Archive for the ‘Dog’ Category
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
When you are planning to get a dog for your family, nothing beats having everyone pitch in when choosing which particular breed to get. For sure, your children and even your spouse would have a lot of suggestions, and these might be in terms of size and temperament. Choosing one particular dog breed just might become daunting on your part. Thus, it would be better to do some research on the popular family dog breeds that you just might want to get. Here are some of the popular breeds.
The Golden Retriever
This breed makes an excellent choice because this dog is very sociable and enjoys outdoor activities. If you are considering getting a Golden Retriever, then you should know this interesting fact about the breed. Back in the day, the Golden Retriever was actually trained to retrieve birds whenever hunters would go on expeditions. However, it did not take too long for the hunters to observe that the breed was more of a family companion rather than a hunting companion. Thus, it soon became one of the popular family dog breeds. One major downside of the Golden Retriever, however, is its fur. Its fur has to have serious maintenance to keep it healthy so this would require brushing daily. Much fur would also be shed, which is not too good for families who have asthmatic members.
The West Highland Terrier
More popularly known as the Westie, this small terrier is very playful. Because of its playful nature, dog owners would have to be ready to do some exercises with the dog, just to keep it active and happy. Westies are very loyal to their owners and they also make great watchdogs. However, because of its small size, younger children could somehow mistreat it quite a bit. Thus, it would be better to get this small dog if the children in the house are a bit older already. Much like the Golden Retriever, the Westie also needs to be groomed so that his coat is maintained free from tangles.
The Cairn Terrier
This is still a little dog, much like its cousin, the Westie. The Cairn Terrier likes to be with a lot of people and needs a lot of exercise to stay happy as well. You have a lot of choices when it comes to colour with the Cairn Terrier because this breed comes in the following colours: cream, red, grey, sandy, wheaten, and even in combinations of these colours.
These are just some of the popular dog breeds you should consider. For more information on the other breeds, do not hesitate to contact your local vet. Vets are the most qualified people who can share valuable information about all dog breeds in the market.
Joseph M. Sabol is a world class Doberman breeder. Please go to http://petvitamins4u.com or to http://theroadhousedobes.com for further information
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_M_Sabol
Posted in Advice, Dog, West Highland Terrier, westies | No Comments »
Monday, December 1st, 2008
Checking your dogs ears and nails should be done on a regular basis no matter what type of dog you have. If you haven’t checked them yet then do so as soon as possible.
The majority of dogs nails will naturally wear down if it frequently walks on rough or hard surfaces, however this is not the case for all dogs as some dogs nails will sometime continue to grow. If your dogs nails become too long, its toes will start to spread and it will have difficulty walking. Long nails in dogs can break more easily and this can cause considerable pain. If your notice your dogs nails are becoming longer than normal I would suggest taking him/her to the local vet / professional groomer where they will cut and file them for you. I personally would not suggest doing them yourself as you may cause more problems.
With regards to your dogs ears, they need to be looked at on a frequent basis. If your dog has lots of hair within its ears is can cause many problems especially if your dog is long or rough coated. Because your dogs ears are a warm, moist area, bacteria likes to grow in this area. Once bacteria starts to grow your dogs ears may start to itch which in turn will make your dog scratch and possibly cause an infection. If you use a very luke warm solution of water and gently clean the inside of the dogs ears with a wipe or professional dog flannel this should do the trick at keeping the bacteria at bay. Also if your dogs ears become extremely hairy, take a very small pair of nail scissors and gently clip any hair out of the way if it seems to be causing a problem. However please do take care doing this, some dogs will gladly sit there and let you do it, others will not. So if you have a dog that doesn’t like you touching its ears, then ask your vet or dog groomer to do it.
NOTE: Never use cotton buds on your dogs ears, this can hurt the dog and cause serious damage to its ears or hearing.
Posted in Advice, Caring, Dog | No Comments »
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
If you are a dog owner (any breed), you may notice strange and different habits your dog develops over a period of time.
In our Westies case she has so many strange and odd habits it’s unbelievable. Throughout the years since our dog was a puppy she has always loved to played with her toys. Mitzi has had hundreds of dog toys such as, squeaking bones, bouncy balls, tug-of-war toys etc. all of which she has enjoyed immensely.
Over the past month of so our little dog has developed a strange habit with one particular toy – her squeaky chicken toy! We are not sure why she have developed a fear of the squeak in the toy, because as I say she has always enjoyed the squeaky toys since being a pup.
Being a good dog owner I pierced the area of the toy where the squeak came from so it now makes no noise at all, and Mitzi loves it again now. It’s very strange why this has happened.
It was rather embarrassing though when she was running on the local park with a Labrador dog recently. The owner of the Labrador threw a ball for her dog and it made a squeak noise as it hit the ground, our little Westie yelped and ran to the gate of the park wanting to leave immediately! I eventually managed to coax her back, trying to reassure her there was nothing to be afraid of, but she heard the squeak again and this time she ran at break neck speed to the gate, barking as loud as she could so that I would take her home.
If anyone knows why dogs develop this particular habit with squeaky toys I’d love to know! I felt so guilty taking the squeak out of the chicken toy!
Posted in Advice, Dog, West Highland Terrier, westies | No Comments »
