Open Journalism For All - News, Documentaries And Information Services

All breeds and sizes of dogs can be taught easily to speak, and the way to go about it is to call your dog, show him a treat and say “Speak.” He will not understand what you mean and will probably at first jump for it, and then sit down and eye it attentively; finally, he will get impatient and utter a sharp bark, which is what you have been waiting for, and the instant he does so reward him with the treat.

A dog which is slow in barking can be encouraged to do so by your imitating a bark, as the chances are he will reply to it, and if you reward him he will learn to bark as soon as he hears the word “speak.”

After a dog has been taught to bark once, you can teach him to bark any number of times, for when he has learned to expect a reward after barking once and you do not give it to him he is apt to bark again or until you give him a signal to stop.

Dogs are very observing and the signal to stop barking can be so slight that your friends will not detect it, such as a movement of the foot or hand, a dropping of the eyelids or a shifting of your gaze, and if you keep up a running fire of conversation and address your dog as if he were a human being his performance will be much more impressive and perplexing.

As an illustration, if you are exhibiting your dog to an audience and want him to speak, don’t simply say “speak,” but address him something like this: “Now, Buddy, all the ladies and gentlemen present are very anxious to hear you speak.” Put a slight emphasis on the word “speak” and your dog will catch it, but it will appear to the audience as if the dog understood the entire sentence and not only the one word “speak.” Of course, when training the young dog you should use only the word “speak” and that distinctly and free from other words, so as not to confuse him.

If your dog knows how to speck on command, you can try to teach “singing” – which is to teach him to howl on command. It is not expected that your dog will produce any melody but only repeat in a mechanical way a series of whines and barks.

Teach him to “sing” in the following manner. Try to imitate a whine yourself and try to get him to imitate the noise you make and to a certain degree, reach the pitch and style of noise make by you, be it a howl, whine or bark and with constant practice, a dog can and will learn to follow your tone quite accurately.

As your dog learn to follow your barking, say “sing” instinctively to associate this action. Praise and treat plentifully during training to encourage him further. Exercise him on a regular basis will help him to learn to sing in no time on your command.

“Speak” and “Sing” are useful lessons in curbing a nuisance barking dog. Let your dog understand that barking and whining is only allowed on command. Simply ignore your dog whenever he barks and whine for your attention. Vice versa, give him lots of praise or treats when he barks on command. If your dog understands this lesson, he will no longer be a nuisance barker and be a good quiet boy for a long time to go.

Moses
Chia is a dog lover and owner of
DogsObedienceTraining.com – The resource site for dog obedience training
tips and dog obedience training books review. You are welcome to reprint this article if you keep the content
and live link intact.

Heroism and courage are probably the most profound traits that endear dogs so deeply into the hearts and minds of mankind. Every day, humans all over the world are rescued by heroic dogs, often at great risk to the dog’s life. No other animal demonstrates this type of courage and devotion. The eagerness some dogs show to selflessly put their master’s safety above their own is a unique inter-species relationship found only between man and dog. Considering the countless daily examples of dogs saving their master’s lives, it’s no wonder that mankind feels so grateful for this unique relationship.

Nobody knows how many lives were saved by dogs in the massive Tsunami of December 2004. But 7-year old Dinakaran of Chinnalapet, India knows that he would not be here today were it not for the heroism of his dog, Selvakumar. Recognizing that Dinakaran was unable to escape the waves, his small yellow dog grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to safety. Dinakaran’s mother thought her son was lost until she found him rescued by the family pet.

In early December, 16-year old Robert Bainbridge lay unconscious in the chilly England air after being beaten by a gang of thugs. His loyal dog Tyson found him, and cuddled up next to him – refusing to leave his side. A search party including a helicopter looked for the missing teenager. Robert was eventually found by his Dad, after his dog Tyson heard the father’s voice calling from a car, and led him to the unconscious boy. Tyson cuddled by the unconscious boy’s side for five hours, keeping him warm. Abandoned as a puppy, Tyson is now a hero to the Bainbridge family. According to the doctors, Robert would not have survived if he had been left on his own, and without Tyson’s body heat.

On New Year’s Eve, 2004 Kathy White of Jackson County Missouri awoke in a smoke filled room, unable to see, and unsure how to escape. Her 6-month old Neapolitan mastiff – Ahbah – led her from the house to safety.

