ALL ABOUT DOG

Dog Food Allergies: Don't Blame That Itching on Fleas

As a devoted dog owner, you're probably on the lookout for even the smallest sign that your pet's life is not as comfortable as you can possibly make it. So when doggie starts scratching at his belly or biting at his back, you may immediately take him or her to the vet for a flea dip. You'll also and use flea bombs all over the house in and attempt to have a flea-free environment for doggie's return.

But what if you've done all of that, and within fifteen minutes of returning home, the scratching and biting resume?

If your dog shows signs of allergies, but you are quite certain it is not from inhalants in the environment, fleas in his coat or other health problems, your dog could suffer from food allergies.

If, for example, your dog has been eating one particular food or a favorite treat for several months or even years, he or she might have developed an allergy to one of the ingredients in that food.

Your dog can go for months or even years eating the same food with no problem, but over time his or her immune system will be accumulating enough antibodies to finally result in an allergic reaction. If your dog has a bad reaction to a food the first time he or she eats it, this is a food intolerance caused by a toxin in the food (and there are, unfortunately, more of them than you’d like to think) but it’s not an allergic reaction.

While it’s natural to think that if your dog has a food allergy, he or she will exhibit indigestion like nausea or diarrhea, almost all canine food allergies cause severely itching skin, and dogs with food allergies very often chew incessantly at their legs and paws. If your dog has intestinal distress after a meal, you are almost certainly looking at food intolerance and not an allergy.

The difficulty in diagnosing food allergies in dogs is that most dogs who are allergic will suffer from more than one allergy at a time. So even if you were to attempt to diagnose your dog’s food allergy by changing his or her diet, and your dog began experiencing the itching skin of a flea allergy, you might mistakenly think the change of diet was ineffective in treating the food allergy.

Finding the Source of the Allergy

The only way to determine the change in diet has been effective is to eliminate all other possible causes for your dog’s symptoms, and put your pet on what is known as an “elimination trial “ diet. You will feed your dog a diet which consists of a single protein and a single carbohydrate which you have never fed before, and water, for between two and three months. Because a food allergy takes months or years to develop, your dog will not be allergic to the new foods and should not become allergic to them in that amount of time.

Your vet may either recommend a commercial food which will suit the purposes of your elimination trial diet, or may suggest that you prepare your dog’s food at home. While your dog is on the elimination diet, you’ll have to be disciplined enough to avoid feeding treats or table scraps, and take away the chew toys. If there are other dogs around, keep your pet away from their droppings. Some dogs will nibble on other dogs’ waste, and even that will be enough to invalidate your elimination trial diet.

If your dog’s symptoms are seriously improved after two or three months on the elimination trial diet, you’ll know that a food allergy was causing them. If they haven’t improved, or have worsened, you’ll have to look elsewhere for their cause, but you can let your pet return to the old way of eating

One precaution: if you decide to make your dog’s elimination trial diet yourself, it won’t be fortified with the essential vitamins, trace minerals, and fatty acids necessary to maintain your pet’s health. So you’ll have to get supplements and add them to the food before feeding your pet.

Nothing is as unpleasant to you, a loving dog wonder as watching your cherished companion suffer needlessly. If your dog is constantly biting and itching, and you are reasonable certain that fleas are not responsible, talk to your vet about what you can do to determine if a food allergy is the culprit!

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios, including the internet best selling "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition".

Visit the link below now for Sharda's Special Free Dog Food Report.

How To Keep Your Pet Healthy With Natural Remedies

Our pets are part of our families. If we’re living a more eco-friendly and natural lifestyle it only makes sense that our pets live the same way too. Here are some simple natural remedies for your pets.

#1 – Tea tree oil. Tea tree oil is a great natural antiseptic with many healing properties. Use it if your pet has a scratch or cut. It will help sterilize the area while fighting infection at the same time.

#2 – Aloe vera. Aloe has many soothing benefits and it’s good to use when your pet has irritated or itchy skin. Simply dab into the area and rub in gently.

#3 – Earl grey tea. This is a great natural remedy to get rid of fleas on your carpets or pets. Open the Earl grey tea bags and sprinkle over the carpets. Let sink in for a few hours and then vacuum. Repeat the process daily and you should see the fleas start to disappear within a day or two. You can also apply the dry tea directly onto your pet or place it on an area where your pet can roll around in it to help get rid of its fleas.

