Domesticating The Dog (Part 1)

Article Title: Domesticating The Dog (Part 1)
Author: Van Hoffen

Dogs are smart creatures and so are humans. A long time ago,
the human race saw the value of befriending canines,
recognizing all the potential benefits to a partnership with
these smart animals. Dogs are loyal to their leadership
hierarchy, making them very trainable. Once the dog recognizes
who the leader of the pack it, it will do almost anything to
support that leader. Because of this relationship, a very
diversified species of Canis Familiaris has resulted due to the
selective breeding efforts of humankind.

The main reason that dogs are easier to train than cats is not
because of a difference of intelligence; it's because they have
that instinctual allegiance to the pack and their pack leaders.
Cats are not a pack animal and so do not have a well-defined
group mentality (although lions and cheetahs are an exemption
to this fact.) In the earliest time, human hunter-gatherers
realized that the canine pack leader could be replaced by a
human. The survival of the tribe at that time depended on the
success of the leaders of the hunt. Humans have never been the
physical equal of our prey - we are slow, low on endurance, and
have inept senses in comparison to animals. The only advantages
we had were our ability to work cohesively as a team (like the
dog), our intellect and our tribal loyalty.

Early humans' chief competitors at the time included the wild
dogs which hunted in well-choreographed packs. Humans were at a
disadvantage, as dogs could run faster and longer than humans;
they could operate masterfully as a team and pick up a scent
where no scent was discernible to humans. By establishing a
partnership with these dogs, early humans greatly increased
their chances of a productive hunt.

But which species would be the best candidate for
domestication? Wolves, African hunting dogs, and dingoes all
have a well-defined pack hierarchy in place, and all exhibit
complex social interaction. Because these two ingredients seem
to help create greater cognitive ability, these animals were
the most likely candidates for domestication.

On the other hand, the fox, is a solitary nocturnal creature
and has no pack order at all. Coyotes and certain types of
jackals form permanent male-female pair-bonds, but they do not
establish permanent pack associations.

When it was decided to domesticate these dogs, it was
determined that domestication required more than simply
changing behavior patterns. The animal itself had to be
physically changed through selective breeding to better suit
our needs. For example, wild wolf females come into season only
once a year, in harmony with their prey's season. Domestic dog
females come into heat two to three times a year; this allows
for more rapid selective breeding to occur. Also, most wild
dogs do not reach sexual maturity until they are two years of
age, whereas domestic dogs are sexually capable at six to nine
months. Also, male wolves are potent only during the breeding
season, whereas male domestic dogs are always potent.

About The Author: Find more dog information by Fredrick Von
Hoffen here: http://furl.net/members/eshannon and here:
http://www.google.com/notebook/public/14659004416250514855/BDQ-aSwoQ9ufuoLUi

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Many Pet Supplies

Title: Many Pet Supplies
Author: Stephen Pappalau

Many Pet Supplies
People show so much love for their pet that they go
overboard in buying pet supplies. Not only does it cost you
unnecessary expenses, your home with so much pet supply but
you will fill clutter which most of it your pet will never
even use.

So buy wisely and get only those pet supplies your pet
really needs. Below given are some ideas. Water and Food
bowls. Your pet will use these bowls for many years, so do
not skip. Buy in stainless steel as they last longer and
are very easy to clean. Plastic bowls may be cheap, but it
is very difficult to clean as it becomes old and many times
it looses it shine and color. Stainless steel bowls are
safer and they do not react to pet food chemicals.

Grooming pet supplies: If you have a dog you can buy a
brush, coat, nail clippers and good shampoo. Used correctly
and regularly, it can help to stay your beloved pet
huggable and clean.

Traveling pet supplies: If you travel often together with
your pet, you may need special supplies such as
well-ventilated, hard-sided kennels & harnesses. Also you
may need a bag to carry your pet's meds and grooming
supplies wherever you go. And if you are traveling by car,
you can get an adjustable car seat for your pet.

Also few toys not necessarily the expensive ones. Your cat
or dog can enjoy even some simple available play toys like
old socks. But if you can afford you can get your pet some
fancy toys. It will keep your pet busy while you may attend
to some important issues. And remember, active toys will
let your pets exercise while they also have fun. But you
must be careful to choose only those toys that are safe for
them.

Today pet supply stores everywhere are getting better and
better. They are becoming an important dependable source
for all pet needs like pet medicines, pet accessories and
pet food. Many pet supply stores will allow your pet in the
store to try their products. So take your pets inside the
stores to make sure that whatever accessories you have
bought fit them perfectly and look good on them and see if
your pet likes your choice.

Pet spas: You may now get you pets cleaned and groomed
right inside some pet supply stores. Some stores offer cat
nail clipping or free dog shampoos also.

Online stores: Some Pet supply stores have online website
presence from where you may purchase from the comforts of
your home. Forget the traffic, heat / cold or even long
checkout times. Just log on to the net, order, pay online
by credit card and your pet supplies will be delivered to
your home. One advantage of online shopping is that you can
check out several websites to compare stuff and prices with
just few clicks. Online prices are also very competitive
and some even provide you with free shipping if you meet
their minimum order requirements.

