For all you Obama supporters why did he take 6 months to choose his dog but wants health care passed asap?

I recently learned that it took him six months to choose a dog but he’s in a big hurry to pass health care. His bill will set up a “Death Panel” to decide who will get treatment and who will die. I think that he’s like that Holocaust doctor Albert Mengele.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How To Choose The Right Dog Bowls For Your Dog?

There are many options available in today’s market. You should choose accordingly to your dog’s size, eating and drinking habits, your personal style and taste, and of course health and safety issues.

Plastic Dog bowls

Plastic bowls might be inexpensive, but some dogs become allergic to plastic and develop skin irritations, and/ or lose the pigmentation of their noses.

Plastic being porous, can trap dirt, odors and germs, which even your dishwasher will not be able to eliminate.

Plastic can also leach plasticizers (most commonly phthalates) and colorants, into your dog’s food, which are very harmful to its health.

Plastic bowls being lightweight will easily tip and spill over and can be chewed on by aggressive or playful dogs.

Ceramic Dog Bowls

Ceramic dog bowls can be a good choice if chosen wisely.

They are usually heavy enough to be spill-proof, but some decorative glazes can contain lead and other toxics (mainly found in foreign products). So it is important to make sure that the bowls were intended for food usage and have a lead-free glaze finish.

Check the bowls regularly for cracks (especially fine ones which can be difficult to detect), chips and scratches, as they encourage the growth of bacteria. If such a bowl becomes damaged, do not attempt to super-glue it! It is not safe for your dog! Just replace it.

Stainless Steel Dog Bowls

They are the most healthy choice for your dog. Stainless steel has been the material of choice for food processing, dairy and brewery industries. It is durable, sanitary, rust-free, and non-leaching. Such bowls will also last a lifetime.

For Older Dogs Or Taller Dogs 

Getting an elevated dog feeder for a taller or older dog (or both), is a good idea since it will help them to eat and drink more comfortably from a dog feeder which is at a more natural body level. They are much more comfortable for older dogs with arthritis, have bad backs, or joint or muscular pain.

For a dog with stiff or sore muscles or joints, bending down to eat can be uncomfortable or painful. An elevated dog dish will encourage him to eat more in a more comfortable manner.

Elevated dog feeders reduce food and water gulping. This will prevent some rare, but serious conditions: bloat (or volvulus), and mega-esophagus, which is a condition when the food accumulates into the esophagus instead of descending to the stomach .This can lead to regurgitation and vomiting.

Again, with an elevated dog feeder, the dog’s head being more raised as he eats, gravity will draw the food down into its stomach.

Some are outfitted with a single bowl or double bowls to accommodate your space or your dog’s drinking and eating habits

And if bending causes you discomfort, you won’t need to bend down as much to pick up or put down heavy, full dog dishes: the stainless steel bowls are light enough to remove for easy cleaning and filling.

Keep Your dog bowls Clean

Whichever kind of dog bowls you opt for, always keep them clean. Hand-wash them in warm, soapy water (and rinse them well), or run them through the dishwasher regularly. This will prevent any unhealthy build up of any sort on the bowls.

If you have an elevated feeder, wipe its top often to keep it dry and clean. Also, when choosing a raised dog feeder, check wrought iron dog bowl stands for safety, as a few accidents have been reported: some dog’s collar tags have been caught onto unsafe metal stands which can harm your dog or just scare him off enough so he will not want to use its new feeder.

A healthy dog, is a happy dog!

Execive barking- how to choose and use the right anti bark collar for your dog

A dogs bark is a natural form of communication, however, when a dog barks excessively it is usually a symptom of an underlying problem. Let us look now at some of the more common reasons for excessive dog barking, and consider what may be the cause of your dogs barking.

Are your dogs physical needs being properly met, for example, does he have enough food water, adequate shelter and so on. If not, he may be trying to communicate his discomfort to you through his obsessive barking behaviour.

Does your dog receive adequate daily exercise that is adequate for his breed type and plenty of mental stimulation, or does he spend his hours in the garden with no contact from you or your family. If this is the case with your dog, Boredom may be the cause of his unwanted barking.

Does your dog spend much of the day alone at home while you are at work. If the answer is yes, his problem barking may stem from an exaggerated reaction to being left alone or what is referred to as separation anxiety.

Many dogs who bark constantly and unnecessarily are what you could describe as stimulus barkers. These dogs bark obsessively in response to the telephone or doorbell ringing. Is this your Dog?

Do you own a breed who is quite naturally possessive and protective of it’s owners? If the answer is yes, his barking may be due to him having become overprotective.

What about your dogs individual personality, could this be a factor in his obsessive barking? Dogs who have highly strung or nervous personalities can sometimes develop obsessive defensive barking behviour.

Finally, another common cause of excessive and unwanted barking is due to dogs manipulating theor owners. This type of behaviour is more common with smaller dogs, howerver, big dogs can be just adept at barking constantly to get what they want.

