As Spring gets closer and things start to warm up, dog owners start walking their pets more often. Taking your dog for a walk is a very important part of your dog’s life, but there are some laws you need to follow if you don’t want to lose your pet.
The leash laws in some areas have become more strict, and owners can lose their pets if they aren’t careful. In Omaha, if you get three leash violations in a 24-month period, you can lose your dog, get a fine and go to jail.
To make sure law breakers are brought to justice, Omaha has dispatched more park patrols to enforce the laws. Most cities in the country have some kind of leash laws, and if they aren’t followed, you might be surprised with how severe the penalty is.
It isn’t too hard to train your dog and get it to be comfortable with a leash. It’s also a good idea to make sure your dog responds well to voice commands. That way, if it does get off the leash, you’ll be able to call it to you quickly before anything bad happens.
It’s surprising to see the American Kennel Club speak out against a bill that aims to protect dogs. The bill recently introduced in Nevada requires breeders to get an annual license and agree to random inspections, and the AKC has a problem with that.
The annual license costs $500, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem for a breeder that makes a profit from selling dogs. The bill also requires random inspections of where the dogs are being kept, and this seems to be where the AKC has a problem. The AKC says one of its goals is to “protect the rights of all dog owners.” That’s great, but what about the dogs themselves?
In cases concerning dog breeders, the rights of the dogs should be taken into consideration before the rights of the humans who are breeding them. This should be how it works because the breeders can choose a different profession if they disagree with the law, but the dogs they breed can’t decide to go somewhere else if they’re starving inside of their cages.
There have been some terrible cases of abuse in puppy mills and other places where the breeders care more about profit than the health of dogs, and this is what the bill aims to prevent.
To think that an organization as well established as the AKC is against a bill that will help prevent these kinds of atrocities is amazing. The AKC might want to think a little bit harder before they come out against something like this. The AKC say they support the proper care of dogs, but they aren’t willing to enforce regulations? There are some inconveniences to dog breeders in the bill, but the amount of help that it will bring to dogs completely outweighs what breeders will have to go through.
Please support the bill and help make sure puppy dogs are better protected against irresponsible breeders. The dogs can’t do it by themselves!
St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to learn about dog breeds that originated in Ireland. There are a total of nine breeds from the country, and some of them date back over a thousand years. These are some of the best hunting and companion dogs on the planet, so if you’re looking for a new dog, check these ones out.
1. Glen of Imaal Terrier
One of the newest breeds to be recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), this breed is actually many centuries old. They are quick, agile and love companionship. In the old days, they were used to hunt vermin around the farms and rotate a spit over the fire by using something that resembled a hamster wheel.
2. Kerry Blue Terrier
This breed is generally black and blue in color, but they can also be recognized by their beards. These dogs are great in the water as well as on land, and were used to retrieve game while on the hunt with their owners. These dogs are great companions as well as working dogs.
3. Irish Wolfhound
One of the oldest and most noble breeds in Ireland, these dogs were given as gifts between royal families in Europe. Possibly originating in the first century A.D., these dogs have a long history of being useful hunting dogs because of their size and speed. The Wolfhound is one of the first nine breeds to be recognized by the AKC. If you’re going to adopt one, make sure to have a high fence and a big yard for it to run around.
4. Irish Setter (Red, Red & White)
While the Red & White Setter dates back before the more well-known Red Setter, they both have similar personalities. Both breeds are very loving companions, and have a lot of energy for a good portion of their lives. This makes them good hunting dogs, but even better friends for when owners weren’t out hunting food.
5. Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
Named for their soft, brownish off-white fur, these dogs are possibly the oldest terrier breed in Ireland. References to the breed date back over two centuries. Under there soft fur exterior, these dogs have muscle and can be used to retrieve small game.
6. Irish Water Spaniel
The Water Spaniel can be identified by its dark curly hair and rat tail. These dogs love the water, as their name implies, and are very protective of their families. This was one of the first nine breeds recognized by the AKC when the organization was established.
7. Irish Terrier This terrier is a candidate for being the oldest terrier breed in Ireland. They are very courageous, and are so brave that they were used as messengers during World War I. They used to be many different colors, but selective breeding has made most of them red in modern times.
8. Kerry Beagle
One of the oldest breeds in Ireland, these dogs were bred with other hounds to create better hunting dogs. This beagle is larger than others, and can retrieve game that other Irish breeds might be too small for.
When you get home from a hard day’s work, or are just relaxing on the weekends, a pet by your side can be calming. No matter what else is happening in the world, the little animal by your side loves you and seems to try and make you feel better.
Even though you seem to feel better when your pet is around, is there evidence that shows pets have a positive medical affect on their owners? Could owning a pet really prolong your life and relieve your stress? Well, the studies have come out, and that definitely looks to be the case!
An article on the Humane Society’s Web site does a great job of citing studies and showing how a pet can help at the end of a hard work day. According to a study in the article, “…people who owned pets had much lower heart rates and blood-pressure levels…”
While our pets help our health by reducing blood pressure, do we help theirs in the same way? Can we help prolong their lives by helping with their stress? It’s possible, especially if we make an effort.
We need to help our pets in the same ways they help us. If we make sure to give our pets attention and cuddle them when they want (not just when we want), the relationship becomes more mutually beneficial.
In case you haven’t heard, April is National Pet First-Aid Awareness Month! This is a time when people are encouraged to learn how to take care of there pets in other ways besides rushing them to the vet.
