Dogs is a major status symbol in American pet-keeping. Every year, over 12 billion dollars have been spent on dog food and veterinary care alone. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Associations 2003-2004 Pet Owners Survey, more than half of dog owners purchase toys for their dogs.
Playing with toys is not the monopoly of little kids but also pets of different kind. Dogs have their own sets of toys to enjoy during their playing time.
Dogs benefit from these toys, health and training wise. There are dog toys that can strengthen their teeth or build their intelligence especially if they also attend a series of training classes with the experts. Like man, dogs are very sociable. Interaction with their companion or a sibling dog is very important in avoiding behavioral problems in the future.
When buying toys for your dog, you may want to match them with your dogs needs, demands and even personality. Is your dog the type that enjoys chasing and retrieving games, or chewing, sitting and sprawling? You may want to try experimenting first to find out which toys make your dogs the happiest.
Before going on a toy hunt, take a look at this list of toys that may help you identify the right kind of toy for your dog.
* CHEW TOYS. These are perfect for the dog that likes to chew a lot. Instead of your dog chewing your furniture, why not buy these TOUGH little babies for them. These types of dog toy are usually made of nylon or latex rubber. The “King Kong Toys” are among the popular brands of chew toys. You can experiment by stuffing these toys with peanut butter or cheese spread, freeze them and give them to your dog for hours of licking and chewing fun.
Doggie potato chips is also a favorite. These “edible chips” can last to a minimum of an hour to a couple of days. They are available in different shapes like pig ears, snouts, cow knuckles, femurs, hooves and bully sticks. Others are bone-shaped made from a variety of vegetables such as carrots.
Another good toy for your dogs chewing pleasure is the rawhide. These are non- consumable, mummified skin-like toy that you have to throw away when they get soggy, and give your dog a new one. Some rawhides are basted with a variety of flavorings. Be sure to get the USA rawhide with a little flag sticker on the label because these do not contain preservative flavorings that are harmful for your dogs.
SQUEAKY TOYS. For these toys, choose the rubber over the stuffed toys for durability and to avoid synthetic materials. These little noisemakers are good for training your dogs hunting skills.
RETRIEVING TOYS. These are perfect for the chase-and-retrieve types of dogs. Dogs enjoy these toys because they get to play with you. Frisbees and balls made specifically for this activity, are the best to be used. Your dog will get a good workout and so is your arm.
TUG TOYS. These toys are best for dogs that like to grab hold and never let go. Available in rope-like designs.
BRAIN TEASERS. Best for dogs that is left alone a lot. Biscuit balls and food cubes are great examples. These toys require the dog to solve types of puzzle in order to get a treat.
Various toys of these forms are available in the market.
1. For Chewers of all Sizes
SQUIRREL DUDE tough, durable and fun too; this hollow rubber chew toy takes on a new level in innovation; this helps to exercise your dogs jaw a little more with the four little rubber prongs blocking the hole slightly that the dog has to work a little harder to get the goodies out.
2. Ball Launchers and Throwers (Retrieve Toys)
FRISBEES is an all-time favorite dog toy especially the soft version; fold to fit in a pocket; comes in blue and orange colors, size six to nine inches, prices at eleven to sixteen dollars.
THE ROUND ORBEE – a tough ball hallowed with inch thick membraney surface and its softish; it is flexible, durable, grippy, bouncy, and buoyant and has a peppermint scent; good for sniffing-and-getting-the- ball game; prices at five to twelve dollars depending on the size and form you choose
3. Squeaky Toys
SQUEAKERS available in packages of ten each; dogs that love to silence squeakers are the best for this toy; excellent as attention and pocket squeaker as well; prices go lower if you buy in packages, from five to three dollars each box/package.
4. Tug Toys
LEATHER TUGS great for tug-of-war games with your dog; made of high grade leather, 3/8 inches thick, tanned and not-treated; dogs like them a lot especially those with active lifestyle.