#4 – Natural Homemade Pet Soap. This is a great and easy recipe for washing your pets coat.

Ingredients:
½ cup 100% natural liquid soap (from your health food shop)
½ cup organic apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup glycerine
2 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)
1 quart of water
Spray bottle

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into the spray bottle. Use for washing your pets as needed. This is also a great natural cleaning solution to use on your pets bedding as well as any pet items which need to be washed.

#5 – Bach Flower Remedy. Bach remedies can work for pets as well as humans. They are completely natural and help to harmonize your pets emotions. Bach flower remedy is particularly useful for dogs and other pets which are showing signs of aggression or hyperactivity.  If you’re in doubt consult with your vet before using but in most cases it is very safe and natural to use.

Coping with Your Dog's Separation Anxiety

Do you have problems with your dog missing you too much when you must be away due to work or other activities? It is actually not that uncommon of a problem, although it can certainly be distressing for both dogs as well as their owners.

This issue is known as separation anxiety and there are ways to effectively cope with it and make it easier for your dog to deal with those times when you must be away.

Signs of Separation Anxiety

There are many signs of separation anxiety including: barking, chewing, defecating, digging, excessive salivating, scratching, and urinating. Chewing, digging, and scratching are signs of your dog trying to "escape." Barking, defecating, excessive salivating, and urinating are signs of anxiety and fear.

Causes of Separation Anxiety

Such causes of separation anxiety include genetics, lack of socialization, lack of training, lack of confidence, mistreatment by a previous owner, extensive confinement, and too much bonding with the owner. As you can see, most of these are the owner's responsibility.

Treatment of Separation Anxiety

There are things that you can do to prevent separation anxiety. When you put your dog in his crate, don't have a long, emotional good-bye. Simply, walk away. It is even a good idea to ignore your dog 5 minutes before you leave. If you draw attention to your departure, your dog will worry when the love and emotion is suddenly stopped.

Also try and teach your dog not to associate certain behaviors of yours with your leaving the house and being away for hours. Dogs, as we have learnt in Chapter 1 are good at associating certain actions with certain outcomes. You may have noticed for example that as dress for work, or pick up your car keys, your dogs begins to get anxious.

Try changing your dog's negative associations to your behaviors to positive ones.
For example, on a weekend, dress for work, pick up the car keys and go outside for a few minutes only, then come back inside and give your dog a treat. You dog will eventually begin to associate you getting ready for work as a positive association rather than a negative one.

Make sure you have plenty of treats and toys in your dog's crate to keep him entertained while you are away. If your dog always knows that he'll have treats when you leave, it won't be as traumatic for him.

Before you leave, turn on a radio or television so your dog has some noise. A talk station is more effective than music, because the sound of human voices could comfort him. You could even tape your own voice.

When you return home, don't give your dog any emotion or attention when you let him out of his crate. This will reinforce that being outside of the crate is better than being inside the crate. Let him outside to eliminate immediately.

In extreme causes a calmative type medication may be prescribed for you dog by your Vet.

Separation anxiety is something that should improve over time. However, if it does not, or if your dog shows signs of extreme aggression when he is let out, seek a professional trainer and/or see you Vet for further assistance.

When you pay close attention to your dog's behavior, you are better able to identify his bad behaviors and correct them through training exercises. Your dog wants your attention and love, so when use this to your advantage when you are training. Keep in mind that good quality dog training resources can help with this issue.

Sharda Baker

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios. Click here for more dog training help and advice.

What's Really Going into Your Dog's Dish?

The AAFCO sets the standards for pet food safety and nutrition, and the testing done by the AAFCO is used to determine whether or not specific ingredients are acceptable as pet foods. But the AAFCO will rate both low and high quality ingredients as being nutritionally adequate, because there is a demand for pet food in all price ranges. So you need to learn how to read past the AAFCO approval statement on your dog food labels if you want to know what Buster is really consuming.

Reading a Dog Food Label

The label tells us many important facts and figures that may otherwise dissuade or persuade us from purchasing the food. In short, it is important to read the labels. To actually read that label, and not to just give it a cursory glance, we will have to first know a little something about what can be found there and what it means.

The first thing most of us notice on any label is the product name. The product name may also contain primary ingredient names such as “Beef Dog Chow”, or what kind of dog the food is intended for, such as “Puppies, Adult, Lactating”, etc.

