Puppy Tips Blog

This is a great new product to help you cut your dog’s nails with no fear!

The New QuickFinder Safety Nail Clipper is one of the best invention that you have no worry when you clip nails for your pet. The QuickSensor Technology senses your pet’s quick and give visual clues as to when it is safe and when it is not safe to begin clipping. Red light means Do Not Clip; Yellow means Caution; Green means Safe to Clip. Miracle Coat QuickFinder Safety Nail Clipper is easy to use and a nice nail clipper that avoids the quick.

Recommended for dogs up to 40 lbs. Not recommended for dogs with thick dense nails.

Order your QuickFinder Safety Nail Clipper today!

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy tips

What plants are poisonous to cats,dogs,and small children?

Check out the list at Cornell University.

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy tips

and where can i get one?

HIGH ENERGY! However, every dog has their own personality. I love small dogs. I have a chihuahua/rat terrier mix I got from a shelter as a puppy. She is the BEST dog I have ever had. I would certainly check out shelters - many shelters have purebreds and some shelters specialize in one type of dog - so see if you can find a Yorkshire Terrier Rescue in your area if you are set on a Yorkie. My husband has another mutt from a shelter he got before I met him and his dog is great. Mixes can be wonderful dogs as well. I was set on a purebred but so happy I got my little dog - and I felt really good about rescuing her.

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy behavior, puppy tips

I am going to get a cover for outside for my 9 week old puppy to potty under but she HATES the cold and wont wear a sweater…She gets SO MAD when it is raining!!! And since she cant go outside and play in the afternoon anymore for a few hours her sleep behavior at night has got worse. She went from sleeping 5-6 hours to waking up every 30 min to a hour. Any advice? I don’t use potty pads..every dog I have had or someone else i know has had has just has bad experiences with potty pads…Just need some ideas…cause we run her like crazy in the house but she still does not sleep well…And is it a fear of the rain or what? My mention of the potty pads was that I DO NOT want to use them they are a bad idea. And no she is not potting in the house…it just is hard to get her to stay outside to potty she will go out and see that it is raining and fight me to get back into the house. I can only imagine what she will do when it snows I just wanted some advice to how to get her not so darn scared of the rain..so that when it snows she isnt going to have a panic attack and never want to go outside again. She is a lil wuss LOL It’s funny she growls like crazy at the rain like it’s going to hurt it…haha

I don’t know how to get your pup to not be scared of the rain, BUT I have another idea for you if you are interested. I breed Pomeranians. I also LITTER train all of them. It SO easy epecially if the pup is young. I buy a litter box of some sort. You can buy actually doggy litter boxes at Petland (but they are like $50!) or you can go to Wlamart and buy one of those Under-the-Bed storage containers and fill it will PINE pellets (I buy mine at the fireplace store–they are cheaper and are all natural) Pine is best for animals any other kind can give them respiratory problems. I bring the pup to this area first thing in the morning as SOON as I let i out of the kennel (this works best in conjunction with crate training) It keep the area where this litter box is SMALL. An area too big, and you’ll find your pup having accidents. The smaller the area the closer she be to the box when she needs to use it. LOTS of praise when the business is done–treats, “good boy/girl” etc. I even give the pup a treat when it is even smelling the litter box. You want to make the litter box a positive thing. Also if your DO have a accident, wipe it up with a tissue and place it in the litter box, or pick up the poop and put it in the box. Your puppy will notice the it’s own scent and you may encourage it to go there again. They thrive on routine and familiarity. Having an established routine (like taking the pup their about 15 minutes after it eats) is going to make it ALOT easier. I know this sounds difficult but it is so easy and WORTH it. You can go out and be all day and not have to worry about your dog having an accident. Also it great for little dogs who hate COLD weather!! Good luck if you end up trying it!

Technorati Tags: potty training puppies, puppies care, puppy tips

I have a 6 month old miniature dachshund. I was easily able to paper train him but I’m having some trouble with housebreaking. When he is outside playing or on walks he knows to go potty outside, but when we are inside he doesn’t know how to alert us to let us know he has to go outside and often goes potty near the door before we can let him out. I have heard of people ringing a bell on the door handle so the dog will learn to ring the bell to go outside but I don’t know if this actually works. I have another dog who will come and get us or scratch the door when he has to go outside but I can’t seem to find any signals from the puppy. Does anybody have any ideas?

