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Bringing A New Puppy Home To Meet Your Dog
Buying a new puppy is an important decision, especially if you already own a dog. It may be a good idea to ask the previous owners or the pet store where you make your purchase how your puppy interacted with other dogs around him. If he didn't get...
Coping with the loss of a pet.
I run an online
pet memorial web site and as you can imagine I come into
contact with many people who have lost a much loved pet or
animal companion.
Looking through the memorial web sites that pet owners create
when a beloved pet passes...
Dog training - reward training basics
Training with treats and other food based rewards is a great way
to motivate your dog and speed the training process along. Most
dogs are highly motivated by food rewards, and treat training
using this kind of positive reinforcement is used to...
Getting Ready For Your Pet Bunny Rabbit
How To Teach Your Children The Proper Care For Your Pet Rabbit!
Children are naturally innately drawn to cute, cuddle-y little
creatures, and they will probably want to pick up, stroke and
play with your new pet rabbit. But while this may be...
How To Keep Your Dog Safe in the 21st Century
For thousands of years, dogs have been "man's best friend." Dog-loving humans have tried to keep their pets safe in return. As the world becomes more complex, dogs need extra attention now more than ever to stay safe. With a little foresight and...
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Why Don't I Understand My Dog?
I have encountered folks who have complained to me about their numerous (dog) `behavior problems.' And interestingly enough, I usually discover that most of the behavioral problems are linked to a common factor. That common factor being pet owners all too often miss crucial, pet communication signals because of their busy lifestyles.
What do I mean, "...miss crucial, pet communication signals...?" While many people love the idea of having animal companions, we also have daily responsibilities such as jobs, attending school, families, and other priorities. And usually, our pets end up last place on life's totem pole.
Another issue that certainly plays a key factor in how capable we are to understanding our animals' needs and wants is whether or not we have indoor or outdoor pets. Though indoor pets may pose a little extra patience with regard to training, I highly recommend (as does the Humane Society ) keeping pets indoors with family.
What most individuals do not take into account is that once a collective choice is made to adopt an animal, that is precisely what is being done: we are adopting a living, feeling, creature into our lives; thus, we must consciously realize that by adopting an animal, he or she is to become a permanent addition and family member.
We certainly wouldn't adopt a newborn and place him outside on a chain all day until we returned from work, would we? Therefore, we must always remember to treat our animals just as considerately and compassionately as we would our own children.
Puppies and dogs, like their human toddler counterparts, are innately curious, clumsy and tend to have accidents. When we understand that these commonalties exist and we anticipate this prior to welcoming Rover into our hearts and homes, we are better able to coexist and develop a long-term and loving reciprocal relationship with our animal counterparts.
So step one into understanding our pets is
to unconditionally accept them into our homes. Having several, large canine companions, (whom all live indoors with me), I've learned to recognize and distinguish types of body language and visual dialogue that speaks volumes. When our dogs live indoors with us, we can interpret the language of love. Not only do we see their personalities unfold before our eyes, we learn to be intuitive to each of our pets' needs, similar to our own.
From experience, I can literally close my eyes and distinguish each dog's presence simply by touch and sense. Why? Because by having them alongside me, I've learned their individual motions, breathes, sounds and feel. And in turn, they present their comical and goofy sides, their playfulness and their unconditional love for us.
When we invite our dogs into our lives - truly into our lives - we discover a world of fascination, innocence, inspiration, laughter, amusement, and an indescribable love. So how can pet owners learn to better understand their dog's behavior? Give Beethoven a bath, bring him inside and watch how his character evolves. The more time we spend one-on-one with our dogs, the better we are able to recognize specific traits and how to employ gentle behavior training techniques.
Having seven huge dogs, I've come to terms that dogs are one of life's most precious gifts. They are here for just a little while. When we take time to get to know them individually, we gain more than just a pet; we gain a friend for life.
© 2005 - Why Don't I Understand my Dog?
By C. Bailey-Lloyd
aka. LadyCamelot
Public Relations' Director &
Staff Writer
www.holisticjunction.com
www.mediapositiveradio.com
About the Author
C. Bailey-Lloyd
aka. LadyCamelot
Public Relations' Director &
Staff Writer
www.holisticjunction.com
www.mediapositiveradio.com
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