Excessive Barking of Dogs and How to Control Them

By Jennifer A Johnson

Barking is a normal behavior for dogs. Barking is also a form of communication. It can be a warning barking, this type of reaction is most typically seen in domesticated animals in response to a perceived territorial intrusion or alarm barking. It is more likely to arise when a dog can hear, but not see the source of some noise.

How to avoid excessive Barking of Dogs
An excessive dog barking can be annoying sometimes to the neighbors or even the pet owner itself. As dog owners, it is your responsibility to train your dogs. Since barking is a normal behavior, trying to reduce them than eliminate is more realistic. Understanding the reason why your dog barks so much is the key on how to avoid excessive barking. Most dogs bark to communicate, to get more attention, or simply to show their excitement. Dogs bark for many reasons and it can be hard to quiet them, because they are usually trying to tell you something.

Training and lifestyle are very important factors in teaching your dog how to communicate with you, its master. You may seek help or advice from professional dog trainers or a veterinarian. You may also need to use a dog bark control collars. Bark Control Collar is effective way to control unwanted barking of your dogs thus, its helps behavior modification of your dogs.

Types of Bark Control Collar
Sonic/Ultrasonic Bark Control Collars- A type of collar that produces tones that human may or may not hear. This can be effective on small dogs and puppies with timid personalities.
Citronella Bark Control Collars - This type of bark collar sprays citrus around the dog's muzzle when she/he barks. This treatment is considered by most to be humane because it is not painful. This works on small to medium size dog that don't have a strong personality.
Electrical Bark Control Collar - This bark collar produce a mild stinging sensation in response to bark.

These behavior modification collars are more preferred to teach their dogs how to reduce excessive barking. It is best to seek advice from professional what type of bark control collar is best for your dog.
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Natural Dog Food - Give Your Dog The Best

By Brigitte Smith

There are some dangers of feeding a dog commercial dog food. That is why dog owners have come with a new idea called natural dog foods for their beloved dogs which is safe, easy and healthier.

The best natural dog food is meat. Dogs require meat protein, and preferably meat protein. Always choose fresh meat for your dog. It's best to buy from a butcher or from a meat processor. These meats will be fresher, can be bought in bulk for better pricing, and you can have the butcher cut up or grind the meat for you if needed.

Natural dog food helps your pet maintain better health. There are a number of ingredients to choose from when natural dog food is made. Meats can be used, although it is preferable that they be boneless. Grains are also a great ingredient. There are also certain vegetables that are beneficial for your pet.

You will also want a nice choice of vegetables. Many types of produce are good for your pet, but brightly colored choices are among the best. These include orange, yellow, purple and even green items. Carrots and beets have necessary nutrients. For proper taste and texture ensure your choice of items is fresh.

There are a number of foods that are nutritious and good for people to eat that are at the same time unhealthy for dogs. Most of these are vegetables, such as beans, greens, and peppers. Since dogs mainly eat meat or grains, it is better to add a supplement to their meat rather than feed them these vegetables.

It is best not to over feed your dog. Determine how much to feed your dog each day by taking its weight and activity level into consideration. Aim for a consistent amount of food fed at consistent times each day. This will develop a routine for your pet. Many people cook their own dog food using recipes for dog food that were found on the internet. Just like people, controlling the ingredients and eliminating the fillers and preservatives will improve your dog's health.

Another option for your pet is sojos food. It's filled with the kind of nutrients, essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes your pet won't get from eating already cooked and processed nugget of kibble. Because sojos is natural and preservative-free, it gives your pet the same high quality nourishment usually reserved for humans.

