Origins:

Size: Small. Around 23 to 28cm tall at the shoulder.

Physical Appearance: Soft white coat of lone, curling hair. Long ears, close to the head. Tail curved over body. Shiny black nose and black-rimmed eyes.

Characteristics: Friendly, outgoing, lively, loves attention and exercise.

Colors: White. Young dogs may have some cream or apricot markings.

Special Facts about Bichon Frise: This dog’s coat will grow out of shape unless it is regularly trimmed. Professional groomers say that the ideal trimmed shape of a Bichon Frise’s head, viewed from the front is a perfect circle!

Related Topics

• Dog: Maltese
• Dog: Dalmatian
• Dog: Chihuahua
• Dog: French Bulldog

Origins:

Size: Small to medium-small. About 12 inches (30cm) tall at the shoulder.

Physical Appearance: With its bat-like ears and flat, creased face, this charming little dog looks most unusual, yet loveable. Short-coated, naturally short-tailed, sturdy and compact. Head is large for its body size.

Characteristics: Affectionate, good-natured, courageous, lively.

Colors: Brindle, black and white, fawn.

Special Facts: The French Bulldog’s face is naturally covered with creases, and these need to be moisturized or they will get sore and cracked. French Bulldog owners should ask a vet or a good pet store about what dog-safe lubricants or edible oils they can use to rub the creases with.

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• Dog: Bichon Frise
• Dog: Poodle
• Dog: Dalmatian

Origins:

Size: Medium. Only about 15 inches (38cm) tall at the shoulder, but packs more weight (up to 60lbs or 27kg) than many taller dogs!

Physical Appearance: Doleful, serious expression due to the sad-looking eyes, which show a bit of the lower eyelid. Long, floppy ears, short legs, smooth and short-haired coat.

Characteristics: Affectionate, calm, can be obstinate.

Colors: Usually brown and white, but may be tricolor or lemon and white.

Special Facts: With their extremely short legs, longish bodies, floppy ears, and dropping mouths, Basset Hounds may look clumsy and slow, but they actually have great stamina and are quite athletic.

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• Dog: Dachshund
• Dog: Afghan Hound

What You Can Expect Once You Take Over Pet Ownership

Dogs

• Cost of Food: $5 to $20 per pack (for small breeds).
• Grooming: From $35. Long-haired breeds require daily brushing and regular visits to the dog groomer.
• Amount of Attention: Dogs need daily walks. They also need their owners to spend quality time with them. They can get bored and lonely if left alone for too long.

Cats

• Cost of Food: $5 to $18 a pack
• Grooming: $70 onwards. Long-haired breeds require daily brushing.
• Amount of Attention: Cats need relatively less attention from owners than dogs. But even though they do not need daily walks, quality time should be spent bonding with them.

Rabbits

• Cost of Food: Pellets from $5. A bag of hay is about $9.
• Grooming: About $15. Long-haired breeds require daily brushing.
• Amount of Attention: Regular cage cleaning is needed.

Guinea Pigs

• Cost of Food: Food pellets are from $5. Bag of hay about $9.
• Grooming: About $15. Long-haired breeds should be brushed daily.
• Amount of Attention: Guinea pigs are social animals. If you have only one, you should spend more time with it to prevent loneliness.

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• Cat: Persian
• Rabbit: Netherland Dwarf
• Rabbit: Dwarf Hotot
• Making Bath Easier For You and Your Pet
• 5 Common Diseases Found In Hamster And Guinea Pig
• How To Stop Your Cat From Eating Houseplants
• Cat: Cornish Rex

The stereotypical picture of a dog happily gnawing on a bone is a dangerous one. Believing it could put your dog’s well-being at risk.

Most bones are bad for dogs, especially those that splinter easily, like chicken bones. These are carelessly tossed to strays, and may be devoured happily by dogs, but wreak internal havoc. I know of dogs that suffered and had to be put down because their stomachs and intestines were pierced by chicken bone splinters.

One sometimes hears people insisting that they have fed their dogs chicken bones for years and they remain healthy. This may be true for some lucky (and very hardy) pets, but it takes only one splinter to slowly kill. So don’t take the risk to know if your dog is the hardy ones.

Wolves may devour a carcass—bones and all—without harm, but your average domestic dog is hardly a wolf. Furthermore, those bones that the wolves devour are raw ones and usually larger than chicken bones.

Larger bones like those from cattle rarely splinter and could be safer. However, cattle bones carry their own health risks, and anyway, chewing on something as hard as bone over the long term could damage your pet’s teeth.

Never throw hard and heavy objects like large cattle bones, stones, metal bowls and so non to your dog to catch. A dog will eagerly leap up to catch the heavy item, only to crack its teeth or break its jaw. Throw that bouncy rubber ball instead!