If, in the product name, an ingredient is listed, say for example that “Beef Dog Chow”, that beef must be at least 95% of the total weight if there is no water required for processing, and at least 70% when water is included. So, for dry kibble, 95% of that weight needs to contain beef.

When the title contains “dinner, formula, nuggets,” and other similar words, the ingredient named must be at least 25% of the weight. So in a product named Lamb Dinner, 25% of the total weight for the product must be lamb.

But, if only ¼ of that entire product needs to consist of lamb, the lamb may not (and probably is not!) the main ingredient. Ingredients must be listed in a descending order of weight. So, even though the bag says Lamb Dinner, the lamb may be fourth in order.

Example:

• Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Corn, meat and bone meal, wheat, lamb.

In that Lamb Dinner, the main ingredients are really the corn and meat and bone meal. Not desirable for a healthy meal.

On the other hand if the ingredients listed were

• Premium Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Lamb, ground rice, ground yellow corn…

This presents a more desirable meal and one that your dog can actually consume and digest properly.

When it comes to the words “flavored” or “flavor” such as Lamb Flavored Nuggets, no exact percentage of the named ingredient, the lamb, needs to be present, but enough of that ingredient needs to present as to be detectable

Often times, the main ingredients will not be present in the title. In such a case, these foods often include items such as: ground yellow corn, meat byproducts, tallow, and other items that are not particularly digestible for your pet. The actual named ingredient will probably be down the list and make up only a very small part of the product.

Besides naming an ingredient with the product name, other phrases and adjectives are used.

Premium Dog Food, or X Premium and other like titles are making a justified boast, as these products complied with the nutritional standards for a complete and balanced dog food. This is definitely something to take into consideration when shopping.

Natural Dog Food means that there are no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.

If a product has given the calorie content on the bag, “Premium Beef Dinner: now with lower calorie content,” this is done so voluntarily as a service to the consumer. Because the calorie content of pet foods does not have to be displayed in their labels, however, here's a formula to help you make sure Buster is not eating too much:

Multiply the carbohydrate by 4.2kcal (kilocalories) per gram, the protein by 5.65, and then the fat by 9.4 kcal per gram. If you need to convert the kilocalories to kilojoules (another unit of measurement for energy) simply multiply the total by 4.184. Of course, rounding to the nearest ten might be helpful, as long as you keep in mind that it’s an approximation erring on the low side.

Where's the Fat?

A good way to find the higher quality dog foods by reading the ingredient list is to search for that first source of fat. Everything that is listed before that fat source, and including it, is the main part of the food. Everything else is generally used for flavor, preservatives, vitamins, and minerals.

 

For example:

• Food A:Ground yellow corn, meat meal, chicken fat, ground wheat, chicken byproduct meal, dried beet pulp …

• Food B:
Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, ground white rice, chicken fat, apples, carrots, sunflower oil…

The importance of finding the source of fat and where it is listed is so you can find ingredients that may or may not be harmful to your pet, such as beet pulp or corn gluten meal.

 

Learning to read the labels on dog food is the single most important thing you can do if you intend to feed your pet a commercial diet. Buster may be the smartest dog who ever wore a collar, but he can’t read, and he needs to rely on you to keep him healthy.

If what's in that can or bag doesn't sound like something you'd want to eat, it's probably not something your dog would eat if there were an alternative. So take the time to learn the language of labels!

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios, including the internet best selling "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition"

Visit the link below now for Sharda's Special Free Dog Food Report.

Basics Of Dog Training

Basics of Dog Training

It's essential for Dog parents like you to know certain basic factors that determine your relationship with your Dog and can go a long way in training him effectively.

Before you begin training your Dog, it is absolutely essential that you build a loving bond with him. This is important as it helps you to understand his needs and instincts and also allows your Dog to have complete trust in you.

Know more about Dog care from this free mini course

Let us see how.......

How To Bond With Your Dog

Building a bond with your Dog is the first and the most crucial step involved in training him successfully. As soon as you bring your Dog home, you must first try to develop a caring and loving relationship with him in order to win his trust and confidence.

When Dogs are secure in the knowledge that they belong to the family, they are more likely to respond better to their owners' training commands. Just like with any relationship, there must be mutual trust and respect between you and your Dog.

