Dog Grooming Hints

Dog Crate

Crate Label with a Collie DOG SAN Dimas Lemon LOS Angeles California 12" X 16" Image Size Vintage Poster Reproduction

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You are purchasing a poster printed by a method called "Giclee" , a high quality and beautifully rich color image printed on a heavyweight matte paper and I guarantee you will be pleased or I will refund the price of the poster, no questions asked. My goal is to make you a valued and happy customer so buy with confidence and enjoy the poster for years to come. Image size is 12" x 16" and there's a white paper border around the image

Crate Label with a Collie DOG SAN Dimas Lemon LOS Angeles California 12" X 16" Image Size Vintage Poster Reproduction

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Dog crates: A Dog’s Crate Is His Castle
Dog Crate

If you don’t already own a dog crate for your pet, you might be thinking what the point is in getting one. After all, you bought a dog to become a cherished member of the family, not to lock it away in a little box?

Well, aside from the practical advantages I’m about to go in to, there is one big reason to celebrate the crate dogs dig dog crates! Dogs love to have a place of their own in which they can snuggle down and feel secure and if they were in the wild, they would probably be on the lookout for a handy den. A well-sized, comfortable dog crate will soon become your dog’s favourite hideaway. By the way, well-sized means not too big. An oversized crate will have your dog assuming it has en suite facilities!

Now for some practical benefits of dog crating. It can help with house training, when travelling and on any occasion when you want to control your dog’s movements, for example when expecting a visit from people who don’t own a dog and are wary of them.

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But what kind of crate does your dog need? A soft dog crate or a wire one? Are wooden dog crates best for your pet? What type do you need for your overseas vacation?

If your pooch is a newly-trained pup that hasn’t quite got out of the chewing habit, you might want to opt for a wire crate. Don’t skip on quality, though. A good wire dog crate will resist chewing while a shoddy one will look a mess in a short space of time.

If your dog is a bit older, wooden dog crates are best in terms of aesthetics and can make attractive features in themselves. Wooden dog crates are also better for the environment than plastic ones.

If you need a crate that is lightweight, portable and easy to assemble, you might want to consider a soft dog crate. Soft dog crates are ideal if you do a lot of travelling.

And while on the subject of travelling, if you need to fly do you want your loyal friend to travel beside you as a fellow passenger or to be thrown into the cargo hold as a piece of luggage? Then you will need to invest in one of the many airline approved dog carriers. Airline officials follow strict guidelines on allowing dog carriers on a plane, and if yours is as little as an inch above regulation height you may be separated. Some breeds, especially larger ones, will have to travel in the hold anyway, in which case airline approved dog carriers are important to maximise comfort and reduce stress.

Dog Crate question by Misty_00: I’m looking for a dog crate for my Doberman puppy. How big does it need to be?
I’ve been reading that crating would be a good place to keep my pup while I’m at work. I’m not really sure how big it needs to be, though. He’s just a pup now (only 2 months old) but will grow up to be an average sized Doberman (the breed itself is pretty big, though). I’m looking for a crate to keep him in during the day while I work. I heard that dogs use the Crate as their den (Apparently, they are animals who are looking for “dens” to inhabit). Since this crate sounds like it will be the dog’s “clubhouse” and I will have blankets and toys in there for him, should he have room for him to run around as a puppy and just enough room to sleep as an adult dog? How big would that need to be?

Dog Crate best answer:

Answer by Lyn S
It needs to be big enough for him to turn around in and be able to stand up. Don’t buy a huge one for a full grown dog or the puppy would not feel comfortable in it. Also place an old towel in the bottom of the crate to give in some padding.

Dog Training Tips : Crate-Train an Adult Dog

When crate-training an adult dog, remember that dogs have a den-instinct to feel comfortable in an enclosed space. Crate-train a dog with tips from an experienced dog trainer in this free video on dog obedience. Expert: Ty Brown Contact: www.communicanine.net Bio: Ty Brown has been a dog trainer for over 10 years. Filmmaker: Michael Burton
Dog Crate Video Rating: 4 / 5

Over the course of thousands of years, the dog has evolved from a wild pack animal into the favorite pet of humans, and has become to be known as “Mans best friend”. The dog has found its place in the modern family of today, and for children to grow up with a dog for pet, has become a tradition. Dogs are fun to have around, and the mutual attachment of a dog to its owner, is nothing short of pure love.

Ownership of a dog does not come without responsibility. A dog must be cared for as if it were another member of the family. It is the job of the dog owner to provide a safe clean environment for for his pet, and to groom it on a regular basis in order to maintain a healthy existence.

There are many reasons to groom your dog regularly. The first and most obvious one is to make your dog look good. Most people are proud of their pets and want them looking nice. But their are more reasons than just the cosmetic ones. Every dog needs regular bathing and brushing to keep the fleas and ticks away, and to keep its coat healthy and shiny. Regular brushing also controls shedding, that otherwise can be a real nuisance.

Just like people, a dogs nails must be checked and trimmed. If you don’t trim your dogs nails regularly, they can not only scratch up the furniture and flooring in your home, but could accidentally scratch you or your child as well. A dog can get untrimmed nails hung up or caught on something like fabric. That fabric could be your new sweater or a couch or chair.

A dogs teeth and gums need to be looked at routinely as well. Make sure there is no swelling or bleeding of the gums. Gum disease is prevalent in many breeds, and can actually lead to death if not given proper attention. You should brush the teeth once a week to prevent these kinds of problems.

