Ticks and fleas are an annoyance for your dog and for you, not to mention they can cause health problems. There are many different powders and sprays out there, but with their chemical-based formulas, they could be harmful to the pet?s health or to yours.

Don?t worry - those powders and sprays aren?t your only means of defense against these tiny tyrants. You can fight them off with natural remedies that are safe for everyone and can be effective for your dog.

Check out your local pet store. They offer many different products for your dog in regards to flea and tick care that are made from all natural ingredients. They have no chemicals that could be unsafe for your pets or family, but they have ingredients that are very effective in getting rid of the pesky pests.

They have powders and sprays with no harmful chemicals. You can find shampoos and special flea brushes to remove them from our dog?s coat. There are some treatments that you can apply directly to the dog?s skin that won?t harm the dog in any way, but will kill the fleas.

Another option is the special-made flea collar that helps repel the fleas but doesn?t have any harsh chemicals that could seep through the dog?s skin so there?s no risk with other pets coming in contact with the collar.

Keep your dog and your home clean. Bathe your dog at least once a week and brush out their fur daily if possible. Vacuum the carpets in your home and keep the pet?s bedding clean as much as possible.

Fleas and ticks thrive in warm, humid areas and they will lay their eggs in these places, so it?s best to vacuum these areas often. You can use products like borax or some dry powdered laundry detergents to sprinkle on the carpets to let sit for a few minutes.

This kills the fleas and their eggs, so you can vacuum them up and be rid of them. Make sure your pets and any children aren?t around when you do it. They?re not known to be harmful, but it?s always best to be safe.

There are some homemade treatments that many pet owners claim to work very well. It?s advised to consult your veterinarian to make sure these treatments really are safe.

Garlic and brewer?s yeast have been reported as an effective treatment for killing and preventing fleas on your dogs. Please use these treatments with caution. It?s also very important that you keep your lawn mowed and keep any foliage within the yard trimmed back, so the fleas have a tougher time getting to your dog.

If you take all of the preventative measures possible, you can eliminate the need for chemical-based treatments that could be harmful for your dog. Along with that, use environmentally safe products and your dog will be much healthier.

With the unfortunate increase in pet food recalls, dog owners throw their hands in the air wondering what exactly they can feed their dogs that?s actually safe and won?t be recalled the day after purchase.

We?ve since learned that one manufacturer used wheat gluten in their food, which caused most of the problems the first time. People started reading the labels of the food in hopes to find a safer product to give to their pets.

Unfortunately, this was proven to be a waste of time, since another manufacturer reportedly used a rice concentrate in one company?s dog food, but didn?t put the ingredient on the food label of the package.

Dog owners are now frustrated from all of these recalls and a new fear sets in - what food is actually safe? Because of this fear, many dog owners are now feeding their pets homemade human food.

It may sound like an easy solution to the problem, but it?s not really the best option. Human food can make a dog or any other pet sick. Their digestive systems aren?t built for it, so introducing human food can cause just as many problems as the recalled pet food if you?re not careful.

Not all human food is bad, though. If you decide to make your own food for your dog then make sure you?re giving healthy organic food. There should be nothing with artificial ingredients or any chemically sprayed food.

Organic will be the best way to go if you want to make your own food for your dog. If making your own food for your dog doesn?t really appeal to you, then look for dog foods that have the least amount of grains.

Although there really isn?t any evidence that grains will cause all of these problems, it seems to make sense, since grains have been used as fillers for the pet food in the last few years.

Some experts offer some tips of what to look for on the ingredients label of your dog food. They state that the first three ingredients of the label should be some kind of protein - such as beef, chicken, fish or turkey.

It?s important that the dog food have a good amount of protein. These experts also state that you should never buy any dog food product that doesn?t have the company name, phone number or web address clearly listed on the package.

You should have a way to contact someone if something should happen. You should avoid buying the generic labeled or store brand labeled dog food products, since these are manufactured from bulk suppliers. Look for a good brand name product to feed to your dog instead.

Dog food can be safe, but you need to be an advocate for your dog and make sure he?s eating healthy foods. Read the labels and make sure the food is of high quality and you can avoid the problems caused by the pet food recalls.

Dogs are considered man?s best friend and some consider their dog a part of their family. Do you insist that your friends and your family see a doctor regularly? Is it because you care very much for them and want to make sure they stay healthy?

Your dog should be no different. They need to see their doctor on a regular basis as well. A lot of dog owners only take their dogs to the vet when the dog is sick or injured.

It?s very important that the dog see the vet for regular checkups as well. Sometimes the emergency appointments are very costly and could have been avoided with regular visits to the vet.