THE MONGO FETCH TOY a chew and tug toy combined in one; the natural rubber bar is vanilla scented; rope running through the center gives you a grip for tug games and the soft tasseled ends are made for exciting action with your dogs; medium to large in size, from five to seven dollars each.
5. Brain Teasers
I CUBE – this is a toy that challenges and develops your dog’s intelligence and puzzle solving skills; be sure you are there for supervision; available in junior and jumbo sizes, six to eleven dollars.
DUCK EGG BABY – egg Babies are a plush toy with three squeaker eggs inside; there is an opening on the bottom of the toy so your dog can get the hidden treasures inside; this is a toy that challenges and develops your dog’s intelligence and puzzle solving skills too.
Toys are a fun way to enjoy with your dog in a sunny day at the park. But be sure to apply proper safety measures especially when playing with balls, sticks and stones. You do not want to harm them in any way. Remember, this is a dog-eat-dog world! Even as harmless as playing can cause indestructible damage to your dog.
Mihail Fortomas is a teacher of Biology in a High School of Athens Greece. For the dog owner who wants dog health care information – everything for Dog Diseases and Treats, Foods and Diet, visit:
http://1source-body-health.com/dog-health-care.html
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Jul 13, 2010 | | Dogs
What to Look For In a Dog Supplement
The market is exploding with products claiming to improve the health and wellness of individuals using vitamins and nutritional supplements. People are now seeking the same products to complement the health of their pets. The benefits of appropriate nutritional supplements are overwhelming and can add several healthy years to your life, as well as your dogs.
Dogs Age Faster Than People
Longevity is attributed 30 percent to genetics and 70 percent to lifestyle. Up to 90 percent of diseases in dogs are due to the degenerative processes associated with aging.
Does Your Dog Act His Age?
Because dogs age seven times faster than people, major health changes occur in a short amount of time. Dogs are considered puppies for about one year, adults from age two to six, and seniors at age seven. Giant breeds, like Great Danes, age even more quickly and are considered seniors at age five. Signs of aging in dogs occur slowly, but generally begin at maturity, somewhere between age one and two.
Dr. Denham Harmans Free Radical Theory of Aging, applies to people and pets, including dogs. This universally accepted theory states that aging is a process in which the bodys systems deteriorate faster than the body can repair them.
The changes occur due to oxidative damage caused by harmful compounds called free radicals. Free radicals are toxic, electrically unstable molecules. As we age, they are produced more quickly.
Free radicals damage your dogs body similar to the way oxygen causes iron to rust. They are detrimental to your dogs genetic material, his DNA and RNA, his cell membranes and enzyme systems.
Free radicals are formed each time we take a breath. Exposure to the suns ultraviolet rays, as well as to environmental toxins, pollution, heavy metals and stress contribute to free radical formation. Your dogs diet and drugs, such as antibiotics, are also factors.
Free radicals weaken your dogs natural defenses and have been associated with the development of up to 90 percent of the age-related degenerative conditions we associate with aging:
Cancer
Heart disease
Arthritis
Diabetes
Cataracts
Premature aging
Our life span, as well as the length of your dogs life, is ultimately determined by how quickly free radicals cause harmful oxidative changes to occur. Therefore what you feed your dog, as well as the supplements you choose for your dog are both very important.
Help Your Dog Enjoy a Longer, Healthier Life
Your Dogs Diet
You are what you eat, and thats just as important for people as it is for dogs. What you feed your dog directly affects his health and wellness. The longer and more consistently you give your dog an optimally balanced diet, the greater his chances are of living a longer, healthier life.
Dogs, like people are omnivores and can naturally exist on a diet of meat, fruit and vegetables. Consult with your vet to determine the best diet for your dog. Commercial varieties worth looking into include organic, natural diets such as Prairie made by Natures Variety.
Homemade, natural diets take more time and effort but in many cases are well worth the extra effort. Vegetarian and raw food diets are another option that, with careful supervision, may provide complete and balanced nutrition for your dog.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, a Border Collie in England named Taffy, lived to the spry age of 27 eating an all-natural, organic diet.
