Training Your Dog For A Happy Healthy Life
Adopting a dog is a lot of fun, but it can also add a lot of responsibilities to your life. When you become a dog owner, you take on the responsibility to make sure your pet has everything he needs, a safe environment to live in, proper care, and everything he needs for a happy and healthy life! Its a big step to care for a dog, but youll be rewarded with a loving companion.
The first step in providing a good life for your pet and making sure your dog remains safe is to get him trained properly. Believe it or not, many people do not see to this important task and then wonder why their dog jumps up on visitors or wont listen to their commands. Many a dog has been considered a bad pet when all he really needed was the owner to take the time out to train him properly.
If you train your dog properly, not only will he have some cool tricks to show off, but it will also add to his safety. Should your dog be heading off into a dangerous situation, your obedience training will come in handy and you can call him back to your side and safety. A well trained dog Will be well behaved around strangers and the family an obedient companion. Plus the training process can help define you as the master and act as a bonding experience for you and your pet. You can train a dog on your own, or you can join an obedience training class and get instruction from professionals.
You want to make sure your pet is as healthy as can be and part of dog ownership is to provide your dog with excellent veterinary care. A yearly physical exam should be performed and any vaccinations updated. Also make sure you put him on the right heartworm and flea and tick medications. If you notice a difference in your dogs behavior schedule a vet appointment right away. Even a small change in habits, mood, eating or elimination pattern should be checked by your vet it could be nothing, but its better to be safe than sorry! Have your dog neutered or spayed - they WILL be much happier.
Providing a safe environment for your dog is up to you as the pet owner. Make sure there are places your dog can get stuck in or fall from and there is no sharp objects like nails or pins laying around. Everyone in the family should know not to leave the door open so that your dog can run out in the street. Refrain from feeding your dog people food as some of it can be harmful to them. Chocolate, for example, can even be deadly!
Grooming your dog can be a good time to bond with your pet and can also help him stay healthy. Brushing his coat, trimming his nails, cleaning his ears and around the eyes are all part of good dog health. Proper dental care is the most important grooming task you can do for your dog. Bacteria that builds up on the teeth can break away and cause health issues in other organs of the body. Brushing every other day is recommended to keep your dogs mouth clean and will have the added bonus of giving him fresh breath!
Hopefully youll never need to enact it, but you should have a plan for the dog in case of emergency. What if there is a fire or some other disaster? Make sure someone is responsible to get your pet out of the house in case of emergency. Its not a bad idea to have a designated person that can mind your dog on short notice if you get called out of town on an emergency.
Bringing a dog into your family, you are committing to provide that dog with all the things he needs for a happy and healthy life. Some dogs Can live into their teens if taken care of properly. Thats a long commitment on your part, but the rewards are so great that the commitment pales by comparison.
Lee Dobbins write for Train The Dog where you can learn more about dog training for every breed. Check out their list of dog breeds and see which ones are easier to train.
Written By: Lee Dobbins
 USA TODAY | Super Bowl ads go to the dogs USA TODAY A dog that's been bad uses Doritos to persuade a man to keep his mouth shut about a missing cat in one of the Super Bowl ads liked by our ad panel. A dog that's been bad uses Doritos to persuade a man to keep his mouth shut about a missing cat in one ... Dogs in race shoes finish 1st in MSU profs' picks Skechers Super Bowl Ad Ignites Twitter Doritos Super Bowl commercials 2012: Dog Park, Hot Wild Girls, Sling Baby |
Mushroom pickers lost hope, considered eating dog Boston.com "She's that good a dog, she'd have done it, too," Conne said. But help finally arrived Saturday when a volunteer helicopter pilot decided to look outside the search area and spotted the family -- Dan, his wife, Belinda, and their 25-year-old son, ... |
 WNYC | Handler, dog headed to Westminster Dog Show Lexington Dispatch Tamara Meeks holds her toy Manchester Terrier dog, Pati. They are getting ready to compete in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York next week. By David Bodenheimer Pati, a 2 1/2-year-old toy Manchester Terrier, has been a show dog for most ... Wildwood dog show preps pups for the big contest in NYC Hundreds of dogs compete for top honours Coonhounds and Ceskys and Xolos, Oh My! |
 HereComeTheDawgs.com | Olekaibe leads 'Dogs past Aggies The Collegian By Angel Moreno | February 06, 2012 | Sports, Top Sports Story Kevin Olekaibe put on a paramount 28-point performance as the 'Dogs beat defending Western Athletic Conference champion Utah State 60-54 in Saturday's Heroes Night at the Save Mart Center. 'Dogs End WAC Skid Women Stay Perfect in WAC |
Irate Dog Owner Allegedly Rams Car into Park Worker Dogster.com (blog) Things have been getting a little out of hand in California parklands lately, at least as far as off-leash dogs are concerned. Last week we brought you the story of the park ranger who used a stun gun on a man who was walking his lap dogs off leash in ... |