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Free To Enter Competition For All Dog Owners

Today I came across this really great sweepstakes for all dog owners. All you need to do is click on any of the "Feed Your Friend For A Year" banners on this page and provide your email address, contact information, and answer a few questions and your name will be entered in a random drawing to win a year's food for your pet. Entries close on January 31, 2010 at 11:59:59PM PST and the name of the winner will then be randomly drawn and published. In these extremely difficult times, an opportunity like this could be a godsend to a hard pressed pet owner—think of it, the winner won't need to buy food for their pooch for a full twelve months. It could be you, but for that to happen, you first need to enter!

Dog Training and Canine Eyesight

The most common myth about a dog's eye sight, is that they are completely color blind. Dogs can in fact see colors just not as well as us humans. A dog vision does not recognize figures by their detail and texture like us humans, but instead by their shape and different form. A dog's sight is no where near as good as our sight as humans as well. It is a thought out myth by how well dogs hunt and capture their pray but they have just become good at what they can work with. Dogs see different in color values different from us humans as well. To give the common example dog trainers sometimes define, a dog will not see a different in a red ball on green grass. The colors will blend in, but a different color ball such a pearl or peach color will be seen. It all kind of just depends on the color differences. But on the other side of us seeing better colors than canines, they see movement a much better practice. Such things like animals or rodents on the move, dogs are very likely to see whereas us humans are more likely to just look at the still position objects. On the flip side, canines can see incredible at night. To compare how us humans see compared to dogs, it is a huge differential fraction. Do not under estimate how well your canine can see at night. If you ever wonder how dogs run at such high speeds at night, this can answer it. About the Author:

The question and act of how to train a dog can be very simple if you are following the right steps. The Dog Training Database is a base of dog training sources that can basically teach you everything anyone needs to know about dog training. For more Dog Training information, refer to http://www.dog-training-database.com.

The Unique Challenges That Come With Puppy Mill Dogs

Specialists at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) have released advice on adapting to owning a puppy mill produced dog. The ASPCA suggests that owners who have bought a pup produced by a puppy mill need be made to understand the unique challenges they may have to face. Despite much publicity, the average person shopping for a pup still fails to appreciate the unfortunate fact that that if you buy your puppy from a pet shop, it was most likely produced at a puppy mill under atrocious conditions. Puppy mills are extremely abusive places and pet shops purchase the majority of their animals from them. Puppy mill puppies are also sold directly to the public via the Internet, newspaper ads, or at the mill itself. If you are thinking of buying a new puppy, especially with Christmas coming up - take the Humane Society's Buyers' Pledge! The dogs are prisoners of greed. They are locked in small cages where they freeze in the winter and swelter in the summer. The dogs never get out of these prisons or enjoy any form of human interaction. They are bred over and over again until they die. The only way to free them from the misery of these vile puppy mills is to eliminate the demand for their puppies by refusing to buy a puppy in a pet store and boycotting all pet stores that sell puppies. It is likely that the puppy may have been separated prematurely from its mother and spent little time outside a cage for the first eight to 12 weeks of life with little human interaction, which means socialization could be an immediate issue. Owners should be aware that many new elements as basic as walking their pup and meeting strangers can be terrifying for him at first. The ASPCA warn that these pups should not be rushed and that "patience and understanding" is key to helping them adjust to a normal doggie life. "If you take things slowly and go at the puppy's pace, you'll reap the reward of watching your shy dog overcome its fears". For the same reason, the pup should have a "safe area" - a bed or corner of his own where he can retire to get a grip on his new life. In the UK, the Kennel Club has attempted to dissuaded people from purchasing puppy mill pets at all - but once the mistake is made, animal lovers may want to take the opportunity to guarantee a better life for a puppy mill pup. Puppy Mills breed misery, boycott pet stores that sell puppies. Adopt! Don't Shop

Nubs- The Dog Saved by a Marine in Iraq

Nubs has to be one of the luckiest dogs in the world, saved from the Iraq battlefront by a Marine pilot, Maj. Brian Dennis who rescued the dog from the streets of Iraq, where Nubs was being used for fighting. His ears had been cut off close to his skull (hence his name). The story of their friendship and Nubs' eventual transition from dog of war to laid-back California pet is so extraordinary Dennis ended up writing a children's book about it. The book, "Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle," was just published by Little, Brown Young Readers. The German shepherd-border collie mix that was rescued in Iraq and nursed back to health by Maj. Brian Dennis and fellow Marines, arrived safely in San Diego to begin a new life last Friday. After a layover and check-up in Chicago, where Nubs was examined by an Egyptian veterinarian, able to read the veterinary reports written after Nubs' earlier stop in Jordan, Nubs landed in California amid a media frenzy. He was greeted by ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and a crew from the "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which is expected to air scenes of his arrival. Graham Bloem, a certified dog trainer with West Coast K9 in Encinitas, California, will help Nubs transition from the alpha male in a pack of wild desert dogs to mellow beach dog. He will train Nubs and work on his socialization at a dog park. "Socialization is what Nubs needs," said Bloem. "This isn't Lassie, but a wild dog from another part of the world. He will meet new animals and people. He will hear new sounds and a new environment."