Has your dog visited it’s vet recently and been given a clean bill of health? If not, you might consider that poor or failing health may be the root cause of his constant barking. Consider having your dogs health checked before you eliminate poor health as being a reason for your dogs barking.

Now that you have determined the underlying cause of your dogs excessive barking behaviour, you next need to consider whether using an anti bark collar would be the best method in helping him or her overcome this unwanted behaviour. Please remember that when using this type of device, in most cases you are administering a punisher to your dog, therefore, for obvious reasons, it would be ufair to use such a device on a dog who’s barking is a result of separation anxiety or fear for example.

Have you tried any other conventional training methods to put an end to your dogs obsessive barking? If you haven’t tried to tackle the problem in this way, then you might consider this as an option before moving on to using an anti bark collar.

Let us assume then you have tried other forms of training and your dog is still a hard core barker. Let also assume you have decided your dogs motivation for barking warrants the use of an anti barking collar. What is the correct collar for the job? Well, there are basically three types of devices available. Let us look at them individually.

Sonic collar

The Sonic type of collar can be fitted to the dog and left, as it is triggered by movement in the dogs throat. When triggered the collar emits a high pitched sound that is inaudible to the human ear. The high pitched tone is meant to interrupt the dog from barking, whereupon the dogs owner can intervene with positive reinforcement.

Spray collars

This type of anti bark collar commonly emits a squirt of citronella spray at the dogs snout. Again this can be done automatically; or via a remote control. The only possible problem one could imagine to be related to this kind of collar is the use of citronella; dogs have what is called a Vomeronasal organ situated in the roof of the mouth that forms part of the olfactory system and this allows them to taste certain smells if you will. Scent molecules rest on this bonny plate, so as the dog can analyses them. As cironella has a strong lemony smell, this could remain on the vomeronasal organ for some time, therefore when the dog has received a squirt of citronella for barking (a punisher) and stops at once because of the obnoxious smell, the scent or punisher may still remain on the vomeronasal organ for some time after.

An alternative to this this type of collar is a device similar which sprays plain water along with a blast of compressed air.

Ecollar or shock collar

This type of collar is often used when training dogs in the military or police service, where there is a very high degree of complience required from the dog. Unfortunately however, they have recently become popular training devices generally.

The more commonly used type is triggered by a sensor. This kind of collar emits a bleeping sound, that acts as a warning to let the dog know if it persists a punishment will follow.

The second type of electronic collar is operated via a remote control. Different levels of shock are available to the trainer; from low to high and anywhere in between.This collar should never be used other than by a professional who has experience of such devices, and when all other methods of retraining the dog have been exhausted. Using one of these devices correctly, requires exact timing along side positive reinforcement training techniques.

A guide to choose the most reliable and advance dog food

Colorful bags and slick advertisements often confuse these customers while purchasing dog food in Sydney. However, the confusion can be easily eliminated by a careful study of dog/ cat food with respect to your pet. There are in fact a number of aspects attached with the selection of right dog/ cat food for your pet such as: 

Your dog’s/ cat’s size Breed of your dog/ cat Your dog’s/ cat’s everyday activity level Your dog’s/ cat’s life stage And the health conditions associated with your pet. 

 

Without considering these factors, you can not cater to your dog’s basic needs. Some of the leading names associated with dog food Sydney include eukanuba dog food, hills science diet dog food, royal canin dog food, eagle pack dog food, iams dog food, supercoat dog food and pedigree dog food. But for choosing the right dog food among them you need to consider the above given factors. 

? Size of your pet: Your dog’s size plays an important role in deciding the amount of advance dog food that should be fed to your pet. Usually good brands such as royal canin dog food and royal canin cat food contain feeding regulations and even the approximate amounts label is present on the bag. These labels are to guide you about the needs of your specific dog. 

? Breed of your dog: It is important to note that the specific nutritional requirements of dogs vary according to their breeds. Certain breeds require more nutrition than others in order to live the best possible lifestyle. Manufacturers of dog food Sydney are well-acquainted with such issues and to overcome such problems have started producing breed specific cat and dog food products. 

? Your dog’s/ cat’s everyday activity level: Dogs with high energy require food with higher calories. Calorie rich food such as eukanuba dog food, hills science diet dog food, eagle pack dog food, iams dog food, supercoat dog food and pedigree dog food are appropriate for working dogs, as they remain highly active while assisting their masters in daily tasks. 

? Your dog’s/ cat’s life stage: Even the life stage of your dog plays a vital role in opting for a dog food. Nutritional needs keep on changing with the passage of time and different life stages have different nutritional needs. Puppies require a protein rich, high calorie dog food, whereas adult dogs require a balanced dog food including all the necessary elements. Senior dogs have special requirements and different needs. Therefore, it is impossible to serve the similar kind of advance dog food to every dog. 

With so many choices available in the markets, you may find difficult to choose an apt dog food for your pet, but these important factors can guide you a long way.