Bringing home a new puppy, ushers in a wave of joy and excitement in the old and young alike. The innocent eyes and cute antics of this new member of the family immediately starts attracting a lot of love and affection from all quarters. You harbor great hopes for this little creature and eagerly wait for the day when she can make you proud by doing your bidding. Even her chewing up some of your favorite things is ignored in the hope that she will eventually grow out of it. But, hold on, even before you dream of making your puppy as obedient as a circus dog, there are things to teach and they require effort.

Housebreaking your puppy

Remember, neither the pedigree nor the age of your puppy will make her housebroken and trained on her own. Your puppy is not a human being and has no idea of what emotional value you attach to your kitchen garden, your carpet or your husband’s favorite sneakers. All these things can be objects of play for your canine friend. Likewise, she also doesn?t know that sitting patiently will get her that morsel sooner, than snatching it out of your hands. It is therefore important that in addition to puppy proofing your house, you teach that overactive canine soul to respect your sentiments about things material by learning to obey your commands.

Every pup, without exception, needs to be socialized and trained. And socialization and training begins from day one, rather the moment the puppy enters your home cradled in your arms. Never forget to establish the initial socialization norms for her and then adhere to them religiously. Such norms inculcate good manners in them, so that the puppy doesn?t grow to become an embarrassment to us, and a nuisance for others. Teaching early home routines, from the first day itself, sets the tone for her future behavior and habits. However, her proficiency in learning will directly depend upon your interest and commitment in training her.

Teaching your puppy the norms of ?community living? and to obey commands should go hand in hand. You generally know what all commands to teach her, but mostly remain clueless on how to go about it. Therefore, it is important that before you unleash your homegrown ideas on your puppy, you acquire the correct method of training. You will be much better off by starting her training as early as possible. And remember that you need to be patient and understanding while teaching your pup. She is your loving companion who is trying her level best to understand, learn and respond to you. So keep your temper firmly in check at all times.

?Sit? ? the first basic command

The first step in instilling some discipline in your puppy is to make her sit on command. The verbal command ?sit? is very simple and can be taught to a pup of any breed within four to six weeks. Of course, much depends upon your persistence and patience. Why ?sit? command is one of the easiest commands to teach is because of the natural construction of a dog?s neck and spine that makes it physically impossible for them to look upwards. In order for a dog to look up at something high it must assume the sitting position. This fact is made use of while training a puppy to sit.

Training your puppy to sit

Let us follow the simple steps in training a puppy to respond to the ?sit? command:

Stand in front of your puppy, holding a treat above her nose but beyond her reach. This is important. If you hold it too high, she will tend to jump and reach for it and if you hold it too low, well, you?ll find yourself without a treat!

Now, move the treat from above her nose towards her head and continue to trace this path towards her tail. All this while, keep calling your puppy?s name followed by ?sit? in a clear and firm tone. For example, ?Rover, sit!? Use hand signals too, like moving your hand down for sitting. This helps the puppy in understanding the command better.

Most often than not, you will find that your puppy, in trying to maintain eye contact with the treat, is forced to sit down on her own. In case she keeps backing up, train her near a wall, which will prevent her from going in reverse indefinitely.

When she ultimately sits, pat her and praise her by calling out ?good? or ?good puppy?, even animals enjoy being praised! Offer her a treat but never let her grab it out of your hand. If she does, say a firm ?no’.

In case your puppy just refuses to give in and does everything but sit, hold the treat at the nose level and apply a slight pressure on her rear portion, pushing her gently down into sitting position. At the same time, give a slight pull at her collar. This will help her get the message of getting into a sitting position.

In all these attempts, if your puppy manages to acquire a posture that even vaguely resembles a sitting position, praise her abundantly and give her a treat. This will motivate her to do better the next time.

Don?t let your puppy remain sitting forever. Without your release command she will not know when to get up. And in the absence of such a command, she may get confused. So, give her a command like ?release? or ?okay? or ?thank you?, to let her know that it is time to get up.

Gradually, increase the duration of ?sit? commands and reduce the frequency of treats. Once your puppy begins to sit on your command for fifteen to thirty minutes, at a stretch, without a treat, she has mastered the ?sit? command.

