Dog Training

Archive for January, 2009

As an overweight society, we are constantly being reminded that this food is bad and that food is unhealthy. How about for our pets? When we feed our dog, do we think about the food we are giving her? Is it good for her? Or is it bad food for dogs?

We are fascinated by stories of people who have turned their lives around by changing life styles. Suddenly the fat guy in the cubicle next to you at work is trim and fit and participating in a 5K run. It’s inspiring. When you ask him about it, he tells you he started exercising, and quit eating bad food.

How about the family pooch? She, too, is in need of a makeover. Most of our dogs have become obese. Lack of exercise and a poor diet are the cause. There are specific foods all dogs should avoid, like raisins, chocolate, chicken and fish bones, some nuts, etc., but these will be avoided with a proper diet. The problem is: Most of what our pets eat is really bad food for dogs.

The average dog eats commercial pet food two to three times a day. Did you know commercial dog food is filled with “meat meal” (or some other clever pseudonym) that is comprised of the rendered remains of euthanized dogs and cats? It’s true. Animal control centers, zoos, and even road departments send their dead animals to pet food companies to be rendered into meat meal.

The idea of your dog eating other dogs is disturbing enough. For years vets and advocates have warned about the danger of sodium pentobarbital residue found in commercial pet food. There are also residues from flea collars, plastic bags and other items that are thrown into the rendering vats along with the euthanized animals.

It’s no wonder more and more people are rejecting the bad food for dogs in the brand names and choosing healthy alternative sources. Among the most popular is making natural, homemade dog food.

Do you think this is a good idea? Or do you think making natural homemade dog food would be too time consuming, too expensive, and too messy?

When you see how other dog lovers do it, you’ll find a weeks worth of meals can be simply made at one time without mess. And feeding your dog natural home made dog food is actually cheaper than buying the commercial brands.

On the list of bad food for dogs is commercial dog food. It is no wonder that dog breeders and dog lovers everywhere have abandoned it for the healthy alternative of making natural homemade dog food. Their dogs are healthier and happier and love them for it. You will be horrified by the explicit photos and documents in dog food secrets revealed at http://makedogfoodathome.info. For free recipes, visit our blog, natural homemade dog food at http://naturalhomemadedogfood.com.

If you are thinking about getting a small dog, you are probably thinking about getting a Pomeranian, since they seem to be all over the place. You already know not to buy from a pet store, as they get their puppies from inhumane puppy mills. You also know never to even buy supplies from pet stores that sell puppies. So, you have two options left to you for a Pomeranian – breeders or a rescue.

People go for cute. Pomeranians have the stranglehold on cute. They do not look like real dogs ? they look like Japanese robot toys. They’re everything that makes a viewer’s eyes linger on the picture. They have foxy ears, fluffy coats, tiny bodies and seem to smile. Be sure that Pomeranians benefit from your product or activity. Just look up any Pomeranian information on the American Kennel Club or a Pomeranian rescue website to double check.

The great visual appeal to Pomeranian pictures is that even adult Pomeranians look like puppies. They have been bred for centuries to look like puppies all of their lives. Believe it or not, they used to be about thirty pounds – now they rarely tip the scales at eight.

Avoid black Pomeranian pictures, as those unfamiliar with dogs often get them confused with the all black Schipperkes. Also, be sure you know what time period the Pomeranian picture is from. The breed has gone through quantum changes in the last 200 years.

Pomeranians are incredibly intelligent and portable ? and the camera loves them! Brad Pitt has nothing on the eyeball magnet factor of a well-groomed, healthy Pomeranian. If you can’t find a free Pomeranian picture on the web that can be used, then you should seriously consider hiring a Pomeranian to model for your event or product. Pomeranians and Pomeranian pictures are hard to forget.

If you decide to go the model route for your Pomeranian pictures, you should have no trouble finding photogenic Pomeranians. There are many animal trainers and professional dog trainers you could contact to see if they know of a model. But you might not even need to go that far.

