Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Cat Breeding Facts You Shouldn't Ignore

The population of cats is the United States alone is unbelievable. Nearly all experts will tell you that you should spay your cat instead of breed it. No matter what experts have to say, a lot of people want to have a litter of kittens from their cat. Before you decide to breed your cat, there are a few things that you should think about.

The first thing you should know is that breeding cats takes time. For the next two months after the litter is born, you’ll need to clean the area on a daily basis. You’ll also need to watch over the kittens as well, and keep a close eye on how they are developing. If you plan to breed a litter of cats, you won’t have time for much of anything else.

Breeding cats will also require a good degree of space as well. If you have a small apartment, you shouldn’t attempt to breed a cat. You should also make sure that your family agrees with the idea, as it isn’t good for the kittens if you keep them locked up. Keep in mind that kittens like to see things; they’ll end up going all over your home as well.

Breeding cats also requires a degree of responsibility as well. You should always have a plan of approach, including homes for the kittens to go that you aren’t planning to keep. Keep in mind that things can change, someone who wanted a cat may change his mind once the litter is born. In this event, you must decide whether or not you can keep a kitten that doesn’t have a home.

Breeding also requires some education as well. You should be prepared for any problems along the way, as well as what takes place during birth. From cutting umbilical cords to delivering early, you’ll need to be well prepared. You should also have the proper supplies, and know how to handle things in the event of a c-section. You’ll also need to know what to feed pregnant cats, as their diets are very important if you are breeding.

Breeding will also cost money as well, with kittens costing a lot more money than you may think. The food isn’t the only thing that’s expensive, as the vet bills can also get expensive. Even though you may go through the entire pregnancy without going to the vet, you’ll still need de-worming and vaccination medicines as well.

In short, there is a lot to think about where breeding is concerned. If you have your mind set on it and you want to breed, you should be sure that you have the proper knowledge and everything you need before hand. You should always be ready to handle anything associated with breeding – and prepare yourself for the worst possible scenario.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

What Kind Of Dog Training Equipment is Best?

When it comes to training your new dog, what sort of equipment should you use? Are plain old treats and a stern voice enough? Or do you need more specialized items if you want your dog to be fully trained? It all depends on how much you want to teach your dog as well as how serious you are about it. If you're just trying to teach your dog to sit, you probably don't need a bunch of equipment. However, if you have been trying to teach your dog to do tricks as well as run around a track for something like a dog show, you're going to need a little more than just plain old dog treats.

There are many things you can teach a dog to do. The most common tricks that people try to teach their dogs, besides how to be housetrained, is how to sit, stay and roll over. There are also tricks such as shaking the paw, playing dead and so on, but those are harder to teach than the basic three. To start, even if you just want to teach a few tricks, you should get some dog training equipment. You should get a pinch collar. That's a choke collar with prongs that's made of chain that loops through itself. When the dog pulls on it, it sort of chokes them. It doesn’t hurt the dog but it does teach it not to pull on the leash. You'll also want to get dog training equipment such as a leash, some treats and a clicker or a whistle. These will be used to reinforce the dog's behavior.

When teaching your dog with your dog training equipment, you want to focus more on reinforcement as opposed to punishment. If your dog isn't listening to you, that's your fault; it's not the dog's. When your dog does something you like, reinforce that behavior. Give it a treat when it sits like you want it to, give it a pat and tell it good boy or girl when it rolls over like you want. These will keep the dog interested and will make sure they know what you want them to do. When you use punishment, your dog may become confused and may not know why it's being punished. That's why you should always use positive reinforcement along with dog training equipment to teach your dog.

Use the dog training equipment such as the leash and the choke chain to set your boundaries. That way, your dog will know not to stray from the training ground. Use the clicker or whistle to instruct the dog to do whatever trick you're teaching it and use the treats as positive reinforcement. The key to training your dog is consistency and persistence. It's not going to take a day and it's not going to take three days. It's going to take a week or two or more for your dog to become fully trained. But as long as you stick with it, and show your dog how good he or she is doing, the sky's the limit on what you can teach it to do. Who knows, you may be able to work with dog agility training equipment so that it can do real tricks like a police or circus dog. That will be way in the future, however. For now, you'd better stick to the basics so as not to confuse your new best friend.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Good Ingredients for Homemade Dog Food

Recently, many famous commercial dog foods have been recalled, as they caused food poisoning, which was fatal in few cases. If owners are concerned about the overall health and well-being of their pets, it is important to ensure that they get healthy and uncontaminated food. A good combination for dog food should have 75% carbohydrates and 25% meat.

