Community Pitch

photo credit: cjnzja

If you have a child that is begging you for a pet, a guinea pig may be a very good place to start. For starters, a guinea pig is easy to feed. For many of us, our food scraps end up in the garbage every day. Trimmings from broccoli, apple cores; all sorts of food stuff that really shouldn’t be going to landfill. Guinea pigs love this stuff. Give them a handful of vegetable and fruit scraps every day, and they will be the happiest pets on the block.

I’m not saying that cats and dogs aren’t great pets, I have a dog and I wouldn’t give her up for anything, she has become an integral part of our family. However, guinea pigs made great starter pets because you can have them in the house and give your child the full responsibility of looking after them. You can get guinea pig runs that are especially designed for the home, and are modular, so it’s like giving your kid a Lego set with real live fluffy creatures inside.

photo credit: Jon Haynes Photography

The back massage is one of the most basic services that are available and each session can last anywhere from 10 minutes over to a full hour for the seasoned practitioner. The back massage uses techniques that will basically work all the muscles in your back. So for instance the first muscles to be massaged will be your shoulder muscles and those along shoulder blades and upper arms. Then the masseur will work down your body to your upper back muscles, following on to the lower back muscles. During the back massage it is important not to focus on the spine, all the work needs to be around the muscles this is where the tension is built up. Try use as little oil as you possibly can because oil tends to decrease contact between your hand and the skin.

Before you buy a paint horse for sale you may want to consider if the beautifully colored horse is going to use its pinto powers for good or evil.  Pinto horses seem to have a charm that makes you want to care for them and love them, and show them off to all of your friends.  However, they also have a sense of humor that leads them to do things like open gates and watch your other horses get loose.  Then they just stay in the pasture and look at you as if saying “What?  I’m the good one hear, it’s all those other nags that ran off.”  The other day my beautiful paint princess rubbed up against another horse then, I’m quite sure on purpose, touched the electric fence.

I just wanted you to know what you were getting into with paint horses.

There are generally two main types of allergies in dogs, the first are dog skin allergies and the second are dog food allergies. Some of the symptoms are similar for both types of allergy although both cause irritation and distress to the dog.

A skin allergy can be caused by airborne particles such as pollen, dust or mold spores and can be relieved through regular bathing and the application of topical medication. Another cause may be due to an allergy to flea saliva. Washing of the dog and the dog’s immediate environment can improve the comfort of the dog.

Dog food allergies are difficult to pinpoint, firstly in working out that the cause of the problem is due to the food your dog is eating and then in working out exactly which food item is causing the problem.

The quicker either type of dog allergy is addressed the better it will be for both you and your dog.

So why are cats better than dogs, kittens better than puppies? Well first of all, it will take you a few hours to train your cat to use its litter box while it may take weeks till your dog finally learns to go to the bathroom outdoors. Cute kittens are much more independent than puppies. They don’t require as much attention as a dog. Not to mention the fact that a cat won’t keep you up till all hours of the night barking up a storm. You will never need to give your cat a bath, that’s what their tongue is for. Although, I will say one thing about dogs, if your house gets broken into I’m pretty sure your cat will leave you high and dry. Other than that cats are much easier to take care of in every way. But that’s just my opinion, to each his own.

Thanks for reading.

photo credit: SashaW

Most dogs absolutely love the water.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a pool, a pond, lake, stream, river or ocean.  Even a big mud puddle will do!  But when you take your dog out on your boat, be a good owner and put a dog life jacket on him or her.

Yeah sure, some people will feel a little silly doing this, but when you consider the fact that should your dog accidentally fall over board, not only will they be able to survive much longer if a rescue were delayed for any reason, but you’ll also be able to pull them back up on board much more easily with the handle that is built in to most dog life jackets.

You wouldn’t leave a small child without a life jacket, would you?  Why take a chance with your dog?

A basic puppy exercise pen is not to be confused with the proper outdoor dog kennel that is used to house a dog for longer periods of time.  It is not meant to contain your puppy for long periods of time, but is rather used to let the pup have some play time and fresh air on a temporary basis.

The usual puppy exercise pen is commonly made from wire mesh panels that are hinged together.  These are often adjustable, meaning you can often very easily add extra panels to the existing ones to enlarge it.  A real plus with this type of exercise pen is that it’s usually collapsible which makes it very easy to store and to travel with.

Normally these types of pens are not covered, so you do need to be careful if you leave your pup outside for any length of time, not to leave it in direct sunlight during the heat of the day, or where there’s no shelter.  By the same token, you wouldn’t want to leave your pup in it if there’s a rainstorm either, as they wouldn’t receive any protection from the weather.

It’s really just best used to pop your puppy in when you want him to be outside but don’t have time to oversee him, or if you want your dog to have some outdoor exercise time.  It is not to be used on a permanent basis though.

If your dog could speak and tell you what he really thinks about the dog kennel you drop him off at what would he say?  “Hey, thanks I really enjoy the cold cement floors, loud neighbors that talk and party at all hours the smell of feces and the poor sleeping conditions”.  Or would he say, “I played ball until I was tired, when I got done with that I went for a swim and followed that up with a massage.  Man that was awesome and once it was done I went to lay down on this great bed and slept like a, well dog”.

photo credit: BL1961

Think about your dog, his comfort and the little extras you can provide him.  Dog stress is real and you can do a lot to take care of your pet by doing the little things.  Find out a little about where he will be staying, he will be glad you did and in turn you will too.

Today we are going to talk about the “come” command for dogs. It is very important that a dog can understand this command because it tells them you want them. It is also probably the hardest command to teach your dog, so doing it correctly will benefit you in the long run. You must understand, however, that the “come” command should only be used for something positive. When you try to get the dog to come to you for a bath or to be reprimanded, events we call “negative,” they will remember that you only want them to go to you for something they will not enjoy!

You will need to use this and other Beagle dog training tips from now on! The dog will need to be reprimanded when he misbehaves, but using the “come” command is a bad idea, so again I will highly recommend avoiding this use of the command. Getting back to the training itself, you should always reinforce the positive behavior of the dog coming to you. With that in mind, you should never use the command if you can not reinforce it, or if he does not know how to react to the command.

One day I was sitting next to my garden bed at home crying, because I hated making money from home. I wanted to be out with all my other friends at an awesome party what was being held.

Then I got really angry so I jumped off the ground, stormed over to my house, rung my boss and screamed in the phone “I QUIT! Im so sick of this job I would rather be picking up elephant poo than THIS”. I hung up and slammed the phone down. I felt so much better after that. I hopped into my car and started to drive to the party that was going on. Then I came across a cat on the road, I parked the car next to it and jumped out of the car. I ran up to the poor thing as fast as I possibly could. I realised it had a huge cut on its back, so I drove to the vet. I gave the cat to him and he said “It probaby got bitten by a dog, see the teeth marks around there?” He told me to wait in the waiting room for a little while, so I did, praying the whole time. An hour after that the vet came out and said that it would be fine.

After a month a had a new job, I was so happy. I wasn’t making money at home anymore, I was having a good time being a waiter at a café. Then I went to the vet to see how the cat was going. The vet said it was going fine. I asked if I could buy it off them because it was on sale for fifty dollars, and he said yes.

In the end, I named the cat Faithful and spent most of my spare time with him.