As you are studying the Pomeranian pictures, also study the breed’s characteristics. They shed a lot and are fragile – can you handle that? If one of the reasons you love Pomeranian pictures is because of their incredible coats, know that you must devote time and care each day to grooming your Pomeranian. Know also that Pomeranians, due to their tiny size, are hard to housebreak. Can you handle that?

The camera loves even malformed Pomeranians. This is one of the most photogenic breeds on the planet, which is why you will find thousand of Pomeranian pictures to enjoy and wade through. Rosie Allan is a passionate lover of the Pomeranian and owns a popular website where you’ll discover how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Pomeranian. Among other topics at this website, you can also learn all about Pomeranian Picture locations plus a whole lot more.

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Recent research suggested that higher levels of protein in your dogs diet might lead to kidney failure. Do you know if your dogs diet is safe? Are you killing your furry pal by providing too much protein in your dogs diet?

These studies that established a link to high protein levels and kidney failure that started the fears about protein levels in a dogs diets was not researched properly. The research was performed on rats, not dogs. Rats in the main eat plants as their normal diet. Consequently a rats biological constitution would mean it would have problems digesting a diet containing high levels of protein. Rats have trouble excreting protein due to their natural dietary requirements, not because the high protein diet causes kidney failure.

Thus, where do we stand on protein in your dogs diet? Dogs are naturally omnivorous. In the wild, dogs would hunt or scavenge for food. Your dogs diet would normally be of both animals and plants. Naturally dogs are meat eaters too. Because of this, a dog can easily manage with a diet consisting of 30% protein or more.

When protein intake is reduced in a dogs diet, renal function does not improve. Renal lesions are not less likely to form when a dog is fed with a low-protein diet. It is not until a blood urea nitrogen, or BUN, test indicates a level of 75, that a reduction in protein intake be considered for your dogs diet.

If you have concerns about how much protein is in your dogs diet, you should make a appointment with your veterinary surgeon. Your veterinary can advise you on your dogs diet.

It is not correct that dogs can not ordinarily digest high levels of protein. Kidney problems do not result from having high levels of protein in your dogs diet. Large amounts of protein are digested safely in your dogs diet, specially when they mainly come from animal origins.

10 amino acids should be given in your dogs diet through protein. Only twelve of 22 amino acids can be made in your dogs liver. Because of this meat such as heart, spleen, and meat by-products should all be in your dogs diet.

If you buy high-quality dog food it should contain meat as the main ingredient. This will supply the right amount of protein in your dogs diet. If you think about a dog in its natural environment, would you see a wild dog grazing in a cornfield at mealtime?

Aging dogs should not be put on lower protein diets just because of age. As a matter of fact, some older pets want a dogs diet that is higher in protein than when they were at a younger adult stage. Unless your veterinary surgeon advises not to, you should always provide your pet the advantage of quality protein in your dogs diet.

Giving your dog protein should not cause you concern. You want what is best for your dog and nature tells you that protein will assist your dog to thrive. If you have queries about the myth of protein and kidney failure in your pet, speak to your veterinary about your dogs diet.
This article was written by G D Williams, an up and coming authority on dogs. Did you find these tips on Dogs Diets helpful? To find out a lot more Free advice about Wellness Brand Dog Food visit German Shepherd Dog Food.

When you take in a Shar Pei rescue dog you are doing a wonderful thing and you are giving a pet a second chance at a new life that they deserve. It will take a little while but eventually your new pet will start to display all of those behaviors that make a Shar Pei a Shar Pei. Read the rest of this entry »

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It may be surprising to know all the uses you could put a dog door to, even if you don’t have dogs. If you have a pet cat, the dog door can also be used by that. This is also convenient if you have a small dog or a pup – so the same sized door can be used by both. Usually owners install dog doors for dogs but rarely bother to do the same for cats. Read the rest of this entry »

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Do you own a pet dog? If you do the following article will be helpful to you. As you might already know dogs actually do suffer from allergies just like we do. There are a lot of remedies for such dog allergies. One of the remedies is to use honey. But a note in advance: The use of honey to treat dog allergies usually works only for seasonal-induced or environmental allergies. Meaning allergies that are triggered during certain times of the year ” like winter or summer or caused by the environment like fleas or dust mites.

