My Ideal Dog

Do you know when your dog can get pregnant? Taking a dog for a pet is a big responsibility – much much more than the task of providing the pet with food. Dogs have been the companion of man for ages. Dogs have protected and have helped man in a lot of capacities. This is the reason why, knowing when the dog will attain sexual maturity is one of the important responsibilities of a dog owner.

Puppies are adorable and irresistible bundles of fur. Puppies would bring lots of fun times to the family especially if there are children as kids and dogs are known to form legendary attachment. For some dog owners, the arrival of new puppies will be a much awaited moment. Other owners though would not want to have additional dogs – probably due to space, financial and time constraints.

Thus, when no homes were found, the poor puppies would be abandoned or “donated” to animal shelters. When supply of puppies exceeds potential owners, animal authorities would have no other recourse but to dispose the pups the humane way. To control the number of homeless dogs, a pet owner has to know the reproductive cycle of the dog. Knowing the teltale signs of dog pregnancy is also important.

The reproductive cycle differs from breed to breed. Some breeds would retain their puppy-like exuberance. Dogs are not cut from the same cloth as while some individuals would be sexually mature at an early age, others would be past their second birthdays before they get interested in male dogs. Toy breed owners should be aware that the very small pet can get pregnant even after staying for 6 months with the family as small breeds generally come into heat at 4 to 6 months of age. It is quite ironic really because large dogs, the breed that could have been ready to carry puppies because of the size are the ones that get sexually mature at a later age. Large breeds of dogs like a Great Dane or a Saint Bernard would come into first heat and would accept the attention of male dogs after reaching 18 to 24 months of age. In a period of 7 to 10 days a dog in heat can become pregnant if mated.

Small breed come into heat at an early age but breeding is not recommended if the dog has not yet passed the 2nd or 3rd heat cycle. At this age, the dog has a much better chance of sustaining the pregnancy. A very young dog that is not yet ready to get pregnant can lose the puppies or worst can lose its life.

Some dog breeds like the Bullmastiff, the Saint Bernard and the Bassethounds are noted to be drippers. Because these dogs have short snouts and loose skin around the jaw, the enzyme rich saliva secreted by the salivary glands to aid digestion gets collected until there is no more room so that the dog would slobber excessively. Due to excessive drooling, owners of these dogs would have to tie a bandana around the dog’s neck or have an ample supply of paper towels ready to avoid disaster.

Dog drooling, especially for breeds with short snout and loose skin around the jaws is not an abnormality. Drooling as a reaction to the sight of food should not be made a concern of pet owners given the fact that dogs are food motivated. A dog owner should be concerned if the dog that is not an excessive droller would suddenly droll excessively.

Dog owners should not ignore hypersalivation or excessive drooling in dogs that normally do not drool as it can result to dehydration. The excessive drooling of the pet can be associated to a situation that has disturbed the pet emotionally. A dog’s nervous reaction to loud sound can trigger excessive salivation. The dog’s excessive drooling can be due to motion sickness. Dogs, apart from having a curious nature are also noted to be indiscriminate eaters so that these pets are commonly poisoned. Poison can cause nausea, vomiting and drooling.

Drooling can be a symptom of some health concerns. Bloat or Gastric dilatation volvulus is a very serious condition as the twisting of the stomach will trap air and when no treatment is administered can result to the death of the dog. The dog’s hypersalivation can be a symptom of bloat. Other medical concerns like rabies, distemper, liver diseases, ear infections and urinary tract infections can make a dog drool excessively. The hypersalivation of the pet may not be due to the mentioned medical concerns thus the mouth of the pet must be thoroughly examined.

Gum problems, chipped tooth and other periodontal diseases can be the cause of the dog’s drooling. We know that dogs are very curious animals that have the inclination to use their mouths to investigate their surrounding. In doing so, the dog may injure the soft tissues of the mouth, the teeth and the throat from slivers of wood, from hooks and from other dangerous objects chewed by the dog. The pain and the discomfort will make the dog drool.

Stress-free dog care has one thing to do with trusting your gut when it comes to caring for your beloved dog.

