Build Muscle or Lose Fat First?

So you want to build muscle. That’s great! Increased lean muscle mass provides a host of benefits, including a healthy metabolism, greater strength and the confidence instilled by looking and feeling strong. But what about body fat, that pesky barrier to attaining a ripped physique?

In an ideal world, you could have one – muscle – without the other – fat. Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple. To gain muscle requires increasing caloric intake, and if those calories end up being converted to fat – well, a frustrating setback may ensue. But fear not: you’re about to learn the right way to pack on muscle, without the flab.

Let’s start by defining a couple of terms. Bulking refers to eating and training with the goal of building muscle. Cutting refers to eating and training with the goal of losing fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.

The best result when bulking means gaining lean mass and minimizing incidental fat gain. Conversely, the best result when cutting means losing body fat and retaining as much hard-earned muscle as possible. Unfortunately, many fall into the repetitive cycle of getting nowhere fast, achieving exactly the opposite of what they desire.

So – should you bulk first? After all, gaining muscle matters, right? But – what if you don’t cut first? Then you’ll have that dastardly fat hanging on to you! Or should you bulk and cut at the same time?

It depends. There are a number of obvious factors – what you eat and how you train – that will help determine your outcome, but here is the one of foremost importance: What’s your current body fat percentage?

The higher it is, the greater the likelihood someone will store the extra calories consumed during a bulking phase as more fat, through a process called “caloric partitioning”. That’s right: the greater your adiposity, the harder the process of bulking for optimal results becomes, and the longer remedial cutting efforts – “tidying up” – have to last.

Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?

That’s why – despite the higher metabolic, and therefore, calorie-burning potential of muscle – the way adiposity determines caloric partitioning means that consuming a surplus of calories to bulk up when already overweight is to walk an almost certain path to failure.

Ideally, you’ll want to start bulking when you are lean, or at least, leaner than not. Now, “lean”, in this case, does not require (though it’s certainly allowable) that you have a super-low, single-digit body fat percentage or abs you could grate a potato on.

Men, before embarking on a bulking phase should generally have 10 to 13 percent body fat, or a bit less; women should generally have between 19 and 23 percent body fat, or a bit less. If levels of body fat are somewhat higher, decent results can still be obtained, but likely not of the same caliber as would be the case for a leaner person.

“Yeah, but just how fat (or not) am I”?

The truth is that most of us don’t actually know our real body fat percentage. One can certainly invest in calipers, body fat scales and calculators – but I suggest keeping things simple: Get naked; take a good look at yourself in the mirror; and ask yourself if building muscle or losing fat makes more sense right now. Be objective. Are you reasonably lean and ready to bulk up?

Or are you carrying some extra weight that screams, “Don’t eat more! Lose weight first!”?

Answer a): “I’m reasonably (or very) lean.”

Unless your current goal is to become even leaner, it’s the right time to begin bulking, with the goal of putting on muscle mass. If you foresee the need or desire to become extra-shredded in the future, it’s not a bad idea bulk up first, and follow up with a careful cutting phase, to define your increased muscularity.

Answer b): “I’m carrying too much extra fat.”

If that’s where you’re at, refrain from bulking in an attempt to offset your body fat with muscle. The best thing to do is start cutting until your adiposity decreases sufficiently and you can objectively state that you are at least reasonably lean. When you reach this point, your caloric intake can be increased to the surplus-level. Bear in mind, strength training should not be stopped until you are ready to bulk. Continuing to lift will assist the process of fat-burning and help retain the muscle and strength you already possess.

Finally, go about it – whichever phase you decide is best to begin with – wisely. Eat according to your needs. When your initial goal has been reached, switch to the other phase (ie, you started out lean, bulked, built a significant amount of muscle, and following that, switched to a cutting phase to further emphasize your lean mass – or vice versa.)

As you’ve now learned, frustration can be avoided by simply understanding which actions should first be undertaken.

Build Muscle With Bodyweight Exercises

Building muscle and strength at home using just body weight exercises is possible, but limited. For ultimate size and strength gains, lifting weights is superior. That doesn’t mean body weight training should be ignored, because it’s still an effective way to build muscle and makes a great addition to any training routine.

Body weight training is great for variety, adding a few of these exercises into your routine for variety is a good idea. It’s also very handy to have some knowledge of good body weight exercises for times when you’re on the road or can’t make the gym.

Examples of Good Bodyweight Exercises to Build Muscle

1: Chin Ups – This exercise will build the lat muscles and biceps effectively. To target the biceps more, use an underhand grip with palms facing you.

Chin ups can be quite difficult if you’re a beginner or you’re very over weight, you’ll probably find most body weight exercises hard work when just starting out. For beginners, I recommend you start using a chin up bar with machine pad that offers weighted assistance to help build up strength before you go all out and try to pull the full weight of your body.

