Dog Lover Community

He will be there by your side, as your loving companion - he will offer you protection if ever the need arises. Pet dog owners in turn must know how to look after their pet dog, and be responsible for it. The dog’s needs are simple and easy to follow. When puppies come home they need lots of love and attention. They may stress a little at first, as this is probably the first time they are away from their mother and their littermates. It is important that you begin the process of socialization, generally integrating your new pet into your family and teaching it to relate to people and other animals through gentle play, interaction and having pleasant encounters with family friends and pets

A stress free environment for your puppy

Try and avoid sudden loud noises such as children screaming or doors slamming. Also limit the visitors your new puppy has - gradually allowing it to get used to more and more strange faces.

Provide a warm comfortable bed - or alternatively a cardboard box with many layers of newspaper and a washable blanket on top. Make sure your puppy will still fit into it as it grows. Place the puppy’s bed where you want it to sleep as an adult or grown dog - usually the best place would be a quiet, private corner. For the first few nights - settling period - a fluffy toy and a warm (not hot) water bottle placed beneath the bedding will help. The puppy may be noisy and stresses at night immediately after separation from its littermates. A low radio or ticking clock can help sooth it.

When the puppy is awake during the day - give it lots of body contact and talk to your puppy in a soft voice to express friendship and a gruff voice to express disapproval of any of its unwanted actions.

Keeping your puppy safe
The following are things to consider when preparing for the arrival of a new puppy. Lock away household and garden chemicals.- Make sure electrical cords are out of biting reach.

Be extra careful when using lawnmowers, skateboards, roller blades or any other similar thing.

Make sure the puppy cannot get thru’ any swimming pool fencing.

Teaching your puppy the house rules
The newest member of the ‘family pack’ must learn that you are the pack leader and that it is the bottom dog in the pack. Once the new puppy recognizes its place in the family hierarchy it will be happier and easily trained to obey commands. The puppy will look to its pack leader to protect it and make decisions for it.

Nutritional needs

It is best to start by feeding your puppy the same diet it ate before it joined your family. You can introduce any changes slowly over several days to avoid causing digestive upsets. Commercial puppy foods are recommended and later commercial adult food - a well balanced good quality dry food is essential. A constant supply of fresh clean water should be available. A deep stainless steel or earthenware bowl will keep the water cooler and in summer ice can be added to the water.

Play time with your Pet Dog

Puppies love to play and this helps them to grow and learn. In the early days when they play among their littermates, it gives them exercise and is the way in which they compete for their order in the pack. Don’t be rough with your puppy - but it’s also important in these early stages that your puppy learns that family members are dominant. Chewing helps puppies through teething - but it is also a way of investigating their environment. This need is easily satisfied with chewable objects and toys. Make sure they don’t resemble objects that you don’t want chewed, for example how does the puppy distinguish between his old shoe and all of the other shoes in the household?

Puppy Dog Potty Training

Anticipate toilet needs. Take your puppy outside as soon as it wakes up, as well as before and after every meal. Go right outside with your puppy - this is very important. Take it to a specific area of the garden and wait until it has finished - always praise the puppy afterwards.

The importance of Exercising your Pet Dog

A retractable leash is ideal for a puppy, in this way you can’t force the puppy to over exercise. Adult dogs also need exercise and play - walking a dog everyday is great, or play in the park with a ball or stick. If everyday is too hard to manage, try at least four times a week.

Grooming your Dog

Get your new dog used to being groomed, handled and examined as soon as possible. Your grooming equipment should include a dog brush and comb. Establish a daily routine where you examine your dogs mouth, teeth, eyes, ears, abdomen, paws and other parts of its anatomy, and although it may not need grooming do it anyway. If your dog is regularly groomed you will only need to wash it if it gets really dirty or smelly. It is best to use lukewarm water and give the dog a brush out first. Use a proper dog shampoo and dry it off with its own special dog towel, before it gets cold. Nails should be clipped as needed depending on the breed of the dog and the surface that the dog usually walks on. If it’s a hard surface they walk on the nails will wear down naturally. Special dog nail clippers are available - if you are not confident with this process ask your vet or a dog groomer to show you the process.

Following these simple steps will ensure you, your family and the newest edition to the family will have a happy, healthy and rewarding time together.
http://www.pet-library.com

(c) By Katharine Logan, 2005

Katharine Logan is the Pet-library.com content author and manager. She conducts research on specified subjects to help people with day to day issues. For more click here:
http://www.pet-library.com

Tags: dog, dog care, dog health, pet care, pet dog, pet dog care, pet puppy, pet puppy health, puppy, puppy dogdog, dog care, dog health, pet care, pet dog, pet dog care, pet puppy, pet puppy health, puppy, puppy dog

Share This

Filed under: Dog Health | No Comments »

All puppies chew. They need to chew on something to relieve the discomfort of teething. Well-behaved adult dogs will only chew on toys or bones, but some adult dogs will revert back to this puppy behavior when they are bored or stressed. Here are three things to do to break your dog from chewing your belongings:

1. Remove the temptation. Keep your shoes, clothes or anything else that you don’t want your dog to chew off the floor. Anything on the ground is fair game as far as your puppy is concerned.

Be sure to tape all electrical, telephone and cable wiring to the wall to

keep your puppy from chewing it. You can also use pet repellent on the

wires to keep your dog away. This is a potentially deadly situation, and it

must be done to keep your pet safe.

