Category: Pets

You are walking down the street on a bright sunny day. This is the kind of day that allows the tourist industry to market your region to those with a more northerly abode. In fact, it’s September and the thermometer still reads 95F.

While you are enjoying your walk to the corner store you come across another pedestrian with their dog in tow. Their pet is rather large, being it’s a St. Bernard, so you are obliged to yield the right of way to the mass of fur before you. Pleasantries are exchanged, while you patiently navigate this minor inconvenience, wherein the dog owner extolls their love for their furry friend but still finds opportunity to make reference to the overwhelming amount space the creature takes up in their apartment. You retort with something like, “Yeah, I can imagine!” and continue on your errand.

Did you really just imagine that scene? A huge dog, with a ton of fur, in a tiny apartment. What must that be like? Can the dog be happy? Can the owner? This premise leads to other thoughts that would imply the overall condition. The ethics of the person can be fulfilled when there will be availability of a fantastic read at the blogs. The owner of the house should select the best breed for the house. The reading of the blogs will be beneficial to gather information about the pets and different breeds. The ethics should be followed carefully through the person. 

That is a St. Bernard, a breed created for northern climates, not 95 degree Septembers. That owner, who professed their affection for the animal, probably has a job so they can afford to feed the object of that affection. This must leave the creature to fend for itself for hours at a time in that aforementioned tiny apartment. The breeder who manipulated the Saint Bernard into the work animal it is focused on creating a dog with mass, strength, and a resilience to the cold, not a pet that would be suitable for a Florida efficiency apartment.

Dog breeders are specialists at the art of accentuating the traits people want in an effort to make their product as marketable as possible. There are breeds of pets that are so mutated they can’t drink water without it going up their snouts. Some have so much excessive fur that they have to be cleaned manually after they defecate. To make matters worse, some animals are subject to conditions so far removed from the environment that they were bred to live in, that they will have to tolerate 110 degree temperatures through four inches of fur!

The conflict is glaring to anyone who would give it even a moment of thought. How can anyone say they love a Saint Bernard or Husky, then force it to endure climates that will melt asphalt, or leave it in a space that cannot accept an animal of their energy or mass for hours every day?

People often pick out puppies entirely for their own pleasure. They don’t often consider what quality of life they can offer the animal. They can somehow still profess their undying love for their apartment hostage even though their choice of companionship was based on purely selfish reasons.

If you are in the market for a new puppy, try considering what its life will be like in your custody. Puppy ownership is a responsibility. Your puppy will bring you unconditional love and companionship, and hopefully you will give some thought as to how you can reciprocate. Choose an animal that suits your personality and environment. If you don’t have time to spend with an animal right now, then it may be wise to wait until sometime in the future when you do. Avoid supporting puppy mills, unethical breeds, and the breeders that promote them. If people keep making money for breeding animals that are intentionally handicapped for the sake of novelty, there will never be an end to it.

Tips to remember:  Be sure you can handle the responsibility of puppy ownership (maybe try keeping a plant alive first)    Pick a breed that will thrive in your environment (ie. house, apartment, and climate)    Puppies get lonely too so wait till you have time to spend with it before getting one.    Avoid breeds that are overly manipulated as a novelty.    Avoid unethical breeders. (this can be tricky, just pay attention to details like cleanliness, health of the puppy and its’ parents, number of litters currently on hand, use referrals from friends, ask about a warranty on the animals health*.)

*Any ethical breeder will have an ongoing concern for the puppies health and will want to maintain their good reputation for producing healthy puppies. They are more aware of the puppy mill problem than anyone else so they should be doing their best to avoid being classified as one themselves.

I see that there is an increasing amount of people that seem to have trouble keeping their house pets from bolting into the street and getting run over. Would you believe me if I told you there was a way to keep your dog at home without needing to keep them locked in the house, on a leash, or put in a fenced yard? I do realize there are laws to keep a dog on a leash or in a kennel, and I’m not asking you to break any laws, but this method also helps to keep dogs content to stay on the leash and in their kennel. However, the method I use to make my dog choose to stay home is no quick fix-it pill and it takes more dedication than just remembering to take your dog for a walk everyday. Are you up for it?

My practice ring is my home in the country, but location is not important in order to use this method because even country dogs have a tendency to disappear on their owners when let out of the kennel. My dogs don’t have a kennel and yet they stay home. Here’s the trick-you must bond with your dog. You may already know what this means, but let me explain the type of bonding I mean.

Your dog needs leadership, lines of right and wrong. Dogs are sensitive to different types of punishment and reward. My dogs have always been very sensitive to verbal commands. Say, for example, they won’t come to me. I lower my voice and let my anger come through. My dog instantly will stop what he is doing and creep over to me with his head and tail down, and after he comes to me I let him sit and think about it. Then I still refuse to pet him as I tell him to follow. After a little bit I will call him to me again and if he comes promptly, I praise him and pet him in all his favorite spots as if all is forgiven. Thus, he learns the punishment for not coming when I call and the reward for coming. Play around with your dog. Do their favorite things for their reward, make them feel guilty as punishment. Don’t ever get soft-hearted and let them get away, just once, for disobeying you; it could mean the difference between calling them away from a moving car and getting them run over.

The next and last part of my method for making your dog want to stay home is simply-attention. It’s great to take your dog for a walk once a day. It gives them and you exercise and that may be all you can manage. But in order to make them want to stay home all the time you must take time to be with them. If you see here, you will realize the importance of spending some time with your dog. Surely, he or she will appreciate a walk in the afternoon. You should make time to plate with your pet. My dogs have no fences but love to stay home because they never know when I will come out to give them treats, play with them, or just come out to check on them. It doesn’t take much, only five minutes every few hours, but they want to be sure they are there when I come out. I have a full-time job, so I only see my dogs two hours in the mornings and four hours in the evenings, but I make it up to them on the weekends by giving them as much attention as I can. They are content, feel loved, and make a choice not to leave home.