As you get stronger, reduce the level of weighted assistance and move onto manual pull ups using just the weight of your whole body. If you want to do this exercise at home you can use a chin up bar on a door frame. Beginners can place a chair under the bar and use their legs to help take some of the weight off.

How to preform:

Before you perform this exercise, I want you to know that you don’t need to get your chin above the bar. The name ‘chin ups’ does not mean you have to dislocate your neck to get your chin past the bar, just complete the exercise by lifting your body as high as possible.

Grip the bar with both hands, palms facing you around shoulder width apart. Pull you body up toward the bar and lower back down.

Don’t pull yourself up to fast, this is likely to cause swinging and your form will suffer. Slowly pull for 2 seconds up and then 2 seconds down. Perform the movement in a controlled manner, making sure to keep tension when lowering your body.

2: Jump Squats – Weighted squats is the king of leg exercises amongst bodybuilders. No body weight exercise can work legs as hard as squats with a heavy weighted bar on your back.

The best bodyweight exercises you can do for you legs are ‘jump squats’. They work your quads and are an explosive power move. They also provide you with a short HIIT exercise and gets your heart rate up. This exercise will really get the blood flowing and can help you build muscle.

How to perform:

Stand with legs shoulder width apart with you hands just behind your head. (Don’t clasp hands together)

Keep you back straight, push your bum out and squat down until your thighs are 90 degrees from the floor.

Jump up in an explosive motion, landing on your heals and moving down to the squatted position again. Repeat the exercise.

3: Handstand Push ups – If there is a spot in your home to do a handstand push up, then you should definitely be taking advantage of the opportunity to include this in your at-home body weight workout routine.

This is more of an advanced exercise. I don’t recommend this for beginners because you need to have strong shoulders to do this exercise correctly and to gain full benefit from it.

If you cannot do a full range repetition successfully then you should just practice holding a handstand against the wall for periods of 60 seconds. Make sure to have someone watch over or assist you with this your first time.

Move onto partially lowering your head towards the floor and back up. You will eventually progress into doing full range of motion handstand push ups.

4. Push-ups – Everyone knows what push ups are, we’ve all done them. There are many different types of push ups you can do that utilize different muscles and areas of the chest/pectorals. You will mainly be firing the chest and triceps muscles when you are doing push ups with some shoulder recruitment.

Doing push ups is not as risky or challenging as a free weigh bench press, but still a great chest exercise you can do anywhere.

Steep incline push ups are a great way to increase the resistance and progress. Variations of push ups include planche push ups, one arm push ups, diamond push ups, and military push ups. I could not cover all the variations in great detail and how to perform them in this post. Simply copy and paste any of the push up exercises I’ve just named into Google or YouTube and you’ll find plenty of good demonstrations of each.

5. Triceps Dips – Rest your palms on a chair behind you and lower your butt towards the ground to imitate a triceps dip. To increase the resistance, put your feet on something level with you out in front. You can also put weight in your lap to increase the resistance.

Exercises to Build Big Forearms

When it comes to arm training, people put all their focus on biceps and triceps. But if you really want that complete muscular look then you cannot afford to neglect your forearms. A lot of the time when you’re out and about, you’ll be wearing a t-shirt or short sleeved top. That means most of the time the most visible part of your body is going to be your forearms.

It makes no sense to have well developed upper arms with under developed forearms. You need to have a good balance between the two. So I’ve put together some of the best exercises and tips to build strong, powerful and muscular forearms.

These exercises will target the three main muscle bundles on the forearms for overall development. The Brachioradialis, wrist flexors and wrist extensors.

Exercise 1: Reverse Curl

Target Muscle: Brachioradialis

I like to perform this exercise using an EZ bar, but you can use dumbbells, low pulley or straight bar. This targets the brachioradialis part of the forearm and the biceps, and this is a great exercise to finish off a bicep workout.

Make sure you are warmed up first with some light dumbbell curls and stretching. Grip with both hands around shoulder width apart using a pronated grip (thumbs facing each other). Starting with the bar resting at your thighs bring the bar up as high as you can keeping your upper arm stationary, focus only on moving your forearm. Hold the bar at the top of the movement for a brief pause as you squeeze the muscle and feel the contraction. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.

Exercise 2: Seated Barbell Wrist Curls

Target Muscle: Flexor – inside forearm

Sit on a bench a take a bar using a supinated grip (thumbs facing outside / palms facing up) with your hands spaced about shoulder width. Lean forward and rest your forearms on your thighs so that your hands are hanging over your knees. Make sure that the back of your wrists are on top of your knees, this will be your starting position.