2. Make it taste bad. One pet product, Bitter Apple, works, and so does hot pepper sauce - it just may be a little messy on your fine furniture. Any non-toxic substance that tastes bad to your dog is fair game.

3. The water treatment. Anytime you catch your puppy or dog chewing a cabinet door or your favorite pillow, say “No!” and spray him with a spray gun with a tablespoon or two of vinegar mixed in with the water. Give him a toy to chew.

4. Leave toys for your dog to play with. When you buy your pet a new toy, be sure to play with it with him the first time. Tease him with the toy, roll it on the floor, spin it around - whatever gets his attention. Don’t have tons of toys for your dog - it confuses him if he has too much to keep track of and he may inadvertently play with something not his in the confusion - like your boots. Get him used to chewing on three toys, and then you can add more.

5. The tether technique. When you are home, clip your puppy’s leash through your belt so he has to be in your sight. Every time he looks like he’s going for something inappropriate to chew, give him a toy instead.

6. Confinement. If you are away during the day, confine your dog to either his crate or a room with his toys. Never let a dog with a chewing habit roam loose in your house all day.

7. Give frozen treats. Puppies in particular like frozen treats because the cold helps to relieve their teething discomfort. You can buy some particularly formulated for pets, or just freeze some peanut butter or some soup stock in ice cube trays.

Marilyn Burnham

Author: ‘Dog Owners Boot Camp’
The How To Guide, Dog Training Secrets Professional Dog Trainers Don’t Want You To Know!
For More Information On Dog Training

Marilyn Burnham was the owner operator of 4 successful dog grooming stores in British Columbia, Canada for more than a decade. To spend more time with her children Marilyn made the decision to sell her business in the mid 90’s. Get a copy of her book: ‘Dog Owners Boot Camp’ The How To Guide, Dog Training Secrets Professional Dog Trainers Don’t Want You To Know!

Tags: dog breeds, dog care, dog grooming, dog health, dog names, dog training, house dog trainin, pet caredog breeds, dog care, dog grooming, dog health, dog names, dog training, house dog trainin, pet care

Share This

Filed under: Dog Health | No Comments »

We all know the adage “dog is man’s best friend” seem to run for ages now. But we have reasons enough to consider our dogs as vital parts of our daily existence.

They seem to have this special character to display love and loyalty, not to mention a unique fun that we can only witness from them. That’s why, as much as possible, we will do everything we can to give them the best treatment and best health care, just like we do for our family members. Come to think of it- we even provide them their own insurance!

In this article, we will tackle some important dog health guidelines. Though considerably generalized for all breeds, information here are helpful still in maintaining our best friend’s optimum health.

Dental Care. Swollen, inflamed gums and secondary infections often cause the existence of other major dog health problems. It must be observed that a young dog’s teeth are brushed once in a week. Older dogs must have a regular session of thrice a week.

There are especially designed toothbrushes for dogs that provide cleaning of the rear teeth. It is not a good practice to use human toothpaste for them, instead make use of enzyme toothpaste that will prevent tartar build-up. There are also dental cleaning pads that will complement for tooth brushing, if not regularly done. Such pads would cleanse your dog’s teeth by means of enzymes incorporated on their surface, which are effective in removing stuck-up dirt.

Ear Care. We often overlook the ears of our dog, however this practice might lead to wax and dirt build-up that can cause infection and inflammation. Regular ear care will help remove ear debris and drying the ear canal. Thus, prevention of some major conditions that might as well cause us to give especial attention to those parts.

Ear care also entails the extermination of ear mites that typically reside in the inner ear of our dogs.

Nutritional Supplements. Dog foods are often lacking in nutrients essential for the optimum development and growth of our pets. Thus, it is very vital to supplement them with vitamins and nutrients to prevent deficiencies that might cause serious dog health complications. This is especially true for older dogs who no longer has the appetite to eat heartily.

Those dogs that work hard during the entire day also need supplements. And also for those that have recently undergone surgery and sickness.

Irritated and Sored Skin. Not only humans get skin irritations and allergies. Some dogs have extra sensitive skins that make them susceptible for bacterial and fungus attack which in turn may lead to wounds, scabs and skin diseases.

Hot Spots. These are characterized by skin areas, which are moist and inflamed. These are typically due to irritation from fleabites, substance irritation or allergies. These spots are usually extremely itchy which cause dogs to scratch and lick on them. Thus, the aggravation of the condition that can lead to serious wounds.

The most vital step in healing hot spots is to reduce the frequency of scratching. Afterwhich, spraying of skin relief products may prove beneficial n stopping the pain and itchiness.

If your dog display symptoms of conditions as listed here, it is wise to consult a vet immediately. He may provide you with some guidelines, which will aid greatly in preserving your pet’s health. It is also likely that he will prescribe you with some medications that will ease the symptoms that your dog exhibits.

Khieng ‘Ken‘ Chho - Online Dog Health Resources. For more, visit Ken’s website: http://doghealth.1w3b.net/

Tags: dog care, dog health, dog illness, dog nutrition, pet care, pet health, sick dogdog care, dog health, dog illness, dog nutrition, pet care, pet health, sick dog

Share This

Filed under: Dog Health | No Comments »