Monday, December 17, 2007

Dog Worming

Author: John Moore

Dog Worming.

Regular worming is essential to protect your dog against internal parasites. This involves giving it preparations in liquid or tablet form. Adult dogs should be wormed at least once a year, and at least once every six months if in contact with children. Dogs showing any signs of infection should be wormed immediately and all breeding bitches should be wormed prior to mating.

Roundworms.
Several of these parasites affect dogs but the most important are the ones that belong to the Ascarid family, and live in the small intestine. Other roundworms infest the large intestine, blood vessels and respiratory tract.
Ascarids feed on digesting food in the dog's gut, and are particularly harmful to puppies. They penetrate a puppies gut wall and pass via the blood to the liver and then to the lungs. From there they crawl up the trachea to be coughed up and swallowed, again ending up in the gut. Infected puppies may develop :-

Hepatitis, pneumonia, fits, and obstruction to the gut, so regular treatment is vital.

As the puppy gets older most of the worms travel to the muscles, where they form cysts. These lie dormant until the puppy bitch becomes pregnant. They then migrate to the puppies lungs, and this is why virtually every puppy is born with roundworm, and must be wormed regularly.

How Roundworms Affect Humans.
These worms can infect humans, and in a very low number of cases, cause disease. Good hygiene and common sense concerning children and puppies should control the problem.

Tapeworms.
The tapeworm tickle the dog's anus and make the dog drag it's rear end along the floor. If you see any worm segments in your dog's faeces, treat it as soon as possible.

As a dog lover myself, I treat my own pets at least twice a year. Worming tablets can be bought cheaply at your local supermarket or petshop, so there's no excuse for not treating your own pet on a regular basis.

Thank you for reading my article. I do hope it's been enjoyable.
Author and animal lover - John Moore...please use my link
http://www.pet-dog-cat.com
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Teach Dog To Read Basics

Author: Ande Waggener

Teach dog to read? Can it be done? Yes, it can. You can teach dog to read.

Why would you want to?

Well, even though Fido is never going to read a book or magazine, his ability to understand a written word as a command can come in handy. The teach dog to read techniques can help you with special situations.

Life has a tendency to throw curve balls. There may come a day when you have difficulty speaking. Maybe you just have laryngitis, and you can’t call your dog. Or maybe you have a more serious condition.

More likely, your dog may lose his or her hearing someday. At 14 years old, my dog has lost most of hers. I now use hand signals to communicate with her, but I’m working on teaching her to read too.

Teach dog to read instructions aren’t as complicated as you might imagine. The step-by-step process of teach dog to read is pretty straightforward.

Here are the teach dog to read steps:

1. First, make some flash cards. For best results, use an 8 ½ X 11” sheet of white paper. Write the word you want the dog to understand in large letters. For example, DOWN.

2. Now get your dog’s attention. Hold the flash card in one hand behind your back, and hold a treat or ball or whatever your dog loves best in the other hand. Have your dog stand in front of you.

3. Show your dog the paper with the word on it.

4. A split second after the dog sees the flash card, say the word on the card. Your dog should see the paper before you say the word, but don’t wait too long. Don’t look at your dog. The eye contact can be a distraction. Look down at the flash card.

5. Be sure you hold the flash card paper still. Keep your fingers away from the letters of the word. Stay very still. Wait.

6. When your dog does what you want the dog to do (in this example, lie down), immediately say, “Yes!” in a very high-pitched, excited voice. Hide the card behind your back and reward your dog with a treat or toy in combination with effusive praise.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 three more times.

On the fourth repeat, if your dog has been responding well to your verbal command, just hold the card but don’t say the word. If your dog seems confused, say the command. After your dog obeys, start again and repeat until your dog does what you want without your saying the command.

Work these steps for a few minutes a day until your dog responds to the card alone. When this happens, go over the top with your praise. Dogs LOVE praise and will work hard to get it.

Once your dog knows one word, you can move on to another.

When you master the dog training technique of teach dog to read, you will be able to teach your dog to be responsive in any situation. You’ll also impress your friends. So have fun with teach dog to read.

Andrea Rains Waggener, author of Dog Parenting—How to Have an Outrageously Happy, Well-adjusted Canine, offers free basic dog training tips at http://www.basicdogtrainingtips.com.

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Dog Owner’s Guide To Shih Tzu Training

Author: Richard Cussons

Shih Tzu training is as important and as possible as training other breed of dogs. Shih Tzus, also known as Lion dogs are considered as one of the oldest breeds of dog. They are not just friendly, energetic dogs with long, flowing double coat but are also intelligent dogs capable of learning commands and tricks taught to them.

Below are outlined Shih Tzu training tips to guide dog owners and help them come up with a nicely trained and well mannered Shih Tzu dog.

• In housebreaking, decide what method to use. Are you going to paper train him because you are too busy to take him outside every time he has to use the bathroom? Decide which one works best for you and your dog.

• Then, train yourself. In other words, you must be knowledgeable enough and knows how to train your dog the method you have chosen.

• When he accidentally use the living room as his bathroom, do not attempt to strike him or rub his nose on his own mess. Physical punishment will not correct him; instead will just make things more difficult.

• Get rid of stains with a cleaning implement specifically made to remove animal stains. Specifically made neutralizer will get rid of odor and leave no trace of scent for the dog to return to.

• When it comes to obedience training, train your dog the basic come, sit and stay commands. These basic commands are his building blocks to other more complicated obedience training and will help you develop a nice relationship with your dog.

• Use positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement increases the chance for a dog to exhibit the same behavior again. It consists of loving praise, pats and treats. Giving of treats is an effective way in dog obedience training. But just make sure to show and give the treat only when the command is already performed. Showing of treats before giving the command is just like bribing your dog to do it. Your aim is to train him to follow commands because he loves and respects you as his leader.

• Whether you are on housebreaking or obedience training, give him proper diet. Consult your veterinarian on the types and amount of food you need to give your pet. It will also help if you are aware of what foods are to be avoided to lessen the risk of allergy and other food-related problems.

These few tips seem to be so simple but will surely bring the best out of your Shih Tzu dog. And what exactly you will get? A Shih Tzu dog with human acceptable behavior and is fun to be around.

Richard Cussons trains different breeds of dogs. Learn more about Shih Tzu training and other information pertaining to Shih Tzu dog breed.
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