Dog Training

If you are a stay at home mom or dad and you have an extra hand around, you have to teach your puppy for that specific function. You just have to keep your routine reliable in order that your puppy can be trained to undertake a specific task. When you’re working out your pets, you must put effort on managing your temper It’s also good to refer to a professional dog trainer in order to teach your pet simple instructions immediately

Even if you feel a tad guilty about making your pet go through the whole process, I can guarantee he’s having fun, as long as you stay relaxed and focused on the task. When working out your puppy to perform household chores, you will impulsively learn how you can talk with him, so listen well to what your pet is telling you through his moves and behavior. When working out your dog, the more particular the task, the better. For starters, you should go for ‘obedience’ working out, and concentrate only on making your dog obey for now.

Pamper Your Dog

If you’re working out your pet, make sure you’ve got a present ready when he finishes a whole course. For instance, you can present a brand new bed for him to sleep on. If you want to pamper your pet, you can also buy the best bath care set for your dog.

Toys often make the best dog gifts for obvious reasons. You must know that young puppies get excited at small thrilling events like vases toppling off furniture, or a big crimson ball bouncing over walls, so ensure you get a unhazardous toy he can play with all day.

Competition Level

Some pet dogs show more potential as they grow older and it’s up to you to discover this. But first, look for talent. If your puppy can catapult himself over low hanging branches, weave through gaps and rocks, and run at high speed across your lawn garden just to catch a disk or a stick, he may be showing off to get your attention until you finally enter him into a dog show. Some dogs exhibit their ambition by acting smart, and if your dog has the gift, he often knows it.

Coping With Your Dog’s Manner

Sometimes, the best technique to keep a pet is to think of him as another person, but with different needs and language. You have to find out how you can temper your dog’s enthusiasm and focus it on certain activities so he can make use of his natural potential to achieve more.. Solidarity between a master and a dog isn’t unheard of. Go for trust exercises like doing competition together.

I recommend this website for more information on pet dog care and pet dog training

Contrary to the notion that dogs are carnivorous, dogs actually eat anything so that dog owners should not be surprised if the pet is seen eating grass. One of the bizarre behaviors of dog is eating grass. Dogs are known to raid trash cans and eat spoiled food, eat each others poop and drink water from the toilet so an owner has to be thankful that the pet has only formed the habit of eating grass. Dog owners will wonder why the pet would still eat grass in spite of the fact that it is regularly provided with enough nutritious food. A dog owner would wonder what makes his dog eat grass?

Wolves are the progenitors of dogs and grass forms a part of a wolf’s diet. Wolves hunt and eat their prey but grasses, plants and berries are eaten as well when food is scarce. Dogs have formed the habit of eating grass from subsisting on herbivores in the wild. Dogs in the wild would not know when the next meal would be thus the hunted prey as well as the contents of the stomach are totally consumed. Dogs in the wild have eventually developed a fondness for grass as these herbaceous plants have supplemented the dogs’ diet.

With the above mentioned fact, a dog’s inclination to eat grass becomes perplexing to the owners. Modern day dogs have no need to supplement their diet with grass as they are regularly provided with food. And yet, the dog would still be seen eating grass every now and then. Although dogs are known to eat anything, dog experts have an explanation for the dog’s strange eating habits.

One of the considerations made is the nutrient deficiency of commercially prepared dog foods. Dogs are intelligent animals but their ability to know what is wrong with their diet is uncanny. Eating grass is believed to be the dog’s way correcting a dietary imbalance. Dogs would eat anything – edible or inedible.

Dogs that have ingested anything that disagrees with the dog’s system commonly have an upset stomach. Grass is a natural cleanser that is used by dogs to deal with an upset stomach. Simply by eating grass; the dog can purge the toxic substance from its body. When a dog munches on grass, the blades of grass will sort of tickle the throat and induce vomiting so that the toxic substances together with the grass will be removed from the stomach. Grass is an effective bowel cleanser that eradicates parasite infestation.

A pet owner would be annoyed by the dog’s habit of digging holes. An owner has to live with this destructive behavior because digging, like chewing and barking is a natural behavior of dogs. All dogs dig. Of course dogs are not aware that digging holes will make the master angry thus the pet that is always eager to please would rearrange the landscaping and would meet the master with a very proud look on its face.

