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By jnavary, July 25, 2010

Humans have daily personal hygiene rituals. We wake up and brush our teeth, wash our face, shower. We shampoo, condition, brush and style our hair daily. We have far less hair than a dog does and we spend a significant amount of time on it. Imagine if you had hair all over your body and imagine if it got knotted and matted and tangled. How happy would you be? Not very, right?

It’s not hard to understand why a dog would be unhappy with matted hair. New arrivals at dog shelters are often covered in tangles and sometimes even family pets are as well. Some owners aren’t very conscientious about their pet’s grooming needs. Don’t be one of those owners.

Tangled fur is an excellent spot for parasites such as fleas, ticks and mites to thrive. Dandruff can build up in the coat and a dog can develop a nasty smell from a coat not well taken care of.

Obviously, having an ungroomed coat isn’t comfortable for the dog, nor is it healthy, but what’s the best way to take care of it?

- Check out the extent of the problem. How far into the hair is the knotting? Is it all the way to the roots? Is it in small isolated clumps or all over? Is it dirty too or just tangled?

- If the problem is really extreme, your best solution may just be to shave the animal and allow new hair to grow. (Be sure when hair does grow back to take good care of it, wash it and brush it regularly to prevent this problem from happening again.)

- If the matting is just near the ends of the hair and not all over, the problem isn’t quite so bad. Get the animal to lay down on a table or where you can work on him. Get a small pair of trimming scissors and a large pair. Use the large pair of scissors to cut out big knots and mats on the animal’s body. When you’re finished with that, use the small pair of scissors to work on the delicate areas of the dog: the face, the paws and the ears.

- Use a dog brush to brush the rest of the dog’s coat out to get rid of any small tangles.

- Be sure to check for parasite infestations and treat them if applicable.

Sometimes, a big problem with animals‘ coats matting is just being generally dirty. Having a dirty coat can cause a lot of tangles. After snipping out large tangles from the dog’s coat, wash him thoroughly with some dog shampoo and conditioner.

Preventative measures are the best way to battle a matted coat. Be sure to bathe your dog often, use preventative flea/tick medicine if necessary and to brush him when you can. Take care of your dog’s coat like you would take care of your hair (minus that styling part) and your dog will appreciate it greatly.

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By jnavary, July 5, 2010

If you have guidelines, “a guide” and pointers concerning how to do it, any type of task becomes simpler. Also, using this type of help you are more likely to succeed with it. That is true for most things and it’s also true for stopping your dog’s excessive barking. For a lot of people, 7 is thought to be a lucky number, a number of good fortune. So, in the spirit of making things easier and of good fortune to help you, the various readers, listed below are the top seven tips for stop annoying dog barking:

1. Don’t yell at your dog when trying to teach him to control his barking. Try to be patient since teaching dogs to control their barking is a very slow process. It takes time for dogs to learn so don’t expect your dog to obey you on your first attempt.This will be critically important because raising your voice will likely have the opposite effect.

If you are unable to control your own voice you will most likely fail at teaching your dog to control his.

2. Try using a squirt gun with clean fresh water to stop the dog’s barking.. This is very important because you need to get their attention before they will listen to your commands.

3. Another way to get their attention is to slap a rolled up newspaper in your hand. . This should temporarily break their obsession with barking since the sound will startle them..

4. Similarly, tossing an object that makes noise somewhere near them can be helpful in redirecting their attention. A keyring full of keys, a rattle or similar noise maker should do the trick. .

5. Another possible way to stop the barking is to give your dog several interesting chew toys to play with. Often times, dogs start barking simply out of sheer boredom. Pay particular attention to this step if you must leave your dog unattended for a lengthy period of time.

6. Be prepared to reward your dog when he follows your command. As with most training, the judicious use of treats as rewards for positive behaviors can be very effective when training your dog to be quiet. .

7. Be consistent in your training efforts. Always use the same command word when working with your dog on controlling his barking. If you switch between “NO”, “QUIET”, “STOP IT”, and other commands you’ll only confuse the dog. Pick one command word and stick with it..

Follow these 7 tips for stopping your dog’s excessive barking and you will probably find life easier for you, get good results and relish the the resulting silence.

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By jnavary, June 15, 2010

You’ve just settled in to watch the big game on TV with a plate of piping hot Buffalo wings and an ice cold adult beverage when the phone rings. Your wife answers the phone and after a couple of minutes of hushed conversation she cries out, “Honey, Duke has escaped! They’ve got him at the Animal Control building. You have to go bail him out – it’s gonna cost fifty bucks!”

You silently curse to yourself, abandon the game and head off to the dog pound all the while wondering why Duke always takes off whenever he has an opportunity to slip out of his kennel. You treat him well, he obviously loves and is loyal to both you and your wife. Why does he run away?

For the most part, dogs that head for the hills when off leash are not really running away. They just want a little excitement in their lives. Dogs who get little exercise and not enough one-on-one attention are more likely to go exploring.

Boredom is usually the root of the problem. In order to keep your dog from running off you need to ensure that you provide plenty of stimulation.

If you are not able to be there to walk or play with your dog there are a few things you can do to improve his contentment. In addition to shelter from the elements, food and water you can provide him with dog toys to occupy his time. Putting a few treats into one of those hard rubber Kong dog toys can keep him busy for hours.

Regular exercise will also go a long way in reducing the dog’s desire to wander off. Try to take him on a walk or play fetch at the same time every day. It won’t take long for your dog to recognize the pattern and begin to anticipate these activities. This will also reduce his wanderlust since the exercise will tire him out so that he’s more interested in sleep than exploring the neighborhood.

Of course, a tall fenced in area with a well secured gate will also help keep your dog from escaping.

Many communities have very strict leash laws prohibiting dogs from running loose. Steep fines can be imposed and, in some cases, you may have to relinquish ownership.
And quite rightly since a dog on the loose can do quite a bit of property damage and frighten people who are not comfortable with dogs. Of course, a dog on the loose can also be injured or killed if it runs out into traffic.

It’s trite, yet true, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It also lets you watch the big game and remain $50 to the good.

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By jnavary, April 23, 2010

I just received this in an email from the ASPCA. I was very disappointed when I heard that the Supreme Court had overturned the law banning animal cruelty videos. However, it is encouraging that we have a second chance to end this barbaric way of making money.

Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center online to email your representative now.