A Puppy for Christmas

So you want to buy the kids a puppy for Christmas. Sounds like a great idea, may even teach the kids responsibility by caring for the puppy.

We could put it in a box and put a large bow around it, pop in a few air holes - what a great surprise for the kids, Christmas morning.

Wrong! This is a very bad idea. Think about things from the puppy's point of view. It is a living creature with needs. Young puppies are only babies afterall. This could be its first night away from its mother and littermates - and you want to shove it in a box for over 12 hours. You will be opening a very soggy package in the morning.

Maybe you won't wrap the puppy in a box, but is it still a good idea to have the puppies' first day at home, on Christmas day? Will you have time to care for the puppy while rushing around? Are you going out to the relatives or are they coming to your place? All the commotion of Xmas Day could be quite upsetting to a baby puppy.

Puppies first day in his new home needs to be a peaceful occasion. You will need to introduce the puppy to his new environment and start the housetraining routine. While you may have bought the puppy for the children to learn responsibility, there will be very few children that are capable of carrying out this task. Are you prepared to see to the puppies needs if the children are not capable of carrying out these chores?

A puppy that is loved and cared for make great companions. Those that are bought on a whim often end up in the pound as their new owners have no idea how to raise them.

Please don't purchase a puppy as a Christmas present. Get your new puppy before or after the holiday period. A reputable breeder will not allow you to take a puppy home for Xmas day.

A puppy is for life. A week or two either side of Christmas day will make the world of difference to the puppy's start in life without the safety and security of its mother and littermates, and you will be able to spend important time with him.

http://www.avontipoodles.com"Avonti Standard Poodles

About The Author
Angela Heyburn
Passionate about the standard poodle breed. Breeder and exhibitor of black and white standard poodles
avonti@bigpond.com

Vaccination And Its Important Role In A Dog's Life

Active immunization is the introduction into the body of killed or satisfied microorganisms or their products for the purpose of stimulating the body's defense mechanism. This concept is also applicable to other species like the dogs.

Before, the area of veterinary medicine has not yet realized the potential benefits of vaccinations. Until recently, veterinary experts have formulated certain solutions so as to combat the alarming increase of death in digs, in which, most of the causes are viral infection.

With the inception of vaccinations, many dogs were saved from probable death brought about by many diseases like leptospirosis, hepatitis, upper respiratory infections, and parvovirus.

Like humans, dogs need vaccinations too even at an early age. That is why it is important to immunize puppies so that they will survive until they are fully grown up.

Basically, puppies get their immunity from their mother's milk, which is also the same as that of human beings. However, these immunities tend to lose its effects by the time the puppies are already 6 to 20 weeks old. So, it is during this time that they have to be immunized.

Hence, in order to protect the puppies against infectious diseases, it is best to give them their shots and should be re-immunized after 3 to 4 weeks. In this way, the puppies will be able to endure any infectious disease that may come their way.

Rabies and Immunization

Rabies is an acute and almost invariably fatal disease communicated to man through the saliva of a rabid animal, usually dogs, foxes, squirrels, and bats.

Dogs, fortunately, always present evidence of the disease before becoming infective. The etiologic agent is an ultramicroscopic virus present in the saliva and the central nervous system.

The course of rabies in dogs is characterized by an incubation period of 20 to 30 days. This is followed by a period of excitement, when the animal becomes vicious. The excitement stage may be evident at all or may be entirely absent. Paralysis then develops, first involving the hind legs and thereafter becoming general. Death occurs within 10 days following the first symptom.

Alternatively, the effects of rabies in human beings can be very fatal as it is with dogs. Hence, in order to avoid these problems, it is best to have your dogs vaccinated with anti-rabies shots.

Consequently, rabies vaccines can be given during the 16th to the 26th week of the puppies. This requires a follow up shot one year after for total protection.

On the other hand, dog owners should take note that not all vaccinations will generate adverse effects on their dogs. So, it is best to always observe your dogs every after vaccination. When certain reactions occur like vomiting, facial swelling, or trembling, it is best to discuss these matters immediately to your veterinarian.

