Every year, thousands of individuals and families bring home a member of a large dog breed, only to discover in a short time that it is not the right fit for their home and lifestyle. Of course this sudden realization is understandable. Why would most people want a canine that reaches 100 pounds and is taller than the children? It was not a responsible decision in the first place to buy a large breed of dog without doing the research needed, to ensure it was a perfect match for you and the family.

They Don’t Always Stay Cute

Too many people see that oh-so-cute pup in the store, or walking around the neighbor’s yard and are suddenly drawn to have one. Why? Cute ears, puppy breath, that harmless wobbly walk – but you know what - all puppies are cute!

Let’s take some breeds for example that have characteristics that many people are not privy to when purchasing: A beagle is one of the cutest puppies there is, but most likely will run away most of the time without lots of training. A Coonhound is cute and will be big, but due to its genetic makeup must have a large outside area to explore and run when it is older. It is a tracking and scenting dog.

Know The Breed of Dog

Big dogs all have unique big dog personalities and somehow they must blend with you and your home. There must be a fit. They can put a huge demand on you and your home if the family is unprepared to handle it.

The characteristics bred into canines by humans will determine if a big dog can be a good companion in your situation. The expenses are often greater, not only in food and you must be committed to caring for them. Big dogs are also hard to find new homes for once they are older, so if you change your mind, then it will be the poor animal that suffers down the road.

Understand The Size of The Adult Dog

So you want to have a dog in your life, have done all the research you can on the breed, understand its size potential as well as its needs for living and care. You have also been honest with yourself and determined why you want a big dog and that you have the proper environment set up. You are well funded enough to do so and you just don’t want a compact mini model dog – you must have a big one!

Now all you have to do is decide want length fur you want and what breed is most suitable for you and your family. When you bring the new pup home make certain you train and socialize the big guy well and above all, enjoy your big dog!

Many people compare the Chow Chow to the Spitz dog breed, simply because they share many of the same characteristics. It is been assumed that because they are so closely related, the Chow Chow is actually a descendant from the Spitz family. Unfortunately, the true bloodline of the Chow Chow cannot be confirmed. However, we do know that this dog has been widely popular in China for hundreds of years, possibly thousands.

The original function and purpose of the Chow Chow is theorized to have been as a hunting dog, which would sniff out and find birds. Soon enough the breed started to decline in its quality and the number of survivors diminished to almost nothing after the Imperial Hunts. But a few Chow Chows were kept inside monasteries and with wealthy families and survived.

The name “Chow Chow” is thought to have been created during the 1700s when large numbers of these dogs were imported into England from the Chinese. The exact reason for the term “Chow Chow” is not known, but dog historians assume that it may be linked to comparing the dogs to Oriental nick knacks. Another possibility is that the term Chow Chow was given because the dogs were packed into the middle of ship cargo when moved to other locations overseas.

The United States first saw the Chow Chow dog breed some time during the late 1800s when they were imported from various parts of England. Queen Victoria took great interest in the breed, which helped attract a lot of attention to them. It was 1903 when the AKC finally recognized this dog as an official breed, especially due to its distinctive noble look.

Chow Chow Personality

The Chow Chow is said to be one of the top rated watchdogs for a family. Its protection ability is powerful and this dog is immensely cautious about overlooking its family members. The animal moves in a very reserved, almost noble type of way and is extremely suspicious of strangers and other animals. Not the most playful of dog breeds, the Chow Chow may be a bit difficult to train.

Taking Care Of Your Chow Chow

Chow Chow dogs do not fare well during hot, humid weather. In fact, this dog prefers cold weather at all times. Its coat is smooth, yet thick and will need brushing at least once a week. Some Chow Chows may demonstrate very rough fur and will need brushing every other day, particularly when shedding. Activity does not need to be tiresome, just a brisk walk each morning is plenty of exercise for this dog.

