Tips To Help Your Dog Lose Weight

One fine day when you’re looking at the mirror and find yourself bulging with a big belly hidden under the layers of cotton clothes, how will you feel? We humans have a sense of awareness regarding all the changes that happen around us or within us. Therefore, it is best advised to be aware of your extra calories displaying the signs of being overweight. A big belly is a house of bigger health issues. Just like us, even our pets are prone to gain kilos if not taken proper care. Obesity in dogs shortens their breath, lowers their energy and comes with assortments of alarming health concerns. Your chubby furry pal may be looking like a ball of cuteness but those extra kilos can lead to serious health issues.

At times, pet parents aren’t aware enough to heed that their pet is becoming overweight. Here are the ways that can help them to find if their dog is overweight.

How You Can Tell If Your Dog Is Overweight?

It is imperative for pet-parents to understand that the excess of fat on their pet can be the most influential factor for the quality of their life, disease prevention and longevity. It’s quite easy to figure out if your dog is overweight. It’s even easier if he’s bulging visibly; you can weigh him your pooch at home using bathroom scales and do weekly follow-ups. To make sure whether your dog has any underlying health conditions, take him to the vet for checking his weight as it is important to his ideal weight.

Once you find out that your dog is overweight, ensure to put on all your potential to help your pup shed kilos. Here are some really helpful tips that will help you to trim excess kilos from your pup and maintain his well-being.

Tips To Help Your Overweight Dog

Keep Your Dog Active

A small step of changes in your dog’s daily routine can make a great difference to keep him fit and pawsome. It is always better to start small to gain big, therefore, instead of introducing a vigorous workout session for the dog, start with keeping him active at home. It may be soothing to watch your dog freely laying all day, but their lethargic behaviour detriment their quality of life by leveraging their weight. It is best advised to stimulate an indoor environment that gets your dog moving more often. Stay energetic to keep your pup active!

Limit Treats & Table Scraps

The love that you have for your poodle shouldn’t be just shown in the form of serving food to them. It may be tempting for your pup to receive treats and table scraps from you out of affection but the same can be a major factor to add extra kilos in them. Instead, alternate your affection by giving him hugs and back rubs when you train your dog or when he does something amazing. You can also replace treats for your dogs with low-fat and low-calorie option and limit the amount.

Customize Your Dog’s Diet

There is an abundance of diet food for dogs available in the market. A dog should be fed two or four small portions a day instead of free choice feeding as it can contribute to unnatural hormonal changes. Moreover, feeding the right diet to your pooch is the key to help them reduce excess weight. Not all foods for weight loss are sufficient enough to fulfil all the nutritional needs of your dog. So, it is important to match your dog’s body requirements with the nutritional plan or diet foods that directly address their specific needs.

Introduce Your Dog To Regular Exercise

Thinking of helping your pet to shed kilos can be a great idea but implementing the plan of action is something that really works. Therefore, it’s high time to introduce your pet with some fitness and fun. Start with taking your pup out for a walk at least for 15-20mins a day, then keep on increasing the time to 30 minutes. Take him to the park where your poodle can play, run and have fun which can ultimately help him to stay fit. Gradually increase your dog’s daily activities that burn offs their calories.

Above all the tips and tricks for your dog’s weight-loss, it’s crucial to stick with it. Achieving major targets takes time; therefore, consistency is the key to witness significant weight-loss in your Fido.

Is It Okay If Your Dog Licks Your Face

One fine day when you’re relaxing on a sofa with a book in your hand, engrossed in reading and suddenly your pooch jumps with a wagging tail on you and with love comes a slurp on your face, how does it feel? Do you feel the same amount of joy for your pup when you’re slobbered over by your adoring furry friend or you just sit there minding your own business by ignoring his annoying licks? Well! Sometimes you don’t have a choice about that. There’s a set of default human nature which cannot be changed that easily or at all. Similarly, licking is a dog’s nature as they have a natural licking instinct.

But, despite this adorable licking gesture, many pet parents are sceptical about the lick-mindedness of their pooch. There arises a question about why a dog likes to lick its pet parent? Is it really safe to allow them to do the same? Here we will explore why dogs like to lick certain parts of the body and whether we should let them.