Now, lower the bar as far as possible while keeping a tight grip. Then curls the bar up using just the strength of flexing your forearms. Hold the contracted position at the top of the movement for a moment then lower your hands back down.

Exercise 3: Seated Barbell Wrist Extensions

Target Muscle: Extensor – outside forearm

Sit down on a bench and grab a straight or EZ bar with a pronated grip (thumbs pacing each other / palms facing down). Leaning forward, place your forearms on your thighs with your hands hanging free at the knees. From this position lower the bar slowly then curl the bar up using your forearm. Hold the contraction for 2 seconds before slowly returning the weight to the start position.

This is not a power or strength exercises that needs to be done explosively with heavy weight. Perform them in the 8 – 15 rep range slowly with a focus on muscle contraction and squeeze.

Build Forearms by Increasing Grip Strength

Building huge forearms has a lot to do with how strong your grip is. Strengthening your grip is the easiest way to start building up your forearms. Using straps allows you to cheat, lifting more weight with less grip strength.

If you’ve been using straps you will probably need to change the way you lift, at least temporarily. Don’t be afraid to use a power rack in order to get the bar in position. Once you stop using straps you’ll quickly realize just how much they were helping you cheat yourself out of building grip strength. Even if this is the only tip you use, you’ll quickly find your grip strength increase and your forearms begin to bulk up.

Shrugs are probably the best exercise you can perform to strengthen your forearms. Deadlifts are another great exercise for increasing your grip and accelerating forearm growth.

How to Build a Bigger Chest

The chest is probably one of the most favoured muscle groups people enjoy training. Walk into any gym on a Monday and its like nation bench pressing day. Everyone wants to build a big strong chest… fast.

If I had a dollar for everytime I’ve been asked “what do you bench” I’d be a very rich man. People want to know how much you’re bench pressing to gauge your overall strength and compare it with theirs.

The problem is, most chest training routines are driven by ego. There’s a competitive nature about bench pressing, everyone seems to want to out bench their friends or impress their gym buddies by moving as much weight a possible. But this attitude towards chest training leads to poor training technique, an ineffective chest routine, and could end up landing you with a shoulder injury. Been there, done that!

Another very common problem I see with chest training is that people who are new to lifting think they know how to training their chest properly. Even people who have been working out for some time think they’ve got their chest routine nailed. I mean, all you have to do is lie under a bar, bring it down to your chest and push it up, after a few sets of that move onto some dumbbell fly’s and viola… chest workout done!

Unfortunately, there’s a little more to an effective chest workout than most people think. Maximum strength and muscle hypertrophy gains require proper planning and execution. Todays post will give you a killer chest workout routine and nutritional needs that will take your pectorals from mini to muscular…. puny to powerful… flat to… well, you get the idea.

The Workout Routine

For this chest building workout, you will be performing two heavy compound movements followed by two isolation movements, and working the chest one day per week. Three sets of each exercise will be performed for a total of 12 working sets to complete the workout.

Compound Exercises: The heavy compound exercises in this program will be flat bench press and incline dumbbell press, performed to failure in the 6 – 8 rep range. You will start with the bench press, but don’t even think about un-racking that bar until you’ve done at least a few warm up sets. I like to start with some light chest stretching, followed by some push-ups.

After stretching and doing some push-ups, the chest should be feeling warm and starting to fill with blood. Start by doing a few warm up presses on the bench press using a fairly light weight.

I like to call the first few warm up sets ‘feel sets’, because you’re getting a ‘feel’ for your form, muscle contraction and positioning before you work up to very heavy sets.

Perform a few feel/warm up sets, gradually adding weight to the bar as you move onto the next set. Then push out three heavy working sets to failure between 6 – 8 reps. When doing your three working sets, you’re pushing with brute strength, but be sure to maintain good form throughout the movement. We’re going after full muscle fibre recruitment and metabolic fatigue, while focusing on good form and chest muscle contraction.

Isolation Exercises: The isolation movements will be the under rated pec deck and a cable crossover variation which targets the upper chest, performed using a slightly lighter weight in the 10 – 12 rep range. Each exercise will be performed slowly, focusing on the mind muscle connection and peak contraction.

Concentrate on feeling the muscle squeeze at the end of the movement. For example, feel the muscle squeeze when your hands come together performing the pec deck. Focus on feeling the muscle work on these isolation exercises, maintaining tension in the muscles during the positive (concentric) and negative (eccentric) contraction of each repetition.

To see how each exercise is performed correctly simply click the exercise text in the table below.

