March 21, 2009
Puppy House Training Effectively
With a new puppy in the home, puppy house training guidelines must be worked out to prevent little “surprises” from appearing around your house. Every owner must go through house training with their new puppy. Some puppies require more time and patience to catch on, while other puppies learn the process rather quickly. Try not to get flustered when you are going through the trials of first house training your puppy. If you manage to stay patient and calming your puppy will soon be well on its way to being housebroken.
In the Puppy’s Mind
Looking into how your puppy thinks will certainly assist you in producing good puppy house training results. Cleanliness has very different definitions when it comes to you versus your new puppy. Puppies do not need the structure of a set place to relieve themselves outside, what they want is the freedom to go where and when they feel the need. Your puppy is only concerned with nature’s basic safety and health rule which is to stay away from his bed or food when going to the toilet. This means that any place else in your house, away from his bed and food, may be considered appropriate, from behind your couch to the floor in your bedroom. Places like this are perfectly fine for him, although definitely not for you; what you must do is instruct him and show him a better spot — one that you choose for him!
Anticipating the Signs
During the first couple of weeks of a puppy, the early warning signals aren’t always easy to read, so you need to find a way to understand this as soon as possible. Choose a location soon that is close to the puppy’s food, bed, or play area. It is very rewarding to be able to anticipate when your puppy needs to go outside. In general, puppies have to “go” after waking up, eating, drinking, getting excited, or playing as well as every hour in between!
You must familiarize yourself with your puppy’s body language and learn to see the indicators that tell you it’s time for him to “go”. When a puppy is persistently sniffing, circling a single spot or has his tail held high, those are common signals. When see this you need to immediately bring him to where you prefer that he relieve himself to build the association. You will be on your way to successfully completing puppy house training in doing so.
Even the best trained dogs will occasionally have small accidents when they are very excited or when greeting friends and family members. This type of response is natural and is called submissive urination. You shouldn’t treat this differently from regular house training. You should never go as far as punishing you dog, even if other accidents occur. Punishing a house training pup will only lead to confusion and more make the puppy feel the need to hide when it relieves itself.
When accidents happen during periods of excitement, do not shout at your dog, instead work things out until he breaks this habit. Keep greetings low key and preferably do them while you’re both still outside. Build up your dog’s confidence and greet them gently. If they do have an accident, clean it up and don’t make any issue out of it. Soon your dog will no longer be having these accidents and you’ll be congratulating yourself for having successfully completed another round of puppy house training.
Filed under Animals by Shelly Ballard
February 13, 2009
How To Keep Your Cat Healthy And Happy
If you are a cat lover, you would want your feline pet to have an enjoyable life and a long one. Most cat owners already know the basics of taking care of their pet. But not as many know what to do in order to keep them healthy and living for a long time.
What are some of the basic fundamentals that one should know? One of them is that a comfortable home should be provided for the cat. It is often enough to get a cat bed with some comfortable blankets to sleep in.
Being clean and hygienic is also important for cats. You do not want them to develop a flea problem. Therefore, keep its living quarters clean and your house free from dust and dirt as much as possible.
Your health depends on what you eat, and this is true even for cats. Did you know that cats actually prefer to eat meat more than vegetables like grains or cereal? What you feed them will determine if they live their maximum number of years or pass away earlier due to improper eating habits.
Yet, most cat owners have been taught to feed vegetarian cat food to their pets and being taught that these are healthier. Vegetables might be healthy and necessary for humans, but felines are different. The cat family has been created to feast on meat instead.
So in order to give your cat what it needs most, go for fresh meat products that have been manufactured for them specifically. Alternatively you can prepare your own with fish or other types of meat. They thrive on animal protein and not synthetically produced forms of life’s building blocks.
There are also canned cat foods which are meat based and suitable for consumption. However, they have additives to ensure a longer shelf life. Fresh meat is your best option and vegetable based foods should only be given as a last resort.
Providing a good living environment that is clean with a healthy supply of fresh meat, it should help to allow your cat to live its maximum lifespan. The things to be done are no different from what some of you might already be doing. So continue to do your utmost to help your cat enjoy its best years with its loving owner.
