Dogs: Leash or Muzzle?

My mission: ALL dogs should be on a leash or wear a muzzle when in public places

Get Rid of Fleas Naturally

Your dog starts scratching himself obsessively. You suspect fleas. What do you do?

Take him to the vet. You are told that your dog has fleas and will need a flea bath. Then you are told that you should start using some sort of preventative treatment for the rest of the flea season. You have a few options available to you, including a flea collar. But did you know that the main ingredient in many of these flea-control aids is insecticide? Scary? Yes. But what is your natural alternative?

Next time this happens to you don’t go running to the pet store to spend a good deal of money on poison. Instead, go to a health food store and pick up one of the following essential oils: eucalyptus, citronella, tea tree, lavender or geranium. By rubbing a few drops of any of these oils onto your dog’’s collar or a bandana, you will prevent a flea infestation naturally and safely.

This maintenance program is easy as can be and only requires a reapplication to the collar once a week. And as an extra bonus, your dog will smell wonderful all summer long!.

dog health dog care

1 Comment »khealey on May 26th 2007 in Dog Health

Dog Training Basics – Preventing Unwanted Urination

Problems with inappropriate and unwanted urination are some of the most commonly encountered by dog owners. As a matter of fact, inappropriate urination and defecation are the most frequently given reason that owners hand over their dog to shelters.

Before you can address problems with inappropriate urination, it is important to understand the basis of the problem. There are several reasons why a dog could lose bladder control, and it is important to know the root cause of the problem before it can be properly addressed.

1. Excitement Urination

Dogs often urinate when they become overly excited, and dogs that are otherwise perfectly housebroken sometimes show their excitement by dribbling urine when greeting you excitedly. It is normal for some dogs to urinate when they get excited, and this can be a particular problem for many older dogs.

A lot of excitement induced urination occurs in young puppies, and it is caused by a lack of bladder control. The puppy may not even know he is urinating, and punishment will simply confuse him. Becoming angry with the puppy will quickly cause excitement urination to morph into submissive urination, thus compounding the problem. As the puppy gets older and develops better bladder control, this type of excitement urination should disappear.

The best cure for excitement urination is prevention. Preventing your dog from becoming over excited is the best way to control this problem behavior. If your dog is excited by a particular stimulus or situation, it is important to repeatedly expose him to that situation until it no longer causes excessive excitement.

2. Submissive Urination

Submissive urination is a natural part of pack behavior among animals like dogs and wolves. The submissive member of the pack shows his or her submissiveness by lowering itself and urinating. Since dogs are pack animals, they may show their submissiveness to their owner, who they regard as the pack leader, by exhibiting this submissive urination.

Dogs who exhibit submissive urination are usually showing their insecurity. Unsocialized and previously abused dogs often exhibit submissive urination. These dogs need to be shown that there are more appropriate ways to express their submissive status, such as shaking hands or licking the owner’s hand.

The best way to deal with submissive urination problems is often to ignore the urination. Trying to reassure the dog can give the mistaken impression that you approve of the behavior, while scolding the dog can make the submissive urination worse.

Correcting problems with submissive urination should be directed at building the dog’s confidence and teaching him other ways to show his respect. Teaching the dog to lift his paw, sit on command, or similar obedience commands, is a great way to direct the dog’s respect in a more appropriate direction.

Problems with urination are not always easy to deal with, but it is important to be consistent, and to always reward acceptable behavior on the part of the dog.

3. Medical Reasons

When urination problems do occur, it is always a good idea to first rule out any medical conditions that could be causing those problems. Medical issues like bladder infections can be the root cause of problems with unwanted urination.

After any medical problems have been ruled out, it is important to determine what is causing the problem, and treat it appropriately.

While it can be tempting to punish the dog for inappropriate urination, doing so will only confuse and further intimidate him.

dog training dog health

No Comments »khealey on May 26th 2007 in Dog Training

Dog Health Questions

There are a number of pet health questions that you may encounter with your dog throughout his/her life. Being prepared by feeding your dog a healthy diet, and being able to recognise some of the signs of sickness will help you maintain your pet dog health. Knowing what types of nutrients to feed your dog, and how to deal with diarrhea, constipation and fleas are all dog health questions that you may need to educate yourself on.

Here are several of the most common dog health questions, together with some answers to assist you.

1. How to deal with constipation in your dog:

This is one of the more common dog health questions that many people will face at some point in time. The most common cause of constipation is an unbalanced diet in which a lack of fiber causes a build up of drying feces. Adding a teaspoon of fiber to their usual meal will help increase their fiber intake and eliminate the build up of drying feces. If the constipation does not clear in a few days, you may need to take your dog to a veterinarian.