Dogs are affectionate pets that have the desire of pleasing the master and digging holes can be its way of repaying the master for all the love and the care it has received. Dogs are well loved pets but it would certainly be frustrating if the garden that eats a lot of your free time will be destroyed by the dog again and again. Dog owners would always want to be with the pet thus locking the dog in a kennel to prevent it from digging holes will not be a very good idea. Would knowing the reasons behind the dog’s unacceptable behavior help? Dealing with the reasons why the dog digs can be a better solution to modify the destructive behavior.

The dogs‘ unwanted digging behavior will always be attributed to boredom. Most of the undesirable behaviors of dogs were developed because of boredom. Dogs, apart from being energetic are social animals as well. Digging holes is only one of the destructive behaviors dogs will develop if not given the opportunity to expend excess energies or the chance to interact with the human family.

Dogs would always want to receive attention from the family but because of tight schedules, pet owners may not have the time to bond with the pet thus the destructive digging behavior will be developed. In the eyes of the dog, the reprimands of an angry master would be more acceptable than being ignored. Another reason why dogs dig holes is to break away from confinement. Dogs do not enjoy being leashed because these energetic animals love to roam. Dogs are curious animals thus the sounds and scents on the other side of the fence will be very interesting. The dog will dig tunnels under the fence to get to the other side.

For a dog, digging is a cool activity. Digging holes would be a pleasant activity for dogs especially if the temperature is hot. Lying on a newly dug hole will cool the dog’s heated body. In the wild dogs have another purpose for digging holes – to store food. The dog would dig holes to be used for storage purposes not unlike the way we store food in refrigerators. Dogs will be seen digging holes to bury bones and other “treasures” that can be unearthed when food is scarce.

Many dog owners have been informed about the bad effects of chocolates on the pet. However, a lot of dog owners are not aware of the dangerous effects of onions to the pet. Onions are unsafe for dogs as consumption can result to the development of serious health concerns.

Onion is a pungent bulb used as a cooking ingredient as it improves the taste of foods. Onions are one of the people-safe foods that have toxic effects on dogs. Dogs are much loved pets thus owners have develop the habit of feeding the pet human foods. Life threatening concerns can develop in a dog that ingests raw, cooked, powdered or dehydrated onion.

The toxic effects of onions will be dependent on the amount ingested by the pet. A dog would immediately show signs of poisoning if it has ingested significant amounts of onions. Signs of onion poisoning may not be manifested by dogs that have eaten small amounts of onions. Small amounts of onions when regularly ingested would cause a buildup of toxicity. The dog will develop a serious condition known as hemolytic anemia.

Onions are toxic to dogs because these animals do not have the enzyme needed to metabolize thiosuphate, a substance contained by onions. Thiosulphate has the dangerous effect of causing the premature destruction of the red blood cells. Red blood cells have the significant function of supplying oxygen to the tissues and to the different organs of the body. Thiosulphate has the dangerous effect of oxidizing the red blood cells. Once red blood cells are oxidized, bubble-like clumps known as Heinz bodies will project from the red blood cells. These bubble-like clumps will weaken and cause the premature destruction of the red blood cells. Premature destruction would considerably lessen the numbers of red blood cells giving rise to various health concerns one of which is heart failure.

Dogs that have ingested small amounts of onions will not manifest toxicity symptoms at once. A one-time onion eating episode may not have dangerous effects as the bone marrow can still cope with the regeneration of the red blood cells. Dogs that eats onion regularly would suffer from the toxicity effects of this human food as the toxic substance would accumulate and cause the mass destruction of red blood cells. Hemolytic anemia will develop when the dog’s bone marrow can no longer correct the mass destruction of red blood cells.

Dogs would eat just about anything thus there will be no need to entice the dog to eat its food by adding onions. Onions are dangerous to dogs thus please keep this human food away from your pet.

So onions are dangerous to dogs. But do you know everything. At Sarah’s Dogs there is further discussion on the topic of onions and dogs.

