WALKING THE PUP ON A LEASH

It is important from an early age to put a collar on your pup to get him/her used to it. Do not, however, leave the collar on the puppy if she is un-attended to to avoid the risk of an accident. If a dog is startled or becomes upset, they can sometimes ‘choke’ on the collar by getting it caught in their mouth or accidently get it caught on something which could cut off their air supply. We would attach a lightweight leash to our 9 week out while she was in the yard with us and simply let her drag it around for a few minutes to get used to having something attached to her and then approach and gently pick up the leash handle and gently lead her around the yard, enouraging her to come with us. We then began slowly leaving the yard with Maggie on the leash and taking walks around the complex. We used an harness for walking-we felt that since she was so small that a harness provided security and we didn’t really feel comfortable using a collar on that tiny neck. We bought a ‘no pull’ type harness on Ebay. The leash clip is on the front of the harness, so when Maggie would begin to pull ahead and the leash became taunt, it automatically forced her to turn around to face us-hence stopping the pulling. Note that this type of harness is for training purposes only (as it could easily slip off) to teach the dog to break the pulling habit. We highly recommend this type of harness. It proved to be very effective while training our small dog not to pull. There were times when we would use the training harness again as she sometimes would revert back to trying to get ahead and pull on her regular harness. Only after a day or so with the no-pull harness training it was back to the regular harness once again!
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WALKING THE PUP ON A LEASH

Picking The Right Food For Your Pet

Pets are great to have and to share our lives with, and they require just as much care as humans do in order to be healthy and happy and to live a long life. All pets need to be fed properly, and we often have the question of what is the best food for our pets to get from us. There are many people who give their pets human food, while others believe this is wrong and only feed their pets with pet food. We will concentrate on dogs here since this is a dog related blog. Is it wise to feed your dog human food?
Dogs are related to the wolf family which are strictly carnivourous, which means they eat mostly the flesh from other animals. This does not mean, however that human food is the correct food for them. It is best to find a dog food product where the first ingredient is meat. Make sure it is real meat and not some kind of a meat substitute. Feeding your dog only human food is not really a great idea because it can be too greasy for them and can block their arteries and they need a well balanced diet. A good dog food has a great balance of meat, grains, vitamins and fiber.
Dogs have very sensitive digestive tracks and can get diarrhea quite easily and upset stomachs if there are changes made to their diet. It is best to find a quality dog food that is healthy for them. Your vet can recommend a good food for your dog if you find it confusing.
It is also a good idea to keep them on the same food as changing food too often can cause problems for your dog. If you feel you need to change food, you should slowly mix the new food in with the old until you have fully replaced the old over a few weeks.
Dogs should get varying amounts of food each day, depending on their activity level and their size. Most dog food packages have guidelines regarding this.
Choosing the correct food for your dog is important to ensure that your dog will live a long and healthy life.
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Picking The Right Food For Your Pet

Teaching Kids And Pets To Co-Exist Peacefully

It is possible for children and pets to coexist together under the same roof? Many people believe that small children and dogs are not a good combination. They fear that the dog will not get along with the new child and that the dog may hurt the child in some way. This need not always be the case, and if you take the time to correctly introduce your dog to your children, your kids and pets can live in harmony and become the best of pals!
One of the biggest concerns that many parents have when it comes to dogs in the home is how it will react to a new baby. The fact is tha most dogs readily accept a new child into the home and become loyal and very protective over the baby, as they view the child as a part of the family unit.
You should introduce your pet to your new baby slowly and be sure that you are always in the room. Allow your dog to sniff your child at his or her own pace. Make the introduction pleasant for your dog. Sometimes the dog will not give a new baby a second thought!
Allow your dog time to adjust to the new family member on his or her own terms. When a baby comes to the house, it is an adjustment for everybody. It is a good idea too to be sure your dog's nails are trimmed properly to avoid any accidents, as dogs like to put their paws on people at times.
It is a good idea to keep your dog well-groomed too. If you keep the dog clipped and brushed it will certainly help your home stay a little bit cleaner and lower the risk for allergy problems. Studies have shown that children who are around dogs and cats from early in their lives, actually have less trouble with allergies.
Make sure that your dog does not have access to your baby’s room when you are not there..such as at naptimes.
Be sure that you are still spending quality time with your dog and giving him or her attention, as dogs can become jealous easily. Do what you normally did before the baby arrived such as playing in the yard and going for walks.
Teach your child from a young age that they should never play rough or pull on the dog's fur or tail. They must learn to respect the dog. It is also important to teach your child to respect your dog and his or her space in the home.
There are many things you can do to ensure that your kids and your dog can live together happily in the same home. Your children and and your dog need to learn to respect each other from the very beginning. Children and dogs do make great bonds and having a dog in the family greatly enriches the household.
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Teaching Kids And Pets To Co-Exist Peacefully

Abandoned Dogs-A Different Way To Rescue a Dog!

When I was a kid of twelve, there was a big blizzard in the small town I grew up in. My father had walked home for lunch that particular day, and told us that someone had dropped off or 'dumped' a litter of four puppies in the center of town. He told us they looked like Collie puppies.
My younger sister and I, being total animal lovers, immediately put on our winter outerwear and ran into town to see for ourselves. Sure enough, the poor, wet and cold puppies were trying desperately to get into the local banks' front door whenever customers would enter or exit!
We lured the five puppies away from the town center into a neighboring lot. They appeared to be no more than 6 or 7 weeks old! We played with them for a bit, then started walking the two blocks back home. We were just hoping that some adults in town would gather them and take them home so they would be safe. As we started walking away, all of the puppies ran after us for a few yards or so, then turned back and started wandering as a group back toward town. One female puppy however, looked back at us, then looked at her litter mates, then back and us again, and came running to us and followed us home. We knew that very instant, that she was going to become a member of our family!
When our mother saw the wet, muddy and very cold puppy, she took her upstairs and gave her a warm bath and towel dried her. What a beautiful puppy she was!
When our father came home from work later that afternoon, he had heard that all of the puppies were adopted by sympathetic people that were in town that day.
We took the female pup to our veterinarian that week and upon examining her, the vet told us that he was quite convinced that she was a full-bred Collie! She was the sweetest, prettiest dog I have ever known! Lizzie lived a very happy life with our family until she died at the age of fourteen. She was loved by all and is still missed.
How on earth could a human being gather up a whole litter of young, innocent puppies, put them in his or her car, drive to the nearest town, and just release them in the middle of a snowstorm? We never found out unfortunately, who had abandoned those puppies that cold winter day. Dog abandonment is a crime which is punishable by law most everywhere and is an inexcusable act.
Written by Cin Rupp. Come and visit my blog and see some really cute photos of Maggie!
http://mycutemutt.blogspot.com/ Best Top-Quality Pet Supplies!
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Abandoned Dogs-A Different Way To Rescue a Dog!