May 17, 2012

Raw Food Diets and Your Dog

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Many people feed a raw food diet in an attempt to better mimic the natural diet of their pets.  There are a number of companies that now manufacture such diets so that the owner does not have to prepare them.  Unfortunately, the assumption that a raw food diet is healthier than a regular kibble diet has some flaws.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning of an increase in Salmonella contamination problems with raw food diets.  In the early part of February, Nature’s Variety had to recall a large number of raw food packages due to Salmonella contamination.  Salmonella is that nasty bug that infects spoiled food, or food that is not cooked long enough.  It can cause lethargy, bloody diarrhea, fever, or vomiting in pets.  In addition, it can cause many of the same problems in humans.  In some cases, Salmonella can be fatal to both dogs and humans.

Much of the contamination to these foods is coming from so-called “downers” or animals that die or are too sick to walk into the slaughter facility.  These animals are not supposed to be used in food.  Sometimes they are anyway.  When that happens, a lot of meat can be contaminated by one sick animal.  In 2004, two studies by the FDA found that out of 112 samples of raw meat diets manufactured for greyhounds, 50 had Salmonella and the other study found Salmonella in 70 of 106 samples.

Salmonella isn’t all that lurks in raw diets.  Noroviruses such as those that took over cruise ships several years back are also often present.  Campylobacter, often found in poultry, is another hazard.  Not only are these things hazardous to your dog, they threaten you.  If you handle the raw diet, or get kissed by your dog after he eats it, the bacteria, virus, or toxin may end up in your body.  People die from these contaminates.

Not surprisingly, the FDA recommends you do not feed raw diets to your dog.  Of course, that will not stop those committed to feeding raw.  If you must feed a raw diet to your dog, observe safe handling practices.  Wash your hands after handling the food, make sure any utensils are washed in hot soapy water, and wash the dog’s bowl in hot soapy water daily.  Remember the water bowl, too.  Keep children, the elderly, and anyone with a compromised immune system away from the dog during and for a while after feeding.

Stephanie Suesan Smith, Ph.D. has had dogs all her life and has been gardening nearly as long.  For more articles, check out her blog at http://blog.stephaniesuesansmith.com.

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What You Need To Know About The Smallest Dog Breed

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It is an accepted fact that the Irish Wolfhound is the tallest dog breed in the world. However, other breeds are not that far behind. Exceptional individuals like a Great Dane named Gibson was recently announced as the tallest dog alive in the Guinness Book of World Records. Gibson has been measured at 42.6 inches high at the shoulder and stands over 7 feet tall on its hind legs. On the other hand, the smallest dog breed is still the Chihuahua. Standing only between 6 to 12 inches tall, and weighing no more than 2.7 kg, this breed is indeed diminutive in stature.

Again, one or two exceptional dogs do make this claim even more solid. With the latest issue of the Guinness Book of World Records, the title of the smallest dog in the world still belongs to the Chihuahua. This time though, the title holder is an extremely diminutive 6 inch long, short-haired pet named Heaven Sent Brandy. Brandy, as the dog is affectionately called stands only a few inches taller than a regular can of soda, and weighs almost the same.

Although a Chihuahua may look fragile, this does not mean that this breed of dog is docile. Some individuals can be very feisty. Others, especially those robbed of mental and physical stimuli can become destructive as well. This is the reason why socialization training is important with this breed of dog. At the same time, because of their small physique, a Chihuahua is not a great dog for kids, toddlers and infants. They can be easily crushed and trampled on.

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Potty Training Dogs In Four Incredibly Effective Ways! Discover ways to Stop Your pet From Eliminating Inside Your Home!

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Potty training dogs comes down to Four basic points that, if carried out properly, will help you house train your canine very quickly! It is sometimes seen as being a challenging process for the most part because most of the new dog owners don’t know these few basic tactics I’ll tell you in the following paragraphs. Similar to any other canine training strategy make sure to be patient and consistent as no dog was housebroken overnight.

Potty Training Dogs Part 1 – Set up A Den

Dogs are naturally den animals they usually look for a location that may play this role wherever they go. It’s your duty to provide your pet with his private little asylum where he can relax for a little bit and hide from all the hassle and fuss of an everyday life. In exchange he will not soil his new home and will learn how to resist from relieving himself until he’s let outside. The easiest way to prepare a den is either by getting a dog house or separating a part of a room with a baby gate.

Potty Training Dogs Part 2 – Make Him Use One Potty For The First couple of Weeks!