Trust takes time to develop and respect comes from defining boundaries and treating any breach of those boundaries with firmness and fairness.

Without enforceable limitations, respect can’t be developed. And when there is no respect, building a bond with your Dog is almost impossible.

4 Golden Rules To Building A Relationship With Your Dog :

• Spend quality time together;

• Take him out in the world and experience life together;

• Establish and promote a level of mutual respect; and

• Develop a way of communicating to understand each other's needs.

Building a bond with your Dog will not only help you manage him better but will also make your Dog calm, quiet and an extremely well-adjusted pet.

Love Your Dog and He Will Love You back

Once you're succesful in building a bond with your Dog, you can rest assured that training him and teaching him new and clever tricks will be a cakewalk.

Learn how to bond with your Dog with this free mini course.

How Your Dog Learns...

Your Dog's learning period can be divided into five phases:

The Teaching Phase - This is the phase where you must physically demonstrate to your Dog exactly what you want him to do.

The Practicing Phase - Practice makes Perfect. Once a lesson is learnt, practice with your Dog what you have just taught him.

The Generalizing Phase - Here you must continue practicing with your Dog in different locations and in an environment with a few distractions. You can take your Dog out for a walk, or to a nearby park and command him to practice whatever you've taught him.

Practicing the learned lessons in multiple locations and in the presence of small distractions will help him learn and retain lessons better .

The Testing Phase - Once you're sure that your Dog has achieved almost 90% success....he responds correctly almost every time you give a command, you must start testing his accuracy in newer locations with a lot of distractions.

Example: Take him to the local shopping mall and ask him to obey your command. He may not come up with the correct response the very first time you do this, but you must not lose hope.

The idea is to test your Dog to see how he responds in an environment which is new to him. Set-up a situation where you are in control of the environment and your Dog.

There are only 2 possibilities:

• Your Dog succeeds!!! (Trumpets please!)

• In case your Dog fails, re-examine the situation. Review and/or change your training. Then try testing again.

Keep on testing until he succeeds. Follow the rule of the 3 Ps – patience, persistence, praise.

Internalizing Phase - Finally, comes the extremely rewarding phase where your Dog does everything he is taught to do even without your commands.

Remember:

• Never scold your Dog if he fails. It's not his fault. You have failed as a trainer!

• You must be patient and persistent for your efforts to show rewards.

• Appreciate and love your Dog when he does it right! A little encouragement will work wonders for your Dog.

• Dog Training is easy when you do it right.

Learn how to train your Dog better with this free mini course.

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

Eco-Friendly Dog Bed

Pets play a very important part in today’s family life. We want them to stay healthy and joyful for as long as possible. The best care includes natural food products and eco-friendly pet accessories, from pet beds to pet toys. The Eco-Friendly Dog Bed is made from IntelliText fabric, a fabric made from recycled and reused soda-pop bottles. 85% of the IntelliText fabric comes from recycled sources. In order to reduce airmiles, the product is manufactured in the USA. The beds are comfortable, look stylish and are machine washable and stand up to wear and tear. They come in three colors, burnt orange/brown, sage green/brown and willow blue/brown depending on your color preference. They are available in five different sizes: XS, S, M, L and XL.

For more information on this range of dog beds, go to:

How Well Is Your Dog Groomed?

The reason one should groom his/her Dog is simple - your dog's physical state influences the way he feels and the way you look at your dog. Extreme cases, where lack of proper care, cleaning and grooming can directly affect the behavior of your Dog, are not rare.

Proper grooming not only infuses a healthy glow to your dog's appearance, but also helps develop his self-esteem; while it makes you a very proud parent, when you show off your Dog to others.

The first step involved in dog grooming is: Brushing!

Brushing has been universally acknowledged by expert dog groomers as the single most important step in grooming.

The benefits of brushing are many. To name a few:

• Better blood circulation
• Shinier and healthier coat
• Better bonding

Subscribe to this FREE dog grooming mini course and learn more about brushing and combing and other grooming tools and their applications.

Even if you know how crucial brushing is for your Dog's health and well-being, we all know that there is a right way and a wrong way of doing anything. And without doubt, you would like to do everything the RIGHT way when it comes to your Dog.

Yes, there's a method to follow while brushing your Dog.

