Dog Grooming

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Grooming your dog is a important part of keeping your dog smelling fresh day in and day out. From preventing most hair from getting into every corner of the house  to keeping your dog’s nails short so they don’t scratch you. There are many other reasons why your dog should be groomed regularly. The easiest way to get this done is to find a quality dog grooming shop and let them groom your dog. This way they have all the supplies they need to make your dog feel comfortable and clean. But if you prefer that you groom your dog, then there are supplies and tips you will need to know.

The coat of your dog is one of the messiest things to deal with. Brushing your dog’s coat can help remove most of the dirt in his coat and keep his skin from becoming irritated. It will also help keep most of the hair out of the carpet and other places it can pile up in. So, buying the right slicker brush is important.

Nails will need to be cut when they get long. When cutting your dog’s nails, make sure to watch out for the pink in the center. DO NOT CUT THIS! This is a vein and clipping it will cause your dog to bleed. There is also a nerve near the vein and it’s painful to your dog if you clip a nail too close. If you can’t see the pink, cut a bit after where the nail is starting to curve, in front of the pink line. Make sure to keep some stiptic powder nearby to help stop the bleeding if you do clip too close. Buy the right size nail clipper for your dog’s nails. Remember that clipping black nails is more difficult than clipping white or clearer nails.

Brushing your dog’s teeth can keep cavities from forming and help freshen his breath. Brushing your dog’s teeth once a day to about twice a week can help with this. Make sure to brush his back teeth and gums. You can brush your dog’s teeth with a soft bristle tooth brush and use a toothpaste that is specifically made for dogs.

Bathing your dog is needed about every month to three months to keep your dog clean. Using a dog shampoo and washing behind the ears and between the toes will help keep your dog clean. Do not get any soap in his eyes or water or soap in his ears while washing him. This may irritate his eyes or make your dog’s ears infected if he has any open sores or irritations in his ear canal. And remember to dry off your dog with a blow dryer ( on low heat or cool) or a towel well before you let him run around the house.

Keeping your dog smelling fresh and having him well groomed is great for you and him. But if you can’t find the time to groom him yourself and he needs to be groomed, then remember that you can take your dog to a local dog grooming shop or a dog grooming school to get your dog groomed for a reasonable price and save you some time.

Dogs and Poinsettias

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While decorating your house with plants and ornaments, there is one commonly used plant utilized for decorating your house during Christmas, the poinsettia. This red, white, pink, or purple leafy plant is harmful to dogs and can be deadly if a lot of it has been eaten (poinsettias come in many combinations of the colors, too.) The sap within the poinsettia causes different things to happen. (Poinsettias are not the best plants to keep around if you have dogs, cats, or other pets around for these reasons.) There are three different types of problems that the sap can cause depending on where the sap has gotten onto your dog.

The first one is if the the sap gets on to his skin. If the sap gets on to your dog’s skin then the area which the sap got onto will cause the area to become irritated. If you find an area that has been irritated from the sap, then wash the irritated area off.

The second one is if your dog happens to get a hold of the plant and eat it. You may find signs that he ate it if he is vomiting. If your dog is vomiting part of the plant up, take your dog to the vet to make sure he is alright. ( Remember that if your dog has eaten too much, it can kill him.)

The third thing is if it gets in your dog’s eyes. The sap can cause your dog’s eyes to look inflamed. If the sap from the poinsettia has gotten into his eyes, then bring him to the vet quickly.

Poinsettias are great if you have them out of reach of your dog. Make sure you know how high your dog can jump, and what areas your dog can get into. This will help you find a place where your dog can not get into to. Even if the poinsettia isn’t in the place you prefer it to be in. It is still better to be safe then have your dog get into it and have to deal with the results.

A Dog Eating Onions And What Happens

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A commonly used food for flavoring is not good for dogs. Onions are one of the worst foods that your dog can get a hold of. Next to chocolate, it is deadly in high amounts and can decease your dog’s life span or hurt him. Onions are commonly cut up into small bits, cut into slices, or even grounded up to be used for flavoring. But yet even the smallest amount is not good for him.

The onion causes a hemolytic anemia, and will effect the red blood cells in your dog if you feed him onions daily for days at a time. This causes the blood cell’s life span to be decreased, and once that happens, it will decrease the life span of your dog.

