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14 Tips for Crate Training Your New Puppy

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:17:35 +0000

Your new puppy is arriving and you have heard of crate-training, but are not sure how to make it work for you and your newest addition. From years of experience as a pet-owner, lover and specialist, I have learned some things about crate training that I’d like to share with you.

Crate training is wonderful part of an overall family training program if handled correctly. Your puppy will feel secure in his space if you make it a pleasurable experience from the very beginning by following these 14 tips.

1.Get a crate large enough to allow your pup space to turn around, stand up and lie down for a nap.
2.Put a soft blanket in the crate, preferably with his mother’s scent on it when you bring him home.
3.Make sure to put his toys for chewing and a treat or two in the space furthest from the ‘door.’
4.Put the crate in a corner of room where he can feel out of the way, yet have access to you.
5.Let your pup wander in and out of the crate to get a feel for it, the crate makes a nice ‘den’ for your puppy and he will likely take to it for comfort and solace when he is tired, over-excited or worried.
6.Remove your pet’s collar/s before closing the crate to avoid any choking;
7.Have a bottle of water with ice hooked to the crate if you will leave your puppy for more than an hour;
8.When it’s time to be crated, tell your puppy “Crate” or “Bed” and show him to the crate. You may put a treat in there if you have been training him with treats.
9.Don’t ever: scare him into the crate, put him in there as a punishment or otherwise encourage a negative connotation to the crate.
10.Practice this several times a day during his first few weeks home. Leaving him in the crate for short intervals while you leave the house. He will soon realize that you come back and let him out.
11.If your dog needs something to chew, make sure you give him a toy that he cannot shred, break or otherwise harm himself with. If he is an aggressive chewer, I recommend the Galileo Bone by Nylabone.
12.When you let your puppy out of the crate, immediately take him outside to relieve himself. For very young puppies, this will likely be every 4 hours. (on average a puppy needs a break in as many hours as he is months old – if your puppy is 4 months, please give him a potty break every four hours)
13.When you are leaving, or putting him in the crate, give him his command, “Crate,” praise him gently when he complies (but do not get effusive – you don’t want him to get all riled up!) and then leave without a commotion.
14.Upon returning, open the crate and let your puppy come out at his own pace. Don’t make a big fuss, simply praise him gently, put on his collar and leash and take him outside.

Crate training is a valuable asset to any training program for new puppies and can help enhance your relationship with your canine pal. A happy and comfortable puppy will mature into a well-mannered and loving companion.

About the Author

Pet-Care Expert, Peggie Arvidson-Dailey, is the author of “How to Maintain Your Love Affair With Your Pet” and the founder of Peggie’s Pet Services. To learn more about maintaining YOUR love affair with your pet sign up for FREE how-to articles and FREE teleclasses, visit http://www.peggiespets.com

17 Tips That’ll Safeguard You and Your Family From Dog Bites

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:17:35 +0000

Did you know that more than one million
north americans will be bitten by dogs
this year, and about one million dog bites
will go unreported.

Its sad but most of the victims will be children.
These dog bites will come from animals known
to them. Unleashed dogs will account for most
of the bites inflicted.

What Makes Dogs Bite

Not being educated and pet owners not being
committed on training their pet is what leads
to most of these dog bites. We must realize
that dogs don’t normally become a part of our
families already trained.

Why Then Do Dogs Bite?

1.They will bite if scared, angry, or threatened.
Even a dog thats friendly will bite.

2.If he feels he’s cornered or crowded.

3.They will protect what they think belongs to them.
Like their food, toys.

4.Dogs will protect their space such as sleeping area,
yard, porch, cars and home.

5.Dogs are predatory by nature and love to chase
and attack.

6.A stray dog may feel upset being lost or hurt and
bite with alot less provocation.

7.A dog being startled may lash out and bite.

How to Prevent Bites

8.Teaching young children to be careful around pets.
Don’t allow children to play rough or allow pupies to
bite. Not even play biting.

9.Teach your children never get close to strange dogs.

