Tips On Improving Your Dog’s Relationship with Children
There is a general belief that dogs get along well with kids. There are many videos of dogs and kids goofing around on YouTube and social networking sites. However, not all dogs are the same. Some may require special training before interacting with a child. Here are some ways to train your dog to be kid-friendly.
Make Sure It Knows a Few Basic Commands
Dogs are inquisitive creatures. When introduced to a new person, a dog will try to get too close to sniff the person or get over-excited and jump on them.
Before introducing your dog to a child, make sure it understands a few basic commands such as sit, heel, down, and stay so that it knows its boundaries. The better a dog knows basic commands, the easier it will be to interact with people around it, including kids. As an added tip, have your children help with training your dog. This will not only give them an opportunity to bond but also help your dog notice your child is in control.
Use a Leash When Introducing Your Dog to a Child
When you introduce your dog to a new child and are unsure of how it will react, keep it on a leash until both the child and your canine become comfortable with each other.
Keeping your dog on a leash is an effective way of ensuring that you can control it if things do not turn out how you’d expected, and your furry friend becomes overexcited, skittish, or aggressive.
Keep the leash loose, so there is enough room for your pooch to move and play. At the same time, let it know that bad behavior will not be tolerated and will result in a short playtime.
Enroll Your Furry Friend in a Socialization Class
If your dog becomes aggressive or excited and unruly around kids, enroll it in a puppy socialization class.
Dog training is based on the science of animal behavior. A dog behavior specialist is trained to understand common dog behaviors and the meaning behind their moods. They use positive reinforcements and other techniques to make dogs understand what acceptable behavior is.
Supervise Your Dog’s and Kid’s Interactions
Young children (below five years) are unpredictable. A toddler can do something that irks your dog, and it may snap. If your dog is uncomfortable around strangers, it may perceive a child’s advances as a threat, and respond aggressively. To prevent this from happening, always be around when your furry friend is interacting with a child. Make sure they are comfortable in each other’s company.
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6 Ways To Prepare Your Dog For Boarding
Need a break from your hectic life but worried for your pet? A dog care center has got your back. Pet boardings can take care of your amiable pets when you are not around. However, before you leave your dog at the pet boarding, you need to make sure that your pet can adjust to the new environment. Besides, health and hygiene are also a big concern for the dogs, so you need to keep this in your mind. Here, you can find all the important points you need to keep in mind before you search “dog boarding near me”. Navigate until the end to get your queries answered.
How to Choose the Right Dog Kennel?
Before we proceed further, you need to make a checklist of the points you need to consider before choosing the right dog center for your pet. Check below:
- Make proper research of the center and make sure that someone is around all the time; especially when your pet requires loads of attention.
- Dig deeper into the history of the dog center and know if there is any pet loss at the center.
- Read the online reviews about the dog center. The reviews section can be a mix of good and bad reviews. However, if the same issue is surfacing again and again, you need to take it as a red signal and think over it.
- You may also ask for recommendations from friends or family members who are aware of the pet boarding service quality.
- Hygiene is a point of the utmost importance and you need to make sure that the boarding takes good care of it.
- Ask the people at the boarding to show all the spaces of the center. If they are avoiding your request, there might be something fishy about the shelter.
Keeping these important considerations in your mind can help you to find the best dog shelter. Now that you have checked these points, time to prepare your dog for the pet shelter.
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Take A Boarding Trial For A Shorter Period
Before you finally leave your dog at boarding, it is better you leave your god here for a trial. Keep the time span shorter to check if your dog is comfortable with the new environment or not. How does he adjust here and what are the issues that are surfacing during the trial? Based on this trial, you may proceed further when the time comes. Besides, if the dog feels nervous or anxious during this period, take him to your veterinarian for a consultation.
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Put Him To The Socialization Training
If you have kept your dog inside your premises all his life and all of sudden you are planning to leave him at a pet boarding, better put him in socialization training. It will help your dog to get familiar with the other dogs and pups at the boarding. When not done properly, he might be overwhelmed by the crowd of dogs. You may ask if the facility works on making the newly coming dogs get familiar with the other dogs. If not, you need to take responsibility on your own.