Healthy Dog Snacks
Fruits and vegetables are healthy, low calorie snacks many pets enjoy. Those rich in antioxidants are especially beneficial for your dog:
Oranges
Tomatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Cantaloupe
Asparagus Tips
Oranges are rich in Vitamin C, tomatoes are filled with Lycopenes and sweet potatoes are a source of Vitamin E and Beta Carotene. Carrots and cantaloupes also provide Beta Carotene for your dog.
Antioxidant Supplements for Your Dog: Sooner Not Later
Recent research documents that antioxidants provide very bright prospects for increasing the quality and length of your dogs life. In addition, scientists have found that sooner is better than later as far as your dogs potential health benefits. Antioxidant supplementation started as a puppy, before free radical damage has occurred, can increase the healthy lifespan of your dog by up to 20 percent.
Antioxidant supplements, including Vitamins A, C, and E, the minerals Selenium and Zinc, and the nutrients Alpha Lipoic Acid and Coenzyme Q10, are the bodys natural defense against free radical damage. They can help to protect your dog by neutralizing free radicals and decreasing the resultant levels of oxidative damage.
Other noteworthy antioxidant supplements for your dog include:
Bioflavinoids, which help to decrease allergic reactions, asthmatic attacks and have anti-cancer benefits for your dog.
Green Tea, whose antioxidants may decrease the risk of heart disease and cancer and help protect the blood vessels nourishing your dogs heart and brain.
Lutein, a plant pigment from marigolds, helps to protect your dogs eyes and may reduce the risk of cataracts.
Melatonin, a potent antioxidant that acts to normalize sleep patterns. It also protects your dogs brain and has been used successfully with cancer therapy.
The effects of antioxidants are beneficial and act synergistically for people and dogs undergoing cancer therapy. In well controlled studies, people and pets treated with antioxidants (with or without chemotherapy and radiation) have tolerated treatments better and experienced less weight loss. More importantly, they enjoyed a better overall quality of life and lived longer than individuals receiving no supplements.
Nutritional Supplements for Your Dogs Bones, Joints & Cartilage
Glucosamine is an amino sugar naturally produced in your dogs body from glucose, which is your dogs blood sugar, and the Amino Acid, Glutamine. It helps the cartilage between the joints retain water so the cartilage can act like a cushion to absorb shock and withstand compression. Glucosamine is vital to protecting the health and integrity of your dogs bones, joints and cartilage. It helps to:
Decrease joint inflammation and pain
Promote cartilage repair
Aid healing of damaged joints
Increase mobility in dogs with arthritis and hip dysplasia
Glucosamine is also a normal component of the urinary bladder in dogs and cats and may help to relieve urinary disorders.
MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane) is a natural source of sulfur that works along with Glucosamine to help protect the health and integrity of your dogs bones, joints and cartilage.
Essential Fatty Acid Supplements for Your Dog
Essential Fatty Acids are vital to life and support all bodily functions in your dog. They help to keep cell membranes soft and pliable, so your pets cells can absorb dietary nutrients. They enhance your dogs skin and hair coat and are needed for the normal development of the nervous system and brain.
Fatty Acids are vital to brain health and help to preserve mental clarity. They decrease the risk of Alzheimers disease and dementia in dogs, cats and people. Fatty Acids may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, as well as provide therapeutic effects in your dog for:
Arthritis
Lupus
Inflammatory bowel disease
Cancer therapy
Kidney disorders
Flea allergies, food intolerances and bacterial skin infections can often be relieved by providing your dog with fatty acid supplements.
The proper balance of Fatty Acids helps to reduce wear and tear on your dogs body by decreasing stress triggered increases in cholesterol and the stress hormone Cortisol. Research indicates that the ratio of 5:1 of Omega 6 to Omega 3 Fatty Acids seems to provide the greatest clinical benefits, surpassing that of any individual Fatty Acid alone.