The Bavarian Mountain Dog is a breed of dog known for its skills in overcoming large patches of terrain in Bavaria. Being from German, this dog is one of the most popular breeds for German hunters and has a great sense of smell to track down any prey that might be afoot. These mountain dogs are most popular in Germany, meaning they are rarely heard of anywhere else in the world.

Origin

These dogs have been known to be n Germany since the late 6th century. Used by farmers to help herd their cattle and flocks, Bavarian Mountain dogs also were strong enough to uphold small carts and drag them to a horse to be attached. They were also used by royalty for hunting purposes, to which they would track down pheasant and other game for their hunter masters. Today, they still have this purpose as well as being a friendly noble companion.

Appearance

With soft short fur and a usually tanned coloring, these hounds have a typical floppy eared look of their dog type. They have black around their short muzzles and droopy tired looking eyes. They are quite muscular for their medium size and can weigh up to fifty pounds. Their tails hang down low to the ground unless they are excited and their legs are sturdy and long. Their chest is well developed and exudes the strength they have used for centuries.

Temperament

Being courageous is one of the traits this dog shares with other hound dogs. They have this trait because of their fearless actions when it comes to hunting and tracking prey down. They are quite agile since their legs are long, a difference from the French Bassets. They are loyal and are always ready to please their master with whatever they bring back to them. As a companion dog, they enjoy the company of their family and children and always need to be in the same room with them.

Grooming and Health

Grooming is a snap since their coat is so short, they need to be groomed at least once a month to stop the little shedding they can produce. Health wise they can live as long as fourteen years and needs plenty of exercise. This dog is not suited for the city, and needs to live in a rural area with plenty of space to run freely. This will stop a lot of joint problems he can get in his senior years.

To learn more about this breed of dog, their behaviors, the proper ways of taking good care of them, things you should do, things you should not do and even the food they are allowed to eat, you can click site for more information.

Bavarian Mountain dogs are a dog most often seen in Germany for hunting reasons. Although they are a great pet, they need a big space so they can feel as if they are home in the wild.

75% of dogs over age 3 suffer from periodontal disease. This is an irreversible condition that can lead to loss of teeth, abscesses, and other painful conditions such as bone loss and plain old tooth decay. Nobody wants that for their dog, but for owners on a budget, taking the dog to the vet for a cleaning every six months simply is not an option. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to prevent these issues to begin with.

Brush Your Dogs Teeth

I spent a total of $10 setting my dog up for a lifetime of good oral hygiene when I purchased my dog ClearQuest Dental Gel (a toothpaste I highly recommend both as a dog groomer and dog owner) and a dog toothbrush made by ProDental. Never use human toothpaste on your dog. Not only is the fluoride bad for him, the foaming action can make a ridiculous mess.

Start off slow. If your dog has never had his teeth brushed before, jamming a brush into his mouth and scrubbing away might not be the best introduction. Get him used to the taste of the toothpaste first by letting him lick it off your finger, or if he needs more incentive place some on a crunchy treat and offer it to him.

You can also get him used to the idea of having his mouth handled by rubbing his muzzle, lifting his lips, and massaging his gums with your fingers before introducing the brush. When your dog seems comfortable having his mouth handled, place a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on your dog’s toothbrush and gently brush from back to front on both sides of your dog’s mouth.

For best results, you should brush your dog’s teeth daily, although weekly will still give positives results. Always try to make tooth brushing a positive experience for your dog. Even if you can’t brush your dogs teeth right away, a few positive sessions with you may be enough to change your dogs mind. Next step that you may also consider to know the proper way of brushing your dog’s teeth is through online tutorials. Aside from consulting with vet, you can also check some tips online. As a responsible pet owner, you need to know what’s best for your pet.

If you can’t brush your dogs teeth

If your dog simply won’t allow you to brush his teeth, there are still several options open regarding your dog’s oral health. First, many groom shops offer tooth brushing for a minimal fee of $5-$10. Many times dogs will allow strangers to brush their teeth, but not their actual owners. This is also common with nail trimming and a few other aspects of dog care. If the groomer can’t brush your dogs teeth either, be sure to have a vet check to make sure your dog isn’t simply reacting to pain. (See: When the vet is necessary.)

Another option if you can’t brush your dog’s teeth is to get a water additive such as AquaDent Water Additive. Be sure to check the bottle to make sure the label says it reduces plaque. Some water additives are simply scented to cover up the smell of your dogs breath!

When you should go to the vet

Before beginning any at home oral hygiene routine, visually inspect your dog’s teeth and gums. If you see sparkling white teeth and healthy looking gums, you’re on the right track to successful oral hygiene. If your dog has some yellowing, you may already be seeing gum disease. If you notice very bad breath, excessively red gums, thick tartar build up, loose teeth or obvious pain, your dog may need tooth cleaning, or possibly even some teeth extracted. Don’t delay in taking your dog to the vet if you see any of these issues. Your dog may be in a great deal of pain.

You can prevent your dog from ever having to have a professional cleaning by starting tooth brushing early, and supplementing your dog with plenty of chew toys to help massage gums and scrape teeth in between your own efforts. Have your vet look at your dogs teeth each time they go in for their vaccines to make sure you’re dog’s oral hygiene is adequate, and that his gums and teeth are as fresh and clean as possible.