Dogs are true friends who always stand on the terms of friendship. They serve as pre-eminent pets when compared with others, as they are lovable, faithful and entertaining too. They spare you from your loneliness, especially when there’s nobody with you.

Dogs can be the great companions and friends for you and your family rather than any other pets. To make your pets more commendable, Dog Training is very important. A few tips include:

• Firstly, you need to train your dog at its starting age, i.e. when your dog is a puppy. This is the best age when your dog quickly learns the things eagerly and happily.
• You need to be strict at times and cool afterwards as only then they will learn. Make it clear to them that you are the boss first and then a friend. This will help them to learn the things faster without any ambiguity.
• You need to remain cool and soft while teaching or training your dog because yelling or shouting will reduce all the effectiveness of your training and make your dog angry and anxious too with the procedure of learning.
• The environment needs to be happening at the time of training because this will make your pet and you happy too.
• There should be a constant learning process without any breaks, as this will help your dog in learning the things without ignorance.
• Praising is also necessary because dogs love to be praised by their owners and become happier. 
• You need to inform your dogs about your expectations so that they can learn and work accordingly.
• Sometimes, the techniques of punishments can also be used during the process of training, to make your pet realize his or her mistake and to ensure that it doesn’t repeat it again.
• Spending enough time with your dog will make it realize your importance and the importance of training too.
• Lastly, when you are not satisfied with your training methods and your pet also does not come up with results on the lessons, you need to invite a collar man for imparting effective training to your dogs or pets.

  

All these methods work effectively, when you give time to teach the lessons for your dog without eagerness and anxiety. Along with strictness, throw your love too, so that your dogs feel safe and happy with the environment and realize the importance of you and your training.

“The problem with cats and dogs is that they shed.” Shedding is a common complaint of people who prefer homes free of pet hair to the joys of having a pet. But do we have to choose?

To a point, yes. If you don’t want any pet hair in your home, don’t get a pet. However, we can reduce the problem of pet hair on furniture and clothing with these approaches:
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Cats are happiest when they’re at home. But on occasion, we need to transport them for short trips to the veterinarian or longer trips when we’re moving. How do we make the trip as comfortable as possible for our homebody pets?

Choose a good pet carrier

Cats don’t like being confined, but they do like to feel secure. A pet carrier with solid walls helps your cat feel protected. In addition to providing ventilation, holes in the sides and a grated door allow your cat to see some of her surroundings while she’s in the carrier.

Make sure that the door latches securely and that the carrier is sturdily built. A handle on the carrier makes it easier to carry and to fasten to a car seat.

Soft-sided carriers are easier to store and to stow under an airplane seat if you’re flying and your cat is allowed in the cabin with you. However, walls that can fold in on the cat while she’s in it can create a frightening experience. If you choose a soft-sided carrier, look for one with walls that don’t collapse too easily, and see how your cat adjusts to it before using it for travel. In most situations, a hard-sided carrier may be a better choice for your cat.

Get your cat accustomed to her pet carrier or harness

If you wait until the day that you and your cat need to go somewhere before introducing her to the pet carrier, your cat will naturally be resistant. Instead, leave the pet carrier out where she can go in and out of it when she pleases. Since cats like to be higher than ground level, it may appeal to her more if you place it on a table or somewhere else off the ground. Put treats or even food in it so that she’ll associate good things with it. With her favorite blanket in the carrier, she may even choose to take naps in it.

After she’s used to her pet carrier, close the door for short periods when she’s in it and walk around with it, being careful to minimize the motion she feels. Give her a treat and plenty of attention afterwards to keep the associations with the pet carrier positive.

If you’re traveling by air, the airline may require you to use an airline animal crate. You can still help your cat become accustomed to being confined beforehand, and you can bring a favorite blanket to put in the flight crate.

If you’re taking your cat just to the veterinarian or another local destination and your cat isn’t difficult to restrain, a harness and leash may work fine. Get your cat used to wearing and being restrained by the harness at home, and check that the harness straps won’t slip if your cat pulls hard to get away.

Get your cat accustomed to car travel

If your cat is a kitten when she joins your family, take her for occasional trips in the car so that she can get used to the sounds, smells, and sensations of car transportation. She may not enjoy it the way dogs do, but if she experiences it enough, particularly when she’s young, she’ll be less stressed about traveling in a car.