Amino Acid Supplements for Your Dog
Glutamine is the most abundant Amino Acid in the body. It is the major energy source for the cells that line the digestive system and strengthens your dogs natural defense system known as the immune system.
Glutamine promotes healing of the digestive system thereby reducing bowel disorders. It spares protein and reduces muscle loss during periods of injury, stress and high endurance activities. Therefore it is especially beneficial for pets recovering from trauma and for working and show dogs.
Glutamine also has many anti-aging effects. It helps to preserve memory and to prevent the harmful effects of Cortisol, the hormone that is responsible for accelerating the aging process in people and in your dog.
Digestive Enzyme Supplements for Your Dog
Digestive Enzymes are produced by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas and liver and are released into the digestive tract. Enzymes help your dogs body to breakdown proteins, fats and carbohydrates in his food so they can be absorbed and utilized.
Your dogs production of enzymes naturally decreases with increasing age. Illnesses, stress, food intolerances, allergies and drugs like antibiotics also have a negative affect on enzyme production and function. This can result in a variety of digestive disturbances ranging from flatulence and gas to diarrhea, life threatening dehydration and malnutrition.
Digestive Enzymes are vital to maintain your dogs overall health. They improve the efficiency of digestion so your pets body can utilize the nutrients essential for energy production and ultimately for life itself.
They help the body to recover from disease and promote restoration of good health in your dog. Enzymes are useful to reduce pain and swelling after exercise or trauma and help speed up recovery rates. Enzymes support your dogs immune system thereby enhancing his ability to ward off disease and infection. They have been also been used effectively in cancer therapy for people and pets.
Papain is an enzyme that has aspirin-like effects to decrease swollen, painful inflamed tissues in your dog. Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple stems that inhibits the spread of lung cancer in mice.
Digestive Enzyme supplements may be beneficial in dogs with digestive problems, immune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis, cancer and a variety of bowel disorders. They are especially useful in older dogs with reduced digestive ability.
The Anti-Aging A Supplement List For Your Dog:
Vitamin A/Beta Carotene: Antioxidant enhances immunity, essential for your dog to utilize protein in his diet
Vitamin C: Antioxidant, needed for tissue growth and repair, enhances immunity, needed for your dogs body to utilize Vitamin E.
Vitamin E: Antioxidant, prevents heart disease, promotes wound healing, needed for your dogs body to utilize Vitamin C.
B-Complex Vitamins: As a group, B vitamins help your dog to maintain healthy nerves, skin and muscle.
Coenzyme Q-10: A powerful, newly discovered antioxidant. Essential for immune function, beneficial in heart disease and gum/dental disease for your dog.
Alpha Lipoic Acid: Antioxidant. Helps your dog to restore energy metabolism.
Selenium: Antioxidant. Works with Vitamin E to help your dog fight infection. Beneficial to dogs skin and hair coats. Deficiencies linked to cancer and heart disease.
Zinc: Essential mineral your dog needs for protein synthesis, promotes healthy immune system, aids wound healing. Critical for hundreds of biological processes in the body.
Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids: Essential component of cell membranes in your dog and is needed for healthy heart, brain function and skin and hair coats.
Bioflavinoids: Enhances absorption of Vitamin C, has antioxidant effects and promotes normal blood circulation for your dog.
Glucosamine and MSM: Promotes normal healthy bones, joints and cartilage for your dog.
Digestive Enzymes: Essential for your dog to utilize and absorb nutrients from his/her diet.
Melatonin: Immune modulator, antioxidant, triggers restful sleep for your dog.
Ginseng: A metabolic tonic to promote brain health and overall wellness for your dog.
L-Glutamine: Amino acid needed for your dog to energize the cells of his digestive system so dietary nutrients can be properly absorbed and utilized.
Colostrum: The first milk your puppy receives from his mother. Provides your dog with antibodies to protect him against disease and aid immune function.
Exercise: 20 minutes twice a day minimum for your dog.