It’s possible to administer first-aid to your pet without having to use the service of a vet, as long as you know what you’re doing. There are plenty of sites that can help you learn about pet first-aid, and in some cases, it’s not as hard to prepare as you might think. You can also take pet first-aid training classes that can help save your pet’s life in an emergency.
Don’t try to do everything for your pet. Part of knowing first-aid is knowing when the symptoms are so serious that you should see a professional. While a lot fo minor things can be taken care of at home, not everything can, and pretending you’re a vet can result in a worse situation than you were in to begin with.
It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie or Big Brother, but it’s actually a good way to find your pets if they ever get lost.
Microchips are small scannable objects that are implanted under an animal’s skin. These chips store an identification number that can be traced back to the owner and how to contact him or her. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice, so it’s relatively unobtrusive to the animal.
At first, it seems like implanting anything in your pet could cause some damage, and it is possible. Although some people claim that it’s possible for tumors to form around the site of the implantation, other studies say this is extremely unlikely, and this might happen in one in a million cases.
Any pet can be microchipped, but that doesn’t mean every pet should be:
If microchipping isn’t for you, there other routes to take besides hoping a collar and tag will stay on. It’s possible to tattoo information on your pet that can be traced back to you. This procedure is a little controversial, but can be effective if you don’t want to inject anything in your animal.
A lot of pets that run away or get lost aren’t recovered. It’s a sad fact, but if you believe your pet is at a high risk of getting lost, the rewards of a microchip can outweigh the risk.
Dogs that hang around the house all day can get depressed. If they aren’t getting enough mental and physical activity, they become bored and need something to cheer them up. One effective tool to help your dog can be food puzzles.
Food puzzles are dog toys that force dogs to work for their food. Instead of pouring food in a bowl and having the dog chow it down within minutes, the puzzles keep dogs occupied for hours. This can help with dogs that are bored or depressed due to lack of mental and physical stimulation.
In the wild, dogs spend hours hunting food. This is dramatically different from the simple lives pets have now where they don’t have to work for their food. The puzzles can help with that by forcing the dogs to figure out how to obtain food inside the toy.
Not all dogs are a good match for the puzzles. If your dog is skinny, sick, or is having trouble eating already, this might not be the right toy. Puzzles are for dogs who are energetic and need something to do during that day.
If your dog is tearing up the house while you’re gone, this might be the product for you. Your dog is probably messing up the house because it has more energy than it knows what to do with. A puzzle will expend that energy while you’re at work, leaving your house in the same shape you left it (hopefully).
If your dog seems depressed, and the dog toy isn’t doing the trick, it’s possible that something more serious is wrong. Sometimes, dogs that are in pain act depressed, so if you can’t seem to cheer up your pooch, it might be time for a vet visit.
People are losing their limbs and their vision because of retractable dog leashes, according to some reports.
Some of the leashes have metal pieces that break off and fly up to hit dog owners in the face, while others are causing cuts and, in some cases, loss of limbs because of the material that the leash is made out of. A thinner-than-average material is required to be able to retract into the device, and this can cause injury to humans and dogs that get tangled in the leash.
Some of the victims in these cases have settled out of court, and others are still in the process of suing the companies who made the allegedly faulty products.
Companies are defending themselves by saying the leashes were misused, because dog owners were using the leashes on dogs that were too big for the product. Some companies also said injuries were caused when a dog had behavioral problems, tried to run and snapped off a piece of the leash.
First of all, dogs are going to try and run off of the leash, that’s what they do, and that’s what the leash is made for. If a dog didn’t try to run off while on walks, there wouldn’t really be a reason for the dog to wear a leash. For a leash maker to blame his leash breaking due to a dog’s behavior doesn’t work.
That would be like a seat belt maker blaming his belt breaking on the person who crashed. When the car crashes, it’s the belt’s job NOT to break. The same can be said about a leash that snaps when a dog tries to run after something.
It looks like retractable leashes are a bad idea dog owners should stay away from. There are plenty of leashes out there that are a lot safer and won’t break as easily. Please don’t be cheap when it comes to something that’s so important.
He recalled a story where a dog was reunited with his owners after nine years, and was still excited to see them. This shows that dogs can remember their owners and possibly miss them when they’re gone.
Whether it’s a two-day trip or something more long term, dogs are happy to see their owners when they return. Because of this, whoever keeps the dog in the divorce should let the other person have visits, even if just for 10 or 15 minutes. It might cheer the dog up, and everyone likes to be happy
A powerful alderman in Chicago on Monday said he now has the votes to pass a law that would fine people who didn’t get their dogs and cats spayed or neutered. The fine would be $100 a month until the surgery is performed.
The alderman didn’t have the votes required until he toned the bill down a little, but the general idea he was pushing through is still there. He had to change the fine from $500 a month to $100, and had to remove a mandatory impoundment clause.
He said the law would not only help control the stray pet population, but it would also help lower the numbers of maulings that occur. The idea is that pets will be more calm and less likely to attack once they’re fixed. The bill was created after a woman was attacked by three pit bulls.
The bill is an interesting way to deal with pet attacks. It seems like the city of Chicago is more willing to punish the animals instead of their owners. Where was the owner of those pit bulls? Maybe the people who were responsible for those dogs should be held more responsible.
And why should all pets in Chicago have to suffer for the actions of one pack of pit bulls?