Make your cat comfortable for the trip

Make the pet carrier comfortable for your cat. A familiar blanket will provide psychological as well as physical comfort. A favorite toy will add to the comfort level. If you’ll be traveling for more than a short distance, include a bowl of your cat’s usual food and water in a water dispenser.

Don’t put anything heavy or large in the pet carrier — it could injure your cat or cause her to panic when the carrier moves. Also avoid blankets with a weave or holes large enough for your cat’s claws to get caught in.

Help your cat stay calm. Cats can sense when their people are stressed. Stay calm around your cat, and be sure to keep her indoors for several hours before you need to put her in her pet carrier.

When you pick up or interact with your cat, be gentle. Assure her with your voice that everything is fine. Don’t sedate her unless it’s really necessary to do so. If your cat becomes agitated easily, discuss sedation with your veterinarian before the trip.

Give your cat identification

No transportation method is 100 percent safe. In the unlikely event that your cat gets out of her carrier or harness, or that the carrier gets lost in transit, have your cat wear an ID tag with a phone number that you can be reached at. If she has an identification tattoo or a microchip, she’ll be identifiable even if the ID tag is lost.

Keep a current photo of your cat on-hand in case you need it.

Travel by air with cats

Traveling by air is risky for animals — airline cargo holds aren’t designed for live creatures.

Each airline has its own regulations about transporting animals. Some allow small pets in the cabins, some allow animals only as cargo, and some don’t transport animals at all. Those that do allow pets may require a specific type of pet carrier.

If you need to transport your cat by plane, see these pages for more information on flying with pets:

• Tips for Safe Pet Air Travel
• Airline Rules for Travel with Your Cat

Related articles at this site

• Moving Home with Dogs and Cats
• Including Your Pets in a Disaster Plan
• Travel with Dogs

Fluffy meows when she’s hungry, when she wants attention, when she smells food…and sometimes for reasons unknown to us. Her meowing may be conversational, or it may be annoying. Especially when we’re trying to fall asleep at night.

Why cats meow

Except between mothers and kittens, cats don’t usually meow to each other. Meowing is a form of communication that they use with humans. Cats raised with people learn from an early age that meowing is a way to get people to attend to their wants.

Some breeds of cats meow more than others do. Siamese and Burmese cats, for example, are known for their vocalizations.

We probably want our cats to meow to let us know when they want in or out. We expect them to meow when it’s dinnertime. But when cats meow excessively, their meowing may indicate a health or behavior problem.

Excessive meowing and your cat’s health

When cats get old, they may meow more because they’re disoriented, confused, or feeling needy. If they’re meowing more loudly than they used to, they could be losing their hearing and be unable to hear themselves as well at their normal volume.

Cats that haven’t been neutered typically meow a lot when they’re feeling distressed. Females meow to get outside when they’re in heat, and males meow to get to females.

Pain, neurological problems, or major changes such as loss of vision can also cause cats to meow excessively.

If your cat’s excessive meowing is possibly because of a health problem, take your cat to a veterinarian to have your cat checked for any problems. If your cat hasn’t been neutered, the only way to alleviate excessive meowing and the associated distress is to have your cat neutered.

Excessive meowing and behavior problems

Cats learn through experience that repeated meowing gets them what they want. They will stop if they get what they want or if they learn that their continued meowing no longer gets them their intended results.

First, identify what your cat wants. Is your cat bored? Lonely? Hungry? Anxious? Notice the timing of the excessive meowing episodes. If they happen after you’ve been away for a long time, your cat may be lonely and bored. If your cat goes into a meowing frenzy in the middle of the night, she’s probably wide awake and ready to play.

Second, meet your cat’s needs when she isn’t meowing. Give her more attention if that’s what she craves. Play with her and give her lots of exercise just before you go to bed so that she’ll be tired and more likely to sleep during the night. Feed her at regular times so that she’ll know when to expect meals.

Third, don’t give her any attention when she is meowing excessively. Even negative attention must be avoided during such times because it reinforces the behavior — meowing gets results. If she meows a lot during the night, keep her in another room or wear earplugs until she realizes that you aren’t going to get up and give her attention during the night any more.

Related articles at this site

• Cats and Stress
• Understand and Communicate with Your Cat
• Caring for Senior Cats
• Grooming Your Cat

It may be a structure that you designed and built yourself. Or perhaps you bought a dog house kit to build it, or you bought it pre-made.

