Month: March 2016

Housebreaking your Dog

Housebreaking is one of the most problematic complaints from dog owners. But the problem lies with a lack of understanding on the part of the owners and not with the dog. Good potty habits in a dog comes about only as a result of training and good communication.

There are several methods to housebreak the dog and all it requires is that you dedicate some of your time and being patient with your pet. When a potty accident happens, people are hesitant to train their dogs.

There are a lot of methods of training, however clicker training and other gentle method of training is known to be more effective for dogs. Responsible dog owners know that the best thing to do is to spend time with their pets and teach them the essential dog obedience.

As for a puppy, it needs to relief itself about six times a day. It should be taken out right after each meals. You should never leave an untrained puppy at home unattended.

There are various methods of training a puppy to housebreak and one of them is the crate training method. This method will take a few days for the puppy to get used to it. This method concerns leaving your dog in his crate with his bed and food, and only taking it out on a schedule. Even if the dog is whining for you to let it out, you must not do it. Letting it out when it whines becomes a habit. When the dog potties while you let it out, reward it with treats, long walk or playtime before putting it back to its crate.

Crate training needs to have a balance of companionship and ample time for exercise. Try to extend the duration of time outside the crate with supervision. If you let your dog out during its schedule time and it doesn’t potty, put it back into the crate. You need to stay on schedule for this training. Usually dogs do not soil its “nest”, so you need not worry too much.

When the training seems to have taken place, you can now confine your dog in a room where the floor is washable in case of accidents. Continue with the schedule potty time and keep an eye on your dog. When you see your dog show signs of wanting to pee or poop, take it out immediately to do its “business”. If an accident happens, take it back to the crate. Do not punish your dog or shout at it. Punishment after the act has happen does not help to boost its confidence. It only confuses the dog. It cannot connect or relates to the act after the incident passed.

Another method is by using a stack of newspaper as its potty area. Lead your dog to the newspaper every time your dog wants to relief itself. Once your dog has pee or poop on it, removes the top layers and leave the rest of the stack. This will leave a slight urine smell your dog can detect and this will lead your dog to that spot next round when your dog wants to do its pottying.

Adopting a Dog
Before adopting a dog, you need to think seriously about whether you have the money and time required to care for the dog which have a lifespan of up to 16 years or more. A lot of folks have different lifestyles and changes jobs and career developments. This also displace them from one place to another as they progress in years. It is also true that people do change their lifestyle for the love of their dogs. Dogs especially need a lot of physical companion, and therefore require a deep emotional commitment as well as your time.
Will this be your first dog, or have you ever own a dog? Do you do a lot of outstation travelling and will not be home for an extended period of time? Will you have to do fencing to your garden to accommodate your dog? Will the dog be able to get along with the children? Do you have the time for grooming of your pet? What kind of playtime exercise to fulfill your dog’s requirement? Will walking on a leash be enough or otherwise? These are the type of questions that you need to look into and consider when you adopt a pet. When you go through the questions, it will also help you to understand what type of dog suits you and your family.
Certain breed of dog have certain nutritional requirement. It is not a one solution or a one dog food for all. Certain breeds needs higher intake of protein than others. Take for example a Dalmation. Dalmation is so susceptible to kidney disease that its needs for a low-protein diet is essential. And this breed also do require frequent checkups. So know the breed that you want to adopt.
A lot of people who really love dogs do not mind whether it is a pedigree or not. If that is the case, then there are a lot of abandon dogs at the local shelter homes which you can visit. A lot of these animal rescue homes and society of prevention of animal cruelty readily welcome dog lover to adopt their animals. All the dogs that are put up for adoption has gone through medical examinations by their veterinarian, so there is no issue of taking a sick dog home. Experts do agree that mongrels are one of the most hardy and rugged breed. They do have the best of inherited genes due to its natural selection of evolution in dogs.
Another issue that needs look into is the spaying and neutering of the dog. If you are not a breeder and do not intend to breed, then the advice is to spay or neuter your dog. It has its advantage that, if it is a female dog and if you do not spy it, you will find it messy during the time when the bitch is on heat. Not only will you encounter this issue, but you will find that all the neighborhood dogs will be fighting over your female dog. This nuisance can be avoided if you have all these information beforehand. And as for neutering of the male dog, it will saves you a lot of headache. As mention, it will be fighting with other dogs to mate. Neutering of your dog will make it more gentle as the male hormone, testosterone, is the culprit that boost its activity and its urge to look for mates.

