a great sense of smell. This helps them track the prey in the field. Another trait is that they’re adapted to outdoor life and can be easily trained. If you want the best possible hunting dog, choose a breed that meets all the requirements. In most cases, people choose Beagles, Dachshunds, Bloodhounds or Labradors as hunting dogs.

What dog to choose?

If you want to train a dog to hunt, you shouldn’t choose one that is already fully grown. You should go with a puppy, since his behavior isn’t formed yet and he can be trained easily. The second requirement would be for the dog to have some affinity to the handler. You can’t expect for that affinity to form alone. This is why you should train the dog personally, or at least assist the trainer with it.

What does training usually entail?

A hunting dog needs to be able to master these six tasks:

a) Quartering
b) Retrieving
c) Steadying
d) Marking
e) Shaking
f) Following hand signals

What about scent and gun fire?

Some dogs will be scared when they hear gun fire. So they need to be specially trained to get used to it. Usually, this is done by conditioning the dog, by getting him used both with game birds and gun fire.

Game birds will be associated this way with gun fire. When he will hear it in the future, he will know that when the hunter shoots, he needs to look for the bird. After they get the prey, they will expect to hear the gun fire again.

One thing you should do when training the dog, is getting him used to a certain scent, depending on what you want to hunt with him. If you’re looking to hunt boar, than he should know the boar scent, so he can track it.

It’s much harder to do dog training than it is to train them in other areas. But, if you’re a true hunter, you will need a great dog to assist you.

Believe it or not you actually have the opportunity to experience a dog training course over the internet, if you choose to do so. Many people have chosen this as a way to help properly train their little pooches and it can work! Some skeptics are probably leery about this type of thing, wondering how in the world this would be at all possible and one of the concerns is the fact that you will not have the opportunity to ask the teacher of the online dog training course any questions. If this too is a real concern for you then the way that you should look at it is, paying a real life hands on instructor is going to cost you much more than taking an online dog training course, where you watch a recorded piece of an instructor providing you with all of the information that you would need to train your dog appropriately.

The really awesome thing that so many people are thrilled about after taking their online dog training course is the fact that they were the ones that had the special opportunity of actually training their beloved dog, not some stranger that they had to pay an enormous amount of money for. Being able to do it yourself by just watching a recorded video, will give you such a good feeling of achievement on your part and the fact that you and your dog are getting the chance to spend that one on one time with each other is just really great and has so many wonderful benefits as well. You and your dog can sit right there in your comfortable home, with comfortable surroundings for both of you and experience this video together, it will definitely be a big learning experience, for you and for your precious dog.

Another wonderful thing about having the ability to watch an online dog training video is the fact that you will have the opportunity to view it as many times as you would want to. So, if your dog does not catch on right away, which they normally do not, you will have many chances to spend quality time with him, teaching him right from wrong and even learning a few cool little tricks with him along the way. He will enjoy it just as much as you will and being able to save yourself some money is always a really great thing right! Dog training is definitely worth any amount of money spent and any amount of your time spent also because your dog will benefit from the experience in so many different ways. You will be so very happy with the results and you will be so excited about showing him off to your friends and family and also being able to inform them that you yourself are responsible for properly training your dog. Everyone will notice the difference the first time that they come around him, after the online dog training course and you will just feel so very proud.

There are some basic dog training skills that just about anyone can perfect, so in this article I want to go over some of these with you, so that hopefully you can train your dog properly. Dogs are amazing animals and are so capable of just absolutely being brilliant, but it takes some dog training abilities on your part and plenty of patience. They will not pick up on things the first time that you try it, probably not even the second or third time either, but it will happen, do not give up. If you do give up then chances are you will probably have a very ill mannered dog on your hands, that does not listen to anything that you say and then you will have to worry about many other problems that could occur. Without the appropriate dog training a dog could actually get so bad that they can not be trusted, nobody wants to have to experience this type of thing, so take the time out right now to begin learning more ways to teach your dog and to improve your dog training abilities.

Some people pay high prices to take their dogs to obedience schools for professional dog trainers to train them in every way but if this is something that you truly can not afford, do not break your pockets trying to send your dog to one of these places. Believe it or not, if you work hard enough and study over some information about appropriate dog training techniques then you are just as capable of training your dog properly as any professional would be. It can happen but it will not ever happen instantly, so you will absolutely have to be patient, there is no doubt about that people. If you find yourself becoming frustrated or angry with your dog, do not yell at them or ever strike them because this is not teaching them anything at all. The best way to teach a dog new tricks is by rewarding them every time that they do something wonderful, instead of just constantly screaming at them and hitting them for every little thing that they do wrong.

