Skinny Dog

If there’s one common theme that we can see in many of the 850+ customers we’ve worked with over the past two years, it’s this: dog owners don’t seem to appreciate just how fast-acting and aggressive the Parvo virus is.

One night, you might go to bed, knowing that your dog is happy and healthy, and by morning, when you get up, that same dog is incredibly sick and maybe even near death’s door - and, yes, the smell of Parvo is unmistakable, as the diarrhea, which is frequently one of the first symptoms you’ll see with the latest 2c strain of this virus, is foul and unlike anything else you may have encountered before.

As an example, one of our customers, in the Pacific Northwest, noticed that their dog was sick with Parvo on a Sunday morning, and later that very same day, in the late afternoon, it had already died.

Even when this virus doesn’t claim your dog’s life quite so quickly, too many dog owners sit around for day after day, with their dog clearly not well, and doing absolutely nothing about it, because they reckon they have time.

But nothing could be further from the truth!

If you know dogs at all, then you know that 99.9% or more of them love their food, so if your dog stopped eating, for as little as one day, wouldn’t you be concerned that something could be seriously wrong?

All of our dogs are, thank goodness, healthy (although we do live in the worst state for Parvo), but even on those rare occasions when one of them does throw up, they are eager to eat again just a few minutes later, so a dog that’s off his food for several hours (which is often the very first sign you’ll see that your dog has Parvo, provided you’re observant, of course) should be a massive, red warning sign.

The sad thing is, there is such a lot of misinformation about Parvo that many dog owners are lulled into a false sense of security.

These dog owners think they’re safe because:

• Their dog has had all of its vaccinations (including boosters). And now for the reality: Parvo shots are ineffective against the 2c strain (which is why we are seeing more and more customers with fully-vaccinated adult dogs still getting Parvo and, if they’re not treated, dying), and can even give your dog full-blown Parvo symptoms (especially if your dog was vaccinated after he’s been infected, which is just about the worst thing you can do).
• Their dog is no longer a puppy, and only puppies get Parvo. Sorry, wrong again! It is true that Parvo still infects puppies more than adults, but we have also observed, after dealing with over 850 cases of Parvo, that an increasing number of adult dogs are getting this virus too. We’re sort of tired of saying this, but it bears repeating until people get it: vaccinations do not work like they used to - the 2c strain is simply too virulent and most vaccines on the market today are only effective against the older 2a and 2b strains (and that’s besides the long-term issues with all vaccinations, which most vets won’t tell you about).
• They try to do the right thing by having their dog tested for Parvo at the vet’s, but do nothing because the test comes back negative. Reality check time again: the 2c strain of Parvo often generates a false-negative result, and this particularly applies to the in-clinic stool sample tests that are very popular these days. This is another example of how the medical profession has not caught up with the development of the Parvovirus - you think your dog is OK, when in fact he does have Parvo, and that leads to your doing nothing while the virus quietly launches its attack on your dog’s body (mainly the immune system and his intestinal tract) for several days until, suddenly, you see symptoms.
• Their dog never goes outside, so it can’t get Parvo. Sorry to burst this balloon as well, but one of the most common reasons that indoor dogs get Parvo is because they get it from their owners / breeders! Yes, you can walk this virus into your house without even knowing it (or transmit it via your hands or clothes). This is why we always recommend that people (including visitors) change their shoes whenever they go indoors.

So, given that there is a ton of bad advice and uninformed hearsay to be found, mainly on the Internet, of course, where can you go to get up-to-date and accurate information that you can use, safe in the knowledge that it will help your dog, and not make matters worse?

This actually highlights another major issue to do with Parvo: many dog owners have never heard of Parvo (until their vet tells them that’s why their dog is sick), which means they don’t know what to look out for. Even more amazing, to us, is that we come across many breeders who know nothing about this virus either. It seems to us that this is basic information and knowledge that you must have if you’re going to work in the doggie business!

Well, you’ll be glad to know that we have put together a 100+ page ebook all about Parvo, called Parvo Treatment 101, that you can download to your computer in minutes - and the best part is that it’s 100% free.

This book contains more or less everything you need to know about Parvo (e.g. the symptoms, including the different types of stool to look out for, treatment options), which makes it a great place to start.

If your dog is already sick, however, and by that, we mean that a vet has confirmed that your dog does have Parvo, or he shows one or more of the standard Parvo symptoms, or even if you believe or know that he was exposed to the virus within the last two or three days, then you should delay reading this book, because you need to administer Parvo treatment right away, because there’s one thing you don’t have with this virus, and that is time. You can always read our free book later, once your dog is stabilized, or better.

