Care of the older dog

If you are fortunate enough to have your pup grow to old age then you would know that as a dog ages their bone joints get stiffer. Small breeds that use to jump up on the couch or your bed now can't manage it at all. Larger dogs might have trouble going up or down stairs.

One of the best items I have found to help dogs with stiff joints is nutritional health supplements made with yucca. Yucca has anti-inflammatory properties and worked great for our dogs when they were 14 years old and older. You want yucca to be in the top 3 listed items of ingredients when you are looking on the supplement package. Anything less than that and you are not getting the full benefit of the yucca.

Teaching your dog to shake hands

Here is a video on how to teach your dog to shake hands. The large mop of a dog is entertaining to watch.

Doggy doors

So you have decided to install a dog door because your dog is constantly asking to go out and in. You are not limited to installing the doggy door on the human door but you can also install it in a wall. It takes just a tad more know-how and knowledge of your walls to do the wall installation but sometimes it is a better option. Just install the door on a flat panel mounted area and make a frame for it. A doggy door is also a better option for dogs in colder climates in rural areas to have access to closed barns rather than the house. The reason for that is to deter unwanted wild animals from entering your home.

What is the best dog breed for your family?

Choosing the right dog for your family will help you and the dog in the long run have a long and happy relationship. Picking a breed that is known to howl or digg when you don't want that will cause you to hate your new dog and the poor animal ends up at the local animal shelter because YOU had a problem and not the dog. Here is an article that has a few pointers for finding the right dog breed for your family:

What is the best breed of dog for you?

Dog stamps

Do you remember the rubber stamp craze years ago? There were even whole stores that were dedicated to nothing but rubber stamps. I think most of those stores have moved on and become scrapbook stores now and even some of them are gone. I thought about that the other day when I ran across a rubber stamp I still have that had dog paw prints. I use to use that stamp when sending out Christmas cards. I would sign all of our names (the humans of course) then add a few stamped paw prints to signify the dogs. It was cutesy for awhile but got old after a few years.

How much does owning a dog cost you?

Interesting video below on the cost of owning a dog. The cost of training is added to the list but I train my own dogs so that would be a savings for me. The cost of a dog license is lower where I live at $6 a year so there is a savings over the video listing.

The life of a telecommuting dog owner

I bet you wished that your job was at home, no commute and you take long walks with your dog when it pleased you. Other than working for yourself there are not many careers that will allow that. Of course with the internet comes a whole different set of careers. Someone has to maintain the internet and websites.

Can you imagine just waking up in the morning and taking the time to enjoy your life with your dog on a nice long walk before you started work? If you took a few online college study courses you could do that. There is a demand for people with internet security experience and or training. You could start a whole new career. You could get a MS in Information Security online.

Your dog would no longer be alone during the day and since they have such a short lifespan compared to ours, wouldn't you rather spend more time with your dog than in the car commuting?

Bald dogs

Yes there are times when a dog might drop their fur in patches or all over. One of the main reasons in nutrition, the lack of the proper type. A dog needs the right food to keep all of it's body functions to work and that includes having a shinny coat. Other items that will make a dog drop fur in patches is food allergies, fleas, fungus infections and rubbing from unknown skin irritations.

I have dealt with food allergies, fleas (had one dog allergic to them) and malnutrition (stray dog). The food allergies was one of the hardest to figure out but skin irritations were easy. After bathing a dog I would put on them Straight Arrow's Mane and Tail conditioner (for horses). I would use the leave-in conditioner and found it was great for skin and if there was a bald spot would grow the fur within a week. I found it to be one of the best hair loss treatments I have ever found for dogs.

Humans love dogs so much that.....

In Japan they love dogs so much that they have invented robot dogs for people that are not allowed to have dogs in their homes. They can never create the affection that a person gets from the companionship of a dog but the robots go through the motions of dog behavior.

Is it something that we can expect more of in the future? Just go down to your local wholesale electronics store and pick out your new puppy? I would say no but considering the fact that many a teenager now likes to text message their friends rather than talk it might be in our futures.

Be careful what you leave out

Dogs can get into the craziest of things. They learn how to open doors and even watch you operate little things like door bell buttons. They are also very smart about getting something they want, like food. They can either beg until you give in to them or they will chew open a container to get what they want.

That brings us to keeping an eye on your medications, weight loss supplements and foods that are harmless to us but toxic to dogs. For example did you know that chocolate is toxic to dogs? Two to three whole candy bars can cause seizures and possible death in a 10lb dog. Small amounts of chocolate seem to have little affect but why take the chance. The toxin is a type of caffeine called theobromine which causes the release of hormones in the dog that in turn causes irregular heart beats.

What should you do if your dog just ate a whole bag of chocolate? If you can't get the dog to the vet right away then induce vomiting. That is what the vets suggest. I have never had to INDUCE my dog to vomit, he just seems to do it especially right after eating grass. Be warned that the dog might not bring up all the chocolate and your dog will need medical attention within the next few hours.