There are great responsibilities when it comes to dog ownership. It is up to you to provide a healthy and loving environment for your dog. You need to educate yourself about caring for a dog in order to become a good owner. Start by reading this article for some useful tips.
Being a dog owner requires a financial commitment. Food, vet care and supplies can add up quickly. Pet health insurance can help; although you will pay a monthly or yearly fee, you will often be covered if a big medical emergency occurs for your pet.
Your home needs to be 'dog-proofed'. Before bringing your dog home for the first time, make sure that the entire area is completely safe. Put cleaning supplies and medications away and keep indoor trash inside a cabinet. Since some plants are very harmful because of their toxicity, it's best to get rid of them or put them in an area that the dog cannot get to.
In your backyard or in your house itself is the right place to start training your dog. This will give you security and an area that your dog is comfortable. People will only distract your dog, making it more difficult to train him.
Make use of hand signals when training your dog versus relying only on verbal commands. Your dog can figure out things easier when they get these signals. Experiment with each way and determine what works.
If you're training your dog, don't just use verbal commands. Try hand signals as well. Dogs tend to respond better with these additional types of signals instead of always relying on voice commands. Always associate the spoken command and the hand gesture at first and choose the system that works best later on.
Daily brushing your dog has more benefits that just reducing shedding. Their coat will become shinier when they are brushed everyday. When you brush your dog, the oils on their skins are spread, creating skin that is soft, shiny, and healthy.
Instead of feeding your dog meat bones, give him rawhide. Real bones can chip and fragments may become lodged in their mouths or digestive tract. Rawhide is great for oral health, so don't give Rover any of your T-bone, regardless of how much you know he wants it.
When you get a new dog, set up an appointment for him at the vet. Immediately after bringing home the new dog, schedule a checkup with your veterinarian. This allows the vet to look him over and schedule the necessary vaccines. You should also speak to your vet concerning your dog being spayed or neutered because there is an overpopulation of dogs in shelters.
Take your time to teach your dog what kind of behavior is right or wrong as soon as it occurs. If you let it fester it can only make the problem much worse and eventually the dog becomes extremely difficult to train. Your dog might hurt someone else, or you, so take steps to control him early on.
If your dog has separation anxiety or you wish to be really nice to them, keep music on while you are going to work. That helps the dog feel like someone is around. That might work to appease his anxiety during the time you aren't home.
Be as kind to your dog as he is to you. This advice will help you provide better care for your dog. Your dog should have the best life possible and by using this advice, you will find your life to be more enjoyable as well.