Dog Grooming
Grooming of dogs has long has its history as far back as it was domesticated. Some said it is an art refined through the years of mastering it. What we need to understand is that grooming helps keep your dog in an optimum condition. Whether it is in terms of appearance or otherwise, grooming is part of your pet’s health care.
Why is this so that it concerns health instead of just appearance? A very simple example is that if you have a dog with long coat of hair, what would happen if you do not trim the hairs that covers the eyes. Firstly, your dog would not have a good vision as the hair is obstructing it. What would your dog do? It would either be rubbing areas around its eyes with its paws to clear off the obstructing hairs. By doing so, it would also be causing harm to the eyes physically.
Secondly, even if your dog is not rubbing its eyes due to irritation, the hairs that over grow into the eyes, will be “pocking” into it. This will cause injury to the eyes such as scratches and bruising of the eyes will occur. It can also cause redness in the eyes. This will depend on the severity of the injury and the reaction of your dog to its irritation. If it is not tackle at an early stage, more harm and serious eye problem will manifest. So be on the look-out of hairs covering the eyes.
Grooming can be done by the dog owner or send to a grooming saloon to take care of its needs. Let us start with the basic ones such as bathing the dog. How often do we bathe our pet? There is no specific duration. It will have to depend on your dog’s condition. Dogs that exercise and roam a lot will have to bathe more often than those that don’t. Usually when it gets smelly, you need to bathe it. A dog shampoo is a must so that it do not cause any skin reaction. If your dog is having skin problem, then you need to bathe it more often.
Next will be the brushing of your dog. Here it is the same that common sense and logic applies. Short-haired dogs do not need to be brushed as often as long haired-dogs. Long-haired dogs need to be brushed often so that they don’t get tangled or matted. Do not forget to brush short-haired dogs as it would help to remove “dead” hairs from their coat. Remember to brush down along the hair and never against.
Trimming of hair is of great significant for long coat dogs. This is to keep it neat and kempt. It also make them feel more comfortable. What I am commenting here is the normal trimming to keep it neat and tidy, not those that trimmed their dogs to some exotic fashion which is not recommended. Furthermore as per commented above, trimming includes keeping the hairs out of the dog’s eyes. It also helps to enhance the appearance of the dog.
Nails on the dog’s paws need to be kept short so that it is not clipping on the floor when it walks. Remember not to over-do short. When you clip it too short, it is painful and will bleed. This is often true with smaller breed of dogs. If you are not sure, seek expert help. When you can hear the sound of clipping of nails on the floor, it is time to visit the grooming saloon.
Brushing of teeth is on the list of grooming. It is recommended to do it often. However survey has shown that this is not one of the top item in the grooming list. Alternatively there are synthetic bones and other chewables that are sold in the market that helps to clean the dog’s teeth.
Whatever you do, just use common sense and logic when you groom your dog. It is best to introduce grooming to you dog as early as possible when it is a puppy so that it is familiar with the procedure and will be at ease with it.

Do Dogs Eat Grass!