Well, we hope you have found this article useful - it may even save your precious dog’s life - but we have a load more Parvo treatment information available for you, over and above what’s in our free book.

If nothing else, we hope we’ve inspired you to find out more about this devastating virus, and about the various treatment options (because contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to take your dog to the vet and spend anywhere from $500 USD to over $10,000 USD, with a mere 50% success rate, because inexpensive, safe, effective home Parvo remedies do exist), so please, if you know anybody with a dog, then do forward this article, or our free book, on to them - you just never know who might need it, and there’s no better feeling than knowing that you’ve helped to save somebody’s family pet from an excruciatingly painful death from probably the most devastating doggie virus there is.

There are few things cuter than a new puppy – at least until you bring one home and watch him soil your carpet and chew on your favorite sofa! Those adorable faces in the pet store window are going to take some effort on your part to care for and train. The good news is that with a bit of puppy training information under your belt, and plenty of preparation before your new arrival comes home, you will be able to handle those puppy days with much more ease and enjoyment than you might have originally thought. The key is in arming yourself with the tools and knowledge that you will need to be the best puppy owner that you can be.

Stock up on Supplies

To determine which supplies that you will need for your new arrival, there are any number of websites that will offer the puppy care information that you will need. Other good sources for puppy care information include your veterinarian’s office, the local library, or the shelter that you adopt your puppy from. The first items to shop for will be feeding supplies, and these include bowls for water and food, as well as a high quality dry food specially formulated for puppies. It is also a good idea to get a crate for your puppy, since most puppy care information touts the benefits of crate training dogs. You can line the bottom of your crate with an old blanket or towel that your puppy will find comfy for sleeping on.

A collar and leash are other good supplies to purchase before you bring your puppy home, as well as a few chew toys and grooming supplies like shampoo and nail clippers. To make sure that your chew toys are safe for your new pup, avoid items like rawhide that can break off and get lodged in a small dog’s throat and opt instead for durable items like a Nylabone chew toy for playtime. Having some of these toys on hand will hopefully deter your dog from teething on other items like your favorite shoes or the living room chairs.

Get Ready for Housebreaking

Housebreaking will be one of the first puppytraining objectives you will have for your pup, and there is plenty of good puppy care information available to complete this task properly. A crate can be a very helpful tool in the process of housebreaking, since your puppy is unlikely to soil his crate when he is inside. Make sure that you have plenty of cleaning supplies on hand, since accidents can and do happen on occasion. Most of all, arm yourself with patience, since it will take a bit of time for your pup to get the hang of this routine. For more puppy care information about housebreaking, talk to your veterinarian, breeder or check the Internet.

Most dogs go through the puppy chewing phase, where they will chew on anything and everything. Our dog Mittsy was no different in that respect. Up until she was just over a year old we would often find clothing, shoes or parts of furniture that had been chewed on.

After that we could be certain that our furniture was safe, but there was never a month that would go by without Mittsy testing something new to see if it was edible. Thank goodness for pet gates, or we probably wouldn’t have much left of our house and home.

I have to believe that Mittsy’s stomach was stronger than most dogs, because many of the things that she wolfed down are considered very dangerous to the health of a dog.

Apparently chocolate is at the top of the dangerous list. Yet chocolate was always a favorite for Mittsy. She especially loved Easter time and would have her own Easter egg hunt looking for some misplaced chocolate items. It didn’t matter much whether there were wrappers on the chocolates, because they would simply become part of the meal.

Sure she was ill the next day, but she soon recovered and somehow decided that the short period of agony was worth the wonderful taste of chocolate. Every year she would do her best to find the chocolates stashed somewhere in our children’s rooms. It was like her very own Easter egg hunt.

With Easter out of the way Mittsy needed something more along the lines of a regularly available gourmet meal. With a house full of teen-aged girls there was always one tasty treat that Mittsy could always easily get her paws on. Who would have believed that lipstick would become a favorite.

Unfortunately a regular chore around our house was removing red lipstick stains from beige carpets. We went through periods where we remembered to put up the pet gate, but whenever we forgot, the red streaks would be there to remind us.

Hold onto your hats folks, because the next Mittsy feast will surprise even you.

Our family was invited to spend a week-end at a friend’s cottage one year, dog included. This cottage was fairly remote and had several acres of bush land around it, so it was a very special outing for all of us. Fortunately for Mittsy there would be other dogs there to play with.

