Choosing The Right Dog Breed For You And Your Family

So, the responsibility of caring for a dog is your desire? Having a dog requires a large amount of time, money, and patients. You, along with your family must give this decision a lot of thought.

You will need to decide on what kind of dog you want to adopt.

Certain things should be taken into consideration when deciding what type of dog is best for you.

In just the United States there are over 70 million dogs. Choosing the right breed or mix can be quite difficult. If owning a prominent breed is crucial to you, bear in mind that out of the numerous breeds and mixes attainable, 143 are acknowledged by the American Kennel Club.

You should summarize your family's desires in relation to a dog, and simplify those specifications before considering the selection of a breed. Is it important to you that your new dog is small enough to sit in your lap? A dog that guards the house? Would it not be practical to choose a short haired breed, due to the advantages of low maintenance? Perhaps your preference leans more towards the canines who are endowed with a gorgeous, thick coat, but have you considered the aspect of grooming? Although most dogs are very loving and loyal pets, you need to be aware when choosing a dog that each breed of dog has special characteristics, qualities, and mannerisms.

The location of your dwelling will contribute immensely to your decision of a breed. You should avoid choices of larger dogs, such as the Newfoundland, for example, if you reside in an extremely small house or an apartment, since these quarters would be impractical for a massive dog.

Is there enough free time in your life to take care of your new companion? Since long haired or fluffy dogs require regular baths and grooming, you may not want to choose this type of dog if you don't have a lot of extra time on your hands. You should also realize that some breeds of dogs, like the toy breeds, will require extra attention to their ears, eyes, or nails depending on which type of breed you choose. If it is imperative that you have the Pomeranian, make sure you have the money to spend at the dog groomer if you are unable to groom the dog yourself.

By carefully weighing your options and realizing that your new dog will be a member of the family for a long time to come, you will carefully choose the right dog for you and your family.

It's All About Me-ow

I don't understand why humans "sleep in", I mean who don't they jump up at the crack of dawn ready to chase mice or birds?

I know personally, I like to get my daily brushing at 5:00 AM, but sometimes my human is still snoring away at that time. When this happens, I am forced to meow outside the bedroom door - sometimes for hours on end!

When she finally does come out, she often seems mad at me!

I mean you'd think she'd be grateful that I am alerting her to the new day and getting her lazy butt out of bed! Not to mention the wear and tear on my vocal chords.

If she would just get up when I want and tend to my brushing we would both be a lot happier. After all, it's all about me, me, me-ow!

Pugs - What Are They Good For?

We all know that I hate dogs, but of all the breeds, I think, perhaps pugs are the most vile. I mean, look at their scrunched up faces and bulging eyes! You'd never see any breed of cat with that sort of look - too cutesy if you ask me.

It's a mystery to me why so many people like these little dogs. I mean when you look at the pug facts, you can clearly see that they are high maintenance and have an overabundance of health problems to boot.

Why not just settle for a furry feline instead?



Til next time,

Kitty O'Claw

P.S. I finally saw the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua last night - now there's a dog breed a cat could like!

Eating Neon Tetras

I love my humans fish tank and I love to sit there and stare into it for hours on end fantasizing about the colorful fish inside. I must tell you, though that today I lucked out and was able to skewer one of their beautiful Neon Tetras!

Oh but it did make a tasty treat!

Now don't tell them, or they may take measures to make sure I can't get my paw inside.

But really, I must get back to my nap I've got to get my 23 1/2 hours in.....

The Lhasa Apso

Today, my humans friend came over with her pet Lhasa Apso. What a vile creature!

I don't know how the thing could see with it's hair hanging over its eyes and when I first saw it, I thought the mop had gotten out of the closet and was walking around all by itself!

Come to find out, this breed is from Tibet. It has actually been bred there for thousands of years before anyone outside of Tibet even saw this kind of dog. In the 1920s, the Dalai Lama started handing them out to his foreign dignitary friends and they were introduced to the Western world. In my opinion, he should've kept the darn things to himself but he was probably so sick of them that he wanted to get rid of some. Who could blame him?

The horrid creature needs to be brushed daily by his owner. I mean, can you imagine an animal that cannot groom itself? And the barking! That thing just would not shut up. But the humans seem to like it and said it was a wonderful loving pet and fairly intelligent - I'm sure they meant by human standards not cat standards.....

Pets and Natural Disaster

In reading the news this morning, I am encouraged to see that the powers that be are finally starting to realize that pets need a place to go in an emergency too.

Of course, many pet owners have realized this for a long time. Pets are part of the family.

In some Central Florida counties, pet friendly shelters were opened as soon as Ernesto started making it's way toward the state. This is good for animals and for people too since a lot of older people refuse to leave their pets, in fact almost half of the Hurricane Katrina victims that stayed did so because they did not want to leave their pets.

Imagine how terrifying it would be to have to leave your home with your pet inside and not know if either one would be there when you returned?

Luckily there will be more pet friendly shelters in the future - after all, pets are people too.

Kitty

Housebreaking Your Dog

Dog - Yech! They are vile creatures. Seriously, what kind of a being soils anywhere it wants?

Now take cats, they are very clean and know almost from birth that when it's time to go a sand pile or litter box needs to be found. No one needs to housebreak a cat! Only under serious stress or illness will a cat, no matter how young, soil in any other place. Even if you get a new cat, or watch one for a friend, once you show her where the litter box is she will always use it.

Not so with dogs!

They'll go in a corner, on the rug or on your shoes unless you teach them to go outside or even in a doggy litter box.

Why anyone would want a pet that you have to house train is beyond me, but if you find yourself in this situation, check out this web page with puppy housebreaking tips.


Pets,Dogs, Housebreaking, Housetraining, House Breaking, House Training

Pets

Welcome

Hi! I'm Kitty O'Claw and this is my blog about pets.

Of course, as we all know cats are not mere pets but superior beings that trick humans into believing that we are their "pets". In exchange for this demeaning stature, we are rewarded with maid service, a constant supply of food and water and a warm place to eat. Not a bad gig if you ask me!