Tips For Grooming Your Medium Coat Dog

Article Title: Tips For Grooming Your Medium Coat Dog
Author: Kelly Marshall

If you own a dog with a medium coat, you will want to know how
to groom him. Each length of hair needs to be cared for and
groomed in a different way. You can not groom your long hair
dog in the same manner in which you groom your medium coat dog.
If you do choose to groom them in the same way, you may end up
with a dog that has a coat that does not look right.

It is important that you learn how to groom your dog properly.
The proper grooming can make a huge difference in the
appearance of your dog. A dog who is groomed properly looks
clean and neat. You will be surprised to see the difference
proper grooming can make.

One great thing about medium coat dogs is that most of them do
not require you to cut their hair. The hair does not need to be
cut because it does not tangle, mat, or hold onto dirt like long
hair would. This makes it much easier to care for and you won't
have to worry about giving the dog a bath or a haircut
everytime they play outside.

The most important thing to remember about keeping your dog
groomed is that regular brushing and bathing are necessary.
Brushing the hair at least once a week and bathing once a month
are good routines to get in. If you can brush your dog every
day, that is even better.

The best time to trim your dogs hair, if necessary, is after
they have their bath. After bathing your dog, you will want to
towel dry them and possibly use a blow dryer with a low heat
setting. It is important to make sure your dogs hair is
completely dry before attempting to trim it.

After the dog is dry, you should stand back and look at him to
see if there are any stray, or long hairs that need to be
trimmed. Having a picture of your breed of dog that is a show
dog is a good way to know what your dogs coat should look like.
Use this picture as a guide, and make sure to only cut a few
hairs at a time. After cutting a few hairs you will want to
step back and look before cutting any more. If you do not do
this there is a very good chance that you will end up cutting
too much.

Another area of concern is the dogs paws. You will want to make
sure you cut the long hairs between the paw pads. You will also
want to make sure you blend the foot and leg hair with the rest
of the body. You also want to make sure that the dogs hair all
over the body is well blended. This is why only minimal
trimming is needed. The purpose in trimming your dog is to get
an even look. You are only trimming a little bit to get rid of
the stray or long hairs that look out of place.

About The Author: Kelly is a staff writer at
http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com - visit today for specials on
dog beds:
http://www.ohmydogsupplies.com/dog-supplies/personalized-dog-beds

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Dog Friendly Vacations - Five Tips

Article Title: Dog Friendly Vacations – Five Tips
Author: Dee Power

Many families these days consider their dogs a member of their
family, so when vacation time roles around they want a dog
friendly vacation.

1. Make sure your canine companion is up to date with their
vaccinations and that you have paperwork from your vet that
says so. Some hotels require documentation and if you arrive
to check in, after your vet has closed there's no way to get
it.

2. Your pet must have a strong collar, leash and ID tag and
should wear all three any time you're outside your car or hotel
room. Even if your dog is well trained to walk off leash at
home, in a new and strange environment, they may get
distracted. Make sure you put your cell phone number on the ID
tag. If you're not home, your home phone number won't do you
much good.

3. If you're traveling by car, take at least a gallon of water
for each day of the first few days of the trip. Remember to
pack a water bowl. Puppy pals drink a lot more water than you
might think and it's difficult for them to get enough to drink
out of a glass or bottle. Dehydration is not a good thing and
can lead to a sick dog and ruined vacation.

4. Prepare for emergencies. Have your vet's phone number
handy. Pack any medications for your dog. If your vet
approves pack medication for diarrhea, allergies, and motion
sickness. Take a few moments and do a web search to find an
emergency vet clinic in every location you visit. Make a note
of the vet's address, phone number and the nearest cross
streets. Take the list with you when you travel. You'll save
precious time.

5. Remember to have fun. Take your dog's favorite toy, chewie
and blanket. You can use the trip to teach him or her a few
new tricks. Or just snooze under a shady tree.

About The Author: If you plan on traveling with your dog this
summer find out more great tips at
http://www.brianhillanddeepower.com/doglover.html, The Dog
Lover's Guide to Traveling. Dee is the proud companion to
Rose, a four year old Irish Setter and Kate a two year old
English Springer Spaniel.

Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=151134
================== ARTICLE END ==================

For more free-reprint articles by Dee Power please visit:
http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Dee+Power

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Food Allergy In The Dog

Article Title: Food Allergy In The Dog
Author: Beck The Vet
What is a food allergy and what are the symptoms?