Onions can be found in or on breads, meats, etc. and can not be easily tasted in some foods as in others. It also doesn’t matter if it has been cooked or not. The effect will still be the same in the end. Before you feed your dog a food that you’re not sure of, to see if it has onions in it or not, check the ingredients list. It will make a difference in your dog’s health.

If your dog happens to get a hold of a lot of onions, you can try can keep the effects from happening by doing a couple things. You can go to the vet and see when they can do, or you can try and get your dog to vomit it up. Try feeding your dog salt, mustard, and water mixed together to try and get him to vomit. If he can not vomit it up, talk to your vet to see if he will be or right, or if anything else can be done.

When cooking around the holidays, keep onions out your dog’s reach. Try to cut back on onion powders and bits of onions unless it is necessary. And look out for foods with onions cooked into them if you are bringing dinner home. You don’t want to be spending your holiday at the vet clinic with your dog that has eaten onions and has gotten sick from them.

Boarding your dog

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While traveling during the holidays or for a vacation no one looking after your dog, consider boarding your dog. Your dog should stay with a boarding facility designed for dog. There your dog can be feed, exercised, cared for, and sleep while you’re away.

But when looking for a good place that will take care of your pet, you might wonder what to look for in a place, and what questions to ask the people.

You want to make sure they will let you take a tour of the place before you decide if you will board your dog or not. If they are not willing to let you take a tour, then you should decide to look for another place.

If there is a yard behind the building or in front of the build, look for if there is a wall around this area. Look to see if the wall is sturdy and does not have any holes or cracks in the wall. And from this you may be able to decide if you want to board here. While inside the building, look in back at where your dog will be kept while he is sleeping. If your dog is sleeping in a crate, make sure to check if the crate is sturdy and safe. If it is rusty and squeaky, then this is a sign you make not want to board your dog here. Also check if your dog will be sleeping with other dogs in a same crate or area. When your dog is being feed during the day or night, look and see where your dog will eat, and if your dog is eating around other dogs. If your dog is being exercised, look for where is your dog exercising.

Now asking questions about what will happen with your dog’s stay will help you get a better understanding on what will happen. Questions to ask are: Will my dog be exercised or not? And how often for how long? What will my dog be eating during his stay? Will my dog interact with other dogs during his stay? What will happen if my dog gets sick or gets hurt while he is in boarding? How much is my dog’s stay going to cost? There are many more questions that can be asked when finding a good boarding place, but these questions will help get you a basic idea of what will happen while your dog is staying.

If you end up deciding that your dog is going to be boarded, make sure your dog has everything he needs.     ( And when are boarding your dog, remember to take a copy of your dog’s current vaccinations. This is needed to board your dog.) Make sure you give the boarding place any foods your dog should eat, or medicines, or another other special orders (like not eating near dogs due to being protective of food), and so on. This means that when he is in boarding while you’re away, you will know that your dog is in safe hands and is doing well because you picked the right place for boarding.

Chocolate and dogs

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While cooking around the holidays, there are foods and decorations that your dog should stay away from. From deserts to side dishes there are several of these plants and foods which can make your dog ill or worse. Chocolate, to a dog, can be deadly in large amounts. About .5 ounces of chocolate for every pound your dog weights is all that is needed to harm your dog. Depending on the purity of the chocolate, this will effect the how badly it will harm him.

Chocolate can not be digested by dogs because of a chemical in chocolate. The chemical, theobromine, isn’t as easily digested, and can harm your dog in several ways. If you have found out that your dog has ate some chocolate, you will need your dog to get rid of it in the only may he or she can get rid of it. If a large amount has been eaten by your dog, then you should take him to the vet immediately. Your dog may try to throw up to get rid of the chocolate because it can’t be digested by them. If your dog has not started to vomit, then mix salt, water, and mustard together, and get your dog to eat it.

If your dog still can not to throw up the chocolate, then you need to take your dog to the vet. Your dog may have diarrhea, as another sign, and may drink a lot more water then normal from being dehydrated. If you happen to find a wrapper from the chocolate your dog ate, this should be shown to your vet if the symptoms get worse.