Aspirin is the most most typical pain medication prescribed to pet dogs and other household pets. However, when not used properly it could cause a number of issues and it can even lead to overdose or a case of aspirin poisoning in canines. This is among the most important reasons why it is necessary that canines keep aspiring at a safe place where their canines can’t get at it.

03/20/2011 Stamford, CT – Phillip DeLouise formerly worked as a veterinary assistant and he shares some of his experiences with aspirin overdose in dogs. “Perhaps the object that most interests is that in most cases of toxicity, unintentional ingestion is often one of the most popular cause,” said DeLouise. He was also the most people who were at hand when the  website – http://www.weimaranerproblems.com/train-weimaraner/ was launched.

In the forum that focused on the way to train weimaraners, there were some members who brought up the problem of aspirin toxicity. Accidents were pointed out as being a primary cause as evidently most of the reported cases of poisoning in canines were because of accidents. Canines can get into the aspirin bottle out of curiosity and cause the problems. Other possible causes of aspirin overdose in canines is long term aspirin use. Improper dosages and administration can also cause issues overdose in dogs.

When it pertains to aspirin toxicity in dogs, pet owners are gonna want to keep a lookout for a range of symptoms. These include gastrointestinal concerns similar to abdominal tenderness, vomiting, diarrhea, melena, and losing hunger. Other symptoms that owners would need to look out for include restlessness, losing concentration, and depression.

Dogs also can exhibit problems with clotting time and signs of clotting time issues and stomach ulcers. These can also induce serious conditions like belly wall perforation and perhaps even general bacterial infection.

There are various exams that will be used to determine if the dog is going through an overdose of aspirin. Taking the dog’s medical history is the most first diagnostic strategies to be performed. Doctors will ask dog pet owners if they have observed their canines ingesting a sizeable amount of aspirin. How long a family dog has been taking aspirin may also be considered.

As treatment, doctors may really need to do gastric lavage. Activated charcoal might also be launched to help you absorb the aspirin in the stomach. Other treatments entail antacids to assist to protect the belly lining. Intravenous therapy might also be done to help relieve dehydration.

In the boards that discussed the way to train weimaraner, it was also dealt with that owners should take their canines to the vet as soon as possible. This is really significant because canines could die from overdose. That could be prevented by taking the dog to the vet as soon as possible. When going to the vet, owners need to bring along any evidence of aspirin intake in canines. This is likely to help facilitate therapy and also help the diagnosis go faster.

Many people believe that dogs have mystical abilities. Dogs are well loved animals but an owner can’t help but be annoyed with a pet that howls and stares into nothing especially on dark nights as this behavior is often associated with superstition beliefs that portends tragic incidents. Many dog owners believe that these animals can predict death. Of course these beliefs have no scientific basis and dog behaviorists attribute these uncanny skills to the dog’s ultra sensitive senses.

Dog owners would attest to the fact that the sense of smell is the most sensitive sense of the dog and the sense of hearing comes a very close second. Generally, dogs are kept as companions but some breeds are specifically developed for police and protection work as these animals’ ultrasensitive senses are most valuable asset in this line of work. As long as a dog is on guard duty, people can sleep soundly at night.

The ears of humans and dogs have an almost similar anatomical characteristics but a dog’s hearing ability is far superior to what humans have. The difference in hearing ability can be due to the type of ears as while human ears are practically immobile because of the way they are attached to the head, dogs ears that are composed of 18 or more muscles are highly movable. A dog’s ears can be moved easily to pick up sound more efficiently. Similar to a satellite dish that is moved to pick up signal more efficiently, the ears of the dog can be moved too to the point where the sound originates. Law enforcers that use canines take advantage of the dog’s unique ability to move the ears as often times, the direction of the ears discloses the location of a suspect. However, this does not mean that the hearing sensitivity is lessened if the dog has floppy ears. Bloodhounds and other floppy eared breeds can still hear much better than humans.

