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• What do I need to Know before buying a puppy?
• What breed of dog is right for me?
• Where can I find the “dog of my dreams”?
• I would like to adopt an unwanted pet. What do I need to know and where do I find one?
• New puppy starter kit
• Keeping a dog outdoors.
• Raw food diet for your dog
• What is safe to give my dog?

Before you run out and buy the first adorable puppy you see, or go to the shelter to adopt that dog who desperately needs a home, consider a few things first.

Owning a dog is a life long commitment. They can live up to 20 or more years, that’s as long as most human children stay home from birth to the time they move out and live on their own. Many people take careful consideration in starting a human family and the adoption or purchase of a dog should also be taken into careful consideration.

Cute little Rex will grow into an adult dog who is going to need annual inoculations, spayed or neutered at around 6 - 9 months of age. and veterinary care if it become ill or injured. You cannot get free veterinary care for your cat so you must consider the costs of regular care. This does not come cheap. You should consider your vet a fairly expensive private doctor!
There may be some charities that can help you with costs so a search in your area is suggested.

If you plan on taking frequent vacations (or even the not so frequent) you will have to consider what to do with Rex while you are gone. Boarding kennels are ideal and you should interview many before you even consider going away and boarding your dog. This way, you know the facility, know where it is , how much it costs and the rules they require you to follow before you board with them. Some require special vaccines for the safety of the kennel as well as your dog’s safe health.
You can also consider a pet sitter that will come to your home and sit with the dog, turn lights on and off and take in your mail among a host of other more personalized options that may give more comfort to your dog while you are away. Of course, you must have a dog that you can fully trust not to bite any strangers who go into your home unaided by someone who lives there.

ALL dogs require grooming but long haired dogs require brushing every day. This is somewhat time consuming but necessary none the less. Shorts haired dogs benefit from the quick once over with the brush and comb but the long haired dog needs at least 15 to 20 minutes daily.
This prevents the long coat from matting, stimulates blood flow in the skin which in turn promotes a healthy glossy coat.
Long hair dogs, if groomed regularly will NEVER need to have their hair clipped at the groomer. In fact, Wanda's Pet World frowns upon such practices. Long haired dogs are designed to regulate their body temperature even in the hottest climates as long as the coat is clean, smooth and matt free. Of course this does not apply to breeds that don’t shed and have continuously growing coats which do need clipping.

Consider the initial cost of collars & leashes, food and water bowls, beds and crates and cleaners during the housebreaking period. Housebreaking can take up to two full years to be 100% foolproof.
Dogs also need a place to run and daily walks are a must. Having a large back yard is helpful but there are many small breeds that thrive just fine in an apartment or condo with limited yard space. This can be compensated by walks and trips to a local dog park where one is able to let the dog off leash for play time.

Also consider the potential bad ramifications of giving a dog as a gift. Christmas is by far the busiest time of year for animal shelters world wide. Sometimes the person you surprise with a gift of a live animal doesn’t always wind up happy with such a gift for a myriad of reasons.
Shelters wind up with more unwanted gift pets each holiday season. So, please keep this in mind when seeking a dog for a gift. Animals as pets are a lifetime commitment.

Now if you are not put off by the moral responsibility and the financial expenses involved with dog ownership, now is the time to decide what type and breed of dog is right for you & your family. Do you want the responsibility and challenges of a puppy or would an adult suit you more? Purebred or mixed breed? Buy from a breeder or adopt from a shelter or breed rescue?

First a word of warning. The most obvious place to find your new dream pet is the local pet shop. We at Wanda's Pet World strongly advise against this. Although the local pet store is a fine place to purchase supplies for your pet, often times pets of any species sold in these stores are not the ideal animal in regard to health and temperament.
Most likely these animals have been taken away from the mother too early and may be offered for sale when they are not even old enough to be wormed or vaccinated. This makes them very vulnerable to all sorts of infection, disease and illness often times resulting in large veterinary bills and even death.
Pedigree puppies are even more suspect of being from a puppy mill. Puppy mill animals are the result of greedy breeders mass producing low quality stock for a fast profit. Often times these animals have phony papers, genetic defects not easily detected until such animal has grown various other inherited medical problems.
No reputable dog breeder would even consider selling their puppies to a pet shop.