10.Leave a dogs things alone like food, toys, bones,
ect.

11.Most injuries are caused by getting too close to a
dogs face with your own.

12.Refain from running past a dog. They love to chase.
Avoid getting a dog excited or aggressive, by yelling
and screaming.

13.You never want to pet a dog thats eating, sleeping
or careing for its puppies.

14.Stay away from dogs that are tied up or in cars.

15.You should always ask permission from a pet owner
to pet his dog. Even if he’s present and the dog’s on
a leash.

16.Refrain from swinging your arms or things you have
at a dog. It may think its an invitation to bite.

17.You should never pet stray dogs or ones running loose.

Its great to have a dog go on a hike or walk on a trail
with you but we humans need to treat dogs with respect.
Just remember to teach your children how act around dogs,
it will keep them safe.

About the Author

Val and Robin Shortt are experienced campers and own three outdoor websites For more tips like these and to register for their Free newsletter visit:Good Night Camping Equipment

3 Simple Steps For A Healthier Dog

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:17:35 +0000

We all want what is best for our pet. Yet sometimes because of your hectic schedules, we tend to put our dog’s care at the bottom of the list or it just becomes a habit of chores we perform every day without giving it much thought. We stumble out of bed in the morning, let the dog out, fill the water bowl, dump some food in the dish and go on with our daily routine. Let’s face it this can get very boring for you and especially for your dog.

In order to maintain your dog’s health there are really only three simple steps you need to follow:
1.A good diet
2.Plenty of fresh water
3.Exercise

A good diet is essential to your dog’s health. Be careful what you buy! Read the ingredients label not just the name of the dog food. An all natural dog food is what you should be looking for, not one that contains filler and by-products. Remember you get what you pay for. Although an all natural dog food may be more expensive, studies have shown that your dog will in almost all cases eat more of the “bargain brand” than the all natural, nutritious dog food. The “bargain brands” will pass through your dog more quickly because they do not contain as much of the daily nutrients your dog requires. This leads to your dog being hungrier more often and thereby eating more. Your dog will retain more of the nutrients contained in the all natural food which means they will be less hungry, have healthier coats, more energy and better overall health.

Give your dog plenty of fresh water. Change it as often as you can. A good rule to follow is that every time you get yourself something to drink, add new water to your dog’s bowl.

Exercise your dog daily. This is good for you also. Take long walks, throw a ball or stick around the backyard or park. Remember your dog’s cardiovascular system, heart and muscles need exercise just like yours.

About the Author

Jim De Fazio is the successful webmaster of http://www.natural-pet-supplies.com. A site that offers all natural food and supplies for your dog or cat.

3 Tips For Dealing With Dog Emergencies

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:17:35 +0000

Have you ever thought about what you need to do should your dog – or another dog – ever suffer a serious, life-threatening injury? What if they have a severe allergy to an insect bite or a bee sting? It’s great to know your vet’s phone number, but what if something happens during off hours? What if you don’t know where the closest emergency animal clinic is located?

Augh! Enough with the questions already, right? Any emergency is stressful and scary, and one involving that furry little four-legged member of your family is no exception. The toughest of owners can be instantly reduced to helpless balls of mush if something’s wrong with their dogs and they can’t figure out what to do.

1. Preparation is key.

The key to getting through a veterinary emergency is preparation. You may think you have that covered with a first aid kit and having the phone number to your vet handy, but what if there isn’t enough time to move your dog? You need to be well-versed in some of the more common animal emergencies just in case a situation ever arises. And hey, if a situation never arises, you’ll still feel more confident knowing that you have the ability to deal with one.

2. Know how to care for wounds.

Did you know that you shouldn’t use hydrogen peroxide on a bleeding wound? Nope. It slows clotting to the area, which means your dog could actually lose more blood than he would if you didn’t use the peroxide at all. In fact, the best way to treat a deep, severely bleeding wound is to apply a clean cloth and hold it in place for five minutes, then tape the cloth to the wound. That original cloth should never be removed – that also slows clotting – and should instead be layered with more clean cloths if blood soaks through.