The skill of a dog’s ears to pick up sound independently could mean that the dog will be inundated with cornucopia of sounds. In spite of the fact that human hearing is not as sensitive as canine hearing, various sounds heard at the same time will be overwhelming to humans. Loud sounds will not trouble dogs as all they have to do is to filter any unwanted sounds. Dogs are great sleepers and so are some people but noise that will disturb the sleep of people would not affect a dog at all.

Dogs have an amazing ability to neutralize their sensitive ears. Dogs have this effective trick of filtering sounds. A dog that would sleep through a jumble of discordant sounds but would rouse at once at the crackling sound of the kibble wrapper is showing its ability to screen sounds. 

Dog owners have differing opinions on whether the dog should be neutered or not. The most common reason for neutering the dog is to reduce the number of unwanted homeless dogs that have to be put to sleep every year. A dog owner with no plans of breeding would make sure that the pet is neutered so as not to add to the stray dogs problem.

To neuter a dog, a small incision is made on the skin to remove the testicles to prevent the dog from reproducing. But aside from this purpose, neutering is done to give the dog a healthier, a happier and a longer life. With the removal of the testicles, the risk for testicle cancer is removed as well. Neutering controls the hormone level of a dog thus bad behavior that is associated with the dog’s mood swings is as well controlled. Neutering is said to give a dog longer life as aside from minimizing the risks for some health concerns, neutered dogs have no inclination to roam thus accidents that can lead to the death of the pet is avoided.

However, dog owners have many reservations on the right time to neuter the dog . Neutering a dog is surrounded by many myths. Neutering done at an early age is believed to have a significant impact on the personality and physical growth of the pet.

There is also a notion that if neutering is done before puberty the dog will not make an outstanding companion as the playful and affectionate nature will be obliterated. These beliefs though are unfounded. The personality and the physical development of the dog will not be affected at all. So what is the right age to neuter the pet?

Actually, a dog can be neutered at any age but of course this does not apply to newborn puppies. A pet owner would learn from the breeder the age of the dog but if the pet was obtained from a shelter considering the right age for neutering would not be possible. Dogs at any age can be neutered as long as the testicles have descended but ideally, the procedure must be done before the dog has attained sexual maturity. A Shih Tzu or any other toy breeds can be neutered at six months as these breed gain sexual maturity early. Large breeds take longer to attain maturity thus German Shepherds, Great Danes and other large breeds can be neutered at about 1 year of age.

A person that has decided to get a dog for a pet must have considered the necessary tasks that must be done to secure the well being of the pet. One of the essential tasks a pet parent must learn is how to give the pet a pill. Sick dogs would need pills only for a time and the arduous task will be over when the dog recovers from the ailment. Pilling the dog can be a daily routine too as similar to humans, dogs benefit from vitamins and supplements as well. How to give your dog a pill? 

Giving the dog a pill can be a big hassle especially if the dog is a sly one that would give the owner a merry chase. Pilling the dog can be a major fight as once the pill filled treat is popped into the mouth; the cunning dog would eat the treat and spit out the pill. Naturally, dogs would not be aware of the benefits of the bitter pill thus a pet owner has to be persistent with the task of giving the dog its medications.

Dogs can be accomplished con artists that would act like good little boys that would willingly open the mouth so that the master can pop the pill. But as soon as the master’s back is turned, out the pill would go from the dog’s mouth. To make sure that the pill was swallowed, an owner has to stay with the dog for a while.

Giving the dog a pill will be easier if the bitter taste of the pill is disguised by the taste of the dog’s favorite food. Pills that can be crushed or liquid medications can be mixed with a little amount of the dog’s favorite treat. This technique though is not applicable for dogs with dietary restrictions. The dog would not know that the pill is hidden in the ham, chicken breast or liverwurst as dogs usually gobble up their food.

Generally, very sick dogs would turn away from food. If this is the case, mixing the pill to the food or hiding the pill in the dog’s favorite treat will be ineffective. The pill must be placed directly on the dog’s mouth. Placing the pill on the dog’s mouth would be much easier if the dog is used to being touched or the teeth being brushed. The mouth must be opened so that the pill can be inserted at the base of the tongue. Make sure that the teeth are covered by the flews to prevent the dog from biting your hand. To encourage the dog to swallow the pill gently blow on the nose.