On this particular outing we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Everyone including Mittsy had a fabulous time. Unfortunately as with all good things, they come to an end. The long trek home is nothing anyone looks forward to, but for some reason this year Mittsy decided to feed up as much as she could before we headed home.

Her first find was the french loaf that we had been saving for that evening’s Italian feast. She managed to eat the whole loaf of bread before anyone caught her. You would think that this would fill her up, but oh no, not Mittsy.

We had been out playing around and in the water, and I was sent to find a frisbee that was in the cottage. Unfortunately I found more than just the frisbee. Out the back window of the cottage, my eye caught some movement. There was Mittsy filling herself on the gourmet treasures in the cottage compost heap.

Not long after pulling Mittsy away from her feast, she became very ill. Go figure!!! Soon she was unable to lift her head off of the ground where she lay. Each breath she took came out as steam even though it was 90 degrees outside that day.

This cottage was in the middle of nowhere, so we would need to travel for four hours to get to the nearest vet. We decided to make a run for it and so said our goodbyes and jumped in the car. My wife drove and I sat with a blanket on my lap and Mittsy laying on the blanket.

She was sick at least a half dozen times before we got home. It was the most unpleasant trip our family has ever experienced.

By the time we got home, Mittsy had somehow totally recovered and as soon as we opened the car door, she was off on a run wanting to play in the yard. She was off her normal diet for a couple of days, but no more than that.

We kept her water bowl filled with fresh water, and watched her closely, but there were no obvious health related danger signs. Mittsy would look us in the eye with what seemed like a smile on her face. I’m sure if she could talk she would have said something like “ I told you I could eat anything”. All we could do was to marvel at the dog with the cast iron stomach.

The speed at which a puppy puts on weight varies depending upon the breed of dog and whether or not it receives enough exercise or food. There are general puppy weight estimates you can use as a guideline for raising your puppy, however if you suspect that your puppy is either over or underweight, talk to your vet for a confirmation.

You can use the Internet as a resource for finding out roughly how much your puppy should weigh at particular age plateaus. Many veterinary office and websites have a dog weight chart you can look at, which determines a dog’s healthy weight based on an age to size ratio for each dog breed.

Many sites will publish a separate chart for each dog breed, or you can ask your vet for a puppy growth rate guide. If you are at all unsure whether your puppy is a safe weight, simply pop into the vet’s office for a check-up. If anything is wrong, your vet will be able to advise you of the proper foods your puppy should be receiving, and in some cases recommend a diet food brand or issue a nutrition supplement for under-nourished puppies.

It’s a good idea to understand the breed of a dog before taking on the care of one. Larger breed dogs will usually put weight on more quickly than a smaller dog, and breeds which are particularly athletic may weigh more due to their muscularity. For instance, a hunting dog, such as an English Springer Spaniel won’t put on as much weight as an English mastiff, because Springer Spaniels are wiry/athletic where mastiffs are extremely large and less active. Each dog growth rate depends upon the ultimate size of the breed.

If you can’t seem to find any information on your dog’s growth rate, ask your vet if they would be willing to give you a guide for your pup’s first two years of growth, make a record of it, and keep it somewhere visible where you can check up often. A good place would be near your dog food storage area or on the refrigerator.

When considering a bulldog for a pet, you must bear in mind that the responsibilities of caring for a bulldog will consume a great deal of your daily life. Bulldogs are active and need a lot of exercise, grooming, and cleaning on a regular basis. In order to ensure that you and your bulldog are both happy, you must commit yourself to a constant care routine.

As for the different bulldog types, you could do well with researching the different personalities of each. For instance, English bulldog puppies may have a different temperament than American bulldog puppies. It is best to understand the temperament of the type of dog you want before you get it.

Many people are under the false impression that bulldogs do not need a lot of daily exercise, this is not true. Bulldogs need exercise just like any other dog needs exercise, obviously not as much exercise as you would give an Alsatian for example, but enough exercise to keep your bulldog healthy. Find the rhythm that is good for your dog and never walk him just after a meal and you will find that your bulldog will be healthy and happy.

Grooming bulldogs is also very necessary to help your pet maintain a healthy lifestyle. Grooming your bulldog once or twice each week will ensure that his coat stays nice and healthy. It is normally very hard to groom a bulldog if the dog has not been trained as a puppy. When your bulldog is still a puppy teach him how to act when grooming so that it will be a lot easier in the future.

When your bulldog is still a puppy he will have to be fed approximately four times a day to help him grow strong and healthy. As your bulldog gets older you should gradually reduce the amount of food you give him on a daily basis to approximately two times a day when your dog is a full grown adult.

