Dog Care - More Dog Info

"The first place to go for dog info!"

Here's the place to start to answer your canine questions.

DOG TRAINING:  The best info on training your puppy. See "5 SUREFIRE WAYS TO SHOW YOUR DOG YOU ARE THE BOSS." We answer the most asked question: "At what age do I start training my puppy?" Dog obedience school training. How you can find the secrets of fixing any dog problem you are having. You can learn from the best professional dog trainers we could find!

DOG BREEDS:  The 5 most popular "Country Dogs." How to find the best dog breeders to buy a puppy or adopt a grown dog. How to avoid Puppy Mills. The 10 Most Intelligent Breeds -- What Are They? A study of canine evolution and intelligence. Our most controversial article! You have got to see it! Your best authoritatively-written GUIDES to some of the most common breeds: standard and different, mixed and purebreeds, small and large -- from Teacup Poodles to Saint Bernards -- toy and working & hunting breeds. How you can find dogs for sale or for adoption or find a home for your dog.

DOG FOOD & CARE:  It's more than finding playful dog toys. Essential information on properly feeding your dog -- the LATEST info on SAFE FOODS! Where you will find the best recipes for a healthy diet. Health Care Info -- an article on the simple human remedies that you can give to your dog. Where to get the most trusted info on veterinarian science. THE 5 MOST COMMON PUPPY AILMENTS and how to cure them. Dog Care, Clothing and Other Pet Links... PET SITTERS: "Where do I find a dog sitter?" "How can I become a pet sitter?" Dog grooming.

DOGS IN LITERATURE:  A study of the great inspirational dog stories -- from the classics THE CALL OF THE WILD, KAZAN THE WOLF DOG and LASSIE COME HOME to the latest fiction in the library. Famous Hollywood dogs and movies from BENJI to EIGHT BELOW. A great source for classic dog names! "We loved our heroic dogs!"

DOG & CAT FOLK ART:  FOLK ART is art which doesn't come out of the fine art tradition. Folk Art is characterized by a naive style, in which traditional rules of proportion and perspective are not employed. Especially popular in today's market is Folk Art featuring Dogs and Cats! You can see some of the newest DOG & CAT FOLK ART here!

BECOME A DOG BREEDER:  Do you want to be a successful Dog Breeder? PUPPY DOGS INFO's Recommended #1 Source for Critical Information on breeding dogs for profit. Don't become a puppy mill! You need this information. "Here's your chance to be a successful Breeder now!" Get listed in the Top Breeder's Directory. See the latest supplies necessary for a beginning breeder.

& Much More! 

"POLICE DOGS: Why German Shepherds Are the Best" An Article by Brian Alan Burhoe

The use of dogs in police work is by no means new. It has been traced as far back as the fourteenth century to St. Malo, France; however, it was not until 1895 that the French police made serious attempts to properly train dogs for police work. In 1896, Germany became interested in the idea and chose the German Shepherd dog.

The German Shepherd Dog is respected and admired throughout the world for its versatility, intelligence, and loyalty. It has existed as a recognized breed for a relatively brief period of time compared to other dog breeds. The early shepherd dogs of Germany were of several types suited to their environments. Coat length and texture, color, and build all varied but these types all possessed ruggedness, intelligence, soundness, and the ability to do specialized work.

Although dogs have worked alongside police forces for quite some time, formal training for police dogs is relatively recent. By the First World War, dogs were being trained for military duties, as messengers and guard dogs.

In the early 1930's, one of the first Dog Sections was formed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Canadian author Delbert Young described how it came about: "Sergeant Cawsey owned a particularly clever German Shepherd he called Dale. He had trained Dale to retrieve objects, and also to scent out and locate articles he had hidden. The Sergeant was so proud of his big Shepherd he used to show the dog, taking him everywhere he went so that soon the sight of Sgt. Cawsey in his patrol car with the handsome dog beside him were a familiar sight.

"A step further and he was employing the dog to assist him in police work. So successful were the first experiments that the Dog Section was formed with Dale as its first member."

Today, the most common breed for police work is the German Shepherd. The most important aspect of training is a very close bond with its handler, as a dog's natural instinct is to please its pack leader -- in this case, its handler.