No matter how the dog house was built, your dog will be happy if it’s comfortable for him in all kinds of weather, at whatever time of day or night he may be using it.

So what qualities does the ideal dog house have?

The size of the dog house

When calculating dimension for a dog house, be sure to take into consideration any growing that your dog has left to do. Also note that dimension given here are minimum dimension to give your dog space to enter, exit, move around, and lie down comfortably. More space provides more comfort. But if the dog house is intended to provide warmth for your dog, don’t make it too big — it will take longer to warm up when the dog is in it.

Dog house floor space needs to accommodate the length of the dog from his nose to the base of his tail. If the dog is 25 inches long, for example, the length and width of the dog house should each be at least 25 inches.

The height inside the dog house should be at least a couple of inches more than the distance from the ground to the top of the dog’s head. A dog that measures 19 inches high at the top of his head should have a dog house with an inside height of at least 21 inches.

The dog house doorway needs to be at least a couple of inches higher than the distance from the top of the dog’s shoulder to the bottom of his chest. A bigger doorway makes it easier for older dogs in particular to get in and out of the dog house.

For households with more than one dog, you can buy or build a dog house to accommodate more than one dog at a time. If the dogs don’t like sharing their sleeping quarters, however, they should have separate dog houses.

The dog house structure

The roof and walls should be free of leaks and drafts. A flap door keeps drafts from coming through the doorway and keeps the dog’s body warmth inside to warm up the dog house. In colder climates, insulated walls add to your dog’s comfort in winter months.

The bigger the doorway is, the more valuable a flap door is. Some more elaborate dog houses have a hallway, which helps protect the interior from the outside air.

A hinged top makes it easy to remove the roof to clean the dog house.

The dog house location

In climates with hot summers and cold winters, you might want to move the dog house depending on the season.

In hot months, the dog house is ideally in a shaded location. In cold months, on the other hand, the sun can help warm the dog house.

Position the dog house so that the doorway is protected from the wind, perhaps facing the house, another building, or a solid fence. A draft is unpleasant in any season.

The dog house floor and bedding

A raised floor helps protect the dog from the cold earth and keeps rain and snow from seeping in. It also makes it easier for larger dogs to get in and out of the dog house.

For bedding, a thick bed of straw, hay, wood shavings, carpeting, or blankets provides comfort and insulation. Foam padding can be used with or without other bedding.

More dog house options

Depending on your budget and your climate, you may want to consider these options:

• A heated pet mat
• A dog house heater
• A dog house air conditioner

Combination dog house heaters and air conditioners are available at prices upwards of $400.

Avoid heat lamps, which can cause fires.

Acclimatizing your dog to a dog house

When the weather gets colder, dogs that sleep outdoors grow thicker coats to keep them warmer — if they spend a lot of time outdoors. If your dog usually sleeps indoors, an unheated dog house is not going to keep him warm on a December night. Dogs that sleep outdoors need to become acclimatized to the colder temperatures beginning from when the weather starts to become cooler.

Some breeds of dogs will not grow a coat that’s thick enough to keep them warm during the winter. Dogs that don’t have thick coats shouldn’t be left outdoors on cold nights. But a dog house may provide a comfortable retreat for them when they’re in the yard during the day.

Some cats are playful and affectionate with people. Others bite and scratch. Many cats do both.

Aggression is natural with cats. After all, they are predators by nature. Play is an expression of their predatory behavior. Biting and clawing are also instinctive reactions to protect themselves when cats are afraid or upset.

For more timid cats, their reaction to stressful situations is to retreat.

As humans, we learned how to interact with other people and with animals from our parents, our siblings, our classmates, and our teachers, among other people. Cats also learn socialization skills from their mothers and littermates as well as from their contact with humans. If kittens are separated from their mother and litter too early, or if they grow up with limited or no human contact, socialization is more difficult — but still possible.

Socialization during kittenhood

The more people and situations that cats are exposed to as kittens, the more comfortable they’ll be with a variety of people and situations. Their personalities and preferences are shaped largely by their experiences when they’re young.

Have your kitten spend time with different people, both adults and children. When meeting new people is a normal occurrence, it’s less likely to be a stressful experience. Encourage visitors to pet your kitten and to play with her. Younger children should be supervised when handling pets to keep the experience a positive one for both the child and the kitten.