Moreover, certain precautions should also be made when the age of the dogs are taken into consideration. For some guides regarding this matter, here are some tips:

1. The age of puppies

It is best to consider the puppies age before subjecting them to their shots.

For puppies that are 4 to 20 weeks old, their first shots should be given during their 6th to 8th weeks of age. The last shots shall be given on the 14th to 16th week of age. These date apply to all primary vaccines.

For rabies, puppies should be 16 to 26 weeks old.

2. For dogs that are 20 weeks old up to 2 years old

During this age, dogs should have received their booster shots already. This is essential so as to lengthen the immunity of the vaccines in the dog's system. At this stage, additional vaccines are recommended for added protection such as vaccines against bordetella and other newer vaccines.

3. For dogs that are older than 2 years

By this time, the dogs should have been through with their booster shots. What comes next is the annual revaccination. These kinds of vaccines are still recommended so as to lengthen their protection against certain diseases.

The bottom line is that vaccinations are extremely important to your dog's life. Like the way it functions in human beings, vaccines are needed in order to protect the dogs from imminent risk of acquiring diseases brought about by viruses.

With dog vaccines, you can be assured that your dog will be at its peak of health for a longer period of time, free from any life-threatening diseases. Indeed, with vaccines every life is lengthened.

About The Author
Jack Russell is a a long time dog fancier, visit his Dog Resources Blog and download his Free Dog Owners Handbook - it's Dog Gone Good! http://www.daveshealthbuzz.com/dogcare/.

Dog Behavior Training - Dog Aggression Toward Its Owners

A dog that growls at and/or bites its owner does so for some reason, even if the behavior appears to be "unreasonable" to the owner. If your dog displays aggressive behavior towards you, for the safety and welfare of you, your family and your dog, it's important to find out why as quickly as possible.

Call your vet right away and schedule an appointment for a complete medical examination. Talk with your vet about testing your dogs hormonal balance, neurophysiologic functions and allergies. The test results may reveal the underlying cause. This has been especially helpful in dogs that have mood swings.

When growling or biting has erupted as a consequence of scolding or punishment for behavior such as chewing, jumping, general unruliness, or overprotection of food, these problems must be dealt with swiftly and firmly to correct the aggression it is initiating.

As the dogs owner, you must understand that your dog growls or bites at you as a result of defensive feelings. Even the dog that growls when ordered off the couch is reacting defensively, as it feels its dominance status has been threatened.

If scolding and punishment provoke aggression, your dog is reacting to a perceived threat to its physical safety. In either of these situations, your own threatening behavior may be producing negative results.

If the results of a medical examination show no signs of a medical condition that would be causing this behavior, you will have to examine your own behavior closely to determine what you are doing to make your dog feel threatened.

If you can't hire the services of a professional, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Secrets Of A Professional Dog Trainer by Adam Katz for indepth instructions on dog behavior training. This ebook is available on my blog. http://dog-behavior-training.blogspot.com/

About The Author
Heather Colman loves to spend quality time with her dog Gibson. She has worked closely with various professional dog trainers in the past 2 years to work through many of the behavior problems generated by Gibson's previous owner. Visit Heather's blog for more tips on dog behavior training. http://dog-behavior-training.blogspot.com/
This article is Copyright © 2006, Heather Colman. Permission is granted to reprint this article as long as no changes are made, all links stay live and this entire resource box is included.

How To Fight Fleas

The natural way:

• Vacuum your home frequently and seal vacuum bags before disposing.

• Wash the bedding of your dog weekly in warm soapy water. This is where fleas usually breed.

• Bathing your pet weekly with a mild dog shampoo prevents flea invasion.

• Use cedar shampoo for your dog, and put cedar oil in their sleeping mats. Cedar will repel fleas and other insects.

• Fleas are attracted to dry skin, so to avoid it, give your dog Linatone oil mixed with its food. Excessive shampooing should be avoided.

• A mixture of brewer's yeast and garlic, available in powder or tablet form can be given in small doses to your pet. This creates a certain odor in pets, and fleas are surely to avoid them.

• Fresh or dried pennyroyal leaves is a natural flea repellent. Use this in carpets to avoid the abundance of fleas in the home. Do not use it if you have small children around, as this could be toxic.

