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Remember, barking is natural! It’s an important means of communication for dogs. But sometimes problems can develop. As the pack leader, it’s your job to step in and control excessive barking.

Correct and follow through! Tell your dog to stop barking using a look, a sound, or a physical correction. But don’t stop there. Your dog may pause and then go right back to what he was doing. His body relaxed, but his brain was still on alert. Be patient. Wait until your dog completely submits before you go back to what you were doing.

Make sure you are calm! Constant barking can be irritating, but you won’t be able to correct the problem if you are frustrated. Animals don’t follow unbalanced leaders. In fact, your dog will mirror your energy. If you’re frustrated, he will be, too! And barking is a great release for that frustrated energy. Take a moment to curb your own internal barking first.

Stake your claim! Is your dog barking over and over again at the same object, person, situation, or place? Then you need to step up and claim that stimulus as your own. Use your body, your mind, and your calm-assertive energy to create an invisible wall that your dog is not allowed to cross. Do it with 100% dedication and focus, and the results may surprise you.

Give your dog more challenges! Excessive barking is often the result of pent-up energy. If this is the case, the solution is simple: release that energy in more productive ways. Does your dog receive a daily walk? Can you make the walk more challenging with a bicycle, a backpack, or by walking on an incline? Can you provide more mental challenges, such as herding, agility training, or simple obedience games? There are many, many ways to increase the challenges in your dog’s life. Find one that you enjoy that your dog can participate in safely.

Get professional help. When you brought this dog into your life, you made a commitment to provide the care he needs. This includes calling in a canine professional to help him cope with a behavior issue. Get tips for finding the right professional.

Thank you www.cesarmillaninc.com for tip

1. Get Rid of Dust
One of the most common causes of overheating is dust and dirt. So you need to keep your system clean, inside and out. Try to clean it once a year using lint-free wipes. Make sure you use an antistatic wrist strap as well to protect your system when cleaning inside the case.

2. Get Power Protection
One of the saddest things in many PCs is that they are not surge protected. Surge protectors are a good investment - they protect your PC from that unfortunate power outage or lightning strike. Try to get one that has a warning indicator and is UL 1449 certified.

3. Turn Off the Monitor
One tip I always apply at home - turn off the PC monitor when its not in use. I treat the computer monitor like a TV - don’t waste your monitor’s power if you’re not using it. This is especially important in LCD monitors, which may burn out or get bad pixels after long periods of use.

4. Keep the PC Running
Many people don’t realize that its harmful to power up your computer from a cold state. This is especially true when done repeatedly within a short timeframe. Try to leave your PC running as long as possible - or use the Microsoft Windows’ Power Management settings to put your machine into hibernation rather than completely shutting down.

5. Hard Drive Health Check
If you use Windows XP, you should regularly check your hard disk’s health with an error-checking utility. In Windows Explorer, click on the drive’s icon, select Properties -> Tools -> Check Now. If the check discovers several hundred errors, your drive could be full of bad sectors - you’d best backup your important data and then try to get it repaired.

6. Get an Anti-Virus Program
I still find it amazing that many home computer users do not have an anti-virus program installed. This piece of software is fundamental to any computer system. You should definitely consider getting a program like Norton Antivirus or The Shield Pro to protect against harmful attacks.

7. Check the CMOS battery
If you have a very old PC (four or five years old), the CMOS battery on the motherboard may need to be replaced. The first sign of a bad CMOS battery is when your system clock starts losing time.

8. Take Care when Opening the Case
Whenever you open the PC case, turn off the power and unplug your PC. Ground yourself first - by touching anything inside the PC to avoid destroying your circuit boards with a static charge. Another option is to wear a grounding wrist strap. I’ve destroyed my computer power supply before because I forgot about this point.

9. Maintain the Mouse
What’s one of the dirtiest components in a PC that you come in contact with? Yes - it’s the modest little mouse. Years of using a mouse will get it filled with dirt and grime.

If you have a mechanical mouse, you’ll realize this when the mouse starts to move erratically. To clean it, unscrew the mouse and use a small scraper to scrape the dirt off the two plastic rollers inside. Also remember to clean the scroll wheel if there is one. If you have a optical mouse, you need not worry about any internal rollers but you still need to clean the scroll wheel.

10. Clean Up the Registry
If you always add and remove computer programs in your PC, you can be sure the entries in your Windows Registry are pretty much in a mess. A clogged Windows Registry increases the time your PC boot up time and hogs system resources. Try to get a tool to help clean the registry safely, such as Registry Mechanic. Do not try to clean the registry yourself if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

Conclusion
I hope this article has given you many ideas on how to keep your good old PC in tiptop shape. Remember, take care of your PC and it will take care of you. Apply these tips once in a while to ensure a trouble-free computer system.

Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on building computers. Visit his website at Build-Your-Own-Computers.com for tips and tricks on assembling a PC, as well as buying good computer components.

By : Gary Hendricks
Keyword : tips for keeping your pc in tiptop shape, pc maintenance tips