Dogs

What is a good web-site that can give dog training info on tricks?

I would like to teach my dog some cool trick such as dance, roll over, sit, stand, lay down, play dead, and all the other cool tricks dogs can do. I also would like to train my dog to walk with me without a leash, and so on. Does anyone know a really good web-site that provides good training methods? Thanks!

Secrets to dog training, by Dog Trainer Expert, Daniel Stevens. It’s a terrific book on how to train dog.

http://kingdom-of-dog.blogspot.com/

Posted in dog training | 2 Comments »

do tapeworms in dogs cause poor health?

i’m just wondering, can they affect the dogs health like poor eating, weak health resistance and the like?

Oh you betcha!
Imagine what we would feel like if we had a bunch of worms living in our intestines! Not fun!

Posted in dogs health | 7 Comments »

Owners of Sick Dogs: How do you remind yourself to give your dog medication?

Our dog needs to take medication 3 times a week, but because it’s not everyday we often forget, and then give him his medicine too late or not at all. Putting it on the calendar has not worked, since we don’t look at the calendar everyday. We do look at the computer everyday. We put it in microsoft outlook, but the program has to be running for thier little alarm systems to work.

Is there away to set up email, to email ourselfs 3 times a week to give out dog his medicine?

Is there any other way to do this? Those of you in similar situations, how do you remeber?

It depends on what kind of an email system you have, but mine has a calender on it, I think that outlook does too, I would set an "appointment" for the days that you need to give your dog the medicine, then the alarm will go off. Many cell phones have this feature also. Just go to the calender on your phone and select the days and post an appointment with an alarm that will sound.

Hope I helped!

Posted in sick dogs | 7 Comments »

What are symptoms when dogs eat chocolate?

My dog ate a 3.52 oz. dark chocolate bar tonight. I have heard that chocolate acts like a poison to dogs. How is the animal likely to react to 3.52 oz. of chocolate?

Symptoms of Chocolate Dog Ingestion and Poisoning
You can recognize that your dog has eaten a toxic dose of chocolate from the symptoms. Within the first few hours, the evidence includes vomiting, diarrhea or hyperactivity. As time passes and there’s increased absorption of the toxic substance, you’ll see an increase in the dog’s heart rate, which can cause arrhythmia, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination or excessive panting.

This can lead to hyperthermia, muscle tremors, seizures, coma and even death.

How Much Chocolate Is Deadly?
If a 50-pound dog eats a teaspoonful of milk chocolate, it’s not going to cause serious problems. However, if that same dog gorges himself on a two-layer chocolate cake, his stomach will feel more than upset and soon it’s likely he’ll be vomiting or experiencing diarrhea.

To answer the question "How much is too much" is not simple. The health and age of your dog must be considered. Obviously if your dog is aged and not in top shape, his reaction to a plate of chocolate is going to be different from a young healthy dog of the same weight.

Another fact that must be considered is this: Not all chocolate is the same. Some has a small amount of theobromine; another type has a large amount and still another contains an amount that is somewhere in between. The quantity has a relationship with the weight of your dog. Small dogs can be poisoned, it is easy to understand, from smaller amounts of theobromine than large dogs.

Which chocolate is the safest, relatively speaking? White chocolate. It has the least amount of theobromine: 1 mg per ounce. Far on the other side of the spectrum is baking chocolate, which has a huge 450 mg of theobromine per ounce!

Here are a few other chocolates for you to ponder: hot chocolate, 12 mg of theobromine per ounce; milk chocolate, 60 mg/oz; and up there near baking chocolate: semi-sweet chocolate with 260 mg/oz.

You might try using this to remember these chocolates from least to most toxic: What Happy Moose Says BAA? Or: White-Hot-Milk-Semi-Baked. If you have a better way to remember, contact us!

Knowing which chocolate is the most toxic is important, but leaves one wondering how much must be eaten to poison a dog. The list in this box should be helpful. Maybe you can clip it and post it on your refrigerator?

White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog, 125 pounds for a 10-pound dog.
Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level.
Sweet cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One-third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.
Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two one-ounce squares of bakers’ chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog.

Posted in dogs symptoms | 8 Comments »

She the government impose a Sin Tax onto the sale of purebred dogs?

for those of your who dont know what a sin tax is here is a link to wikipedia–> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_tax

The sale of dogs that are purebred probably isnt regulated enough to actually enforce the sin tax (lots of independant sellers), but the govt may be able to pressure groups that do the paper work for verifying a dog as being purebred.
Reason for the sin tax would be to help pay for animal shelters that we as citizens of the city pay for to keep strays off our streets and are filling up because people prefer to purchase a $500 or even $1000 dog rather the a pay a $50 donation to an animal shelter. I think it might help get animals out of the shelters a little and help reduce the cost to the city of maintaining the shelters.
BTW maintaining a shelter isnt cheap, they must feed the dogs, vaccinate the dogs, euthanize the dogs, bathe the dogs, provide staff to work all days of the year to care and dispose of the animals, pay for the vehicle to catch the dogs with.
good answers up until the two after the fourth.

