Aggressive Dog Training

November 27th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

The aggressive behavior of dogs is usual. But there is proper canine aggression training that can be applied to your companion to prevent it from forming this unwanted behavior. First, you must understand the reason why your dog would behave that way.

Even though aggression is common for dogs, training them to eliminate this behavior is possible. Let your dog learn that it is not good to behave aggressively. Have your pet tied or leashed when you are bringing it to places with many people. In this way, you are not only preventing your canine from hurting or scaring somebody but you are also teaching your dog to behave well.

Spaying or neutering could also be a way to decrease its aggression. No that there are also some cases where this technique does not work. You can also try leaving the dog alone or not giving attention to it for a short while if it misbehaved. Putting the dog alone in a room for a few minutes should make it learn the lesson. But you have to be sure to do this activity for just a few minutes. You can repeat this every time the dog acts aggressively. You can also consider the use of muzzle. Even if the dog is undergoing training, there is still a big possibility that it will behave aggressively when seeing people. It is a good idea to use muzzle when taking the dog for a walk to ensure nobody would get hurt.

A different kind of tactic should be used if your dog has already developed aggression because of fear or trauma. This dog may have experienced mishandling or maltreatment from its previous owner. The best way to teach the dog to behave well is to expose it to different socializations. To develop your dog’s confidence, try spending time with it, playing, walking, or engaging in socialization classes. This kind of dog needs to be comforted or reassured. There are also things around the dog that could scare or stress him out. You, as the owner, should observe what these things are. You should remove whatever it is that could trigger the dog’s aggression before it starts.

There are also instances that the canine displays aggression due to its health conditions. A pregnant or nursing dog, for instance, is likely to be aggressive when people or other animals come near. This is to protect themselves or their puppies. Through previous training to control aggression, these instances can be prevented. Even if there is enough training with the dog, it is always good to take precautionary measures when your dog is in this situation.

Dogs suffering from other medical or health conditions can also display aggression. If you suspect that your dog has some health problems, your best option is to go to the veterinarian and ask some advice.

Different things can cause dog aggression. In dealing with this, you have to take extra care and precaution. Do not forget that the training you are doing is to stop your dog from behaving aggressively for everybody’s safety. You don’t want to hurt other people, your dog, or yourself in the training process as well. If you do not think that you are capable of fixing the problem please seek professional help immediately.

Learn more about aggressive dog training

Making Your Own Dog Food - Homemade Dog Food Recipes

November 27th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Before I share the actual recipes for you, I wanted to go over some basic concepts for homemade dog food recipes:

An appropriately balanced dog food diet contains roughly 40% meat, 30% starch and 30% vegetables. An individual recipe doesn’t have to contain those ratios absolutely as long as your dog’s overall diet is in that ratio.

- Meat: Any general type will do. Make sure that you cook the meat. While so will argue that dogs used to eat raw meat before they were domesticated and therefore okay to serve raw, they are forgetting one thing. Meat from today’s manufacturers is more likely to contain bacteria because of the mass production versus a wild animal. So, to be on the safe side, cook the meat. Also, by the way, remove the bones, either before or after cooking so as to remove any choking hazard.

- Starch: Almost any starch will do here; rice, potatoes and pasta.

- Vegetables: Vegetables should be cooked so as to reduce being a choking hazard.

Foods to Avoid:
o Alcoholic beverages
o Coffee or Tea or other caffeine products. These can cause problems with the heart and nervous system
o Citrus oil extracts; can cause vomiting
o Grapes and raisins can cause damage to the kidneys
o Too much liver can cause vitamin A toxicity
o Macadamia nuts contain a toxin that affects the digestive and nervous system

Ok, now on to the homemade dog food recipes:

Here’s a Chicken Stew Dog Food Recipe that I think your dog will enjoy.

Ingredients:
* Whole chicken, 2 ½ pounds
* Whole barley, 8 ounces
* Rolled Oats, 6 ounces
* Green peas, 1 cup
* Carrots, 1 cup coarsely chopped
* Sweet potato, ½ cup coarsely chopped
* Zucchini, ½ cup coarsely chopped
* Yellow squash, ½ cup coarsely chopped
* Green beans, ½ cup coarsely chopped
* Celery, ½ cup coarsely chopped
* Kelp powder, 1 tablespoon
* Dried Rosemary, 1 tablespoon
* Water, 16 cups (or enough to cover the ingredients)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a 10-quart stainless-steel stockpot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat as low as possible and simmer for two hours – the carrots should be quite soft at the end of the cooking time. Remove from the heat, let cool, and debone the chicken.