About the Author:

http://www.petsupplies4ypc.com

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Are you suffering from Premium Pet Food Sticker Shock?

Title: Are you suffering from Premium Pet Food Sticker Shock?
Author: Susan Thixton

Are you suffering from Premium Pet Food Sticker Shock?
Many pet owners suffer `sticker shock' when considering
purchasing a better quality food. They look at the price
tag and gasp when considering how fast Fido or Fluffy eats
that bag of food. What they don't know is that with better
quality pet foods, you don't feed as much – cheap foods
have cheap `filler' ingredients that do not satisfy the
nutritional needs of the pet, thus they eat A LOT more
attempting to get the nutrition that their body is telling
them they need. Better quality foods/ingredients provide
the animal with quality nutrition and they eat on average
1/3 less.

So let's break it down to cost per meal… Let's say your pet
currently eats 1 cup of food per day. A 20 pound bag of
food will provide you with about 50 servings. If the food
costs you $15.00 for a 20 pound bag – that equals about .30
per meal.

Now with a good quality pet food – feeding about 1/3 less –
a 20 pound bag will provide you about 80 servings. If the
better food costs $30.00 for a 20 pound bag – that breaks
down to a little less than .38 cents a meal.

So even though the price tag of the food reads to be twice
as expensive – it's actually far from the truth. Using the
above example, at .30 cents per meal, two meals a day, in
one month you are spending around $18.00 per month to feed
a pet with the inferior food. With the apparent twice as
expensive higher quality pet food, at .38 cents per meal,
two meals a day, in one month you are spending around
$22.80 per month. Less than $5.00 per month difference
that can save you thousands of dollars in vet bills and add
years to their life. You must look at the cost per meal to
completely give the price of the food consideration.

Here is what has happened to us…for years and years we've
watched the television commercials of pet food. They
emphasize the words `for your pet's health' or `choice'.
We've trusted them and we've followed their directions to
feed our pet 2 or 3 cups of food per day. What we didn't
know was that those recommended 2 or 3 cups of food was
necessary because the pet food contained cheap inferior
nutrition sources like by-products, meat and bone meal, and
grains.

So, it has become our habit to feed more – which they do
need more with inferior ingredients. Then someone like
myself comes along and tells you how horrible ingredients
like by-products and meat and bone meal are – and you learn
that grains such as corn, wheat, and soy are inferior – and
since this recent pet food recall, you learn that chemicals
can actually be added to variations of these grains
(glutens)…so then you look over your options at the pet
store or online. And you think in terms of how much per
`bag' of food. After all, you've probably tried several
different types of pet food in the past – maybe even one or
two that cost a little more than the cheap brands – and you
still ended up feeding the same 2 or 3 cups of food a day.
Naturally, you look at the $30.00 for a 20 pound bag of pet
food and gasp at the cost – you are thinking just the way
they want you to think…in terms of the cost of the bag, not
the cost of the serving.

The determining factor for your choice of pet food should
not be cost or advertising. You must look at and
understand those first five ingredients. Of course there
is much more involved than the first five ingredients, but
in my research…if the first five ingredients of a pet food
are good, so are the rest of the ingredients. If a pet
food manufacturer cares enough to make the first five
ingredients quality – which is the majority of the
food…they care enough to make all of the ingredients
quality. Don't be mislead into any comfort zone of a pet
food manufacturers advertising…do your homework and read
and understand at least the first five ingredients of your
pet's food. With better, more nutritious pet foods –
they do NOT need as much as with the cheaper foods. Don't
let the old habit of feeding more sway you when you switch
to a more nutritious pet food – again, with more quality
ingredients they just don't need as much food as with
inferior ingredients. If you switch your pet to a quality
pet food and continue to feed the same amount as the lesser
quality food you were feeding – your pet will gain weight.

The daily amount of food our pets require depends on many
things such as activity level, age, breeding animals, or
neutered animals. As an example, my 100 pound German
Shepherd only eats two cups of food per day; 1 cup AM, 1
cup PM. My little guy (8 pound Papillion eats about 1/3
cup a day. Both dogs are active. However, my little guy
is young and is fairly high energy level. My big guy is 12
years old and much more sedate. Considering his little
size, the small dog eats far more for his size than the big
dog. His energy and activity level requires it.

My cat on the other hand free feeds – he has access to a
full bowl of food at all times and eats when he wants. He
has never been an over eater and this works well for him.
I could never do the same with my dogs.

So serving size for your pet is something you will need to
experiment with. If your dog or cat has no `figure' –
shows no waist when looking at them from above – chances
are they need to lose a few pounds. Cut back the serving
size. If you can visibly see ribs – they probably need to
gain a couple of pounds and you need to slightly increase
the serving size. Please note too that a cup of food a day
at 2 years old will more than likely be too much food when
they are a little older. Keep a constant monitoring eye on
them - a healthy weight is a healthier pet.

And please don't just look at the cost of the bag of food,
look at (at least) the first five ingredients and consider
the cost of the serving.

About the Author:

http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com
Susan Thixton
Pet Behavior and Nutrition Consultant
Email: Susan@TruthAboutPetFood.com

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