Puppies are such cute furry bundles of joy it is little wonder that most of us find them irresistible. The thing to remember though is that that cute furry bundle comes with a whole bag of responsibility and moreover some day that little furry bundle of fun will transform into a big furry bundle. The point to note here is that it isn’t enough to see a puppy and exclaim “ahhhh” and feel that covers all your future obligations and requisite requirements to becoming a dog owner. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Before you go puppy scouting you first need to do some research on the type of dog breed that best compliments your personality. Another point to consider is that if you are getting the puppy for a child most of the responsibility of taking care of that puppy is going to fall on your shoulders, your child’s promises and good intentions notwithstanding.



Choosing Your Puppy

Choosing the right puppy for you and for your home requires a certain degree of insight to yourself. If you intend to have a long and happy relationship with your dog then you need to get a dog breed that will fit into your lifestyle and match your character. Thus you need to ask yourself a number of questions and be prepared to answer them with nothing less than stark naked honesty. Such questions include:

•    Are you an energetic/active person

•    Are you a couch potato

•    Is the dog going to primarily be a companion or pet

•    Do you live in an apartment

•    Do you have a backyard

•    Is the dog going to be a playmate for kids

•    Is the dog primarily for protection

•    Do you intend to exhibit your dog at dog shows

•    How does having a dog fit into your work schedule

•    How much time are you prepared to spend on grooming

•    Do you want a super affectionate dog

The above list is by no means all encompassing but certainly tackles some of the questions you should ask yourself before you eventually get your puppy. Think of these questions as primers to your quest for the perfect puppy dog!

Get A Dog Breed That Compliments You And Your Needs

The great thing about getting a dog is that there are well over 200 different breeds to choose from; and it gets better. Over a span of many hundreds of years (in some instances thousands) man has bred every and any type of dog to cater to practically any need he so desired. That means that somewhere out there is the perfect dog breed for you. Hence if you are little inclined to indulging in long arduous walks or are loathe to bouts of daily exercise, it makes no sense at all to get a dog that belongs to the sporting group of dogs, because such dogs invariably need a lot of exercise.

In other words if your nature leans towards couch-potato hedonism then get a puppy that compliments your couch-potato lifestyle. Fortunately there is no shortage of dog breeds that possess such qualities. In a somewhat similar vein if your intended dog is for protection, guarding or some other form of service, it makes sense for you to choose a dog from the working dog breed group.

Probably the single most common mistake that would-be dog owners tend to make is to base the appearance of a dog as the ultimate criterion for their selection. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with initially basing your choice of dog on the breed’s appearance but remember that looks tell you little if anything about any dog breed’s inherent character and nature.

Take the Poodle for example; most people think that the Poodle is nothing but a show dog. However what they don’t know is that the Standard Poodle (this is the big variant which attains a weight of 65lbs plus and grows to a height of 21 inches and more) actually makes a very capable watchdog with a pretty convincing bite to remind you and anyone else inclined to forget that it is more than just a pretty face in a doggy world!

Where To Get Puppies From

There are a variety of places that you could get your puppy from, some highly recommended while others you should avoid at all costs for a number of reasons that will be explained shortly.

1. Puppies From Reputable Breeders

These are people who raise dogs because they actually love dogs and are not in it for the money. Such a dog breeder:

•    Raises their puppies in close proximity to people and in a warm, safe comfortable and protected environment. The reason why it is essential that puppies be raised in close contact with people is so that they get accustomed and socialized to humans from an early onset which makes for a better pet.

•    Never breeds more than a couple of litters each year and restricts any one female dog to a single litter per year.

•    Screens their puppies and dogs for genetic or hereditary disease and other ailments and will supply you (the end-owner) with the relevant registration papers and certificates proving so

•    Would as a matter of course inquire about your lifestyle, where you live and what kind of experience if any that you have with dogs. They’ll ask you such questions not because they are nosey but rather to ensure that you are truly compatible and well matched with the dog that you are about to introduce as the newest member of your family. Remember, as stated before, reputable breeders are concerned about the welfare and well being of their dogs and want to ensure that their puppies don’t end up being abandoned by a negligent owner.

Getting your purebred puppy from a reputable breeder will initially cost you more money upfront but will pay off in the backend because in effect what you are paying for is a guarantee of a puppy that:

•    Is well socialized

•    Has been screened for health defects and possible genetic disease

•    As an adult dog will exhibit the positive attributes and characteristics typical of the breed and not the unwanted traits that appear in poorly developed purebreds as a result of over breeding along the same generational lines

2. Dog Rescue Shelters

Every year millions of dogs are euthanized in the United States alone, many of them being abandoned pets that cannot be housed in foster homes in a timely fashion before funds for their upkeep run out. A lot of those dogs in rescue shelters are purebred dogs that have been abandoned for some reason or other by their previous owners.

Good Reasons To Get A Dog From A Shelter

There are actually a number of advantages in getting your dog from a rescue shelter and such reasons include:

•    You will pay much less for your new pet even if it is a purebred dog (typically you’d just pay the adoption fee which helps to keep the shelter open and is about $50. Getting your purebred dog from a reputable breeder would set you back anywhere from $500-$1500.