What Breed of Dog is Right For Me?

Pedigree or non-pedigree, puppy or adult, rescue or bought from a breeder, long hair, or short hair, coat color and pattern. Which to choose?

If owning a dog is your ideal choice of pet, the possibilities are almost endless.
Remember, your final choice of a dog is a life long commitment that you need to consider very seriously.

There are lots of resources on this site that you can use to decide what kind of dog is right for you & your family. The Kennel Club section is a wealth of information with links to sites that can give you the most information on the attributes of every registered breed of dog.

Looking to adopt instead of buying? There are many resources for you here as well. Consider the local animal shelter. You can also do a search and find breed rescues that have taken in purebred dogs and adopts them out. Check out our dog rescue page for a great resource of purebred rescue resources across the nation and worldwide.

Where Can I Find the “Dog of My Dreams”?

There are many places you can find your dream dog. Again keep in mind what you are expecting and this will help guide you to the right place.

Contacting a local breeder will get you your pedigree dog. Many breeders will make you answer a questionnaire and make sure you are willing to follow certain guidelines before they let their dog or puppy go to you. The AKC & UKC is an excellent resource to finding your local breeder(s).
Many breeders also do rescue of their own stock that has come back. Sometimes you can get puppies or full grown dogs that have already been spayed or neutered saving you some money!

Then there are shelters and local rescue groups. Our Adoption Center page has links to all sorts of shelter and pet finder links for you.

I would like to adopt an unwanted pet. What do I need to know and where do I find one?

Finding an unwanted pet is pretty easy. Millions of dogs and cats are dumped in shelters across the world daily. Many never knowing a loving home because they are doomed to death. There are no kill shelters as well. but there are things you need to prepare yourself for if you want to adopt an unwanted pet.

There are so many animals that only want a loving home and you can facilitate that. Some animals in the shelters are not the ideal pet due to abuse or have been abandoned and become frightened. But with patience and love they can be ideal. All they need is a chance.

Again I am going to direct you to our Adoption Center page for finding a homeless pet in your area.

So you found your dream dog and you wonder what you need to have at the house when you bring him or her home. This is pretty easy.

You need first and foremost a crate or baby gate to keep your pup confined to an area of the house that can tolerate some ‘accidents’. We have our dogs crate trained and gate trained. A bed in the crate or on the floor is also ideal.
Crates need to be large enough so Rex can stand upright comfortably, sit upright comfortably, turn around easily, lie down on his side with room so he’s not cramped or touching the front or back of the crate but not so much room the he can run about in there. See the image to the right.
Some crates have attachments for a water bowl and this is suggested instead of simply putting a bowl of water on the floor for Rex to spill.
We suggest keeping food and water out of the crate when you are going to be away for long periods of time when the dog is still training to avoid overeating or drinking resulting in a soiled crate. The only reason to keep water at all times is if you are in an extremely warm climate and you don’t have air-conditioning.
There is no need to keep the dog locked in a crate when someone is home supervising Rex’s movements. Keeping a dog locked up can also produce a dog that is not socialized properly, resentful and ill mannered because there has not been any time spent with the rest of his family. Besides that. it is just plain cruel.

There are many kinds of beds you can buy your pup and as time goes on you will figure out Rex’s favorite type of bed to lie on. It’s always best to give the dog a place of it’s own instead of allowing dogs to rule over your furniture.

We keep our dogs in the kitchen when we go outside so they don’t have full run of the house and they stay off our furniture.

You will need food bowls and water bowls. Stainless steel bowls are fine and we prefer the no tip type bowls. These are especially nice when it comes to puppies as some just love to play with their food bowls if they become bored.

A bag of high quality dog food. Sometimes the breeder will send you home with feeding instructions or even give you a week’s worth of food. NEVER switch brands and types of food suddenly for you risk an upset stomach in any aged dog. You can discuss this more on the free member forums.