Exercise	Sets	Repetitions
Flat Bench Press	3	6 – 8
Incline Dumbbell Press	3	6 – 8
Machine Pec Deck	3	10 – 12
Cable Crossovers (variation)	3	10 -12

Nutrition Advice

You can follow this training program to a ‘T’ but without a solid diet and nutrition pan in place you will have little to nothing to show for your hard work. Proper training and diet go hand in hand when building muscle. Neglect any one of these and be forever marooned on the Island of skinny.

Nutrition Basics for Mass

Protein – Consume 1 – 1.5g per pound of bodyweight daily
Carbs – Consume 2 – 3g per pound of bodyweight daily
Fats – Consume 0.25 – 0.5g per pound of bodyweight daily

Your daily macronutrient ratio for building muscle should be roughly 50% from carbs, 30% from protein and 20% from fats.

Calories

If you follow the ratio above you don’t need to worry about counting calories as this will equate to your daily requirements for gaining mass.

So you're thinking about buying from a breeder ...

I thought I'd do a spin-off of my previous post "How could you BUY a dog?!" with things that you should look for, ask and avoid when researching breeders.  People will choose to buy or adopt. As my previous post stated, I chose to buy.  Every person has their reasons for doing so.  However, if you are choosing to buy you really need to do your homework.  And the homework may be extensive but it will be worth it for a possible 10-20 year commitment for a new family member!

FIND A SUITABLE BREED FOR YOU & YOUR LIFESTYLE

First and foremost you need to find a breed suitable for your family and your lifestyle, activity level and needs.  There are well over 200 breeds of dogs and sadly there will be more that are not suitable for you than those that are.  This is the most important step to take before deciding to buy or adopt a dog. This will be a deal breaker.  A working German Shepherd Dog will not be suitable for a couple that is inactive and wants to watch TV all day and a giant English Mastiff may not be suitable for a single woman that likes to run 5Ks on the weekends.

To find a breed suitable for you it is great to go to a dog show, see the different breeds and speak to breeders about their breed.  You can also speak to owners of the breed and do your own research on the care, temperament, grooming, activity and trainability of said breed. There obviously is a lot of info on the internet about any breed you wish to learn more about as well, but we know that often can be just as hurtful as it is helpful so be careful here.  The AKC (American Kennel Club) has a "Meet the Breeds" section on their website as well as loads of other info than can be helpful.

I highly recommend that you contact a trainer that is well-versed in working with the breed you are interested in.  Trainers often have a completely different perspective on breeds for people not looking to join the show world or competition world and can speak to the suitability of the breed as a family pet.

Whatever you do, do not pick a breed based on what your roommate had in college or what you ran into at the dog park.  This should be a nice process of elimination so that you do in fact find the perfect breed for you and your family.

YOU FOUND A BREED, NOW DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
So you found the right breed for you and now you want to buy a puppy from a breeder. Great! Now let's do our homework! There are many things you need to know and understand about what goes into a Quality and Reputable Breeder.

It is my personal belief that all great breeders should use the Puppy Culture puppy raising program for their litters.  It is the Gold Standard for breeders and puppy rearing. You can find a lot of breeders that do the Puppy Culture program on their website. However, it's not inclusive and some breeders that do Puppy Culture aren't listed.

Here is a list of questions you should ask a potential breeder [especially if they aren't a Puppy Culture breeder] prior to buying a puppy, and below this list is a list of things that will show you the likelihood of a non-reputable breeder as red flags to look for.

13 QUESTIONS TO ASK A BREEDER BEFORE BUYING A PUPPY.

1. How old is the dam (mother) and how many litters has she had? How often do you breed your dogs?
[Too many litters often means breeding for profit. It should be no more than 1 a year from one single dam. That same dam should really only be bred once every other year, and preferably they don't breed her for the first time until she's at least 2 years old.  Dams being bred shouldn't be older than 7-8 years. ]

2. What temperament do the dam and sire (father) have, what about other dogs in the lineage?
[Find dogs that have no aggression or other undesirable behaviors in their lineage in relation to aggression, guarding, shyness, aloofness (some breeds can be more aloof than others but shouldn't be aggressive or shy), bold, confident, over-confident (bully), etc. Remember, aggression can be genetic. Resource guarding can be highly genetic and a real problem.]

3. Do you do any temperament testing on the pups? If so what does that entail and what are the results?  Puppy temperament tests aren't totally accurate but they are a good baseline.  Ask what tests they do.  My favorite is Suzanne Clothier's CARAT (Clothier Animal Response Assessment Test). However a more common puppy temp test is the Volhard Puppy Temperament Test, which I'm not a fan of to be honest.  Ask what their test consists of and how the come to results.