Use plenty of positive reinforcement to teach your puppy the right place to potty. Take him out every couple of hours and when he “goes” repeat whatever word you want to use for going potty so he relates that to what he’s doing. Then praise him for accomplishing what you want him to do. If you’re inside, look for signs that he’s ready to go - like sniffing for a spot and immediately take him out. Take him out first thing in the morning and after every meal, too. If he goes in the house, don’t let him see you clean it up, but do a thorough job so he doesn’t smell it afterwards and isn’t drawn to the same spot again. If you have your puppy crate trained, potty training is much easier. Just take him out right away each time he comes out of the crate, but don’t leave him in for too long at a time. Lots of positive reinforcement, praise and patience will do the trick!

Technorati Tags: potty training puppies, puppies care, puppy tips

She is about 7 months old. She is a Westie puppy and i want to train her for the AKC dog show, or any other show, so i was just wondering if anyone knew any good tecnuiqes i could use or if anyone knows any good websites?? Thanks! Links would help alot!!

If your talking conformation shows you can call your local Kennel Club and see if they know of any handling classes in the area. Your best source of information would be your dog’s breeder. If they show, they will be able to help you with training and grooming. If they don’t, it’s likely that your dog is not show quality. You can also go to some shows to watch and talk to the people there. While there are some snotty people, most of us are happy to help out newbies. If you’re wanting to enter obedience competitions, then you need to find an instructor that actually competes, preferably one that is used to working with the “non-obedience” breeds.

Technorati Tags: potty training puppies, puppies care, puppy tips

If you want to buy your puppy a treat that they can eat, be very careful on what you buy. Most stores carry a wide variety of chew toys that are made from rawhide. These chew toys come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. You will find them as twisted toys, braided toys, chew sticks, or in the shape of moccasins, bows, etc.

All of the rawhide chew toys look so sweet and so cute and so harmless, but these toys can be very dangerous for your puppy. Puppies have very sharp teeth, and they are capable of chewing through the rawhide chew toys very easily. If your puppy chews off a chunk of rawhide and swallows it, the rawhide could swell in their tummy and make them very sick. Worst yet, the rawhide could get stuck in their throat and swell. Even if your puppy chews very lightly and does not chew off chunks, they may end up getting to the end of the bone and then swallowing the last chunk whole.

Instead of giving your puppy rawhide chew toys, try giving them a real pig ear or cow hoof. I know it sounds gross. If you look in the pet store, where the pre-basted bones are, you will also find real pig ears and real cow hoofs, either sold separately or in bags. They look very similar to the man-made chew toys, but they are all natural. Your puppy can chew these apart without the fear of them swelling inside your puppy once they’re swallowed.

If you choose to buy rawhide chew toys for your puppy, even after the warning, please be careful and supervise them while they’re chewing on the rawhide toys. The same warning goes for the new chew toys that are sold under the name of “Greenies”. I have read many articles on these and there have been many dogs that have died because chunks can be broken off and swallowed. The dog cannot digest the chunks, which causes an intestinal blockage, which then results in surgery or, sometimes, even death.

I know the company has denied these claims, but I am not going to risk it with my dogs. There are way too many other kinds of dog toys out there to have to resort to buying the “Greenies”. It’s hard enough to keep puppies out of things that are harmful. I don’t need to intentionally give them something that could be harmful to them.

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy tips

I ordered the small jug for my Poodle. I thought he would be the only one to play with it. Boy, was I wrong! The first night, my Australian Blue Heeler mastered pulling on the rope to get the treats out. The next day, my Pomeranian figured out how to use her paw to pull the rope out to get the treats out. My Poodle paws at the jug to roll it around on the floor and it ocassionally drops some treats. I really didn’t think that so many of my dogs would be interested in this toy, but they love it! You can order yours today!

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy behavior, puppy tips

I like to have a variety of small puppy blankets available, so I can use them on the couch or on the dog pillows or in the truck. I finally came up with a cheap way to have a bunch of small puppy blankets.

One day I was sorting through all of our blankets and comforters and I came across some comforters that had stains on them and the filling inside was all bunched up. I was going to throw the comforters away, because I knew they were no longer any good for anyone to use. Then I thought how nice it would be to have these as puppy blankets, but they were too large.

My mom had given me a sewing machine a few years ago. It was just a basic sewing machine, nothing real fancy. I don’t sew much, but my mom had an extra machine and thought it would be nice for me to have one just in case I needed to sew anything. Well, the machine finally came in handy. I took the old comforters and cut them down the middle and then cut each half in half again. I now had four small comforters instead of one large comforter.

