Keep your dog on a leash at first and let it check things out. If other dogs approach, let them get to know each other while your dog is leashed. Since the other dog was in the park first, it considers the area its territory. If dogs that approach and smell your dog prove friendly, [...]
If your dog pulls a lot on the leash, consider a harness. This will distribute the pulling weight across the dog’s chest and shoulders. I like harnesses for small dogs that have skinny necks and can get hurt on a regular leash. Harnesses are also good for large dogs prone to chase after other dogs [...]
Your goals are finding a veterinarian within easy access of your home, and with whom you and the dog are comfortable. Ask for recommendations from other dog owners, or the owner of the pet-supply store you patronize. If two or three people give the same veterinarian’s name, that’s a good sign. You also can seek [...]
Dogs typically reach puberty between ages 6 and 8 months. There is much debate over when a dog should get spayed or neutered so as not to interfere with its personality and physical development. Some owners want dogs fixed before they reach puberty, since it will prevent impregnations, and because a puppy’s sexual organs are [...]
Teach young children that a dog is not a toy. This means not running at it, screaming at it, throwing things at it, chasing it, pulling its tail, poking it, teasing it, restraining it, or interfering with its eating or sleeping or its playing with toys. Eighty percent of cases of children being bitten by [...]
Before you bring a new dog home, make sure the other pets are current on their vaccinations and not harboring parasites. • Introducing to a dog. If you have more than one resident dog, introduce them to the new dog one at a time. Don’t introduce the new dog inside the house — which is [...]
Unlike puppies, kittens don’t need to be carefully housebroken. They just need to be introduced to the litter box and their instinct will take over. You don’t want the kitty to use the soil in your potted plants or other soft surfaces outside the box, and you don’t want it leaving puddles in secluded spots, [...]
Here is a checklist: A quality brand dry food. Food and water bowls. A cat bed. This can be a box or basket with a blanket in it. A carrying container. This can be a cardboard box with a handle and air holes, from a pet supplier. A beach chair (sold at pet stores) or [...]
Kittens roam a great deal. Here is the checklist for safety proofing the home: Insert plastic plugs into unused outlets. Reposition loose electrical cords to where a cat can’t bite them, or cover the cords with shielding tubes such as CritterCord. Tie curtains so they don’t move. Swaying curtains trigger the instinct to paw and [...]
Something about its looks or personality may suggest a name, but keep it to one, two or three syllables — and easily pronounced, so the cat can recognize it from a distance. A name should have hard or stressed consonants that resonate. “Hugh” or “Lola” won’t do, but “Huey” or “Lolita” will. Consider that “Sunny” [...]