Dog owners today have become more wary about the type of dog food they feed their beloved pets, after recent contaminated dog food scares. For many, natural dog foods have become the products of choice, not only for their safe, healthy ingredients, but because they are just as easy as traditional commercial products. You can find many recipes for dog food on the Internet. If you want your pet to have food that is higher quality, try Sojos food. The food produced in higher in vitamins and minerals that other prepackaged dog food.
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Cat Care Tips - 10 Tips for Cat Lovers

By Kurt Schmitt

Given the differences between humans and felines, it's amazing that we get along the way we do. These cat care tips deal with subjects such as preventing litter box problems and letting your cat act on her instincts. Following these tips will help you and your kitty to better bond and enjoy your lives together.
1. Lay your hands on your cat often -- some cats just don't like to be picked up no matter what. But, if you can start handling your cat often when she's a kitten, chances are good she'll better accept it later in life. She'll also do better when it comes time to get checked by the vet or have her claws trimmed.

2. Give your kitty an exam -- weekly (or more often) grooming sessions can be used to examine your cat for health issues. Check your cat for ear mites, fleas, and signs of injury, swelling, or pain, swelling, or injury. Examine your cat's gums and teeth, eyes, ears, skin, and extremities for obvious problems.

3. Provide a window seat -- domestic cats love warmth so much that they've been known to singe their fur on hot stoves. Cats love to sunbathe, so set up a nice comfortable bed for your cat by a window so she can have her place in the sun.

4. Make kitty an indoor cat -- following the recommendation from every major cat care organization, keep your cat indoors for better health, safety and a much longer life. Cats can live out a healthy life indoors. They can get the level of exercise they need, and survey their territory from a nice spot in front of the window.

5. Your cat wants to hunt, so let her -- no, I'm not saying to let your cat hunt rats. Instead, bring out the hunting instincts in your cat by spreading some treats around the house. This will make feeding time a bit more fun. One of my cats likes it when you toss dry food bits and let her chase them down. Try it.

6. Provide enough litter boxes -- follow the one plus one rule - one box for each cat in the house plus one more. This ensures that there's a fresh, available box to use at any given time. Some cats don't like using a box that was recently used, even if they were the one to use it.

7. Clean the cat litter box twice a day -- clean the box twice a day and change the litter every few weeks, thoroughly scrubbing the box and disinfecting with bleach when you do. Keeping the box spotless will help prevent any possible cat litter box problems that might arise.

8. Play with your cat often -- dangle toys for your cat to play with, or have your cat teach you to play fetch. Chase your cat around the house whenever you can. Get your cat exercising every day and you'll help lower her risk of diabetes and other diseases. You might get some exercise out of it too.

9. Provide a variety of interesting cat toys -- always leave your cat's favorite toys accessible, but rotate the others to keep it interesting. You should not leave your cat unsupervised while playing with most toys, however, as injury can occur. Also, a shoe lace, belt, or rope, if used safely, can make a great interactive toy. Playing with toys provides exercise for your cat, and fun for both of you.

10. Get your cat a playmate -- every cat lover knows that two cats are better than one. When you can't pay attention to your cat, another cat in the house will. A second cat around the house will offer comfort, encourage exercise, and reduce boredom. Bored kitties are candidates for behavior problems, and are more likely to cause mischief.

Encouraging your cat to exercise will keep her in shape, and encouraging her instincts will make her a better adjusted family member. More touching will bring you closer and make your cat more social. Keeping your cat indoors will keep her safe. In addition, the cat care tips above concerning the litter box will save you some possible headache. Preventing boredom will keep her happy, and keep both of you out of trouble.

For at least 15 more practical cat care tips see Kurt Schmitt's cat lovers website for details.
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Coping With The Loss Of A Pet

By Kate Tilmouth

Owning an animal used to be only considered when it was needed to carry out a purpose like ploughing fields, catching mice and rats or for hunting with. They were seen only as another possession and not something to be overly concerned about once it passed away. However all of that has now changed and owning an animal purely as a pet is far more commonplace and so to has their significance in our lives. We now consider them as part of the family, to love and care for them as we would any other member of our family.

This attachment to our pets brings us many years of companionship and love but it does also mean that when they pass away, we also suffer grief and pain. However how do we express this sense of loss, when to many, an animal is just an animal and in many cultures grieving for a pet is seen as silly and as a weakness. It is just as important to find ways to come to terms with the loss of our pets, as it is when we lose any member of our family. If we don't it could lead to physical illness and depression.