Here are FIVE steps to successfully brushing your Dog that will prove to be extremely useful:

• Brush against the growth of the hair first with a slicker brush and then with a medium or wide-toothed comb.
  
• The slicker brush removes all the loose hair and the comb takes care of the tangles.
  
• Brush your Dog along the hair growth and make sure you reach the skin as you brush his way.
  
• Then use a flea comb over the coat to get the fleas and remove any remaining tangles. Part the coat and start from the root and then comb through.
  
• If your Dog's paw pads are hairy, then clip them using electric clippers. Do not clip the hair in between the pads. Clip only the excess hair.

Brush your Dog's hairs to prevent it from matting. Matting can be a very painful experience.

Regular brushing untangles the matted hairs on your Dog's coat. Since this is a risky job to do, the best way out is to prevent them from forming in the first place. And doing this is simple: just brush and comb your Dog regularly. If and when you see any mats or tangles, use a detangle solution and a medium-toothed comb.

Don't wait until your Dog is dirty or matted to introduce him to grooming. That would make him associate the experience with unpleasantness. Moreover, many dogs learn to see their routine brushing as an alternate form of petting, i.e. another source of affection and attention.

Subscribe to this FREE dog grooming mini course and start Grooming your Dog all by yourself right from the comfort of your home Today.

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

Is Your Dog Potty Trained Enough?

 

House Training a puppy or adult Dog is such an essential issue for its owner that even a single exclusive tip turns out to be extremely helpful.

The first step in making your Dog fit for polite company would be to potty train him. Some see this training as a hassle and some as a challenge.

For me, it is part of bringing up a pet.

Click here to subscribe to a FREE course on housetraining puppies and dogs.

There are a few things you need to know before you actually start potty training a puppy or adult Dog. I enumerate these below:

• You need to understand your dog's body language. Watch for signs that will indicate to you when your pet wants to eliminate.

• If you own puppies, remember that they need to go potty at fairly frequent intervals - as soon as they wake up, after short naps, after play-time, after meals, before and after being crated and finally, before retiring for the night.

• Take your Dog for walks at the time that he usually does his potty. Take him out to the yard and then to the same place there every time he needs to answer nature's call.

• Praise your Dog after he eliminates at the right place. Some Dog owners even give treats to their dogs. But remember to do this every time he does it right. He will relate the rewards to his having "done it right" and zero in on the spot where you want him to defecate regularly.

• With time, you can try signal training. This is so that you know when your doggie wants to go. You can hang a bell at his level near the door and teach him to push it with his nose or pat it with his paw on his way out.

• Until your Dog has been fully potty trained keep him under strict vigilance. Do not let him roam around the house freely.

• Use a crate. A crate-trained Dog is usually very happy to get his own den. The advantage of crating is that dogs do not soil the place where they sleep. So, he will naturally not eliminate inside the crate.

• If you have a small dog and if you live in a high-rise building or in a place that does not have a proper backyard, you can try litter pan training. What you do is create a space for your pet to eliminate in your house itself.

• Use positive reinforcements while housebreaking puppies or adult dogs. Do not scold or hit him as you will gain nothing by doing that. He will only associate punishment with your return from outside. If you catch him in the act, a stern 'NO' or 'FREEZE' will do. It will startle the Dog enough for him to stop pooping.

• Be prepared to return to a soiled home if you are keeping your Dog home alone for more than 4 hours as separation anxiety is quite common among home - alone dogs.

• Accidents will happen. It is unusual for a trained adult Dog to work against its house training. But medical problems or health disorders may lead to sudden accidents.

• Many dogs mark their territory. These can be a leg of a table or a particular wall. Intact male and female dogs mark their territories by urinating. Use deodorizers to spray on the places where your Dog has marked.

• If you are patient and are ready to accept that house training a dog takes time, even months sometimes, you will end up having a good housetrained Dog.

Click here to subscribe to a FREE course on house training puppies and dogs.

Now we will move on to how to potty train puppies and adult dogs.

Potty Training A Puppy:

Irrespective of breeds, housetraining a puppy is considered to be one of the biggest challenges by dog owners. If you think housetraining your puppy simply involves a steady supply of old newspapers, then think again.

A puppy does not develop full control over his bladder until it is over 4 or 5 months old. Since they are growing and developing rapidly at this time, puppies eat more, burn more calories and need to eliminate more frequently than an adult Dog.

