Dog Help and Cat Care Tips Dog and Cat Help Care.com

Robert Hallstrom: A never-ending quest to learn everything
“If the circle had come full turn, I hadn’t. I can’t say, over the miles, that I had learned what I had wanted to know because I hadn’t known what I wanted to know. But I did learn what I didn’t know I wanted to know.”

Read more on Oakley News

WITH VIDEO: Old dogs learn new tricks
Carolyn Via used to dread a knock at the door. The sound would usually trigger a chain reaction of scampering and barking dachshunds, with one dog lunging to the door and two more sprinting outside. It was a madhouse.

Read more on Suburban Journals

Dogs can learn our ways, but not about good or bad
Unfortunately for dogs, we humans are often wrong when describing what and why our dogs do what they do.

Read more on Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Learn basic first aid for your pets
While April is known for its showers that bring May flowers, it is also National Pet First Aid Awareness Month (NPFAAM) and the American Red Cross in Greater New York encourages pet owners to take a first aid class for the good of their furry friends.

Read more on Queens Courier

Seniors Keep Their Cool This Summer and Learn How to Prevent Heat-Related Injuries
The dog days of summer are fast approaching, and while we cannot control the rising temperatures on the streets, we can control the heat index of our bodies.

Read more on Newswise

Classroom Companion Helps Kids Learn
An Indianapolis Public Schools teacher uses a therapy dog to help students learn and cope.

Read more on WRTV Indianapolis

Whatever the reason you have for having a dog, be it as a pet, or maybe as a guard dog, or a working dog for example, the dog will need to be trained. In the first instance it will need to behave as you want it to in any given situation. In most cases with dogs as pets this means getting the dog to behave around people and around other animals. This in itself can prove to be problematic, especially if the breed of dog in question means that the animal has tendencies that pre dispose it to behaviour that is different than what you expect. Point one therefore is that you must choose a dog that will be suited to whatever task you want for it.

Proper training is especially important in the case of a family dog, doubly so where children are going to be present. Studies have shown that proper training for your dog can make a massive reduction in the likelihood that your dog will attempt to bite or be prone to other undesirable traits or behaviour.

Unless you have been trained in dog training, it is likely that you will need some help when it comes to training your dog. This could be either by way of formal lessons, or with the help of a training manual. Formal lessons are great if you can afford them, or if you can find a suitable course near you. Many people find that having a book to help them is enough, and probably a lot more fun and fulfilling for you; knowing that you have been able to train your own dog.

By way of a taster, I have outlined some of the basic commands that you will need to teach your dog, should you decide to want to train it yourself. This list is just an example and is by no means exhaustive.

* Heel – it is very important that a dog learns to walk with you on a loose lead, in a good position.

* Respond to the word ‘No’ – This is absolutely critical to dog training. A dog must know when it has been told ‘No’, to stop whatever it was that they were doing, and hopefully, not to do it again.

* Sit – Your dog must learn to respond to the sit command.

* Stay – Your dog must learn not to follow you everywhere. This command is not just to prove that your dog is able to adopt the sitting position, but that it has enough respect for you to stay in that position when you move away and tell it to stay.

Training a dog is something that will help you to control an animal of course. Control over your pet is only part of the benefit to you though. Training helps you to form a bond with your dog, which is another great reason for doing the training yourself.

The concept of an alpha dog is very important to all dogs. They are pack animals, and as such, instinctively try and place themselves within a hierarchy of a group. What we need is for your dog to recognise you as the alpha dog and submit to your commands. If you fail to do this, you could find yourself with all sorts of problems with your dog.

Owning a dog can be a truly rewarding experience if you take the time to educate yourself on the proper care of dogs. There are two main areas of focus when examining dog health, disease preventative care and recognizing signs of potential problems.

Preventative medicine is paramount in effective dog care. At six weeks old puppies should begin a series of four DHLPP/CCV vaccinations three or four weeks apart. Puppies should be de-wormed often and started on heartworm preventative at four months old.

This program should be maintained indefinitely. An annual visit to a local veterinarian is necessary to maintain your dog’s health. In addition to administering vaccinations, the vet will examine the dog’s teeth and stool, and look for any obvious maladies.

What kind of dog health problems should I be on the look out for?

It is also important for new pet owners to be able to recognize any signs of potential dog health problems. Skin problems are quite common and can present themselves in a number of various ways. Skin allergies are very common in many dogs and can cause hair loss and ‘hot spots’. These ‘hot spots’ are sores on the skin surface that ooze and become easily infected.

They are also very painful and hard to deal with because of the dog’s constant licking. The skin allergies that cause ‘hot spots’ are often mistaken for flea infestation problems; an easy way to tell the difference is by watching the dog.