2. How to deal with diarrhea in your dog:

This is a serious pet heath question because diarrhea can become a concern to your pet dog health if it goes on too long. You have to become worried about dehydration and further complication if it drags on too long. You can help the problem by feeding your dog white or brown rice with their usual meal, along with giving them an over-the-counter remedy.

3. How to deal with fleas on your dog:

Fleas can be the bane of your dog’s life. They are nasty creatures that live on, and feed off your dog. They are highly contagious, in that if one of your pets contracts fleas, all of your pets will become infested within a very short space of time. How do you prevent fleas? Or get rid of them if you haven’t succeeded in preventing fleas on your dog? Most pet owners resort to chemical preventatives and treatments, but more and more pet owners are turning to natural flea treatments that, when used consistently, can be just as effective in treating fleas as their chemical counterparts. – Especially if your dog is otherwise healthy, is bathed from time to time, and is eating a healthy diet. Which brings us to the next two dog health questions:

4. How regularly you should bathe your dog:

Dogs can be placed in water as often as you would like them to be as long as you don’t use any kinds of soap. If you are giving them bath and washing them with shampoo or soap, human shampoo or soap can lead to an imbalance of sweat with dogs and hurt your pet dog health. Even when using dog-specific soap, no more than one bath every few weeks should be given.

5. What is the best food choice for your dog:

This is one of the more difficult dog health questions to answer because there isn’t necessarily a correct answer for everyone. There are certain foods that are not good for any dogs. Avoid store-bought foods that contain by-products of any kind in them. Such commercial dog food is undoubtedly the worst food you can feed for your pet dog’s health. The best natural dog food is raw meat and other raw food as the primary food source for your dog. Some dog owners are reluctant to feed raw meat and bones, so a very high quality convenience natural dog food is an alternative, as is cooked meat with perhaps a little rice, cottage cheese and even some eggs for a varied protein source from time to time.

Taking care of your pet dog health is absolutely vital to increasing your dog’s lifespan. Everything from what to feed your dog to how to handle fleas, diarrhea and constipation are all important. If you’re not sure of the answer, don’t hesitate to look online (see below) or ask your veterinarian your dog health questions.

Healthy Happy Dogs is a resource containing a wealth of information on dog health questions. If your dog tends to suffer from constipation or diarrhea, click here: http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com/NaturalRemedies for information on the very best natural remedies for dogs available.

For more information on quality dog shampoos, natural flea treatments and for your FREE dog health report, sign up at HealthyHappyDogs.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brigitte_Smith

dog health

6 Comments »khealey on April 13th 2007 in Dogs

Dog Training Tips

Let’s face it, for many people training their dog is a struggle that sooner or later leads them to just give up and let their dog do whatever he pleases. Then they ask themselves why they have such a disobedient dog. More experienced dog owners know that dog training is something that is always going on. Whenever they are with their dog they are always training him. Going for walks, playing in the park, even just relaxing around the house are all opportunities to teach.

Dogs by nature are curious creatures who get easily bored. If there is not a proper outlet for this boredom they will find something to do. And to a dog who doesn’t know the difference chewing up a shoe or digging holes in the yard is neither good nor bad. It’s just something to do. The more a dog learns to please himself and do whatever he wants the less control his owner will have. A disobedient dog does not just happen; by ignoring, mistreating or being lackadaisical about training him he will learn all sorts of bad behaviors all by himself.

Dogs love to please their owners but without feedback they have no idea if they are doing right or wrong. Everything is the same to them. This is why it is important to praise a dog when they are being obedient. Positive reinforcement is one of the most powerful dog training tools a dog owner can use.

Many people do not realize the amount of work needed to train some of the more amazing dogs they see on TV or here about in news reports. Police dogs, seeing eye dogs, military dogs can take a good year of intense training to get them to the point where they can even start working in that capacity. And their training never stops. Dogs do not come trained and they will not learn simply because they inhabit the same space as their owners. Dogs have no inborn sense of right and wrong; everything is the same to them, unless they are taught.

Dog training is all about teaching a dog good behavior. Repetition is the name of the game when it comes to training a dog. Combined with praise for a job well done a dog will soon learn what its boundaries are and who is actually in charge. The first thing every dog should learn is their name. This is what gets their attention and simply saying it should stop them dead in their tracks from whatever they are doing. From there on a dogs training should be a daily routine; housetraining, sitting, staying, not barking or jumping up on people, these are things that will make life with a dog easier and much more enjoyable.

