Thursday, October 23, 2008

Bulldogs - Overview of the Bulldog Breed

The Bulldog is a small, compact and muscular dog with strong legs and a short muzzle. The Bulldog was originally bred as a fighting dog and would take on opponents like bears, bulls, badgers and other dogs in the ring. Since these bloodsports have become unpopular, breeders have focused more on developing the more non- ferocious traits of the Bulldog. The Bulldog is known throughout all historical periods for it's courage and as such is mixed with other breeds such as Pointers and Greyhounds that require tenacity, steadfastness and endurance. The bulldog is know widely recognised as the British national breed.

Description and Temperament

The Bulldog has a huge amount of strength contained in a broad, low frame. With it's short, stocky legs set square at each corner of it's body , the Bulldog has a gait all of it's own. The Bulldog has a large, heavy square head with wrinkles on the skull. The muzzle is very broad whilst the is quite short and set back to the lower jaw which protrudes to the front. The Bulldog's coat may come in reds, fawn, brindle or white pied with any of these colours. Whilst the Bulldog can look intimidating and often has an unsociable, morose expression they are an extremely reliable, gentle and kind dog whilst still making excellent watchdogs.

Grooming, exercise and health problems

With such a smooth, short-haired coat the Bulldog is very easy to groom and only requires occasional brushing with a firm bristle brush.

Bulldogs can be very lazy dogs but need to be kept fit with regular, not overly strenuous exercise such as short walks. Whilst the Bulldog has no special feeding requirements, care should be taken not to over feed the dog as due to it's lazy nature it can often become obese. The Bulldog can also become possessive of it's food.

Due to their short muzzles and sometimes small windpipes, Bulldogs can be prone to breathing difficulties. They are also stressed by very hot or cold weather and over exertion.

Dan Fletcher writes for PuppiesSale.org, a site with lots of puppy articles,
puppies for sale,(http://www.puppiessale.org/)Boxer puppies for sale and more

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Fletcher

Friday, October 17, 2008

Why Do Dogs Yawn?

There is no doubt that a dog is really mans best friend. These adorable furry creatures are loving, loyal and never cease to provide their human family with endless joy and companionship. The pet will stick with you through thick and thin. Dogs are known to ape what their masters do. It is really quite amusing to see that a dog will empathize with the master even with yawning. A master coming in from the office very tired will yawn; the dog can be seen yawning too.

People yawn when they are bored, sleepy and fatigued. Interestingly, fetuses that are 12 weeks old are seen yawning. Yawning in dogs however, has no definitive reason. When we see our pets yawn we take it for granted that their reason for yawning is pretty much the same as the reason why we do.

Scientists have theorized that dogs yawn when they are bored. If you are an observant pet owner you will see at once that the pet is bored. Most often the dog will look at you with imploring eyes, yawn and then flop to the ground. The dog is telling you "come on, play with me"

A yawning dog with a tense and rigidly held body is a sign that the dog is nervous. This reaction is often seen in obedience classes where the dog is pressured. The dog wants to please the master but does not know how. If you are training your dog and you noticed him yawning, you better let up. Proceeding with the training will not have positive results anyway. Let the dog rest for a while and encourage with verbal praises.

Excitement is another reason why dogs yawn. Dogs in agility competitions are often noted yawning. This is the dogs way of coping with the excitement. A dog in the starting line is ready and raring to go to scale the obstacle. By yawning, the dog is preparing its body for the action. The deep breaths fill the lungs and boost the flow of oxygen to the brain. This also increases the heart rate. Really quite amazing how the dog will cope with situations such as this!

Commonly, dogs yawn because they are tired and sleepy. Yawning is precursor to sleeping. Dogs like cats sleep a lot so it will not be an extraordinary thing to see your pet yawning.

Studies have proven that yawning is contagious. If you yawn, somebody else will yawn too. Dog handlers have used the fact that yawning can energize, calm and relax a dog. By yawning, they can induce the pet to yawn too.

