My Dog Has Fleas!

Fleas are a problem for dogs and their owners alike. These tiny insects will live on the body of your dog, sucking the animal’s blood and laying eggs. The bites and presence of fleas will cause the dog to itch and if the dog happens to be allergic to fleas (the allergy is technically to the insects’ saliva) it can experience extreme itching, loss of fur in some places, inflammation, and infections. Regardless of whether the dog has an allergy to flea saliva, infestations must be dealt with or they will go on and on and the fleas will also infest your home, other pets, and can even live on humans. In short; you can be directly and adversely affected by an uncontrolled flea infestation.



Detecting Fleas



If you suspect that your dog has fleas because it’s been scratching more than usual, there are ways to check for their presence. Fleas are very small (about an eighth of an inch long), but visible to the naked eye, and brownish in color. Because they prefer dark places they will try to hide beneath the dog’s fur, under the collar, or on the underbelly. Their fecal material can also be seen on the dog’s coat and looks like multiple black flecks or specks - almost like pepper. If fleas or their droppings are found it is time to treat your dog to get rid of them.



Treating Your Dog for Fleas



While flea collars, powders, and sprays may help to prevent infestations to some extent, they will not help if the dog is already infested. When fleas are infesting a dog the female lays eggs at a rate of about thirty per day. These eggs fall off the dog and into the carpet, soil, or wherever the dog may be. In these areas they hatch and pupate, eventually growing into adult fleas which can then re-infest the dog. In order to halt the cycle all the fleas on the dog and in the environment must be killed or the life cycle must be interrupted.



There are several flea treatments available for dogs, but one of the best is an oral medication that will not kill adult fleas, but does kill the eggs and larva. This interrupts the flea life cycle and prevents them from coming back, as long as the dog is not continually exposed to new fleas. If that is happening, the source must be cleaned of fleas whether it is the carpet, the environment, or other dogs with which your pet associates.



Fleas can be a real nuisance for dogs and their owners, but catching them and treating the dog quickly is the key to eliminating the infestation and preventing the insects’ return.

Soft or Hard Dog Food - Which is Best?

Sometimes dog owners are faced with a dilemma regarding what type of dog food to provide their dogs. Dogs themselves tend to prefer the moist, canned types of food. They are more aromatic and naturally tempting to the dog’s palate than the dry kibble that comes in a bag. A dog’s dental health, however, relies on the dog being able to chew hard and crunchy items and dry kibble foods serve this purpose well. What’s an owner to do?

Some owners make a two pronged approach when selecting dog food for their furry friends. They will mix a portion of dry food with canned, effectively giving their dog the “best of both worlds.” If you are feeding canned food to your dog, you’ll definitely want to supplement it in some way with something that the dog can chew and crunch. Chew toys and dog biscuits or treats can help to serve this purpose.

Remember that a dog’s health depends greatly on the nutritional value of its food. A dog is only as healthy as the food that it eats, in many respects. The food you buy for your dog should meet its nutritional needs as best as possible, whether it is dry or moist. Unfortunately when it comes to dog food you get what you pay for. Store brands and generics tend to be made with cheaper ingredients and lots of fillers. They’ll feed your dog, but they may not be the best choices for it. The more expensive brands like Science Diet and Eukanuba which advertise that they are “specially formulated” really, to a certain extent, are. They will have higher quality ingredients and are better suited to meet your dog’s needs.

Truly, as long as you are providing a good method for your dog to work out its choppers on a regular basis, it doesn’t matter whether you’re using dry food or moist. During regular veterinary checkups your vet will examine the dog’s teeth and will warn you if there’s any issue that needs to be corrected by providing a different type of food or some dietary supplement.

The reason that dogs need to be able to chew on hard materials is twofold. It strengthens their teeth and works out the muscles of their jaw, keeping the teeth strong and the jaws powerful. It also provides a form of dental care. Owners should brush their dogs’ teeth at least twice a week. If this is not possible, however, crunchy foods like kibble and biscuits act as a sort of natural toothbrush for the dog, loosening plaque and tartar and cleaning the teeth.

Choosing the right food for your dog is important, both for the pooch’s nutritional needs and its good dental health. If you prefer to provide your dog the tastier soft, moist foods that come in a can that’s fine, just make sure you’re also providing something for Rover to really sink his teeth into.

4 Things Frustrated Dog Owners Should Know

4 Things Frustrated Dog Owners Should Know
By Anna Berg

You’ve probably had a day or two when you felt like your dog just wasn’t paying any attention to you at all, right? You talked, you yelled, you shouted, maybe you jumped up and down and waved your arms, but she just wasn’t interested in anything you had to say to her in any tone of voice. You’re not alone.

