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Discover the Best Dog Grooming Tips From a Top Expert

Pampered Pup Shop — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:31:47 +0000

All dogs require grooming, how frequently depends on the coat type of the dog. When you bring your new puppy home the last thing you might be thinking about is getting the grooming kit out, especially with his lovely soft puppy coat. However, introducing your dog to grooming early in his life is essential if you want a dog that will find the process of grooming tolerable – if not pleasant. At this stage of his life it will also strengthen the bond between puppy and new owner.
Get him used to his feet and nails being held, examined and gently squeezed and gently open his mouth and check his mouth, teeth and gums. Lift the ear flap and look inside and lift his tail to check the anal area. As well as him being conditioned to letting you examine him regularly, these checks will ensure an easier and less stressful time at any forthcoming parlour visits or veterinary examinations.
This is particularly important for the high maintenance breeds that require regular grooming either at home or at the grooming parlour. In addition to regular home handling it is wise to get the dog used to being placed on a table, but do ensure that grooming sessions for the younger dog are not too lengthy or you run the risk of him becoming bored and restless. Shorter sessions are best, and inviting other members of the family to take over will increase his confidence in being handled by different people.
Introduce him to a soft brush at an early stage, just a few strokes at a time before he becomes restless or tries to chew the brush. Reward his patience with praise or a small treat gradually increase the amount of strokes you apply to the coat. A little time in the first few weeks of your lives together will make a great difference to the way he can be handled in the future.
Keep him comfortable and support him on the table making sure that nothing loud or scary occurs. To be spooked now might affect his confidence in the future. Use the correct command “stand” and praise as necessary.
Regular grooming allows you as the owner to assess the condition of your dogs’ coat through inspection.
The coat should be glossy and healthy looking, the eyes should be bright and alert, tail held aloft and wagging with a spring in his step. A good healthy balanced diet, the right amount of exercise and regular grooming contribute to the condition of your dog’s coat.
Choosing a particular breed of dog suits our personalities and possibly our own personal image. To choose a stylish dog and to keep it looking stylish a great deal of work is required on the owner’s part or a great deal of money to send him to the groomers!
When a dog has had his weekly groom or visit to the hairdressers, it makes both him and us feel good.

Dog Health Care Tips

Pampered Pup Shop — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:32:52 +0000

Dog health care is such a vast domain that you would need really specific problems to focus on in order to cover the issues you are interested in. Among the main dog health care problems we may say that the most frequent ones are fleas, worms and poisons. If these are not professionally taken care of, other very serious troubles may be expected. Worms and external parasites waste the dogs body of nutrients and energy; plus dog health care providers insist that neglected dogs are full of toxins because of the parasite overgrowth.
Here are some dog health care tips to be used when dealing with worms, fleas or various poisons the dog comes into contact. Puppies need de-worming as early as two or three weeks with the procedure repeated at four or six weeks of age. Dog health care specialists claim that worm immunity in puppies does not appear sooner than six months of age, and the worm larvae pass from mother to puppies. In order to meet the dog health care requirements you need to remove all stools from your garden, keep the lawn cut short and make sure you feed your dog on thoroughly cooked meat.
Fleas are the next dog health care problem under discussion here, and to a certain extent they are responsible for the possible tapeworms they may carry. Fleas and lice are easy to deal with; thanks to the many shampoos, collars or special drops, this dog health care issue has become piece of cake. Do not use human shampoo to wash your dog as it will completely degrease the fur and afterwards the dogs skin would have to secret even more oil to compensate for the deficit. Anti-flea sprays, powders, collars or any other products can be purchased from any dog health care store. However, it is good to ask the vet in the first place too.
Make sure that you keep your dog away from any potentially harmful substances that may lead to poisoning. Dog health care specialists point out that rapid intervention in the poisoning cases is crucial for saving the animals life. If you think your dog may have ingested some toxic chemical, try to give it some fresh milk as a first aid measure and call your vet immediately.
If you live in a tick prone area, be sure to keep a tick collar on your dog at all times. Mark the renewal date on the calendar so you don’t forget to renew it. Your pet’s life may depend on it! Grass ticks cause itchy lumps that can become infected when scratched. If not removed quickly, the paralysis tick can cause death in three to five days.
If your dog seems to suddenly have weak back legs and falls over often, inspect it immediately for a tick and get it to the vet as soon as possible. Luckily, the tick vaccine works well and quickly and can save a dog that looks like it is gasping its last breath.
With attention to these few details, your pet should live a long and happy life, rewarding you with years of fun and companionship.

Dog Grooming – Nails, Ears and Teeth

Pampered Pup Shop — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:36:22 +0000

Dog grooming includes not only brushing and bathing your puppy or dog but continues with his nails, ears and teeth. If these are not taken care of, there is a potential for health problems. Think of these dog grooming points as preventive health care and a way to keep the vet bills down.