Here are some reasons why taking your dog to the vet is important:

Shots - Dogs need to have regular shots in order to stay healthy. Their shots can prevent many diseases and can prolong their life span, so they can be around for a long time to come. If a dog is left unvaccinated, then he can easily contract diseases, which can be costly to you in the end in order to try to treat them.

Ear Mites - Ear mites are common with dogs. It?s important to have your dog be seen by a vet regularly to keep on top of these infestations. The vet can determine how severe the infestation is and prescribe appropriate medication to help treat it. If it?s left untreated, bacteria can grow within the tissues and find its way to the dog?s brain, possibly causing death.

Fleas and Ticks - These are also common among dogs. It?s important that they be treated right away. Your vet can help you determine how bad the situation is and provide the necessary treatments to keep the infestation from causing too many problems.

Worms - Worms are also common with dogs and they can easily be treated, but since there are so many different types of worm infestations and different treatments, a vet is more qualified to examine the dog to figure out which type of worm has invaded your pet and what the best treatment is for them.

Dental Health - A vet will sometimes clean a dog?s teeth for you or explain the best way for you to clean them. It?s important for the vet to check the dog?s teeth to prevent bacteria from growing and getting out of hand.

Bacteria can cause all sorts of ailments for a dog, so keep on top of your dog?s dental health and prevent any costly treatments that you could incur if their dental needs are left unchecked.

A dog?s health is just as important as your family?s. Prevention of ailments is always the key to a long and healthy life, so take care of your dog and get them checked on a regular basis.

A vet is trained to recognize many different ailments, sometimes detecting them long before things go wrong. Your dog could live to a ripe, old age with the proper care and the watchful eye of his veterinarian.

Ours dogs are an important part of our family life and they rely on us understanding their needs, as they cannot talk to us.

Fortunately, dogs are resilient but they still do need proper care and attention which includes regular exercise and good food.

One of the benefits of owning a dog is knowing that they need exercise makes us get out and exercise too. So you could say that owning a dog actually keeps humans healthier! Certainly, owning a well-trained dog has been credited with keeping us a lot happier.

All a dog needs to be happy and content is to understand the rules, and good training ensures this is covered; adequate shelter; access to fresh water; good food and regular exercise. It’s not much to ask.

Just as the wrong foods can be damaging for our health. There are certain foods which are not good for our dogs. Grapes and chocolate spring to mind as obvious culprits.

I’ll be writing a more detailed article on dangerous foods for dogs in the near future.

A well trained dog is a sociable dog and is far less likely to get into fights with other dogs so exercise becomes a time of fun and pleasure for you both.

Being able to rely on the responses and reactions of your dog is an essential prerequisite when you have children around. You cannot run the risk of any animal harming a child just because that child did not know how to behave around animals.

In many respects, having a well trained dog is the same as having well trained children! In both cases the home tends to be a happier place as a result with less stress and squabbles.

Whilst it can take time to train a dog, depending on your commitment to the process and the intelligence of the dog, this time pays dividends in the future and is well worth the investment.

If you want to train your dog, begin with the simplest of commands -

Down: asking your dog to lay down on command

Heel: asking your dog to walk beside you and not race ahead

No: easy to say in any circumstance and the dog will know that it means ’stop what you are doing right now’

Sit: an obedience command which is useful in so many situations

Stay: an essential obedience command to keep both your dog and others safe.

Just by mastering these 5 simple dog training commands you will improve your relationship with your pet simply because you will have put boundaries in place which everyone understands.

Dogs are pack animals and in all packs there is a pecking order. When your dog joins your pack it will be instinctively driven to get as high in that order as it can! This is Alpha territory. By training your dog, you are clearing placing yourself as the leader of the pack and you’ll find that your dog will be happy to take orders from you and take your lead.

Dogs that are untrained display a whole range of behavioural and psychological problems They can often get depressed, despondent, and unhappy and display symptoms of anxiety and confusion. Dogs, just like humans, need to know where they fit in the scheme of things. They need to know how to please you and how to avoid displeasing you. By offering training to your dog you are actually giving your dog a purpose in life, where they will get pleasure out of the fact that they are pleasing you.

Tags: dog, training

Dogs, along with many other animals, have a very similar muscular and skeletal system to our own and they are therefore prone to similar health conditions.

If you have experienced the pain and stiffness caused by arthritis you will have sympathy for your dog when he starts limping as a result of the discomfort caused by arthritis in his joints.

But, what can you do to help your dog when it is suffering?

First check your dog’s weight. When an animal is carrying excess weight additional stresses are placed on all the joints of the skeleton and the rate of wear and tear on those joints increases, hastening the onset of arthritis and worsening the symptoms.

