To teach your dog tricks even easy ones you need to have some small reward treats, be in a quiet suitable place and keep the training sessions to 10 – 15 minutes or your dog will start to get board, remember when he gets something right lots of praise and a reward treat, just be careful not to get him over excited or he will loose concentration.

Getting your dog to give you his paw, first get your dog to sit, then as you say the word ‘paw’ take your dogs paw in your hand, give the dog a treat, repeat this, after a few times do not take his paw so quickly, say the word, count to one then take it, you should notice he is bringing his paw up as you say the word if he does not go back to saying it at the same time, do it a few more times then slow your response again. After 2 or 3 sessions most dogs pick this one up quite happily.

The high five, like a lot of tricks the high five is a progression of an earlier trick, in this cast the paw trick. Hold a treat in your fingers and raise your hand slightly higher than you would for the paw trick. You dog will think you want to do the paw trick and will reach for the treat with his paw as we taught him earlier, as he reaches up you say “high five” and give him the treat. Once your dog has mastered the paw trick this one should be very easy to learn and with just a few sessions he will be doing it on hand signal rather than voice control.

Getting your dog to jump through a hoop, before you start this one I would just like to ask you to be a little sensible and not hold the hoop too high as you do not want your dog to heart himself while doing the trick. Sit your dog on one side of a hoola hoop, get the dogs attention on your hand on the other side of the hoop take a treat in your hand and give the dog the command to release him from the sit, at first he may attempt to go around or under the hoop, if this happens start again, your dog wants the treat and will soon learn that going around or under does not get it so he will soon start going through it, when he does say hoopla and give him the treat. He will soon be jumping through the hoop on the command of hoopla. When I started doing this trick I had a medium sized dog (a Labrador) so I started with the hoop 6 inches from the ground and slowly raised it to waist height, if you have a smaller dog you might want to start with the hoop touching the ground so the dog just goes through the hoop and then slowly raise it as he gets used to the trick.

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After your bitch gives birth to puppies, it is now time to care for them. Puppy care is not as easy as it looks. It entails a lot of responsibilities that you need to attend to as a breeder. Dog breeding does not end when your female dog gets pregnant; it is only the beginning.  

For the pre whelping preparation, you should have a proper-sized box that is clean and sturdy. Try to incorporate some sort of ‘pig rail’ so that the mother dog won’t smash or lay on the puppies. The female should be able to move freely from one position to another inside the box but it should not be too big because the puppies might get lost in the box’s unused portions. Use a box that is more or less 6 inches longer and a foot wider from the sides of the bitch.

After you’ve chosen a whelping box, get clean plastic and newspapers. Arrange them in layers. First, put a sheet of plastic and on top, place several sheets of newspaper; place another plastic and several newspapers. Make 4-5 layers of plastic and newspaper. When you’re dog is placed inside the whelping box together with her puppies, you will simply roll-off the messy layer of newspaper and plastic. Dispose of it properly and you will instantly have another clean layer of paper and plastic.

Breeders have their own preference when it comes to preparing the whelping box. Some don’t like using newspapers and plastic because the puppies get dirty due to the feces and prints. There are those who use synthetic materials and they place it on top of the absorbent materials. Other breeders prefer to use about 6 inches deep of pine shavings. Well, no matter what you put inside the whelping box, you will still need to ensure that everything is clean from time to time. Get rid of any feces you see inside the box.

Newborn pups should always be kept comfortable and warm. You need to ensure that the temperature inside the whelping box is around 90 degrees Fahrenheit; then you need to decrease it about 2 degrees in the succeeding days. If the puppy chilled, don’t attempt to feed it. If you see any chilled puppy, keep it warm by tucking it under your shirt or even your armpit; you can also put it in a separate whelping box with a heating pad. Put a towel over the chilled puppy but you need to ensure that the temperature is not too high. Observe at the actions of the pups. When they are cold, they cry and clump together. When it’s too hot, the pups separate and try to finds a shade.

If the female gives birth to a lot of puppies, you should prepare supplemental feeding to ensure that all pups survive. You can also arrange shifts for the feeding time of the pups. Purchase a milk supplement for puppies. You can also consult milk recipes and don’t forget to get feeding bottles. However, if the pups won’t suckle, you need to tube-feed them.

Caring for pups requires time and effort especially of you have a large litter of them. Make sure that you know a lot of information about puppy care so that they can survive the most critical times of their life. Help your bitch in caring for her pups.

Over the last thousands of years, cats have pretty much handled their breeding themselves.  In the beginning, they were used for one purpose – hunting and killing rodents.  As the years progressed, we began to breed cats more to our liking.  Now days, there are several different breeds of cats – which you can tell if you look closely.

These days there are over 70 distinct cat breeds, which are recognized through cat registries.  There are several registries that will recognize around 40 breeds or so, as they exclude the more domestic breeds such as tigers.  There are also many variations as well, including wild cats that have longer hair.

There are some cat breeds who have roots going back quite a bit in history.  Some Japanese breeds, such as the Japanese Bobtail, can be traced back more than 1,000 years in history.  These cats were very common and well known throughout Medieval Japan.  Now days though, they are all but a myth throughout Japan and the entire world.