After each nap, meal, drink or play, take your puppy to his designated area (indoors or outdoors, wherever you have decided) and stay there until it eliminates. Then bring him to his crate.

Repeat this situation everyday until he has developed a habit out of it.

Click here to subscribe to a FREE course on housebreaking a puppy.

Potty Training An Adult Dog:

The best way to housetrain an adult Dog is to begin all over again.

Observe him very closely. Maybe even maintain a diary of where he goes and when. Whether he is pooping when you are home or only when you are outside; whether you can time yourself to be home when he feels the need to go outside.

You can try dog crates, but be careful to introduce him gradually to them.

Click here to subscribe to a FREE course on potty training a dog.

Remember, commitment, consistency and intelligent use of positive reinforcement will make you the owner of a perfectly housetrained Dog. Don't expect miracles. You will only be disappointed.

Get this FREE course on potty training a dog.

Get this unique Housetraining guide and start Housebreaking Your Dog Today.

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

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Training Your Dog to Listen to You

Training Your Dog to Listen to You

Why Won't My Dog Listen To Me?

This is a common question that most first-time Dog owners ask me. Before I answer your question, let me ask you a few instead:

• Do you use cookies, collars, head halters or clickers to make your Dog listen to your commands?

• Do you have to raise your voice every time you want your Dog to listen to you?

• Does your Dog always come or sit on command - anytime and anywhere you want him to?

If your answers are mostly in the negative, its time you seriously reconsider your role as a sincere Dog trainer and an ideal pet parent.

Learn how to bond with your Dog with this free mini course.

Get Your Dog To Listen To You

Before you begin any training, you must first establish yourself as the "ALPHA dog" of your family. Your Dog must know that you’re the leader of the pack and it is YOU who is in charge.

Here is a list of simple DO's and DONT's that you must follow if you want to be the Alpha:

• Always go out or come in through the door first - remember you are the leader;

• Always eat first - give your Dog something to eat only after you've finished your meal;

• Don’t circle around your Dog when he is lying on the floor - make your Dog move out of your way instead;

• Don't let your Dog set the rules - pay attention to him when you think fit and not whenever he demands;

• Don’t permit your Dog to sleep with you in your bed - demarcate his sleeping area clearly.

Once you successfully established yourself as the Alpha, training your Dog and making him listen will be a lot easier than you can imagine. Remember, if your Dog does not learn to "listen", all your training efforts will be in vain!

Does your Dog know his name? Does your Dog look at you whenever you call him by his name? This is the first and the most critical step involved in Dog Training. If your Dog doesn't respond to his name, you cannot have his attention for teaching him any other commands.

To make sure that your Dog recognizes his name, take a treat in your hand and hold it away from your body. Call your Dog's name. He is most likely to look at the treat in your hand. Continue calling his name untill he turns and looks at your eyes. Give him the treat immediately. Repeat this exercise by holding the treat in the other hand. Once you're sure that your Dog has learnt to recognize his name, just call his name and reward him for looking at you by petting or with a hug.

You must understand that Dogs respond far better to positive reinforcement than they do to coercion or force.

Learn how to train your Dog better with this free mini course.

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

Understanding Your Dog's Body Language

It can be strange to think about understanding your dog's body language. However, it is important to understand that your dog communicates with more than just his bark! Learning what it means when your dog does certain things can be helpful no matter what training technique you choose to employ.

The first thing you should realize is that many dogs speak with their eyes. You can communicate a lot with your dog just with your eyes! This includes facial expressions, and you'll be surprised as to how much information you can gain, and how much information you can transmit, just by using your eyes and making eye contact.

Do keep in mind that in certain situations this type of eye contact may be read as being hostile. This can lead to

Pet Health Insurance in the USA

Pet health insurance companies are hoping that someday pet owners in the United States will catch up with European pet owners. A recent poll taken of American pet owners suggested that approximately three percent of American pet owners had purchased pet health insurance for their family pet. A veterinarian who was interviewed after the survey was stunned by the results. She felt that the survey was generous. She believes that less then one percent of her patients have any health care insurance.

In Europe approximately twenty-five percent of all pet owners have some sort of pet health insurance on their pets. The numbers are even higher in Sweden where approximately fifty percent of all pet owners rely on pet health insurance to help pay their pet’s medical expenses.