A simple recipe for a healthy homemade dog food would be to combine and cook ground meat, brown rice and vegetables in water. As dogs are not able to digest the vegetables well, it is advisable to grind them in the food processor thoroughly before adding to the food. The dog food should always be served at the room temperature and amount of water added to it may vary as per the dog’s liking.

Rice is a good source of carbohydrates, and brown rice is better than white rice as it contains more nutrients. Some grocers and health stores have brewer’s yeast, which is good for dogs. Corn flour, whole-wheat flour and soy flour make good homemade dog food ingredients. Flaxseed oil and cod liver oil should be used in small amounts to keep their coats shiny. Meats that should be included are beef, liver, tuna, chicken and lamb.

Other important homemade dog food ingredients that are enjoyed by the dogs are biscuits and peanut butter, and they can be made at home using wheat flour, powdered milk, carrots and brewers yeast. Peanuts are one of the very few nuts that can be safely given to your pet.

Vegetables like broccoli, carrots and spinach are great homemade dog food ingredients, but they must be put through the food processor so that dogs can easily digest them. Bone meal can also be added to the dog food to ensure enough calcium in their diet.

Some food items that must be avoided as homemade dog food ingredients are chocolates as they can cause seizures in dogs, coffee and tea can also cause seizures, grapes and raisins can cause kidney failures, macadamia nuts can cause tremors in dogs, onions interfere with blood circulation and nutmeg can also cause seizures. Raw meat and poultry may contain certain bacteria, parasites or salmonella that can cause poisoning in dogs.

If you are not sure about the healthy homemade dog food ingredients, talk to your vet, as they will be able to guide the ideal diet as per age and weight of the dog. Some people these days are also opting for natural homemade dog food, which is of good quality, and offers minerals, vitamins and enzymes that are required by the pet’s good health. There are no-preservatives added making them absolutely safe for your pet.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Make Your Dog Smile With Wellness Dry Dog Food

When you are faced with choosing a new dog food for your four legged best friend it can sometimes be too much to handle. It seems like there are a hundred different kinds of pet food out there and it’s impossible to decide which one is best for your dog. Wellness dry dog food is a good choice if you would like to choose a dog food that provides all the nutrients and natural ingredients needed for maintaining a happy and healthy pet. There are plenty of benefits of using this brand of dog food for your, the great Wellness dog food review that this product gets from owners is just one.

If you have a large breed dog then you know how important it is to have a good source of protein for your dog. Wellness dry dog food uses high quality protein; this translates to lean muscle mass in your dog. You can be sure that the protein does not come from inferior animal by products. In other words there is actual meat in this dog food.

While dogs are descended from wolves, your pooch needs more than just meat in its diet. Wellness dry dog food understands this perfectly and provides a balanced diet for your pet by adding carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and important minerals to your pet’s daily diet.

Vegetables and starches are just as important in a dog’s diet. This dog food combines the right kind of ingredients to give you a balanced dog food. Feeding your dog only protein is bad and this is why Wellness dry dog food is perfect.

Another great thing about Wellness dry dog food is that it also includes ingredients that promote good digestive health. Some dog foods neglect this aspect of a dog’s daily nutrition but this is one dog food company that understands holistic health.

The most important part of any dog food is the taste, it doesn’t matter how good the food is for Fido, if it doesn’t taste good then there’s no point. You can be assured that Wellness dry dog food tastes great and your dog will lap it up and be hungry for more.

You can make sure that your dog gets good nutrition with this brand while at the same time enjoys every meal time. Not something that is easy to do. Any owner with a picky dog will understand the difficulty of combining these two things.