4. Do you have a contract?
[Many breeders have a contract you must sign and agree to. It varies from breeder to breeder but it should at least contain the following items: It should state that at anytime in the dog's life said breeder will take back the dog for any reason. It should also state their health guarantee which will state all testing they do on their dogs and what to expect if anything comes up in your dog.  It should state something about vaccination, worming and when your pup should first see a veterinarian after you get the puppy.  It should state something regarding spay/neuter (usually a limited registration) as you shouldn't be breeding your puppy.]

5. What health tests do you run on your dogs and what are the results of each?
[Know what health issues run in your breed and find out if the breeder tests for these. Testing for hips/elbow dysplasia in dogs prone to it thru the OFA or PennHip should be a must. Other genetic testing should be done depending on what things are commonly prevalent in your breed of choice. Research your breed to know what to ask the breeder in regards to testing. Also ask for results of the testing they do, they should very readily agree and give you these test results.]

6. How old are puppies when you wean them from mother & introduce to food?
[Ideally this is at 4-5 weeks of age,  no sooner unless they had to bottle feed for one reason or another. If so, get specifics on why and how the puppy is developing.]

7. How young are puppies when you let them go to their new home?
[Ideally no puppy should be under 8 weeks of age going to a new home. Lots of learning takes place prior to this age with mama dog and littermates that is critical to development and socialization. Some breeders even keep puppies up to 12 weeks (some even older), which I find too old for socialization and developmental reasons. I find the ideal age to obtain a puppy is between 8-10 weeks as proper socialization needs to take place quickly.]

8. What do you do to help them start to potty train? Where do they regularly go potty? Indoors? Potty pads? Paper? Grass? Outdoors?
[Ideally I like to see breeders have puppies utilize outdoors and not encourage potty pads and/or newspaper for potty. It is a huge plus if they have introduced each puppy individually to a crate (not all the puppies in one crate) and some crate time alone for short periods. This can often be an indicator for how difficult/easy it will be to start housebreaking for your new pup!]

9. What environment are they raised in and what enrichment do you provide?
[Do they get daily outdoor time? Do they stay in a dog run? A barn? A kennel? Where do they sleep? Do they start any crate training? Adding sounds to their environment? Objects to climb on? Odd and different surfaces? Any training at all? What do they expose their pups to to get them ready for the real world? Other dogs? Other animals? Other people?]

10. What do you feed your dogs and puppies?
[This is a question I like because I want someone who doesn't feed cheap dog food for convenience but cares about their dog's nutrition. I personally prefer one open to raw-fed dogs or that does raw feed but this isn't a deal breaker and of course not everyone is on board with this. So really the best is just a high quality food.  Stay away from Purina, Pedigree and grocery store brands. Good nutrition is key.]

11. What vaccinations have they had once they are 8 weeks and have they been health checked prior to going to their new homes by a licensed veterinarian?
[Most puppies have been to the breeder's vet for a health check (esp if you are having the pup shipped they have to by law) and many do their own vaccinations. Be sure to get a copy of the vaccination vile and or sticker from the vile of each vaccine the breeder gave to the puppy or had their vet give to the puppy.]

12. What questions do you have as a breeder for me as a prospective puppy buyer?  [Breeders should be equally full of questions for you as a potential home for one of their pups. If they don't ask any questions you shouldn't buy from them.  They should have as many questions for you as you do for them.  They should also welcome any and all questions you have for them.]

13. Will the you take the puppy back at anytime for any reason? [All reputable breeders will take back one of their puppies during the lifetime of the pup for any reason and have this stated in their contract (as stated above in question #4).  They should do this as they don't want to see one of their pups in the wrong hands or in a shelter/rescue situation.  This is a vital question to ask a breeder not because you think you'll be giving your puppy back or expecting something but because this goes towards the reputability and character of the breeder.]

RED FLAGS: if any of the following apply do not buy from that person/place selling puppies.