Chewing the top of his rump is a good indication of fleas, while scratching his head, neck and front legs indicate allergies. Signs of potential health problems also present themselves in the dogs stool. If the stool appears runny or discolored you may need to visit the vet.

Parasites or a change in diet are usually the culprit and most often easily remedied. Another less common but very serious threat to your dog’s health is Gastric Dilatation Volvulus. Large, deep crested dogs are predisposed for this condition which causes their stomachs to flip if they exert themselves after ingesting large amounts of water.

Your dog’s health is not something to be taken lightly. It is a huge responsibility you have chosen to bear, but it doesn’t mean that is has to be hard. Just make sure you take him for a check up every year and be attentive to any imminent health problems. If you follow your veterinarian’s advice your dog should have a happy, healthy, and long life.

Not all cats respond to change great at first. Some will adapt right away whereas others require a little bit of time in order to make the change. Adding a new cat to the mix can be a stressful situation for any of your existing cats. You need to realize this in advance and do what you can to make the transition a little easier. Many cat owners find that the easiest way to accomplish this is to put the new cat into their own area for a few days so it can become used to its surrounding without being bombarded by other cats that have sonority in the home.

Make sure you are spending time with both the new cat and your other cats. Make sure that your new cat has access to food, water, and a litter box in the room they are in. After a bit, begin to leave the door open to the room that the new cat is in. Eventually your existing cats are going to become curious and check out the new cat. When this happens make sure that you go in as well to make sure nothing bad happens.

Pay attention to each cat and give them equal amounts of attention, this way neither cat will feel like you are fonder of one over the other which is extremely important. After a while the cats will work out the dynamics of their relationship, just make sure to continue showing an equal amount of affection for each cat.

Scratching up the Furniture!

Anytime that you decide to take a pet into your home you are taking the chance of having them destroy a lot of your belongings, including your furniture. What you need to remember, no matter how hard it might be at the moment, is that cat’s do have a reason for what they do. For many, their cats have a problem with clawing up the furniture and for this reason they have their cat declawed.

This is an option, but might not always be the best one for your cat or for your reasons. You really need to think it through before you have your cat declawed. It is possible to help your cat transfer their urge to claw your furniture into clawing something else such as a scratching post.

It is possible to train your cat to you a scratching post for their stretching and scratching needs. This can be done quite easily by making the scratching post seem enticing. Some people choose to rub scents such as catnip or dressing it up with a toy or two to make it more appealing. You also need to keep in mind that you need to strategically place your cat’s scratching post in an area where they can use it whenever they want to.

One of the keys to getting a scratching post that your cat will like is to make sure it is tall enough and sturdy enough. The great thing is that there are a variety of scratching posts available to fit every cat’s preferences. Also make sure that you discipline your cat whenever you catch them scratching your furniture and praise them when they are using the scratching post, you cat will soon catch on that they will be petted and praised when doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Believe it or not you actually have the opportunity to experience a dog training course over the internet, if you choose to do so. Many people have chosen this as a way to help properly train their little pooches and it can work! Some skeptics are probably leery about this type of thing, wondering how in the world this would be at all possible and one of the concerns is the fact that you will not have the opportunity to ask the teacher of the online dog training course any questions. If this too is a real concern for you then the way that you should look at it is, paying a real life hands on instructor is going to cost you much more than taking an online dog training course, where you watch a recorded piece of an instructor providing you with all of the information that you would need to train your dog appropriately.

The really awesome thing that so many people are thrilled about after taking their online dog training course is the fact that they were the ones that had the special opportunity of actually training their beloved dog, not some stranger that they had to pay an enormous amount of money for. Being able to do it yourself by just watching a recorded video, will give you such a good feeling of achievement on your part and the fact that you and your dog are getting the chance to spend that one on one time with each other is just really great and has so many wonderful benefits as well. You and your dog can sit right there in your comfortable home, with comfortable surroundings for both of you and experience this video together, it will definitely be a big learning experience, for you and for your precious dog.

Another wonderful thing about having the ability to watch an online dog training video is the fact that you will have the opportunity to view it as many times as you would want to. So, if your dog does not catch on right away, which they normally do not, you will have many chances to spend quality time with him, teaching him right from wrong and even learning a few cool little tricks with him along the way. He will enjoy it just as much as you will and being able to save yourself some money is always a really great thing right! Dog training is definitely worth any amount of money spent and any amount of your time spent also because your dog will benefit from the experience in so many different ways. You will be so very happy with the results and you will be so excited about showing him off to your friends and family and also being able to inform them that you yourself are responsible for properly training your dog. Everyone will notice the difference the first time that they come around him, after the online dog training course and you will just feel so very proud.