Filed under Animals by Jane Rinter
Even in places where it’s prohibited, animal cruelty is still rampant. Most of these places have laws against animal abuse that are just not strictly implemented. Thus every year, there are several animals, including pets like cats and dogs, and wild animals, that are maltreated.
There are many forms of animal cruelty. You could have observed someone physically hurting an animal. Animal cruelty can also be in the form of malnutrition when animal owners don’t feed their pets properly. Generally, what causes injury and suffering to an animal can be considered animal cruelty.
One way of fighting animal abuse is to report it as soon as it is spotted. Here are some things you can do to prevent animal cruelty.
Be Aware
Be alert. Your local humane society or animal shelter wouldn’t know several instances of animal abuse without those concerned citizens who report cruelty in their neighborhood through phone calls. So, do your part and be on the look out for animals in your own neighborhood. This could be a possible indicator of neglect or abuse.
Learn to Distinguish Animal Cruelty
Reading the Signs of Abuse - There are signs and symptoms observed in most abused animals. Watch out for wounds on the body, patches of missing hair, extremely thin and starving animals, limping and tick or flea infestations. An owner who is physically abusing an animal is abusive. Dogs left chained in the yard and without access to food and water is a neglectful act. Animals hit by a car and not taken to a veterinarian is also a neglectful act. These are all forms of animal cruelty.
Report Animal Cruelty
Know who to call when reporting animal cruelty. There are some states that have Humane Law Enforcement officers who can investigate and arrest perpetrators of animal cruelty. In some towns, you may have to call the police department or local animal control. Know who to call. Also, when reporting an incident, make sure that you provide as much information possible. The details will mean a lot to the investigating officer. Try writing down the type of cruelty you witnessed, who was involved, the date of the incident, and where it happened.
Do Some Proactive Steps to Fight Animal Cruelty
It’s a crime. Write or call your local law enforcement departments and tell them that investigating animal cruelty should be a main concern. Fight for the passage of strong anti-cruelty laws on federal, state or local levels. Have signature petitions. Write letters to legislators. Stronger laws mean tougher penalties, and punishment for animal cruelty should be harsher! Support your local animal rescue organization or local shelter. Volunteer at animal shelters and rescue groups in your area.
Lastly, set a good example for others. You can prevent animal cruelty and it starts within you. If you are a pet owner, make sure that you always show your pets the love and care that they ought to have. Always provide food, fresh water, shelter and medical treatment if your pet is sick. Have your animals spayed or neutered. Be a responsible pet owner. And to top it off, a lot of hugs and kisses won’t hurt!
Filed under Animals by Anthony Galz
January 17, 2009
Biting Puppy Syndrome Is A Problem
While dogs are best-known as man’s best friend, you, as the dog owner, are reliable for the training of your dog, if you require him to live up to that lofty moniker. When you bring that cute puppy home, he’s a unruly and loving character. What he lacks is discipline and that is where you come in. You need to fulfill your end of the bargain.
Altogether dogs are ordinarily the most lovable of pets, inherently faithful, fun loving, comforting and always entertaining. All The Same, you have to face the fact that dogs are 3 years old standing in terms of discipline. That is why a training program early is needed. Dogs utterly love their owners fondness and like to please them. It is up to you to make your puppy know what is expected of him in the way he behaves. In their view, life is in a endless state of fun. They have no idea what is good or bad behaviour, unless you let them know what is. One of the most common dog behaviour problems you will have to put a stop to is the biting pup syndrome.
Pups like to chew on everything, as any dog owner will tell you. The biting puppy may have a nice time chewing on your slippers, a book or a tasty bone. He should be able to enjoy any of his bones, but you want to provide the guidance to their behaviour, so it keeps your pet away from your slippers. They do not know that there is a difference, unless you let them know. If you let your pet do as they wish, you may soon have an irreverent biting pup, with everything in their approved list of biting behaviour. If you are an irresponsible dog owner you will have no one to blame but yourself for this, when he graduates to bite you, your children or your neighbour every time he wants to. A biting puppy that is unrestrained, will become a dog that bites, bringing you both in a lot of problems.
