Archive for the ‘Dog Care’ Category
4 Ways to Make Your Dogs Happy
4 Ways to Make Your Dogs Happy
Home comforts
Important allowances for pet dogs include their own personal space comprising areas where they can rest undisturbed, toys that fulfill their hunting instincts through what we view as play, and sufficient food and water to satisfy their body needs.
As most people who keep dogs as pets want their animals to be close to them for the affection and company they provide, it stands to reason that the majority are kept in the home. To make your home as appealing as possible to your pet, meaning that the relationship between you both will be as successful and problem-free as possible, you must provide him with the facilities most important to him.
Your temperament
Another consideration is how you relate to your dog. Whatever dog you choose, he will sense your emotions, so a stressed owner is likely to end up with a stressed pet. Dogs respond best to calm, consistent handling. Shouting at or hitting him will confuse and frighten him resulting in behavior problems in the future.
A good owner is patient and controlled enough not to become angry at a dog if he does something you perceive as wrong. If he does something inappropriate as far as you are concerned, then you have not trained him or catered for his needs adequately. Look at what may have caused the problem, and then rectify it. Is he receiving enough attention, exercise and so on? Find the root cause of the problem and you are halfway to finding the solution.
BE SAFE, NOT SORRY
Not taking out appropriate insurance when you get a dog could prove false economy. It could mean being faced with a massive veterinary bill if your dog needs extensive treatment, while a lawsuit against you for personal or property damage caused by your dog could leave you facing financial ruin. Shop around for the best insurance deal and ask your local vet for any recommendations; then remember to read the small print on policy proposals.
Your lifestyle
If you work all day, you should consider getting a dog that will not mind spending large periods of time on his own. (This is likely to be an adult, since it is not fair to leave puppies on their own for any length of time). Alternatively, you could arrange to have someone come and see to the dog at least once during your absence and let him out to relieve himself.
If you get a puppy, the first couple of months are going to be particularly time-consuming- you will need to spend time on house training and basic obedience training. Later, you will need to allow at least two hours every day for care and exercise. Are you able to devote this essential time to exercise, train and play with a dog? If not, perhaps you should rethink your reasons for getting one.
Grooming your Dog
GROOMING YOUR DOG
You take your own personal hygiene very serious, isn’t that it ? The same should apply to your dog, he also needs to be attended to.
Grooming your dog does two things:
a) It keeps your dog looking trim and cute
b) It solidifies the bond between you and your dog.
Equipment necessary for grooming your dogs
They include:- hair clippers, brushes (different types of brushes may be required for different purposes), and combs. Some breeds of dog such as long-coated ones demand a lot of time and patience and the owner has to be prepared to go through with this to get the dog in a dandy shape.
Suitable methods of grooming for different coats
a) Rough coated Dogs- these usually require more time and effort for grooming. Usually the rough coats cast about every six months and a lot of hair is lost. It is important that you brush and comb the hair daily to prevent it from getting matted. A stiff brush in combination with a comb will do this job well and you should make sure you get to the root of the hair when doing this. If you feel all this is too much of stress, you just want to take your dog to the vet.
b) Short-coated dogs – these ones usually take less time and effort to groom. They should be groomed daily using a slightly stiff brush. Example of a short -coated dog is the Bull Terrier.
Dog Feeding and Nutrition
DOG FEEDING AND NUTRITION
When it comes to pet keeping, nutrition is a very important subject the health (or life) of your dog depend on the quality and acceptability whatever it is your feed to him. It is used to be claimed that dogs were strictly carnivores and all they needed was meat and bones in their diet. This is false!
Recent findings have it that the dog is better termed an omnivore, because he his able to survive on a diet that is mostly vegetable with some meat. However, a complete lack of meat in his diet will probably lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Dog food should contain a balanced mixture of the major nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins, and fat. They should also have adequate quantity of minerals and vitamins.
Carbohydrates supply the body with energy and excess amounts are stored as fat. Fats also supply the body with energy (though about twice that of carbohydrates). Proteins are involved in tissue growth and repairs and a greater percentage of vital organs in the body are made up of proteins.
Dog Health Management
DOG HEALTH MANAGEMENT
From the time you purchase your puppy. You invariably signed a contract with the veterinarian. And as far as your pet’s health is concerned, he is your best friend.
Once you get the puppy, take him over to the vet of your choice and have him registered. The vet would go over him thoroughly, taking note of those things you have missed while purchasing your pet. He will also get to meet your doggy. From here, you will be given a schedule of vaccination he would need to take, and routine check ups may also be scheduled.
Vaccinations your dog would need at his early age taken care of four major diseases – Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus and para influenza (DHLPP). After the initial two inoculations of the vaccine, he is required to come for yearly boosters.
