Dental hygiene is as important for dogs and cats as it is for human beings. Just like in people, your pet’s teeth can gather plaque after eating. When plaque builds up and hardens it becomes a coarse brown substance called tartar. As tartar accumulates it can work its way under the gums and cause painful infections, gum disease and damage to vital organs.
Veterinarians recommend that owners brush their pet’s teeth at least twice a week to keep the buildup of tartar at a minimum. Most pet supply stores carry specially designed toothbrushes and toothpaste just for pets. Remember that a pet’s sense of taste and smell is far more acute than that of a human and human toothpaste may not appeal to a pet. Many stores carry toothbrushes, toothpaste and wipes for your furry friends.
If you cannot brush your pet’s teeth regularly you can care for their teeth by providing crunchy treats. A dog’s natural tendency to chew is a built-in dental care mechanism. Dog biscuits break into small chunks when chewed and rub against the teeth, providing a cleaning service. There is no substitute for brushing your pet’s teeth, but if you cannot do that, make sure they get some sort of crunchy dog treat on a regular basis.
Pets that do not receive proper dental care and do not have access to crunchy treats run the risk of several types of mouth disease. These can be as mild as gingivitis (a gum disease that results in swollen, inflamed gums) and as serious as a bacterial infection that can spread through the dog’s bloodstream causing damage to vital organs. You owe it to yourself and your dog to take care of his teeth.
Dental services are available for pets, just as they are for people. Their teeth can be filled, capped, and extracted if necessary, just like yours. The best course of action, however, is to avoid the need for such services by properly caring for your pet’s teeth. If you can avoid unnecessary pain and discomfort for your furry friend, you should do so. Preventative dental care can save you money as well as dental procedures can be quite costly.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, September 26, 2010
House Breaking a New Puppy
Housebreaking a new puppy will play an important part in bonding with the newest member of your family. It will teach you patience and leave you with a better understanding of what your puppy wants once he has learned. In addition, he will learn acceptable behaviors and exactly what is expected of him to live happily and comfortably in his new home.
A puppy’s attention span is very short so training sessions should be kept short and end on a positive note. Repetition and consistency is also important when housebreaking your dog. In addition, when housebreaking your puppy, keep in mind that he is not intentionally being a bad dog; he just has not yet learned what behaviors are acceptable! During the process, do not forget that full control of the bladder and bowels may not happen until 16 weeks of age, so do not expect too much from your puppy in the beginning.
Start housebreaking your puppy with a simple feeding schedule to help him become regular with his bowel movements. Once he has eaten, wait a few minutes and then take him outside. Watch how long it takes before he is able to void. This will give you an idea of how long to wait the next time you take him out. (Within about a week, you should have his schedule down.) We trained our dogs to sit by the door before they went out and in time, they would sit in front of the door, indicating to us that they needed to go out. Some people place a bell by the door and have the dog hit it before they go out and dog learns to hit the bell to go out.
Despite the old rules of training a puppy, you should never hit, rub his nose in his messes, or yell at your puppy. By doing this, you are telling him it is bad to relieve himself at all. In addition, most dogs respond negatively to aggressive and mean behavior and it has the opposite effect—they regress in their training rather than advance. Instead, while housebreaking your puppy take him straight outside when he has an accident. In addition, do not forget the praise every time he “goes” where he is supposed to, praise him. In addition, a dog must receive consequences for undesirable behaviors or praise for desired behaviors immediately to be effective. If you come home from a long day of work and see the dog has had an accident, it is too late to correct that behavior. Many people think the dog knows it did something wrong but they are very in tune to their owners and are reacting to you not going to the bathroom inside.
Also helpful in housebreaking a new puppy is to buy a stain remover/ odor relief spray. Household cleaners and sprays cannot be smelled by dogs; only those made for animals will work. When an accident happens, clean the mess and spray immediately. This will cover the odor left and your puppy will not try to mark his territory there again.
