There used to be a time, long ago, when our population was common to have dogs that were hunters which would go out and retrieve game, some were shepherds herding sheep, and others had the job of guarding property. And during these times, man would let their canine workers roam the lands with free reign.

Eventually, old dogs had to be replaced with new ones; new blood was needed to carry on the tasks of simple existence. However, populations are no longer sparse in today’s world. Millions of homeless dogs die on the streets and in animal shelters every year. Unfortunately, when it comes to breeding these animals, the old ways still persist. Dogs are bred indiscriminately and little thought is given to the ultimate future of the scores of unlucky offspring which result from such matings.

In direct opposition to the methods used to control human overpopulation, current methods of controlling pet overpopulation are frequently aimed at incarcerating stray, unwanted pets. In their efforts to perpetuate a worthy species, a serious breeder chooses good stock, exercises discretion, and familiarizes him or herself with the basics of reproduction. Hopefully, the following discussion will provide some worthwhile insights into the reproductive process.

The Reproductive Cycle

“Proestrus” is the active stage of the reproductive cycle, occurring just before mating. Biological changes in the female reproductive organs during proestrus are far-reaching and affect many body systems. For our purposes, the most important changes are: a dramatic increase in the size of the female’s external sex organs and the onset of a blood-tingled general discharge (which is used to estimate breeding time).

Eleven days after the general discharge begins, females are ready to mate. This is an average based on statistics. Every dog is an individual and may vary from the norm by one or two days. During proestrus, male dogs are ready, however, females rarely except the male during this period. Proestrus lasts about nine days.

“Estrus” is the active stage of the reproductive cycle and follows proestrus. During estrus, the female accepts the male and the mating occurs. Mating takes place early in estrus, which is at the time of ovulation.

“Metestrus” immediately follows estrus provided pregnancy does not occur. In this stage the reproductive organs slowly return to a quiescent state. A condition called false pregnancy may occur during metestrus. It results when sex hormones function abnormally to stimulate pregnancy.

“Anestrus,” a time of complete inactivity of the reproductive organs, follows metestrus and lasts three months. The onset of proestrus marks the completion of the cycle.

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Question:

“A friend of mine gave me a mixed pup that she was unable to keep. He’s over a year old now. He was about 7 months old when she got him and had been a bit bullied by the other dogs in the kennel. When she got him home she had a great deal of difficulty with trying to housebreak him, as she was gone most of the time. She also had another small dog from January to June, during which time she underwent a divorce. Then “Spuds” (the new dog) was left almost totally alone during the entire summer.

What I am wondering is how to get my own dog to adjust to Tiger. The dog training books are full of virtually no help in obtaining information on dogs (and cats – I have one of those, too) adjusting to each other.

How do I get them to eat their own food? Also, the new dog drinks water and drips all over the floor. What do I do about sleeping quarters? The other two have been used to sleeping with me. And how do I get them to go potty outside and to tell me when he wants to?”

Our Answer:

There are virtually no guaranteed methods of inducing individual dogs and/or cats to tolerate each other. Just like people, some will never get along well, however, most at least become mutually tolerant if given enough time. Typically, a dominance order must be established, and this may involve a few non-violent “skirmishes” between the animals.

In reference to the food bowl problem, this is quite common, even in animals which have established friendly relationships. During a meal (often several times during a given meal), the dominant individual will horn in on another individual who in turn may move over to the vacated bowl or attempt to separate a third party from his bowl.

The best solution for this kind of problem is not to decide who should eat from what bowl and when. Let them decide – and if someone is getting less than he needs (or more), simply feed them in separate rooms.

About the sloppy water drinking, unfortunately this is just a bad habit which is virtually impossible to correct.

In regards to sleeping quarters, where do you want the new dog to sleep? If you find two dogs and a cat in your bed mutually tolerable, then fine. However, I’ve known a number of dogs that were not particularly cozy with their owners at bed time, and suffered no psychological problems.

Housebreaking requires patience and perseverance. Although several techniques are outlined in many dog training books, the one “best” method seems to be frequent trips outside, especially after eating, and gentle (but firm) reprimands for “accidents”, which should be immediately followed with a trip outside to the potty area.