One day before, in Cumberland. Md., David DeWitt was sleeping when a fire broke out in his house. Rocky, DeWitt’s 110-pound Rottweiler jumped on him until he woke up. DeWitt credits his dog with saving his life.

All over the world, dogs are saving people on a daily basis. There is nothing new about stories of dogs saving human’s lives. Indeed, the event is so common that it generally goes unnoticed. The events above all made the press within the last month – and no doubt most similar stories go unreported. But these stories bring joy to dog lovers all over the world. It reinforces the unique nature of the relationship between man and dogs. Nowhere else in the entire animal world is such a clear case of genuine affection and concern demonstrated between members of different species. While people often overlook this unique bond shared between man and dog, dog lovers understand it instinctively.

About the Author

Rex Ryan is a dog lover and webmaster. His site can be found at:
http://www-cool-dog-stories.com

Weaning normally occurs at about 4-5 weeks of age, but keep in mind that some kittens take longer, particularly without their mom to show them the ropes. You will know that a kitten is ready to begin the weaning process when it is biting the feeding nipple often and forcefully and also is able to lick formula from your finger. The next step is to persuade the kitten to lap up formula from a spoon. Once they’ve accomplished that hurdle, try offering formula in a small, flat dish.

If the kittens appear to need encouragement to lap from a bowl, dip your fingertip in the formula and let him lick it off your fingers as you move them down to the bowl. DO NOT push their nose into the dish as they can aspirate the fluid and develop pneumonia! Once the kittens become accustomed to lapping liquids you can add weaning formula or baby cereal by combining them with the formula. While the kittens are grasping the art of eating from a bowl you will still need to bottle-feed them and monitor the amount of formula and food they are consuming. Always offer food from the bowl first, and then offer the bottle. When you see they are eating well from the bowl begin to decrease the amount of formula they are receiving from the bottle.

At that point, you can mix the kitten formula with baby food into a gruel and try to get the kittens to lap it up from a dish or a spoon. We recommend Chicken Baby Food but any meat flavor will do, just be absolutely sure there are no onions in the list of ingredients. You can also try using Dr. Hill’s A/D brand which is sold at any veterinarians. Eventually, you can mix canned kitten food (we recommend Wellness, Avo Derm, Nutro Max Kitten or any other premium brand of kitten food) with formula, gradually reducing the amount of formula until the kittens are eating just the food. Try to buy high quality food for the kittens (from the vet or pet food stores). Much of what is sold in supermarkets is junk food and will not help your kitten thrive. It is not uncommon for weight gain to slow and minor, temporary diarrhea to occur during weaning.

Some kittens grasp the concept right away; others take days. Keep bottle feeding while weaning to make sure they get enough to eat. Reduce bottle feeding as their solid-food consumption grows. If you give dry food, moisten it, because kittens can’t chew dry food well until they are about 8 weeks old.

Never make the mistake of rushing the weaning process. It may seem slow and often messy, but it is an essential part of learning for the kittens and they are doing the best they can without their mother to help them. Never give up and NEVER get upset!

Remember, these changes in diet can quickly cause diarrhea, so keep an eye on your kitten’s stools. Diarrhea can be life-threatening to a young kitten if left untreated; however a dose of antibiotics prescribed by your vet will get them back on track again.

A complete article covering the raising of abandoned or orphaned kittens can be found at 4PetsOnline.com.

About The Author

Anne Pottinger is the owner and director of 4PetsOnline.com a pet and domestic animal website with a difference. Her website contains hundreds of pages of pet information and advice. She is aways available to answer pet and domestic animal related questions.

The Story of O (scar)

I don’t really know his name. I felt an intense need to give him one, though, so I named him Oscar. In my head, anyway. I never got to call him that, at least while he was alive. My mind often wanders to thoughts of him in those small moments of the day that creep up on me - those tiny moments when my mind isn’t really focusing on anything at all. No thoughts of car payments or code fragments or who I was supposed to call but forgot. I see him briefly. That fluffy, lifeless, ginger-colored mass lying by the side of the road.