Pet Food Recalls - First Alert Planned

A concerned pet owner and pet website owner, Susan Thixton have collaborated on a project requesting all pet owners to contact their pet food companies and ask them to develop an email and voice mail notification system for pet owners/purchasers of their products (Pet Food Recall First Alert Program). A Paragraph From Susan's Thixton's site: "A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a very concerned pet owner. Her own dogs had suffered from a silent recall in the past; the recent increase in silent recalls was becoming alarming. Her idea was to develop a method for pet food companies to alert customers if they experienced a product recall. Her hope was that every pet food company would choose integrity over secrecy. Her hope, as well, was for us – pet parents – to push the changes through. " Read much more Susan's site and see how you can get involved in this letter writing campaign. It is for the safety of our pets!

Hope Transforms Into Art and Becomes a Winner

This is a story about and abandoned puppy nicknamed 'Hope'. The little guy was born with only two legs and he and his eight siblings, all newborns, were found shortly before Christmas, in a box at the side of an Orlando, Florida highway. They were taken to a local shelter—'Pet Rescue by Judy'. Seven of the puppies were healthy, but Hope's two front legs were stumps. Volunteer Judy Walker fostered Art for about three months until he was ready for a new, permanent home. He had to grow and put on weight before he could use a wheelchair. He now has a new home, a new name, and new mobility. Hope is now called Art and lives an active life with three other dogs and a retired veterinarian. And he gets around just fine! "I just fell in love with him," said Art's new owner, Robert Weigle, a retired veterinarian. "He's taught me more than years of veterinary training ever did, and a lot about life priorities." At 10 months old, he weighs 25 pounds and has adapted beautifully to his new name and home. Robert added: "He's just a happy dog and he's very intelligent and if one thing doesn't succeed, he'll work around it and find a way that does". Weigle built Art two makeshift wheelchairs, one with four wheels and one with two, which Art uses when he leaves the house. "He really isn't overly-fond of either of them, unless we're in a strange area where he gets around and socializes with people," Weigle said. When he's at home, Art prefers to be free of his wheelchairs. "He travels about perfectly well on his own," Weigle said. Recently, Art's former foster caregiver, Judy Walker, had the opportunity to visit Art for the first time since he left her home in March. "He's happy and that's all I wanted," Judy said. For her it's come full circle: Art the abandoned puppy born with two legs is happy, healthy and amazingly active. "It's amazing what love can do, especially with animals," she said.

How to Make a Chicken Coop - Five Important Reasons To Consider

Farmers raise them. So do hundreds of kids for 4H projects. There are even clubs dedicated to raising chickens in your backyard. So, just what does all this have to do with why you should learn how to make a chicken coop? There are many reasons why this would be a good idea, but in truth, you can narrow these down to five especially good ones:

1. You can you can raise hens for healthy, more tasty eggs or feeder hens for the dinner table.


2. Chickens produce manure that's high in nitrogen for your garden. Some people go so far as to call it the best fertilizer in the world.


3. Chickens provide excellent pest and insect control if allowed to roam free for a few hours a day. As they peck around the yard, they gobble up grubs, slugs and other bugs, viewing garden pests as tasty, nutritious treats.


4. Chickens are great foragers and will scratch around in the leaves and soil energetically, seeking out the delectable tidbits. In doing so, they aerate the soil and break down larger pieces of vegetation with their sharp talons, accelerating the decomposition process.
5. Raising animals can be a very important source of family time. This is perhaps the most important reason why you should learn how to make a chicken coop. In today's society quality family time is hard enough to come by so teaching your children how to care for backyard chickens can offer them a way to occupy their time beyond talking on the phone or playing video games.

When you make a chicken coop and get a few backyard chickens you are taking a step toward independence. You are distancing yourself from the mega-egg producers whose methods lean heavily toward polluting the environment and your chickens won't be pumped full of hormones or chemicals which mean they, and the eggs they produce are healthier for you as well. There are many more great reasons to learn how to make a chicken coop. Give it a shot and you will find that you will soon have more benefits than you initially hoped for. Raising chickens in a backyard coop is not just for clubs or farmers anymore. It is now a family project that everyone can enjoy and benefit from.