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Just uploaded a Blog theme for you to use on your Dog or Puppy blog for free. If you want to see what it looks like then take a look at Puppy Training and then download it below. It’s a zip file and to save it to your own computer you should right click and then choose “Save Target as”

Rights Statement

You may use this theme on your own blog as long as the theme remains intact and you do not make any alterations other than by adding text to the header.

It is a stipulation that the link in the footer must remain in place and live if you use the theme on any of your blogs.

dogswordpresstheme.zip

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I know that many of our visitors here at Ask About Dogs are keen to ensure that their pets are insured but are confused by the choices available. I thought I would share with you a site I have come across that seems to provide some good advice about Affordable Pet Insurance and also more general pet care.

Take a look at it by going to Affordable Pet Insurance

Whilst I was searching for sites I also came across one which covers a subject that is close to my heart and also covers a subject that a lot of people have asked me about - How to Blog - take a look by clicking on that link.

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I have a free Dog Training Report for all my visitors here at Ask About Dogs. You can download it by right clicking on the link below which is a .pdf and selecting “save target as” to save it to your own computer.

Dog Training Basics.

Enjoy!

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Bringing a canine furry four-footed member into the family can be an exciting and fun time. After all, who can resist the cute factor of impish little puppies? The problem is that the cute factor wears off when you start finding your shoes and furniture chewed on and little piddles on your floor and rug. Before you adopt a dog into the family, make sure that you have a game plan ahead of time in regards to some obedience training. This can be some simple commands to provide a basis for good behavior around the home to the more elaborate commands if you decide to join dog competitions with your dog.

The most important reason that dog obedience should be considered is that you will get a well-behaved pet who loves you. Teaching your dog some key training commands will also strengthen your rapport with him and develop a solid relationship. In addition, this obedience training will serve your dog in good stead whenever you travel or have visitor over to your home. So which key training commands should you teach your dog? There are six of them: come, sit, and stay, down, heel and off. Read on for more information about each one:

1. The Come Command – This is the command that can minimize the trouble your dog could get into. Some people feel that it is also the most important command a dog could know. If your dog can respond to your “come” command, you will have an excellent foundation for other commands. This command is especially helpful if strangers come knocking on your door like the mailman, pizza delivery and even cute girl scouts.

2. The Sit Command – When you work on the sit command, it works best teaching it in tandem with the stay command as well. The sit command is especially beneficial to you because you can essentially get your dog to stay in one place wherever you tell him, even if tempting company comes over like other people, dogs or even cats.

3. The Stay Command – This particular command is especially helpful because it can keep your family pooch away from potential trouble. Or, if you are especially focused on a task like cooking or painting, the stay command could keep them away from the area.

4. The Down Command – If you dog is easily excited, chances are that he is a jumper. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys that type of exuberance, especially from a dog! The down command will help you curb your dog’s tendency to jump when easily excited. Plus, if you wish for you dog to perform a few tricks, the down command is a popular one.

5. The Heel Command – This is an important command which gives you peace of mind whenever you are out, especially in a public place with your dog. The heel command teaches your dog to walk right next to you so that you don’t have to worry about him running off and having to chase him. You can teach this heel command to your pooch both on and off a leash.

6. The Off Command – If your dog is a jumper, the off command can easily curb those tendencies. Some people are frightened when a dog jumps on them, especially children. The off command can quickly diffuse a potentially sticky situation.

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I am delighted to let you know that we have just launched a completely f-r-e-e Social Network aimed at all the Dog Owners and Lovers - and not forgetting the puppy owners of course!

Want to take a look now: http://www.dogsandpuppiesonline.com/

Here’s a quick summary of some of the many features of our new Social Network:

Completely free membership!

Gifts for you which will help you with your dog.

Access to special offers and discounts we have negotiated for you with dog supply organisations.

Growing range of Content and Forums to help you with your Dog or Puppy including a Dog Training Forum.

You can invite new members, meet new people, and make new friends at Dogs and Puppies.

You have access to a full message center with address book importing from Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Hotmail if you want it.

You can see which members of your network are online now.

Your own profile pages which you can customise to reflect you and your dog

Photo slideshows, video players and network badges, that can be embeded anywhere on the Internet.

You can set different privacy settings for every photo, video, group, or blog post they contribute.

and much more…….

Take a look at Dogs and Puppies now!

I look forward to seeing you as a member.