You will need a leash and collar for Rex too. A simple leather collar and leash are fine. To get the right size collar simply measure the dogs neck and add 2 inches. This should be fine. You want the collar snug but loose enough to fit two fingers inside comfortably.
Puppies under 16 weeks will grow out of collars at a rapid pace all the way until adulthood. So make sure to buy a collar that has room to expand a couple of times before needing to buy a new one.
We use a 1/2 inch wide leash for our dogs. You don’t need to buy anything heavier than necessary and a well trained dog will not need anything wider than the 1/2 inch leash. We walk our pit bulls on this kind of leash and have never had a problem.

Toys. Lots of toys and rawhides to keep those puppy teeth chewing his own stuff and not yours! Wanda's Pet World endorses the KONG toys for your dog. No matter how big or small your dog, KONG makes the right size and density for your dog. Dogs love them as much as we do and it is by far our dogs favorite toy!

Some pups will fret and whine in a new place especially if they are just taken from their litter. An easy way to keep baby Rex comfortable is to have a clock that ‘tick tocks’ and wrap it in a thick towel and place it in the crate or next to the crate for him. This (in my opinion) replicates mother’s beating heart and will give some comfort to the pup.

There will be time enough for you to spoil Rex with tons of toys and beds and treats. Getting him home and settled is your first priority and then the training and spoiling follow soon after! You can easily get carried away with all the fun things available for your pup!

New Puppy Starter Kit

Dog Biscuits

No Tip Bowl

Heavy Stainless Steel Bowl

Collar and leash

Keeping A Dog Outdoors

Some people choose to keep their dogs as outside pets. This is fine as long as you provide the proper shelter, food, water and living area for your dog. And it is fine as long as you give the dog the attention and love and time with the family it deserves. I see no reason to keep a dog outside and ignore it. Why bother keeping a dog like that then?
Some people will say it's for protection and some will argue as a watch dog. But in reality, if your guard/watch dog is confined to a small area away from you, how is it to do it's job? If you don't give it the love and affection and attention and time with the family, why should it even bother to guard/protect you? After all, you didn't do anything to make the dog want to protect you!

The first thing one needs to know is if the breed of dog you want to keep outside is 'built' to do this. Some breeds, especially the small, non-working breeds are not built to live solely outside. They are made to be companion animals and regardless if some have long coats, like the Pomeranian, their coats will not shelter them from extreme weather.
You will need to provide an emergency area indoors for your outdoor dog as well. Sometimes the weather can take unexpected turns and these are times when you need to temporarily bring the dog inside for awhile.
These situations include but are not limited to:

• Tornadoes
• High wind storms
• Torrential rains / Nor’Easters
• Hurricanes
• Flooding
• Ice storms
• Blizzards
• Extreme cold
• Extreme heat
  
  Dogs should NEVER be kept chained to a post or tree where they can get tangled. Never keep a dog chained to a tree with a dog house near by. This is just cruel and pointless. Most dogs only tangle themselves up in this situation.
  Dog houses should be in your yard or in an area fenced off for your dog to exercise in at will.
  You should have a proper dog house situated on top of something to keep it off the ground from the possibility of the elements creeping into it's door. This could be snow, water, mud, etc.
  Keep your dog house in a DRY area out of the wind during the winter months and during summer storms. Make sure the dog has sufficient shade during the hottest part of the day in the summer.
  Don't let the area where your outside dog lives become muddy or boggy, or full of puddles.
  Pick up dog poop daily as you don't want the area he lives filthy and a health hazard to all.
  
  Dog houses should be on top of a pallet and the pallet should have either cedar shavings (this can help with flea reduction) or straw. Cedar works best as it does not promote mold, rot or bugs.
  Packing the pallet under the house provides an air barrier causing this to insulate the floor from winter cold. It also keeps the floor cool in the summer months.
  
  Now a suitable wooden doghouse should be placed on top of this. The size of the dog house is very important too. You want one as small as you can without making the dog uncomfortable.
  The dog should be able to stand up, sit, turn around and lie down comfortably, just like you would if you kept him in a crate.
  Anything larger will only cause your dog to work that much harder to make his space warm.
  I have not ever been satisifed with those plastic made igloo style houses for dogs. They tend to be flimsy, and in fact hold in the cold in winter and get unbearably hot in the summer.
  