It was just a normal day. I was out walking my dog along one of the many semi-busy suburban streets that litter my neighborhood. Traffic was whizzing by at the usual 40 miles an hour, the drivers looking to get home in time for dinner or to make it to the store or whatever it is they look to do in such a hurry. None of them paid me any attention. It was just your garden-variety summer afternoon, hazy sun, buzzing insects, and all.

As we walked down the street, my dog became a bit more animated. She craned her head and pulled at her leash a bit, interested in something about 15 feet up the road. Approaching the area, I noticed first the flies. There weren’t many, but flies aren’t exactly noted for hanging around the side of the road unless there is something there to interest them. Steeling myself against the site of some unfortunate raccoon or possum, I kept walking. But it wasn’t a raccoon. Or a possum. There, lying in the shaded grass to the right of the sidewalk, partially hidden by the branches of a bush poking through an adjoining fence, was a fluffy, almost fat, ginger striped cat.

I just stood there, looking at that cat, my dog sitting behind me, oddly subdued, as if she knew this was a solemn thing not to be taken lightly. He was a big boy. I don’t even know for sure that he actually was a boy, but my mind won’t let me think of him in any other way for some reason, so he’s a boy to me. His fur was glossy and relatively clean; this had been someone’s pet. Someone had either let their cat out or he’d escaped for a bit of short-lived freedom. I stood there, thinking of how he must have tried to crawl home, perhaps looking for his family to comfort him in his time of need. He was too far from the road to have been flung there with so little damage and the position of his lifeless body spoke of an animal that had tried to walk, but had fallen over on his side and stayed that way. There were no marks on him aside from a little trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Internal injuries killed this lovely boy, I’d say. He was on the opposite side of the sidewalk from traffic and near a fence - was that his home? Did some child cry for him somewhere?

Was he afraid in the moments before his death? Was he crying for his family to come help him? Did the driver who hit him even see him? Did that driver care that he or she had just killed someone’s pet? Was he cherished by his family as I cherish my pets? Did his family care about him enough to have tried to keep him inside away from harm, or had they let him wander about and be exposed to just this sort of danger, thinking that he was just a cat and they can get another?

I bent down and very gently touched the cat’s fur. I don’t know if I harbored a tiny hope that the cat was still alive and able to be saved. I just know I wanted to pet him and let him know that someone cared that he’d died. I didn’t cry until I began to walk away. Then the tears came. Sometimes, when I think of him, they still do. I wonder if he’s in heaven, or at the Rainbow Bridge, or wherever pets go when they die, waiting for his family. And I think of him as Oscar. Because he deserved a name and someone to cry for him.

– In memory of all the pets killed by cars every year…

About the Author

M. Nikole Hunn is a freelance writer in her spare time and loves all things cat and dog. Her freelance site can be seen at http://www.ipwebdesign.net/.

One of the biggest question asked of the discus breeder is “how do I determine the sex of my fish?” There are very few easy identifiable identifiers in this process. Here, we will discuss the methods used by some of the top breeders.

In juvenile fish, determining sex is almost impossible. It is only when they begin to pair off that an opportunity arises to help in the determination of sex. Juvenile fish, both male and female, have a rounded dorsal fin, and it is not until they begin to mature that a difference can be detected. As it is never wise to excessively handle the fish, close observation is in order to aid the breeder.

In Allnut Enterprises’ King Discus Hatchery, for example, it is an easy process to determine who is who, as we have observed these fish for a while, and can determine the sex of the pairs we own. This would be true in any hatchery. But to the uninitiated or casual observer, this would not be easy to do.

Some of the identifiers: The male will have thicker lips to aid him in his fight to protect the female, and will be more aggressive. He will be larger than the female, his forehead is thicker, and we have observed that if the discus are a bit shy, the male will have a tendency to stay between the female and the observer.

The dorsal fin of the male will be pointed, and the female’s dorsal fin will be rounded. Note that in juvenile discus, this is not apparent.

The breeding tube of the female, between the anus and anal fin, is broader and rounder than the male, and will have a blunt tip. The male, in turn, has a smaller, sharper breeding tube. Be aware that this is only evident during spawning, and should be closely observed.

It has been said that the male discus fish will tend to have a less intense color and more pattern while the female tends to be more colorful but with lesser pattern. I disagree, because too many variables are in place here, such as the health of the discus, the water parameters, and feeding pattern.