Why do dogs lick and what does that mean?

Puppies are deaf and blind when they come to this world, the only thing they have is a sense of taste through which they learn about their mother and another environment until they develop other senses. Though, licking remains a prime mode of communication between dogs throughout their lives it’s important to know that it hasn’t developed into a pattern. When your dog licks your face, it conveys several different meanings-from expressing their joy and respect towards you, to concern and fear for your safety.

We might have heard the heroic tales of first-aid of your dog including the stories about the ability of dogs to clean a wound with their tongues. But, when unfolding its other side it is found that there are bacteria in most dogs’ mouth. Let’s understand how a dog’s licking can affect you.

Is it hygienic to let your dog lick your face?

A dog’s mouth consists of various bacteria and organisms and humans are not built to fight those nasty creatures. Most of the bacteria may not be that harmful but there’s a high likelihood of your dog’s mouth containing zoonotic organisms. You don’t know where that mouth has been, your dog may be playing with other furry friends or may be licking its genitals right before it decides to lick you. Your dog may carry parasites or sepsis that can be detrimental to your health.

Parasites

Dogs can carry parasites such as hookworm, ringworm and Giardia which causes diarrhoea and intestinal upset. These parasites can easily pass to a pet parent when a dog licks their face. The parasites can be harmful to the immune system of the human body because it damages the intestinal tract and digestive system.

Sepsis

A dog’s mouth is a house of organisms and these organisms is the cause of severe sepsis infection. Sepsis makes a person fall ill immediately and it may take weeks to recover. Sepsis infection can cause symptoms such as fever, fatigue, sweating or experience chills. Therefore, it’s better to stay away from your dog’s licks rather than contracting this infection.

Debunking the myth of a dog’s licking tendency

There’s an old myth that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s. But, it is crucial for pet parents to know that a dog’s saliva can contain mucous membrane found in the nose, eyes and mouth. A dog’s muzzles are packed with germs, viruses and bacteria where some of them can be potentially detrimental for a human body. Dogs tend to stick their nose into everything, so, it might be adorable to see your dog licking your face but it’s equally dangerous.

What are the ways to prevent your dog from licking your face?

Divert Their Attention

When you are playing with you Fido and you are aware that he’s about to or trying to lick your face then try to divert their attention by initiating a playing session or by offering a treat.

Train Your Dog

Though it’s a dogs’ tendency to lick something they like, you can train them to show their affection in another manner. You can encourage their other ways to show the affection and joy such as wagging their tails, circling you or jumping. It may be a slow process for your dog to change their lick-mindedness but their favourite treats and extra rubs on their belly can surely fix it eventually.

Should you let your dog lick you at all?

No matter how much you constrain your dog, they will find their way of expressing their emotions by licking your face. So, sometimes it’s fine to let your dog lick you but responsible pet care is immensely required in order to reduce the chances of contracting any diseases to you and your family. Therefore, here are the things you need to pay heed on.

• Make sure that you regularly provide vaccinations, flea and tick controls and dewormers to keep him free of parasites such as worms and fleas and ticks.
• Keep your pet well groomed
• Wash your hands after cleaning up your pet
• Keep your dog’s water and food fresh.

Do not let your dog lick children as they can be at greatest risk of picking up an infection from a dog’s lick. But, when it comes to you, allowing your dog to give you an occasional lick or kiss strengthens the intimacy and bonding that helps your pet feel connected to you. So, it’s okay to play it safe when your dog comes to lick your face.

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Things to Remember While Grooming Your Dog

Keeping your furry pal hale and hearty at all times is what every pet parent strives to do, and this includes grooming your furry friend. Grooming is extremely important and must be done by dog parents. There are two ways of grooming your fur baby; one, do it yourself at home and two, seek a professional groomer’s assistance or help. If you plan on grooming your buddy all by yourself, it is imperative to remember a few things. Below is a list of do’s and don’ts that you must keep in mind before or while grooming your munchkin.