Other vaccination include;- Rabies vaccine (but this depend on the country you live in), because the disease has been totally eradicated in some countries.
Complementary Dog and Puppy Medicine
Complementary Medicine
Complementary medicine, a term often used interchangeably with holistic medicine, provides”nonconventional” treatments for a variety of ailments, and is not just for humans anymore. Pets can now enjoy better health, too, as many veterinarians and pet owners increasingly embrace new techniques and treatments. According to the American Animal Hospital Association’s 2003 National Pet Owner Survey, 21 percent of pet owners have used some form of complementary medicine on their pets. Compare this to the 1996 survey, in which only six percent of pet owners said they’ve used alternative therapies on their pets.
Holistic medicine combines conventional veterinary medicine with one or more complementary therapies. Holistic practitioners consider your pet’s entire well-being, not just individual symptoms or conditions, and mix and match treatments to best serve Spot’s or Fluffy’s needs. A holistic approach to your pet’s problem will likely prove beneficial in nearly all cases. Research into a variety of veterinary medical therapies is ongoing, and the quality of care our pets receive is continually improving. Below, we describe some of the more common complementary medical therapies available.
Home made Dog diets
Home made diets
Home made diets are important in the dog feeding. Many a times, the commercial diets consist of food items that have artificial coloring agents and flavoring agents that are harmful to the dog’s body. Home made food items have the guarantee of freshness in the preparation unlike the ready-made commercial items.
The preservatives added in the commercial food items may not be the suitable ones to the dogs from the health point of view. Even in case of renal diseases in dogs, the home made diets may be made with ground beef, slices of bread, calcium carbonate, boiled eggs etc.
Dry vs. Canned Dog food
A look at Dog food
These types of food materials are different with different grades of liking by the dogs. Dogs like dry foods only if they are tasty only and however, on comparison, the dogs prefer only the canned food items. Reason for such preference by the dogs is that in case of canned food items, the moisture is about seventy to eighty per cent but in case of dry food, it is only about ten per cent.
However, if you view it in terms of nutrients, often the dry food contains nearly ninety per cent nutrients whereas the canned food items contain only less per cent of nutrients and most of the times. It is only soy products that are structured so well to look like meat pieces.
Puppy & Dog Grooming
Grooming Basics
You need to make your Puppy or Dog be used to regular grooming and examination as these are the most important activities to be known well by the dog owner. If the dog owner is not aware of the grooming, then the dog may encounter many types of diseases.
First steps of grooming consist of activities like maintenance of coat, nails and ears. Ear canals are to be checked up frequently and sterile cotton may be used for cleaning purposes.
The maintenance of the coat mainly consists of enrichment measures like proper bathing, combing, drying of skin by dryers, and more. The animal need not be bathed daily and this helps to protect the skin’s characteristics like insulation feature. Use conditioners and shampoos that are meant for dogs.
Combing needs to be carried out with a soft brush meant for use in case of dogs. There are varieties of brushes available and depending on the type of breeds, one can use the concerned brush. This grooming of the coat by a comb needs to be carried out daily and the fallen hair if any needs to be placed in dust bin always. Otherwise, when the dog owners switch on the fan, the hair will fly and may enter the nostrils of persons.
Dogs need different diets at different ages
Feeding your Dog
Dogs need different diets at different ages. Yes. This is true. For example, the puppy needs milk as the major food item while an adult dog may need beef or chicken in addition to the boiled egg and milk. So depending on the age factor, the diet schedule varies in reality for the dogs like any other species.
Puppies need greater amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrates than an adult dogs. Furthermore, puppies need more frequent feeding schedules in a day, unlike an adult dog. The movement based requirements of diet are more in the case of puppies, since they are often more active than the adult dogs.
Elder dogs need restricted protein but the protein needs to be easily digestible and easily assimilated in the body. The diet schedule should have ample supply of water for them. Feeding aged dogs too much protein may finally lead to over burden to the renal structures and ultimately, the dog may end up damaging filters in the kidney.
This is true especially when the immune system of these dogs is compromised due to many factors. Similarly, the elderly dogs need less food only because the movements of the adult dogs are highly restricted and hence, they have to spend a limited of energy.
Female dogs in the pregnancy stage need not be fed a full stomach since it may cause some discomforts to the animal. However, the pregnant animal and the nursing animal need special type of food items that deliver a balanced type of nutrition with proper supplementation of vitamins and minerals.
The nursing animal with puppies need to be fed with enough amounts of calcium and hence, there will not be any calcium based deficiency and the bones of the puppies will be strong without any curving.