Love is something that is hard to explain scientifically, but loving touch actually produces chemicals that relieve stress and as a result make a person much happier. When your pet licks or nuzzles you lovingly it produces a very positive reaction. Specifically, in scientific terms, a chemical called “oxytocin” is produced and sent into your body to sooth and relax. This chemical causes a significant reduction in stress levels which is rather obviously great for your health as it relieves tension which is the only real issue. Anyone who is kind to their pets and has a good relationship with them will almost definitely benefit from their affectionate touch.

Taking care of pets is an exercise in loving kindness when done appropriately. Your pets are as children, or at least should be. To take care of a pet is in and of itself a healthy activity as it provides an inward feeling of elated satisfaction. Seeing an adorable puppy jumping for joy, one can’t help but feel happier and more energetic. Imperviously happy children make for happy parents even when the parents are tired from their day or similar. This can also act as a motivational aspect for getting some exercise.

Exercising with your pet can be a wonderful way to get out in the world and get some fitness into your daily schedule. Running or walking along side your pet is a wonderful way to spark an enjoyable purpose for your otherwise potentially mundane jog or walk. The fact that your pet likely requires that you go outside for a walk, in order to answer its proverbial call of nature, is an amazing motivator for getting the exercise you should already be getting.

Another way to exercise with your pet is play. Playing ball or Frisbee or some other similar game with your four legged friend can really be a lot of fun for both of you! You likely will be chasing the ball around for quite a while depending on the breed of puppy and how new the game is.

Yet another healthy perk that dogs love is the great outdoors and you really benefit from the fresh air and other natural wonders involved in enjoying it with your puppy. A trip to the park is a whole new adventure and a walk along the lake is a new treat for your pet.

One day you will possibly look back and wonder how you ever stayed as fit before your puppy came along. So if you don’t have one yet, and have a big enough house and yard for a playful puppy to enjoy, then consider adopting one from a local public facility for stray dogs. You will likely be very happy you did!

Besides playing fetch, you can teach your dog tricks. Generally, the easier tricks are the ’sit,’ ’shake,’  and ’speak,’ followed by ‘rollover’ which may be a little more difficult to teach your dog. After you teach your dog these tricks, it gets a bit tougher to tackle the higher end tricks.

There are other fun ways to play with your dog. Posing your dog in funny pictures is always fun. There are some really cute pet costumes you can get for your dog. Lots of people like to dress up their dogs in their favorite football team’s jersey and have their dog root for their team on Sundays. There are also lots of cute costumes out there online, such as an Indiana Jones costume. Hey, who knows, maybe your dog will be fighting Nazis and discovering ancient artifacts!

When most people bring home a cute puppy, they have no idea how much work is required to get the dog properly potty trained and house broken. When they finally realize that potty training a dog can be as frustrating as potty training a child, they often get discouraged and give up on the process. This can lead to unnecessary frustration on the part of the owner and the dog.

If you want to successfully potty train your new dog, the first thing you must realize is that the dog is going to take its cues from you. Make sure that your house is clean and that the floors are not cluttered. If a dog sees that there is constantly stuff on the floor and that you don’t care how your house looks, it will copy that behavior. You need to set a good example for your new canine friend. By doing something as small as keeping the house a little cleaner, you’ll help to clear up any mixed signals your dog may be receiving.

Secondly, while those puppy pads sold at pet supply stores are a good idea for a young puppy, they aren’t a permanent solution to the house breaking problem. These pads will encourage your dog to not have accidents in the house, but they aren’t meant to be a permanent solution. Puppy pads can get expensive and can cause your dog to start thinking that any form of paper on the floor is a safe place for them to use the bathroom. This can be extremely problematic for you and the dog.

If you start out using puppy pads, eventually begin to take soiled puppy pads and place them in your yard when you the dog to start using the bathroom outside more often. Then the dog will have a reference point for comparison about where it’s okay to use the bathroom. Do this a few times and then try to go puppy pad free in the house altogether. Of course, it may take time for your dog to adapt to this change, so be patient!

Another trick to potty training is called crate training, and this method is often the easiest. However, some people are uncomfortable with because it involves keeping their beloved dog in a crate for large periods throughout the day. This may seem cruel, but it’s not if it’s done properly. Make sure that your dog has plenty or room to lie down and move around in his or her crate. And while you don’t want the crate to be too small, you also don’t want the crate to be too large because it won’t be as efficient of a potty training technique.

