Dog Guidance Blog

There is nothing more devasting than seeing an unhappy dog. So how can you keep your dog happy? There are only three basic needs that required. If these 3 needs arekept up properly, then you will keep your dog strong, healthy, and happy.

1. Food: Give excellent food in two measured feedings each day. Pick up the food bowl when he or she walks away from it. If you have more than one pet, feed them at the same time but in separate places, so they can’t see each other. This prevents competitive eating, which leads to obesity.

2. Water: Clean the bowl and refill with fresh water at least twice daily. Pets drink more when the water is fresh. This reduces wear on the kidneys and promotes strong immunity and long life. Rest room activities: Make it possible for your dog to get outside at least every few hours. If he or she can’t urinate often, the risk of bladder and kidney disease will escalate.

3. Walks: Add a good brisk walk or other regular exercise and life will be near perfect for your dog as well as give you fresh air too.

Selecting a female Dalmatian that you plan to breed is very important for proper breeding.  You must choose one who you hope will become the foundation of your kennel.  This means that she must be of the finest producing bloodlines with an excellent temperament and free of major faults such as deafness.  Be cautious if you are offered a “bargain” brood female dog.  This is a purchase to where you should not settle for less than the best and the price will be in accordance with the quality.

Conscientious breeders feel very strongly that the only reason for producing puppies is to improve and uphold the quality and temperament within the breed.  It is not because he or she hopes to make a quick cash profit on an average litter, which never seems to work out in the long run and only accomplishes little beyond perhaps adding to the unfortunate number of unwanted dogs.

With conscientious breeders, the only intention for breeding a litter is a desire to improve the quality of dogs in their own kennel.  As pet owners the reason for breeding is to add to the number of dogs that they own with a puppy or two from their present favorites.

For more information about Dalmatians visit facts about dalmations

1. Use it sparingly. When you overuse Come, puppies stop paying attention. When your puppy understands the command, avoid using it all the time. Say it infrequently and make it extremely rewarding.

2. Do not chase your puppy if he does not respond. Practice on-lead for now.

3. Never call for negatives. If you have to groom, bathe, or isolate your puppy, do not use Come. Also avoid using it when you are angry. You will only scare your puppy out.

4. If your puppy runs away from you, do not repeatedly call or correct him.

5. Use a different command to bring your puppy inside. Coming in from outdoors is a big drag, no more fun than being left alone or ignored. Using the Come command when you want to bring him in makes it a negative command. Instead, pick a command like Inside. Start using it on-lead when bringing your puppy into the house. Quickly offer a treat or ball toss.

Go to training puppy info for more information about puppy training.

Dogs can adjust to blindness and poor eyesight with very little difficulty. Their senses of hearing and smell begin to function as directional indicators, even though they may occasionally bump into table and chair legs or stumble over objects.

The following steps may help a blind pet find his way about the house and yard more easily.

1. Mark upright obstacles, such as chair legs and door jambs, with a light-scented cologne, spray or other scented substance. This helps the dog identify perpendicular objects.

2. Use a different scent on the floor about 6 inches from steps or similar obstacles. Use a light scent to avoid the buildup of odors around the house, which has been the only owner complaint about this method.

3. Wear a small bell or a bracelet that jingles. Visitors can also be equipped with such jewelry. This allows the dog to follow his owner’s movements more easily.

Sightless dogs adjust well to the problem, with little trouble to the owners. The suggestions above have been helpful in cases where the owner feels the need to do something to make the adjustment a little less difficult for the dog.

Older blind dogs may be handicapped, but they should be treated, as far as possible, as if they were normal. This means using the earned-petting routine regularly and performing obedience routines learned before the onset of blindness.

Leashes come in a variety of styles, materials, widths, and lengths. The following are the most common materials: Chain; leather; canvas and nylon.  Chain leashes are often used with large dogs, but they are heavy and awkward.  If you wanted to fold the leash neatly into one hand or the other, as required by some training techniques, you will not be able to do so without considerable discomfort.  It is definitely not an ideal leash you can use for training. 

For a training leash, materials of choice are canvas or nylon.  Both can be readily manipulated and economical.  Canvas, especially with larger dogs, is easier on your hands than nylon.

Leather leashes are also quite popular, although they are more expensive than canvas leashes.

Go to the dogguidance dog supply page for more information about dog supplies.