The more common cat breeds that are found in North America include the alley cat, long haired cat, and Persian cat.  Siamese cats are also common, although they are well known to be destructive and to have a foul temper.  Persian cats are very popular, proving to be loving companions.  Persian cats can be very expense, depending on where you get it and what type of Persian cat it is.

Alley cats are the most common in North America.  There are actually several different breeds, although most of us just refer to them as alley cats.  They make good pets, although there are literally thousands of them in existence.  Cats are known to breed more than any other pet, and they will continue to breed until they are stopped.  Alley cats are among the most bred, as there are hundreds of thousands of cats that are homeless – and have nothing to do but breed.

The look of the cat is the easiest way to tell what breed he or she may be.  Some people choose to go by color, although color isn’t as easy to identify.  Different breeds of cats have different looks, such as the Siamese and Persian cats.  Siamese cats are almost always black, and easy to identify by their color and their eyes.  Persian cats on the other hand, are easily identified by their body type and their hair.

Over the years, there has been quite a few breeds come along.  Cats were one of the first pets, and easily one of the most popular.  Millions of people around the world own cats, with many people preferring a cat over any other pet – including dogs.  No matter breed of cat you get – you’re sure to get a pet who make for a great companion for years and years to come.

Life can be very stressful. If you have a family and you work full time, it can seem as if there is no time for yourself. You give and give but there are still things that you would like to have for yourself. Many people have given up on having a hobby because they convince themselves that they do not have the time. Well, there is one hobby that can work with your schedule and it is a great activity to get you out of the house. What is this hobby? It is birding.

Birding may seem boring at first to those that have no interest in wild animals. But once you take into account how many wild birds are around you each day, it becomes a challenge to see how many you can spot. From there you begin walking through forests and fields trying to check more birds off of your list. This is a hobby that can include the entire family. Kids will be glad to help you point out a species of bird when they see it. They may not be quiet about it but you will definitely enjoy just being outside together.

If you have never been bird watching before, then there are a few things you need to know. You first need to know about the birds in your area. More than likely there will be several birds that are native to your part of the world. A great way to start seeing these birds is to put up some bird feeders. The bird feeders will draw in the native birds and provide them with sustenance. You can create your own bird sanctuary right in your backyard. Before you place a lot of feeders around your yard and garden, you need to consult your local gardening center about what type of feeder is best for a certain type of bird. You will also need some advice on how to keep pesky squirrels from robbing the feeder. Another great way to lure birds to your home is by putting up bird houses. These houses are built specifically for each type of bird.

Birding is a great hobby and it is easy to start out without spending a lot of money. If you want some guidance on what species of birds are in your area, or you want to know more about the hobby, then you can visit your local library. Checking out books on bird watching is definitely less expensive than buying the books. You can also visit or request information from the National Audubon Society.

First off, take time to breath. You pride and joys are probably fine. They may be somewhat traumatized by the whole experience, but that would be any pet caught in unusual situation. Unless extreme damage was done, their health probably is not an issue, however their home may be in need of some repairs.

You may have been completely prepared for the storm, or the storm may have taken you by complete surprise. Whatever the case may be, you must jump into action as soon as you physically can to ensure that no further damage is done to your pond.

First, you must undo all of your storm precautions to survey the possible damage.

If you netted your pond, clear as much debris off the net as possible and remove the netting. Once you removed the netting you will be able to survey the damage and the condition that your fish are in. If high waters were expected and your sand bagged the area around you pond, as long as the water level is normal, remove all sand bags so that you can easily access your pond. Do not get discouraged if things seem out of place, and it may not be as bad as it originally looks.

Once you have removed all netting and other precautions, take time to look at the area. If any debris is present, remove it by skimming and netting. If plants or decorations are uprooted or out of place, replace them to their rightful area.

If you find major damage to your pond, it is important to remove your Koi as soon as possible. Proper bagging and transporting techniques may be needed if the damage done will take a large amount of time to fix, but there are several temporary options available if damage can be fixed quickly. You may want to consider using a children’s pool to house your Koi. If nothing is available at the time, get into contact with your local pet store or zoo, as they may have program available to help you house your Koi until maintenance can be done.

Once you have decided that only small repairs are needed, then you must focus on the water quality. You water may seem cloudy or murky due to the storm and the amount of extra water from rainfall. If the storm lasted for a long amount of time, you may be facing ammonia issues as well.

Test your water for Nitrates. If Nitrates are present, add the proper amount of salt to the water. Typically you would add 3/4 to one pound of salt per 100 gallons of water. However, if your fish are especially shocked by the situation, or seem to have sustained any type of injuries, it may be a good idea to add more. If you have plants in your pond, it may be a good idea to remove them before adding the salt into the water. Your fish should be the most important issue at this point, not your plants.

If you are having KH issues (especially if it is below 100) you will want to add baking soda to your pond. Typically you can add 1 cup of unpacked baking soda per 1000 gallons of water. This will protect your pond from a future pH crash.