Bulldog puppy training can be difficult if you aren’t consistent. The key is to keep correcting him until he understands what he is supposed to do. Make frequent trips outside and try not to use much physical correction with the pup, as they can be provoked easily. When lead training, it is recommended to use a lightweight chain collar. Many have found the choke chain collars are very effective with such strong-built pups.

Puppies are not all alike even if they are the same breed, and Pekingese puppy training will be easier if the owner takes care picking out the perfect Pekingese puppy.  Some people think that going to a private breeder will ensure that they get a good puppy that will be easy to raise.  Puppy breeders usually have a great deal of experience with breeding and raising dogs.The ads in the newspaper for puppies do not mean that the person selling is an expert.  The breeder of puppies is the one who owns the female dog that produced the puppies.  Anyone else is not a breeder.  Some of the people who are considered breeders do not know what they are doing. 

The first important step in Pekingese puppy care is buying from a breeder who knows what they are doing.  These people have the experience and knowledge to properly produce puppies.These breeders sell puppies that they know.  They know the parents of the puppy.  These breeders always sell their puppies directly to an owner without a middle man or outlet store.  These breeders start from the beginning dog training and caring for the puppies properly.  These steps make a big difference in the later life of the dog. 

Pekingese Puppy Care Starts By Making Informed Choices

Pekingese puppy care starts with choosing the gender that will best suit the owner of the puppy.  Males and females have many different characteristics that are generally true of their gender.  Puppies owners should look at these factors before choosing their puppy.  Pekingese puppy care will be easier after making the choice best for each owner.Potential owners should not choose a puppy that shows hostility no matter how subtle to new people.These puppies may be more difficult to raise and care for when they get to their new home. 

Pekingese puppy care starts with the proper health measures.  Many puppies already have shots before they are adopted.  New owners should make sure that they have the records for these shots, and they should get the shots necessary on a schedule.  Pekingese puppy care includes feeding the puppy properly.  The proper food could make a great difference in the health of the puppy.  The veterinarian will be the best one to advise on the best food for the puppy throughout their lives.  Check with the doctor to find out the most nutritional food for the puppy.

There are few things quite as cute and lovable as a newborn puppy. They make you want to grab them up and just squeeze them but care should be taken with the newborn puppy. They need special care in these early days of their life. Most of the attention they need will be provided by their mother until they are about six weeks old. Your job at this point of newborn dog training is to make sure mom and babies have a healthy environment. You need to make sure they have clean and comfortable bedding everyday since they will be spending all of their time there at first. They need to be placed away from cold drafts and sheltered from the outside elements.

Giving Mom A Hand With Newborn Puppy Training

Most moms know exactly how to take care their young and will devote every hour of every day to that task. In the early days moms will lick their babies to help them with elimination. You can give mom a break some of the time by gently massaging these little ones right after they eat. This helps their little systems develop to the point they no longer have the need for manual stimulation. This is also an important point to remember in the unfortunate case that mom is not around.

Mom will also bathe her pups every day by licking them. This serves to stimulate healthy blood flow as well as keeping the young pups clean. Here again you can give mom a hand by gently rubbing the puppies with a soft, warm, and moist cloth. You should always rub them dry with a soft towel after bathing. Also keep in mind that at this age you should not use soap since this could be dangerous to their delicate systems.

Newborn Puppy Care For The Growing Puppy

As these new babies grow they will soon need less of mom’s attention. They will open their eyes and start moving around. Mom may choose to start weaning them so you will need to step in and provide additional nourishment. Because their teeth are so delicate at this age they will need something they can easily chew. Starting them out on moist food is probably the best option. As they mature and develop you can start mixing dry food in with the moist food to help them develop strong and healthy teeth.

When these little fur balls begin to eat more food they will also have increased elimination. They usually do not like to eliminate in the same place where they sleep and eat. Providing them an area where they can go will not only help teach them potty training, it will also help to keep their environment healthy.

Newborn puppy care can be time-consuming and in the early days might disrupt your normal schedule. You need to keep in mind that this only lasts a few weeks and the rewards are numerous. When you are happily watching these new babies romp and play you will feel a sense of satisfaction that you helped them reach this point.

Does your dog or even worse yet, your neighbor’s dog bark all the bloody time?
If so it’s pretty darn easy to reach your whit’s end rather quickly.

After a while you really don’t care why the little nincompoops doing it, you just want to make the barking stop. Does that sound about right to you?

Trust me, I know what you’re going through pretty well.
How would I know these feelings of frustration so intimately?