  Families can make a nice day of building a dog house together. You can get quite creative with this as long as you keep the proper size in mind while building it.
  Do be careful with the roof though! You will want to make sure there are no pointed ends of nails sticking through for poor Rex to bash his head and get cut up on! Hammer down all nails you find whether you buy a pre-made house or you make one yourself!
  
  In the summer months the bedding inside the dog house should be a nice padding of straw, or even cedar shavings. Personally, I like the cedar shavings in the summer.
  Winter is different. Winter you should purchase a bale of straw and place quite a bit in there so the dog can tunnel himself a bed/nest combo. This 'tunnel' will help keep his body heat concentrated around him and not escape into the outside getting wasted and causing him to shiver to keep his house warm.
  Using rags, old clothes, cloth bedding of any sort is not ideal in the least. This stuff has no drainage ability and will freeze when damp in the winter causing the dog to become more chilled and not be able to produce body heat. It becomes rotted and a breeding ground for bugs and fleas in the summer causing your dog skin irritation among many other concerns for health.
  
  Make sure you provide a bowl or bucket of water and check several times a day the dogs water is not frozen or moldy and empty in the summer. Outside dogs need to keep hydrated properly so not to cause hypothermia or heat exhaustion.
  Food dishes should be kept clean and free of flies and other bugs, so make sure your dogs food is not contaminated with vermin as well. Take in any uneaten food if bugs become a problem. If bugs are a huge problem in summer by you, you may want to feed two smaller feedings during the day instead of once.
  
  Your outside dog's health is important as well. Keeping a dog outside is not necessarilary going to make less work for you. You will need to check the dog daily for cuts, bruises, make sure his ears are clean and free of mites and his teeth are healthy.
  Summer you need to make sure the dog has no hot spots, fleas, flies eating away the flesh of his ears and eyes. You need to bathe in the summer and get on a flea, tick and heartworm regimine and never fail to administer this medication.
  You need to check between his toes daily. Look for irritation, rashes and other ugly things. Some dogs have grass allergy and the paws are affected and the underbelly by this. A trip to the vet is necessary for grass allergies.
  Winter you need to make sure there is no frostbite on his ears and other thinly insulated extremities. You need to make sure he has no cuts as well in winter as in summer.
  Any time you see something amiss on inspection, the dog needs a trip to the vet. Outside dogs need just as much veterinary attention, actually more, than your regular household pet.
  
  Your dog MUST be vaccinated properly. Especially for rabies, parvo virus, distemper and everything else. Your vet in your area will be the best one to advise on this. I cannot stress the importance of this. If you keep more than one dog (indoors or out) you should also vaccinate for kennel cough.
  
  You need to check the bedding daily and get into a habit of changing it often. Rotting or wet bedding is a breeding ground for disaster and high vet bills for you.
  Obtaining bales of hay or bales of red cedar shavings is not that hard. Don't let living in a non rural area discourage you on this. I lived in NYC all my life and can get these items in Manhattan any time I want. You just have to do some homework. And you'll pay more in the city of course! But all in all, you can readily find all this stuff in any farm supply, local hay farmer (most grow straw as well) or horse supply.
  You can buy several of these at once and keep in a safe DRY shed outside the house if obtaining these items means a long drive, thus minimizing your time for driving for the straw.
  
  Small dogs need to be protected from predators too. Yes, predators. Some areas have bobcat, coyote, Great horned owl, mountain lions, eagles among many more not mentioned. These animals can easily carry off a small pet 10 pounds and under. So maybe a roof is in order on the pen you have the dog house in.
  
  If the area becomes wet and muddy, you can build a nice deck low to the ground for Rex. This will give the dog a nice area to get out of the muck.

Raw Food Diets ~ What they are and should we feed it to our dog?

First we need to set the record straight on what is a raw food diet.
The question, I suppose is raw meat good for them?

"BARFers," as they call themselves, feed their dogs a combination of raw meat, eggs, meaty bones, some vegetables, and a small amount of regular kibble. The point of BARF—unlike human diet fads—isn’t to slim down.