•    Most dog shelters have some degree of veterinary facility on their premises ensuring that dogs are neutered/spayed (commonly but not always) as well as treated for any ailments/diseases and screened for problems. All this is done at no extra cost to you, having been incorporated in the miniscule adoption fee.

•    The average dog from a shelter has undergone some level of housetraining which is a huge weight off the shoulders for any new prospective dog owner.

Where Not To Get Puppies From

There are two places you should avoid getting your puppy from at all costs and those places are:



A. Puppy Mills: as the name suggest such places are devoted to churning out puppies in volume without due consideration to their welfare and well being. Puppies from puppy mills are raised in horrendous conditions, rarely if ever in contact with people and are removed from their mothers prematurely at the tender age of 5 weeks (which is much too soon).

A consequence of such horribly conditions and a deprived puppyhood is that these dogs make for very poor pets. Moreover such puppies are far more likely to suffer from undiagnosed genetic disease as well as other ailments because it is a good bet that the puppy mills are certainly not bothered with such trivialities as the good health of their wards!   

B. Pet Stores: Next time you see that cute but sad-eyed puppy in a pet store brace yourself and walk on by. Why? Because pet stores are actually the sole reason that puppy mills still exist. Pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills or from for-profit backyard breeders, two types of establishment that aren’t concerned with:  the pedigree purity, genetic disease, or emotionally and mental well being of the dog.

Puppies from pet stores typically get there at about five weeks of age and are finally placed with an owner around 12 weeks of age. Conditions in the pet store may be better than those of the puppy mill but only marginally so. Much of the time the puppy is in isolation and has little if any human contact, which means that if you do break down and get that sad-eyed puppy in the window you are getting a dog that has next to no socialization skills and is almost invariably emotionally and mentally scarred! Besides by getting your puppy from a pet store you are in effect perpetuating this horrible cycle of canine misery.

More about the dog

Wouldn’t you rather learn how to deal with minor dog health problems BEFORE they become major ones?  I know I would, because let’s face it, dogs are part of your family, and no one wants to see a part of your family get sick or even die.

Even if you’ve got the most easy-care dog in the world, she’ll still need some attention to be paid to her appearance every once in a while – so it’s worth spending a bit of time learning the best techniques for easy, stress-free grooming.

Here is some of the valuable advice I got from one of my favorite sites for dog health care solutions, The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health.

WHY SHOULD I BOTHER GROOMING MY DOG?

Not so long ago, the average American’s approach to canine grooming was somewhat cavalier. Dogs were seen as something that lived in the yard (usually in a dusty, hard-floored kennel), ate whatever was put in their bowls, and existed as a sometime-playmate for the household’s children.

Today, we tend to care for our dogs a lot more, and view them more as members of the household than the Thing in the Yard.

Ever since this rise in the estimation of our beloved pooches became widespread, grooming has been increasingly recognized as an important facet of your dog’s regular health-care. It ensures that any skin-care problems are minimized (because grooming distributes the natural skin-oils evenly throughout the coat), and assists you in monitoring your dog’s overall condition – if you groom on a regular basis, you can’t help but notice the presence of any unusual lumps or bumps.

This preventative action has saved many a canine life. Our dogs can’t tell us where it hurts, but taking just a little bit of time every so often to check them over ourselves can save a lot of grief in the long run.

The trick is getting your dog to tolerate (and even enjoy!) the process …

THE FIRST STEP IN THE GROOMING PROCESS

Something that many owners lack experience in is how to wash their dogs. Dry-grooming (brushing and ‘buffing’ the coat) seems to present little problem for most people; the rot tends to set in when water is introduced to the mix.

Most dogs have a strong dislike of being bathed, and in many cases will become utterly panic-stricken when the tub comes out.

This article is going to deal with the basics of how to wash your dog in a way that’ll keep both of you relaxed and happy.

PREPARING YOUR DOG FOR GROOMING

First of all, the absolute most important thing you can do is to accustom your dog to the grooming process. Now, starting this in puppyhood is the ideal way to handle the situation, but of course not all of us have this luxury; if you’ve got an adult dog, you’ll probably need to move a little slower, but you should still start getting her used to being touched and handled all over as soon as you can.

As your puppy or dog gets used to the sensation of being rubbed and handled, she’ll slowly come to enjoy it. Dogs are social creatures by instinct, and physical affection and contact is a big part of their lives – it shouldn’t take long before she begins to trust you, and allows herself to get some pleasure out of your touch.

All you have to do is start rubbing her slowly all over. Fondle her ears, touch her cheeks and neck, rub her back and belly, pick up her paws and – if she’ll let you – give each one a gentle squeeze (treating and praising her whenever she lets you do this, since paw touching is generally a pretty big deal for most dogs). If she has a tail, rub it between your fingers; get her to roll over on her back so you can rub and stroke her belly and hocks.