The reason that crate training works so well is the fact that dogs don’t like to use the restroom where they sleep. So, if they’re contained in a place where they usually sleep, they won’t go to the bathroom unless they absolutely have to. However, the crate isn’t meant to be a permanent place to keep your new pet – like a cage that’s used to house smaller animals like ferrets or chinchillas. Instead, it’s just a place where your dog should stay when you aren’t home and can’t monitor his potty behaviors.

When you are home, make sure that you take your dog out into the yard to go to the bathroom within thirty minutes after they have eaten. Stand with them, play with them, try to take their mind off of the fact that you are essentially standing there waiting for them to go to the bathroom. Once they have done their business, reward them with some praise, a small treat, and take them back into the house. Eventually this will help them to learn that going outside to go to the bathroom is good behavior and is something that draws praise.

Canine Parvovirus – More commonly referred to as parvo, this disease is a straight up bad one. It can kill a dog within one day of symptoms setting in. Symptoms for this disease are fever, nausea, vomiting bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and lethargy. Puppies are the most susceptible, but it can strike dogs at any age. Since the virus is in the air, your dog does not even have to leave its yard in order to get sick. Adult dogs should receive a yearly vaccination for this disease, and puppies will need to be vaccinated against it once a month for three months in a row. Both of these series of shots are highly recommended.

Canine Distemper – This disease is very common in puppies, so they’ll need to get a series of booster shots to protect against this disease. There’s no known cure for distemper, and only a very small percentage of affected dogs will survive on their own. There’s also a yearly booster shot for adult dogs and while the disease is not as easy to contract as Parvo, it’s still a good idea for your dog to get this vaccination regularly.

Rabies – Rabies is probably the most common disease that people think of when they consider vaccinations and that’s because it’s one of the only vaccinations mandated by the government for dogs. In most states, puppies receive a shot each year for the first two years and then every three years after that. It’s important to keep up with the rabies shots because if your animal is exposed to the virus when it’s not current on the vaccination, it will be put to sleep and sent off for testing to ensure that it was not carrying the disease.

Kennel Cough – This vaccination is sometimes pushed by veterinary hospitals, but it’s rarely needed for dogs that are not boarded or kept around a lot of other dogs on a regular basis. As the name implies, kennel cough is a disease which can affect dogs that are kept in kennels as the disease is typically spread through close contact with other infected dogs. The vaccine can either be given in an injection or through an inhaled liquid dropped into the dogs’ nasal cavities. It is routinely given every six months or year – depending on the brand and type of the vaccination – and is approximately 65-70% effective.

Lyme disease – Lyme disease is a tick borne pathogen. Both dogs and humans are susceptible to the disease, and a red bulls-eye ring around the bitten area on humans is a good indication of infection. This vaccination is not a bad one to consider getting if you live in an area that has a large tick population. It’s also a good idea to help prevent this infection by using vet-recommended monthly applications of flea and tick prevention medications. However, the disease is not nearly as common as Canine Parvo Virus and Canine Distemper.

While you can cut back on some of your dogs’ vaccinations, it’s important to know and understand the different diseases your dog is being vaccinated against. Before you make any decision, it’s best to talk over your concerns with your vet and your family.

Many people assume that a dog can safely eat what humans eat without any side effects or repercussions. They’ll argue that if it’s good enough for us, why shouldn’t it be good enough for the dog as well? Well, dogs don’t have the same anatomy as humans. As much as we would like to think of our furry four-legged friends as members of the family, the truth is that they’re biologically different from us. This means that they can’t enjoy the same foods as us without consequences. For example, dogs can have extremely bad reactions to dark chocolate and onions.Other “human” foods that dogs get from the dinner table can cause severe digestive problems like diarrhea, gas, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. Granted, this can happen to humans as well, but when we’re sick we have the ability to speak out and let someone know that we aren’t feeling well. Our dogs can’t. Dogs can suffer the side effects of a meal from the dinner table for days before the owner notices and takes them to the vet. By then, a small case of constipation can lead to a more serious problem in the intestine.

Finally, one of the most important reasons why you shouldn’t feed your dog from the dinner table is the fact that their metabolism is extremely different from yours. They don’t process and digest food the same way we do, so caloric intake and fats in food has a whole different meaning for them. Dogs that are fed from the dinner table are far more likely to experience canine obesity and eventually diabetes as a result. If your dog gets diabetes, he or she will need to be treated in much the same way as a human would, with dietary restrictions, monthly veterinarian check-ups, and possibly even twice daily insulin injections. The expense involved in this kind of care isn’t small, so don’t take these problems lightly. In fact, many dogs die of complications from canine obesity and diabetes every year.