• If a breeder has lots of puppies always available, it's highly unlikely that they are reputable breeders.Quality breeders often take a year or even years to produce a quality litter.  They don't rush. They don't breed often. So you may need to wait. They also usually have a waiting list.
• If a breeder cannot answer many, many questions about their breed.  This includes anything about the breed be it health, temperament, grooming, training, etc.
• If a breeder is willing to sell you littermates.  This is never a good idea and no reputable breeder will sell littermates to one family at the same time. (Please read about Littermate Syndrome.)
• If the breeder cannot help you decide if their breed is the correct breed for your family and your lifestyle. Not all breeds are a match to all people and breeders should be able to tell you if their breed is a good fit for you or not.  Never take offense to this, a good breeder knows when they shouldn't sell a puppy to a family that isn't suited for their breed.
• If a place doesn't register their dogs with a reputable dog registry, most commonly the AKC (American Kennel Club) then they probably aren't quality.  AKC registered dogs does not automatically mean the dog is of sound breeding.  Note: AKC is something the dogs & litter should be registered with, they should be able to provide documentation to prove registration. However it needs to be noted that an AKC registered dog doesn't automatically qualify the breeder as reputable.  But a reputable breeder will register her dogs & litters with the AKC or other reputable breed registry.
• Stay away from breeders that register their dogs with the CKC (Continental Kennel Club).  This is not a reputable dog registry and is actually quite flimsy, holding no merit at all in the dog world.
• Quality breeders do not sell puppies to pet stores. Period. There are no "but ..."  If you buy a puppy from a pet store you are getting a puppy mill dog regardless of what the pet store tells you.
• If you ask for the lineage of the parents and they cannot provide it or dance around the question, go the other way.  "His grandfather is a Grand Champion" isn't the answer to that question either.  Quality breeders will provide a family tree that can be traced back and you can see all lineage and accomplishments of those dogs.
• If none of their dogs have any titles or participate in any shows and/or sports.  Quality breeders usually show their dogs and/ or participate in a sport or competition of some kind.  They are usually very open about this and will discuss it when asked.  If they aren't you need to go the other way.
• If you can hit a Paypal button online to purchase a puppy ... well, really? This should be a no-brainer. Dogs aren't retail items and shouldn't be able to be purchased online via a button!
• If a place sells puppies for vastly different prices for different coats or male vs female they probably aren't a quality breeder.  The only difference should be "pet quality" vs "show quality" and pet quality are usually a little less and come with a spay/neuter contract/agreement.
• The place advertises "raised in our home with love" (or on our farm/property).  This is nice but that doesn't say one thing to the actual breeding or what they do for the dogs they are breeding.
• If a person selling puppies doesn't allow you on their property or to certain areas to see where pups are raised and how they interact with mama dog, littermates, etc. I would be quite suspicious.  Sometimes some so-called breeders will ask you to meet somewhere or they will have you secluded in one area on their property but won't allow you to see much else.
• If a person selling puppies sells you a pup under 8 weeks of age, especially under 7 weeks, go the other way.  Puppies should stay in their litter at least until 8-9 weeks of age but not past 12 week unless very extensive socialization is taking place from breeder, which is very unlikely.
• If a breeder cannot provide health tests and results of the tests on their breeding dogs against the diseases or ailments most common to your breed.
• If they don't ask you, as a buyer, tons of questions.  They should ask you as many questions as you do them.  If they don't then I'd look elsewhere.  On that note I'd also be proud to be grilled and not take any offense to any questions as a reputable breeder will be asking, possibly, some hard questions to be sure they are placing their pup in a home that is the right fit and a forever fit!

Buying a puppy may sound like a daunting task, and it can be, but for a good reason.  You are making a commitment to raise, care for and train a living creature for possibly close to 20 years so you want to do it right.  That's a huge responsibility.  Finding a reputable breeder can be so helpful in finding a dog that is not only suitable for your family but also sound in temperament and health.  

However, also know that even if you do all of your homework diligently and accurately there is no guarantee you'll get a dog without flaws.  The likelihood of something going wrong is less when you do your homework, but it's not 100%.  So, do your homework the best you can and take your time.  

WHAT ABOUT ADOPTION OR RESCUE?

If you find that buying a puppy isn't for you or your family then I do recommend you adopt.  And even if you'd like to buy but you feel that adopting is a better option, then please do so.  I am a very huge advocate of adoption.  Do not let this blog post or my previous, "How could you BUY a dog?!", lead you to believe this indicates that I am against adoption.  I am very much in favor of adoption.  (I have plans to write a blog post on what to look for when adopting a dog, keep an eye out!)

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My website: www.stacysdogtraining.com 

My Facebook page: facebook.com/stacysdogtrainingpage 

It's been fun ... but this is good-bye ...

CGC Test 2004

I've been training people and their dogs since 1999 and I've loved all of it. I've met some wonderful people and dogs and when I started my own business in 2003 it was great to have the flexibility I wanted but still do what I loved.

Now that I've grown my family from 3 to 5 in the past year it's become increasingly difficult to maintain the multiple jobs and responsibilities that I have in my life.  I want to devote more time to my family and raising my very young kids, while they are still young.  

So after many weeks of thought and considerations, I've come to the conclusion that I will be shutting down Adventures in Canine Training and joining the job force of full-time Mother.

My Dane, Amos, balancing a treat 2003

Each dog is different, each expectation is different, and I hope that everyone I've worked with knows how much I have enjoyed them.  Thank you for allowing me to step into your lives, your canines' lives, and your homes.  It's been an absolute pleasure to work with all of you.  It's been a delight to be able to do what I've wanted to do since I was a child.