I would definately support this.

Think about it… it’s is just like a "luxury tax" or a "gas guzzler" tax. If you can afford however much for a purebred from a breeder, then you are taking money directly out of my pocket as a tax payer as another unwanted or stray animal sits in a shelter or rescue. This kind financial incentive would have little impact on the buyers, as if they still wanted an X-and-such breed they could still buy one, breed it, show it, etc. And I’ve never been able to understand how folks can afford to pay so much for one kind of pet over another–I mean there is nothing out there to prove that a purebred pet provide any more enjoyment than a mixed breed (unless status is important to you, in which case you are already probably paying the aforementioned luxury and guzzler taxes)–but maybe that is just me…

The trick and possible expense would be in how much does it cost to enforce and/or collect this tax?

Of course, rescued pets of all breeds should be exempt from this tax.

I never thought I would say this, but that is a tax I would actually vote in favor of.

Posted in dogs for sale | 6 Comments »

What are dog breeds that have similar coloring to a Bernese Mountain Dog, but are smaller and have less fur?

What are dog breeds that have similar coloring to a Bernese Mountain Dog, but are smaller and have less fur?

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Appenzell Mountain Dog, and Entlebucher Mountain Dog.
They are all related to the Bernese Mountain Dog, but have shorter fur.

"Entlebuch Mountain Dog

Also known as Entlebucher or Entlebuch Mountain Dog, this breed is the smallest and rarest of the four Sennenhund breeds. It originated in Entlebuch a valley in the district of the Cantons Lucerne and Berne, Switserland."
http://dogbreeds.bulldoginformation.com/swiss-mountain-dogs.html

Posted in dog breeds | 10 Comments »

How do I make my boxer dogs coat shine?

My dogs coat is very dull, she eats dry food. Any ideas on how to make it more glossy?

Got this from a different Q/A website:

I have my dobes on Nutro Max, and they are very shiny. Everyone always asks how do I get them so shiny. Answer is nothing special. The food and i bath in an Oatmeal shampoo about once a month.

Posted in boxer dogs | 50 Comments »

My Maltese dogs don’t use the dog door we got for them but go in the house instead.?

My Maltese dogs don’t use the dog door we got for them but go in the house instead. They were trained to scratch at the door and we would let them out. Then when we got the dog door the don’t use it or scratch at the door. Instead they go everywhere in the house. My mom is threatening to give them away. HELP!!!!
My mom didn’t buy them.

Our puppy was afraid of the door. We started by taking off the flap and letting her run through the empty opening. Then we hung yarn strips in front of it so she had to run through that. Then we put up wax paper and finally put the dog door back on, but she is great now!

Posted in maltese dogs | 5 Comments »

How to socialize my dog with other dogs?

I have a male maltese mixed, 1 1/2 years old at home and recently adopted a new dog, a 3 years old male shih tzu. The problem is, the shih tzu basically does not get along with all dogs, not just my current maltese mixed. He’ll growl whenever a dog comes near him and even attempt to attack and bite other dogs. Since he is a rescued dog, I do not have any information of his past. He marks very often though I’ve tried to correct him many times.

How do teach him to be calmed and submissive when he’s around with other dogs?

Is he neutered? If not, get him neutered and that should lessen the marking…but once that becomes a habit you can’t train him not to mark areas in the house…
As for socializing, you just have to work with him. My mix also hated other dogs, but I would just take her to dog parks or an area with dogs, keep her on leash and gauge her reaction. Even with the dogs far away she would often growl and I would tell her "no". After a few times doing this, she would not growl in the dog park, so I would treat her. We began moving closer and closer to the dogs, waiting until she wouldn’t growl and then getting closer. Over time I would allow her to go up to other dogs, always being careful to be aware of her reactions (i.e. hackles raised, tail in between legs, ears back, teeth bared, etc.) and over time she would get used to the other dogs and eventually she was perfectly fine. Now she LOVES to run around with other dogs, but I will tell you it took awhile to get where she is now.
Good luck!
And thanks for adopting!

Posted in dogs | 5 Comments »

What do you call a person who has a fear of animals,including fear of pet cats and dogs?

My girlfriend’s mom is afraid of her pet cat and her son’s pet dog,and all other animals! What is this psychological condition of a fear of animals called ? The medical term?

fear of animals is called zoophobia, dogs is cynophobia, cats is ailurophobia

Posted in pet dogs | 6 Comments »