A police dog's sense of smell is more valuable than his bite. A German Shepherd's sense of smell is much stronger than any human. Police dogs are called K-9's. There are many different types of jobs for a police dog to do. They can sniff out drugs, bombs, and human bodies. They are also good at search and rescue and protecting people.

K-9 dogs are considered police officers and are cared for and respected just like any other police officer. In New Jersey a law called "Solo's Law" was passed making it a crime to shoot and kill a K-9 dog. The law was named for a K-9 named Solo who was killed in the line of duty.

Once dogs can pass the tests for strength, sociability, and behavior they then go to a handler to live and train. It takes 14 weeks for dogs to learn to sniff out a new smell. Police start to train the dogs while playing hide-and-seek with a white towel. Then, they introduce new smells so they can find things like drugs, dead bodies, and even bombs! If a dog finds a bomb, he immediately sits down and doesn't jump or go wild. In fact, the chemical (nitrate) they search for is found in VCR tapes, shoe polish, fertilizers, and ... if you can believe it ... in soda!

In the US, there is a nationwide effort going on to get bullet proof vests for k-9's.

Dogs are carefully chosen and generally placed with their handlers while still puppies. Training begins with obedience and tracking exercises. They are also trained to chase and attack; although they are allowed to be aggressive, they are not trained to be vicious, and are trained to obey their handler.

Police dogs are commonly used today for searching and tracking, as well as in crowd situations or also in prisons where their presence can be intimidating as needed. But it should be remembered that one of the criteria for selction of police dogs is not their aggressive nature - but their intelligence and ability to be trained.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brian Alan Burhoe is the author of many dog-related articles and short stories. His fiction includes the free online story WOLFBLOOD A Northwestern in the Tradition of Jack London. Many of his articles can be found at PUPPY DOGS INFO Dog Breeds Training Care Literature

>>> Garlic Breath Instead of Doggie Breath? 

Health-conscious humans, and there are billions of us, are always on the look out for nutritional supplements which will improve our physical well-being and mental outlook. And concerned dog owners are always on the lookout for nutritional supplements which will keep their canine companions as happy and healthy as possible throughout their lives feeding healthy dog food.

If you are wondering whether your pet will benefit from some nutritional supplements, talk to your vet instead of prescribing them on our own, because most healthy dogs will not need supplements. Dogs with specialized needs, however, and owners using the BARF diet for their dogs, may prefer that extra boost that supplements can provide.

A popular supplement can be found in garlic powder. Garlic contains organic allyl sulfur components - S-allyl cysteine and other cysteine derivatives like S-alkyl cysteine sulfoxides. These components are responsible for many of its anticancer, antibiotic, anti-lipid and anti-diabetic properties. Pretty powerful stuff, isn't it?

Those who advocate giving garlic to dogs point to garlic protecting against cancer, enhancing immunity and reducing the formation of athero-sclerotic plaques and thrombi. It has even been found to be beneficial in reducing cholesterol levels, and lower blood sugar levels. Raw garlic is antibacterial and anti-fungal. This action, however, is lost when garlic is cooked or dried. TIP: Dry ginger is also a good anti-inflammatory. Together with garlic, dry ginger can replace the need for aspirin-like (NSAID) drugs.

When choosing to feed your dog any human food or supplements such as garlic, you must consult your veterinarian. There are two sides to every coin and garlic clove. Keep this in mind if you choose to use it to supplement your dog’s diet.

A few more ways raw unprocessed but pasteurized garlic supposedly helps your dog are for skin boils and other bacterial infections. Crush a bulb of garlic and extract the juice. Apply it on the infected areas. Wound healing with take place within a week.

Using a raw, unprocessed (not preserved in any way) clove of garlic, mash it well and add it to your pet's food daily. Large dog – ½ a clove. Small dog – ¼ clove. This helps prevent cancer, tone the circulation, and purify the blood.

This helps keep dogs from having worms and gets rid of them if he or she already has them. It keeps fleas and ticks off dogs because neither bug likes the smell of garlic. This actually works for horses to keep stable flies and other gnats away. Your dog doesn't smell like garlic to a human, by the way.

The easiest way to give garlic is by liquid. Either spray or pour it on the food, and mix well. The researched recommended daily dose seems to be:

�œ 5-20 lb. dogs - 4 sprays or 1/4 ounce in food daily.

�œ 21-50 lb. dogs - 6 sprays into food and mix well.

