Getting A New Shih Tzu Puppy To Tolerate Grooming

Article Title: Getting A New Shih Tzu Puppy To Tolerate
Grooming
Author: Connie Limon

All Shih Tzu puppies need to learn to tolerate grooming at an
early age. Grooming your Shih Tzu is more than cosmetic. A
matted Shih Tzu is uncomfortable and subject to skin
irritations and infections.

Unclipped toenails will grow and curve, distorting the Shih
Tzu's foot to the point of crippling. Dirty ears can become
infected and induce pain-related aggression and/or hearing
loss. Lack of grooming can cause a Shih Tzu serious
discomfort.

Shih Tzu is not born with warm feelings toward being groomed.
A Shih Tzu needs to learn to enjoy grooming. This is easiest
if started sooner, rather than later. In time, your Shih Tzu
will learn to love the extra attention it receives while being
groomed.

Allow your new Shih Tzu puppy a couple of days to settle in to
his new home and family routine. Take the first few days to
familiarize all family members with the new Shih Tzu puppy's
housetraining, feeding and crating routines, and to establish
basic house rules.

During this time start preparing your new Shih Tzu puppy for
grooming by practicing positive association touching exercises.
You will need a container of treats. You can do the touching
exercises in any order, several times a day, and repeat each
one a half-dozen times before moving on to the next one. Try
the following exercises in five- to 10-minute sessions.

10 Positive Association Touching Exercises:

1.Scratch your Shih Tzu puppy under the chin, and then feed it
a tiny treat from your other hand.
2.Touch each paw, and then feed the Shih Tzu puppy a treat from
your other hand.
3.Rub each ear. Feed your Shih Tzu puppy a treat after each
rub.
4.Stroke your Shih Tzu puppy's back, then offer a treat.
5.Run your hand down your Shih Tzu puppy's tail, squeezing
softly, then feed your pup a treat.
6.Slip one hand under the Shih Tzu puppy's chest and lift
gently, and then feed your Shih Tzu puppy a treat.
7.Lift each paw, and feed a treat after each lift.
8.Massage each hind leg from hip to knee, and feed a treat
after each leg.
9.Slide your hand from each shoulder to the ankle, and feed a
treat after each.
10.Run your fingers over your Shih Tzu puppy's face, cheeks and
muzzle, and feed your Shih Tzu puppy a treat.

This article is FREE to publish with resource box.

About The Author: Connie Limon is a Shih Tzu breeder. She
publishes a FREE weekly newsletter with a focus upon health and
wellness for you and your pets. Sign up at:
http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com Visit Camelot Articles
http://www.camelotarticles.com

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The Dog's Mechanics Of Eating His Dog Food

Article Title: The Dog's Mechanics Of Eating His Dog Food
Author: John Mailer

Many dog owners think that every different breed of dog must be
fed different, according to some sort of specification.
However, the eating behavior of a dog is characteristic of the
whole species, not of any individual breed, since all dogs eat
the same way. As a result, there are certain general
considerations that can be made when feeding any dog.

A dog is not required to eat its food the same way a man does.
A dog has no hands. It's jaws are suited for biting and cutting
rather than chewing. There are few "gag" reflex nerves at the
back of a dog's mouth, but many in a person's throat. A dog
has fewer taste buds on its tongue, but a much greater sense of
smell than a man has. There are many other differences as well.


How A Dog Eats dog food

While the eating behavior of a dog may seem strange or awkward
to some dog owners, to the dog it is the most comfortable and
satisfactory way of getting its food from its bowl into its
stomach. The normal pattern of swallowing in a dog is often
described as "bolting." The dog picks up a piece of food with
its front teeth and with a short, quick thrust of its head,
tosses the piece of food back onto the top of its tongue. The
piece of food is then rolled (without being chewed) to the back
of the mouth. As the piece reaches the base of the tongue, a
reflex causes the back of the tongue to push the food upward
and backward into the esophagus. From there it is carried
directly into the stomach.

When a piece of dog food is too large to be swallowed, the dog
holds the food with its paws and uses its front teeth to tear
off smaller pieces that can be swallowed. If the dog food is
too tough to be torn, the dog will cut it into pieces small
enough to be swallowed, using two specialized jaw teeth.

These teeth are called carnassial teeth and have large shearing
surfaces that act like scissor blades which can cut through such
tough substances as muscle, hide, gristle, and even bone. While
the powerful jaw muscles of a dog are useful for cutting chunks
of food into swallowing size, these muscles are used very
little for actually chewing those pieces. A dog's teeth are
few in number and poorly equipped for mastication.

About The Author: John Mailer has written many articles about
dogs and puppies and how to train and look after them. His main
business is as an internet marketer.
http://www.howtostartonlinehomebusiness.com
http://www.basicsdogtraining.com/dognutritionfood.html

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Domesticating The Dog (Part 2)

Article Title: Domesticating The Dog (Part 2)
Author: Van Hoffen

Eliminating monogamy was a major change made in order to
domesticate dogs, and thus increasing the speed of selectively
breeding dogs. The new traits that were bred into the domestic
dog can be maintained only under domesticity; they would cause
insurmountable social problems in the wild. Its no wonder there
are so many different breeds of dogs today, as different ancient
civilizations each had a different way of living life and
surviving off the land.

Companionship, an allegiance between two species, was actually
a by-product of the human-dog domestication mystery. Initially
the relationship between dog and man was symbiotic: dogs would
aid us in the hunt in exchange for access to safe shelter, a
reliable food supply, and protection from predators. But then
with the advent of herding for a living, humankind again called
upon the assistance of the dog. Some nomadic tribes found it
easier to build a stock of animals year-round rather than to
depend on the fortunes of the hunt. This pastoral way of life
created a more stable supply of food and clothing, encouraged
the establishment of semi-permanent villages.

Early Semitic tribes in Mesopotamia used breeds similar to the
present-day Kuvasz, a large, powerful white herd-guarding dog
that often prefers the company of sheep to that of people. Dogs
were now needed not to kill prey but to keep herds of sheep,
goats, reindeer, or cattle together; to move the herds from
place to place; and to protect them from predators and
poachers. These herding dogs had specific traits that allowed
them to do their job well.

As more jobs were needed to be filled by dogs, so the diversity
of dog breeds. One of the earliest breeds to be developed for a
specific task was the sight hound. Over 5000 years ago,
Egyptian and Assyrian kings and queens prized the Greyhound-
and Wolfhound type dogs, as hunting dogs in the desert depended
less on their noses, given the sandy soil's inability to hold
scent for very long. They were perfectly suited to their task.
In addition, the dogs' good eyesight could often see its prey
from a long distance, given the rolling plains and open country
topography. The arid, wide-open expanses also required these
dogs to be fast, lightly built, and short-coated so they
wouldn't be affected by the heat.

Heavier, mastiff-type breeds were first developed 1000 to 2000
years later in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) and gradually
exported to Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Italy. These powerful
dogs were first used to take down large game; they would grab
the prey and hold on until the hunter arrived to make the kill.
Rhodesian Ridgebacks were used to flush lions for Egyptian
archers who were lying in wait. The Saluki, one of today's
beautiful silky-haired sight hounds, was used thousands of
years ago by Egyptian and Assyrian hunters to run down and
capture rabbits and small gazelles.

About The Author: For more dog information suggested by
Fredrick Van Hoffen, visit here:
http://furl.net/members/dogman24 and here:
http://www.spurl.net/discover/user/eshannon/

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