I take my dogs to the park every day. It’s not one of those fancy
dog parks, mind you, where the regulars congregate daily and secretly
judge all the other dogs against their perfect pooch. It’s just a park,
but it does provide ‘‘poop bags’’ and plenty of open space for
tennis ball chasing. And dogs like it. The problem is, their owners are idiots.
OK, not all owners are idiots. But many are.
Take today, for instance. This morning I was walking my two
very large dogs — a rottweiler and a lab/pit bull mix — on one side of
the park, deliberately away from the parking lot and a chance for a
run-in with anyone. My dogs are friendly, but they’re big, and I try
to keep them away from stran gers — human and canine — at a
public place, for everyone’s protection. So there we were, play
ing ball and minding our own business, when some dopey dog
owner drives her Suburban tank into the parking lot, lets her
leash-free, large, aggressive dog out, and then proceeds to talk on
a cellphone while her dog charges across the field at mine.
Stupid. Dangerous, too. If you’ve ever witnessed a dog fight, you
know what I mean. Then I spend the rest of our formerly fun outing
trying to shoo the stranger dog away so no one gets hurt. If I
wanted a doggie playgroup, I would have had one. Luckily, I
convinced the other dog that it’d be in his best interest to leave us
alone and go back to his oblivious human. But our peaceful outing
was ruined. Grrrr.
Next is the inconsiderate, rude, disgustingly selfish, igno
rant dog owner who completely ignores the ‘‘poop bag’’ station,
watches his dog take a giant dump right in the middle of the
soccer field, and then walks away. Um, excuse me. Sir? I’d rather
not have my son Johnny land in your dog’s pile of poop while mak
ing a slide kick at practice this afternoon. I don’t know, maybe
that’s just me. There’s nothing that irks me more. And when I
see it, I say usually say something to the dog owner (and get a
snarly response in return). I just can’t understand how someone
can be so inconsiderate of others, and lazy too. There should be a
law against it. Oh, there already is? Maybe the police should en
force it then.
And then you have the owner who can’t control his own dog.
Granted, we’re all a little helpless when our dog decides he wants
to roll in that pile of dead animal guts (ick!), or when he needs to
run crazy for 30 seconds to get out his excitement while we pa
tiently wait. But for the most part we should be able to tell our dogs
‘‘NO!’’ if we don’t want them attacking the little terrier across
the field, or if we want them to stay with us and not visit the
town landscapers 200 yards away. If not, maybe the public
park isn’t the place to be taking your dog.
I know, I sound kinda like a grumpy old dog owner. And maybe
I am sometimes. But it’s only when a stupid or inconsiderate
human decides to ruin my favorite time of day: playtime at the
park with my dogs.
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For many it is difficult to determine the proper kind of dog house to get for their dog. The size of your dog is the first thing you will need to know. This will help you determine the right size for your particular furry friend. There are a few things you will need to consider when selecting the right dog house for your dog.
If you have a dog that lives outside most of the time you need to look at the temperatures in your area. If you live in a part of the country that is often cold or wet might want to think about getting a heated dog house. If a dog house with heat is beyond your means you should buy one that is waterproof and insulated and then add a heated dog bed or pad. Only use a heated pad made for use with animals since your dog can become overheated if you use one designed for humans. Heated dog beds are designed to be chew proof and operate at a low voltage for added safety.
You will have a natural flea repellant if you choose a dog bog with stuffing made from cedar chips. If the issue in your area is heat rather than cold you need a dog house to help your dog stay cool. Find a model which has lots of ventilation and put it in your yard where there is plenty of shade. There are air conditioned dog houses available for those dogs that easily overheat.
Purchase large dog houses that gives you dog ample room to lay down and turn around but not so much room that it will never be warm enough. A bigger dog house will not be better for your dog. There is a wide array of materials used in the production of dog houses among the most popular are wood, plastic, PVC, and galvanized steel. You can buy a dog house pre-assembled or one that needs to be built.
Probably one of the biggest headaches involved in having dogs for pets is potty training puppies. They do not have a button you can push to have them do their business and they cannot comprehend any verbal command unless they were trained to do so. Having a puppy go potty when and where you want it to does not require you hire a specialist to do it for you. The only major requirement one needs to pull this feat off is a generous amount of patience. Just as long as you stay consistent with your dog training, you'll have no problems potty training a puppy.
Getting them to go by understanding their nature
Animals act instinctively and they don't consider the pros or cons of a situation before deciding about it. Knowing this can really help you in learning how to potty train them. Puppies are like sponges ready to soak up information, they have the instincts but, for the most part, are still in the trial and error phase of finding out how to meet certain needs. Urinating and defecating is instinctive but, despite what most people think, puppies don't just quit doing what they're doing and do their business. Try to observe them when they get the urge, they often run around looking a bit agitated first sniffing and fumbling about until they find a good spot and then assume the position.
This is where the training in potty training puppies comes in. You'll have to teach them to pick a specific spot to go potty so every time they feel the need they go exactly where you want them to. How do you do it? You will need something with a musky or earthy scent, something distinct that when they smell they can easily associate with either urinating or defecating. There are commercially manufactured potty training sprays that you can purchase in pet stores or you can go hands on and try to get a small amount of your pet's urine in a spray bottle when it does its business.
Whether you choose the commercial spray or the hands-on approach, the training phase remains the same: when your puppy shows the need to do its business, prepare a liberal stack of newspapers and keep your puppy on the newspaper. Spray just a very small amount of the scent-agent onto the newspaper. Let the puppy move around there and get comfortable. Once the puppy does its business gently hold its head near the spot you sprayed the agent close enough for the puppy to sniff the scent. Repeat this procedure for about 12 weeks each and every time the pup needs to do its business.
By doing the previous steps, you can get either of the two results or both. The puppy can equate going potty to a newspaper or the scent which means that whenever the puppy needs to go, it will either look for a newspaper or sniff around to find that scent, either result will lead to a properly potty trained pup and care free maintenance for you.
As mentioned earlier potty training puppies requires a generous amount of patience but aside from that it is actually a pretty easy thing to do.