This might not seem like such a big deal, but it’s actually a really important part of the grooming process: the more your dog enjoys it, the less stressful the whole event will be for both of you, and so the more often you’re likely to groom her – which increases the health benefits for her.

HOW TO WASH YOUR DOG

Bathing always comes before dry-grooming, since it makes brushing and trimming a lot easier as well as a lot more effective (there’s not much point in brushing a tangled, dirty coat!)

You will need some basic tools: a tub, a non-slip mat, a plastic jug, some warm water, a small sponge, and some canine shampoo (not human shampoo: the pH is all wrong for dogs, and will give her dry and flaky skin.)

Stand her in the tub, on the non-slip mat. If she’s a large or unruly dog, you may want to wash her outside to minimize mess – either that, or you can restrain her by tying one end of a light nylon leash to her collar, and the other end to the faucet.

Pour jugs of warm water all over her until she’s good and wet. This breaks down the grease in her fur, and ensures a thorough shampooing.

Mix a little shampoo with another jug of warm water, and rub it thoroughly into your dog’s fur. Start off with her back and rub it into a good lather (but don’t be too harsh!)

Now you can move on to her head and face. Be very careful here – dogs’ eyes are sensitive too, and if you get any water in her ears, she’ll probably get an ear infection. (You can plug her ears with a small twist of cotton wool to help stop this from happening, if you like.)

Remember to clean under her tail before you wash her off – dip the sponge into the shampoo mixture to do this properly.

Now it’s time to rinse: using the jug and some clean, warm, shampoo-free water, carefully tip it all over her and use your fingers to help disperse the lather from her coat. Rinse her off thoroughly at least twice, since any residue that remains will irritate her skin.

Now you’ll need to dry her off: if she’s got short fur, you can use a towel (an old one will do just fine, although big dogs generally need two); for dogs with longer fur, give her a gentle toweling-off first, and then use a hair dryer to get rid of the last dampness. Be certain that it’s set on low heat, and hold it far away from your dog’s fur to prevent burning either the skin or the fur.

KEEP YOURSELF CALM

Remember that most dogs have an inherent dislike of being bathed, which can cause anxiety and even outright panic.

Your dog takes a lot of her emotional cues from you, so make sure you act like a good role model for the occasion. Reassure your dog frequently, keeping your voice well-modulated, low, and even; keep your movements slow and deliberate; praise her lavishly for good behavior, and give her a couple of treats throughout the process to make it more enjoyable for her.

The more she enjoys the process, the easier it’ll be for you!

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Grooming your dog is just one tiny aspect of maintaining overall health and happiness. For a complete, encyclopedic survival guide to all aspects of dog health, from preventative care to choosing a vet to doggie First Aid (even the canine Heimlich maneuver!), you should take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health.

A survival guide for knowledgeable, effective, and life-saving dog care, this manual keeps your dog’s health and wellbeing firmly within your control – which is exactly where you want it to be.

It can’t hurt to look.

Dog toys are things that provide entertainment and keep your dogs busy all day long. These are simple yet very efficient tools that help develop the ability of dogs in properly obeying the command of their masters.

Though it is not that necessary, dogs still need dog toys. It is important for it gives a lot of benefits for them. You may not immediately see the effect, but you will see its wonders when your dog continuously plays with it.

Dogs, specifically when they are still puppies, need the right nourishment and affection similar to raising a child. You’re probably aware how your dogs run and come close to you as soon as you arrive home. This only means that your dog also needs some of your affection.

It is a reality, however, that not all dog owners have that much time to focus on their pet’s needs because of busy schedule. To compensate on that, the best thing to do is to look for an alternative tool which can entertain and develop the abilities of your dog even while you’re away. And the simplest, most affordable yet very effective way to perform all your duties as a master is with the help of dog toys.

Dog toys can act as your furry friend’s best partner while you’re away and during a very lonesome day. Dog toys may keep him busy all day long. Your absence will be forgotten and a very cute dog toy will serve as their playmate. Dogs love to play at all times so this is definitely part of their need.

One aspect of a child’s growing up years is the effort of their parents to develop their kid’s mind by letting them play toys and do other activities for recreation. Just like human, dogs also need this kind of attention to help develop their own abilities to properly interact on the environment they are living in.

Dog toys provide a major role in sustaining dog’s agility while slowly training them and boost their conference. Dog toys also have the power to emphasize the needs of your dog and also the things your pet hates the most.

Along with this, another good reason why your dog needs dog toys is that it encourages him to positively play with or without a companion. Dog toys also help stave off boredom which is very usual for domesticated pets like dog.

Keeping out dog’s misbehavior is also one of the major reasons why your pet needs dog toys. Moreover, dog toys allow your dog to have the most suitable item to chew so you no longer need to worry what other things inside the house your dog will mess up the next time.

So if you want to simply train your dog while not spending too much, dog toys are the best solution. It comes in various styles, colors, shapes and sizes depending on what your dog prefers the most. Don’t let your dog suffer anxiety, boredom and other unwanted behavior. Simply give them the dog toys of their choice and you will no longer have to worry about their situation especially when you’re away.