Posted on 03 July 2010. Tags: a dog year, dog, dog book, dog breed, doggy, good dog, Recommended Reading
A Dog Year : Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me
by Jon Katz
Change sometimes comes on four legs. Jon Katz has two low-maintenance Labs named Julius and Stanley whose chosen work is to lick neighbors and to accompany him through midlife. His year begins with a new arrival at the airport, a two year old border collie named Devon. Devon escapes from his cage and goes tearing around the terminal and is captured and taken home to meet his other two dogs, Julius and Stanley, who are not quite sure of what to make of this new collie. The collie turns out to be very demanding and Katz's training of him is very slow and agonizing. Devon eventually settles in. Later on in the year, after Katz appears on the Oprah Winfrey show, he decides to take her advice and adopt yet another border collie named Homer, who is a sweet puppy that is everyone loves except for Devon. But the two seem to get on easier when he takes them to a farm where they herd sheep. Katz reflects on how important it is to be devoted and have a total understanding of any animal that one brings into their home and how to live peacefully with border collies. It's still obvious that the most important ingredient in a human/dog relationship is love.
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Posted in Dog Books
Posted on 03 June 2010. Tags: Breeds & Hybrid/Mixed Breeds, dog breed, good dog, Ownership Advice, Puppy, Tips and Advice, train your puppy
Bringing Your New Puppy Home
Children and puppies are wonderful combinations, but many children are bitten each year due to their behavior toward the puppy and lack of understanding of puppy training. This causes many dogs to be put into another home or taken to the pounds, when simple training on both parts will encourage many years of friendship. Also, an overly active child can cause physical and emotional damage to a small dog if the child is not properly trained to respect and handle the dog correctly. An important thing to remember is that almost all dogs will not bite unless they are provoked by a trigger: poking, prodding, being hit, or having the favorite food bowl played with during feeding time. These are things that need to be avoided to ensure a happy future.
Getting Puppies Off On The Right Foot
When the puppy makes its first entrance into the home with children, it should already have had their socialization period begun, since two weeks of age or when their ears and eyes opened. This process began with their siblings and owner, and especially their mother. If your puppy was never socialized and you have children, you are in trouble and should take this puppy back to the breeder immediately, as many problems will develop over time. However, eventually all puppies leave this safe haven, and go into a new home with many new avenues to explore. One of these avenues is meeting children they do not know, the perfect way to continue this socialization period and puppy training.
Fearful Behavior In Puppies
It is completely normal for a new puppy to act fearful in some situations, especially in a new home. But socialization and puppy training in the new home is the most important aspect of their lives, and eventually this fear will leave if you treat the puppy in an appropriate fashion. Call him or her to you and talk in a normal voice. Reassure it that things are okay without rewarding it for being fearful. Puppies and children are different in how they respond to fear: we cuddle children and reassure them, while puppies think cuddling when fearful encourages the behavior more. They think this fearful attitude is something that is expected from them by you, so they stay fearful in response to your rewarding behavior.
Children and Puppies
Children are perfect to socialize all puppies, if they have been taught correctly to treat the puppy gently and with respect. They need to be taught not to approach the puppy when it is eating or drinking, or to treat it unkindly. The puppy’s attitude toward the children in the home will extend to its attitude of children out of the home or coming into the home.
Teach the children to remain calm and peaceful around the new puppy by explaining that at the beginning any fast movements or yelling will frighten the puppy. This will make it fearful of the children, and it will run from them. This will later cause problems during puppy training as the dog will have already learned some behaviors that will make training more challenging.
Children, Puppies and Supervision
Another thing to remember is, if very young children are in the home, it is suggested not to leave the new puppy and them unsupervised together. This is asking for problems as neither the child or the puppy has been trained to tolerant of each other yet, which takes time and patience. Toddlers are a major issue with new puppies, as they are very curious about everything and anything! They want to touch and to explore; yet they lack the coordination to do it gracefully. They can hurt the puppy by falling on it, making it afraid, or physically damaging the puppy. Dog crates and baby gates are excellent for times when you cannot be in the room to supervise.
Bringing your puppy or puppies home for the first time is a matter of preparation, puppy training and child training. By having a positive and stress free first few days your new puppy will settle into the home very quickly, ready for more advanced puppy training routines in the future.
Posted in Puppies/Breeding/Pregnancy
Posted on 21 April 2010. Tags: Breeds & Hybrid/Mixed Breeds, dog breed, dog breeding, good dog, Ownership Advice, Puppies, Recommended Reading
Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds
by D. Caroline Coile Ph.D.