See our section on "Keeping Backyard Chickens" by clicking >>Here<<

Officer Rudi Retires

For seven years he has patrolled the streets of Bryan, Texas, sniffing out crime. Now, Officer Rudi is hanging up his leash for a more relaxing routine. The department bid farewell Wednesday to the highly-decorated Bryan Police canine who's been with the force since 2002. The 10½ year old Belgian Malinois will remain under the care of his partner and handler Sergeant Dean Swartzlander. "I have had him longer than I've had my oldest child, so it's like retiring one my kids," Swartzlander said. A retirement ceremony was held for Rudi Wednesday afternoon at the Criminal Justice Center. Happy retirement Rudi— you've most certainly earned it!

Get Your Furry Fix by Fostering

From the brilliant Dr. Pia Salk, who has extensive experience fostering pets: If you can't adopt a pet but want to get a temporary furry cuddle fix, support the work of your local rescue groups and save lives, then fostering is for you! Fostering is one of the most compassionate and rewarding actions an animal lover can take. The availability of a foster home can make a life-saving difference for a homeless animal. While many people envision rescue groups as having large facilities and a full staff, the reality is more grass roots than that. Many rescues groups are only able to take in as many needy animals as they have fosters for. Rescue groups work tirelessly to find homes for the animals in their care and to network the ones in municipal shelters, but all too often the time needed to find a home exceeds the time an animal has left. Foster homes provide the critical time needed to connect the dots between an animal in need and an adoptive home. Foster homes help not only by saving lives, but in other ways too. By getting to know a pet's personality, a foster helps the rescue group properly place that pet into a suitable home. A brief stint in a safe environment can also help provide the socialization needed to facilitate a smoother transition into a new home. And let's not forget the fun part! A foster parent gets to have a furry fix for a stint without the life-long commitment that may not suit their lifestyle.It's like getting to spoil your niece and nephew when they come to visit! Anyone interested in exploring foster should contact a few rescue groups in their area (click here to find rescues near you). The rescue can share info on their requirements and schedule a time for a home visit. Ask them to help you establish the kinds of animals you can accommodate and a time commitment that meets your lifestyle. If you're partial to a certain breed, you can also consider fostering for a breed rescue. You can also sign up to volunteer on Adopt-a-Pet.com's volunteer registry, and select "Fostering" as one of your interests. What a great way to advocate for the animals! Happy fostering! Contributed by AdoptaPet.com Blog

Inside a Dog’s Mind

Scientist Carl Zimmer has an extended article in Time Magazine that examines recent research into how your dog thinks. Attempting to fathom their dog's mind is a favorite pastime of dog owners. "Everyone feels like an expert on their dog," says Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist at Barnard College and author of the new book Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. But until now, scientists had carried out limited studies to test those beliefs. This fall, Duke University anthropologist Brian Hare is opening the Duke Canine Cognition Center, where he plans to test hundreds of dogs brought in by their owners. Marc Hauser, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University, recently launched his own such research lab and has 1,000 dogs lined up as subjects. Other facilities are operating in the U.S. and Europe. What they've established out so far is that dogs can learn over 200 distinctive human words, but they may mean different things to a dog than to humans. And the intelligent, friendly, and obedient behavior we see in dogs evolved because those things are advantageous to the dog, even though we see them as advantageous to us.

The Honest Kitchen to Donate Pet Food to Organizations Housing Animals Displaced by Southern California Wildfires

The Honest Kitchen, Inc, makers of all-natural human grade pet products, will donate quantities of pet food to Southern California shelters and animal rescue organizations helping to care for pets who have been displaced by the wildfires currently blazing in the region. The batch of fresh food was made using white potatoes in place of the recipes sweet potatoes so it will not be added to stores shelves. Rather than destroy the food, company representatives decided to make the food available to displaced pets. The company will pay for all shipping costs associated with transporting the food from its manufacture facility to organizations that can use it. Any 401c(3) animal rescue organizations in regions affected by the wildfires interested in receiving the food are invited to contact The Honest Kitchen directly via email at info@thehonestkitchen.com with their organization's complete name, location, proof of charitable status and information on their work. While the company cannot guarantee that a donation can be made to every organization that inquires, every effort will be made to distribute the food to as wide a range of charities as possible. About The Honest Kitchen The Honest Kitchen is a holistic, human-grade line of dehydrated, raw pet food, gourmet treats and herbal supplements. Founded by Lucy and Charlie Postins in 2002, The Honest Kitchen provides all-natural pet products that promote nutritional awareness, environmental responsibility, and a sustainable community. All of their products are packaged in artistic, eco-friendly and bio-degradable boxes. For more information, please visit www.TheHonestKitchen.com.