Pets and Animals Articles

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:08 AM

With the increasing levels of crime, that is often accompanied by acts of violence, it has become more and more important for home-owners, and particularly people who live on large properties, to have a dog that is both a loyal companion, an excellent watchdog and an animal that can be relied upon to guard their home. There are a number of breeds that make excellent. lovable pets but are quite useless as guard dogs. In some instances they welcome the criminal into your home like a long-... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:07 AM

A question I am often asked by people who need a guard dog and are thinking of getting a German Shepherd, is this: "If I have small children, is it a good idea to get a German Shepherd Dog?" I never answer the question directly. I first ask a question myself to find out more about the person who is thinking about getting a German Shepherd: "Do you intend confining the dog to your back yard, or will the dog be a house dog and companion for your children?&... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:07 AM

Dog training is much easier than you think. There's no reason at all to have an uncontrolled, badly behaved dog. Does your dog obey you? When you call, does it come immediately? Does it stop noisy, continual, irritating barking when you tell it to stop? Does it listen to your commands? If not, why not? There's no reason at all to have a badly behaved, disobedient dog. You don't have to be an expert dog trainer with years of experience to get instant obedience. As lon... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:07 AM

There are dozens of different breeds of dogs and each breed has a distinctive temperament. This makes the choice of the breed that is most suitable for your requirements very difficult. There are a number of different factors to consider in choosing a the dog that is going to fit in best with your family, but probably the most important factor is temperament. The following list of the eight most popular breeds in current order of popularity. 1.Labrador Retriever. The Labrado... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:07 AM

Training your dog to come immediately you call is one of the most important and satisfying aspects of dog training. It can also be the most frustrating feature of training if you don't approach the training process correctly. A dog that returns to you immediately you call is a delight. A dog that carries on doing what it wants to and completely ignores your command, can be a maddening experience. How do you make sure your dog returns to quickly and willingly immediately you cal... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:07 AM

At the annual German Shepherd Dog specialist Show held in Germany every year, hundreds of the finest German Shepherds in the world compete for the coveted title of "Sieger",the male Grand Champion of the year and "Siegerin",the female Grand Champion of the year. The hugely popular, three-day event is attended by as many as 40,000 enthusiasts, many of whom have traveled from all over the world. A large number of those who attend are serious German Shepherd Dog breeders. An ... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:06 AM

At the annual German Shepherd Dog specialist Show held in Germany every year, hundreds of the finest German Shepherds in the world compete for the coveted title of "Sieger",the male Grand Champion of the year and "Siegerin",the female Grand Champion of the year. The hugely popular, three-day event is attended by as many as 40,000 enthusiasts, many of whom have traveled from all over the world. A large number of those who attend are serious German Shepherd Dog breeders. An ... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:06 AM

In my long involvement with dogs I have had a number of "alpha" dog. I have never had any problems with them at all. If handled correctly and after a certain amount of training they became very well-behaved, reliable, delightful, loyal companions, confident, self-assured and wonderfully protective. In fact I preferred training a hard, somewhat obstinate dog to a submissive animal that presented no challenges. But the alpha dog is not suitable for every type of owner. more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:06 AM

Once you have decided taken the first step and decided to get a dog the next step, which is sometimes a little more difficult, is to decide what type of dog you want. There are a number of factors to consider. Probably the most important is temperament - not only the temperament of the dog but also the temperament of the owner! Your temperament is probably just as important as that of the dog. Breeds vary tremendously with regard to temperament. Even though both breeds do have fin... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:06 AM

Some time ago I published and also edited a dog magazine. It covered obedience training, breeding and feeding of dogs. There was a questions and answers section in the magazine and readers were invited to send in questions. Here are questions for which a great many readers wanted answers. Question: My 4 month old pup gets very car sick every time I take him with me in the car. Is there any "cure" you can suggest? Answer: Your pup will probably outgrow this tend... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:06 AM