Balanced, natural diet: Feed your dog at least two meals daily. Fresh organic and natural sources are best.
Relaxation: Stress and anxiety affect pets and people adversely. Set aside an hour a day to relax and enjoy your dog. Consider massage, yoga and music.
Positive mental attitude: The mind-body connection is a potent promoter of well-being for you and your dog.
Pure water: Fresh, non-chlorinated water is essential for people and for your dog.
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Feb 06, 2010 | | Dogs
Anyone with a pet dog knows that these lovable creatures love to curl up snugly or stretch out nonchalantly at their favorite spot and snooze. Right after an energetic game of catch or past feeding time, dogs usually retreat to their own space and sleep to regain their strength and liveliness. Dogs love a warm, comfortable and quiet place to rest. Puppies love to be cuddled and usually dig the couch or his masters lap when about to nod off into dog dreamland. Thus, it is a necessity to have a nice, comfortable and perfectly-sized bed for your dog. Your doggy will absolutely appreciate their own cozy sleeping and napping spot. Dogs are creatures of habit and will typically sleep at the same spot, so a comfy dog bed at their own corner is a great gift that your dog will be grateful for.
1. Assortments Of Dog Beds
Of course you can create your own dog bed: a wooden box with a pillow or blanket is an easy and inexpensive alternative. There are, however, a huge assortment of dog beds available at pet supply stores that will perfectly suit your dog. Really now, Fido cant choose a bed for himself so here are some tips that can be useful when buying a dog bed.
2. Pick A Bed That Will Suit Your Dog’s Personality And Sleeping Habits
You should know the type of bed your dog would be most comfortable in. Dog beds come in many different styles like round nests, donut or cuddler beds, round fluffy balls or pillows, square flat mattresses and sofa shaped beds sized just right for a dog. Does your dog love to curl up into one big fur ball? Then a cuddler, similar to a pillow with sides, would be appropriate. If hes a sprawling sleeper, a larger mat would be excellent. Some dogs love to sleep on their bellies; a rectangular-style dog bed would be perfect for them.
3. Your Dog’s Size
The size of your dog is an important consideration. A small, thinly padded bed would be adequate for toy dogs like Chihuahuas and Shih Tzus. In comparison, Dobermans and Huskies would need larger, heavily padded beds where they can stretch out comfortably. Whatever size your dog is, pick a dog bed that is slightly larger than him. This is to allow room for growth, especially for puppies, and allow room for movement.
4. Easily Washable
Make sure the dog bed is made of removable and washable materials. It will definitely get dirty and smelly, so it is important that you can easily wash it anytime. Make sure too that the material is appropriate for the dog’s fur. Look for machine washable bedding if at all possible.
5. Get Cedar
- Look for a dog bed that is filled with cedar: cedar repels fleas
- Refillable cedar-filled dog beds will make your pet happier and less stressed
- Make sure you dont have an allergy to cedar
6. Location, Location, Location
Where will you put your dog bed? This is also an important consideration when choosing a bed for your pet so you can pick the right material. Some dog beds are more suitable for an indoor location like in the bedroom or living room instead of outdoors, like in a porch for instance. Climate and local weather are important factors to consider as well. Choose a dog bed that will provide warmth for your dog in winter and air circulation during summer.
7. Quality
Durability is also essential. The dog bed must be able to withstand Fidos penchant for chewing as well as his sharp claws. As we all know most dogs are messy, so make sure the dog bed you choose is up to the challenge. Pick a dog bed cover that is washable and made from durable fabric. Consider the color and style of the dog bed too. You might want your dogs bed to complement your walls or furniture. You should know that there are dog beds that can accommodate a variety of your dogs special needs. Heated dog beds and orthopedic foam dog beds are available and are excellent choices for older and arthritic dogs. Your dog will definitely appreciate his own bed in his own little space. The health and well-being of your dog will depend not only on diet or exercise but also on how much comfortable sleep and rest he gets.
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Dec 21, 2009 | | Dogs