Always give close attention to your dogs ears while grooming. Try to not let water get in the ears when bathing, as this could spur on an infection. Use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to clean in and around the creases in the ear, but don’t attempt to probe too deeply.

These are not only steps to follow when grooming your dog, but the reason why each procedure must be done, and the consequences that could occur if neglected. This should encourage a dog owner to have a little more attention to detail.

Find More Dog Grooming Articles

There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive towards members of his own human family. He is trying to defend something he thinks of as his from a perceived threat (you).

This is known as resource guarding, and though it may sound innocuous, there’s actually a lot more going on here than your dog simply trying to keep his kibble to himself. He is not comfortable with the treatment/handling he is getting from you or other members of the family.

What is resource guarding? Resource guarding is pretty common among dogs. The term refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf of your dog: for instance, snarling at you if you approach him when he’s eating, or giving you “the eye” (a flinty-eyed, direct stare) if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from him.

All dogs can be possessive from time to time as it is in their natures. Sometimes they are possessive over things with no conceivable value, inedible trash, balled up pieces of paper or tissue, old socks. More frequently, however, resource-guarding becomes an issue over items with a very real and understandable value such as food and toys.

Why does it happen?

It all boils down to the issue of dominance. Let me take a moment to explain this concept. Dogs are pack animals. This means that they are used to a very structured environment. In a dog-pack, each individual animal is ranked in a hierarchy of position and power (or “dominance”) in relation to every other animal.

Each animal is aware of the rank of every other animal, which means he knows specifically how to act in any given situation (whether to back down, whether to push the issue, whether to muscle in or not on somebody else’s turf, etc etc).

To your dog, the family environment is no different to the dog-pack environment. Your dog has ranked each member of the family, and has his own perception of where he ranks in that environment as well. This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than other family members, he is going to get cheeky.

If he’s really got an over inflated sense of his own importance, he’ll start to act aggressively. Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a superior-ranked animal. No underdog would ever show aggression or act dominantly to a higher-ranked animal (the consequences would be dire, and he knows it!)

Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant behavior. Only a higher-ranked dog (a “dominant” dog) would act aggressively in defense of resources. To put it plainly, if it was clear to your dog that he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, he’d never even dream of trying to prevent you from taking his food or toys because a lower-ranking dog (him) will always go along with what the higher-ranking dogs (you and your family) say.

So what can I do about it? The best treatment for dominant, aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent obedience work, which will underline your authority over your dog. Just two fifteen-minute sessions a day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that you are the boss, and that it pays to do what you say.

You can make this fact clear to him by rewarding him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a command, and isolating him (putting him in “time-out”, either outside the house or in a room by himself) for misbehavior.

- If you are not entirely confident doing this yourself, you may wish to consider enlisting the assistance of a qualified dog-trainer.

Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology and communication, so that you understand what he’s trying to say this will help you to nip any dominant behaviors in the bud, and to communicate your own authority more effectively.

Train regularly and keep obedience sessions short and productive (no more than fifteen minutes and maybe two or three of these per day).

Why doesn’t my dog like to be handled?

All dogs have different handling thresholds. Some dogs like lots of cuddles, and are perfectly content to be hugged, kissed, and have arms slung over their shoulders (this is the ultimate “I’m the boss” gesture to a dog, which is why a lot of them won’t tolerate it.)

Others are usually the ones not accustomed to a great deal of physical contact from a very young age and aren’t comfortable with too much full-body contact and will get nervy and agitated if someone persists in trying to hug them.

Another common cause of handling-induced aggression is a bad grooming experience such nail-clipping and bathing which are the two common culprits.

When you clip a dog’s nails, it’s very easy to “quick” him and that is, cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is extremely painful to a dog, and is a sure-fire way to cause a long-lasting aversion to those clippers.

Being washed is something that a great many dogs have difficulty dealing with and a lot of owners, when confronted with a wild-eyed, half-washed, upset dog, feel that in order to complete the wash they have to forcibly restrain him.

This only adds to the dog’s sense of panic, and reinforces his impression of a wash as something to be avoided at all costs and if necessary, to defend himself from it with a display of teeth and hackles.
Can I “retrain” him to enjoy being handled and groomed?
In a word, yes.

It’s a lot easier if you start from a young age and handle your puppy a lot, get him used to being touched and rubbed all over. Young dogs generally enjoy being handled and it’s only older ones who haven’t had a lot of physical contact throughout their lives that sometimes find physical affection difficult to accept.

Practice picking up his paws and touching them with the clipper; practice taking him into the bath (or outside, under the faucet or whatever works for you, but warm water is much more pleasant for a dog than a freezing spray of ice-water!), and augment the process throughout with lots of praise and the occasional small treat.

For an older dog that may already have had several unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little more difficult. You need to undo the damage already caused by those bad experiences, which you can do by taking things very slowly and with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm.

The instant he starts to show signs of stress stop immediately and let him relax. Try to make the whole thing into a game: give him lots of praise, pats, and treats.

Take things slowly. Don’t push it too far and if you get nervous, stop.

Dogs show aggression for a reason. They’re warning you to back off, or else! If your dog just can’t seem to accept being groomed, no matter how much practice you put in, it’s best to hand the job over to the professionals.

Your vet will clip his nails for you (make sure you tell him first that he gets aggressive when the clippers come out, so your vet can take the necessary precautions!). As far as washing and brushing goes, the dog-grooming business is a flourishing industry. For a small fee, you can get your dog washed, clipped, brushed, and whatever else you require by experienced professionals (again, make sure you tell them about your dog’s reaction to the experience first!)