With an electric hand mixer, or using a food processor and working in batches, blend all the ingredients into a puree. Using seal-a-meal, zip lock bags or plastic yogurt containers, make up meal-sized portions (see below). Refrigerate what you’ll need for three days and freeze the rest.

Serving size:

Amounts will vary depending on age, activity level, health, weight and season, but here are some guidelines: The amount shown below should be split into at least 2 meals daily.

Dog’s Weight/Daily Portion

* Up to 10 pounds - 1 to 1½ cups
* 11 to 20 pounds - 2 to 3 cups
* 21 to 40 pounds - 4 cups

For each additional 20 pounds, add two cups.

Learn how to make your own dog food

Dog Food Secrets - Keep your dog healthy

September 10th, 2009 | Dog Food | No Comments »

dog food secretsI definitely believe making your own dog food is healthier for your dog . And, if you can’t make your own dog food, just knowing what to look for in your existing dog food will help your dog live better. Anything you can do to ensure your pet’s safety and happiness is a good thing.

After his dog, Noble, died, just 4 years of age, Andrew Lewis, the author of Dog Food Secrets, discovered that it was commercial dog food that caused Noble’s kidney failure and eventually death. Outraged at this discovery he devoted 3 years of his life investigating dog food industry. What he found out was shocking, to say the least. Most commercial dog food contains at last 6 deadly chemicals (long-ago banned from all human foods), that can cause several different types of cancer, liver and kidney failure, hair loss, allergies, behavioral problems, or even blindness.

In his book, Dog Food Secrets, Mr. Lewis explains how you should feed your dog. By making sure your dog is eating the right kind of foods (and in the right amount), your dog will be healthier, happier and live longer. But it’s not just about the food. For perfect health your dog must follow a complete healthcare regime its entire life. All the information needed for this are also included in the Dog Food Secrets.

What I like about the Dog Food Secrets is the fact that it provides information without reserve and fear - no holds barred. The main purpose of the book is to educate everyone and to let all the people know of what is truly happening in terms of commercial dog foods.

Given that I too was a commercial dog food devotee, everything in the Dog Food Secrets came to me as a shock. I was in denial at first. But the book gave information not just based on speculations. Every little detail is backed up by legitimate studies and through research. This made me little by little recover from my shock.

Aside from the all the revealing information, the Dog Food Secrets will also teach the readers on how to feed your dogs properly. You will be taught on how to properly read labels of dog foods and preparing your own dog food are just some of the examples.

Another aspect that I liked about the Dog Food Secrets is its format. I can’t stand staring at the computer monitor for a long time. But this book is formatted in such a way that it can be printed like a traditional book which makes it easier for me.

Dog Food Secrets comes in a downloadable e-book format. Click here to visit the website.

Homemade Healthy Dog Food

September 10th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

homemade natural dog foodMany people; however, choose to give commercial dog food to their dogs because of convenience, but with the amount of pet food recalls, is it the best alternative? I think it would be best to invest some more time and money if that means your dog will have a healthier life with a well-balanced diet.

Healthy Homemade Dog Food is The Best Alternative

After a research on the different types of diets, it has been determined that the best for your dog is to give them a well-balanced, nutritious homemade dog diet. This means that it must have a perfect balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fat according to the needs of your dog.

Dogs cannot eat all human food so here’s a listing of what dogs are able to eat and foods to avoid.

  • Raw or cooked lean cuts of boneless poultry(chicken or turkey), beef (ground or cubed), lamb, whitefish like cod, and fatty fish like salmon and herring
  • Finely chopped or ground raw vegetables, including carrots, broccoli florets, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens (collards, mustard greens, brussels sprouts, romaine lettuce)
  • Cooked grains like rice, barley, bulgur, polenta, oatmeal, and pasta;
  • Raw, scrambled, fried (in canola oil), hard-boiled, or poached eggs
  • Plain yogurt, a small amount of grated hard cheese
  • Bits of fruit like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, melons, apples, pears, and bananas
  • Healthy people meals like stew or soup with meat and vegetables (not onion soup or onion pieces), meatloaf, egg salad, and tuna salad

There are many healthy homemade dog food recipes that you can try to start with. We even have some homemade dog food recipes in this site, feel free to try them, they are easy to do and nutritious to your dog.

