Pet Steps: Getting Your Dog to Use Them.. Is Your Dog Food as Healthy as You Think?.. Supplementing Your Dog’s Diet.. Keeping Your Dog’s Teeth and Mouth Healthy..
If you haven’t bought your dog a sturdy set of pet stairs, you should seriously consider doing so. Dog stairs not only help your pooch get where he needs to go (be it the sofa or the bed), but it also helps to save his joints and the tissues around them from becoming damaged from the daily impact of leaps and descends. Dog steps come in a variety of heights and sizes, but you must make sure that the steps you choose aren’t too tall or too short as this could cause him to trip.
If you already have a set of pet stairs—good for you!! This is an important tool to make your dog’s everyday activity easier and safer. The next step is teaching your pet how to use them. Some owners struggle with convincing their stubborn pet to use the steps, especially if the dog is a little older and is “set in his way” of doing things. The best way to convince your pet to use pet stairs is to show him how it can be worth his while.
Showing your dog “what’s in it for him” isn’t nearly as hard as it sounds. One way you can do this is by positioning the stairs where they will be used most and dangling your dog’s favourite toy or snack to lure him up. This may not work the first couple of attempts, but perseverance really does pay off. If your dog tends to be easily excitable, dangling his toy or a treat in front of him may not be the best trick. Instead, try sitting on the bed or sofa—or wherever you plan to position the stairs—and call to your dog. If he tries to climb up without the stairs, give him a gentle scolding and place him in front of the stairs, repeating the process over until he uses the dog stairs correctly.
You may be interested in a more “extreme” method of training your dog to use his pet stairs. This method involves denying your dog total access to the furniture unless he uses the pet stairs to climb up. For instance, if your dog primarily likes to lie on your bed, but refuses to use the steps, tell him to get off—or bodily remove him if you have to. Place him in front of the steps and motion for him to climb up. Do not let him onto the bed until he uses the steps. As with any type of training, it’s good to encourage your dog with words of praise. Dogs respond more to their owner’s tone of voice more than the actual words, therefore a cheery “Good boy!” goes a long way in convincing your dog that he’s pleasing you when he uses the stairs.
For information about getting your dog a set of pet stairs, visit Help Your Pets.
Owning a dog can be a really amazing journey. They provide protection, companionship, and loyalty when you need them the most. The least you can do as repayment is to offer the same in return—and that includes making sure that he leads a healthy life.
There are many factors that can influence the health of your pet, but the single most important one is his diet. Many store-bought dog foods do not provide the highest-quality nutrients; while they will give your dog just what he needs to function, they do not support a healthy lifestyle.
Some symptoms of ill health can be traced back to the not-so-nutritious food a dog is being fed. These symptoms include large and foul-smelling poo, increase in flatulence or burping, shedding that doesn’t seem to stop, a proneness to ear and skin infection, as well as energy loss or hyperactivity.
The best way for you to understand your dog’s dietary needs is to find out what nutrients should be included in his food. Overall, dogs need a total of 45 nutrients, which can be broken down into the following five categories: Protein, Carbs, Fats (saturated and polyunsaturated), Vitamins, and Minerals. Of course, your dog needs plenty of water, too! There must be a balance of these nutrients in order for your dog to maintain a healthy body.
However, not all brands of dog food provide all of these nutrients. Even expensive, premium commercial dog foods often contain ingredients that are simply not good for your dog. For example, the first ingredient in a dog food may be “meat,” but what kind of meat is it? If the species isn’t specified, it could be just about anything: Animals that were dead or dying when they reached the slaughterhouse. Animals that were diseased. Cancerous tumors. In some cases, plants that supply pet food companies use road-kill and dead pets from animal shelters and veterinarians’ offices. You can read more about this by checking out the Confidential Dog Food Report.
If you want to be sure that your dog food is up to scratch, the best way is to learn how to read dog food labels. If you find that your current brand of dog food is unsatisfactory, hunt around by reading labels until you find one that meets your dog’s needs. The greatest gift you can give your dog is a chance at a long and healthy life.
To learn more about dog food company cover-ups and how to find a healthy dog food, visit Dog Food for Life.
We dog owners are always told that dog food provides everything our pet needs to lead a long and healthy life—but what if that isn’t true? Dog food, particularly the dry sort, can lose a great deal of the vital nutrients that your dog needs to remain in optimum health simply by how the food is produced. This article is going to open your eyes to the reality of the dry dog food preparation process and help you understand why it is important that you determine whether your dog may require a supplement of vitamins and minerals in his diet.
There are two main ways in which dry dog food is produced. The first consists of blending ingredients and feeding them through an extruder. The typical “main ingredient” is usually meat by-products (such as meat and bone meal), flour, or grains. Not the healthiest choice for a base ingredient, eh? A dough is created and fed and fed through the screws of the extruder, which will use steam and pressure to help it take shape. After the dough has been cut into bit-sized pieces and given time to harden, it is sprayed with fat or other composites to make it tasty. After the kibble has cooled it is bagged and shipped off. The other common way to product dog food is to subject the food to high temperatures and then broken up into edible pieces. This production style usually does not require that additional fats be sprayed on.
The cooking process that the pre-made dog food goes through might kill essential nutrients that are needed. While most pet foods will contain the “average” amount of recommended vitamins, they do not provide additional vitamins for protection against diseases. This is before we even consider the fact that the basic ingredient of most dog food is a meat by-product, which would be anything from road kill to euthanized animals.
Not only are vitamins an important dietary aspect that your dog may be lacking, but he is most likely missing out on minerals, as well. That’s right, just like us, dogs also need calcium, small amounts of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
So, you may be wondering how you can supplement your dog’s food? No, you don’t have to give him a pill or mix up a vitamin/mineral paste. All we mean when we say “supplement” is simply to add foods rich in vitamins and minerals to his diet. You could chop up a variety of vegetables to add to his dry food or puree them and mix it with his food. You could even consider switching your dog to the Raw Food Diet, found in the Dog Food for Life eBook.
If you are not giving your dog a vitamin supplement, take a good hard look at him. If you see he is losing weight, has skin lesions, or is losing his fur, then it is possible that he could have a vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is apparent when your dog loses some of his muscle tone. If you notice your dog might have a vitamin deficiency, talk to your vet to find out for sure. Your vet will either suggest that your dog begins to take the necessary vitamin or for you to change his food.
For more information about what nutrients should be part of a dog’s diet and what brands of food might not be providing them, visit Dog Food for Life.
Many of us pet owners do not give much thought to our dog’s teeth. However, it should be noted that pets seldom experience tooth decay, due to their non-acidic saliva, cone-shaped teeth and natural cleaning from their habit of chewing and gnawing. This being said, that does not mean that dogs are completely impervious to infection and tartar buildup. An owner who notices that his pet has bad breath must recognize this as a sign that infection is already present and that tartar has already built up. Tartar can be found below the gums and breeds bacterial growth, leading to inflammation.
One way to prevent infection is by brushing your dog’s teeth. Yes, that’s right! Toothpastes and toothbrushes designed especially for dogs are already available in the market. The finger brush - similar to that for the human infant - is a rubber hood worn by the owner over his finger. The product has soft rubber bristles on one side and is used by the owner to clean the teeth and massage the gums of his pet. The finger brush can later be replaced by a regular dog toothbrush after the pet becomes accustomed to the cleaning process.