Grooming Your Dog – The Do’s

Brush Fur and Coat Regularly

Every once in a while, make sure you brush your buddy’s fur and coat. Not doing so can leave your poor pal’s hair in a messy and terrible state. Brushing the fur regularly also helps to quickly identify whether or not your canine friend has the dreaded fleas, ticks or any other creepy parasites.

Stay Calm and Be Patient

Perhaps the most important step towards good grooming is for you, the pet parent to stay calm and patient. Being calm and patient not only helps your pet stay calm, but it also helps you in grooming your buddy the right way without injuries to them or you.

Use the Appropriate Grooming Tools

Grooming requires tools such as a brush for brushing the fur, nail clipper for cutting the nails, etc. Using appropriate grooming equipment is essential; for instance, a regular brush may not be useful for a specific dog and will require a special brush. Hence, know which tools to use and how to use them.

Groom in a Well-lit Location

Before you begin your mate’s grooming session, make sure you are in a well-lit location. A place with proper lighting will help you see what you are doing, and it is also much safer. Furthermore, ensure that the area where you are about to groom your pal has a non-slip surface. This will help prevent your pal from any accidents.

Shampoo Before Bathing

Bathing your fur baby is important, but make sure you are shampooing him too. Just by applying water onto his body is not enough. Applying shampoo on his fur not only makes his fur soft, but it will also help to remove all the dirt and debris from the skin. Bathing with shampoo is always the correct way to bathe a dog.

Remember to Trim Nails

Lest you forget, trimming furry pal’s nails is also part of grooming and mustn’t be ignored. Long nails tend to hurt your furry munchkin while he walks and may make him feel uncomfortable. Trimming his nails not only helps him overcome his difficulties in walking, but it also helps in maintaining proper hygiene in your pooch.

Use a Towel for Wiping Water Off The Fur

Always use a dry towel to wipe the excess water off your buddy’s fur. After a bath, make sure you do this because a wet fur coat can lead to matted hair as well as the possibility of excess dirt sticking onto your pal’s fur. Hence, ensure you wipe off the excess water off your buddy’s fur with a clean and dry towel.

Make Sure To Clean the Ears

And lastly, remember to clean your pooch’s ears. They are arguably the dirtiest and the most neglected body part. Pet parents tend to forget to clean a dog’s ears, so make sure you clean his ears with the appropriate equipment.

Grooming Your Dog – The Don’ts

Do Not Rush and Be Pushy

Never force your dog to do something he does not want to. And even if you want him to do something, make sure you are patient and polite. Similarly, when grooming a dog that does not listen to you, it is important to not rush or push him. Doing so can cause a panic attack to him, and you may well have to reschedule your grooming session.

Avoid Using Scented Shampoo

Do not use scented shampoos on your furry pal. Scented shampoos can irritate your poor buddy’s skin, coat, and nose and can lead to irritations and discomforts. Thus, stick to antifungal and antibacterial dog shampoos.

Do Not Bathe Everyday

Bathing your dog is good, but bathing him every day is not the smartest thing to do. Everyday bathing strips dogs off their natural oils and can lead to skin and temperature-regulating problems. Thus, in summers bathe him once a week and bathe him once in two or three weeks during the colder months.

Avoid Cutting the Quick

While trimming your buddy’s nails, be very careful. Do not cut his nails too short because you may cut the quick, and doing so can lead to blood loss. Even if you cut the quick by mistake, do not panic. Instead, grab a piece of cloth and press it against the cut toenail. Then pour styptic powder or cornstarch on it to stem the flow of blood.

The next time you groom your buddy, make sure you follow these tips. Also, share them with other pet parents you know so that they too can groom their furry munchkin the right way.

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Effective Ways To Support Your Pet Suffering From Joint Pain & Arthritis

Dogs are the most energetic and adorable species that befriend mankind. Having a dog as a pet is like having liveliness in your life. Pet parents treat their dog as a kid and would never think him to be aged as the time flows. But, being aware of your pooch’s nature, when you see him struggling to jump over his favourite chair, doing a stiff walk instead of an easy run or just lying down accompanied by a deep groan, displays that he is trapped by the adversities of ageing. It is wearisome for pet parents to see that the things which were once the second nature of their dog have now become an effort. Considering the upside of ageing is when your Fido gets mature and wiser while the increased joint pain and possibility of arthritis is, unfortunately, a downside of ageing.