Feeding Your Dog With Home Cooked Dog Recipes

April 15th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Yes there is a way we can make our very own homemade dog recipes to keep our dogs healthy and strong. When i go to the pet store to buy my dog food, i stand there and stare at all the different brands and types of food i can buy for my dog and wonder how on earth am i going to decide which one to buy; how do i know the choice i make is the right one? How do i know this food is going to keep my dog healthy? What brand is better for my dog? Is there enough nutrients in the food to keep my dog strong?

These are all things that come to mind when trying to decide on the best food for our pets. Well thats why i believe in doing it myself and creating homemade dog recipes right at home. You may think that’s a lot more work having to cook the food and bake JUST FOR YOUR DOG well people if you choose to buy a dog then you need to care for it too!! So making homemade dog recipes is the right choice.

Simple steps to prevent your dog from dying early and why you should consider making homemade dog recipes.

If you want to save your dog from the horrific death suffered by hundreds of other dogs in your local area, probably in the last year alone, then you MUST follow these 3 steps:

Step 1 - Stop using commercial dog food as your dog’s only or main source of food. This step is the most important and you should make the change in the next couple of days.

But you can’t make this change unless you have a good alternative plan in place.

I can show you a proven alternative plan, it’s much easier than you think and much cheaper than you’re spending now. I’ll get to that very soon.

Step 2 - Learn how to read commercial dog food labels.

I understand it’s not practical for most people to never use commercial dog food ever again because we dont want to spend all our time baking homemade dog recipes as it tiime consuming. Although the best case, you can use commercial dog food sparingly for maybe a few meals during the week to cut back on the time spent making dog recipes.

The Grocery Manufacturers of America, the National Food Processors Association, and the Pet Food Institute join together and fight the FDA to keep the terms used as confusing and misleading as possible.

Step 3 - Get some healthy, well-balanced dog food recipes and start feeding your dog home cooked dog recipes

It’s very easy, if you know how to cook specifically for dogs. Just cook a large batch, freeze it and it can be eaten over several days.

But be sure you have a good source of recipes written especially for dogs because they have very specific requirements, different to humans.

It’s possible to love your dog to death with too much of the wrong foods.

See how simple it is to create your very own homemade dog recipes

Natural Dog Food Review

April 15th, 2009 | Dog Food | No Comments »

Commercially produced dog foods have been the popular choice of many dog owners from the time that they hit our supermarket shelves. But there is a growing trend away from these, which is examined in this natural dog food review.

Perhaps the event that has been the impetus for more people seeking alternatives to commercial dog food was the pet food recall in the US, the inquiry into which revealed some shocking information about what ingredients were being used.

Rendering plants, which provide the ‘meat’ ingredients to the dog food manufacturers, admitted that they include hide, feet, beaks, hooves, feathers, blood, and horror of horrors, euthanized pets, in their mix.

Add to this the amount of fillers manufacturers use to bulk up their products, and artificial colors and flavors to make them more appealing, it is little wonder that people are looking to making their own dog food.

For a natural dog food review we need to look at a few different alternatives.

Firstly let’s examine the move to raw dog food. Owners who have moved their dogs to raw dog foods are reporting a dramatic reduction in vomiting, obesity, halitosis, allergies and vomiting. They also say, though unsubstantiated, that their pets are showing less arthritic pain and much better dental health.

For raw dog food it is necessary to manage the proportion of vegetables, bones and meat, proportionate to your dog’s weight. Feeding your dog 2-3% of its body weight is an accepted rule of thumb, with 50% of each meal comprising meat and raw bones.

All of the ingredients are of course, uncooked, and proponents of a raw food diet say that because a dog’s stomach is highly acidic, any parasites and bacteria will be killed in the digestive process. Vegetables are chopped very finely and retain more of their vitamins and minerals than if they were cooked. The inclusion of raw bones ensures that the dog’s teeth are kept clean and plaque free.

No natural dog food review would be complete without looking at the home-cooked option for pet lovers.

Fresh lean meat, no matter its source - chicken, turkey, beef, lamb or fish - is the basic protein (around 50%) component of home-cooked dog food. Fresh vegetables should comprise 25% of the mixture with carbohydrates, usually potato or rice, making up the other 25%.

Cook the meat thoroughly, add some stock and water, then the carbohydrate which will cook in the stock. By adding finely chopped vegetables once the meat and carbs are cooked and the mixture is off the heat, will help the vegies retain their vitamins. They will soften enough by sitting in the warm mixture.

Whether choosing a raw dog food diet or preparing home cooked dog food, it is a good idea to prepare them in bulk and for convenience refrigerate or freeze them in meal sized portions.

Always consult your veterinarian before making a dramatic change to your dog’s diet.