Training your dog to obey commands requires patience, motivation and encouragement, not to mention a ready supply of treats! The training sessions should be short but frequent and should be repeated at regular intervals throughout the day. If you persevere, you will find that the day is not far when your darling puppy grows up into a ?responsible adult? and is praised by all for her immaculate manners!

Caring for a cat or kitten begins with a knowledge of basic first aid. This will be very useful especially in emergency situations. If you have a nearby vet clinic that offers first aid training you are doing both yourself and your cat a service by enrolling.

Knowing what to do in an emergency situation will keep you calm so that you can help your cat in an efficient and effective manner. You may be able to limit your cats injuries or help save its life.

Below is a list of first-aid items to help care for your cat when those emergencies may arise.:

?Antiseptic lotion – for cleaning wounds

?Antiseptic wound powder – to treat wounds and promote healing

?Cotton balls – to clean wounds and bathe eyes

?Cotton swabs -to clean wounds and apply ointments

?Pair of scissors with blunt tips and curved blades – to cut dressings to size and for clipping fur around wounds

?Antihistamine -to ease insect bites and stings

?Blunt-tipped tweezers -to remove insect stingers and ticks

?Thermometer -for checking temperature

?Petroleum jelly -apply to thermometer before inserting

?Nonstick dressings and bandages – for bandaging cuts and to keep dressings in place

?Surgical gloves -use when treating wounds

?Heavy-duty gloves -to protect yourself when restraining your cat

?Towel -to restrain your cat

These first-aid items can be bought from a local drugstore, your vet or a pet store. Having a home first-aid kit will enable you to treat minor injuries and keeps you prepared for an emergency. Knowing your cats personality and habits will help you detect any changes in demeanor and behavior, which may be signs that he or she is feeling sick.

If your cats eating habits change this can also suggest that it is sick and a veterinarian checkup is recommended. Caring for your cat or kitten is easier when you are prepared.

Guide to Cats. Get information on buying, owning and caring for your cat, learn about caring for a cat.

Paul Hegarty is the owner of learningfromdvds.com. Price compare Educational DVDs, read reviews, download free E-books. Read this month?s e-book on How To Spot A fraudulent Email. Grab your free copy today.

When I carried him home, he was this tiny little bundle of fur, approximately three weeks old. He is mostly white, with some mutlicolored stripes, cute beyond belief, but he was being abused and starved at his current home, so I just couldn’t leave him there. I tucked him under my sweatshirt and off we went. My husband and son came home from their respective schools, they both fell in love, we named him Machiavelli, and that was that.

In our home, he found three adult, spoiled and pampered feline friends, one dog who thinks she’s a cat, food bowls that are always full, treats galore, toys in abundance, and fresh water always at hand. What more could a little fellow want? Life is good, for all of us.

I must admit, however, that we were not prepared for how smart he would turn out to be. I thought my other boys were pretty smart, but this fellow takes the cake.

When he was just a few months old, my husband and I were sitting in bed watching television, suddenly we heard him crying. I called out to him, to make sure he knew where we were, and to reassure him of our presence. He cried again so I asked him what he wanted. Well, he decided to show me, he came into our room and climbed up on our bed with his favorite food bowl in his mouth! It was empty, he wanted it filled, and I guess I was to dense for him to make his point the easy way. Of course, after a few months of these antics, the bowl had to be tossed out, alas, it was so full of fang holes that it looked like Swiss Cheese.

Upon the addition of a new bowl, he changed his antics, and now if they are almost empty, he just throws them onto the diningroom floor, remaining food and all. He then leaves the bowl in the middle of the floor, in the middle of the night, so he can be sure you will trip on it, and be obligated to fill it.

He also astounded us by outsmarting our resident bully. Mr. Whiskers has been in charge around here for five years, until Machi moved in that is. This little fellow just refused to be intimidated by anyone. The fist instance occured at the waterbowl in the kitchen. Mr. Whiskers was getting a drink when Machi decided he was also thirsty, he approached the bowl and Mr. Whiskers hissed at him. Well, Machi, still being tiny at the time, just strolled right under the much larger cat and went on to get his drink. The big bully ended up being the one to freak out and run. Guess he didn’t know how to handle someone who just didn’t care in the least about his attitude, or seniority.

Machi still won’t let Mr. Whiskers bother him, when he cops an attitude, Machi just stares at him, then slowly starts circling around the older, and larger cat. Drawing every closer and closer. He won’t hiss, swat, or growl, just stare, and slowly diminish his circle. It never fails that Mr. Whiskers gets freaked out and runs off to hide.

