Taking Care of a Puppy Without Its Mother
The care involved in hand-raising a puppy varies depending on the young dog’s age. The first two months of life are spent by his mother’s side, so a puppy yet to wean is going to require some amount of tender loving care from you. Warmth Keeping a puppy warm is a priority. Puppies swaddle […]
BREEDING – REARING PUPPIES AND CARING FOR A MOTHER
For the next two months, even if everything went smoothly with the birth, you have a lot of work to do! After the birthing process, clean up the mother as much as possible without upsetting her. Remove any of the soiled newspaper or bedding from her whelping box. Normally the new mother will spend most […]
Raising Newborn Puppies
Once the anticipation and waiting are over, and your pregnant dog has successfully delivered her new litter of puppies into the world, it is time to roll up your sleeves and dig into the business of caring for your newborn puppies. This care starts even before the puppies are born, but the moment they are, it (of […]
Weaning and Feeding Your Puppy
If you’re responsible caring for puppies in the first few months of their lives, you’ll need to be prepared to move them from a diet of mom’s milk to regular puppy food. This process of gradually reducing a puppy’s dependency on his mother’s milk, known as weaning, should generally begin between three and four weeks […]
Feeding Your Adult Dog
Adult dogs require sufficient nutrients to meet energy needs and to maintain and repair body tissues. The amount you feed your adult dog should be based on his or her size and energy output. Activity levels may vary dramatically between pets, and will play an important role in determining caloric intake. How Much to Feed […]
Feeding Your Senior Dog
Dogs begin to show visible age-related changes at about seven to 12 years of age. There are metabolic, immunologic and body composition changes, too. Some of these may be unavoidable while others can be managed with diet. When feeding your older dog, the main objective should be to maintain health and optimum body weight, slow […]
Feeding Overweight Dogs
One of the most common pitfalls dog parents should watch out for is overfeeding. Attempts to shower our dogs with love by means of big meals and lots of tasty treats are sweet, but misguided. In dogs, as with humans, extra weight can lead to health problems. Be sure to indulge your four-legged friend with […]
Do Cats Improve Our Mood and Become Attached to Us?
Last year I covered 5 unusual studies on the psychology of dogs and their owners. This kicked off a comment thread which discussed how dogs act as ice-breakers, how they might mediate the tension between couples and how long after you died they would wait to feast on your flesh. Apparently dogs wait longer than cats although I’m […]
The Benefits of Pets on Mental Health
Source: BrookHavenRetreat
Why Kids With Pets Are Better Off
When I was a kid, a pet changed my life. It was not our family’s lovable mutt Frisky, or even Murphy, my pet duck. No, it was a four-foot yellow rat snake named Fred I got for three bucks when I was 13. He lived in a cage in my bedroom. I was transfixed by […]