Just like children, dogs need behavioural guidance. Getting a biting puppy to understand the limitations is in truth quite easy. Where do you draw the line? Biting food items and bones is a good rule of thumb. Anything else is a deal breaker. If you allow him to bite an old, worn out pair of slippers, you’re giving him a license to bite and chew up a mixture of household items. He cannot distinguish between things which are OK to bite and those which are not.
Pups that are teething are likely to be biting puppies. However, you might think its cute with the decimation role he played the day before, but you have to put your foot down. Dogs only understand the rules if they are absolute. Correct or not is OK. The punishment should as well fit the crime. In the case of inanimate objects, a newspaper rolled up with a sharp noise report, should get your message across.
You must keep in reserve the most severe punishment for offenses involving your pup biting a human being. No matter how fun loving, or with no malice, a puppy should be deterred from the idea that biting a person is acceptable. Let’s say that your son decided to share some pieces of fat from their plate with your puppy. He is for certain willing to share in this tasty morsel, inadvertently biting him. While your pet intended no harm, if you were to let this go unpunished, you are giving him a green light for a behavior that spells problems down the road.
In order to quickly and unequivocally nip the biting puppy behavior in the bud, you have got to come down on him hard. A sharp smack on the nose, removal of the food and the dog version of a time out is what you want to impose. Slip his leash on and give him a taste of isolation out on the porch, along with a firm ‘bad dog’. This is language and action he can understand. He will know that his behaviour resulted in a physical punishment, loss of the desired item and isolation from his family.
With this strategy, you can quickly and easily train your biting pup out of its bad habits. By the time your pet is six months old, you will have a small dog that knows its limitations!
Filed under Dog Training by G D Williams
December 13, 2008
A Healthy Dog Diet Just What Is It?
When selecting a healthy dog diet it can frequently be difficult and confusing, that is if you let it be. The packaging and marketing of the products you wish to purchase will frequently blur your perception of it. Your dogs diet is the easiest and best means to keep your pet in great health and happy for the many years you will have together. It is advisable for you to find a diet that will provide all the needed nutrients that are required for your pet to thrive rather than merely survive.
Here are some simple guidelines to follow when you are choosing a food for your dogs diet. Know that every dog is different. A dog diet that is terrific for your neighbors dog may not be exactly what your pet requires.
Your first step should always be when deciding your dogs diet, is to speak to your veterinary surgeon. They will always have your pets interest at heart, just like you. Your veterinaries recommendations will aid you to make the right decision.
Find a reputable brand of dog food to be the main part of your dogs diet. It is not impossible to stumble across a high quality dog food that you have never heard of, but a well known and prominent manufacturer furnishes an amount of safety and security about the decision to give your dog a healthy diet. Recognized and reputable dog food manufacturers take the time to research the matter of animal nutrition. Allow your pet to benefit from the company’s wealth of information rather than going it alone.
What you should do is choose a dog food that is appropriate for your pets age. With a elderly that is displaying signs of aging, then it is best to consider a dog diet that is specially produced for elderly dogs. On the other hand puppies have different nutritionary needs than adult dogs. You will want to find a variety of food that meets your dogs needs. Even the breed and size of your pet will make a difference in the type of diet you should feed it. Diets formulated specifically for small dogs and large breeds are readily available. You will want to keep this in mind when choosing your dogs diet.
The activity level and weight are the other factors for you to consider when making the decision of what to feed your dog. When you decide on a diet for your dog, pay attention to the portion size. Obesity is a serious problem in pets. It can lead to hip problems and take years off your pets life.
Table scraps are unquestionably not a healthy diet. Your dogs diet should consist of a high quality food particularly designed to meet your pets dietary needs.
Only supplement a high quality diet when recommended by a vet. Giving your pet too many supplements in your dogs diet can lead to a lower quality of health.
Always consult your vet for advice on what to feed your dog. Your dogs diet will fire his health, so choose your dogs diet wisely. Select a brand of food that is reputable and suited to your dog. Finding the right diet for your pet will promote good health and allow your dog to thrive.
Filed under Animals by G D Williams