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Diet should be light and confined to fluids for a few days, and glucose should be added to all drinks. There is always loss of blood with which to contend; shock may still be present in a mild degree and fluid mixed with glucose will do much to remedy this.

The return to normal diet should be gradual by way of such light, easily digested fare as baked custards, white fish boiled in milk, brown bread and milk, lightly boiled eggs, etc. Virol is excellent for convalescent patients, whether medical or surgical.

When solid diet is permitted this should be especially nourishing—for instance, four meals a day; breakfast of cereal and milk; for mid-day feed, a generous allowance of raw meat or boiled rabbit plus whole meal and halibut oil; for tea, an egg beaten up in milk, and for the evening meal, raw meat or fish.

These body building foods (or proteins, as we call them)—meat, fish, milk and eggs—are needed to replace the protein being used by the body to repair the injured tissues. In much the same way the nursing and expectant bitch is fed liberally with these protein foods to help her to replace her own “body builders” which are being used for the growth and nourishment of her puppies.

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The care of post-operation cases will depend to a large extent on the nature and severity of the operation, and whether surgical measures have been carried out as the culmination of a long, serious illness or in a dog whose general condition is excellent. Constitutional disturbance is either absent or very slight where a minor operation is performed (i.e., to correct inverted eyelids) but may be very great in a serious abdominal condition.

If the dog needs much in the way of skilled attention—difficult dressings, stimulants, and so on—he will probably be kept at the veterinary hospital or clinic as long as these are required. Similarly, if the dog’s post-operative condition is such that removal would be dangerous he will be kept until it is safe for him to return to his owner. Dogs, particularly pet dogs, usually recover more quickly at home, and veterinary surgeons for this reason try to return an animal as speedily as possible. The anxious amateur nurse may have the dog’s care on her hands sooner than she imagined!

If feasible, she should try to find out at the hospital whether the dog has to be kept as much at rest as possible, and what his general condition is. Dogs, unlike human patients, are not confined to bed as a rule after an operation unless they are so weak or shocked that rest and quiet are essential, in which case they will be kept in the hospital. Movement within reason is beneficial, and recent research has shown that human patients, too, are often better if exercise is encouraged from the start.

The bedding for a post-operative case should be freshly laundered—a light-coloured or white blanket is useful.

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Bringing home a new puppy is the equivalent to adding a new member to your family, literally. With this new edition comes lots of love and excitement, as well as new responsibilities, especially in his first few weeks at the house. These responsibilities include feeding him well and providing the pup with necessary supplies such as a crate, blanket, toys, etc. Most importantly, you need to make sure that he is healthy and will stay that way throughout his life.

Finding The Right Vet

A very important requirement that many new pet owners tend to overlook is finding the right veterinarian for their pets. Taking your puppy to the vet right away, preferably within the first two days of bringing him home, is a must. This is to ensure that he is in perfect health and that he is getting all of the preventive caring needed, like vaccinations and regular routine exams.

Your family and friends may be able to recommend you to a nearby vet clinic. You may also do your own research by calling several clinics and setting up an appointment to see the place and find out first hand if it is the right one for you and your pet.

Veterinarian Expenses

For many pet owners, finding the right vet is not the problem, but rather the costs of veterinary care. Visits to the vet can be pricey, even with minor cases such as getting his yearly vaccination or a routine checkup. In addition, an illness or severe injury can occur at any time, and many dog owners end up having to pay a lot of out-of-pocket expenses to the vet clinic. This is why it is highly recommended that you get pet insurance as soon as possible.

Having pet insurance is the best way to ensure that your puppy is getting the best health care possible. Pet insurance is a practical way to lessen the cost of veterinary expenses, whether it is related to routine care, accidents, or injuries. Pet insurance also covers the cost of minor surgeries, major surgeries, treatments for illnesses and diseases, and other medical procedures such as neutering or spaying.

Finding the right, affordable pet insurance is as easy as picking up the yellow pages or searching online. Most pet insurance plans offer a monthly premium that is less than what you typically pay for your cable bill. So yes in answer to the question - pet insurance is it worth it? - the answer is a very definite yes! Here are some great offers and opportunities to get some online pet insurance quotes:

Avoid Expensive Vet Bills. Insure your Pets Today!

Argos Pet Insurance

QuickCare Pet Insurance

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