A lot of time owners of dogs tend to ask this question of why their dogs eat grass. It is not that grass is one of their diet. And dogs are known to be natural carnivore. However they are also a very adaptable animal as they are surviving on omnivorous diet living together with man. So why do they do it.
There has not been a single answer that all the enthusiast agreed upon. However most are saying that it is the build in instinct of animal survival that is still inherited. Just like wild animals in the jungle, how do they know which plant helps them with stomach upset or just like an elephant being able to search for salt flats or deposits.
As have said earlier that dogs are carnivorous not herbivorous, then why do they eat grass. Dogs do not have the ability to digest the grass like a cow or a goat as they lack the digestive enzymes to break down the fibers. So it makes little or no sense at all that it gives the dog any nutritional value. Some may have the idea that they are hungry that is why they eat grass. This may be a funny remark but if you are a dog owner, you would be concern too. Some even say that it is boredom and some even responded that their dogs are being mischievous. The recent opinion from some novice was that it is an obsessive compulsive disorder. This is no laughing matter as no real in-depth research been done to nail down the culprit.
Research has shown that about 80% of the dogs do this. Some observation appears to have given the idea that it is sort of a cleansing process that the dogs do in a certain period of its development. It shows that after a while of the grass eating process, they vomit it out. It seems that they were cleaning out their stomach of some sort of unwanted materials. This include the intestinal worm in the digestive system.
Another opinion from some experience enthusiastic dog lovers is that some dogs do have inflammatory condition in the stomach which points to gastric reflux. The reason put forward was that when they are out and about, they will without hesitate munch up the grass to satisfy the urge. That is why this group of enthusiast advice is to observe your dog before you let it out. And if it is restless and agitated sort of repeated swallowing motion with extended neck before you let it out to “gaze”, then you should make an appointment with your veterinarian. Gastric problem is a treatable matter with either conventional remedy or homeopathic medicine.
One thing that we have to keep in mind even though eating grass is not harmful but the grass that your dog eat may be sprayed with insecticide. So be on the look-out and not encourage your dog to eat grass just because Mr. Jones down the road did so. And also be aware that some plants are toxic in nature and could cause side effects that you may not see immediately but manifest in the later stage of your dog’s life.

The Benefits Of A Pet Dog

The closeness of contact between a pet and its owner enhance physical and emotional benefits. It has been commonly known that pets have provided their owners great physical and emotional benefits.

By walking the dog, not only do you get your dog some exercise, the owner also gets to exercise and gets out to some fresh air and the environment around. The excitement of your dog being able to get out and you having a great time with your pet, makes physical exercise like a stroll in the park.

Pets have been credited to bridge the gap of human communication with social interaction and contacts. Walking your dog in the neighborhood, you will find more people talking to you and about your dog. This brings about good neighborhood relations and build their common interest.

Being as one of the family members, your dog can give you hours of fun and company. Nowadays, especially the so-called IT world, even family members are not communicating enough physically as most of them are busily glued to their gadgets. However a dog, being adorable yet mischievous, brings the family together in taking care of it and nurtures the family relationship.

Pets have been recommended by the medical profession to be employed as a therapeutic treatments. This is especially true and of significant positive consequences to elderly adults who are living in solitary environment. And especially so for those people who live solitarily after some bad encounter in life that they “hide in their own world” and live a reclusive life.

Pet dogs have become the therapy and hope, as it give reclusive people a sense of comfort, attention and someone to talk to. With a venue to release all the negative thoughts and suppressed emotions without any discrimination as the dog will be more empathetic than any other pet or person. Example of some of the therapy dogs are Irish Wolfhound also known as the gentle giant as it is a big dog, Chihuahua – small and cute being able to carry it along where ever you go, poodle – a fluffy and intelligent dog that provides a cuddly comfort, Corgis – a favorite with the royal family of England, Dachshund – helpful in anxiety disorders, depression, autism and epilepsy, and others.

Many conclusive evidence has been published by the medical profession that pets plays an important role in the well-being of their owners, both physically and psychologically. Ownership of a dog has become more than a pet. It has become more than a valuable asset as reports has shown that it is not the monetary satisfaction that can equate to the beneficial satisfaction that connects you to your dog.

Knowing that having a pet dog is beneficial, we need to understand that the dog also have its physical and emotional needs that you have to take care of. Therefore if you plan to own a dog, be sure to read more on its care and up keeping. Remember that when you take home a dog, it is a commitment that you need to fulfill for the lifetime of the dog.

Teacup Dogs

Teacup dogs has been erroneously referred to as a Toy dog category or vice versa. A Toy dog is a small breed of dog under a specific height (shoulder height at standing) and weight according to its breed. These criteria are recognized by world-wide dog registries and associations. Whereas Teacup dogs are not recognize by any world-wide or reputable registry. Therefore Teacup dogs do not have an official or approved standard to determine its size. It is only understood that Teacup dogs are comparatively smaller sized dog breed than Toy dog breed. It has been known that a Teacup dog could be as small as 3 inches tall at standing shoulder height. This is believed to have been introduced into this “category” in the mid-19th century.

It is assumed that these dogs are usually stunted and impeded in growth. The theory is that the method of achieving this type of small dogs is by stunning them and through selective breeding. The method used by breeders usually is to starve the puppies during their “second term” of major growth which is about 3 to 8 weeks, to stunt their growth. This greatly contributes to Teacup dogs health problems.