It is therefore important to find someone to speak to who will understand your grief and who can help and support you through these sad times. They should allow you to cry and to talk about how you feel. If there is no one in your family or circle friends that you feel will be sympathetic to your feelings, then contacting a local animal charity and asking them for help is perfectly acceptable. Some animal charities even have dedicated telephone lines to help people with their loss of a pet.

Other important ways to cope with your grief are:
Make sure you eat regular meals, it may sound silly but during the grieving period it is common for people to forget to look after themselves as they normally would and may even find that they lose their appetite. Not eating will only make you feel worse.
Allow yourself to cry without feeling embarrassed about it. If someone asks why you are crying, simply say that you have lost a dear friend.
Try not to dwell on the loss, keep yourself busy.

Don't forget to continue to pay attention to any other pets you may have. They too will be experiencing a sense of loss even if it is not shown.
When we lose a member of our family or a friend the ritual of holding a funeral to say your final farewells can be the starting place to accepting your loss. Unfortunately this rarely happens for our pets and so because that final farewell doesn't happen we may feel that we have not yet let go of them and so can prolong the feelings of grief. It can therefore be helpful to have some sort of memorial for your pet. It doesn't have to be much, a planting of a tree or bush, or placing a small statue or plaque in the garden, may be all that is needed to say goodbye and to help you through the grieving process.

One of the hardest things to cope with when a pet dies is explaining it to a young child, who may have built up very strong bonds with the animal but who does not understand the concept of death. Many parents feel worried about trying to explain what has happened to the pet, as they feel that as the child's first experience of death, the explanation should be a positive one and not something that will frighten the child.

The best way to explain to a child about death is to be totally honest with them. Use real words like death and dying rather than words like sleeping etc. By explaining death to them in a calm and positive way it will help them come to terms with future losses and will prevent possible future confusion if they hear the truth from someone else.

Children will respond to the death of a pet in different ways, some may start to do some very strange things like burying toys for the animal to play with or drawing pictures of the dead animal underground. Whichever way they want to express their feelings should be allowed and even encouraged and crying in front of your child will allow them to also feel as if they can cry too and not to try and be brave about it.

Coping with the loss of a pet is never easy and you should always allow yourself time to come to terms with it. Often rushing out to replace the animal is not the best solution and can even cause other unforeseen problems not only for yourself but also for your other pets.

More cat health and cat care tips can be found at our site http://www.our-happy-cat.com/, a feline friendly community full of helpful advice and fun things to do to make sure you have a happy cat and a happy you.
Copyright 2007 Kate Tilmouth
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How to Give Your Pet a Balanced Diet

By Derek Rogers

Just like all other living creatures, pet animals like dogs and cats require a combination of carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, proteins, minerals and water. This balance can be achieved by creating a balanced nutrition diet, providing sufficient calorie amounts to meet the daily needs of the animal for activity, growth and repair. While many pet food bags claim that they are "complete nutrition" foods, this claim means absolutely nothing unless the nutrients within are in a form that the pet can absorb into their system.

For example, since the hemicelluloses and celluloses of plant cells is not digestible in raw forms by dogs and cats, foods that are based on grains as a primary source of protein and carbohydrates absolutely must be processed in a manner that allows the nutrients to be extracted by the animal's digestive system. Not only do most major pet food companies work hard to balance their pet foods, but they also make every effort to provide ingredients in the most usable form possible.

Pet foods must contain vitamins and minerals in concentrations that are balanced as well. If there is too much of one mineral or vitamin, it may actually have interference against the absorption of another vitamin or mineral. Too little of a vital nutrient can interfere with vitamin or mineral use. Major pet food companies generally strive to provide the most balanced proportions of minerals and vitamins and other nutrients based on years of studies, and most pet food companies are constantly fine tuning their recipes to benefit the pets that their foods feed.
There are differences in the way that each pet food maker processes their food, and in the quality of ingredients they use, which can contribute to the balance of the food's nutrition. There are also finished product, storage and ingredient humidity and temperature changes that contribute to variation in the quality of the food. Some pet characteristics affect nutritional needs in food, including age, breed, activity level and level of health. More and more pet food companies are coming out with specialised foods for certain animal breeds, activity levels (overweight, sporting, working), size (small dog formula, large dog formula) and age level (senior formula, baby formula) and so on.