Here we will discuss the best possible ways to prevent the onset of arthritis and other joint issues in your dog.

Causes of Joint Pain in Dogs

Joint pain is one of the most common ailments found in dogs. There are many causes of joint pain and arthritis in dogs but hereditary conditions and such as hip dysplasia which are particularly common in some specific breeds of dogs. There’s cartilage surface of joints present in the dog’s body which begins to thin as and when the dog gets older and cartilage cells die. When the cells die, they release enzymes that cause inflammation of the joint capsule and releases excessive joint fluid. The severe thinning of cartilage narrows down the joint and the bone beneath the cartilage deteriorates. You cannot reverse joint disease but you can slow down the progression and often prevent it from taking a serious turn.

Below are the top tips to help ease your pooch’s joint pain.

What to Feed Your Dog

A healthy life starts with a healthy diet but it’s not just about starting a healthy life for your pooch because the major key is to maintain their healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, these days the food given to pets is full of carbohydrates while it is shown to be highly inflammatory.An abundance or carbs intake makes your dog obese and pets with excess weight put stress on joints and reduce their mobility. As a pet parent, it is your responsibility to provide a healthy diet for your pup. Adding joint-supporting dietary supplements such as Hill’s Prescription Diet j/d Canine Joint Care with Chicken Dry and Royal Canin Canine Mobility Large Dog Food can be highly beneficial.

How to help your Dog in Weight Management

Weight management is an antidote to regular exercising your dog is essential to prevent your dog from joint disease. But if your dog is already diagnosed with arthritis or joint pain then arduous exercise can detriment your dog’s joint. Therefore, doing little exercise regularly is crucial for continued joint mobility. This helps to strengthen the ligaments and muscles around affected joints. So, in order to restrict your pet from gaining an excess amount of weight and putting unnecessary pain on joints, be punctilious with their weight management.

What are the Joint Care Products for Dog

There is a myriad of joint care supplements available in the market. But, it can be overwhelming for pet parents to choose the joint care products that best suitable for your Fido. The supplements can be used to improve joint mobility and support better joint functioning. However, the highly recommended joint care products for dogs are Bark Naturals Joint-Boost Supplement, Joint GuardPowder for Dogs and Joint Guard Liver Treat Chews for Canines available at discounted rates on DiscountPetCare.com.au

Keeping your Dog in Warm & Dry Environment

When your pooch is suffering from joint pain, he would be longing for an easy and comfortable environment. Pet parents should ensure to take steps to adjust their dog’s environment at home. It is all about making it easier for the dog to do what they love without risking injury. Provide soft supportive bedding for his achy joints, secure the rugs to help your dog get traction when he walks and use ramps to help him get in and out of the bed or up to the car.

Other Ways to Keep Your Dog’s Joints Healthy

Along with these points, there are quite a few more things you can do to relieve your pet from joint pain.

·      Acupuncture is a painless technique that works amazingly to relief your pet from pain.

·    The therapeutic laser greatly improves arthritic condition which is a newer form of treatment that stimulates blood flow to tissue and can.

·    Make an effort to massage your Fido regularly to keep their muscles loose or go to a professional animal massage therapist to leverage your dog’s flexibility, circulation and stimulate lymphatic drainage.

Pet parents strive to support their dogs suffering from joint pain or arthritis with an abundance of their affection, support and care. It is all about GTFGproviding a healthy diet to your dog followed by regular exercise, providing suitable supplements, keep your dog moving and just help them feel better.

What Does a Dog’s Body Language Tell About Him?

Have you ever wondered why your dog keeps wagging his tail or jumps when he sees you? Well, dogs have an ebullient personality. Most dogs are cheerful until something irks them. Unlike humans, dogs can’t express their emotions verbally. It’s said that you can tell a lot about a person from his body language, which applies to pets as well. Dogs tend to act differently when they’re nervous. Every little thing your pooch does has some reason behind it. So, in order to understand your dog, you need to pay attention to his body language. Keep on reading to find out what your dog’s actions tell about him.