Food allergies mainly cause skin, ear and digestive problems or
often both

1-6% of all skin and the vast majority of food allergies start
in the first year of life. A food allergy should always be
suspected if the dog has recurring ear infections. Ears may be
itchy and this is often complicated by a bacterial or yeast
infection. Other symptoms include:

- Itchy skin
- Recurring skin infection
- Itchy feet and belly
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea

Less commonly swelling of the face and eyelids can occur.

Could my dogs breed be a factor?

Most investigators did not find this to be a breed related
problem but some studies showed that Cocker Spaniels, Springer
Spaniels, Labrador Retrievers, Collies, Mini Schnauzers,
Chinese Shar-Pei, West Highland White Terriers, Wheatern
Terriers, Boxers, Dachhunds, Dalmatians, Lhasa Apsos, GSD and
Golden Retriever are at greater risk.

What are the causative agents?

The majority of food allergies are caused by proteins, usually
red meats such as beef or lamb but most food components such as
rice could be a trigger. Food additives can also cause allergies
though at the moment these appear to be less common.

What are the risk factors:

1. Certain foods or food ingredients
2. Poorly digestible proteins
3. Any non related bowel disease such as a viral infection
which damages the bowel lining
4. Age- less than one year old carries higher risk
5. Breed?

How can a food allergy be treated?

Food allergies need to be diagnosed by your vet and other
causes of diarrhoea / skin disease need to be eliminated. It is
dangerous to try a food trial unless specifically recommended by
your vet.

An allergy to food is treated by a special feeding plan which
would involve a diet which has a new protein source that the
dog has not had before and a new carbohydrate source.
Elimination diets are usually given for a period of 6-8 weeks.

In that time the no treats or food other than that in the food
plan are allowed. Failure to adhere to this will mean starting
the trial again- everyone needs to be involved and it is a
family effort in some cases!

There are two approaches:

1. Home cooked diet. Make you own! Not for long term as these
diets are not balanced but are ideal for this short period when
a recipe is followed (as your vet). Home cooked are not suitable
for young growing animals as they can cause long term
developmental problems as they lack essential nutrients for
growth.

2. Vets prescription diets. Balanced, convenient and safe for
long term use. They are available in a large range of flavours
and textures now so usually one can be found which your pet
will enjoy.

If the dog is better after 8 weeks a commercial complete food
that does not contain the same allergens can be introduced as
this will be balanced. Always check with your vet before
changing your pets diet. Read the labels carefully - a chicken
flavour dog food may still contain beef or lamb protein which
could make your pet ill. Ask your vet for advice.

Tip: Keep a diary of the symptoms, food consumed and
consistency of faeces. This will be helpful to your vet in
assessing your pets progress and allow you to observe any
improvements or relapses.

About The Author: Beck the Vet is the Online Veterinary at
Parcel Pets where she helps pet lovers by providing free vet
advice: http://www.pets2home.co.uk/page--Vet-FAQ--ste_faq.html
Parcel Pets - http://www.pets2home.co.uk/ - are one of the UK's
leading pet supplies sites.

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Dog Bite And Animal Injury Claims

Article Title: Dog Bite And Animal Injury Claims
Author: Andrew Bowen

Incidents involving animals are unfortunately quite common,
ranging from simple dog bites, to a kick from a horse or deer
running in front of a car.

Particularly here, the law recognises that the innocent party
should be compensated. Whilst it might help your case to prove
that the animal owner or keeper is to blame for your injury, it
is not absolutely necessary.

If an animal has caused an injury by just behaving normally,
then usually the keeper is liable. Only if the injured person
was `wholly' at fault, will his claim fail.

Dog bite injuries involving children and couriers are one of
the most common claims solicitors are asked to advise on. Dogs
are territorial or may feel intimidated when approached. If
they bite, they are probably behaving normally and their
keepers liable to pay compensation.

The Animals Act 1971 recognises this and provides for
compensation to be paid without any great investigation into
`blame'. There does not need to be any council or police
involvement in the case for the compensation claim to succeed.
The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 can also be helpful here.

Horses can cause very significant injury. Do get advice if you
have been injured by a horse.

The sort of questions that we might ask you know regarding the
animal include if it had it behaved in the way that caused the
injury previously? What is known about it's temperament? Who
was looking after it? Were there any witnesses?

Most animal owners and keepers are insured for such
eventualities, whether they be householders, farmers or
otherwise working the animal.

If the owner of the animal is not known or the animal is wild,
there may be problems however.

If you are considering whether you can bring such a claim, we
suggest you seek advise from a specialist solicitor on a true
no win, no fee* basis.

About The Author: Andrew Bowen is CEO of CityView Media who own
http://www.nationalinjuryclaims.com, http://www.claimking.com
and http://www.acceptdirect.co.uk.

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