Health Information

The Chow Chow has a lifespan of up to 13 years, with 9 being the average. Major health concerns to watch out for are entropion, CHD, and patellar luxation. Minor health issues include stenotic nares, elbow dysplasia, distichiasis, gastric torsion, cataracts and glaucoma.

Every time warm weather approaches, veterinarians are once again overflowed with complaints and questions from worried dog and cat owners, who are waging the recurrent battle against external parasites, particularly fleas and ticks.

The problem of parasites and the complications they cause is an extensive and serious one, but one that has been faced by nearly every pet owner at one time or another. In an effort to spare your pet a great deal of suffering this coming summer, we would like to answer two questions that are most commonly asked by pet owners about those annoying parasites; fleas and ticks.

What Exactly Are Fleas & Ticks?

Fleas are tiny insects that, as adults, must suck blood from another creature to sustain their own lives. Fleas are wingless, six-legged parasites, capable of jumping with surprising speed and may infest your pet alone by the thousands. The flea is a dark, reddish-brown color, similar to dried blood and is a common external parasite found in most parts of the United States.

The tick, a friend in misery to the flea, is generally dark in color, several times larger than the flea and when on your pet does not move about but rather attaches itself to your pet’s skin and remains at that spot until it has satisfied its hunger for blood.

The female tick, engorged with blood, may look like a large, grayish-white, puffy pea-sized object, which on closer inspection, is attached by its tiny mouth to the animal’s skin. Often in close proximity to the underbelly of the female lies another smaller tick, a male waiting to complete the breeding cycle.

How Will I Know If My Pet Has Fleas Or Ticks?

The most common reaction of an animal infested with external parasites is an insatiable desire to scratch or chew at its skin. Frequent periodic checks of your pet’s skin and coat are advisable, especially during warm spring and summer months when the parasite problem reaches its peak performance. Fleas are frequently spotted leaping from place to place across the animal’s body.

If no fleas are readily apparent, part the animal’s fur close to the skin and check for flea excrement, which are specks of black, pepper-like dirt that, when wet, regain the color of the blood ingested by the flea. This discovery is a very good guarantee that fleas are present in your pet. On longhaired animals, checking the lower abdomen, genitals and other areas of sparser hair growth will sometimes give clues when all else fails.

Ticks are more easily identified since they are easily seen by the naked eye. If long hair is in the way, a thorough stroking of the animal’s skin from head to toe will usually reveal the whereabouts of ticks by the feel of their tiny, hard-shelled bodies close to the skin.

Engorged female ticks are generally quite obvious because of their greatly enlarged size and distinctive appearance. Ticks frequently go unnoticed when lodged in ears, around the anus, on the tail and in between paw pads, so be sure not to neglect those areas.

Most dogs love avocados. They taste good and they are an excellent source of fat. Fat is responsible for providing dogs with an extra amount of energy and gives them healthy skin as well as an extra glow in their coat.

Strangely enough, it was the dogs themselves who led us to the idea of using the avocado as a supplement to the canine diet. It seems that avocado growers’ pet dogs were competing with the growers for any fallen fruit. The growers became curious and decided to compare the nutrients that this amazing fruit contained with those needed by canines.

According to a Veterinary professor at Iowa State University, this fruit enhances hair quality as well as skin tone. Avocado growers have reported this improvement in their dogs is most likely due to the amount of linoleic acid of the fruit when added to the dog’s diet.

Of course, this fruit alone could not be recommended as the only nutrient source for dogs. An avocado, in small quantities as a supplement, might be helpful if adequate amounts of fat were not available from other sources.

A dog’s requirement of fat depends mostly on the amount of activity he engages in. For instance, an active working dog needs up to twenty percent fat in his diet, while the average household dog that walks a few blocks everyday, needs only five to eight percent of fat in his diet. The very thin dog should get a diet rich in fat until his weight and health improve. The pregnant and nursing female dog also needs greater amounts of fat in her diet.