Find out more about why dogs yawn and many other interesting questions about dogs at Sarah's Dogs. Sarah's Dogs has profiles of most common and many rare breeds as well as answers to common questions on dog behaviour.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Welsh

Stop Your Puppies From Biting is Easy

Puppies, naturally, love biting. Learning to stop your puppy from biting is not the hardest thing to do in the world. Most of puppies can be easily trained to stop biting. However, there are several basic rules that you should keep in mind before start training them.

1. Never slap them on face because they will think that you are playing with them.

2. Always encourage good behavior and always discourage bad behavior

3. Stop playing any games in which will encourage them to start biting more and more. Such games as tugging or wrestling.

4. Be consistent with whatever method you use to stop them biting.

5. Start to communicate with your puppies. Do not expect them to understand what you think. You as the owner must show them what is good or bad behavior.

Here are some few tips that can help stopping your puppies from biting:

1. If you see your puppies biting, just say "NO" and try to take their attention away by using a toy or a chew bone.

2. Every time your puppies bite, make your puppies think that they are hurting you by crying out loud (Ouch!). What you want to do here is to take puppies attention away with your voice, and stop playing with them for a while. Repeat this method several times and they will soon learn that nobody want to play with them when they start to bite.

3. In some cases, your puppies might bite onto your hands. You just also need to say "NO" and try to put your thumb inside his mouth under their tongues and place other fingers under their chins. Hold this position for a while until your puppies feel uncomfortable.

4. The last good old trick is to wear a pair of gloves, then apply something that your puppies doesn't like on them, such as hot chili sauce, and pepper. This trick will help creating negative memory to puppies for not biting you.

Roney is a dog owner that specializes in dog obedience training. His review on SitStayFetch can be found here:http://www.sitstayfetch-dogtraining.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roney_Golden

Monday, October 6, 2008

Why Do Dogs Sleep So Much?

Question: Why is the dog sleeping all day long? Answer: Because he guards at night. Actually the idea is correct. Most of us depend on our dogs to guard us as well as our properties. But dogs do sleep anytime of day and night. They actually sleep as much as 14 hours a day. This means that they sleep more than half of their life. Some dogs even sleep more than others do. Large breeds of dogs like the mastiff, St. Bernard and Newfoundland sleep from 16 to 18 hours everyday. They are dubbed as the mat dogs because they are fond of lying and sleeping in front of the fire like a furry rug.

The sleeping pattern of the dog depends on the activity and environment. Domesticated dogs sleep more than working dogs do. Who would not if you are comfortable, you have a soft padded and cozy corner to sleep in and most of all you have nothing to do. People would sleep a lot too if they are left at home with nothing much to do. On the other hand, it would be impossible for a working dog to sleep most of the time given that they have a task or a duty to perform. Dogs working in a farm are all-around dogs, meaning they are given varied tasks to do. Apart from this, dogs have the opportunity to roam and being highly energetic, they would prefer to run and to wander rather than curl in a corner to sleep.

One may think that the dog is lazy because it is always asleep. The fact is, a dog may seem to be sleeping but they wake more frequently than people do. Dogs are always alert and they have heightened senses that make them aware of the slightest sound and movement. But dog are lucky too as they can easily adjust the sleeping pattern. They wake easily but the sleep easily too. They have the ability and the stamina to stay awake when they have something to do and would fall asleep easily no matter what time of day or night once the task is done.
Sleeping, no doubt is beneficial. It allows the dog to rest and to replenish the energy. Bored and inactive pets may sleep a lot, much more than they need to. Excessive sleeping when coupled with too much eating and very minimum exercise can be dangerous to the health of the dog. This is most common in pampered pets. Excessive sleeping can be avoided by providing the pet with stimulus to be active. Give the dog toys if they are going to be left at home all day. Take the dog walking and allow your pet to join in the activities of the family.

Learn more about why dogs sleep all day long at Sarah's Dogs, http://www.sarahsdogs.com/qa/why_do_dogs_sleep_so_much.html At Sarah's Dogs you can also find answers to many other common and not so common questions about dogs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Welsh