Remember that housebreaking a puppy is a big responsibility that can lead to you and your puppy sharing a special bond. Giving encouragement and lots of love will make all the time spent worth your while!
A puppy’s attention span is very short so training sessions should be kept short and end on a positive note. Repetition and consistency is also important when housebreaking your dog. In addition, when housebreaking your puppy, keep in mind that he is not intentionally being a bad dog; he just has not yet learned what behaviors are acceptable! During the process, do not forget that full control of the bladder and bowels may not happen until 16 weeks of age, so do not expect too much from your puppy in the beginning.
Start housebreaking your puppy with a simple feeding schedule to help him become regular with his bowel movements. Once he has eaten, wait a few minutes and then take him outside. Watch how long it takes before he is able to void. This will give you an idea of how long to wait the next time you take him out. (Within about a week, you should have his schedule down.) We trained our dogs to sit by the door before they went out and in time, they would sit in front of the door, indicating to us that they needed to go out. Some people place a bell by the door and have the dog hit it before they go out and dog learns to hit the bell to go out.
Despite the old rules of training a puppy, you should never hit, rub his nose in his messes, or yell at your puppy. By doing this, you are telling him it is bad to relieve himself at all. In addition, most dogs respond negatively to aggressive and mean behavior and it has the opposite effect—they regress in their training rather than advance. Instead, while housebreaking your puppy take him straight outside when he has an accident. In addition, do not forget the praise every time he “goes” where he is supposed to, praise him. In addition, a dog must receive consequences for undesirable behaviors or praise for desired behaviors immediately to be effective. If you come home from a long day of work and see the dog has had an accident, it is too late to correct that behavior. Many people think the dog knows it did something wrong but they are very in tune to their owners and are reacting to you not going to the bathroom inside.
Also helpful in housebreaking a new puppy is to buy a stain remover/ odor relief spray. Household cleaners and sprays cannot be smelled by dogs; only those made for animals will work. When an accident happens, clean the mess and spray immediately. This will cover the odor left and your puppy will not try to mark his territory there again.
Remember that housebreaking a puppy is a big responsibility that can lead to you and your puppy sharing a special bond. Giving encouragement and lots of love will make all the time spent worth your while!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Skunks and Pets
Our dog Casey loved to go out in the evening and sleep next to the gate in our fenced in yard. Casey would sometimes stay there for several hours, just enjoying the peace and quiet.
One night I was watching TV and almost simultaneously, I heard Casey bark, then I smelled the spray of a skunk. Without thinking, I went to the door, let Casey in, and realized that the skunk sprayed her. By the time this registered with me, she had gone to the couch and was rubbing her face trying to get the spray off. I never worried about this happening to my dogs because we had the fenced in yard, but we surmise that she was sleeping next to the gate, a skunk walked up to the gate, surprised Casey and it sprayed her. So consequently, I did not have anything in the house to neutralize the odor, or so I thought.
My first instinct was to wash her face with water. Big mistake. I made the issue worse because the spray contains oils. The next morning I went to the pet store and purchased a neutralizer for Casey, my couch and everything else she touched. I also made an appointment for the groomer and learned that in an emergency, most of us have the ingredients in our homes to take care of this issue. The groomer told me that in a pinch, I could make a mixture with equal parts of vinegar and water and that will help to neutralize the odor.
Fast forward a few years when I would let Dakota out in the middle of the night for a quick potty break. We lived on a dead end street with only four houses and she did not roam, so I would let her out on the front lawn while I watched. One night Dakota took off for a minute or two and a skunk sprayed her. This time I was ready and took her immediately into the kitchen and made a concoction of the vinegar and water, put it in a spray bottle and immediately started applying it to her and by the next morning, there was still a faint odor, but it was not bad at all. The only thing I neglected to do was wear plastic gloves and my hands smelled like skunk, but it was the middle of the night and I really was not thinking clearly at the time.
