Monday, January 22, 2007

Greyhound Rescue By: Nina Cole

I have worked with dogs for most of my adult life, both in canine behaviour and in my capacity as a pet sitter. During that time many breeds have passed through my hands.

I currently walk two ex -racing Greyhounds. A male called Nero, and a female called Lisa. I recall fondly our first meeting when Nero gazed up at me with absolute trust, and the sweetness of Lisa once she had learned to trust me. It never ceases to amaze me whenever we venture out for our daily walk, how I get asked the same basic questions. “Are they vicious because they wear muzzles?” “I expect they need loads of exercise”? “I couldn’t have one because I have a cat”!

Let me assure you that Greyhounds make WONDERFUL pets. They are loyal, intelligent, affectionate and so laid back! Contrary to popular belief, with care, they can also live quite happily with cats.

It is a common misconception that Greyhounds that race for a living, are treated well. Sadly, this is not always the case. Too many are confined in small cages, and never shown any affection. After brief careers when they are no longer profitable, and difficult to place as pets, they are often destroyed. Yet these beautiful creatures have an amazing capacity for forgiveness. I once trod on Nero’s foot by mistake and his eyes looked up at me as he nuzzled my hand, as if to say he understood that I meant him no harm.

What I found really heartbreaking was my recent visit to the RSPCA re-homing centre at Blackberry Farm I had gone there to make a short broadcast for BBC Three Counties Radio, and couldn’t help noticing the amount of Greyhounds up for re-homing. I asked one of the Kennel maids if I could take a photograph will a view to broadcasting their plight. A small brindle bitch was led mournfully out of her kennel and she looked up to me, her large brown eyes pleading me to take her home. Had I not got an insanely jealous GSD at home, I would have bundled her straight into my car!

I would ask anyone who is considering re-homing a dog in the foreseeable future, to please consider a Greyhound. All they crave is to be loved, and given the chance and they will reward you a thousand fold.

Author's Resource:

By Nina Cole www.ninasnanniesforpets.co.uk Visit Animal Pets & Friends for more pet and animal articles.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Dog Health Care: What You Should Know- By Joel Walsh

Dog health care means more than a yearly trip to the vet. Now more than ever, a dog's health problems can be prevented, cured, or alleviated, just like many human woes.

Preventative Dog Health Care

• Annual checkups with routine blood test and dental care go far in catching serious dog health care problems early, increasing the dog’s duration and quality of life.

• Medicines targeting fleas, ticks, heartworm, and intestinal parasites prevent both the pests and the diseases they cause.

Diagnosis of Canine Health Problems

Dog health care benefits by interested owners conscientiously bringing their dogs for yearly checkups:

• New and better blood, lab, and x-ray procedures aid the veterinarian in gaining valuable knowledge of what is happening to your dog.

• New and improved equipment like MRI machines speed up diagnosis as well.

Not only do these factors enable more effective care, but they also save you money in the long run because your pet won’t need repeated vet visits to find his problem.

Dog Health Treatment Advances

Veterinarians now do amazing things for our dogs. Here are a few of the most impressive advances in veterinary treatment for dogs:

• Chemotherapy to treat cancer in dogs

• Pacemakers for dog heart problems

• Drugs that cure or control dog diseases like diabetes or epilepsy

Improved convenience

Veterinarians today generally have at least 8 years of education added to their deep love of animals. They combine the skills of a surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist, dietitian and much more.

Veterinary hospitals or clinics are well-staffed and well-equipped medical centers where all breeds of dogs, as well as other animals, are treated, often in one day, for an enormous variety of conditions.

Clearly, dog health care is better today that ever before. Your dog’s veterinarian is his health advocate and your ally. Next time you visit your veterinarian, ask about new advances that might help your dog live better.


About the Author:

Joel Walsh has written more tips on dog health care: http://i-love-dogs.com/?%20dog%20health%20care [Web publication requirement: create live link for the URL/web address using "dog health care" as visible link text/anchor text; if offering for re-publication (article bank, aggregator, or clearinghouse), link text/anchor text not required.]

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Dog Health Advice: Fur Not Good Sunscreen by Joel Walsh

You might think the most important bit of dog health advice would be to let your furry loved one spend all day enjoying the outdoors. But you'd only be half-right.

You know we must protect our children and ourselves from the sun. But do you know that leading canine health experts now say that the most important dog health advice they can give is to protect your dog from the sun, too?

Dog Health Advice: Identifying Dog Sunburn

Like we humans, dogs need sunlight to help balance their bodies’ levels of calcium with their metabolism.

Yet too much ultraviolet radiation can irritate our dogs’ skin as it does our own, causing sunburn.

Dog sunburn begins as redness and hair loss.

Where sunburn first appears:

• bridge of the nose
• tips of the ears
• belly

Dog Sunburn Dangers

• aggravates any existing skin problems
• skin ulcers (sores)
• infection
• cancer

Sunburn and Dog Breed

• Pale and short-hair dogs are particularly prone to sunburn, usually on the nose, abdomen, groin, and inside of the legs. Being close to the ground, they not only are affected by the downward sunlight, but also by sun reflecting up from pavement or hot sand.

• Some breeds, like Weimaraners and Boxers, are predisposed to cancer. Therefore, they must have extra protection from the sunburns and UV rays to avoid a kind of skin cancer.

How you can protect your pets:

Think about the precautions that you take to prevent yourself from sunburn and UV exposure. You stay out of the sun at the peak hours like noon to 3PM, use sunblock and cover up, don’t you? Those same suggestions can work for your dog.

Sunburn prevention tips especially for dogs:

• Be sure that your dog is inside the house or in a shaded area during the sun’s peak hours, even on overcast days.

• Apply sunblock to the bridge of the dog’s nose, ear tips and other small, sensitive areas whenever the dog is outside for more than a few minutes.

• Consider some sort of covering for your dog. Some veterinarians say that the most important and effective protection is a type of bodysuit for dogs, which is designed to block ultraviolet rays and prevent sunburn.

In the end, it's still good dog health advice to let your dog play outdoors. But spare your “best friend” the pain of sunburn and its consequences.

About the Author:

Joel Walsh has written a number of articles on dog health: http://i-love-dogs.com [When posting on the web, please make "dog health" the visible text for the link (anchor text).]


Read more articles by: Joel Walsh

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Sunday, January 14, 2007

10 Free Dog Training Tips By Mary Green

Training a dog is about to get much easier, follow the following tips to train your dog.

1. Always reward your animal for good behavior, this encourages them to repeat the behavior, so also remember not to reward bad behavior, as this will also be repeated.

2. Do not use food as a reward, it is a basic need to eat, drink, etc.

3. Only give orders to your dog if you will follow up on them with reward or punishment.

4. Punishment should not include abuse of any kind, this may only teach the dog to fear you, not respect you.

5. Be sure that you use the same commands and answers for every action your dog does, each should have its own name.

6. Use no to tell the dog that something is wrong, and use a positive word to tell the dog he has done something right.

7. You should make sure you are using the same training as all others that interact with the dog, this way there isn't any conflicting commands to follow.

8. Try using one command at a time to start training, such as sit, for a week, then speak the next, this gives you time with each command to really let it sink in.

9. Start young, the younger the dog the easier it is to train them, you can teach old dogs new tricks, it just takes longer.

10. If your dog is not training well within a couple, or is not showing any progress at all, make sure there is nothing wrong with him by having his physical done at the vets.

If you have found these tips to be helpful please check out my Blog for more information on dog training.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Green

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