1. Your dog isn’t human.

Unless you believe in pet psychics, there’s really no way for you to read your pooch’s mind and figure out exactly what she’s thinking. The good news is that, like many dog owners, the problems you’re having can probably be traced to one simple thing: you’re trying to communicate with your dog from a human standpoint, and your dog isn’t a human. Sure, you know that, but lots of humans try to relate with their dogs in the ways that they think are rational as humans. The problem is that dogs are driven in every act and every moment by very strong instincts. Deciphering those instincts and leveraging them to build a productive relationship is like finding the keys to the city.

2. Your dog doesn't speak English.

Take the word “no,” for example. Does your dog speak English? Not understand English. Does she speak it? What’s meaningful to her is your tone of voice, not the word itself. Now let’s think about that - we’re taking up excess time trying to teach our dog a word she’ll never speak and that probably doesn’t mean much to her anyway. Sure, it’s meaningful to us, but that’s only one side of the equation. What about something that’s meaningful to both human and dog?

3. You know what a growl means, and your dog knows what a growl means.

If you think that mutually meaningful language doesn’t exist, you’re not thinking creatively enough. What does it say to you when a dog growls at you? Anything from “get away from my food” to “back off, dude,” right? Yet in every case, a dog’s growl typically means that she is not happy with whatever you’ve done. And you’ve seen dogs react to other dogs’ growls, right? So you know what a growl means, and your dog knows what a growl means. Where’s the disconnect? Growl at your dog!

No, seriously. The next time your pooch starts stepping outside her bounds or doing something you don’t like, growl at her. A nice, strong, guttural growl that would put the alpha wolf in a pack to shame. While you’re growling, look directly into her eyes. You’re almost guaranteed that she’ll back off.


4. Instincts save time and communicate effectively.

See that? You worked with her instinct and the information hardwired into her brain, and the result was instantaneous. Why spend tons of time trying to work against that instinct and end up frustrated, angry, and still miscommunications? This approach works in everything from basic discipline to full-on obedience training. You just need to figure out how to apply it in each of those situations.

I’d like to help you learn to apply it, and that’s why I created the multimedia presentation Instinct vs. Man. It addresses day-to-day life with your dog as well as specific topics like playtime, training, and territory. Beyond that, you’ll get some great insight into why your dog thinks the way she does and how it affects her actions and reactions. You’ll understand why those months of training stopped working after a few weeks and how to get her back into the routine and acting like the fun, upbeat dog you love.

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Anna Berg

If you a looking for a an informative book dealing with how to communicate more effectively with your dog than you can't go past "Instinct vs. Man Why Your Dog Thinks and Acts Like He Does" We highly recommend it:

http://www.happy-pooch.com
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Caring for and Raising Puppies

The raising of puppies can be an exhilarating and
rewarding experience. It can also be an experience wrought
with frustration if some guidelines aren’t adhered to or if
certain aspects of the duty are overlooked. There are a
number of things that you can do for the puppies and their
mother to help make their first days, weeks, and months
together healthy and happy ones.

The mother dog will spend the first few days after giving
birth with her new puppies. It is important to check on
the mother and the pups to ensure that the puppies are
being kept warm enough and are being well fed and to make
sure that Mommy is producing enough milk and is comfortable.

If the mother leaves the puppies it will be very important
to monitor their temperature closely. It is imperative
that the pups be kept warm and their area should be kept at
a temperature of ninety degrees Fahrenheit for the first
four days of their young lives. The temperature can be
decreased gradually after that. Remember that a large
litter will still need to be kept warm, but that the
puppies’ body heat will help keep them warm as they huddle
together.

The mother will be very protective of her pups and may
display signs of anxiety when people come around the
puppies. Some dogs will move the puppies from place to
place in an effort to hide them from predators. This is
instinctive behavior. Keeping the mother and her pups in
an enclosed box may curb this problem as the darkness will
ease the mother’s mind and make her feel that she’s found
an ideal location for protecting her babies.

During the puppies’ first month there should be little
need for the owner to do much of anything for them. They
will be cared for exclusively by the mother during this
time. The owner’s role should be one of monitoring the
pups’ progress and growth rate. The puppies should double
their weight in about a week. By two weeks of age the pups
will be alert and attempting to stand on their own. By the
time they’re a month old the pups should all be able to
walk, play, and run around. Now the fun starts!

By about four and a half weeks, the puppies should be
eating solid food. One way to train them in doing so is to
start feeding them a mixture of canned or dry dog food
mixed with a little water or milt to soften it. The pups
will lap this up like they are drinking, but will be taking
food in at the same time. Day by day the amount of liquid
being used should be reduced until eventually the pups are
eating the canned or dry food on its own.

One activity that a new mother will engage in will
sometimes alarm dog owners. In an effort to teach her pups
how to urinate and defecate, mother may lick the pups’
hindquarters. This stimulus will make them “go.” The
mother will often eat the pup’s excrement. She does this
to both keep the pups’ area clean and eliminate the scent
of her pups’ droppings that could alert predators in the
wild. The pups will sometimes mimic this behavior and eat
each other’s excrement for a short time. Most puppies will
cease this behavior by the time they are weaned.