Introduce your kitten to other animals. If your household already has other pets, your kitten will adjust to being with them. With or without other household pets, your kitten will still benefit from exposure to other cats and to dogs that aren’t aggressive toward cats. If a friend or neighbor has a puppy, both animals could benefit from time spent together during their more formative months. As with young children and pets, time that animals spend together should be supervised until it’s clear that the animals get along.

Teach your kitten good play habits. Use toys for the objects to be attacked, not your hands. When she uses her claws or teeth in play, withdraw from playing immediately. She’ll learn fast that teeth and claws don’t belong in playtime involving human contact.

Avoid playing too roughly and overstimulating your kitten. To satisfy your cat’s prey instinct, also play with her using toys. She may be happy with toys that she can bat around with her paws and bite into. For more fun, let her chase toys by dragging them around on a string. Or make the string or an old belt a toy in itself.

Handle and groom your kitten. Kittens that are accustomed to being handled and groomed are less likely to react badly if a stranger picks them up or if matted hair needs to be removed. Hold and pet your kitten every day.

Take your kitten to a veterinarian. Routine veterinary visits allow kittens to become accustomed to the sights and sounds in a veterinary clinic, the way the veterinarian handles them, and the ride there and back.

When socialization with humans isn’t easy

Socialization can be difficult when cats haven’t been taught proper cat behavior or when they haven’t grown up with positive interaction with humans. With time, patience, and care, however, they can still learn and adjust.

Recognize your cat’s limits. A few minutes of petting may be all that your cat wants. When her body language tells you that she’s had enough — flickering tail, flattened ears, perhaps a growl — stop. Watch her when visitors are petting her so that you can point out signals that they may not recognize. If she’s frightened by people she doesn’t know, let her stay away when visitors are present. When she’s ready, she’ll come to them on her terms.

Reinforce positive behavior. Praise your cat or kitten during playtime when she doesn’t use her teeth or claws. If she exposes her teeth or claws during contact with you, stop playing. Ask other people to do the same. If she is shy, give visitors treats to give to her as a reward when she approaches them.

Related articles

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Fido has been having difficulty standing up after lying down, and he hesitates to climb stairs. He limps or walks with a swaying motion, and he has developed an awkward, hopping gait when running. After your veterinarian examines your dog and does X-rays, you get the diagnosis: canine hip dysplasia.

What is hip dysplasia?

Hip dysplasia is a degenerative condition affecting the hip joints. While cats and humans can also develop it, the condition is more common in dogs. Large dog breeds in particular are susceptible to hip dysplasia.

Normally, the femur (thighbone) head fits snugly into the hip socket. When hip dysplasia occurs, the femur fits loosely because of loose ligaments, poor muscle condition, or a malformed ball or socket. More than one factor may contribute to the condition, which can range from minor looseness to hip dislocation. One or both hips may be affected during the dog’s development. The abnormal joint erosion causes pain and arthritis in the affected hip(s).

While dogs as young as four months may begin to have symptoms, the condition might not manifest itself until middle age or later.

Why do some dogs get hip dysplasia?

Genetics are a major factor, and more than one gene is involved. If either parent has the genetic susceptibility toward hip dysplasia, the offspring will have this predisposition too. If both parents have it, the offspring are more likely to develop the condition.

Environmental factors appear to play a role in influencing which dogs develop hip dysplasia and when:

• Growth rate (particularly with large dog breeds)
• Amount of exercise
• Nutrition levels
• Obesity

Dogs prone to hip dysplasia but raised in optimal conditions may not develop the condition until middle age or older — or they may not develop it at all.

Preventing hip dysplasia in dogs

While we can’t predict which dogs that are carriers of the disease will develop it, we can greatly lessen the chances of their getting it by taking these precautions:

Restrict the amount of protein in the dog’s diet. Dogs that are fed unrestricted amounts of high-protein food have a higher tendency toward hip dysplasia. Study results don’t suggest that dogs be fed low-protein diets, but that the total amount of protein shouldn’t exceed recommended daily levels.

Don’t let your dog become overweight. Excess weight adds more stress to the bones.

Restrict the amount and types of exercise for puppies. Moderate exercise and the development of muscle mass is essential for good health. But for dogs with a tendency toward hip dysplasia, exercise that puts extra stress on the joints, such as jumping, may contribute to these dogs developing the condition.

Treating hip dysplasia in dogs

If your dog has developed hip dysplasia, a number of treatments can help slow or stop the progression of the disease and relieve your dog’s pain.