Simple, my wife got a tiny, little Poodle and the little bugger absolutely would not stay quiet for 10 minutes. I swear, if an ant walked across the driveway he would carry on for 15 to 20 minutes strait. I was just about off my rocker with the little loudspeaker.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I love animals and I especially love dogs. I don’t know about you, but personally I love well behaved dogs. 
So, not really wanting to incur my wife’s wrath for suggesting Fido be relocated several States away just to make the barking stop, I started researching to find a solution or at least find some options and find them fast.

Here are a few of the things to stop the dog from barking that I discovered:

All the books said “You need to find out why in the world is the dog is barking in the first place”. And I’m thinkin yeah, right, sure! I don’t know, nor do I care why the little dim bulb’s carrying on, just make him stop.

But I do have to agree with them, there is good barking and bad barking. So when training your dog it is important to teach your dog the difference between nuisance barking and good barking (like if it’s 2 am and I’m snoring keep quiet, but if you see a guy with a mask a gun and a sack, Bark!).

As it turns out there is actually a lot of different kinds of barking, there’s reactive, territorial, separation anxiety, fear and warning barking. And without becoming a Sigmund Freud for Animal Planet tm I really couldn’t tell you which was which.

I did find a few things that actually worked really well. What the heck it only took 5 hours of reading & video’s and it cost more than the dog did to buy all the books to find one that worked.

But here’s one of the tips that it said that worked really good. Every time the dog barks give it a piece of bacon with 1/2 a Prozac stuck into it (ok, ok, so that was my solution and not exactly what the book said, but the dog liked it!) Just kidding!

No really, what the book said was give the dog an alternate outlet. And because it might truly take me an hour and a half to watch the Television show 60 Minutes, I’m thinking, alternate outlet, WHAT! they want me to plug the little begger into a wall socket?

Well, turns out I was wrong, they meant every time it starts yapping give him a soft toy and toss it around for a second so he gets the idea to play with it. This way when the dog starts feeling anxiety, nervousness or separation it will look for the toy and find comfort in it.

There are a ton more tips that I got at => http://stopdogbark.tripleyourinfo.com/

But I sure hope this one helps, it worked for me even better than the Prozac and at over a buck a pill that stuff gets kinda pricey after a bit.

Puppyhood is the “formative” period for your dog. What you teach him during this time will most likely stick with him the rest of his life. One of the most imperative things to get started is to train dogs to potty outside.

Developing a routine early on in your puppy’s life is a sure way to ease the strain that the potty training process can entail. Try starting out by getting your pup used to a particular life routine. This includes working up a schedule of sleeping, eating, and potty time. Make sure that you keep the schedule constant, such as feeding him at a certain time every day and taking him outside 15 minutes after.

A good way to save your sanity is to admit right off the bat that your puppy will have accidents, and the sooner you understand this, the easier your dog potty training will be. You can help lessen accidents by storing some newspaper in a constant spot so that your pup can at least familiarize himself with an acceptable alternative when he is unable to go outside. This works particularly well if you don’t have a “doggy door” and your dog has to depend upon you to take him outside.

The sooner you get to know your puppy’s “eat/potty” schedule, the easier potty-training will become. A good rule to go by is to estimate that your pup will be ready for a trip outside around 15 - 20 minutes after he has been fed/watered. This rule works very well if you can manage to have your puppy outside the proper potty surroundings at the time you expect he needs relief.

Be sure that you separate “potty time” from “play time.” As it is natural for puppies to want to explore, you should only encourage them at the appropriate times. Nothing is more frustrating than to be up at 2 am with your puppy running around the yard for twenty minutes, only to potty as soon as you get back inside.

Puppyhood is a great time to begin using the praise and discipline techniques you intend to use throughout your dog’s life. Many people prefer the terms “good boy/girl” and “no,” which can be still be used when your dog is older. Although puppies need a lot of firmness, repetition, and routine remember that your puppy will soon grow up, so enjoy his young, eager activity while you can!

Learn more tips like this at HelpYourPets.com - Puppy Steps and while you are training your puppy learn how to protect him from injury also.

Have you seen your dog with red bug bite-like bumps, red, itchy and flaky skin, fur loss, and scratches intensely? If yes, then your dog is infected with sarcoptic mange or to what we are familiar with, scabies. This results to intensely itchy skin in dogs, cats and other mammals and is caused by parasitic mites and can be extremely contagious to other pets and even humans. Dogs can catch a sarcoptic mange from a pet having this disease or even to human having scabies when these dogs took a trip outside, particularly in thickly wooded areas with abundance of wide life.