Dog training is all about the relationship you have with your dog. In the same way that humans have problems with relationships, the relationship between you and your dog is of vital importance in successful obedience training. Here are five common mistakes many people make. (1) Lack of consistency in your behavior. Your dog must learn to trust you. In order for the dog to trust you it is important for you to be consistent in your training. There must be consistency in your rewards... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:06 AM

As your dog gets older it is highly likely that it will suffer from painful swelling of the joints that is a feature of arthritis and rheumatism - very much the same as a human. In fact it can also happen, in certain cases, to a younger dog. But there are ways you can make life more comfortable for your beloved pet. The signs of arthritis and rheumatism are very evident. The dog will yelp when it gets up and will also show discomfort when it climbs stairs. Of course it will be... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:05 AM

German Shepherd Dogs: Are they really just as good watchdogs and protectors of your home as you think? It is an unfortunate fact nowadays, that crime, housebreaking and incidents of burglaries accompanied with violence are on the increase. As a result more and more people are thinking seriously of getting a large, dependable watchdog they can also rely on to protect them in case of emergency. In considering which breed of dog to get, one of the first breeds that comes to mind is th... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:05 AM

Training your dog to come immediately you call is one of the most important and satisfying aspects of dog training. It can also be the most frustrating feature of training if you don't approach the training process correctly. A dog that returns to you immediately you call is a delight. A dog that carries on doing what it wants to and completely ignores your command, can be a maddening experience. How do you make sure your dog returns to quickly and willingly immediately you cal... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:04 AM

Dogs can be very destructive - especially pups - and this usually happens when you are not around. It is quite common for people to leave a dog in the home alone, while they go out, and then come back to find that he has chewed their favorite chair or their most expensive rug. Why do dogs often do this? This can happen to an older dog as well as a pup. Obviously with a pup that in the process of teething this sort of behavior is more understandable, but why should an older dog do this?more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:03 AM

Training your dog to come immediately you call is one of the most important and satisfying aspects of dog training. It can also be the most frustrating feature of training if you don't approach the training process correctly. A dog that returns to you immediately you call is a delight. A dog that carries on doing what it wants to and completely ignores your command, can be a maddening experience. How do you make sure your dog returns to quickly and willingly immediately you cal... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:03 AM

A huge gap exists today between breeders of Show German Shepherd Dogs and Working German shepherds. There is very little meeting ground between the two groups, who follow completely different paths. The present situation should not be allowed to continue. It is important to find a way to bridge the gap between German Shepherd Dog Breeders, who concentrate on breeding show dogs and working dog enthusiasts, who focus on breeding dogs that perform well in working trials, regardless of their ... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:03 AM

There are German Shepherds dogs, I have known, that have excelled in the show ring and have achieved high honors in working trials. In addition to these exceptionally fine qualities, because of their very strong, in-born protective instincts, they have also been wonderful guardians of the home. Truly all-purpose dogs, which is the vision von Stephanitz, the founder of the breeder originally had in mind I truly believe it is possible. But I must qualify this statement. The possibility of o... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:02 AM

In 1997 the German S.V, the controlling body for German Shepherds worldwide, introduced a new award to be presented at the Sieger breed show, held every year in Germany. This award - known as "Universal Sieger" - would be given to the dog, entered in both the breed show and also the competition for working dogs, the "Bundessiergerprufung", with the best performance in both shows. In principle the idea was a very good one. The S.V. were aware that a situation had dev... more...

Pets and Animals | By John Williams @ Tuesday, 16th March 2010 @ 1:02 AM

The German Shepherd Dog, not so long ago, had a reputation of being a breed of dog, not only beautiful in appearance, but also an excellent guard dog with a very strong protective instinct. Unfortunately many German Shepherd Dogs today, particularly top show winners, cannot live up to this reputation. They appear to have lost the natural, in-born, protective instinct that was once a highly regarded feature of the breed. Many German Shepherd Dog are of very little value as reliable guard d... more...