PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

11 Helpful Hints To Help You Take Better Care Of Your Dog

By Rosie Harvey

There are many things we all do in the belief that we are taking good care of our dog, but are we? There are many things we don’t do because they just don’t cross our minds. Here are 11 helpful hints that you can use today that will aid you in caring for your dog.

Helpful hint 1 - The baby-proofing section of your local hardware store can be a dog owner’s best friend. In addition to cabinet and trash can locks to keep your pooch from getting poisoned or raiding the garbage, you can find toilet lid locks to keep your bathroom high and dry.

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By Max Bellamy

Now that the Internet is here, an online pet memorial is the next best option in terms of keeping the memory of a pet alive forever. There are many advantages to online pet memorials that conventional memorials such as headstones or markers do not possess. The online memorials are designed to create a virtual community of family and friends for the pet, and there is always so much more space to include all the important information about the life of the pet instead of just a verse of poetry and the dates of birth and death.

Web portals can be dedicated to a single pet or one can simply post the photograph and the information about the pet to any of the web sites that specialize in creating such memorials. Online memorials allow family and friends, irrespective of their geographical location, to pay tribute to the pet and share anecdotes, stories, poems, and thoughts without the need for physical presence. Tributes can be of any length and stay posted on the site until the caretaker decides to remove them. An online memorial can also have a guest book that can be signed by those who visit the site and this may include even strangers who may never have known the pet but have been emotionally touched by the messages posted.

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How to Buy A Purebred Dog - Expert Advice

By Amanda St. John

If you decide you want a purebred, make sure it’s because you love the breed since purebreds are often not as resilient as mixed breeds. Consider carefully why you want a purebred. Many people will want a purebred because it conveys some symbol of status on them. Purebreds are prone to many illnesses due to inbreeding, and having a purebred could become a costly affair.

If you simply want a companion consider a mixed breed. There is nothing a mix breed puppy cannot offer you in terms of love, companionship and devotion, and there are many mixed breed dogs already born, looking for homes.

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Dog Day Care

By Sandra Oberreuter

Dog day care is growing in popularity. It started in California in 1987 and has been spreading across the country every since. Dog day care centers are all over now. Great way for your dog to spend the day, getting exercise, interaction with other dogs and people. Find out more about dog day care!

I must admit it’s not something I was aware of. Of course, I know about kennels - a place to take your dog if you just can’t take him with you on a trip but not dog day care. Isn’t it child day care? Anyway, one day when I was talking with my son he mentioned he was taking his dog to dog day care the next day. What’s that? Anyway he said he dog loved going there and he even had a dog friend. Well, I had to look into this and so here is what I came up with.

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Teach Your Rabbit Its Name!

By Trisha McFarlane

Rabbits are rodents, varying in all shapes, sizes and colors they are understandably a very popular pet.

Traditionally kept in hutch out in the back yard, rabbit owners are now becoming more and more inclined to keep their pets inside.

Although not obvious, it would appear rabbits adapt very well to life in doors, what’s more is they can be trained and tamed to a suprisingly high standard.

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Dog Breeding Beginner — What You First Must Know!

By Ann Born

If you are fond of one particular breed of dog and you are a dog-breeding beginner, you might wish to consider committing to the improvement of your favorite breed. Usually this involves working with a particular bloodline and try to create specific traits for future generations.

All a dog-breeding beginner needs, as far as dogs are concerned, are one or more fertile female dogs. But a good dog breeder, even a beginner, will naturally avoid dogs that have any major flaws. While it is not unusual for breeders to want their dogs to win championships and raise the value of future puppies, the chance for the breeder to network with people knowledgeable about the breed is more important. As your network widens, the chances of meeting another exhibitor having a dog that has traits that you are looking for to improve your dogs lineage. So you might get the opportunity to breed the two dogs and get top quality puppies.

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Dog Bites: A Detailed Way of Handling your Dog’s Injury

By John Edwards

When your dog gets bitten, either by another dog or another animal, then that bite wound can be potentially very dangerous. Animal saliva is filled with bacteria that can cause infection through the wound. In addition, even small bites can severely damage your pet’s underlying tissue.

Any time your dog gets bitten, whether it is a big bite or a small bite, it is always a good idea to take your pet to the vet to make sure that the problem does not get any worse. However, here are 5 things that you can do to keep your dog’s bite wound under control.

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Dog Marking Codes - Territory Marking and Dog Scent Mixing

By Rena Murray

Everyone has seen a male dog lift his leg to mark his territory. It’’s dog instinctive behavior, but why? Most people are not aware of the significance behind or beyond that.

In wolf packs, only the Alpha male and Alpha female lift a leg to mark. All other members of the pack, regardless of sex, from Beta to Omega, must squat. That’’s why you see some males squat to urinate and some females lift their hind legs.

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5 Top Ways to Focus to Compete With Your Horse

By Leslie Moore

This article is from a life coach and experienced horse owner and to all horse owners that want to have success in competitions.

Why do people find it so hard to focus? Horse owners I have worked with spread themselves everywhere and forget to focus on what they want to achieve with their horse and keep the rest of their life in balance. Focus is for both now and for the long term, so you need to switch between the two. Horse owners often don’t focus on their real goals because they let too many issues distract them. Both your personal growth and the goals you want to achieve with your horse are critical to all horse owners’ success and this article looks at personal learning and growth.

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Dog Training – 5 Ways to Stop Annoying Barking

By Marilyn Burnham

Incessant barking is not just annoying to you – it’s most likely ticking off your neighbors, too. Most cities have ordinances concerning barking dogs and will fine you if your pet can’t be controlled. Most people want their pets to bark when there is danger or an intruder, so teaching your dog never to bark is really not an option. You want to teach your pet that barking to get your attention or because he’s bored is not appropriate behavior. Dogs bark for another reason, too. When your dog sees people or animals walk by a window or a fence – they walk on by. To your dog, that is naturally defending his territory. He has “won” because the intruder is gone. Have you had a dog that goes ballistic when the postal carrier walks on the porch? If the postman stuck around, your dog wouldn’t be stuck in that pattern. Some owners try electronic “shock” collars to keep their dogs from barking, but they are often ineffective unless you engage a qualified trainer. Try working with your dog yourself before going the electronic collar route. Barking is a difficult issue, and many trainers recommend working with your pet on any other behavior issues before you get to it because it may signify a dominance problem with your dog. Here are some effective ways to cope with barking:

1. Leash training. If your dog has a problem with barking indoors, keep his training collar and leash on. Every time he barks, snap the leash to engage the collar and say, “No,” and lead him to a quiet part of the room. Do this every time he hears a bump, sees another animal or seemingly barks for no reason. If he sees or hears a person, do the same thing, but praise him five seconds later. You want your dog to bark when he sees strangers. Repeat until he understands. If your dog begins walking away on his own, lavishly praise him.

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