On night when he was approximately seven months old, Machi came into our room, hopped on our bed and meowed at us. We tried to figure out what he wanted, but it remained a mystery until my husband pulled aside the bedclothes and found one of his toy mice. He made sure that Machi saw it in his hand and then tossed it out the door so he could go play. Surprise! This turned out to be a fun game, so Machi brought the mouse back to be thrown again. We ended up playing fetch with a toy mouse that night for nearly an hour, and ever since, this has become one of his favorite games.

Now, I am sure he thought he was really entertaining us silly people, and this was fine with us, until the evening he caught a real mouse. Yep, you got it, he tried to bring the bloody corpse into our bed so we could play fetch with it. He just couldn’t understand why we didn’t want his new prize toy in our bed. I finally had to pick the thing up and take it outside to the garbage to end the problem.

There are many other escapades where he has shown off his intelligence, including learning what the television remote is for, and not being shy about using it when he doesn’t like what we are watching, or leaving small toys in our shoes, because he enjoys the reaction when we have to pull them back off to figure out why they suddently don’t fit right but none astounded me as much as my most recent discovery.

If I hadn’t witnessed this one for myself, I would never have believed it in a million years. It started over the winter, I would find the house getting chilly for no apparent reason, and at other times heating up like we lived at the equator. I wasn’t sure what was going on, for quite awhile, I just assumed my husband had adjusted the thermostat for some reason, I set it to a comfortable temperature and thought nothing of it. Then one day, after my husband had left for school, and I found myself freezing, I called him on his lunch break to ask why he had to mess with the silly thing, when he knew he was leaving the house soon. He denied having touched it. So, I thought maybe our son had done it.

When he returned from school that afternoon, I asked him about it. He denied touching it as well. Being a ten-year old, he of course hates to get in trouble, so I must admit, I just assumed he was denying to cover his butt. When it happend on weekends, after company had left, I just assumed one of them had done it, I would reset it and forget about it. That is, until one day, when I knew for a fact that I had just done fixed it that very morning and no one else was home, and suddenly, I felt like a turkey basting in the oven. At this point, I was very perplexed. Was something really wrong with the thing? Did we have a ghost who had its own ideas of the most comfortable temperature?

Then, one day, I was having a lot of pain from my back problems, so I had taken some pills and hit the bed for a nap. I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I was walking through the diningroom, what did I see? Why, a Machi, of course, balancing atop a door we had leaning against the wall, stretching up as tall as he could, and moving the thermostat. I quietly watched to see what he was doing, if it was just something interesting to play with, or if he had really figured out what its purpose was. I watched as he slowly slid it to the right, a higher temp, he paused after sliding it a little, cocked an ear and when he heard the furnace turn on, he jumped down, and ran into the kitchen. I then found him in the bathroom, laying on the heat vent, getting ready for a nap. He certainly had figured it what it did.

Another time, after sleeping on the heat vent for awhile, I am assuming he woke up a little too warm. I watched his balancing act again, but this time, he moved the dial to the left, a lower temp. As before, he moved it a little, cocked an ear to listen closely, and when he heard the furnace shut off, he was satisfied and jumped down to continue on with his day.

You can of course see where this new skill can be a problem, he has fur, Sometimes when he is warm, we aren’t. Sometimes when he is cold, perhaps from sleeping near a drafty window, or door, we aren’t. But you know what? He is just so darned cute, that we have never had the heart to move that door to a new spot!

Verleen Wonderly is a published freelance writer. She has worked for the website http://www.dealofday.com since it’s inception in 1999.

Goldens, they just melt my heart. Any Golden Retriever just needs look at me with those expressive eyes and I go all soft inside. It’s true, I do.

The Golden Retriever stands tall and proud in its golden hue. When you see a Golden outside, in the fall, among the trees and the leaves it is a scene of beauty and elegance.

The male usually weighs between 65 – 75 pounds and the female 55 – 65 pounds. Although I have seen some much bigger than this.

The Golden does not make a good guard dog. It is not a protector. Its best points:

Playfulness

Affection

Friendliness to people and other dogs

Easy to train

A joy to have around

Loved by everyone

Lord Tweedmouth, who lived just north of the Scottish border along the Tweed River is responsible for these nuggets of gold. The AKG did not register them as a separate breed until 1927. The breed was valued for their hunting abilities. I tend to think they should be valued for their “talking” abilities also. I am just being funny here.