In an interesting article by Jeff Richard, he discusses an article from Diskus Brief, a German publication, which reports a very successful way of determine sex of a discus by using simple geometry. Jeff reports, and I quote: “Picture a discus facing to your left … you would be looking at its side. Find the Dorsal (Top) and Anal (bottom) fins and look where the fins slope down toward the Caudal (tail) fin … make sure you’re looking at the fins after they have curved back toward the tail. The Dorsal and Anal Fins become (almost) straight after the fins curve down (or up) toward the Caudal Fin … extend an imaginary line along this straight section of the 2 fins back toward the tail which just touches the Dorsal & Anal Fins past the Caudal Fin. These two imaginary lines should intersect behind the fish. The key to sexing the fish is where the lines cross the Caudal fin. If they pass through the Caudal Fin, the fish is most likely a FEMALE. If they miss or just touch the Caudal Fin, then most likely it is a MALE.” Thanks, Jeff!

Sexing Discus is difficult at best. The easiest way to do so is to raise a group of at least six to eight discus, and allow them to pair off when ready. It is a beautiful sight to see this happen, and makes the hobby well worthwhile.

Alden Smith is a published author, and has been marketing on the internet for 7 years. His website, King Discus, is an active gathering place for discus breeders and lovers of discus fish.

His wife Betsy is the administrator of All The Best Recipes a site rich in online recipes and cookbooks.

Part1: There is Actually a “Wrong” Way to Crate Train

Crate training dogs, (or crate training puppies) if approached correctly is by far one of the most effective tools you can use to form good dog behavior.

The most subtle mistakes in crate training are sometimes the worst because they go undetected and are repeated over and over again which can make the whole experience of potty training dogs negative and frustrating.

Using the correct method of crate training you can avoid subtle mistakes and have your puppy or dog’s training move along quite smoothly.

Even though crate training dogs is by far the best way to potty train, it can backfire if not done correctly. This is why there are so many pet owners who attempt crate training and wonder why they’re still having problems; because there is a right way and a wrong way to approach the whole process.

My proven methods of crate training make this stage both a positive and rewarding experience for both you and your puppy (or dog).

A Basic Understanding:
———————

The first step in puppy training or dog training is to learn how your puppy or dog is viewing things, what actually forms his puppy behavior and what you can do to appropriately shape it.

By understanding the canine mindset better, you can make the process a lot easier and faster, which in turn makes it a lot more fun and rewarding for both you and your puppy.

So in order to be successful in crate training dogs or puppies, a basic understanding of “natural” puppy behavior is needed. Here are a few examples:

1. Dogs cannot view things the way we do; and in fact many times situations are just the opposite of what it looks like from our perspective.

2. Dogs do not make connections between cause and effect when any amount of time has passed.

3. Dogs do not understand the spoken language unless it’s paired consistently with something meaningful to them.

4. Dogs are frightened and confused by anger that humans display.

5. When a dog experiences fear and confusion as a result of a human getting angry with him this also slows down the dog’s learning process since effective learning cannot take place under these conditions.

What Dogs Do Understand:
————————

Some of what dogs and puppies do understand is:

* Instinct and self preservation-(neither of which they have conscious control over)

* Immediate consequence to action

* Positive rewards

* Tone of voice

* Some body language

And they are effected by our emotions even when they don‘t understand them.

Dogs and puppies respond more quickly and more reliably to positive incentives than to fear or punishment. And in dealing with puppies, fear and punishment can and will damage their personalities for life.

In many cases, punishment tactics actually cause behavioral problems, can compound existing ones, and can even bring about the opposite behavior than what we are trying to achieve.

Crate training dogs and crate training puppies using positive behavior shaping methods allows you to effectively train your pet without having to use punitive measures at all.

Kathleen Amaro is the owner of http://www.puppy-potty-training.com. Her instantly downloadable ebook “25 Secrets to Raising the Perfect Puppy” not only tells you how to raise the perfect puppy, it presents the exact methods of how to crate train your puppy or dog using only positive and healthy learning techniques.