Breeders also started using stunted or runt to breed this type of dogs, so that they can achieve smaller breed of “toy” dogs. Generations after generations of intentional selective breeding this category of runt, produced dogs of smaller size breed and they categorized it as Teacup Dog. They are usually frail and have underdeveloped bodies. There are no actual designation for Teacup dogs, but it is understood that its size is so tiny that it can fit into a teacup. For that, it could have been coined and widely used for this category of dogs to be called Teacup dogs.

Teacup dogs are known to be health prone. The general health problem that these Teacup dogs have in common are hypoglycemia (abnormally low level of glucose in the blood), seizure, blindness (due to inbreeding, recessive genes becomes prominent), skull with open soft spot (commonly known for Toy breed puppies which usually closes up when the dog matures), heart problem, digestive problems, respiratory problems, incontinence issues (due to its very small bladder) and a lot more to add to the list.

This Teacup dog is genetically not a fit breed of dogs. However being small with its cuteness, there are demands for this “category” of dogs. So small and having delicate health usually with life threatening issues, Teacup dogs are said to be of high maintenance medically. Being extremely small, their bones are not strong and frail. Care and handling is of utmost important as they are not like the usual dogs that we normally have at home, not even close to Toy dogs physically, they cannot over exert. Therefore any potential Teacup dog owner needs to know some background knowledge about this category of dogs before deciding owning this breed of dog or thinking of taking one home.

The lifespans of a Teacup dog is expected to be similar or much less shorter than a Toy dog due to its inherent health issues. It could weight as low as 2 pounds.

Owning a Teacup dog equates to cruelty to animals, especially dogs. It is inhumane. The Teacup dog lives a perilous life, not a blissfully, joyful one. My plea to dog lovers out there is to never own a Teacup dog. When you don’t own a Teacup dog, you discourage breeding and selling. This will help to weed out this cruel practice and agony.

Through centuries, dogs has probably been the first animal to be domesticated. They were living side by side with human beings and helping out with such hugh variety of jobs as hunting dogs, messenger dogs, rescue dogs, police dogs, army dogs, assistance dogs especially for the blind, herding dogs, guard dogs and all the things you can think of.

Dogs are most probably the best that man can think of to utilize and appreciate the wide variety of tasks that they can perform. They have the intelligence and the mutual understanding between animal and man. Today we can still see that after centuries of closeness and the bond between human and dogs, they (man and dogs) are still working together on critical rescue missions during a disaster such as earthquake, floods, landslide, tracking lost person and many others.

You will sometimes find that dogs are called canines as this word originated from the Latin word. And that we often hear the word “man’s best friend” which represents dogs is an honorable phrase. We honor them for all the benefits that man take joy in and also the enrichment in our life.

It is quite easy to come to this conclusion when you see from the above that they are man’s best helper with such a wide variety of abilities in terms of carrying out their duties. Not only that, they are also very loyal and faithful to their owners which no other can come close to or attest to. That is why you will agree that “Man’s Best Friend” title is won anytime by dogs, hands down.

It is fascinating to know that the size of dogs varies greatly from as small as about six inches tall to as big and tall as 33 inches in shoulder height standing. This is the general accepted standard by the dog registry world-wide. There are five breeds of dogs namely Toy Breed, Small Breed, Medium, Large and Extra Large.

Toy breed is usually from 5 to 12 pounds. The small breed being from 12 to 25 pounds. From 25 to 50 pounds dogs are under the medium breed. Large breed dogs from 50 to 100 pounds. And the last but not least is the extra large breed which weighs over 100 pound.

However some might dispute that there were reports of dogs as tall as 44 inches which was a Guinness World Record for the Great Dane named Zeus. Sometimes you will find this uncommon occurrence such as Zeus which is extraordinarily big. Unfortunately it dies at the age of 5 years old.
Generally dog breeds of smaller size live a longer lifespan than their larger cousins.

However we need to be informed that a “certain breed of dogs” could be smaller than the above stated size of six inches tall at shoulder height standing. This breed of dogs is categorized under Teacup category by some and is not recognized by any major dog registry. This breed of Teacup dog as they called it is created by some “dog enthusiast”.