Temperament

The Golden Retriever is just everybody’s friend. They have a heart of gold and are totally devoted to their families, and the rest of humankind. I have two Black Labs, but, I could never be without a Golden. Golden Retrievers are extremely communicating dogs. My Golden is forever coming up to me and “talking” to me while my Black Labs are sound asleep.

The Goldens good nature is appreciated by all, however; ignoring its powerful physique and it’ and its active nature can lead to behavior problems. The Golden Retriever needs lots of exercise and mental stimulation. If they receive both of those consistently they are the perfect dog. All good bred Goldens love to learn. It is a big part of a Goldens nature to constantly learn, be trained and do mentally active activities.

The Golden Retriever is wonderful with children. You must watch the small children when they play with a Golden. Because the Golden loves to play, they can get boisterous and may bump the little child in the nose or head.

The Goldens achievement in competitive obedience games is remarkable.

Upkeep

The Golden needs lots of exercise; including mental activity. The Golden is an amazingly social dog and functions well when it lives inside with its family. The coat is not difficult to keep nice if you brush it once a week. Also, Goldens can get ear problems, so be sure to learn how to clean its ears consistently.

Also, the Goldens can have issues with skin problems. They usually live 10 to 13 years, longer if you take care to feed it good quality dog food.

Dog Therapy Visiting has been a passion of Ruth?s for 5 years. She has three dogs, two black labs and one golden retriever.

Ruth first became involved in this work while visiting a friend in the hospital. A beautiful big golden retriever, Tasha, silently walked into the room and she instantly fell in love with the dog and what the dog represented. Both Tasha and the owner became Ruth?s mentor.

Ruth visits two senior homes on a regular basis with two of her three dogs. Her third dog, Dukie, is blind.

Ruth has been married for 27 years with her husband Chris. Chris is currently fighting the monster, MS. You can reach Ruth at her website. Her Pet Blog http://www.happypetstop.com/blog Her home page: http://www.ruthsinformationabout.com and her people’s health page: http://www.mimfreedom.com

As a respected art and science, animal communication has been around for perhaps 100 years, although most people may have heard of it only recently. An understanding of animal communication–interspecies communication between humans and their pets or other animals–must begin with the understanding that animals, like humans, have personalities and feelings, preferences, opinions, and misperceptions; they think and make choices; they, like us, want to be happy.

What does an animal communicator do? Think of an animal communicator (who will be a she here, for simplicity’s sake) as a facilitator or mediator between the human and the animal. She has an intelligent conversation with this sentient being who cannot communicate through human speech–but can communicate nevertheless.

She may be called upon to assist with a variety of situations, including behavioral problems; relationships with people and other pets; stressful situations such as a move, the family going on vacation, or the death of a human companion; or, often, when a pet is lost and her skills are needed to locate it. In this case, if the pet has died, the animal communicator will be able to determine this, too.

Animal communication can occur in person, over the phone, or through e-mail; each animal communicator will have her preferred method, although other variables, such as distance from the client, may factor in. She will need the name, age, species, breed, and description; she may ask for a picture of the animal. Some animal communicators prefer to work with the pet alone, or the human client may play an active part in the communication. The animal communicates through the communicator and back to the human client in pictures, emotions, and words.

Does it work? If you need convincing, I suggest you check out the websites of any number of animal communicators and read the stories and testimonials yourself.

However, says animal communicator Rev. Nedda Wittels, M.A., M.S., on naturalhealthweb.com, Unfortunately, no telepathic communicator–no person–is one hundred percent accurate all the time in any work. Error can occur because the telepathic connection is weak; because the human client has emotional and/or mental blocks about the situation; because the animal is lying or choosing not to communicate fully; because the meaning of the communication does not fit easily into the backdrop of information available to the human communicator; or because the telepath simply misconstrues the meaning.

Each telepathic communicator brings her own emotional and mental baggage to any session: belief systems, expectations, past experiences and emotions. Being able to drop this baggage and to be a clear channel is an important part of the process of doing the work. The best among us do this on a regular basis, but all telepaths, as all other psychics, do filter the information somewhat through their own perspectives on reality. It is part of being human.