Keep your dog warm. Give your dog a place to sleep that’s warm and draft-free. When the weather is cold, a dog sweater can help.

Provide a comfortable bed for your dog. A well-padded bed helps reduce pressure on a dog’s joints and protects the dog from cold coming from the floor.

Give your dog medication and supplements.

• Adequan Canine is an anti-inflammatory, injectable prescription drug for dogs with arthritis. It reduces joint friction and helps rebuild cartilage in damaged joints, making it more than just a painkiller.
• Your veterinarian may recommend an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory such as Aspirin.
• Omega-3 fatty acid supplements also help reduce inflammation.
• Glucosamine aids in reducing pain and rebuilding damaged cartilage.

Be sure to discuss any medications with your veterinarian before administering them to your dog.

Do stretching exercises with your dog. To alleviate the pain and compensate for decreased joint movement, dogs with hip dysplasia shift the balance of their weight when they walk. This can cause spinal problems and lead to some muscles atrophying from lack of use. A veterinarian or a chiropractor can demonstrate range-of-motion stretching exercises to help the muscles and the spine.

Consider surgery. Depending on the degree of hip dysplasia, different types of surgery are done to help animals with this condition:

• In the early stages of hip dysplasia, a triple pelvic osteotomy can stabilize the femur in the hip socket by cutting the pelvis in three pieces and repositioning the pieces. This procedure is done more with younger animals.
• Dogs that are under 30 pounds, fully grown, and in good health may be able to get a total hip replacement — the femur head and the hip socket are replaced with an artificial joint.
• If the condition has progressed and the joint has degenerated considerably, the head and neck of the femur can be removed surgically. This procedure is called a femoral head and neck osteotomy. Animals that have had this surgery can’t run as well as dogs that have never had hip dysplasia, but the hind leg muscles compensate in a way that allow dogs to walk without this joint.

Those of us who had pets as children probably remember the unconditional love we received, the pleasures of animal companionship, and the lessons in caring for another creature. Most likely, we gained far more from our pets than we realize even now.

Advantages of pets for children

Children who grow up with pets tend to have higher self-esteem, improved social skills, increased attention span, better non-verbal communication skills, and better school attendance. They’re likely to be more emotionally stable, and they’re less likely to engage in criminal activity later in life.

Pets help teach children empathy, compassion, loyalty, responsibility, and respect for other creatures. They help children develop trusting relationships. With a pet as a friend, children always have someone to tell their secrets to.

What children with pets need to know

Animals can feel pain. Chasing, teasing, pulling on, kicking, throwing, or otherwise bothering animals is not acceptable. Some animals more than others will indicate their displeasure at being handled roughly. Children need to be taught to recognize signs of distress in animals and acceptable ways of handling animals:

• How to pick up and hold a pet (if the pet is small enough to be picked up and held)
• How and where to stroke a pet
• Respecting animals’ needs to rest
• Allowing animals to go free when they want without restraining or chasing them

Animals have different personalities and characteristics. Just like people, animals have distinct traits, and people need to recognize and be respectful of them. Children need to learn:

• Not to try to pet dogs they don’t know
• Not to take food or bones away from animals
• How to recognize animal body language

Animals have needs. Animals need food, water, exercise, clean quarters, and affection. They need care and attention every day, not just when people feel like attending to their needs. They need patience and understanding while they’re learning what’s expected of them.

Children with pets can learn to handle a lot of responsibility for their pets. However, adults still need to make sure that the pets get the care that they need and to take responsibility if the children don’t.

Younger children and pets

Children are naturally drawn to animals. Even young children can learn from their animal companions:

• Empathy, gentleness, and respect by learning to recognize pain and discomfort and to avoid hurting animals by the way we touch or handle them. Preschool children may need to learn not to take toys from pets.
• Friendship from spending time with our animal companions. Children learn to care about creatures beyond themselves.
• Responsibility by having simple chores such as feeding their pets daily under an adult’s supervision. A chart to mark off every time they do such tasks can help children remember to feed their pets.
• The value and fun of exercise with animals that need exercise time with their people.

With children who are too young to have learned empathy and respect, time spent with pets should be supervised.

Children and pet loss

Learning to understand and accept death is one of life’s lessons, and it’s one that children can learn when their pets die. If the pet requires extra care while old or ill, children learn more empathy and responsibility.