The majority of canine canned foods contain adequate fat to satisfy the need of an average household dog. However, if the dog is fed a diet strictly of dry meal, it might be moistened with additional sources of fat.

Avocados are an excellent source of fat for this purpose. For canines that get most of their fat from canned foods, this tasty fruit also serves as an occasional treat. Avocados might be alternated with other occasional food supplements to add variety to the dog’s regular diet. Simply put, dogs love avocados and they are good for them!

Word Of Warning: Documented evidence suggests that some dogs, as well as other domestic animals like cats and cattle, can be severely harmed and prove fatal when they eat the avocado pit, skin, leaves and bark of the avocado tree. Therefore, when supplementing your dog’s diet with avocados, make sure to only give him the meat of the fruit.

If you feed your dog a diet consisting of only lean meat, chances are it could have severe nutritional problems. While a dog is a carnivore, it cannot live on protein alone. Just like its owner, a dog needs a balanced diet including fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

Few of us could afford a predominantly steak diet for our dogs, but even if we could, they would be a lot healthier with a cheaper cut of meat. Less expensive meats are better for dogs because they have a higher fat content.

Fats provide dogs with energy and heat and help keep their skin healthy. Not enough fat in a dog’s diet can cause scaly, dry skin. its coat may become coarse and lifeless. A diet low in fat may also cause a dog to become highly nervous and more susceptible to many types of illness.

There are three fatty acids that a dog needs. These are: linolenic, linoleic and arachidonic. Linoleic acid can be found in meat products, suet, butter and corn oil. It can also be found in avocados.

The Avocado

Avocados are one of the few fruits that most dogs love. One reason for this is that these fruits add palatability and texture to food, especially dry meal. It is also a nutritious supplement of fats to the canine diet. This pear-shaped fruit contains sixteen percent of rare oil seldom found in fruits, as well as an unusual amount of protein.

One medium avocado contains about 35 grams of fat, mostly monounsaturated. This fruit also has more potassium than bananas. Avocados are also rich in vitamin E, vitamin K and the B vitamins.

When the nutritional requirements of adult dogs were compared with the composition of avocados, particularly Californian avocados, this fruit proved to be a good source of vitamins and minerals. One half of a medium avocado provides a mature dog with all his daily requirements for magnesium, potassium and niacin. About half of his requirements for thiamin, manganese and vitamin A, are also provided with this awesome fruit.

Compare what the avocado offers a dog nutritionally, to some of the other foods often added to a dog’s diet to improve his skin tone and coat. Half an avocado supplies thirteen grams of fat. There is one gram of linoleic acid in half of the fruit.

An egg has half the amount of fat grams and only a trace of linoleic acid. One half cup of cottage cheese only offers five grams of fat and a trace of linoleic acid, while one tablespoon of corn oil has fourteen grams of fat and seven grams of linoleic acid, but none of the vitamins and minerals that the avocado offers.

The exact origins of the American Water Spaniel was never officially recorded. But most experts agree that a combination of the Irish Water Spaniel, Tweed Water Spaniel, English Water Spaniel and the Curly Coated Retriever all had a part to play in the equation. This theory is based largely on the breed’s appearance.

Another theory is that the American Water Spaniel was created by American Indians who had tribes located in the Great Lakes regions. Whatever the origins of this dog are, it is irrefutable that the breed became hugely popular and established as a reliable hunting companion in the Midwestern section of the United States.

The American Water Spaniel is a small dog that has a waterproof coat and an amazingly keen nose, allowing it to hunt through rough terrain and retrieve a variety of game from both land and water. It is no wonder that this breed became a sought after hunting companion in America.

It wasn’t until after the year 1940, at which time it was officially recognized by the AKC, that the American Water Spaniel started to become the target of breeding enthusiasts. Before then, no one really had considered breeding American Water Spaniels for any other reason besides hunting.