Key Facts:

Size: Medium - large
Height: 68 - 76 cm (27 - 30 inches)
Weight: 27 - 32 kg (60 - 70 lb)
Life Span: 15 years
Grooming: Minimal
Exercise: Essential
Feeding: Medium
Temperament: Affectionate & even-tempered
Country of Origin: England
AKC Group: Hound

Physical Characteristics:

General Appearance: Sleek, muscular and active.
Colour: Blue, white, red, black, brindle and fawn with or without white patches.
Coat: Fine and close.
Tail: Set low, long, tapering, curved slightly upwards and carried low.
Ears: Rose shaped, small and set high.
Body: The body is tall and elegant and the chest is deep and wide. The ribs are well sprung, deep and well back. The back is broad, muscular and well-arched and the shoulders are well laid back, muscular with good angulation.

Temperament:
Gentle, intelligent and affectionate. Greyhounds are very good-natured and gentle with people of all ages. They are an intelligent breed and use their own initiative, especially if they believe they are given pointless instructions. They need gentle and persuasive handling. They tend to quite cautious with strangers but get on well with children.

Grooming:
Occasional grooming with a soft brush is sufficient. The ears should be checked often and the claws kept trimmed.

Exercise:
Exercise is essential for Greyhounds with their tremendous stamina. They enjoy going for long walks or runs, but should be kept on a lead as they are likely to run off. Having them run alongside a cycle is a good form of exercise and a way to burn off excess energy.

History:
Greyhounds can be traced back to 4000 BC where they are depicted in Egyptian carvings. It is believed that the Greyhound arrived in Britain in pre-Christian times when the seafaring Phoenicians used the dogs as goods for bartering. Despite the Greyhounds long history their breed type has hardly changed. It is believed that the name Greyhound originated from the words ‘great hound’, ‘Greek hound’ or ‘gazehound’. But one thing for sure is that the name has nothing to do with the colour.

Additional Comments:

If Greyhounds are given the chance they will chase and kill small animals. Due to these natural instincts, they are not ideal pets for people who own cats or other household pets that are likely to be chased by these dogs.
These dogs are suitable for living in an outdoor kennel as they are reasonably resistant to the cold.

About the Author

This article provided courtesy of http://www.dooziedog.com/dog_breeds/greyhound/

Your most favorite and loyal friends in the whole world need to have the best pet supplies and accessories that you can find. Their food and accessories, and just everything that your precious pets need can be found easily online, or at your favorite pet supermarket. It has always been said that man’s best friend is their dog. This may be true for some people, but others know that their kitty cat, or ferret, or rabbit, or turtle or even their iguana is the cutest thing they ever saw. And who can argue with them?

The most important supply that you need for your pet is a nutritious food source. The more popular pets like dogs and cats, rabbits, mice and ferrets, have created wonderful pre-mixed, vitamin-fortified food for your pets. It is wise to get these kinds of food for them for a number of reasons.

1) it gives them the nutrients they need to be healthy.

2) it has already been tested to taste good to your particular pet. Even though animals like “people food” it is best not to give them too much because their digestive system is not the same as ours, and they get much more nutrition out of the pre-made food.

3) aside from giving them good health and a long life, they will have shiny coats to show off and 4) dry or canned food has been prepared to have a long shelf life and is more economical than providing people food on a daily basis.

Then if you are like millions of other pet owners, your precious pet needs toys and accessories just for them, to keep them happy and content. These are available online and in most pet stores, of course depending on where you go. If you are building an aquarium, you need gravel and plants, houses or set-ups, filters; if you have a new kitten, you would need a colorful collar, some stuffed mice and small colored balls for chasing, and of course, an appropriate litter box and cover. Your new dog would love a rawhide bone to chew on, and it might save the chair legs and shoes! Whatever you call your pets, you can see that there are accessories that go with them. Have fun with your precious pets!

This article was written by T. Potter. You can visit Healthy Pet Supplies for further information and pet resources.

The types of goldfish vary, and the characteristics that make
this diversity evident are recognized in their scale colouring,
the shape and size of the goldfish, the look of their tails, and
of course, by their different names. Nevertheless, regardless of
how one goldfish may look, or if it has a different title from
the next, all goldfish come from the same family, originating
from the gibel carp found in the streams of China.

The only reason why there are so many unique looking types of
goldfish is because they have been purposely bread to look
different.