Younger children may not understand the finality of death at first. They will find it easier to grasp if adults explain the situation to them (injury, illness, age) and help them realize that all lives end at some point. If children experience the death of a pet before losing a person in their life, they will already have some understanding of the life cycle.

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• Children and Pets: Choosing a Pet for a Child
• Rabbits as Pets?
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Should you take your dog to a professional dog groomer, or should you groom your dog yourself?

Depending on your dog’s needs, the answer might be to do both. If you take your dog to a professional dog groomer, you can groom him yourself between appointments. And if your dog’s coat doesn’t require the care of a professional dog groomer, you may be able to be his sole groomer.

Benefits of grooming your dog yourself

Your dog benefits physically. Dog grooming distributes skin oils throughout the dog’s coat, removes loose hair and irritants, and keeps hair free of dirt and tangles. While you’re grooming your dog, you can look for any changes to his body and spot possible health concerns, including the presence of fleas.

And, of course, a dog that’s groomed regularly looks healthier and more cared for.

Your dog benefits emotionally. Dogs that have learned not to trust humans or that aren’t accustomed to being handled can overcome their fears with repeated gentle handling. Grooming your dog provides him with regular sessions in which to experience pleasure at the hands of humans.

You and your dog have more bonding time. One-on-one time with your dog is when the greatest bonding occurs. While grooming him, you’ll be able to observe how he reacts to and communicates with you.

You benefit emotionally. Studies have shown that spending time with pets can improve psychological well-being and lower blood pressure, among other benefits.

You save money. Do-it-yourself dog grooming costs only the equipment needed for grooming. If your dog has a high-maintenance coat, however, or if you don’t have the patience or time to groom your dog regularly, it may be better to take your dog to a professional dog groomer.

How to start grooming your dog

The younger you start grooming your dog, the easier it will be for him to become accustomed to being groomed. Be gentle and praise your dog often to make the grooming sessions positive experiences.

If your dog isn’t comfortable with being groomed, grooming sessions should be short at first and increased when the dog has become accustomed to the experience. You may want to groom just one part of his body one day and another part another day.

Dog grooming tools

These are some tools to choose from, depending on your dog’s coat:

Dog brushes

Dog brushes come in plastic or metal and can be soft or hard. Brush types:

• Wire pin brushes (with straight metal pins, sometimes with rubber tips on the bristles) for dogs with short or wooly coats, or for the first brushing
• Slicker brushes (with more and shorter pins than wire pin brushes) for more thorough brushings, mostly for dogs with thicker coats
• Bristle brushes for general brushing

Dog combs

• Curry combs are good at getting out tangles and lots of loose hair.
• Fine-tooth combs are for soft coats.
• Medium-tooth combs can be used on most dogs.
• Wide-tooth combs are suitable for heavy coats.

Dog clippers and blades

A wide range of blades is available. Their suggested use is for people who have had professional training in their use.

Dog nail clippers

Dog nail clippers are available in three main types and in different sizes:

• Pliers-style clippers work like pruning shears. They work well with thick nails.
• Guillotine-style clippers have a hole at the top to insert the dog’s nail into and replaceable blades. They may be more difficult to use with larger breeds or dogs with thicker nails.
• Scissors-style nail clippers work like scissors. They’re mainly for cats and birds, but they’re sometimes used on smaller dogs.

If you aren’t sure what type of nail clippers to use on your dog, ask your dog groomer or veterinarian. Use only nail clippers that are sharp.

It’s a good idea to have styptic powder or Kwik-Stop on-hand to stop the bleeding in case you accidentally trim too much.

Dog grooming

Ideally, you’ll be able to groom your dog several times a week. Once a week may be often enough for short-haired dogs

Run a hand along the dog’s body to feel for lumps, injuries, or other changes as you groom. Check the dog’s feet for any sores. Praise your dog to help him feel comfortable with the procedure.

Start grooming at the dog’s head, grooming in the direction of the dog’s hair. Use a comb to remove dead hair and go over the dog’s body, legs, and tail. Be sure to groom behind the ears, at the base of the tail, and on the dog’s chest and flanks. Be especially gentle in areas where the bones protrude. Then, brush the dog with a brush to remove further loose hair.