In this updated volume of the Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds, we find more than 150 breeds of dogs that are arranged in different categories specified by the AKC, such as: Sporting Group, Hound Group, Working Group, Terrier Group, Non-Sporting Group and Herding Group. With each entry there is a color photograph and each profile tells us why the breed was developed All this advice for perspective dog owners will help in choosing a breed that will be compatible with their own needs. All the breed descriptions are organized into subsections that tell us about the “History”, “Temperament”, “Upkeep”, “Health”, “Form” and “Function”. There is also another sidebar that has list of characteristics for each of the breeds, they include things like playfulness, friendliness towards other dogs as well as other pets and strangers, their energy levels, protection and watchdog ability, vulnerability to specific health problems, their exercise needs, all their grooming requirements and how they tolerate the hot and cold. You will find it very easy to compare breeds using the “At a Glance” sidebars.
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Posted in Dog Books
Posted on 29 December 2009. Tags: Breeds/Hybrids/Mixed Breeds, Conditions, dog, dog breed, dog breeding, Dog Care, Dog Collar, Dog Grooming, Dog Neurological Disorders, Dog Neurological Disorders and Conditions, Dog's Health, doggy, dogs, good dog, owner, Ownership Advice, tips, Tips and Advice
Most neurological conditions in dog health issues are directly related to genetic factors. Neurological conditions are most commonly recessive genetic conditions, meaning that both the male and female used in the breeding pair must carry the gene for the disorder for the puppy to have the neurological problem. A great number of these conditions can be managed, however there are not actual cures for these conditions. DNA testing has made identifying affected carrier dogs possible in some breeds, which will helpfully work towards ridding the breeding lines of the recessive genetics.
Posted in Dog Health
Posted on 29 December 2009. Tags: Breeds/Hybrids/Mixed Breeds, dog, Dog Bathing, dog breed, dog breeding, Dog Care, Dog Collar, Dog Grooming, Dog Health, doggy, dogs, flea eggs, Fleas, Fleas On Dogs?, good dog, owner, tips, Tips and Advice
It was early in the morning, and the sun was already up. My border collie puppies and I had just been outside for their morning routine walk, their tiny feet wet from the heavy morning dew. Another day of hot weather was in the making. The steady hum of local insects were beginning to swarm around the flowerbeds and garden area. As I nonchalantly observed Mother Nature in progress, I saw my dogs scratching from one end to another, with an age-old problem that had not yet shown its ugly head this season. Fleas.
Probably more than my dogs, I hate fleas with a passion. Once they have started their cycle, it is a continuous battle until the first freeze outside. This famous irritable parasite has a reputation that is known to have killed more victims than those who have died in all the world wars. The bubonic plague, which caused the deaths of more than 200 million people in the 14th century, is just one of the many win-win situations caused by this little creature.
The Result of Modern Pollution
Under “Pet-Grub.com” there was article about a Native Canadian woman who stated her forefathers never had a problem with the flea, because “it was basically a result of modern pollution and damage to the environment.” Her tribe was from an area that bordered B.C., Alaska and the Yukon border, and the author of the article was interested in why this woman’s forefathers survived in insect heaven in their early days. The author of the article, along with myself, was very surprised at the answer as most of the world today prides themselves on their cleanliness and sanitary living. Guess we were wrong.
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Posted in Dog Health
Posted on 29 December 2009. Tags: Breeds/Hybrids/Mixed Breeds, dog, dog breed, dog breeding, Dog Care, Dog Collar, Dog Ear Care, Dog Grooming, Dog Health, doggy, dogs, Ear Care For Dogs, Ear Infections, Ear Infections And Ear Care For Dogs, good dog, owner, Psychology & Training, tips, Tips and Advice
Ear infections in dogs are often a result of poor ear care routines and practices by the owners. Some breeds, however, are much more likely to get ear infections just because of the type of ears that they have. Dogs that have a lot of "leather" on the ears, which is the long flap of ear that covers the opening of the ear, are more likely to have problems with ear infections than dogs that have pricked or erect types of ears. This only makes sense as less air enters the ear to promote drying and provide oxygen to the area to prevent bacterial growth.
Dog Ear Infections And Bacteria
Any type of dog can get water in their ear or ears or have an excessive production of wax in the ear. Once this happens and the water or wax is not removed naturally or by the owner, the conditions are right for nasty bacteria to move in and get started breeding and creating irritations and ear infections.
The actual veterinary medical term for an external ear infections is otitis externa and it is characterized by:
• Redness and heat to the ear or ear flap
• Excessive scratching of the ears
• Rubbing the head on the ground
• Sensitivity to being touched around or on the ears
• Discharge from the ear draining down the face
• Foul, yeasty smelling discharge
• Tilting of the head in combination with scratching and rubbing
• Constant shaking of the head as if to dislodge something in the ear
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Posted in Dog Health
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