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Tip 53 – Dog sticks its head out the car window – Car travel with your dog.
Many people travel with their dogs in the car and we often see dogs with their heads sticking out the window. Although the dog does enjoy this, it is not recommended at all. Passing cars or busses can approach too …
Deaf Dog Psychology
Dealing with issues faced by most deaf dogs
For all dogs, the main lesson during puppy-hood is normal dog behavior through socialization with their mothers and littermates. Puppies learn lessons in dominance and submission by roughhousing and getting responses such …
Senior Citizens and Their Precious Pets – Pet tip 193
It’s a difficult thing to think about but many pet owners are in their later senior years and some of them have young pets. In the event that older pet owners fall ill or pass away, what will happen with …
Distemper in Dogs – Pet tip 168
Many dog owners, especially new dog owners are likely to hear about distemper and how their dogs should be vaccinated against it because it has the potential to be a dangerous, sometimes fatal disease. Distemper is a highly contagious virus …
Communication with your Deaf Dog
Communicating with your deaf dog is a step above regular dog training in that everything is done in complete silence. Fortunately, besides its sense of smell, a dog’s world is based largely on subtle (and some not so subtle) body language so it is inherent in your dog to take cues from your behavior. These cues include facial expressions, body posture, and changes in body movement.
The most important thing to communicate to your deaf dog is a sense of peace. Since your deaf dog compensates by taking cues from the behavior of humans and animals around him/her, he/she looks to you as a leader and guide to show him/her how to react in situations. The easiest way to tell your dog to be calm is to project that attitude yourself by mimicking calm body language that is universal to dogs. This body language includes yawning, having your eyes half-closed and blinking slowly, slow breathing, looking away and pretending to be day-dreaming, and relaxing the muscles in your body. The body language you do not want to project is fast and shallow breathing, open-mouthed breathing, wide-eyed stares, tense muscles in your body, fast movements, or shaking. Even your facial expressions are important. As your dog gets to know you better, he/she will soon learn all your facial expressions, so be careful what you project. In general, it’s always best to adopt a positive and calm attitude regardless if you have a deaf dog or not! Yet it is even more critical to have such a personality because your dog’s emotions will be based off your emotions.
Heartworm in Dogs
Heartworm Caused by Mosquitoes
Heartworm disease is caused by a parasite called Dirofilaria immitis, which lives in the right side of the heart and the adjacent blood vessels. Its presence in these blood vessels causes cardiovascular weakness, compromised lung incapacity, …
Umbilical Hernias
You are at your pet’s first visit to the veterinarian, and your vet tells you that your pet has an umbilical hernia. How can that be? Your pet doesn’t look sick; in fact it looks perfectly happy and healthy. This …
Tip – 27 – Cat scratching – cat scratching posts
Although many humans don’t appreciate this behaviour, kittens and cats don’t scratch to make us angry, they NEED to scratch. Scratching is a natural hardwired behaviour in cats (just like breathing or purring) and they do it for a several …
Water Danger and Dogs – 153
Did you know that not all dogs have the natural ability to swim? In fact, water can be downright dangerous even to dogs that love swimming! There are no ‘doggie lifeguards’, hence it is your responsibility to watch over your …