Tail Wagging

Tail wagging is the most common behaviour in dogs. We often associate this signal with happiness. You’d be surprised to know that a dog wagging his tail doesn’t always indicate he’s happy.

It all depends on the speed. If the dog wags his tail too fast, he’s trying to show his excitement and happiness. On the other hand, slow tail wagging usually indicates nervousness or anxiousness in a dog.

Open Mouth

A relaxed dog will have a very calm demeanor; mouth open, relaxed ear, blinking eyes. You must have noticed that many breeds of dogs constantly keep their mouths open. Some dogs naturally keep their mouth open, while others do it because they might be hungry, out of breath, or they’re just happy.

Avoiding Eye-Contact

If your pooch is looking down instead of making eye-contact, fret not! It’s just his polite way of talking to you. Dogs are not a huge fan of making eye-contact, so they usually look down when they’re trying to be polite.

Perked Up Ears

Dogs have very sharp senses and their ears are always on alert mode. Whenever they hear something suspicious or notice a possible threat, their ears will point upwards. Even if they smell their favourite food, their ears will perk up and they’ll try to follow that smell. So, keep observing your dog’s surroundings to find out what has piqued his interest.

Yawning

Yawning not only means that your dog is sleepy but it is also his way of communicating with you. If you yawn back at your dog, he’ll know that you’ve understood his message. Dogs yawn because they’re either over exhausted, or they’re very relaxed. Basically, when your dog yawn, he’s trying to say, “hooman, please let me sleep now!”

Whale Eye

Whale eye is referred to the white of the eye (sclera). Whenever your dog is anxious, he will avert his gaze and you’ll be able to see the white of his eyes. This kind of situation usually occurs during a visit to the pet, a place most dogs try to avoid.

Licking Lips

A dog licking his lips or panting indicates that he’s nervous or uncomfortable. This can be due to many reasons; new surroundings, getting infested by annoying parasites, or when 

they spot a stranger.

If your dog is uncomfortable in his new surroundings, place some of his old toys in his place. Doing so will calm him down and he won’t feel nervous in a new atmosphere. Furthermore, if you find your is infested by parasites, start the treatment as soon as you can. We offer a wide range of flea and tick treatments as well as products for intestinal worm infection to maintain your pet’s well-being.

Dogs are similar to humans in many ways. By learning these little signs, we can understand what they’re trying to convey. Your pooch will also appreciate your efforts in understanding his language. Pet parenting is not always a walk in the park; sometimes you have to put more efforts. Though, in the end, all these efforts will be worth it when you see the happiness on your buddy’s face!

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Top 7 Reasons To Foster A Pet

While sitting on a sofa with a cup of coffee, in a relaxing mood with all the weekend vibes, do we even realize how privileged we are to get this utmost comfortable and protected environment which we call home? It is bliss for us to be blessed with the ability to communicate our emotions and everything we go through. But, have you ever thought of those homeless and voiceless animals that struggle with many issues every day. Obviously, there are shelters and rescue organizations ever ready to keep and nurture pets but, it becomes arduous even for them to provide space to all the animals who come to them in need.

In such cases, you can be a foster parent by bringing home a pet and temporarily care for a pet in need. So, if you’re dicey about being a foster parent, here are the reasons that will concrete your idea of becoming one.

Fostering is a Short Term Commitment

Fostering a pet is a highly convenient option if you are not looking for a long-term commitment like adoption. Knowing a fact that the pet is in your house only for some time, makes it easier to accept their responsibility. You can manage to give your time and take their utmost care. Moreover, fostering is also flexible. So, if you lack the time to become a full-time foster parent, you can also take an animal over the weekend.  

It Can Help In Adoption

If you are willing and planning to adopt a pet in the near future, being a foster parent can be a great opportunity to test whether you are truly ready for the responsibility or not. Adopting a pet is a big decision. Hence, fostering a pet can eventually provide you with an experience of caring for a pet without a long-term commitment in a way that trains you to become a permanent pet-parent.

