What to Look for in Your Dog Kennel

by Posted in Dog Services

Kennel and dog accommodation services are essential for dog owners, as it provides much needed relief and solutions for those of us who travel regularly for work and leisure. The fact of the matter is, is that travelling with your pet dog, particularly overseas and by aeroplane, can be a massively stressful experience, and the kennel services which help families avoid this situation are incredibly useful.

So while we’ve established why kennels are so important to dog owners, we’ve yet to establish what you should look for in different establishments. The reality is that there is a lot of disparity between what different kennels provide for those in their care; sometimes they will only be providing a basic cage, food and water, and minimal exercise, while others will be able to provide a social environment, a great diet, a lot of exercise and attention by the carers. Although the latter is the ideal situation for your dog, this extra quality comes with higher prices as well.

 

Dog Grooming Services: Is it Necessary?

by Posted in Advice for Owners

Dog grooming is something which, when taken to the extreme, can be receive a lot of flack. Despite this, a wide number of dog breeds require regular grooming to keep their hair free of matting. It is important that if your dog’s hair does get matted that you seek the services of a groomer. In addition, dog groomers can help maintain your dog’s feet which is also very important, and tricky for somebody untrained to do without hurting them.

The problems tend to arise when dog owners take dog grooming to the extreme, such as with hair dyeing and accessories, rather than doing the reasonable thing of just trimming the hair away to the point where their hair getting tangles is unlikely. Even then, it isn’t a large problem, and can hardly be counted as abusive, just a bit unnecessary.

Does Owning a Reptile Compare to a Dog?

by Posted in Advice for Owners

Owning a reptile like an iguana or snake has its own pros and cons, but when compared to owning a dog, what can you gain and what do you miss out on?

Owning a pet has its responsibilities; you need to clean up after them; you need to feed them; you need to wash them. Whether you own a dog or a pet reptile, this is always the case, but the benefits in this area are that a reptile requires less attention, usually creates less mess, and when it does it is usually contained in a set area. A dog requires constant attention, exercise and more.

The downside to having a reptile for a pet is that they aren’t very engaging. Just like how they don’t need or particularly want affection and attention, the chances are that they won’t provide you much in this way either.

In conclusion, if you want a low level of responsibility from your pet, a reptile could be best for you, but if you’re interested in having an engaging, loving relationship with another animal, a dog is undoubtedly the best option.

Hiring a Dog Walker

by Posted in Dog Services

One of the most intensive responsibilities with owning a dog is how much you need to walk them. This varies from breed to breed (with a pug only needing to be walked a couple of times a week and shepherding dogs requiring long ones every day), but all of the breeds require you to dedicate time and energy towards maintaining their physical fitness and sense of well-being, which can be exhausting. For those who have a busy work schedule, this is doubly so.

In order to account for the demands of your pet dog, one of the options available to you is to hire a dog walker. This is a typically cheap service which is available in most urban areas, whereby you hire somebody to walk your dog for a small fee. This means that you’ll be providing your dog with the enriching exercise they need to be healthy and maintain a positive attitude. You usually find that dog walkers will walk a number of dogs together, meaning you get the added benefit of giving them a socialising opportunity as well,, which is also very important for their state of mind.

Starting Dog Training When They’re Adults

by Posted in Dog Training

Everybody has heard the old adage, “an old dog can’t learn new tricks”, and there is certainly some accuracy to this saying. The best time to start training a pet dog is when they’re still puppies, or adolescents, but once they’ve reached adulthood, behaviour has started to become engrained in who they are, which means that over-riding their learned behaviour is a lot more difficult.

Even though all of this is true, there are plenty of techniques that you can use which will have more impact than you might expect. If they already are quite obedient dogs in most cases, you may actually find it easier to train an adult dog than a puppy, as they are going to have a better understanding of instructions. Of course, it is also unfair to paint all adult dogs with the same brush, as a dog which is 3 years old is going to have an easier time of learning how to stop a bad habit than a dog which is 10 years old.