Dog Health Tips

Posted under Recreation by SubmitEdge on Thursday 17 July 2008 at 2:00 pm

Dogs are called a man’s best friend. They are an important part of the family and there more often then not happy attitude can lift your spirits even in the dullest of times. For this reason our dog’s health should be of great concern to us and should be taken extremely seriously. A healthy dog is a happy dog and by taken good care of the dog’s health and diet you are not only acting responsibly but also going a long way to preventing illness and suffering in your dog life.

Just as human beings are susceptible and vulnerable to illness and disease so are dogs. Viral diseases, bacterial disease, food allergy, skin allergies and even cancer are all ailments know to effect dogs. Just like humans, dogs are affected by the environment they live in. A bad or unclean environment can cause a lot of damage to the dog’s health. Keeping the dogs surrounding clean, hygienic and safe is the simplest but most effective defense in maintaining your dog’s good health.

Nutrition also has a major effect on a dog’s health. It is vital that your dog’s diet contains a nutritional balance of food stuffs that are known to promote good health in dogs. Don’t make the mistake and assume what is good for a human is good for a dog they are different to us and require different balances of nutrition. The mistake people often make regarding there dogs nutrition is that they assume buying dog food from a supermarket and feeding the dog on that day in and day out will suffice. The reality is that most of the time these style foods contain a lot of chemicals and are not completely nutritionally balanced and can therefore cause a lot of damage to a dog’s health. The best thing to do is to feed your dog with a healthy balance of freshly prepared food like meat and vegetables and to supplement this with the odd portion of specially designed dog nutritional pouches or packs. This will ensure your dog maintains a balanced diet without too much exposure to dangerous chemicals and over processed food. It is important to never over feed your dog. Obesity in dogs is becoming more and more of a problem and it is guaranteed to not only decrease your dog’s enjoyment in life but also to decrease its life expectancy dramatically. There are a few foods to avoid feeding your dog, these are; grapes, raisins and onions for some or another reason they do not agree with a dogs digestion.

Vaccinations and regular dosing with medication that can prevent common illnesses in dogs is also vital. It is also good practice to take your dog to the vet or animal clinic every so often to make sure they are in perfect health. Once again a healthy dog is a happy dog and if your dog is happy they will bring you hours of joy.
It is also important to take care of the dog’s hygiene. Bath your dog two or three times a week using a special dog shampoo, not human shampoo, if possible. This will help in keeping the dos coat and skin shinny and healthy, remove excess hair and also get rid of any bugs that would try and live in your dogs coat. More then 3 times a week is not recommended as you can lose too much of the dogs natural oils that also aid in keeping the dogs skin healthy. If your dog has a particular problem with flees or another pestilence, it is recommend that you get a natural and non-toxic repellant available at most pet shops.

Keep your dog well fed and hygienic and you should manage to escape most of the ailments that can plague dogs if they are not looked after properly.
Dog Training Mistakes

There are a lot of different points to keep in mind when training a dog. People often ask what the main reasons could be that might cause a dog training process to fail or deliver substandard results. By observing the actual process of training a dog we able to pick up on a number of reasons why people may fail in training their dogs effectively.

The first major cause for dog training failure would probably be a lack of patience with the dog . It is very easy for the dog trainer to be focused on the short term results, and frustration can creep in if they feel the dog isn’t showing the results they belive should be evident. Make no mistake, the process of training a dog takes a lot of patience and perseverance. The aim in any training exercise is to get the dog to behave consistently to commands. This will only be possible if the trainer is acting patiently and not displaying signs of frustration that the dog will pick up immediately. Do not try and rush the training process it will only offer to have the opposite effect.

The second reason why dog owners or dog trainers fail to train their dog effectively is  down to inconsistencies in the training method or style. The aim is to always be consistent throughout the whole training process. By doing this the dog will start to understand what is expected of it and what the outcome of its obedience will be. A major part of a dogs learning is for it to understand that there is a reward for obedience and no reward for disobedience. If you reward the dog differently every time or reward when it is not due the dog will get confused and disillusioned  With this in mind, consistency in training your dog and how you reward your dog is essential in achieving a satisfactory result from your training efforts.

Another reason for failure might be treating your dog as an object instead of a participant. You have to keep in mind that there are two participants involved in and during the dog training process, you and the dog. Training a dog is not just running through a whole bunch of techniques and hoping that a well trained well mannered dog will appear at the end of the process. It involves a relationship being build upon and nurtured whereby you and the dog start to understand and respect each other. This is part of the reason why so many of us like to have dogs as pets, they are not just little robots but complex animals with emotional needs. Always include a time in your training session for you and the dog to bond and just enjoy each others company. It will do wonders for the dogs self confidence and will make the training process a truly enjoyable one.

Keep these few things in mind while training your dog and you will be well on your way to making it a success. Your dog will be a happy dog, and capable of obeying and behaving to the standards. It will make the process of training your dog a lot more enjoyable and will release the stress off the dog as well as the trainer.

Improving your dog’s health

 

For more information,please visit www.bestdogtrainingadvice.com/

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