I will be running a group class starting on Sunday, May 18th at 7:00pm at All Fur Fun Training and Event Center in Addison indoors.  Please join this class as it will be the last training I'll do!

I cannot say if this will be long term or short term but stick with my Facebook page (I'll be maintaining this page) and this blog.  If you need a trainer referral please let me know and I'll get that info to you. As of right now I'm no longer taking any clients and my business should be wrapped up and closed by mid- to late June.

Love, hugs and slobbers to all of you!

Stacy Greer

Adventures in Canine Training

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"How could you BUY a dog?!"

As a professional in the dog world who decided to buy a puppy from a breeder instead of rescue one from a shelter/rescue group, I did have this fleeting thought during the process -- "Yikes, I bet I'm going to piss off someone by doing this!"  And sure enough I have.  I've received a few emails, nothing nasty or rude (I do want to point that out!) asking why I chose to buy and not adopt.  I actually haven't responded to the emails as of yet and so thought I'd send this as a message hopefully to help others understand and also ease anyone that has the possible guilt of buying instead of adopting.

First of all I want to say this: Everyone has a reason for everything they do. Everyone has their own lives and things going on that others have no clue about. Making judgments on any issue is wrong at best, harmful at worst.  So before jumping to conclusions you should get facts and know all the details of the situation at hand. Sure, easier said than done.  But I digress ...

...Now onto the actual subject matter -- Why did I buy a puppy from a breeder when so many are in shelters? We recently bought a puppy from a responsible breeder.  Let me reiterate the adjective I used before the word "breeder" -- responsible.  There is a lot that goes on in finding a responsible and very reputable breeder. I researched and asked all the right questions. I did all my homework and lucky for me I know exactly what questions to ask a breeder before buying.

Over the past 12 years I've owned 6 dogs, including the new puppy we have now. Of those six dogs two of them were rescues and four were "bought" from breeders -- two were not reputable breeders and two were highly reputable and excellent breeders.   I slowly learned how to ask the right questions and do my homework.  And that can often involve a lot of work, and it should.  If you are going to go the buy-a-puppy-route you need to know exactly what you're doing and where your puppy is coming from.  A bad breeder can be a disgrace to the reputable breeder community. Bad breeders are indeed contributors to the too-many-pets-in-the-shelter problem we face today.

Now, don't get me wrong -- buying a dog from a reputable breeder doesn't guarantee a quality dog for health or temperament. However, the chances are greater that you will have these things on your side if you did get the dog from a good, well-rounded and reputable breeder.

On the flip-side, rescuing a dog doesn't mean you'll be guaranteed problems either.  There are many excellent dogs in rescues/shelters that are absolutely amazing dogs that live a fully, happy, healthy and behaviorally-balanced life.  However, in my experiences (and this is just my experience but it's been 15 years of working with rescue dogs and "breeder's" dogs from all angles) rescue/shelter dogs are more likely to have some behavioral and/or medical issues.  I've also worked with loads of rescues and I know that they are often a crap-shoot both medically and behaviorally.

So does this mean I'm against rescue dogs? Absolutely not!  I work with rescues day in and day out. I also work with full-bred dogs too from reputable and responsible breeders as wells as from backyard breeders and puppy mills. One of my current dogs is a rescue as well. The facts are that reputable and responsible breeders do most often produce sound dogs.  There is a reason they are reputable and responsible.  If it weren't for these types of breeders we wouldn't have dogs at all.  They aren't the problem, contrary to what you may believe.  (Read this great piece here on this topic.) ... More on breeders  later in this post ... Keep reading.

So, why did I choose to buy instead of adopt? Well, my first response to anyone who really wants my answer -- it shouldn't concern you.  Ok. But it does. Because I'm in the dog profession. I'm not just an average person with a dog. I work with dogs in rescue all the time. I work with rescue groups and shelters all the time.  I know loads and loads of wonderful people who volunteer countless hours, blood sweat and tears in rescue. I cannot tell you how much I commend these people. It's unimaginable how much hard work, dedication and tireless hours rescue people put into what they do.  I can't even begin to describe some of the things they have seen, been part of or done; and I commend them all for their work and efforts.

I have the highest respect for anyone and everyone involved in rescue in any way. It's a grueling part of life that I find will sadly probably never go away.  I am pretty certain that we can make a difference but sadly there will always be people abusing animals, neglecting them and all the in betweens of that.  