The next time you sit down to dinner with your family, try to remember this – dogs eat dog food and people eat people food. If you need to, try taking your dog to another room or even outside while you eat, removing the temptation you feel to feed him or her. It may seem cruel, but it’s actually thinking very consciously about your dog’s health – and that’s something that can make the difference in the long run.

Breed Information: Daschunds have very short legs and very long bodies. There are two sizes of Daschund that are recognized by Kennel Clubs (see Size), and three coat variations: short-haired, long-haired, and wire-haired. There are also a variety of recognized color variations: Solid Daschunds are either red or cream; Bi-colored dogs can be grey, black, or brown with spots of copper above their eyes and other specified locations (see Kennel Club specifications); Dappled, or Merle, dogs have a lighter shade of the same color dappled over their body. For example, a dark shade of grey base with light grey pattern. For wire-haired dogs, the “Wild Boar” color is most common, making the dog look slightly grizzled. The Daschund has a long head with a long muzzle, ears that hang down to the cheeks, and dark, oval eyes.

Size:Standard-Height: 14-18 inches/Weight: 16-32 poundsMiniature-Height: Under 14 inches/Weight: Under 11 pounds

Breed Specific Health Issues: Daschunds are predisposed to spinal difficulties dealing mainly with the discs. Serious cases are referred to as Daschund Paralysis. Because Daschunds can easily become overweight, they are also prone to diabetes and heart trouble. Being overweight is a serious issue for these dogs as the extra weight puts added stress on the back.

Life Expectancy:The average Daschund will live between 12 and 15 years.

Grooming Requirements:Long-haired Daschunds require the most grooming, needing weekly, if not more frequent, brushing. Short-haired Daschunds need only the occasional rub with a damp cloth to remove any loose hair and dirt, and wire-haired dos’ coats require stripping twice a year.

Breed Information:The Shih Tzu is a small dog covered with a double coat – the undercoat is thick and woolly while the topcoat is long and soft. The head is rounded and completely covered by hair, including a long moustache and beard. The nose is black except on liver-colored dogs where the nose is liver, and the ears are pendant-shaped, but also completely covered in long hair that blends into the coat of the body. The eyes are large and dark, though lighter on lighter colored dogs. Shih Tzus should have an undershot bite, though the teeth and tongue should not be visible when the mouth is closed. The tail curls over the back and is also covered in long hair which blends into the body. All colors are acceptable for the Shih Tzu. Size:Dogs and bitches – Height: up to 11 inches/Weight: 9-16 poundsBreed Specific Health Issues:Problems with the teeth are most occurring among Shih Tzus – they are often lost at an early age. Spinal problems are also occasionally seen as their bodies are longer than they are tall. 

Life Expectancy:The Shih Tzu can live to be 15 years or more. Grooming Requirements:When the coat is left long, this breed requires daily grooming with a brush with bristles. Some owners prefer clipping the coat short to make grooming easier. A topknot is used to tie back the hair from the face so the dog can see – Shih Tzus eyes can be sensitive so you must be sure to keep them clean and to keep hair out of their eyes.

Shih Tzus will lay around all day if they are allowed to, so their activity level is low. Although when they are taken for walks, they are thoroughly enjoyed. As this breed can put on weight very quickly, it is advisable to take them for a walk morning and evening.

Because of their low activity level, this breed is well suited for apartment living. These dogs are quite active indoors, so a backyard/garden is not necessary.

Breed Information:The Saint Bernard is a very large dog with a great head ending in a short, wide muzzle. The nose should always be black and the dog has large pendant ears. There are two coat types: short-haired and long-haired. The coat of the short-haired dog is very dense and tough while the long-haired coat is of medium length and slightly wavy, though never curly. The accepted coat colors include white with reddish markings, white with brown/yellow markings, or vice-versa – red with white markings or brown/yellow with white markings. There are certain necessary markings which can be found through the kennel club.Size:Dogs and bitches – Height: 25 ½ - 27 ½ inches/Weight: 120-200 poundsBreed Specific Health Issues:Hip Dysplasia, heart problems, and eye problems are the most common problems with Saint Bernards.Life Expectancy:This breed has an expected lifespan of 10-12 years.Grooming Requirements:Grooming the Saint Bernard is quite easy as it needs only a good brushing with a firm-bristled brush once a week or so. Bathe only when necessary as too frequent bathing removes essential oils from the dog’s skin.