Matted hair causes discomfort in dogs. You may be able to remove small mats by gently separating the mats into sections with your fingers. Be careful not to pull on the dog’s coat. If you cut off the edge of the mat with scissors (being careful to point the scissors away from the dog), the rest of the mat may be easier to work through. Larger or thicker mats are best left to a professional dog groomer.

Nail clipping

Dog nails should be just long enough to touch the ground when the dog is walking. When they’re longer, it’s time to trim them. Some dogs need their nails trimmed once or twice a month, while other dogs wear down their nails naturally. If the nails are left too long without being trimmed, the quick (the vein inside the nails) may extend further than normal. When the nails are trimmed regularly, however, it will retreat.

Get your dog in a comfortable position on your lap or on the floor. Extend each nail before trimming it, look for the quick inside the nail, and be careful not to trim close to the quick. With darker nails, the quick is more difficult to see, so take extra care. The quick starts where the nail gets darker.

Cut from underneath the nail. When you have the clippers in place and have located the quick, cut hard to get through the nail. Trim just a little bit at a time from the tip of each nail.

Keep the experience a pleasant one for your dog. Do only a few nails at a time if necessary, and praise your dog often. A treat afterwards makes the experience more pleasurable.

You may find it easier to trim your dog’s nails after a long walk or run, when he’s tired and wants to lie down. Or if one person trims the nails while another person distracts the dog with attention, the dog will be focused on the positive attention rather than the nail trimming.

You vaccinate your dog or cat for rabies. Distemper. Feline leukemia. Or do you? If you do, how often? If you don’t, why not? The answers to these questions are less clear-cut than they were a decade ago.

How vaccinations work

Vaccines contain small amounts of bacteria, viruses, or other organisms from the disease they protect against, but which have been modified so that they won’t cause that disease. After an animal is vaccinated, the vaccine stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies to fight against it. With these antibodies present, the immune system should be able to protect the animal against the disease if the animal is later exposed to it.

The protection created by the reaction to the vaccine is reduced over time, which is why booster vaccinations are needed.

The risks versus the benefits

Anyone who has had a pet die from a preventable disease can tell you about the benefits of vaccinating your dog or cat. Unfortunately, vaccinating your pet can sometimes be harmful. Vaccines can cause side effects, such as a lump at the injection site, reduced appetite, fever, vomiting, or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). Some cats develop cancerous tumors at the sites of rabies or feline leukemia vaccinations.

With animals that have had reactions to vaccines, it’s best not to give the animal more than one vaccine at a time. The reaction may be less with only one vaccine to deal with. If there is still a reaction, you’ll be able to see which vaccine your pet is reacting to.

In addition, animals should be vaccinated only when they are healthy. Animals that aren’t well may not have a strong enough immune system to be able to handle the vaccine.

Vaccines do not provide complete immunity to the diseases they’re made to protect against. Even when your pets have been vaccinated, it may still be possible for them to contract the diseases that the vaccines were for. Sometimes vaccines protect, and sometimes they don’t — and we don’t know which animals they’ll protect when we vaccinate our pets. The statistics concerning how effective vaccines are depend on who you talk to.

Vaccines and disease risk factors

How is the disease that the vaccine is for spread? How likely is your pet to come into contact with animals that have that disease?

We can reduce the risks associated with vaccines by considering which vaccinations our pets need and which ones they don’t need. Indoor cats, for example, don’t need to be vaccinated against diseases that are passed through direct contact. Most animals don’t need to be vaccinated against conditions that don’t exist in their area. An exception may be show animals, which travel and are in contact with animals from other areas.

Vaccination frequency

Between the options of vaccinating our pets annually and not vaccinating them at all lie other choices.

A yearly booster shot for many diseases is not considered necessary any more. Many vaccines last much longer than one year. Vaccination intervals of about every three years are now recommended for some vaccines, or a blood test can be done to assess the level of the pet’s antibodies. A problem with this test is that it can’t test the effectiveness of the animal’s immune system. On the other hand, yearly vaccinations haven’t been proven to be necessary.

Another approach is to vaccinate puppies and kittens when they’re young (but not younger than three months), perhaps give them one or two booster shots, and then stop. The vaccines may continue to be effective for many years, and you’re sparing your pet the risk of repeated vaccinations.

When you discuss vaccinations with your pet’s veterinarian, consider the risks your pet faces in your area. Consider also your pet’s health and living situation. Whatever you decide, your pet should still have annual examinations to help identify and prevent health problems.