• A mixture of 60 ml of lavender oil with 2.8 liters of rock salt can also be placed in areas where dogs usually come in contact with and this solution could also be used to wash your dog.

• Planting marigolds in the yard is helpful too, it repels certain types of bugs as well as fleas.

• Boiled lemon or orange peel in water can be used as a dip for dogs and can be used too to soak in dog bedding for a few hours, then washed with warm soapy water.

• Lukewarm water with little shampoo and detergent is a good way to prevent fleas. A dog's body may be dipped into the solution for fifteen minutes and then rinsed. This only works if flea infestation is light.

The natural way of treating fleas is effective only if the level of flea infestation is average to very few. This method usually is recommended for prevention only.

Different commercially available products with chemical contents:

• Advantage. Active ingredient is imidacloprid. This is a flea poison, from Bayer. It is in a liquid form and applied to the skin, at the back of the dog, and works for about a month. This works by upsetting the nervous system of fleas when they come in contact with the liquid. This product is fast acting and is not absorbed into the internal organs and bloodstream of the dog.

Studies indicate that this product is highly toxic to fleas and other insects as well. A dog will be free from fleas in just a couple of days.

Ingredients are: imidacloprid -- a chloronicotinyl nitroguanidine integrated from the nitromethylene class of a compound. This joins the nicotinyl receptor sites of insects, thus upsetting normal nerve transmission which causes death.

A set of two vials costs 15-20 dollars.

• Frontline. This product is very similar to Advantage, but is not water soluble, so alcohol is needed to wash it off. This can safely be used in pups, dogs, cats and kittens.

Efficiency in repelling lasts up to four months.

Active ingredients include: Fipronil 5-amino -1- (2, 6-dichloro-4 [trifluoromethyl]phenyl) -4- (1,R,S)- (trifluoromethyl0sulfinyl) -1H-pryazole-3-carbonitrile 0.29% inert ingredients 99.71%.

Fipronil works as a nervous transmission interruptor, which causes quick death to fleas and ticks. It is proven to kills 96% of fleas for the first two hours and 100% within 24 hours. Ticks die sooner than they attach themselves to the host. Fipronil is from the new phenylpyrazole class.

Very effective and can be considered safe, so long as dogs are not allergic to fipronil.

• Knockout. Performs like Frontline and is as effective, but can only be used in dogs. Active ingredients: Pyriproxyfen: 21[1-methyl-2-(phenoxyphenoxy)ethyoxy] pyridine....0.05% cyclopropanecarboxylate 2.00% inert ingredients 97.95% Also has NYLAR, which is flea growth regulator.

• Biospot. This is for topical application and kills up to 75 percent of fleas, eggs, and ticks. It also is a good repellant of mosquitoes and works for about a month. Temporarily, at times, it turns white hair to yellow. This can not be used in cats and contains permethrins and IGR.

• Proban (cythioate) and Prospot (Fenthion). While not to be used in cats, they are widely used in dogs. This is absorbed by the bloodstream and fleas die due to the poison that is present in the blood. For it to work, it requires the bitting of fleas. There are certain conditions to be considered though. You are injecting a small dose of poison into your dog's body and side effects are not known. Then this does not help if a dog has flea allergy, and can not risk to be bitten.

Generally fleas abound during the summer months, when it is their breeding season. These commercial products can greatly help in fighting heavy flea infestation and needed where severe invasion occurs. However, it is always best to consult with your veterinarian as the choice of flea control will greatly depend on your life style.

About The Author
Jack Russell is a a long time dog fancier, visit his Dog Resources Blog and download his Free Dog Owners Handbook - it's Dog Gone Good! http://www.daveshealthbuzz.com/dogcare/.

Affenpinscher - The Monkey Dog

The Affenpinscher is a small 7 to 8 pound dog that usually does not exceed around 10 inches in height. The Affenpinscher has bushy eyebrows and shaggy hair and most often is considered looks somewhat like a monkey. Although this certainly is a dog, you might consider that sometimes it is a monkey by the way that it acts.

Affenpinscher's look like terriers but they're actually part of the pinscher-schnauzer subgroup. The common color of an often answer is black, although the AKC will allow them to be other colors such as gray, silver, and a combination of black and tan but Black is always preferred.

