Experience the Love of a Dog

Do you want true, everlasting, unconditional love? Then adopt a dog! The loyalty and faithfulness of a dog cannot be compared to anything else, including that of a spouse or family member. A dog will never argue with you (although I suppose some pet parents could debate that one!) He or she will be by your side until your very last breath and even beyond that.

If you adopt a little puppy make sure someone in the home is with him or her most of the time. Either that or take some lessons on crate training. Crate training is a safe, humane and effective way of making sure the puppy stays out of trouble while nobody is at home with them. Your puppy will need a lot of love and patience from you. Perhaps while he is very young, begin some training courses that you and he can take together. Both of you will learn a lot and it can prevent many problems that could occur as your puppy grows. For a list of dog trainers near you look up the subject on your search engine. Make sure your trainer has experience in training young puppies. If there are small children in the home, be certain you supervise all encounters between them and your puppy. This can deter any accidents from happening. If the children are taught to treat the puppy with love and respect, the puppy will be their best friend for life.

If your home is too busy

to take on the responsibilities associated with raising a young puppy, you can still have a dog. Then the best thing to do is take your whole family to your nearest animal shelter and find a mature dog that everyone bonds with. You will know when you find the right dog. Sometimes they pick you and it is love at first sight for all concerned. An older dog is just as much of a loving and affectionate companion as a puppy that you have raised. Plus they have often outgrown all of the sometimes unwanted antics of a baby dog.

Do remember however that owning a dog of any age is a lifetime commitment. A dog is not a toy, nor is it garbage that you throw away when it has aged. Many a dog is literally heartbroken and does not survive when the family he or she has known all of its life abandons them - even at a shelter. A dog will give you and your loved ones endless amounts of pleasure. They will be there for you when everyone else has gone from your life. Your dog will never give up on you. So please remember to never give up on them.

When you have made a decision to get a dog; whether it is a puppy or an adult, the best thing to do is adopt one from an animal shelter. Not only will you be taking home your new friend-for-life, but you will be saving his or her life. There are plenty of dogs at shelters who have lots of love to give if someone will just give them a chance. Will you be that someone?

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Experience-the-Love-of-a-Dog&id=9207947

Choosing a Great Dog From a Shelter

If you and your family have decided to get a new dog, selecting one from the local shelter is an excellent way to find the right dog for you. There are however a few things that you should be aware of and watch out for when selecting that pound puppy. 

Whether you are looking for a pet at the local shelter or a local rescue organization they may have puppies as well as adults. When selecting a puppy there are a few things you should watch out for. If you're looking at an entire litter you do not want the alpha dog. That's the dog that usually appears to be somewhat of the bully and in charge. That dog will be a bit of a challenge to you later on. 

At the same time you do not want the puppy that is sitting off by itself and not interacting with the other pups. That is a puppy that will have issues later on with fear. You want the puppy that is outgoing and comes to you, wants to be with you and wants to be petted he'll be easy to spot. 

Remember that saying from Forest Gump? It applies to puppies as well. Puppies are like a box of chocolates you never know what you're going to get. (until they grow up) 

If you want to know what you're going to get then an adult dog would be best for you. With an adult dog you can tell what it is already. You don't have to wait for it to grow up. So how do we select that adult dog? 

The first thing we look for in that perfect dog is an outgoing personality. We want a dog that's very friendly, outgoing and doesn't appear to be fearful of anything. A dog that shows fear is going to be a dog that is hard to work with for you over the years. In fact fearful dogs often become aggressive dogs so stay away from that fearful dog. 

You'll also want a dog that doesn't show any aggression towards people and even other dogs. This is important if you own another dog or plan on being around other dogs. 

Unfortunately quite often people think they can adopt a dog and change it. What I mean by that is they feel that they can take that fearful dog or the aggressive dog and keep it from being that way. Sometimes we can help them with training but a lot of times we can't, so why start off with a dog that already has problems. There are so many great dogs available for adoption that are complete sweethearts and have no emotional baggage. It just makes sense to adopt a dog like that rather than one with problems. 

So when looking for your next dog at a shelter or rescue take your time and pick the dog that's right for you and your family. Don't just grab a dog because of its breed or its color. Instead pick a dog that you'll enjoy spending the next 10 and even more years with and you will be much happier.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Choosing-a-Great-Dog-From-a-Shelter&id=8368200

How Can I Stop My Dog From Running Off?

There are so many sad stories about dogs that have run off when they weren't wearing a leash. You hear stories from frustrated owners all the time who say their dog got away because he wasn't wearing a leash. How can you stop this problem?

There are possibly two problems here. One problem is bolting. This usually occurs when you open the door for some reason and your dog seizes the opportunity to take off. Of course your dog isn't wearing his leash because he's been hanging out in the house. So you're left to run after him and pray that he doesn't get hit by a car before you can catch him.

The other problem is that your dog doesn't respond to you and come when you call him.

Let's take one problem at a time.

If you have a dog who bolts then you know how frustrating it can be. Your dog is probably not trustworthy around the door at any time. Anytime someone goes in or out your dog may be standing there, ready to slip through. There are a couple of ways to approach this problem but the best way is to teach your dog some door manners.

Teaching your dog door manners means that you should teach your dog to sit when he goes to the door. Whether someone knocks on the door or you are planning to exit through the door, if your dog goes to the door he should sit and stay there until you release him.