Put table scraps where they belong, in the garbage, not in your dog’s food bowl. Many people think that giving your Lab that nice chunk of fat from their sirloin will add luster to his coat. While it may put joy in his heart, it may also give him loose bowels. An occasional veal bone, if very sturdy (a knuckle, for example), can give him a tooth cleaning and some jaw exercise, but be careful, since most bones are constipating as well as dangerous (an ingested splinter of bone can be fatal).

Nylon or rawhide “bones” are safest. They are available in most pet stores, groceries,  supermarkets, and online. If you want to give your dog more than his everyday food (even though dogs generally do not get bored with their meals, unlike humans), try small amounts of fruits, cereal, and vegetables. They do not upset the intestinal tract by their oiliness or indigestibility, and actually promote effective digestion. You may also try well-trimmed (no visible fat) bits of meat. However, a dog raised on snacks of sirloin tips will not take kindly to a change to vegetables, so pursue this course with considerable caution.

For more information about Labradors, go to Labrador Retriever Facts

Labrador Retrievers can become lazy if they are not encouraged to exercise. Compound this problem with over-feeding, which is very common, and extra pounds are easily put on. Taking them off again is harder work, requiring a more appropriate diet and an effort to increase vigorous exercise time (gradually, of course, to prevent possible muscle injury or overexertion).

Swimming and retrieving games are natural outlets for Labrador Retrievers. These activities are ones that the breed excels at and enjoys, and they give a complete, full-muscle workout that tones the entire body. Having access to a swimming area may be a problem for most owners, but retrieving games can be played anywhere. 

Labradors have great stamina, but owners must use common sense. During the summer months, limit strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day and provide an ample supply of fresh water. In the winter, a Labrador in good trim should be able to withstand the cold very effectively and should not be kept housebound. If the dog is out in the rain or snow for any length of time, he should be dried off when he returns to the heated indoors.

For more information about Labradors, go to Labrador Retriever Facts

American Bred Class, Open Class, Winners Class

American Bred Class: This class shall be for all dogs (except Champions) six months of age and over, whelped in the United States, by reason of a mating which took place in the United States.  If you import from Canada a bitch in whelp who whelps her puppies here, the puppies are not eligible to compete in this class, since they were not the result of a mating which took place in the United States.

Open Class: The Open Class shall be for any dog six months of age or over.  Some people are under the impression that because their dog is a puppy he may not be entered in this class.  This is not so.  A puppy may be entered in any class for which he is eligible, and it is not true that a puppy must advance through the other classes before he may compete in the Open Class.

Winners Class: There is no entry fee in this class, and if your dog wins any one of the five regular classes he is automatically eligible to compete in this class.

For more information go to the dog guidance showing your dog article page.

Before buying a new dog you will need to decide whether you want to buy a male or a female dog.  If you are considering breeding your puppy, entering him in field trials, or conformation showing, gender has more implications.  Typically, the female is slightly smaller, more gentle, and less aggressive than the male.  She is almost always’ chosen for obedience work and makes a reliable pet.  The male has a more rumbustious nature and is constantly attracted to the opposite sex, unlike the female which does not look for a male companion except during her twice-yearly season.  However, some people prefer the male’s more zestful and enthusiastic approach to life.

Most puppies are neutered or spayed before reaching physical maturity.  The male puppy should be neutered before he reaches seven or eight months of age.  A female may be spayed at about any age, and the cost of this surgery is usually slightly greater than the corresponding cost of male castration.

Chiggers, although very hard to detect, can be a severe nuisance when they come in contact with human skin or dog skin.  The resulting irritation can be very unpleasant.

A chigger is actually a type of mite.  They are mites that are usually orange, red, or yellow in color.  A larval chigger (mite) feeds on dogs and other animals.  Their host’s blood enables them to grow and mature into nymphs. 

The nymphs then develop into adult chiggers or larger mites that lay eggs and begin the cycle over again.  The adult chigger (mite) feeds on plants, therefore the larvae are usually found in wooded areas.

These type of mites can be found in almost any part of the dog’s body, although they most often settle toward the head, neck, ear canals, ear flaps, and abdomen. 

Consult with your vet if you think your pet encounters this unusual type of mite.  He or she will probably a type of insecticidal preparation to the affected areas as well as prescribe an antibiotic steroid cream to soothe the itching and bring down the swelling.

Visit the dog parasite article page for more information.