A dog’s nails must be trimmed every so often. Depending upon the surfaces you dog walks on, you may find you need to trim every three to four weeks or even more often. You dog’s dewclaws may need more frequent trimming than the rest of his nails.

Begin trimming a puppy’s nails when he is about 10 – 12 weeks old. As with the rest of dog grooming, you may need to start with small sessions and work up. Start with one paw and do just that. If he is very aggravated with that, start with just one toe. You may even find you have to start with just holding one paw and one toe. Remember to praise him when he does allow you and to provide treats and play time after the session. Make your puppy look forward to his dog grooming.

In between bathing sessions, you can clean around your dog’s eyes with a damp cotton ball. Wipe from the corners outward just as you were taught to do for your own eyes.

Clean your dog’s ears only when you see visible dirt. Never use cotton-tipped swabs. Use a cotton ball dampened with a dog-ear cleaning solution, baby or mineral oil or hydrogen peroxide. If there is a bad smell or signs of redness, your dog may require a trip to the vet. Keep an eye out for mites as well. Dogs with droopy ears may have more ear problems and need more cleaning due to lack of airflow into the ear.

Lastly, dog grooming continues with brushing your dog’s teeth. To start the process with your puppy you may need to start by simply massaging his lips in a clockwise manner with your finger for a couple weeks followed by massaging his gums and teeth for a couple weeks. Then you can use a dog toothbrush, a piece of gauze wrapped around your finger or a soft round-tipped human toothbrush to begin massaging his teeth and gums. Finally you can begin using dog toothpaste. Do not use human toothpaste. If you find dog toothpaste too expensive, do as people used to do and make a paste of baking soda and water to brush his teeth.

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Easy Dog Tricks To Help You Bond With Your Pup!

Pampered Pup Shop — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:55:18 +0000

There are plenty of dog tricks around to choose from but starting off with your first puppy or dog and knowing which dog tricks are easy can be a bit of a challenge. If you have a puppy then training them will be a lot easier than an older dog because of the habits dogs fall into when they are brought up.

Older dogs will have different habits and a strong personality by then so they may find some advanced tricks easier than basic tricks because of the way they have been brought up.

Although the same as above can be true for puppies also, this is more likely to be because of the breed of dog you have and the different general personalities that go with them breeds.

In this article we assume you have taught your dog the basics or sit and stay etc and now you want to teach your dog a fun ‘show-off’ type trick to impress your friends or family when they visit. There are many tricks from bringing you the TV remote to riding a skateboard, but to start off I recommend something simple like the figure of eight around your legs.

This is similar to other commands you will have taught your dog and involves you using treats to encourage your dog to perform actions. To do this trick you simply have hold a treat in one hand and guide your dog through one side of your legs, through the middle then around to complete a figure of eight motion. Try to hold the treat close to your dog’s nose to keep them interested and always reward them with praise afterwards and the treat afterwards.

After you have mastered this and can get your dog to do it on command you’re ready for your next trick and one step closer to the skateboard. Good luck!

Dog Training–Should You Use Treats?

Pampered Pup Shop — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:49:32 +0000

There are many choices when it comes to rewarding your dog with a treat for obeying your commands, and these treats make a big difference in your dog’s attitude towards you in learning new tricks, and why wouldn’t they? To get anything in life you have to give something back and dogs are no different, you help them and they’ll help you. Simple.

But what are the best rewards and treats to give your dog in times of good behavior? Well for starters you won’t be short of treats to try, the markets as it is now is full to the brim of all the fancy rewards and treats you could ever think of.

One of the favourite for dog owners is to treat their dog to homemade treats from recipes that can be found across the internet in many places, some of my favourites and personal recommendations are listed in the products page of www.dog-behavior-training.co.uk along with other tips on dog training there.

Consumer products are also a good choice when rewarding your dog; these include chewing toys which can be very rewarding for puppies and dogs alike. Saving one of their favourite toys for when they behave well makes everything more exciting for your dog and causes them to want to perform more for this reward.

If a chew toy is not to your dogs liking then they may instead enjoy a tug toy, tug toys are good for your dog’s teeth the same as chew toys are and it enhances the relationship between you and your dog as you play with them. Be careful while using these toys as some dogs may think of this game as good behaviour and will start tugging on trousers or other annoying or destructive things.

The last toys I am going to talk about are the throwing toys; these are good to calm your dog down when they are over active or if you just want to reward your dog with quality playing time for their good behavior. These toys range from a simple tennis ball to special durable dog Frisbees and help you to react with your dog wile also training playing the ‘fetch’ game.

There are lots more dog toys available, probably at your local pet shop. It is a good idea to keep in mind what textures and current toys your dog likes to play with or chew before making your choice but as long as your dog enjoys it, it can be used as a good reward and training method.