For some pets, a balanced nutrition requires an anti-allergen food, such as a duck and potato blend for dogs and cats with allergies to certain grains.
The best way to determine what the right balance is for your dog or cat is to speak to your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will have a good idea of the myriad of food choices out there, and will be able to recommend a food that will offer the right nutritional balance for your pet. It might be fruitful to explore a second opinion, or even a third, because some veterinarians give preferential treatments to certain food brands and may be making a somewhat biased decision.

However, slight differences in processing temperatures, in quality of the ingredients purchased, and storage humidity and temperature of ingredients of the finished product can cause variations in the quality that may affect a particular dog, a particular breed, or a particular line of dogs within a breed. In addition, some breeds or groups of breeds may require slightly different percentages of particular nutrients. Therefore, all dog foods are not perfect for all dogs, a factor that leads to the production of a plethora of different foods, claims, and processing methods.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who represents a number of UK businesses. For advice on pet food, he recommends Seapets, one of the UK's leading suppliers of pet supplies.
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Animal Communication for Healing

By Helene Rothschild

Sandy's dog told me she was upset because she was. Her digestive problem improved when Sandy solved her problem. Mary's cat was running away because the new kitten received all the attention.

Gary's horse informed me that he was being abused by the owner of the boarding facility. Sharon's parakeet complained that his cage was too small. She had a much happier bird, after she purchased a larger one.

Are you very close to your pets? Do you sometimes wish that you could communicate with them, especially when they seem upset or have physical problems? Animals do speak to humans and it is a wonderful experience to be able to hear them and help them heal.

As a Marriage, Family Therapist and intuitive counselor, I had the opportunity to counsel many clients over the telephone that had beloved pets. They sometimes asked me to help them, too. Since I knew that intuition has no limitations, I tuned into them. The animals seemed very happy to communicate with me. When I told the owner what I heard, the information was always confirmed.

I was amazed to discover that they have similar problems than humans. For example, Kathy purchased a beautiful pedigree dog. Soon after, she noticed that her sweet angel seemed depressed and had severe digestive problems. Very concerned, she contacted me. When I communicated with the puppy, she informed me that she was feeling very insecure because her siblings were kept as "show dogs." She felt not good enough. When I helped her release that negative belief and realize that she was good enough (as I have with many children and adults) she felt much happier and her appetite returned.

It is interesting that I find that many pets (and children's) problems reflect the upset of one or more of the family members. It is normal and human to have issues. However, it is important to be able to resolve them so that everyone in the family, including the pets, can feel good and prevent physical problems.

It was fascinating to discover that Beverly's elderly, sick dog knew when he was going to die but told me not to pass the information on to her. Sure enough, three months later Beverly called me very upset because her beloved pet had passed away. I then told her what he had said. "She replied, "Is he all right? I just want to know he's all right." (This is a question that many clients also ask me about their deceased human loved ones.) I further comforted her by tuning into him and reporting that he was smiling and happily running around.

Ellen contacted me because she intuitively knew that her 14 year old pet was dying. However, she was too upset to trust her own answers. Her dog told me that she was leaving and gave me all the details of how and where she wanted it to happen, including the burial ceremony. Ellen took notes and was very grateful for the information.
Ellen called me a week after her dog died. She told me again how comforting it was to know exactly what her precious pet desired so that she could fulfill her last wishes.
Knowing how to communicate with animals (and humans) is very important in order to prevent and heal emotional and physical problems. Our beloved pets benefit greatly when we pay attention to their symptoms.

If we tune-in and listen to the animals, we can uncover the causes of their problems and help them to experience what they need to solve them. If you love your pets, I am sure that you agree that they also deserve to be healthy and happy.