For more dog training tips and tricks visit the website Worfdog.com by clicking here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Bicknell

dog training

No Comments »khealey on April 13th 2007 in Dogs

Training Your Dog to Stop Chewing

Puppies are going to naturally go through a developmental phase that includes chewing almost everything in sight. They do this to help with the pain of their teeth cutting through their gums. This is very similar to what infant babies go through. Usually puppies will stop this chewing behavior at about nine months old when all of their teeth have come through. If your dog has reached one year of age and is still chewing everything in sight, it may be a sign that you need to look at the behavior further.

Chewing can be a habit that your dog acquires because of boredom, anxiety, or even frustration. It doesn’t matter why your dog chews, the behavior can be dangerous to your dog and can very expensive for you. The first step in stopping your dog’s chewing problem is to catch him in the process of chewing something. You can limit the amount of items your dog has available to chew by offering them constant supervision and eliminating some of their favorite chew items such as shoes.

Once you catch your dog in the process of chewing and item, make it known that this is not the correct behavior for your puppy. Continue to offer your puppy very limited time to roam the house and always supervise. With this constant supervision, it offers you the opportunity to catch your dog in the act of chewing. When you are not able to offer the constant supervision necessary to keep your dog from chewing items, it is important to combine them in a small area or crate. In their crate, offer them appropriate chew toys so they begin to learn which type of toys they can chew and which items they should not be chewing.

Give your dog a special spot in the house where they can keep their favorite chew toys. Always keep these safe dog toys in this area alone; that way the dog will always know where to go when they feel like they need to chew on something. Some of the most popular chew toys for dogs are old socks, rawhide, safe toys, and knucklebones. Many people say that Rawhide should only be given to dogs while you are there to supervise because sometimes pieces can break off and cause your puppy to choke.

Anytime you are trying to teach your puppy to behave in a certain manner, it is important to provide stability in the training. Be consistent in your commands and provide only appropriate toys to chew on. If you do not want your dog to chew on shoes, don’t offer them an old shoe as a chew toy. If you want your dog to stay away from the children’s squeaky toys, don’t offer them squeaky dog toys to chew on.

One final tip - many dog owners have returned from a quick dash into the grocery store, only to return to their car and find a massive chunk of the back seat chewed through. To protect against this, equip your vehicle with a car seat cover designed for pets. This will serve as a barrier & your puppy won’t be able to sink his teeth into the meaty seats.

After a successful long term period of being chew-free, give him a comfortable dog bed to rest on (now that you are confident that he won’t destroy it!)

Other recent articles by Kelly Marshall include topics on pet health care concerns and grooming long haired dog breeds

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Marshall

dog training

No Comments »khealey on April 13th 2007 in Dog News

Animal Welfare Act

From Friday 6th April 2007 the new Animal Welfare Act comes into force in England, stating that owners will have a duty of care to their animals.

Under the new Act owners will have to provide:

* a suitable environment (place to live)
* a suitable diet
* ensure their pet exhibits normal behaviour patterns
* be housed with or apart from other animals (if applicable)
* be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease

At the moment it is only illegal for a pet owner to inflict cruelty. Under this new Act, pet owners will, for the first time, be legally obliged to ensure that their pets are properly cared for.

It gives the RSPCA more legal weight to threaten neglectful owners and remove animals into their care if necessary.

The new Animal Welfare Act definitely has my approval.

dog care

1 Comment »khealey on April 4th 2007 in Dog News

No Comments »khealey on March 21st 2007 in Dog News

Doggy Dancing

Have you been watching Crufts?

Have you seen the dogs doing ‘doggy dancing’? Or to give its a more official title, ‘heel work to music’.

Obviously, your dog must have mastered basic obedience classes before the advanced stages of doggy dancing could be contemplated!

Also, to be a good dog for doggy dancing, your dog should have some basic agility skills too - like jumps and ability to walk backwards - not all dog breeds are able to walk backwards.

The combination of music and dog allows handlers to demonstrate their training skills and strong partnership. Training for heelwork and freestyle develops the dog both mentally and physically, and watching the dogs they seem to really enjoy it.

The handlers and the dogs both seem to have great fun with doggy dancing!

No Comments »khealey on March 13th 2007 in In the News, Dog News

No Comments »khealey on March 10th 2007 in Monty

Can you speak dog?

Have you ever wished you could understand what your dog is trying to tell you?

Ever wished you knew what he was thinking?

As you get to know your dog better, it becomes easier to understand what he’s trying to ‘tell’ you by his behaviour, motions or the way he barks.

But what if you had an automatic translation machine that told you exactly what he was saying?

You’d know what he wanted for dinner, where he wanted to go for a walk, or what he could smell.

Sounds impossible? Well computer software might be on the horizon to do just that! Its already available to translate other ‘human’ languages, so its just another short bounce to ‘dog’.

No Comments »khealey on March 10th 2007 in Monty