I didn’t cut the comforter very straight, which made it more difficult to sew. If you decide to cut a comforter into four squares, try to cut as straight as you can. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you don’t want a lot of jagged cuts either. Once I cut the comforter into four squares, I got out my sewing machine and I sewed all the open ends closed. I made sure that when I was sewing the open ends closed that I also sewed the filling in with the seams. You want to sew the filling in with the seam to make sure that the filling stays in place.

I ended up cutting two comforters into four squares each. That’s how I made eight small puppy blankets. I can easily wash three of the puppy blankets together in my washer and the nice thing is I can use bleach on them. My puppy blankets have never changed color because of the bleach. But even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.

The blankets come in handy for all kinds of uses. I use them to wrap up the dogs when I take them to the vet. I use them to cover the car seats. I use them to throw over the dog pillows. I also use them if the dogs are chewing on greasy bones and I don’t want to mess on the floor. I can also take a puppy blanket outside and place it on the ground of our old poodle to lie on.

The puppy blankets are very light weight and very easy to wash and dry. They also last a very long time. I made my eight puppy blankets over two years ago, and I still use all eight of them today.

If you don’t own a sewing machine, you might be able to take the comforters up to a dry cleaner to have them altered. You can also look in the newspaper for someone who does sewing on the side and ask them how much they would charge to cut and sew the comforters into four pieces. I think you will find the prices a lot cheaper than buying actual puppy blankets.

P.S.  If you don’t have any old comforters, you can find them pretty cheap at garage sales.

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy tips

When you go to pick out a puppy and there is a whole litter of them, see which puppies come to you and give you their undivided attention. If there are any toys around, see which ones will play with you. The puppies that are very shy or the ones that continue to play with the other puppies and ignore you would not be my first pick. These puppies are not very interested in people or are downright afraid of people. They have a lack of curiosity and adventure.

A good way to test the temperament of a new puppy is to place it on its back. If it wiggles and struggles to flip itself upright, that means the puppy is not very trusting and could have a dominant personality, which means they want to be the boss of you and any other pets you might have.

If the puppy lies on its back and stays relaxed, then it means the puppy is very confident and trusts people. These puppies tend to get along well with people and other dogs because they just want to be friends with everyone and do not want to be the boss.

When we first got Dusty, he didn’t lay on his back very well. He would stiffen right up, but he didn’t struggle to get up either. Now he rolls over on his back when he is sleeping and sprawls out all relaxed. Little One will lie on her back too when she wants her belly rubbed.

If I hold Dusty in my arms, he will lie on his back and dangle his head upside down off of my arm and sleep like this in my arms! I can carry him anywhere through the house or outside like this and he doesn’t budge. He loves lying on his back and dangling his head. Funny thing is he doesn’t do this when he is lying on the couch.

Sidney will lie on her back if you pet her, but she keeps her tail tight between her legs. As soon as you are done petting her, she rolls back upright immediately. She does not have a dominate personality, but she does break up horseplay between the dogs, kind of like a mother hen.

Macy will not lay on her back at all. She has a lot of energy and does not want to be slowed down. She does not trust other people and has to be coaxed to let them touch her. She also wrestles with any of the dogs that want to wrestle. She does have somewhat of a dominant personality with the other dogs. If she wants to wrestle, she will continue to pick on one of the dogs until they wrestle with her.

Sissy will lay on her back half-way. She doesn’t roll completely over. She lies on her side, almost onto her back. She will let you pet her chest, but not her belly. If you pet her belly the wrong way, she jumps up and attacks your hand! She doesn’t bite, but she acts like she will and she barks and whines and really shows her displeasure. It takes a few minutes for her to calm down to where you can pet her again. She is very distrusting of people to the point that she will growl at someone if they try to get near her.

Little One will lie on her back if you rub her belly. She will also lie on her back if you pick her up and put her on your chest. She gets very relaxed when you rub her belly. If you stop rubbing her belly, she will paw and nuzzle at you with her nose until you rub her belly again. Eventually, she will fall asleep and then you can quit rubbing her belly and she will continue to sleep on her back. She will only lie on her back when she wants her belly rubbed. She does not roll over on her back when she is sleeping. She has a very dominant personality and wants to be the little boss over everyone, even Sidney!

Technorati Tags: puppies care, puppy behavior, puppy tips