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Look For Your Dog’s Sleep Habits
Leaving your dog at the dog care center can disrupt the habits of your dog; especially the sleep habits. If your dog sleeps next to you, it will become more difficult for him to absorb the changes in his sleep environment. In such a case, you need to change his sleep habits gradually so that your dog can forge himself for the new environment. Make him sleep alone while keeping close eyes on his behaviour. Leave your clothes or other items that have your odour so that he can feel your presence around.
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Reach Out To The Dog’s Vet Before Leaving Him
Before you finally leave your dog, consult your dog’s veterinarian. It is crucial to ensure that your dog’s health is intact. If not, the concerning health issues can worsen at the boarding. Besides, you will need to update about your pet’s vaccination, so taking your dog to a vet not only ensures his well-being but also addresses the underlying issues that need to be fixed before you finally leave him.
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Take Care Of Your Dog’s Diet
Leaving your pet might make his stomach upset. Therefore, you need to keep on a healthy diet. Don’t overfeed him only because it is his last diet with you until you come back. Once you find the best results for your search “dog boarding near me” tell them about the specific diet instructions you are following for your dog.
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Morning Is The Best Time To Leave
Last, but not least, choose the morning time to leave your dog at the boarding. Once you checkmark all the important considerations, leave with your dog in the morning and see him engrossed in the new environment before you bid him adieu. Leaving your dog all alone at night can make him more depressed and anxious. Contrarily, when you leave him in the daytime, he will play all day and get to sleep easily after getting tired.
Ending Words!
When leaving your pet at pet boarding, it is your job to ensure his well-being in the upcoming days. However, all you can do is take the necessary measures to make him feel safe and comfortable. The dog boarding facility also plays a crucial role in consoling your dog in his loneliness with the best care and pampering. Family Pet is a reliable pet boarding center you can rely on for your furry friend.
Dog Food Myths
The food that you give your pets affects all aspects of the pet’s life and health. Including their coat, energy levels, and overall well-being. A lot of veterinarians make sure to educate pet owners about the proper care of their pets. Unfortunately, most of this education necessarily focuses on challenging misinformation. It is common among pet owners to readily pick up myths and misconceptions. The World Wide Web is majorly responsible for contributing to the formation of myths and misconceptions. Breeders and fellow pet owners have an equal contribution to spreading dog food myths and misinformation.
Nutrition is the largest area with widespread myths and misinformation. Pet owners are always looking out to find the “right” food for their animal companions. This is one of the major factors related to health that they can control. It is crucial to get the facts checked before getting into any food myth.
Our pets are resilient and are able to thrive on a variety of diets. In most cases, nutrition is only one of many variables interacting in complex and subtle ways to impact health. The perfect food for pets does not exist and the pressure to find the perfect diet can easily persuade you to fall for dog food myths and misinformation. It can compel you to choose extreme and unhealthy choices.
Dog Food Myth, “High-protein diets cause kidney failure”
The idea that access to protein causes kidney failure arises from the fact that high levels of protein are historically ill-advised for dogs with kidney failure. But for dogs with normal kidney function must have a reasonable amount of protein. Feeding a moderate level of high-quality protein is good and won’t lead to any health hazards.
Dog Food Myth, “Meat is more nutritious than meat meal”
While purchasing dog food, if you compare the ingredient lists then the meat is a vital element in it. If your objective is to have the most meat nutrients, then go with a meat meal. Ingredients appear in descending order of their weight; that weight includes any water in the ingredient. When you see chicken listed as an ingredient, it means unprocessed chicken, complete with water. Chicken meal means chicken with the water and fat removed. It weighs less than chicken but actually can contain a higher percentage of protein.
Dog Food Myth, “Feed raw eggs for a shiny coat”
Eggs are a good source of protein for not just humans but dogs as well. It contains fat, and vitamins, all essential to hair growth and skin health. One of those vitamins is biotin, which is important for cell growth and fatty acid metabolism. While egg whites contain avidin, a biotin inhibitor, the yolks contain enough biotin to make up for it. Eggs help dogs get a shinny coat but feeding them raw is not ideal. An egg is a good source of protein and other nutrients, but probably no better than any good diet at promoting a shiny coat.
