Help me my pooch is one of those Fat dogs!

Help I think I am one of those fat dogs!

Fat Dogs

How unhappy do I look?

Within the last few decades, Americans have increased their diet both in quality and in portion size. With human obesity comes a host of diseases, including diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. A lesser known fact is that our dog companions can also suffer from obesity and exactly the same range of diseases affect them too. And if anything their health care treatment can come at an equal or greater cost than our own!

Fat Dogs don’t come naturally!

Some animals are naturally predisposed to obesity, while others become obese when their owners treat them a bit too often or leave out the food bowl. Being too busy to exercise your pet certainly wont help. Many Americans view their pets as their children, so spoiling them seems only natural.  The problem is that with fat dogs (owner embarrassment aside) there are many health consequences and when animals become obese you reduce their ilfespan and most certainly their quality of life. As a dog owner you can kill your pet with kindness!

6 easy to follow tips to help your obese pooch

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Dog Photo of the Week.

Dog Training Guide - Dog Photo of the week

***Photo thanks to Der_Krampus***

 

 

 

Welch Corgi -A guide to health

My Welch Corgi – How Do I Reduce My Dog’s Moulting?

Welch Corgis (in fact nearly all Corgis) are a double coated breed – they shed and moult an awful lot, and this can Welch Corgicertainly be a big problem for Corgi owners and your homes. The common misconception with Welch Corgis is that their shedding process is twice a year from January to June, then from June to December (depending on your seasonal location). However this is not something you can typically apply to every Corgi, as you’ll find that there are some variables which influence their shedding and cause it to vary a considerable amount.

Factors Affecting Welch Corgi coats

Neutering and spaying often takes an effect on the shedding pattern of a Welch Corgi and genetics and breed lines also need to be considered. Dogs bred for show compared to household companions can have bloodlines which were introduced to create thick healthy coats which obviously multiplies the shedding amount. ( I have found this out personally!)
However there are plenty of much easier and pain-free ways to significantly reduce the level of shedding and moulting your dog experiences and that you don’t enjoy cleaning up.

Feed your welch corgi right for results

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Best Puppy Food

Best Puppy Food for my new Dog

Is Your Puppy Driving You Nuts?

I have a small young pug who I can safely say is the most energetic and mischievous dog I have ever seen. I’m Best Puppy Food not an experienced dog owner neither have I owned any in the past but I completely fell in love with this breed due to their small manageable size (so I thought) and the fact that they have a great personality.

The thing is, he loves getting up on my favourite chair and weeing on it and this has got to the point where my chair is completely ruined and I have to throw it out because it absolutely stinks. He has also been into my underwear drawer and has ripped up some of my favourite little pieces. Who knows how he got up there but I found him sitting in one of the drawers with a cheeky grin on his face.

I really want to give him the best food so that he will grow up to be a strong adult and not suffer from any of the other problems that I’ve heard small dogs tend to get, such as heart conditions. I do know because of the shape of his face that when he does get excited he cannot breathe through his nose properly and this is also dangerous.

Switching Pet food Brands At the moment I am trying James Well beloved Puppy food because I thought they had quite a good range and I have been relatively pleased with the results. They have specific puppy food that he seems to gulp down without even breathing. What I’m also interested in is whether I should be switching brands to Eukanuba puppy food just to change things up a bit. I was wondering if maybe the other brand that I’m using is too rich for him and that this is why he has so much energy.

Another dog food that I’m looking at which was recommended to me by a friend is Orijen Puppy food. She found that this is low in sugars and therefore did not make her dog so hyperactive.

I do use sugar free doggie treats to help train him and have not seen a change in his activities when I give it to him so I know that’s not the problem. Is it me or have I just got the most hyperactive pug in the world – please help!

Dog Health Care: Worms and Fleas

Health Care for your Dog

I imagine that all dog owners want the best for their pets. Of course this is not the case; otherwise the RSPCA would be out of a job. However, in my lifetime I have never seen someone close to me neglect their pet, for which I consider myself (and the pets) to be very lucky. I always make sure that my dog and three cats are as healthy and comfortable as they should be so I take several precautions regularly to enhance this.

Firstly, dogs can easily contract worms. I use one dosage of Drontal Plus every three months as stated on the Dog Worming packet. It claims to kill more varieties of roundworm and tapeworm than any other wormer and as of yet, I have not had any problems. It is estimated that the number of nematode species (roundworm) is approximately one million so naturally battling a number like that is going to cause some issues. I remember my mother telling me that she once caught worms off her dog which had been sleeping on her bed. She said it was awful and that since then she has taken every opportunity to ensure her pets are kept free of worms, especially to save my brother, Pepper, or me from them when we were growing up.

Some people have said to me that every three months is too often and others have said that this isn’t enough but it all depends on what you buy. Some tablets for dog worming say to worm every month and some say every six months so it really is just a case of checking the packet and finding the right one to suit you and your pet.

Best Dog Flea treatment I also make sure that I apply a regular flea treatment for dogs. Again, all brands say different when it comes to how often you should use it. For example, I use Frontline which is once a month whereas my parents use Fiprospot every eight weeks because of their type of dog. It is generally all down to personal preference but as long as it is done, you can relax a little more knowing that your dog is protected from those nasty little parasites.