These helpful tips can help you with your dog training abilities, if you put them to good use and really give it a good, solid try. Your dog can be very responsive to your teachings, if you do it the right way, they can also turn on you in a heartbeat if you do it incorrectly, so remember that the next time that you think about hitting them or screaming at them for doing something that all dogs do. Your dog can be your best friend and you can both have a fun time together, good and appropriate dog training can really make a big difference. If you are unsure about doing it or just do not have the time, perhaps hiring a dog trainer could be an option for you.

There are so many different ways that a person can train their dogs and one of the best places to locate more information on this kind of stuff is right from your own home computer system. There are countless websites that are available that will provide you with free information regarding many different dog training techniques. It is very important to learn about this type of thing before you ever get yourself a dog because the older the dog is, the more difficult it is to train them. Training a new dog has its challenges but so do most other things in life right. This is something that anyone can accomplish, with the right amount of knowledge and enough determination and patience. The more you learn about dog training, the more prepared you will be and the better this whole process will turn out. It will take quite a bit of time and each dog is quite different but once you start seeing results you will be motivated to continue on with the many different dog training techniques that you have learned from doing the research.

So many people make the huge mistake of allowing their dog to think that they are the one in charge, when that is not the case at all. If you make the mistake of not letting your dog know who is in charge, there is just no chance that you will ever have the ability to properly and efficiently train them. Right from the get go you are the one in charge of your dog and you have got to teach them this from the very beginning or else you will not be very successful at training them. If you can show them who is in charge right away then you will definitely be more successful at dog training and it will show each time that you do speak a command to them. The response that you can get from your dog when you are going about dog training correctly will just seriously blow your mind at first. They have the ability to do exactly what it is that you are telling them to do, if you do things appropriately right from the beginning. Reading about all types of dog training techniques and really studying dog training will surely help you to get more prepared for successfully training your friend.

Remember whenever you do attempt any type of dog training technique that the most important rule to never forget is constant repetition. Repetition is what teaches them and if you truly stick with it and enforce it every single time, then before you know it you will have on hand a very well trained and well behaved dog, which you should be so very proud of. Dog training will never be something easy and not for anyone, however, anyone is capable of properly training their dog, if they really put their mind into it.

Anyone who has ever owned a dog knows how important it is to think about maybe applying some of those dog training techniques that you have heard from other dog owners. There are different ways to go about training any dog but some of the ways that people choose are just not acceptable at all and really do not work either. If you are going to get into dog training your dog you should really consider studying it for awhile first, so that you do not make some of those big mistakes that others have made and are still making now. There are wrong ways to go about training your dog and there are right ways, you should really try and make sure that you keep all of those negative dog training “techniques” away, because all you are doing is setting yourself and your dog up for some serious disappointment. It is now time for you to learn a little bit more about some of the very best ways to begin dog training and also learn more about some of the things that you should not be doing when trying to train your dog the right way.

The most important thing for all dog owners to keep in mind is the fact that negative dog training is only going to frustrate you, as well as your dog. There is never any reason why any dog owner should decide to punish their dog by screaming at them, cursing them or hitting them, this is just unacceptable behavior on the owners part and it is not an appropriate way to go about training them, it just will not work, ever! The very best way to teach your dog and to properly train your dog is by using positive reinforcement every single time, as well as giving them delicious treats when they do something right. Dog training is most efficient when the owner keeps his cool and treats the dog the way that he would want to be treated, without all of the negativity occurring. Start practicing right now with your dog, using positive reinforcement and rewards because it does truly work, just about every single time actually. It is your responsibility to teach your dog good habits and maybe even a few little cool tricks too. They are animals but can be very well behaved with the right kind of dog training.

Whenever your dog does what it is that you are telling him to do, then you should always remember to praise him plenty, give him a treat and never forget the positive reinforcement tip because it does work when dog training. That sweet precious dog of yours is highly capable of being the best dog around and with the right kind of dog training and a very good, happy attitude, the dog will just really surprise you, to say the least.