Are that they are very playful and lightly they get along generally speaking with other dogs and pads that they can become excitable around small children so they're not necessarily recommended as a family pet in that way at time off and pictures can be territorial when it comes to their food so you might want to take this into consideration as well that being said often pinscher certainly can be a fun pet to own and can provide hours of entertainment

The breed can date itself back to the 17th century and the European origin in fact its name is a combination between the German word for monkey and terrier. Originally the breed was a little bit larger than it is now standing about 12 to 13 inches in height but it had similar colors. Its original purpose was as a router working very hard to to remove rodents from places such as kitchens and staples.

About The Author
Tim Shank
Ever wonder what your dog is thinking? Visit our Dog Blog http://www.doggylog.com/ or our Dog Site http://www.deardoggy.com/ to find out. We also have more information about the Affenpinscher breed in our dog breeds section http://www.deardoggy.com/dog_breeds/affenpinscher/

Adopting A Dog – Puppy Or Adult?

Everyone is surely going to get excited when trying to adopt a dog. Truly a man's best friend, you can rely on your pet dog in giving you company, cuddling up together and some can even guard your house. You need to review your personal lifestyle and needs when adopting a dog. It is a major decision whether or not you would choose to have a puppy or an adult as a pet. Before deciding on which dog to adopt, here is some useful information that might help you decide.

On Puppies

* Bringing up a puppy is an advantage because this means that you would guide its growth and well being. You would have the chance to raise it up according to what you want. This means you can ensure that it is properly nurtured with the right dog food, ensure that necessary dog shots are given and prevent heartworm at this early stage. Having your puppy personally trained is also a plus since you can teach him exactly what you want.

* You should adopt a puppy when it is at least 10 weeks old. Puppies need a lot of time to be cared for by their mothers. This is a crucial stage for them. They somehow gain a psychological advantage for both puppy and for the mother dog as well.

* A puppy can easily adjust to new surroundings as compared to an adult dog. Although most puppies may cause minimal to major damage to your personal stuff while they are in the stage of teething. They need to be housebroken and house training needs a lot of time, effort and patience from the owner.

* There is no assurance of what a puppy would look like when it gets old; especially it is a mixed breed. Also, his temperament might change too when he grows up.

* Most pet owners love how puppies can be entertaining. They are very cute and adorable pets that is a hit for both children and grown ups. Puppies can be easily regarded as one of the family.

On adult dog

* You would have less of a fuss taking care of an adult dog. They already have this established behavior that you can easily adopt too. By being with the dog more often, you would have more or less an idea of what its temperament is.

* You need to get as much information that you can when adopting an adult dog. Take note of its habits and mood swings. You can acquire these valuable data from the previous owners of the dog. Some adult dogs may have some behavior issues. It is important to take note of them.

* It may take some time and effort for an adult dog to be completely comfortable with a new owner.

* Take note that you need to introduce an adult dog to your children and other household members. This would help the dog be familiar with them and helps them refrain from biting or barking thinking that they maybe strangers.

* Adult dog may not need your full attention unlike puppies need and would require lesser trips to the veterinary.

* For a fully grown dog physique and behavior is basically not a variable anymore. What you see is basically what you get.

* Most dogs are housebroken already so they would cause lesser damage to your belongings and don't wake up at night like most puppies do. They have over grown the impulse of chewing things he has his eyes on.

* An older dog can easily adapt to other pets, like other dogs or cats, if you have a group of them at your household.

Adopting a dog is not an easy task and choosing which one to adopt can be a little tricky too. Everyone loves sweet looking puppies, but not everyone can stand up to the tiresome house training. Though most would appreciate the bonding shared with them. Adult dogs need no great amount of guidance but can still turn out to be a lovable pet. Whichever you think is the right pet for you, just keep in mind that taking care of them needs a lot of time and effort. In return, they would always keep you company and has ready smile with an excited wag of tail waiting for you everyday.

About The Author
Jack Russell is a a long time dog fancier, visit his Dog Resources Blog and download his Free Dog Owners Handbook - it's Dog Gone Good! http://www.daveshealthbuzz.com/dogcare/.