In addition to his basic requirements of food, water and shelter, a dog needs social interaction, positive attention from his human companion, exercise and mental stimulation. Several of these additional  needs  can be met by just taking your dog for a walk. Walking your dog daily provides him with the attention from you that he needs. Possibly more than anything else, our pets simply want our company. Even when you remain at home during the day, a lot of your time is spent doing household tasks rather than interacting with your family pet. When leaving for your walk, take along a plastic bag or similar container and be sure to clean up after your pet.

A walk permits you to reinforce obedience skills with your dog to increase the reliability of training. Going over the basic commands also will increase the advantages of a walk because your dog isn’t merely ambling along, but is also performing extra tasks. Walking your dog keeps him mentally alert through territorial examination. With nose to the ground and alert to the sights and sounds of his surroundings, your dog gathers evidence about how his territory has been altered since the last outing.

Together with the emotional benefits, there are physical advantages. Taking your dog for a walk is the most effective method to exercise a dog that may not be very active in your home or even in your yard. Older dogs must be kept as lively and fit as possible. However, he may not be disposed to exercise without some motivation. Whether or not your pet is active in your yard, it is certainly more active during a walk. Merely sharing an activity with you is one of your dog’s greatest motivations to exercise.

If you pass by another dog or person during your walk, your dog has the chance to socialize. Dogs are social animals. It is natural for them to investigate unrecognized individuals. Puppies ought to be encouraged, from the very beginning, to appropriately respond to and get along with other dogs and people while on walks. These friendly experiences help the puppy learn to behave appropriately when meeting visitors to your home, or when he is with you anywhere else. If a dog does not have the opportunity to socialize, it will not understand how to interact correctly with other people or dogs.

Walking your dog is among the the best means to prevent behavior problems. At least one walk each day will help prevent elimination problems, destructiveness, separation anxiety and other frequent behavior disorders. Take your dog for a walk soon after every meal, as this is often the time it’s most likely to urinate or defecate, and you’ll be able to direct your dog to an appropriate location. Praise must be given immediately to be effective. If you merely let your dog go out in the yard, you miss out on a great opportunity to bolster good behavior.

Allowing your pooch to wander freely is hazardous both to your dog and to other pets and people. It also gives the unsupervised dog freedom to revert to unacceptable wild behavior. Your dog’s life might depend on his obedience to your commands. Not permitting some activity cannot be viewed as unkind when considering the possible unfortunate outcome.

When shopping around for a dog house, you will find that the pricing options can vary significantly. Models include everything from great budget buys to elegant mansions, leaving endless options for any owner. However, if you are on a tighter budget or would like to put your own special touch and creativity into this important project, making your own dog house plans may be the best avenue to take. Therefore, let’s discover three huge advantages to building your own dog house.

Home Sweet Home

First of all, no one understands a dog better than its owner. Therefore, only you have the insights and knowledge handy to truly make this feel like home. For example, perhaps your dog is more susceptible to cooler temperatures, or maybe it prefers to have a lot of open space while sleeping. Additionally, if you have a smaller dog, it may help to build a sturdy ramp up to the front door for easier accessibility. When installing the roof, you also have the choice of making it flatter so your dog can enjoy lying on it outside. Of course, the options are endless!

Next, you can tailor the budget to fit your needs. Instead of trying to decide between the small dog house that doesn’t have quite enough head room, or a large dog house which clearly provides too much space for an extremely high price, you can build it just right. Now you are in control of making the proper measurements and purchasing the exact amount of materials needed for completion. In fact, with the proper estimates, you can know exactly how much you will spend before you even begin.

Finally, you can purchase the best materials for a fraction of the price. By creating your own dog house plans, you will be avoiding a lot of those extra retail costs. Thus, you may even decide to upgrade to a higher quality wood or install 30-year shingles for added protection. Find the materials that work best for your climate and situation, while providing a beautiful aesthetic appeal everyone will enjoy. The sky is truly the limit!

As you can see, there are many advantages to making your own dog house plans. If interested in learning more, there are various courses and other free resources online that can help guide you through the process, regardless of your skill level. Therefore, continue to do your research and homework. You may be surprised at how easy building a dog house can truly be.

Jeff Logue is co-creator and primary author of the dog house plans blog, providing the best tips and training for building your own dog houses.

Dog House Plans – Click here for more great tips and training.

DogBurg’s Daily Art Spot

Miniature Dachshund

Framed Art Print

Gibson, Judy

10 in. x 12 in.

Buy at AllPosters.com

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.

Dogs that aren’t being bred should be spayed or neutered, for many reasons. The health and behavioral benefits alone can prolong your dog’s life and reduce the risk of certain diseases and infections. Neutering also avoids accidental pregnancy, and reduces the potential burden on local shelters that are forced to euthanize millions of unwanted and unplanned animals each year.

For female dogs, spaying before her first heat virtually eliminates the risk for developing breast cancer later in life. After four heat periods, spaying offers no protection from breast cancer, so unless you’re going to breed your girl, spay her at 6 months of age.

A female dog who has many heat periods is at risk of developing a potentially fatal uterine infection called pyometron. In this condition, the uterus fills with pus and the dog becomes seriously ill. She must be spayed urgently, but due to her illness, there are more risks associated with a general anesthesia. Neutering male dogs completely eliminates the risk of testicular cancer.

Spayed and neutered dogs are less aggressive, and if they spend any time outdoors, they will be less likely to roam or get into altercations with other dogs. Male dogs who are neutered as a youngster are less likely to mark their territory by urinating on every upright object.

A puppy may be sterilized as young as eight weeks of age, but most veterinarians will wait until they are around six months old. They are spayed and neutered under anesthesia, and using sterile equipment. Post-operatively, they may stay overnight, to allow them to completely recover from the anesthetic, and to make sure they don’t pull at their sutures.

Spaying a female involves removing the uterus and the ovaries, so after they are spayed, the female will no longer produce eggs or have heat periods. This is a more involved procedure than neutering a male, and the abdominal surgery requires a recovery period where the dog must remain quiet.

Neutering a male dog involves removing both testicles, and because there is no abdominal surgery involved, he has a shorter recovery time. For those people who don’t care for the sight of a neutered male, there are silicone implants called Neuticles that can be implanted after surgery. That way, the male dog still looks like he has testicles.

Some male dogs have testicles that haven’t descended into the scrotum. These must be removed as they can become cancerous later in life. The veterinarian will have to look inside the abdomen to find these testicles, so recovery is longer, as with a female dog spay.

As with any elective surgery, there are risks and potential complications from spaying and neutering. Dogs can have adverse reactions to suture material and anesthesia, and some incisions are slow to heal properly. There is also modern research that suggests that sterilization alters a dog’s appearance by slowing the closure of the growth areas of the legs. This means that dogs who are neutered as youngsters tend to be taller and leggier than their entire counterparts.

Hormone changes in spayed and neutered dogs can contribute to a slower metabolism and weight gain in some cases. This means that owners need to watch closely the food intake of their neutered dog, and make sure they get plenty of exercise, to keep their waistline trim.

Tristan Andrews is a freelance author who writes about advantage flea for dogs and dog supplies.