Some experts believe that the reason so many pet owners in the United Kingdom have pet health care insurance is because of an act passed in 1971. In the United Kingdom dog owners are liable for any accident that their pet is found responsible for. This means that if a dog

Canine training 101

 Students work with Seeing Eye dogs.

By Dawn Fallik and Natalie Pompilio

For The Inquirer

Stephanie Kerrigan takes her Seeing Eye dog-to-be, Harrison, shopping at the mall. She takes him to sporting events, and to friends' houses. The biggest challenge, the Rowan University junior said, is taking him to class.

"He tends to snore . . . and he's loud," said Kerrigan, a psychology major. "I don't take him to exams because I don't want his snoring to distract the other students."

At college campuses nationwide, students are taking on more than a full load of classes and part-time jobs. As part of programs at schools such as Rowan, Ithaca College, Rutgers University, and the University of Delaware, 2-month-old puppies are placed full-time with seeing students for as long as 15 months. Afterward, the pups will head off to guide-dog schools, where they'll start official training to be the full-time eyes for a blind companion.

At colleges, the dogs learn basic skills, from understanding when to be quiet to showing restraint with squirrels (apparently the hardest challenge). Guide-dog schools say campuses are great places to learn the basics because students are

Tips For Training Your Golden

 

Although there are many training tips for Golden Retrievers, teeth is the most common.  Golden puppies love to chew, and will chew anything they can get.  Although chew toys are preferred, there is a way that you can help your Golden fulfill his natural instinct to chew, and help him to ease the pain of teething as well. 

To start, simply fill an old sock you have with several ice cubes.  Next, put a knot in the sock and place the sock with the cubes in the freezer.  When your puppy starts to chew on things, simply give him the sock.  You can keep several socks with ice in it in your freezer if you want, so your puppy will always have a chew toy.  Although this is great to use, you should never leave your dog alone with the sock.  He could end up chewing the sock and swallowing pieces of it, which could lead to very serious health problems.

Leashes
During leash training, a lot of people prefer to attach the leash to the Golden then drag him in the direction they want him to go.  This isn’t the best way to train, as it often sends the wrong signal to the puppy.  Instead, you should

Common Health Problems Associated With Golden Retrievers

 

There are many common health problems that your Golden Retriever will experience from time to time.  Most of these ailments are nothing serious, providing you know how they should be treated and prevented.  Below, we will take a look at the most common ailments, and tell you how to prevent your Golden from getting them.

Distemper virus
The distemper virus is an airborne disease that poses a high risk.  This virus can be prevented by getting your Golden 3 different vaccinations when he is between 6 and 16 weeks of age, along with his regular annual booster shot.  The symptoms from this virus include fever, cough, diarrhea, and vomiting.  If your Golden Retriever has these symptoms, you should immediately take him to see the vet.

Heartworms
Heartworms are among the most common ailment with all dog breeds.  They can reach lengths of up to 12 inches in the heart and the lung arteries, leading to heart failure, a decrease in blood circulation, and even death in some cases.  The symptoms with heartworms may not appear until it is too late, so you are better off preventing them with the correct heartworm medicines. 

Heatstroke
During the summer months or hot days, your Golden Retriever can get a heatstroke.  You can prevent this from happening by giving your dog plenty of water, and never leaving him in direct sunlight.  If you are playing together on a hot day, you should give him plenty of

Adopting An Older Golden Retriever

 

Those of you who want a Golden Retriever but aren’t ready to go through the trials and tribulations of a puppy, should look into adopting an older Golden.  Older Golden Retrievers are mature, and prove to be great in homes where they need to spend a quality amount of time by themselves.  They are a very adjustable breed, being good tempered.  No matter how old the Golden may be, he will quickly become a valued member of your family in little to no time at all.

Many times, breeders will have older dogs for sale.  There are several reasons for this, which include show dogs that have lost their potential, studs that have been used for breeding, female Golden’s that have been bred a few times then retired, or other types of special conditions where a breeder is helping a friend get rid of his Golden Retriever.  There are other reasons as well, although whatever they may be - the adult Golden Retriever will be available for anyone who wants him.

Most older Golden Retrievers are already housebroken, and known a lot of behavior patterns and how to adapt to a new and loving family.  Although it will be a little hard on your new dog at first, if you give him plenty of