Personality

As you can tell by its name, American Water Spaniels absolutely love water and have a natural ability to swim and hunt. This dog is a highly skilled retriever and is able to hunt a variety of animals.

At the same time, these Spaniels make great family companions. They are lovable and always willing to please. Some of them can be quite timid, yet other American Water Spaniels may be aggressive towards strange dogs. They are also known to bark loudly.

Taking Care Of Your American Water Spaniel

Like all dogs whose prime desire is to hunt and retrieve, American Water Spaniels must have a vigorous amount of exercise on a daily basis. Two or three long walks on the leash each day will suffice, but running outside in a safe area is best.

As far as living arrangements are concerned, American Water Spaniels should have access to the outside but remain indoors at night with the rest of the family. Grooming requirements tend to be a bit more work than other breeds, largely due to its long oily coat. Weekly brushing is a must and the hair may need to be clipped around the feet, ears and the topknot.

Health Information

The average lifespan of a healthy American Water Spaniel is between 10 and 13 years. The only major health concern that may come up is mitral valve disease. Minor issues include CHD, PDA and pulmonic stenosis. A few of these Spaniels may show signs of PRA and patellar luxation, but these occurrences are rare.

If you have an adorable little puppy running around the house, the last thing you want to see is an accident. Accidents do happen and you should be prepared. It is best if you practice safety prevention, rather than waiting for something to happen to your puppy.

It takes one thing to go unnoticed and can cause a great deal of pain to your puppy. These little animals are full curiosity. Everything they see and smell looks like a great adventure and from their point of view, it’s all open territory. They see no danger and move forward to check things out. This is why you want to take the following safety prevention measures to “puppy-proof” your house.

1. The first thing you should do is look around every room of your home and dispose of small items that your puppy may swallow. Puppies tend to try and swallow anything that they can get a hold of.

Unfortunately, not all small items will safely pass through the dog’s intestines which can prove to be fatal. Other times, your puppy’s system will try to gag and cough up the object, which can go on for a long period of time. If your dog does not get the object out, then the intestine becomes blocked and can rupture.

2. The second important home safety precaution is to hide or elevate your electrical cords and wires. Every home has wires and cords that must be in each room, but if left hanging there, dangling like a treat, your puppy is guaranteed to be tempted to play with it.

If it chews on these electrical items, your puppy is going to get hurt. The damage caused by gnawing through to the inside wiring of these cords can cause a mild shock or worse, third-degree burns. In many cases, the electrocution can be so severe that it may cause your puppy to die from the shock. It is best to elevate all of the wiring that you can and use heavy-duty tape to cover up the other cords that have to be on the floor area

3. Last but not least, keep your home free from dangerous poisons and toxins that your puppy can ingest. Remember, our pets use their mouth’s for virtually all investigations and because they are extremely curious, toxic items can be easily ingested with one lick. Such household poisons can include anti-freeze, rat poison, garbage, lead and even chocolate.

If you are a dog lover, one of the best ways for you to earn income while staying at home with the kids, is to sell dog training products online.

Dog training products are some of the most salable items online, so you have a fair chance of earning money. Selling dog training products online does not r need a huge start-up capital. You do not have to keep an inventory of dog training products if you are selling them online. As long as you have access to these products, you can put these items for sale on your website.

Before you start building your website, you will need to find the right dog training products to sell online. You need to do some research on the different dog training products available in the market. Study each product carefully and make sure that these products are really what they claim. Once you are sure which products you want to sell online, find a good supplier who can provide you with these products anytime you make a sale.

Once you have the right dog training products to sell online, you can start building your website. If you are not really good at building websites, you might hire someone to do this for you. Having a good website that is easy to navigate is very important, so do not hesitate to invest some money in building your site. Make sure that you only spend within your means.

Driving Traffic To You Site

Having a good website is not a guarantee that you will be able to sell dog training products. There are thousands of other websites out there that are selling dog training products, so you need to work hard to attract customers and beat your competitors. To drive traffic to your site, you need to advertise. Use those free advertising sites to get you started. You can also send emails to friends, relatives and colleagues telling them about your business.