©2008 by Helene Rothschild, MS, MA, MFT, Marriage, Family Therapist, intuitive counselor, animal communicator, and author of the Amazon best selling book, "ALL YOU NEED IS HART! Create Love, Joy and Abundance ~NOW!" She offers transformational, international phone sessions, teleclasses, books, e-books, MP3 audios, and a free newsletter, MP3 audio and e-book. http://www.lovetopeace.com/, 1-888-639-6390.
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Pet Insurance

By Victor C.
I want to talk about something serious for us all; pet insurance. If you told me six months ago I would be talking about pet insurance, I would have laughed in your face. My family and I are a normal American family. We have a house, two cars, 1.5 kids, a dog, cat and a hamster. We love our pets very much. They are a part of our family. Well, we have gone through several "Skippy" the hamster. Please don't tell our son.

Our dog Angel is a three year old German Sheppard who goes everywhere with me. He is like my best friend. Not long ago he got very ill. We rushed him to the Veterinarians office. The Vet came out and told us that our pet had a tumor that needed immediate surgery.

We said "yes"; how fast can you perform the surgery. Our Vet is also just like family. She knew it was a vulnerable time for us and did not hesitate to perform the surgery. She knew that the pain after the surgery would be just as bad. What pain you say? The pain was receiving the bill for the Vet services. The bill was huge. Thankfully, our Vet worked out a payment plan with us.

I promised myself this would not happen to us again. I began to do some research and discovered there were companies offering pet insurance. I looked into the pet insurance and found that it was a good deal. It worked just liked my family health insurance. We pay a premium and when needed we take our pets to the Vet. We pay the Vet and get a form filled out. We send in our form and a receipt and the company sends us back a check.

Since we have taken out the insurance we have had to take "JoJo" (our German Sheppard) back to the Vet several times. It was so nice to not have to worry that we were going to have huge bills to pay off again. We want to emphasize to everyone how much peace of mind this pet insurance has given us.

Our Sheppard is completely healed now. We take him to see the Vet as often as we can. Not for a check-up, but just to see Ann, our Vet. Our lives have been made allot easier because of the pet insurance. Everyone should look into getting pet insurance coverage for all their pets.

Victor C. is an Engineer in Computer Systems who loves to read and write about any subject, as long as it's interesting and useful for the reader.

He is specially interested in Health, Flirting,Babies And Pets

Watch Funny Pets Videos At: Funny Pets Video Collection

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Dog Health Issues - Kennel Cough

By Alisa M Chagnon

When one hears the term of Kennel Cough, one imagines a horrible disease that affects dogs if they are left in unsanitary conditions at a rundown kennel. The image that this brings up is certainly unpleasant. However, dog owners should be aware of this health issue.

Kennel cough is a lung infection. Any dog can come down with this health issue. Most of the time, a dog will get this type of infection if the dog was exposed to large amounts of smoky air, air which was extremely dusty or a room with poor ventilation. Example may be if a large amount of construction work was being done in a house and brought up a huge amount of dust; a dog left to live and breath in those situations would be a candidate for this illness. If a dog was unfortunate to be in the vicinity of a fire, this would also likely cause a large intact of smoky air and the Kennel Cough may settle in. While some kennels may be poorly ventilated, these conditions can certainly be found at other locations other than a kennel.

This medical problem is an infection of a dog's lungs and will cause a dog to cough severely. The cough will be a dry cough; phlegm is usually not present with this type of illness.
The treatment for Kennel Cough is a strong round of antibiotics for your dog. These must be obtained from your vet. Once your dog has taken the course of medication, the coughing will cease. The recommended method of giving your dog medication is to mix it into their dog food. If a dog resists and eats around the medication, you can ask your dog's vet if you may break up the pill into dust or obtain a liquid version that can be mixed thoroughly into the food.
Other veterinarians opt to give dogs a vaccination to prevent this in the first place. It is a personal decision. The downside to having a prevention shot is that doing so may decrease a dog's defense system.

There are some herbal remedies that are sold; these claim to cure Kennel Cough. However, before using any type of homemade or herbal treatment a dog owner should always check with their vet. The last thing that you want to happen is for the treatment to not work and the infection to grow immensely.