After this incident, I posted a few skunk neutralizer recipes on our bulletin board in case this happened again. I encourage anyone with a pet to have the ingredients on hand to deal with this because you never know when it will occur. I researched some recipes online and some common ingredients in the recipes include Dawn dish detergent because it helps break down the oils, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, water, baking soda and rubbing alcohol. I recommend that you find a recipe that works for you and can easily access it if your pet is sprayed, because as in my case, the pet store might not be open and you have to act quickly.
One night I was watching TV and almost simultaneously, I heard Casey bark, then I smelled the spray of a skunk. Without thinking, I went to the door, let Casey in, and realized that the skunk sprayed her. By the time this registered with me, she had gone to the couch and was rubbing her face trying to get the spray off. I never worried about this happening to my dogs because we had the fenced in yard, but we surmise that she was sleeping next to the gate, a skunk walked up to the gate, surprised Casey and it sprayed her. So consequently, I did not have anything in the house to neutralize the odor, or so I thought.
My first instinct was to wash her face with water. Big mistake. I made the issue worse because the spray contains oils. The next morning I went to the pet store and purchased a neutralizer for Casey, my couch and everything else she touched. I also made an appointment for the groomer and learned that in an emergency, most of us have the ingredients in our homes to take care of this issue. The groomer told me that in a pinch, I could make a mixture with equal parts of vinegar and water and that will help to neutralize the odor.
Fast forward a few years when I would let Dakota out in the middle of the night for a quick potty break. We lived on a dead end street with only four houses and she did not roam, so I would let her out on the front lawn while I watched. One night Dakota took off for a minute or two and a skunk sprayed her. This time I was ready and took her immediately into the kitchen and made a concoction of the vinegar and water, put it in a spray bottle and immediately started applying it to her and by the next morning, there was still a faint odor, but it was not bad at all. The only thing I neglected to do was wear plastic gloves and my hands smelled like skunk, but it was the middle of the night and I really was not thinking clearly at the time.
After this incident, I posted a few skunk neutralizer recipes on our bulletin board in case this happened again. I encourage anyone with a pet to have the ingredients on hand to deal with this because you never know when it will occur. I researched some recipes online and some common ingredients in the recipes include Dawn dish detergent because it helps break down the oils, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, water, baking soda and rubbing alcohol. I recommend that you find a recipe that works for you and can easily access it if your pet is sprayed, because as in my case, the pet store might not be open and you have to act quickly.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Hot Weather Tips for Pets
During the past few weeks we have had many days of 90+ degree weather and that requires extra care for our four legged friends. For my own dogs, I only walk them early in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are a little cooler.
However I provide pet sitting services to pets who need breaks during the day and I don't always have the luxury of waiting until the weather cools so I take precautions to keep dogs safe during breaks during the day. During heat spells I make every effort to walk dogs in shaded areas and we walk on grass instead of the hot asphalt to protect their feet. We walk at a slower pace, shorten the walks to prevent over heating and encourage the dogs to drink plenty of water before, during and after their time outdoors.
It's important to monitor pets, especially some breeds with flat faces and short snouts who are more susceptible to heat stroke. Finally, I do not leave my dogs in the car for any period of time because the temperature in the care can raise to serious, deadly levels in a short amount of time, sometimes resulting in death.
With these precautions pets will be safe when temperatures are dangerously high.
However I provide pet sitting services to pets who need breaks during the day and I don't always have the luxury of waiting until the weather cools so I take precautions to keep dogs safe during breaks during the day. During heat spells I make every effort to walk dogs in shaded areas and we walk on grass instead of the hot asphalt to protect their feet. We walk at a slower pace, shorten the walks to prevent over heating and encourage the dogs to drink plenty of water before, during and after their time outdoors.
It's important to monitor pets, especially some breeds with flat faces and short snouts who are more susceptible to heat stroke. Finally, I do not leave my dogs in the car for any period of time because the temperature in the care can raise to serious, deadly levels in a short amount of time, sometimes resulting in death.
With these precautions pets will be safe when temperatures are dangerously high.
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