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• What Are The Health Complications When Cat Eats Dog Food

What Is A Clicker?
A clicker is a small rectangular plastic box with a metal button on top that clicks, hence the name clicker. It’s the type of training that the dog decides whether or not it suits him. There have been a lot of success stories with clicker training for dogs and other animals such as cats, horses, dolphins, birds, rabbits, and many other smaller pets. It is a widely practiced training method and does produce results; if carried out properly.

How Clicker Training Works?

Clicker training promotes enforced training, without punishment! It employs the same principle like how we motivate humans to perform for better and consistent results—we’ll be rewarded if we do something good and thus are going to do the same again. Just as a dog would think the same way. Dogs learn through consequences, if they do something and it earns them a treat and praise they are going to want to do it again because they like this consequence. If they do something that you don’t like and they get ignored or said no to in a stern voice they know that they aren’t going to get any treats so are not going to do it again.

Clicker dog training works in such a way it reinforces good behavior. If your dog sits, click the clicker, and give him a treat. The next time your dog sits do the same but don’t say anything to him. Your dog will soon realize that when he sits he will get a treat and hear a click, so when you eventually come to click before he sits your dog knows he is asked to sit.

Punishment Is Not Required!

Punishment is not used with clicker dog training. Although punishment does stop some bad behavior it may also create another unwanted behavior. Punishment should always carried out immediately after (or in some case during the act) the dog has done something wrong so dogs see punishment as a random consequence therefore punishment doesn’t really solve anything.

Recommended Reading:

• Clicking With Your Dog: Step-By-Step in Pictures (Karen Pryor Clicker Books) by Peggy Tillman
• Don’t Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training by Karen Pryor

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• What To Look For In A Healthy Green Iguana – Part 2
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• What You Must Know about Rearing Rabbits as Pets
• Can Older Dogs Be Trained?
• What Must You Know about Keeping Iguana as Pet

Size: Standard, Miniature, or Toy. Standard—more than 38cm tall at the shoulder; Miniature—more than 25cm and a maximum of 38cm; Toy—25cm or less.

Physical Appearance: Elegant and long-headed, with a tail carried up, and a very dense and profuse curly coat. Show dogs are usually deliberately clipped in the “lion clip” style that leaves some parts of the dog bare so that the coat puffs out in other parts.

Characteristics: Happy-spirited, intelligent.

Colors: All solid colors. Many poodles are white, apricot, black or cream

Special Facts: Poodles are often stereotyped in movies as bimbo-like, but they are actually very intelligent, good tempered, dignified and highly trainable dogs.

Related Topics

• Dog: French Bulldog

Origins:

Size: Small. Usually less than 25 cam at the shoulder.

Physical Appearance: Has a white coat of long, silky hair. Its ears area also long, and the tail is carried over the back. The dark, oval eyes contrast with the snow-white coat.

Characteristics: Happy, sweet-natured, intelligent, alert, good with children.

Color: White. Some light lemon markings on ears are allowed in show dogs.

Special Facts: The hair on the head often flops over the eyes, so to retain the dog’s beauty but keep its vision clear, the head hair is traditionally tied up into a little bow! The coat must be groomed daily, or it will mat.

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• Dog: Bichon Frise
• Dog: Chihuahua

When you have found a good candidate, learn everything you can about that dog. Below are some of the things that you can do to find out if he is indeed the right dog for you.

5 Tips On Picking The Right Sheltered Dog

1. Spend some alone time with the dog in the shelter. How does he act around you? Is he shy, aggressive, quiet, or high-strung? Look him in the eyes and then have him look at you. Do you feel any kind of connection taking place? I believe that there is such thing as chemistry between man and animals, and that is what you are trying to find here.
2. Ask questions about the dog’s health. Find out the last time he was seen by the vet. Ask if he has any kind of sicknesses that you should be aware of, such as hip dysplasia or worms.
3. Find out as much as you can about his history. What brought him to the shelter? Was he abused or neglected in any way? Does he appear to display a behavioral problem as a result of the abuse or neglect?
4. If you have kids, find out if the dog gets along with them before you take him home. Have your kids go with you to the shelter and observe how they react to the dog and vice versa. If you do not have children now but are planning to have one, have another child go with you and observe how they behave towards one another.
5. Find out how the dog behaves toward different dogs and other animals. Ask a shelter staff to bring some of the animals next to the dog and observe how he interacts with them.

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• Dog: Dachshund
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• Dog: Dalmatian

Size: The smallest breed of dog in the world. Chihuahua should be at most 20cm tall at the shoulder.

Physical Appearance: Tiny and dainty. Rounded head, often described as “apple-doomed” in shape. Ears are pointed, and large in proportion to the dog’s overall size. The eyes are also large and round. May be long- or short-coated.

Characteristics: Intelligent, spirited, possessive, good little watchdog.

Colors: Any color, or combination of colors.

Special Facts: These tiny dogs often think they are bigger than they really are, and they’re capable of being ferocious in trying to defend themselves and their human families.

Related Topics

• Dog: Bichon Frise
• Dog: Maltese