The eating program was created by Dr. Ian Billinghurst, a veterinary surgeon from Australia who observed that the canine patients in his clinic that seemed the healthiest were those that weren’t munching Pedigree Chum or indeed Iams, but raw meat and bones.

"Raw meaty bone-eating dogs lived much longer than their commercially fed counterparts," Dr. Billinghurst said. "Bone-eating dogs have the wonderful benefits of clean teeth with no periodontal disease, wonderfully improved digestion, a reduction in obesity, fabulous eating exercise, healthy stools, no anal sac problems, and the wonderful psychological, emotional, and immune system benefits that eating raw meaty bones has conferred on dogs for millions of years."

But many veterinary specialists warn against the diet, arguing that Dr. Billinghurst’s claims aren’t substantiated with adequate medical research, and that the BARF diet actually has the potential to be life-threateningly dangerous. Well after 15 years of working with dogs, Cats and small animals holistically I can honestly say I have seen a variety of dogs develop allergies and this is on the rise, tooth decay is now a major concern for many dogs, obesity is a serious problem and in the UK and the USA, as such the Animal Welfare Act 2007 has been enacted and can enforce owners to feed their dogs more healthier diets, something many have not even considered would be legislated for. Dogs now resemble their fat friends, (humans) and quite frankly it’s wrong, its unnecessary and it should be illegal.

Many people reading this will start by saying that pet food companies spend millions researching healthy options for our pets, well to some degree this is true, They do spend money on telling us all that they research for healthy options and , well , actually they spend an awful lot of money researching what owners feel their pets would like. After all there must be a profit in it for any company , and profits far outweigh all health concerns. There are several high-quality kibbles on the market today, but there are still several significant issues that set raw diets apart from these premium kibbles.

Let us look at several of the issues posed by premium kibbles. It is still a processed food. This means it has still been rendered, overly cooked, overly processed, and still has artificial vitamins and supplements added to it. Despite the claims of what went into this food at the start, this means the ingredients are still of a poorer quality when compared to fresh, whole, raw foods, and that problems associated with artificial vitamins and minerals still exist: erratic growth patterns, growth occurring too fast, the body not utilizing the nutrients as well, etc. While the better quality foods certainly do start with better materials, after processing these 'food' materials are still of a lesser quality compared to the fresh, raw, real thing. Why do they meddle, comes down again to profit.

Premium kibbles or dried food as they are also known are often more expensive than natural, fresh, raw food. If you are dishing out that much money for a 'premium' processed pet food, why not feed fresh, whole, raw food sources for less?

Now I am not stupid enough or arrogant enough to say. That there is no risk associated with using a raw food diet, that would be fundamentally wrong and misleading. The risks are clear and need to be considered but they also need to be placed in a whole scenario.
Regardless of the possible benefits of raw food diets, dogs that consume them are at some risk of Salmonella infection. Raw meat used for the production of these diets can originate from several sources, including human-food grade processing plants, rendering plants, and products no longer deemed suitable for human consumption so its imperative to know your sources, personally I buy my own whole lambs, whole organic chickens, half beef , the list is endless. I also use organic vegetables and heat treated eggs. As many of these diets do not undergo any type of heat processing or sterilization, existing bacteria and parasites can be present at the time of consumption. To minimize the risk of canine and human salmonellosis, regulations governing the manufacture and sale of commercial raw food diets should be established and enforced. Better labels should be placed on packages containing commercial raw food diets warning dog owners of the probability of the products being contaminated with harmful bacteria.

Feeding your Dog.

To get your pet started it is important to learn as much as possible about preparing balanced raw food meals to make sure your pet is getting everything that they need. Its also necessary to ensure good hygiene, no pet wants to kill his or her owner simply because they want the best for them!

Depending on the size of your animal and any specific health problems they may have, the diet may have to be adjusted. When feeding your dog raw meaty bones, for example, some dogs who tend to “gobble”/ not chew their foods, may do better with the bones ground up with the meat. This goes for smaller / toy dogs, as well. Every animal is different, though their basic natural diet is the same. There are many ways to transition even the most finicky eaters to a raw diet and this, too, is a matter of finding out what works best for your animal. I often recommend adding small amount of the new food to the old canned / kibbles, gradually decreasing the amount of the old food over time. It will take a minimum of 3 weeks to have a successful transfer to a Raw food diet. Though, there are some animals for which fasting is necessary to make the transition and some who take to the new food right away.