Ok so why is honey so effective in treating certain classes of dog allergies? Firstly, honey contains local pollen which in small doses allows your pet dogs to consume it without risk. This is akin to how antibodies work in vaccines. Small exposures of pollen to the dogs immune system will help to build up resistance against seasonal/environmental induced factors.

Secondly, honey by itself has the ability to heal. For us, when we have a sore throat, what do we do? Thats right; we drink a warm glass of honey. Many people have also used honey to recover from wounds and various skin problems, either by consuming it or applying on the affected areas.

Of course it is not so simple as to just buy honey off the market-shelf, start to feed your affected dog and volia the allergies disappear. It is a little more complicated than that. The key factor that makes the use of honey effective against these kinds of dog allergies is to let your pet consume honey produced from your area. Let me repeat that again: Get honey that is grown and produce from where you live. The simple reason being that honey grown locally has the pollens which is native to your dogs environment. This will then really build up resistance against allergic agents where your dog lives. It makes little sense to feed your dog honey made from the other side of the globe. Unless you are planning to bring your dog for a vacation there that is.

Some more tips for feeding your dogs honey: remember that if your dog is larger in size they may need greater quantities of honey for it to work. General rule of thumb is one tablespoon for large dogs and less than one tablespoon for small dogs. You can even mix the honey into your pets food if they don’t like licking off a spoon!

Give it about a months time and the effects of the honey should start to work. Hope that helps. Get more helpful tips and information on dog allergies and their conditions through my website on natural liquid remedies for dog allergies.

One of the most even-tempered pets a family can hope to have can also pull double duty as a hunting dog. Beagles are known for their easy tempers and eagerness to please their owners so much that they are willing to learn new tricks and behaviors, making them ideal as family pets. Although not necessarily shy, they may be a little reluctant to make friends as first, but will usually warm up quickly to strangers. They are also very rarely aggressive and genuinely happy to be around recognized people.

This trait works well to make them serve as watchdogs as they will generally only bark and carry on around people with whom they are unfamiliar. Often times their skittishness around strangers has been confused with aggression but most often a simple word of reassurance from their owners will quiet and settle them down almost immediately.

Often confused with toy dogs, the breed ranges between 13 and 16-inches tall, standing well above the 12-inch standard for many breeds of toys. With a life span of about 14 years, Beagles have few inherited predisposition for illness or other medical problems although they do sometimes suffer from bone degeneration in the joints, steroid injections can usually help them deal adequately with the associated pain. One problem inherited by Beagles is hypothyroidism, giving them the penchant for excessive weight gain. They may also suffer from dwarfism, but this is a rare occurrence.

Beagles trained for hunting and those that have adequate outdoor space in which to run seldom develop a weight problem, provided their diet is consistent with their needs. One of their physical traits, long eyelashes that contributes to their overall appearance can also cause problems, these long lashes may curl into the eyes and become embedded. But this easily fixed by minor surgery and by the owner being conscious of the possibility during grooming.

Their lack of aggression and small stature make them ideal playmates for other small animals and they seem to get along well with felines with similar personalities.

Their keen sense of smell as well as their stamina made them attractive as hunting dogs, especially during the days when people enjoyed the all-day hunts. They can fit into heavily wooded areas or in thick brush to bring out rabbits.

With the beagle hot on the trail, hunters on horseback could hang back and leisurely follow the sounds of the hunting beagles as they chased the rabbits into dense thickets and brush. Eventually, the dog would emerge carrying its quarry making it desired for hunters who enjoyed the art of hunt more than the taking of the game.

A professional, experienced trainer usually trains beagles to work as hunting dogs, but owners with patience have also had success with their training. Michelle Adams is an avid lover of the Beagle and has a popular website that can show you how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Beagle. Among other topics there, you can also learn all about Beagle Standard Breeds plus a whole lot more.

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