It Can be Good for Your Other Pets

Fostering a pet will not only benefit you but it will also be helpful to your pets if you already have any. Bringing another pet into your home can help your existing pet learn more social skills, get better at dealing with stress and become more comfortable when meeting strangers. Additionally, you also add a bit of variety in their daily routine.

You Make a Difference

The shelters and rescue organizations are always in need of foster parents because they don’t have much capacity to keep all the animals that come their way. When you foster a pet you not only change the life of one pet but also make more space for other animals at the shelters. As a foster, you are the one who knows the pet in and out and also the shelters rely on you to get information about the pet to find a perfect permanent home.

You Build Trust

Those poor little pets will always have that prejudice of the negative human interaction that they had so far. So, when you foster a pet and pour out all your love and care towards them, a pet will learn how to trust human companions. This is a phase where you eventually earn the trust of the pet by unleashing them in the newer and happier world.

It’s an Act of Kindness

It is practically impossible to help each and every pet in the world. Therefore, being a foster parent serves as a great opportunity for you to contribute your help in a small way until a home can be found. This is known as an act of kindness put into action.

Help Adopters to See Pets at Their Best

It is overwhelming to see how a pet has changed under your guidance, protection and training in a way that makes all your efforts worthwhile. Fostering a pet is such a noble deed as it not only gives a home to a pet but your training, skills and love also makes a positive difference in finding a permanent home for that pet. A foster home makes a pet’s true personality shine in a way that adopters can get a good idea of how they would be in a home.

Fostering doesn’t come easy as it demands all your time and efforts. But, it also comes with benefits for you by opening your doors and hearts for shelter pets and the amount of difference you make in their lives.

Fun Activities to Do With Your Dog

Generally, animals love to wander into the wild. Dogs are no different; they will take any chance to go out of the house. Can you tell when your dog is the happiest? It might be when you take out the leash and indicate that it’s time for a walk. So, it’s essential to indulge in tasks that keep you and your furry companion active. The best way to initiate is through playing fun games together. 

Your four-legged pal will never deny any opportunity of playing outside, so why not make this experience memorable for both of you? First, observe how enthusiastic your dog is for the activities. If he’s hesitant, try to ease him with small activities like playing fetch. Remember not to overwork your dog on the first day and don’t go for strenuous activities if your dog is not ready for it.

Outdoor activities can be really fun if you approach it correctly i.e. if you have a large dog, it’s okay to play aggressive and physically challenging games, but if you have a toy dog, it might not be a good idea. Here we have shared a list of activities for your dog.

Camping

We believe that the best way to spend the weekend is to go camping. What’s better is your dog can also tag along with you! This will give your pooch a chance to explore new places. Finding new trails is always fun and so is just curling up in your tents at night after a fun-filled day. Make the best of it and enjoy your day with your dog.

Sniffenger Hunt (A New Game Discovered)

This is a scavenger hunt, but for dogs. They love to sniff everything so imagine their joy when you set up a sniffing game for them. We as adults love playing scavenger hunt and so will your dog is if you change the rules a little. All you need to do is hide a few of their favourite toys and treats in the bushes and see how much your dog enjoys this game.

Hiking

If you love hiking, next time take your dog with you. Always ensure that your dog is on a leash whenever you take him along. Pack all the essentials and plenty of water so neither of you gets dehydrated. If the path has bushes and plants, consider spraying your dog with flea and tick repellent spray so your dog doesn’t get infested. Frontline spray is very effective in preventing infestation.

Digging at The Beach

Do you ever get annoyed when your dog keeps digging everything? In that case, take your dog to a nearest beach and play the game of hiding his different toys into the sand. Then let him do the digging. Your furry pal will have a time of his life playing this game! 

Play Flying Disk

This game is the simplest one. Playing with flying disk will give your pooch a much needed exercise and teach him to always come back to you. It will also give him a sense of accomplishment when he catches that flying disk.

We assure you that these activities will be fun for both you and your dog. We understand that not everyone can go camping with their pets, and that’s why we have also shared few activities that you can arrange in your backyard or a nearby park.

So, what are you waiting for? Go out and have fun with your furry pal!

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