Puppies

While curiosity and the ability to learn don't have expiration dates, young puppies have an important behavioral sweet spot" between the ages of 8 and 16 weeks. During this critical period

One of the things I've discovered in my puppy classes is that many people assume socialization is simply about getting your dog around lots of people to be petted and plenty of dogs to play with. This can be a piece of the socialization package, but remember that the goal of socialization is to get your pup accustomed to and comfortable with the world around him. Puppies need to be exposed in a pleasant way to the following things.

I don't care what breed or mix of breeds you're talking about, puppies are inarguably, impossibly and adorably cute. You have to be pretty...

Kennel cough, or tracheobronchitis, is comparable to the common cold in humans. Nevertheless, it is frightening to many new dog guardians to discover that their puppy or newly rescued dog has contracted the disease. An unrelenting goose-like cough is the hallmark of kennel cough in dogs, but fortunately, most cases are treated successfully at home. To ensure your puppy recovers from kennel cough in a minimal amount of time and without complication, Whole Dog Journal has outlined the necessary steps you, the concerned guardian, need to take.

Most people spend months preparing for the arrival of a new baby. They're just as likely, however, to bring a baby dog home on a whim, without any preparation at all. Small wonder they find themselves playing catch-up for weeks, months, years, or even getting rid of" the dog as they struggle to recover from the mistakes made in the pup's formative months. "

Puppies! Who doesn't love 'em? They're cute, cuddly, and silly. They look like little angels when they sleep, which is often. When they're awake,...

Puppy vaccine schedules can be daunting to new dog owners. Why do puppies need so many shots? Are all those puppy vaccinations really necessary? Most veterinarians recommend that puppies are vaccinated for distemper, parvovirus, and adenovirus (hepatitis) a number of times, starting when they are about four to six weeks old, and again every three or four weeks, with their last puppy vaccination" given after they are about 16 to 20 weeks old. "

There are many different ways of feeding dogs – commercially prepared dry, wet, semi-moist, freeze-dried, and frozen options, as well as home-prepared diets that are cooked or raw, including both BARF (bones and raw food) and prey-model methods. Because feeding can evoke a strong emotional response in the human who fills the food bowl – in our world, food is love, after all – our reflexive response is often to assume that the way we currently feed is the best way.

Does this collar make me look fat?" This is not a question your dog is likely to ever ask

Making a fresh look at the things we take for granted can be wonderfully enlightening. Sometimes, the little light bulb overhead begins to sizzle and sparkle, illuminating a new and better way of doing things. Consider this example: When some savvy veterinarians took a fresh look at performing spays, a surgery we've been doing the exact same way for decades, they came up with a revised technique that accomplishes all of the objectives of the spay surgery with fewer complications. How cool is that?

When dog lovers switch their pets from commercial food to a well-balanced, raw diet, they typically report improved health, brighter eyes, a shinier coat, calmer behavior, and easier yard cleanup chores. A puppy's first eight weeks set the stage for a lifetime of health or illness, so it isn't surprising that puppies weaned on raw food grow up to out-perform dogs weaned on kibble or canned food, even if both are fed raw food as adults. Raw-weaned puppies nearly exhaust their breeders' vocabularies, for these are the healthiest / strongest / liveliest / calmest / smartest / most wonderful pups that ever lived.

Can a highly stressful environment during pregnancy affect how puppies turn out? Imagine this: A young dog goes stray and lives on urban streets for two months, in almost constant fear. Kids chase her down a street, throwing rocks at her; she is attacked by another dog; and she struggles every day to scavenge enough to eat. At last she is apprehended by an animal control officer and brought to a shelter. Here she finally gets enough to eat, but she's still not able to relax; the shelter is full of strange smells and loud noises, her run is small, and the floor is hard. After she's been at the shelter for a few weeks, a shelter staff member realizes that she is pregnant and due very soon. The shelter puts her on the waiting list for a foster home, knowing that puppies don't do well when they grow up in shelters.