To learn door manners your dog will need to already know how to sit when you ask him and he should know the stay command. You can have someone knock on the door or ring the bell. As soon as your dog heads to the door you should tell him to sit. He may be too excited to sit, in which case you should start over. As soon as your dog sits you should praise and reward him. Even if he only sits for a moment you should make a big deal about it and give him lots of praise. As you open the door to let the other person in you should give him the stay command. This is a big step! Keep praising your dog for every second he remains sitting. Then close the door and give your dog a big reward.

It will take many repeats to get this lesson through to your dog. Gradually you will be opening the door in a normal way and counting on your dog to remain sitting while you do so. You will also need to practice going in and out the door yourself. Go through the same routine. Tell your dog to sit and stay when he's at the door. You can release him just before you close the door. Then come back in and give him lots of praise and rewards.

If you keep doing this for a while your dog will get better about his door manners and will stop trying to bolt through the door when you're not watching.

As far as not coming when called, you can take care of that by teaching your dog to come. Your dog should be wearing a flat buckle collar. You need a long lead (12-15 feet). You can start with your dog in a sitting or lying down position. Say his name and tell him to come to you. Then, give a tug on the lead and pull him into you. Give him lots of praise and rewards. Practice this until your dog starts getting the hang of it. You will need to practice in an enclosed area, especially when you start practicing off-lead. Later you can practice in a friend's enclosed yard and other safe places. That way your dog will be facing more distractions but he will still be safe if he doesn't come to you. Eventually your dog should be coming to you very quickly as soon as you tell him to come.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Can-I-Stop-My-Dog-From-Running-Off?&id=8154635

Free Dogs

Are you looking for a new friend to snuggle with? Adopt your new friend today for free! Dogs are the most loyal animal in the world. By adopting a dog for free, you will be giving your new pet a new and safe forever home. Why pay hundreds of dollars for your new best friend when you can get it for free?!

The top 10 most popular dog breeds include the Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, French Bull Dog, Poodle, Yorkshire Terrier, Beagle, Boxer, and Rottweiler.

If you are looking for a small dog, the Yorkshire Terrier is the smallest dog, but Chihuahuas, Pugs, Shih Tzu, Pomeranians, Poodles, and Beagles are, also, small. If you are looking for a big

dog, the English Mastiff is the largest dog, but Siberian Huskies, Saint Bernards, Rottweilers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers are, also, big. There are different variations to all dog breeds, for instance, there are teacup dogs that are smaller than the average size of that particular breed.

It is important that you train your new friend to use the bathroom outside or on a puppy pad. Or else you will have a stinky house or apartment. You will need patience while training your dog, but some breeds are easier to train than others. Larger dogs tend to have more energy than smaller ones. Generally, the energy level increases as the size of the dog increases. You can get energy out of your dog by playing fetch, going for a walk, and getting toys for your dog. Smaller dogs often get cold easily, so if you want a small one, get a sweater for it during the Winter. Dogs with long coats need to be brushed about once a week to ensure their coats do not get damaged or mat. If you think you cannot have a dog because you have allergies, you are wrong. Hypoallergenic dog breeds include the Poodle, Maltese, Schnauzer, and Shih Tzu.

These breeds do not shed as much or at all, so they are safe for people with allergies. You, also, need to take your pet to the veterinarian to get checks up every now and then to catch medical conditions early. If you want your dog to go outdoors, make sure you get it spayed or neutered so your dog does not come home pregnant or get an abandoned dog pregnant. They are very intelligent. They can easily tell if a human is upset and usually will snuggle up to the human to make sure he or she is okay. Even if you are not upset, your new friend might try to sit on your lap or cuddle with you in bed. It depends on the breed of dog and the individual personality of them.

Each breed has its own traits, so before getting your free pet do your research to make sure your home and lifestyle can handle that type of breed! If you can open up your heart and home, you can have a free dog.

How to Keep a Dog in Good Health

Being a dog parent is not easy. One needs to be very careful about the special needs of the dog and offer them proper care and attention. In fact it would not be an exaggeration today that the adopting a dog is akin to being a parent of your child. You have to offer them a happy and healthy life that would not only increase their obesity but also offer them a high standard of life. One thing that you should remember here is that you don't have to adopt the dog only because of its liveliness or charm but also because you want to form a lifelong relationship. So you need to be very careful about physical and mental health of your dog as you are careful about your own child.

Here are a few helpful tips to maintain the health of you dog:

Daily Exercise

Daily exercise is the most important part of a dog's schedule. In fact many pet owners would not like to take their dogs to nearby parks for walking as they are too much worried about the dog being attacked by street dogs. In that case you may use a vehicle to take your dog in a vehicle and park it outside the garden. Then you can take you dog inside the park and allow it to enjoy brisk walking. The obese dogs find it difficult to breather and are at a high risk of developed diabetes.

Diet

Some people treat they dogs as their own family members. However it times they go a bit too far. It is especially true in the case of diet; In fact the dog's biological system and digestion process is distinctly different from human beings. So chocolate can be a treat for your child but for your dog it is a threat. The digestion system of dogs is designed in such a way that they cannot digest certain foods like chocolates, pizza, bread and others. Hence, instead of giving it what it likes the most you should rather offer it something that is most beneficial of its body.

Mental Well-being

The dogs are very sensitive when it comes to psychology. Many people buy dogs, not adopt them. It means that they buy them because of their liveliness instead of forming a genuine relationship. Such dogs are pampered too much in the beginning and later on when the owners are fed up they stop giving much attention to them. Sure, they get the food and water on time. But that is not enough. They also want to get proper care and love. Many such dogs suffer mentally and finally they fall victim to various psychiatric problems. So, it is very important to adopt a dog only of you have enough time to take their proper care.