Is your dog living in a safe environment?

* Silly question isn’t it but not quite as silly as you might think at first.

* We all like to provide our pets with a safe environment and giving them a safe and comfortable place to sleep is an important part of that environment.

* While we might have provided our dog with a safe kennel initially, we all know how dogs like to bite and chew things and their kennel is not immune to their teeth.

* While the kennel might have been safe when new a dog can chew parts of it that could expose wood, nails and/or wire that could cause it harm.

* Their chewing could create sharp surfaces that can do permanent damage to their eyes or any other parts of their body.

* It is always a good idea to have a regular check of your dogs’ kennel or cage to ensure there hasn’t been any damage that could harm it.

* Also - when your dog is left alone in your yard or house you need to be sure that no harm can come to it if you are away for any period of time when you cannot monitor what it gets up to.

* Owning a dog is a lot like having a child and they need constant care or they can do damage to themselves.

* If you treat your pet like a child and assume that they can’t care too well for themselves then you are more likely to ensure that they will be safe at all times whether you are able to monitor them or not.
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Preventing Your Dog From Unwanted Urination…

There are a number of reasons why dogs have urination problems and in some cases defecation. Unfortunately most dog owners don’t understand why this happens and are unsure what to do. It can even happen to dogs that have been trained and housebroken.

* Many dog owners who are unable to address the problem simply take their dog to the pound as they assume there is no alternative to the problem that they are unable to solve.

* Unwanted urination is a very common problem that many dog owners face and is more common than most people would assume.

* You will need to eliminate any medical reasons first, as there could be bladder infections that are causing the urination, but aside from that there are other reasons why dogs will urinate.

* One of the most common reasons for a dog to lose control of it’s bladder is from excitement and you will generally see this happen a lot more with puppies.

* With puppies this is a lack of bladder control that will generally stop, as they get older. Puppies are often unaware that they are urinating when they get excited and to reprimand them for doing this will cause confusion.

* To get angry with your dog for excitement urination can lead to other problems where the dog will begin to urinate from submissiveness rather than excitement thereby creating another problem that will need to be addressed.

* With excitement urination the best cure is prevention and that is achieved by not allowing your dog to get overly excited.

* And the best way to stop your dog getting over excited in certain circumstances is to expose him/her to those situations more often until they no longer get excited to the extent that they urinate.

* Puppies will eventually grow out of excitement urination as they develop better bladder control.Submissive urination is something that is common in the wild, where dogs, being pack animals, show their submissiveness to the leader of the pack by lowering themselves and urinating.

* Where a dog is showing signs of submissive urination this is effectively a sign of insecurity and is very often associated with dogs that have been abused.

It can be difficult to correct submissive urination and quite often the best method is to ignore what is happening and focus on developing a better relationship with your pet and help to build it’s self confidence.
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Does Your Dog Eat Too Much?

Along with the general population of people, dogs are also suffering from obesity from eating the wrong food and eating too much food.

It is relatively easy to control the amount of food your dog is eating and it is essential that you gauge its weight on a regular basis to ensure that it doesn’t get obese.

Dogs can suffer from many different ailments due to obesity including diabetes.
There are an increasing number of dogs suffering from this disease and in most cases this could have been avoided through the correct nutrition and monitoring the amount of food the dog has been eating.

Having a dog with diabetes will necessitate the injection of insulin or in some cases taking of pills to assist in the maintenance of the correct sugar levels in their blood.

Obviously this involves additional expense and inconvenience and there is also a danger that should the insulin level be incorrect your pet could die.

It makes sense then that your dog should only eat what is good for it and in quantities that won’t result in it developing health problems later in life.

Working dogs will need more food for the energy that they will expend in the course of the day but a dog that lays around the house all day and doesn’t get any exercise will not need to eat the same portions of food.

You should weigh your dog on a regular basis and see whether it is gaining or losing weight and adjust the amount of food it is eating accordingly.

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By: Gerry Ronson,

There are several aspects of training when it comes to owning a dog or a puppy. You of the most important training steps you should undertake is socialization. There are two parts to socialization training: first you have to socialize the dog to be around other pets, second you have to make sure they are friendly around strangers. If you forgo socialization training for your dog you are setting yourself up for a difficult road. Dogs that have not been socialized properly may be aggressive towards strangers and other pets. In most cases around strangers they will be shy and hide in your home. So what does socialization training include?

Socialization is allowing your dog to be around other humans and pets. We will first look at the human side of things. To socialize your dog properly for human interaction you should teach the dog commands for how to sit, stay, and to recognize your voice. The best training is often just talking to your dog. This allows them to realize your voice. They will be able to distinguish your nuances for those of others. They will also be able to learn your smell, which can help them feel more comfortable in a social situation. You also want to train them on how to let a human approach. Many individuals just walk up and want to pet your dog, and do so without asking. This can be dangerous if the dog hasn’t been socialized. It is best to teach the dog to sit and stay while allowing a human to pet them. The more contact they have with different humans the more they will be attuned to allowing friends to get close. As a guard dog you may not want to overly work the socialization with humans. It will of course depend on the reason you have the pet. It is best if they are always wary of strangers, but understand that aggression is not warranted.

For socialization with other pets you have two choices in training. First you can go to a training school where there will be other dogs. In these instances the dog gets to be in an environment with dogs working as they are. They can also feel a little more secure with the handlers being right there, and knowing they are there for work. Socialization with other pets is often letting the dogs meet one another and analyze the situation. For most dog breeds it is easier to socialize them with other dogs rather than other pets. You can also go to a dog park and allow other dogs to play while you sit around and watch them. You can of course interact if you feel the need.

When socializing with non canine pals it is best to bring the dog home as a puppy. If they are just six weeks or a little older they tend to do better around the other animals rather than introducing another type of animal later on. You will find that if you bring home the dog and cat at the same time socialization training may go well, than if you introduce a cat later on. Some dog breeds do not do well even after socialization training with other non canine pets. The instincts of these dogs is to hunt small animals, which means the dogs tend to play rough or just hunt. It is always best to check with a dog breeder if you have questions regarding the non canine species.

Gerry Ronson has been writing about dogs for almost five years but has been working with them for almost twenty years. He writes about dogs for the website Dog Treats. Which stocks a huge range of soft dog beds as well as many other dog products.

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