For example, I heard of one case where a communicator was called upon to find a lost dog. As it turned out, the dog had been killed, but he was reluctant to reveal where he was because he’d run away and gotten into trouble, resulting in his death, and knew he’d been naughty.

If you decide to get in touch with an animal communicator, it’s easy to find one; simply do an Internet search for animal communicator. You may choose one over another based upon any number of individual preferences, although distance need not be a factor; as I mentioned, most can work long-distance. Of course, an animal communicator does not substitute for veterinary care or obedience training. Have a list of question ready that you’d like to ask; if she charges by the hour, you can be sure to get your most important questions answered within your time frame.

Would you like to become an animal communicator? Anyone with a gift for relating to animals and good listening skills might choose to nurture them and become a certified animal communicator. Begin by searching for workshops and correspondence courses. Then set up your own website and tell us your success stories!

? Lisa J. Lehr 2006

Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance writer and Internet marketer specializing in direct response and marketing collateral. She holds a biology degree and has worked in a variety of fields, including the pharmaceutical industry and teaching, and has a particular interest in health, pets, and conservative issues.

Please visit her blog at http://warmfuzziesanimalrescue.blogspot.com
If you?re looking for a copywriter, go to http://www.justrightcopy.com Just Right Copy–because words sell.

Pets are an integral part of our lives. A pet often becomes like a member of the family. When a beloved pet becomes ill, people often go into debt to pay for treatments. Unexpected expenses resulting from broken bones, swallowed objects or other injuries can quickly become expensive. More people are beginning to purchase pet insurance for their pets. A variety of plans are available to fit your needs.

The most basic plans cover injuries and accidents. These plans cover incidents such as car accidents, broken bones, burns, allergic reactions or injuries involving your pet ingesting foreign objects or poisons. Such plans are relatively inexpensive, costing fewer than twenty dollars a month. With most plans, you are limited to two claims per year. Basic accident plans don?t cover expenses related to illness or disease.

Slightly more expensive are plans that cover both accidents and illness. These cover diseases of most major body systems, cancer and infectious disease. The limits on coverage range from two to three thousand dollars or more, varying with the cost of the plan. Many of these plans offer added benefits such as accidental death coverage, which reimburses you the purchase price of your pet, if he or she accidentally dies during treatment. Some plans offer to pay kennel fees for your pet if you are hospitalized and unable to care for your animal ? this is an excellent added benefit.

A few companies are now offering plans specifically for older dogs. These plans are only slightly more expensive than those for other dogs. The deductibles tend to be higher on these plans. Pet insurance plans for older dogs cover stroke, heart disease and cancer, which occur most often in the older dog. In order to receive benefits, you must have the insurance before your pet becomes ill. If you suspect your pet is sick, don?t waste your money on health insurance. All plans for older dogs have health requirements and require a check up before the policy is issued. These health insurance plans offer euthanasia coverage in the event you would need to put your pet to sleep.

How much money you will save with pet insurance really depends on how often you need it. Unless your dog is accident prone or becomes very ill, the premium may not be worth the expense. Most policies have limits on treatment for cancer or other diseases, usually between two and three thousand dollars. Depending on the plan and the pet, you will spend between two and four thousand dollars for lifetime pet insurance coverage. Comprehensive plans which cover check ups and vaccinations are the best deal in terms of saving money at every visit to the vet.

When comparing pet insurance plans, don?t look at the monthly premium alone. A lower premium can mask higher deductibles. Read the plans carefully for information on deductibles and co payments. Check the rates for your pet. Some companies charge higher rates for certain dog breeds, older pets or pre existing medical conditions. Read everything carefully and ask questions. You want a policy that will be worth the money you spend in premiums.

Remember, all insurance companies want to make money. Plans are written to reduce the liability of the company and make a better profit. They stack the deck in their favor by excluding conditions typical in certain breeds. For example, many larger breed dogs are prone to hip dysphasia and certain disorders of the bones and joints, so many pet insurance plans list these ailments in the exclusions for the breeds most prone to the disorders. If you have a breed that is prone to a particular illness and pet insurance won?t cover the treatments it may not be worth the premium. For the same reason, pre existing conditions are generally not covered and some plans require a check up with a vet to exclude these.

For more pet insurance information including links to the best bargains on the internet visit http://www.petinsurance.awpet.com