But here is the thing.  That has nothing to do with me.  I am not the person neglecting dogs. I am not the person abusing dogs. I am not the person dumping dogs at the shelter, or worse.  I am a responsible dog owner, to say the very least.  I am not contributing to the dog over-population problem/dog dumped in shelter problem/dog being abused/neglected problem.  My breeder would have sold my puppy to another person if she hadn't sold her to me.  My breeder also takes any puppy of hers back at anytime during the dog's life, anytime, no matter what. Her contract states that should I need to re-home her I have to give her back to her, and her only.

This means my breeder isn't contributing to the pet over-population/dumped/abused/neglected problem either.  This also means that all responsible and reputable breeders aren't contributing to the pet problem.  No, they aren't.  Where do you think dogs started from?  Where do we get all these wonderful breeds to choose from?  Responsible and reputable breeders preserve a breed. They make them what they are and what they should be.  They breed for betterment of that specific breed.  If you had a Border Collie that didn't herd you'd have a very bad specimen of a Border Collie, no?  If all breeders ceased to exist there would eventually be no dogs. Of course this would take decades to do however,  realistically if no one ever bred dogs ever again dogs would become extinct.

The truth is that breeders aren't the problem. Irresponsible dog owners are the problem.  Plain and simple.

The people contributing to our too-many-pets-in-the-shelter-problem are the result of lack of education, understanding, training and/or compassion for animals.  For those extreme cases of abuse and neglect, that's an entirely different problem. People who are actually harming and neglecting dogs have a problem that goes far beyond irresponsible dog ownership. Those people have an underlying mental health problem of some kind. That's a whole other topic that I will not discuss.

If you want to help keep dogs in homes and out of shelters adhere to these tips:

1. Don't get a dog if you are not able to afford it (or make your own sacrifices to afford it!) -- I get it. I am not rich by any stretch. But I do what I can to make it work because when I get a dog I get the dog for life regardless of what comes along the way.
2. Don't get a dog if you cannot commit to it for the dog's entire life, no matter what. -- Really? Do I need to elaborate this one?
3. Learn to understand canine behavior and body language and get your dog trained as soon as you get it! -- One of the main reasons dogs are over-crowding shelters is because of a behavior issue. You'd be surprised at what some people define as a behavior issue.  It ranges from jumping on guests (insanely easy to train polite greetings!) to biting people and/or other dogs.  So no matter what, as soon as you get a new dog (any age!) hire a highly qualified training professional and get started on the right path.  And don't stop training your dog. And if you see something come up later re-hire your trainer and get the issue addressed immediately. Nearly all problems are able to be helped with appropriate training. 
4. Don't give up a dog because he's become an inconvenience. -- If you find that having a baby means "we just don't have time for the dog" then think this thru before having a baby and actually getting a dog.  You cannot believe how many people give up dogs when a new baby comes into the home. It's ludicrous. This goes back to #3 --> find a highly qualified trainer that understands families, babies and dogs.  They even have specialized programs for this exact thing (Family Paws Parent Education). There are really no excuses on this one.  Maybe the baby thing wouldn't even apply to you.  Maybe you're just tired of having a dog. I really don't care what the reason your dog is an inconvenience to you is.  Go back to bullet #2.
5. Dont' breed your dog if you are not a responsible and reputable breeder. -- Oh so your dog is gorgeous and has a great temperament.  It doesn't matter unless you plan to health test the dogs for all genetic diseases.  You also have to take back any puppy your dog produces at any time if the owner cannot keep it, whether the dog is 4 months or 12 years old.  You should show your dog and get points in confirmation at the very least. These are only a few of the things responsible breeders do, just a few.  I don't want to list them all, this is a good read if you think you want to breed your dog.  And don't say I want to have "just one litter".  How do you think litters get in shelters? Half of those dogs were part of a "just one litter" thought by someone who never should have bred their dog. Do not breed your dog if you aren't an established, responsible and reputable breeder. Period.

Now you may still be wondering -- so, why did you buy a puppy? You never answered that. You're right I didn't. I am not going to answer that. I don't owe anyone an explanation. I chose to buy a puppy. That's my right. I am a responsible dog owner. I'm highly educated in dog training and behavior. My puppy will never be bred. My puppy will be a respected and well-trained dog in the community. My puppy will not ever be in a shelter or on the streets.  The reason I chose this path is mine and mine alone.  

If we all actually followed the above 5 steps we'd have no problem with too many pets in shelters.  That's a fact. Seriously. If every single one of my above steps was followed by every single dog owner there would be no problem. Simple as that.  Wanna help? Wanna learn more? Wanna get to training your dog or learn how to educate others about it?  Let me know, because contrary to what you may be thinking I'm very much an advocate for getting dogs out of shelters. I'm all for responsible dog ownership, as this alone would solve our problem.

Here is my follow up blog post, "So your thinking about buying from a breeder..."

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My website: www.stacysdogtraining.com 

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