At the start of potty training you have to take your pet to one specified earlier zone on a regular basis and use only one command (‘outside’ or ‘go potty’) to provoke the elimination procedure. This way he will get accustomed to relieving himself outdoors and will associate this procedure with one particular term.

Potty Training Dogs Part 3 – Keep An Eye On The Clock

Canines have the ability to relieve themselves within the initial Twenty or so minutes after the last meal. Adult canines can hold it for a lot longer than pups that do not know how to be in charge of their intestines up to the point when they’re 12 weeks old. Use this information to your benefit and take your dog outdoors exactly when he needs it (assuming you know when was the last time he ate). Make sure to monitor your pet’s tendencies for such signals of coming poop as circling or sniffing.

Potty Training Dogs Part 4 – The reason why Punishment Will not Get You Far

The easiest way to slow down housebreaking canines is to scream or smack them as a form of punishment. Not only will your furry friend become mislead as to what you expect him to do but also stressed in regards to the whole situation. As an alternative, be patient and consistent with utilizing the housebreaking instructions laid out above and arrange lots of cleaning liquids as your furry friend is going to relieve himself in the house several times first in order to understand that it is not exactly what you want him to do. Always compliment your dog if he does his job within the preferred site in order to boost the good pattern.

If you’re looking for more tips on potty training dogs feel free to visit my website where I cover all aspects of potty training dogs and answer the most common questions about dog training.

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Collie Training Tips

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Training just about any type of dog is usually a challenging task, even for expert trainers, and every breed of dog has distinct personality traits and will need to be trained in a particular manner. This is also true for Collies simply because their considerable size, even as young puppies, makes proper training crucial and their intelligence means they are mischievous. There are numerous sources readily available for discovering Collie training tips and following these pointers could make training the dog much easier and more effective.

Resources For Acquiring Great Collie Training Tips

In the past, there have been numerous guides written by dog training specialists detailing the many Collie training tips which you can use for the effective training of a household pet, which includes training young dogs to be housebroken. These types of books may be unique to Collies or give a broad range of strategies for training dogs spanning various ages and dog breeds. Not all of the tips will work for all Collies so it’ll be up to the individual training the dog to determine which Collie training tips work for your dog and modify the ones which are not working.

The web has emerged as a great place to acquire Collie training tips for the dog owner that would like to train their dog on their own without the guidance of a specialist trainer. There are numerous sites on the web focused upon the training of Collies and detailing the many quirks of character that the dog may well possess that may make training the dog more challenging to accomplish.

When looking for Collie training tips online, it is vital that you choose an internet site . which has a track record of excellence with regards to Collies, as there are many people building internet sites which contain no useful info and contain strategies that may be harmful to the dog. It is advisable to use at least 2 sources of online information while looking for Collie training tips to make sure that the information that is found is actually valid training advice.

One more great resource for Collie training tips tend to be dog training lessons held by expert dog trainers. These courses are built to show the dog owner basic principles of dog training and offer some tips for the dog owner to use to carry on the training by themselves in the home. The courses are generally held at night, as this time is more handy for dog owners that work during the day, and can be attended once or twice per week until the dog owner feels comfortable using the Collie training tips and methods on their own.

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Groom Your Dog at Home

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Any dog that has long hair needs to have it groomed every now and then or even more often. It is a big chore but it needs to be done. Many people that have these dogs with long hair take their pet to the groomer however you could also do it at home with a little work.

When bath time comes you must remember to use a shampoo and also a conditioner. You must use both because the shampoo removes the dirt and the conditioner will help stop tangles.

Tools that are also useful for dog grooming are brushes, combs and rakes. You will need these tools to detangle your dog’s hair. By using the proper tools will help stop some huge tangles in the future.

When you brush your dog you are taking out dust, dead skin, loose hair, and tangles. By brushing your dog in the spring and fall helps them shed the extra coat. There are special brushes that your groomer will use on your dog. They have shorter and sharper bristles and they cover a large matted area.

Drying the dog’s hair is a must after they have been groomed. You need to have a hair dryer if you are planning to groom your dog’s hair. By drying the hair quickly prevents any mattes or tangles that can occur in wet hair. Wet fur tangle more then dry fur.

You will need to have good scissors to remove and hair that is around the dog’s eyes and in the ears. Some breeds get mattes around the eyes that are caused by discharge so it is a good idea to have the hair in this area short preventing this from happening.

Don’t leave your dog’s health and happiness to strangers! Find out more about what is used for Grooming Your Dog at Home.

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