Why? It may or may not come as a surprise to you but appearance
matters to goldfish enthusiasts, and may be something you will
want to consider yourself when looking at the types of goldfish
that are available on the market.

For instance, did you know that goldfish are available in more
colours than just gold? In fact, there are goldfish that are
coloured yellow, red, bronze, blue and even black! What’s more
is there are some goldfish that have a mixture of colours in
their scales. However, although goldfish scales can come in more
than one shade, hue, or splash of colour, many types of goldfish
are also categorized by their tails.

There are four types of goldfish tail categories that you can
consider when selecting your goldfish. The four categories
include the single tailed, double tailed, double tailed without
dorsal fin, and the double tailed with dorsal fin. While each
type of goldfish in these categories has differences within
their own groups based on their colour, body and fin size, the
one feature which remains constant within their grouping is
their shape. Take for example the single tailed goldfish, which
has three goldfish within its category: Comets, Commons and
Shubunkins. Although each of these types of goldfish has a
slender body shape, Comets generally have gold scales and a long
single fin tail, whereas the Shubunkins is bigger in size, and
has calico coloured (a mix of violet, orange red and black)
scales.

Aside from these noted differences, you will discover that the
single tailed goldfish, as well as the double tailed goldfish,
share the same slender body shape characteristic; while both the
double tailed goldfish with the dorsal fin and those without,
feature an egg shaped body. Moreover, the double tailed with the
dorsal fin, and those double tailed without the dorsal fin are
unique types of goldfish that have exotic characteristics. Some
of these characteristics include a wen (head growth) seen in the
Oranda and Pearlscale goldfish, and telescope eyes, as seen in
the Telescope and Moors goldfish.

As you can see, there are many aspects to consider when it comes
to choosing from the different available types of goldfish. Just
remember, depending on the fish you want, certain care methods
will be required that are based on different characteristics for
each of the goldfish types.

A pet owner must research the many requirements before taking a dog on an airplane. Different airlines have slightly different regulations, but most airlines follow the same basic set of rules in regards to flying with a dog.

One universal rule is that dogs cannot fly on a plane without the owner on board. Each airline that was contacted for this article has a rule that outlaws flying unaccompanied dogs from one point to another. Realize that the airline considers dogs to be cargo. Just as you are not allowed to send your luggage across the country without also being present, same thing goes when it comes to your dog. The intent of each rule is slightly different (it’s unlikely that a bomb would be inside of a dog), but the bottom line is that the airlines to not want to be responsible for your dog. However, if you absolutely must transport your dog without being present, you can contact a licensed and approved pet transportation company to get the job done for you.

Before you even go to the airport, you need to make an appointment with your veterinarian. All airlines mandate that every dog that boards the plane must receive a full physical examination and be tested for various diseases (rabies is their main concern) prior to boarding. Usually the airline will want the exam certificate be dated within 30 to 60 days prior to the date of the flight, so the exam you had last year will not work for a flight you plan on taking next week.

Also, be aware of weather restrictions. These might be a big inconvenience, but they are in place to ensure the safety of your pet. The cargo area on an airplane can be incredibly hot. Because of this, there are restrictions on what times of the year dogs are allowed to travel to and from certain regions. Virtually all airlines will as well enforce weather and temperature related restrictions. For instance, if the temperature in the arrival or departure city is hotter than 85 degrees Fahrenheit, pets will not be permitted on the plane. Do not argue with the airline staff, because this is for your dog’s safety.

Many airlines are currently allowing pets to be transported in the cabin of the plane, as long as they can comfortably fit into the in-cabin kennel cage (usually 22” long by 9”). The price of this service varies by airline but is usually under $100.00. This is considerably cheaper in comparison to the pets flying in the cargo hold which is not as safe and which can cost upwards of $300.00 on some airlines.

When flying internationally, be aware that the customs laws of many countries prohibit the entrance of dogs across their borders. Airlines are required to comply with these laws, and in many cases your dog will not be able to join you on an international flight at all.

About the Author

Eric Shannon is a freelance author who also publishes the Dog Lovers Report, which is a biweekly newsletter with a very large readership. He also runs Beds For Doggies, which carries a large selection of Dog Beds, Dog Couches, and Dog Furniture.