When you decide to make the leap and get a puppy, you didn’t realize that you were actually getting a child. Like children, puppies need to be taught and socialized. Being cute and cuddly, they can still make their fair share of mischief, and if not trained properly, the will grow up into a less than cuddly full-grown dog.

If you have your sights locked on a boxer, take a few moments to find out about boxer puppy training. One of the essential things you’ll need to remember is that you’ll need to teach your puppy to listen to you. This is at the core of most trouble. If you have a dog that does what he pleases and doesn’t listen or understand that he needs to help and participate in the process.

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When you’re trying to figure out how to train dogs you may feel like pulling your hair out at times but relax it’s not as hard as you might initially think. There is a way to make training your dog a positive experience for both of you.

I know that spanking a dog with the rolled up newspaper is the dog training method of choice for some but this just doesn’t cut it for many dog owners. (Not to mention that poor dog!) Many dog experts will tell you that you’ll get far better results with positive reinforcement than any other method. Plus your dog will love you for it!

Although at times it may seem like your dog’s sole mission on earth is to drive you absolutely nutty, that’s not true by a long shot. The problem is you’ve probably gotten so caught up in trying to figure out how to train dogs that you’ve forgotten that all your dog really wants is to make you happy. He’s just not sure how to do that.

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For anyone that has the slightest doubt that Chinese imported pet food ingredients are still dangerous, I urge you to read the New York Times online article titled Impact of the Heparin Drug Scare. The most compelling Chinese import fear factor is within the photo included in the article of a heparin lab in China.

The photo speaks a thousand words. The FDA has linked 19 American deaths to the drug heparin which is used as a blood thinner in surgery and dialysis. You would think that all steps in the manufacturing of a human drug approved by the FDA would be performed in a sterile lab with scientists in white coats and masksthe photo in the NY Times article proves otherwise. Now, just imagine the manufacturing conditions of pet food ingredients. Sends chills up your spine.

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Ringworm is a very common skin disease that can affect both dogs and cats. Although its name might make you think otherwise, this skin disease isn’t caused by any type of worm at all.

Ringworm is actually caused by fungi known as Dermatophytes. This fungus feeds on dead tissues found in the surface of the skin, spreading them around the skin of the animal.

With cats, there is a certain type of fungi known as M Canis that is found with nearly 95% of all ringworm cases. Normally, cats will get the ringworm disease from contaminated objects like clippers, bedding, or another animal that already has the disease. The ringworm fungi also can be picked up from your yard. If there are animals in your home or around your house that have the ringworm disease, your cat could very easily contract it this way.

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Many people don’t realize that dental hygiene is as important for dogs as it is for human beings. Just like with people, dogs’ teeth can gather plaque after a meal. As plaque builds up and hardens, it becomes a coarse brown substance called tartar.

This tartar can accumulate and it work its way under the gums and cause painful infections and gum disease. This process goes on in the mouths of dogs just like it does in ours. You brush your teeth every day, and probably more then once. What about your dog?

Consider Brushing His Teeth

Most Veterinarians will recommend that dog owners brush their dog’s teeth at least twice a week to keep that buildup of tartar to a minimum. Many pet supply stores carry specially designed toothbrushes and toothpaste just for dogs.

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Each year as the warm spring weather approaches, Pug owners should be increasingly apprehensive about those blood-sucking, disease-carrying ticks, otherwise known as “Rhipicephalus Sanquineus”. This dangerous creature can infect man with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, cause paralysis, and can even kill Pugs and Pug puppies.

Referred to by most everyone as “ticks”, these parasites are blamed for carrying the micro-organism that caused the death of so many British war dogs in Singapore several decades ago. And during the Vietnam war, more than 300 U.S. war dogs had died mysteriously from tropical canine hemorrhagic syndrome, and canine hemorrhagic fever. Intensive studies resulted in the finger of guilt pointing directly at the ordinary tick.

There are several different species of ticks, from wood tick to brown Pug tick and many more. Unfortunately, ticks in general are pretty resistant to chemical insecticides, so they are really challenging to control in the wild.

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