I recommend supplementing your pet’s diet. There are a few supplements that I consider absolutely essential when making any pet food recipes, which include: a quality calcium supplement (if using meats ground without bone) such as human-grade purified bone-meal powder, Essential Oils (olive, flax, Omega 3-6-9 Oils, fish oils or hemp), Buffered Vitamin C powder and Vitamin E (antioxidants and natural preservatives), kelp powder (for minerals) and B-Vitamins. Cod liver oil once weekly, super-foods (greens), wheat or barley grass powders, MSN powder are great additions to your pets diet, as well. Mine are also given cranberry tablets daily to aid the urinary tract.

People always ask “How much should I give the dog to eat”
Then what inevitably follows is, “Where do I buy this from”?

People always hate the answer which is: it depends. When you think about it, the answer actually makes a lot of sense. How much food to feed depends on:
- the age of your dog - puppies need comparatively more food than adult dogs
- the activity level of your dog - active dogs need more calories than less active dogs
- the current weight of your dog - heavier dogs need to eat fewer calories, skinny dogs need to eat more
- your dog's metabolism - for example, spayed bitches may have slower metabolisms, dogs with a sluggish thyroid might also have a slower metabolism
- the size of your dog - all things being equal, very small dogs might eat comparatively more food per body weight than very large dogs

So really, it just depends. For adult dogs, begin by offering food in the amount of 2% of the dog's body weight per day. So, for example, if your dog weighs 25 lbs, 2% of 25 lbs is .5 lbs (or 8 ounces of food per day). You would feed your 25 lb dog one-half a pound of food per day total - either one meal that weighs one-half of a pound or as two meals weighing a quarter of a pound each. If your dog weighs 50 lbs, you would then feed him 2% of 50 lbs which is one pound of total food per day. If your dog weighs 100 pounds you would begin by feeding 2% of 100 lbs which is two pounds of food per day.

Continue feeding your adult dog 2% of his body weight for a couple of weeks and then assess his progress. From there, you can adjust the amount of food up or down if necessary. The "2% guideline" is roughly the amount of food that many adult dogs need; however, because of the factors listed above and because your dog is an individual, it may be necessary to adjust the amount of food up or down just in the same way that most adult humans need a different number of calories to maintain a constant weight. Please note: when using the "2% guideline" it is important to calculate 2% of your pet's ideal body weight. If your dog is currently at his ideal body weight, great! You can calculate the amount of food according to 2% of his current weight. However, if your dog is too thin or if he needs to lose some weight you will need to calculate 2% of his ideal body weight. This will give you a more accurate representation of what your pet needs to eat based on his current caloric need.

For those of you who are feeding puppies over 12 weeks of age, the 2% guideline does not apply. Puppies are growing little bundles of love and they need more calories in order to grow into big bundles of love. Begin feeding puppies approximately 4 - 8% of their current body weights and then adjusting their caloric needs as they grow up. Again, it's easy enough to assess the amount of food needed as time goes on simply by looking and feeling the dog. If the puppies seem too pudgy, feed a little less. If they seem to be on the thin side, feed a little more. Puppies go mental for real food so you will have no trouble at all in this department.

In the USA Bravo Foods http://www.bravorawdiet.com/are a superb starting point for your raw food diet, in the UK www.prizechoice.co.uk is who I recommend for those with only one or two dogs. Alternatively attend your local meat auction and bid for the best. You know what is going into your own food, and thus you will know what is coming out!

 ~ by: Karen Clark-Stapleton ©
 owner Versailles Kennels and Eurobichons.com

What do I need to know before buying a puppy?

~ by Joan A Walker ©

~ by Joan A Walker ©

~ by Joan A Walker ©

~ by Joan A Walker ©

~ by Joan A Walker ©

~ by Joan A Walker ©

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