Animal air travel is not always dangerous for your pet. Dog enthusiasts and breeders routinely fly their dogs without having any trouble at all. The airlines make every claim possible that dogs that travel on-board will be perfectly safe. The same claim is held by the Transportation Association of America.

The American Kennel Club feels differently. But the organization’s leading spokesperson does add that air travel may be safe provided that the owners take specific precautionary measures.

The number one suggestion to all pet owners is to completely avoid sending your dog traveling in an airplane unless it is absolutely necessary. Many veterinarians and humane organizations are constantly reporting about dog injuries from air travel, due to dogs that desperately attempt to claw their way out of the crate in order to escape. Some of them actually do escape and become injured in the cargo bay.

It is much safer to bring your dog inside your car or SUV when traveling inside the country. You can take breaks as needed, so that your dog can stretch its legs, use the bathroom and remain free of stress and anxiety. Your dog will also be surrounded by its family which helps provide comfort and security during the long trip.

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

Of course there are a large number of successful trips made by dogs on airplanes, but every now again a true horror story emerges. One of the most important things you can do is to have your dog thoroughly checked by your veterinarian for any medical issues.

This check-up should be scheduled approximately 9 to 10 days before the trip begins. Many dog owners have no idea that there pets may have a pre-existing condition that could become a problem during the flight.

A perfect example is older dogs. They could be at the beginning stages of kidney disease and you would never know because early in this condition, the dog compensates by drinking tons of water. If an older dog in this condition sets foot on an airplane without water to drink, it may experience renal failure.

Just because thousands and thousands of pets are safely transferred from one destination to another via the airlines, it does not mean that dog owners are without responsible precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their family pet.

After reading through the following guidelines that should be taken before boarding your dog on a plane, you will realize just how important it is.

Listen To Your Instincts In Regards To Your Dog’s Personality

Just because they are animals, it doesn’t mean that all dogs can easily cope with the experience of being locked up in a crate during an airplane ride. Every dog owner knows what his or her dog’s personality is like. Trust your gut instincts on whether or not you think your dog can handle the flight. If it doesn’t feel right, then your instincts are trying to tell you something about your dog’s separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety is a real condition that should not be overlooked. It is estimated that almost 20% of all dogs suffer at some level from separation anxiety. These personality types make very poor candidates for airplane travel. Such dogs should not be left alone and when their condition reaches elevated levels, it is not uncommon for a dog to literally chew through a metal cage in trying to escape, causing severe injuries that can cause the dog to bleed to death.

Minimize Anxiety By Preparing Your Dog For The Experience Of Flying

It is never acceptable to force your dog to experience flying if it is deemed to have separation anxiety problems. However, there is always the possibility that you can condition it to fly without having any problems.

This can be accomplished by getting your dog accustomed to the travel carrier that it will be flying in. Simply have one located in your house and keep your dog inside as often as possible. This can be done during meals, sleep time and while driving around in the car. Eventually, it will be totally comfortable inside the crate and this will aid in making the dog feel more secure during the plane ride.

Your Dog May Get Lost When Accidentally Transferred To A Different Airplane

One of our previous tips for dog owners and air travel was to only select direct flights. Many times, passengers and their luggage may have to transfer to two or more different airplanes before reaching their final destination. It is during these times when some dogs become lost, never to be found again. They accidentally get transferred to the wrong airplane.

To minimize the chances of your dog not making its way back to you, the best thing you can do is ensure proper identification. Have a permanent ID securely attached to your pet that has your phone number, home address and any contact information about the place you are traveling to. Microchips and tattoos are also options that can be taken. They may seem extreme, but when it comes to your dog and the possibility of it getting lost during air travel, it’s definitely worth it, wouldn’t you agree?