3. Know what to do about poisoning.

Did you know that certain varieties of toads, salamanders, newts, and other amphibians are poisonous if licked? Hey, guess who loves to hold little woodland critters in his mouth! Your dog. If you notice your pup drooling, whining, and wiping at his mouth after a trip into the forest, get him to a clean water source and rinse his mouth thoroughly. While the poison can be fatal if left in the mouth, it’s fairly easy to cleanse from the tongue and glands.

Now imagine all of the scenarios that can happen to your dog, from fractured limbs to choking and everything in between. Do you really want to risk not knowing how to handle them? You don’t have to anymore, since I’ve written “Secrets to a Healthy and Happy Pooch” book to help you learn how to cope with nearly any emergency as well as have the basis for handling all of the everyday and lifelong problems and situations you’ll face with your dog. From choosing toys to cancer and everything in between, it’s all in the book… as well as how to create the most effective first aid kit and handle the most common emergencies. Listen, even the most experienced dog owner needs a little help and advice now and then. “Secrets to a Healthy and Happy Pooch” is that constant source of help and advice.

About the Author

Gerald Njuguna is the owner of a dog lovers’ site – DogPerfection.com – http://www.dogperfection.com. If you a looking for information dealing with everything to do with dog health, dog reciepes and ways to spoil your dogs for under $10 then visit us today at http://doglover.dogperfection.com to get your free gifts.

Search Engine Promotion – your options explained

admin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:17:35 +0000

Most people have limited knowledge when it comes to search engine ranking and the various
types of services on offer. We all know that having top 10 positions on some of the leading
engines can bring all the traffic we can handle, and then some. But how do we get those top
10 listings and what should we expect to pay to get them?

A simple way to approach this is to look at your competition. Do a quick search on one of the
leading engines like Google or AltaVista, using a search phrase that people might use when
looking for your products or services, and see what comes back.

As a basic ‘rule of thumb’ guide -

Between 100 and 5000 puts you in a ‘low competition’ category.
Between 5001 and 25000 puts you in a ‘medium competition’ category.
Between 25001 and 250,000 puts you in a ‘high competition’ category.
Over 250,000 puts you in a ‘Extremely high competition’ category.

Here are some examples we found on AltaVista:-

“detroit real estate” – 2.7M
“curtain fixtures” – 817,000
“auto parts” – 130,000
“mortgage loans” – 84,000
“coin collecting” – 14,000
“wedding accessories” – 9,000
“florida vacations” – 5,000
“model railways” – 5,000

Based on the above, determine the competitiveness of your category, then research the level
of service necessary for your site.

Once you have determined the level of competition for top positions in your business category,
use the following as a basic guide:

1 – Low to medium competition with no previous ’search engine optimization’ – Locate a good
submission service who will give your home page a ‘tune-up’ then submit your site ‘manually’ to
all the leading engines and directories. Expect to pay around $25 to $65 per month.
2 – Medium to High competition on restricted budget – try to locate a service that will go
beyond basic Meta Tag revisions. Not all search engines pay much attention to what is in your
Meta tags, so look for someone who will make changes to the HTML on your key content
pages to give them a boost. Expect to pay around $55 to $95 per month.
3 – Sites with high or extremely high competition – you will encounter various approaches at
higher service levels. Most common is to use ‘Doorway’ pages and a separate ‘Hallway’
domain. Think about Doorway/Hallway pages as pages that focus on a specific search phrase,
each targeting a specific search engine. It is common to have sites with over 100 custom
designed Doorway pages targeting multiple search phrases and multiple search engines.
Pricing varies greatly at these levels, and almost always include a setup fee then ongoing
monthly service fees.

Developing a better understanding of how it all works will help you decide the best approach for
your web site, and will help you make an informed decision based on realistic expectations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carl Hruza operates a successful web promotion and search ranking business, and offers
advice on all aspects of Internet Marketing and Promotion. Email Carl at carlh@netnet.net or
visit his site at http://topwebpromotion.com