�œ 51 lbs. and over dogs 8 sprays into food and mix well.

Now, if you think the doses are too high, then opt to do what many breeders, vets and animal lovers do: feed the dog. In other words, just give them what they seem to tolerate. Actually, it would be best for you to just start off slowly with smaller amounts if this is what you would like to try for your dog.

Because garlic belongs to the same plant family as onions, and onions are known to cause deadly hemolytic anemia in dogs, some vets are now recommending that no dogs should be given garlic in any form. But the amounts of thiosulphate (the anemia causing ingredient in onions) found in garlic are so small that you would have to be feeding your dog two large cloves each day for an extended period to risk harm.

Garlic is a readily available, inexpensive supplement which can be used to benefit your dog in a number of ways. Still, you know your pet better than anyone else, you want to feed healthy dog food and you are the one who will be watching to see if supplementing with garlic seems to be helping or harming your pet!

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios, including the internet best selling "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition".

>>> Dog Food Allergies: Don't Blame That Itching on Fleas 

As a devoted dog owner, you're probably on the lookout for even the smallest sign that your pet's life is not as comfortable as you can possibly make it. So when doggie starts scratching at his belly or biting at his back, you may immediately take him or her to the vet for a flea dip. You'll also and use flea bombs all over the house in and attempt to have a flea-free environment for doggie's return.

But what if you've done all of that, and within fifteen minutes of returning home, the scratching and biting resume?

If your dog shows signs of allergies, but you are quite certain it is not from inhalants in the environment, fleas in his coat or other health problems, your dog could suffer from food allergies.

If, for example, your dog has been eating one particular food or a favorite treat for several months or even years, he or she might have developed an allergy to one of the ingredients in that food.

Your dog can go for months or even years eating the same food with no problem, but over time his or her immune system will be accumulating enough antibodies to finally result in an allergic reaction. If your dog has a bad reaction to a food the first time he or she eats it, this is a food intolerance caused by a toxin in the food (and there are, unfortunately, more of them than you’d like to think) but it’s not an allergic reaction.

While it’s natural to think that if your dog has a food allergy, he or she will exhibit indigestion like nausea or diarrhea, almost all canine food allergies cause severely itching skin, and dogs with food allergies very often chew incessantly at their legs and paws. If your dog has intestinal distress after a meal, you are almost certainly looking at food intolerance and not an allergy.

The difficulty in diagnosing food allergies in dogs is that most dogs who are allergic will suffer from more than one allergy at a time. So even if you were to attempt to diagnose your dog’s food allergy by changing his or her diet, and your dog began experiencing the itching skin of a flea allergy, you might mistakenly think the change of diet was ineffective in treating the food allergy.

Finding the Source of the Allergy

The only way to determine the change in diet has been effective is to eliminate all other possible causes for your dog’s symptoms, and put your pet on what is known as an “elimination trial “ diet. You will feed your dog a diet which consists of a single protein and a single carbohydrate which you have never fed before, and water, for between two and three months. Because a food allergy takes months or years to develop, your dog will not be allergic to the new foods and should not become allergic to them in that amount of time.

Your vet may either recommend a commercial food which will suit the purposes of your elimination trial diet, or may suggest that you prepare your dog’s food at home. While your dog is on the elimination diet, you’ll have to be disciplined enough to avoid feeding treats or table scraps, and take away the chew toys. If there are other dogs around, keep your pet away from their droppings. Some dogs will nibble on other dogs’ waste, and even that will be enough to invalidate your elimination trial diet.

If your dog’s symptoms are seriously improved after two or three months on the elimination trial diet, you’ll know that a food allergy was causing them. If they haven’t improved, or have worsened, you’ll have to look elsewhere for their cause, but you can let your pet return to the old way of eating

One precaution: if you decide to make your dog’s elimination trial diet yourself, it won’t be fortified with the essential vitamins, trace minerals, and fatty acids necessary to maintain your pet’s health. So you’ll have to get supplements and add them to the food before feeding your pet.

Nothing is as unpleasant to you, a loving dog wonder as watching your cherished companion suffer needlessly. If your dog is constantly biting and itching, and you are reasonable certain that fleas are not responsible, talk to your vet about what you can do to determine if a food allergy is the culprit!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios, including the internet best selling "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition".

==>> Visit this link now for Sharda's Special Free Dog Food Report.