By keeping your dog at a healthy weight, you can decrease his chances of developing arthritis later in life and also stop the condition worsening if it has already occurred.

If an animal suffers an injury to a joint, it is going to be more at risk of developing arthritis at that point. The same can be said of humans. Injuries and accidents can mean that humans and dogs are unable to use a particular limb or joint properly, this causes wear and tear in the muscles and joints that are used to compensate and as these places aren’t designed to be used in this way, there is a cost - arthritis.

Accidents and injuries can also cause damage to joints that never properly heals, encouraging arthritis to develop.

So, if your dog is injured encourage them to rest until completely well. You may need to use a crate or pen to achieve this but if the area of the injury is given the best chance of healing fully, this will minimise the possibility of arthritis developing in the future. Confinement will also mean that other areas of the dog’s skeleton are not going to be damaged through being used in an inappropriate manner.

Poor nutrition can also lead to arthritis. We all need a well-balanced diet with the proper amounts of nutrients to keep our bones, muscles and tissues strong and healthy. Dogs are no different in this respect. Prolonged poor nutrition can cause the bones and muscles to weaken and degenerate and inflammation in the joints develops as the muscles are no longer able to support the skeleton effectively.

Do ensure your dog is fed a healthy balanced diet that contains all the nutrients required for the growth and maintenance of a strong muscular-skeletal system.

Whilst dogs love to be out and will never turn down the opportunity for a run, too much physical activity without insufficient rest is another cause of arthritis. Dogs are naturally active but overworking the muscles can cause strain on the joints and arthritis results.

Sometimes old age is the cause of arthritis. When your dog has led an active life it’s not altogether surprising that he feels the aches and pains of old age. Whilst it is tempting to leave elderly dogs to sleep and rest all day, this can lead to a stiffening of the joints so do encourage your dog to take light exercise - don’t overdo it, but do get your pet moving everyday.

Whilst arthritis is a condition that we accept as being a part of life in later years, there is much that can be done to keep your dog comfortable. Your veterinarian will be able to advise on appropriate treatments and you may also want to explore nutritional supplements and alternative therapies to ease the symptoms of arthritis.

Tags: arthritis, in, dogs

Responsible, caring dog owners who spend time training their dogs are rewarded with a strong life-long bond between them and their pets.

There is no doubt that it is a joy to see a well trained dog. A dog that has been trained is well mannered and can be relied upon to stay calm in even the most distracting of environments.

Statistics also really do show that a well trained dog is far more likely to have a home for life, usually with the same owner.

Well trained dogs do not tend to end up abandoned and living at the local rescue centre.

If we draw the comparison to any relationship in our life – the most successful ones we have are those where there are clear boundaries; where each party to the relationship knows and understands what behaviour is acceptable and what is not.

By training a dog, the owner is teaching the animal where the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are and this in turn means that the dog is no longer a liability or an embarrassment to the owner.

There is no reason why owners should not train their dogs at home or by attending classes. For some of the less teachable dogs, there are even boot camps available.

The key to successful training, wherever it takes place, is a consistency in approach. The owner, or the trainer, must determine what acceptable behaviour is and consistently reward the dog when that behaviour is demonstrated. Equally, unacceptable behaviour must not be rewarded.

If you do not want your dog to sleep on your couch – he must never sleep on your couch. Keeping him off the couch is not to be reserved for training sessions. It is very easy to separate training sessions from every day life but it is essential that the training continues so the dog is absolutely clear about what is expected of him (or her).

Dogs have no way of differentiating between training lessons and everyday life and for the owner to demonstrate inconsistent behaviour just leads to confusion for the dog.

You will want to train your dog to be sociable with others (both humans and dogs) but without making the first move. Whilst you as the owner may not mind your dog climbing all over you, there are many people who will not feel the same way. It is important that your dog learns that it is not acceptable to jump up to greet people – if he or she does this with a child it could result in an inadvertent injury.

It is important that your dog learns to behave well when socializing with other dogs.

There is nothing worse than having a dog that can never be released from the leash simply because the owner cannot trust him or her around other dogs.

Few people are lucky enough to live in an area where dogs can be walked off the leash all the time. For this reason it is important that your dog is trained to walk nicely on the leash – without pulling.

The ‘sit’ ‘stay’ ‘down’ commands do nothing more than teach your dog obedience – they reinforce boundaries and go a long way to ensuring that your dog will comply with your instructions.

The number of dogs that end up in rescue centres and are ultimately destroyed every year is a tragedy caused in the main by irresponsible dog owners. If you are going to take a dog into your home please view it as a long term commitment and understand that the dog will need to be taught to please you.

The rewards of taking the time to train your dog are immense; A strong human – dog bond that lasts a lifetime.