Learn about Pug dogs at http://www.petpugdog.com/
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Dogs and Cats - Should You Mix the Two Together?

By Carol Waters

Dogs are fantastic and cats are great! How are they when together? This is all going to depend on the two individual animals; however there are some suggested methods to know ahead of time if the two will mix together.

It is first recommended to never get a new dog and a new cat at the same time. Not only would each animal need to get acclimated to the new house, they would need to figure out if the other is friend or foe; this is too much for a pet to handle.

Therefore, once you have a dog or a cat and that animal is a happy and content member of the family, you can then think about getting the other animal. Even if you have your eye on a certain dog or cat, it is strongly recommended to never purchase that animal until you test to see if they will mix well together.

In the best of cases, a dog and cat can be best friends. There are many families who report that their dog and cat play with each other, take naps together and even offer each other food!

However, in the worst of cases, there is an all out war. A dog, by nature and pure instinct, can see the cat as prey. This will trigger a battle that the dog has no control over and in worst cases will lead to the death of one of the animals. Once may assume it is the cat that always would lose this sad battle; however if you bring in a small toy breed such as a Chihuahua and put him together with a large cat, there is no telling what may happen.

Therefore, it is recommended to slowly introduce the dog to the cat. It will be your job to sit back a bit because the answer as to how they will get along will be to what degree they notice each other.

If they act as if the other is as interesting as a doorstop; you are in luck. They may ignore each other for now, but may become very good friends.
However, if the dog stares at the cat, this is the first sign of trouble. The more intense the stare of the dog, the more dangerous the situation can become. If the dog is looking at the cat and does not take his eyes off of her, he is deciding if she is prey or a threat.
If the dog stands still while doing this, and stares without moving his body, he may strike. If he is completely silent, does not move and the stare is strong, you must remove the cat immediately.

If the dog does have this reaction, it would take an enormous amount of training for the dog and feline to get along; and this can end badly while you are attempting a pairing. It would then be suggested that that particular dog is just not a "cat person"!

For information regarding the lovable Chihuahua, visit http://www.petchidog.com/
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My Pet My Friend

By Byron Pulsifer

Thousands upon thousands of people world-wide enjoy having a pet as part of their household. And, one of the challenges every pet owner has is to find good pet names. Some people decide to name their pet even before they find the type of pet they want. In other cases, people decide upon a good pet name based on some unique characteristic of their pet after observing some of their individual antics for a few days or weeks.
Pets provide some unique advantages to people. Some people find that owning a pet hones their skills for caring and nurturing. I have known many people over the years that have had a pet to care, to train, and to form an integral part of their household long before they have children. Now, I'm not saying that caring for a pet is the same as caring for a child. What I am suggesting, however, is that some of the routines associated with consistent pet training also apply to being consistent with positive reinforcement so necessary when raising a child.
Also, pets provide the companionship to many single people as well as to many seniors. There is something very special about having a pet when you live alone. This pet isn't just a pet; this pet is bonded to you always there to provide devotion. Your pet is always there to welcome you home after a hard days work, and is always there as a friendly distraction so as to give you an opportunity to forget about little things that really are not important. You may have had a very trying day but your special friend is always there to provide loving attention. It's hard to remain in a down mood when you know there is an unquestioning loyal friend there to play, to walk, to run, to entertain with their own special characteristics, or loving antics.
Unfortunately, not everyone that has a pet treats them the way they deserve. Take some dogs, for example. How many times have you been out and about and noticed a dog that is neglected, who has to stay outside no matter how inclement the weather without having a shelter to retreat to? How many times have you seen someone mistreat their dog with harsh treatment, or worse still, with physical abuse? Would a human friend put up this kind of abuse? I think not. To me, these kinds of people should never be allowed to have a pet of any kind.
Human friends may come and go, move away, or leave you when you're feeling down. But, your pet is there as a constant companion, never complaining (unless you don't feed them on time), always up for some fun, and never without an unkind remark.
Find good pet names for your new pet. http://www.goodpetnamess.com
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