Pick your pet 

PETS: Even in the hectic lifestyle we have today, many of us do find at least a moment to spare on behalf of our domestic companions. Most people tend to keep a family dog or cat at home.
Source: www.dailynews.lk

5 Ways Of Keeping Your Great Dane Puppy Busy

All of the games and skills discussed below are designed to contribute to both the fun and the positive upbringing of your Great Dane puppy. These energy-producing exercises act as building blocks that make advanced training easier and enhance the bond between owner and puppy.

Grooming Practice: Starting grooming procedures at an early age teaches the puppy acceptance of hands-on treatment over all parts of his body and emphasizes relaxed “stays.” Grooming also assures the owner of dominance as nails are cut and teeth are cleaned, as the puppy learns to be quiet and tolerate-these “house-cleaning” techniques.

Hide & Seek: Hide and seek is fun for owners and puppies alike and helps teach your puppy how to come.

1. Put your Great Dane puppy on a sit-stay or have someone else hold his leash.
2. Hide behind a nearby tree or, if inside, a piece of furniture.
3. Wait five seconds, then call him excitedly.
4. When he “finds” you, praise him with lots of love and a tidbit or ball.
5. Make each hiding place a little harder and a little farther away. Sometimes return to your puppy and end the game at that point so he will not think he always has to leave to get you near him.

Find The Toy: Find The Toy teaches early discrimination by smell.

1. Tie your Great Dane puppy to a chair or have someone hold his leash.
2. Let him watch you put several objects on the floor: a can, bottle, box, telephone. Use a glove or just barely touch these articles when placing them on the floor.
3. Go back to your puppy, take his favorite toy and hold it in your hands for several seconds, and let him watch as you throw it in with the other objects.
4. Release him and tell him “Fetch!”
5. When he does, praise him lavishly.
6. As he gets good at selecting his toy, use one of your well-scented gloves or socks and put it with similar objects that are unscented. Pretty soon scent discrimination will be an understood part of his life from your viewpoint, not just from his viewpoint.

High Jump: At first, try just walking over the jump with the puppy at your side. If that works, fine; if not, put your Great Dane puppy on one side of the jump and get on the other side. Use a piece of food to coax him over. If you have a leash on the puppy be sure to keep it loose when he jumps. You never pull a puppy (or a dog) over a jump.

Bar Jump: Same as above, except start with the bar on the ground. Slowly raise it after each successful jump.

Police say woman mistreated hamsters 

JANESVILLE, Wis. - Police arrested a woman for neglecting hamsters at her home after her roommate called authorities, police said Sunday. Find Out More…

Police were trying this morning to contact a Janesville woman with a history of animal neglect complaints about the 39 hamsters removed from her home. Find Out More…

Sam sat calmly in Sedgwick County Park on Saturday — one dog in the middle of a big dog party, a Kansas Humane Society fundraiser called Woofstock. In a sea of dogs, some wearing hats and colorful costumes, Sam the golden retriever wore a plain cotton vest that said “I’m adoptable.” Just days ago, at age 6, Sam’s owner had given him up for adoption, handing him over to the Humane Society. The Find Out More…

5 Principles Recommended To Help Breed Hip Dysplasia Out Of Your Great Dane

While there is a hereditary disease for virtually every part of the Great Dane’s anatomy, beyond any question one of the most emotional, controversial, and expensive dog diseases of modern times is canine hip dysplasia, commonly referred to as CHD. This is an ailment in which the ball and socket joints of the hips are poorly formed - dysplasia means bad development. Severely affected animals often are crippled and must be put to sleep. The OFA certifies seven hip types: excellent, good, fair, borderline, mild, moderate, and severe.

CHD was first reported in 1935, but because it is a complex hereditary deformity caused by the interaction of many genes, it has proven maddeningly frustrating for breeders to control. Moreover, it resists the generalization that show dogs are more prone to it than field dogs. To illustrate, only about eight percent of English Cocker Spaniels examined by OFA suffer from the disease. The English Cocker is almost exclusively a show and pet dog now. Meanwhile, about forty-seven percent of the Boykin Spaniels examined proved dysplastic, and the Boykin is exclusively a sporting breed.

Canine hip dysplasia is much more of a problem for some breeds more so than others. For some breeds, in fact, it is the most common form of degenerative joint disease. OFA maintains that the only way to reduce the prevalence of hip dysplasia is to selectively breed for normal hips, and notes that scientists have repeatedly proven the effectiveness of doing this.

Canine hip dysplasia is a good example of how invisible genetic time bombs can be and how arduous they can be to defuse. The only way to accurately diagnose CHD is by X-ray. OFA requires that dogs be at least 24 months old when X-rayed in order to qualify for an OFA breed registry number. The general principles recommended by OFA for breeding away from CHD are:

1. Breed only normal dogs to normal dogs.

2. The normal Great Dane should come from normal parents and grandparents.

3. The normal Great Dane should have over seventy-five percent normal siblings.

4. A dog with excellent hips from a litter having more than twenty-five percent dysplastic Great Dane puppies is a worse breeding choice than a dog with fair hips from a litter experiencing less than twenty-five percent dysplasia.

5. Choose replacement dams that have better hips than their parents and the breed average.

Pet briefs 

The Northwest Indiana Bird Association is hosting a Fall in Love Open House from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday at 11088 East Drive. NWIBA will feature conures, cockatiels, ferrets and other birds that are currently available for adoption. More…

‘Hybrid Mutant’ Found Dead in Maine

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Signal - Ruckelshausen wasn’t really in the market for a new dog, but the conditions at the breeder were so horrible, she couldn’t She has not specified if the latter will be fashioned to accommodate the big-and-tall, to fit say a Great Dane or a pit bull. More

Palo Alto Weekly - CHOW-CHOW * COLORADO dog * DOBERMAN PINSCHER * dogO DE ARGENTINO * dogUE DE BORDEAUX * ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL * ESKIMO dog * FILA BRASILIERO * FOX TERRIER * FRENCH BULLdog * GERMAN SHEPHERD dog * GOLDEN RETRIEVER * GREENLAND HUSKY * GREAT DANE More

Outside Beltway - If you were a breeder of APBTs back when they were used in bull and bear fighting and later dog fighting, having a dog that Great Dane (6); Malamute(5); Golden Retriever (3); Boxer (2); Dachshund (2); Doberman Pinscher (2); Collie (2); Rottweiler(1 More

Pet briefs 

The Northwest Indiana Bird Association is hosting a Fall in Love Open House from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday at 11088 East Drive. NWIBA will feature conures, cockatiels, ferrets and other birds that are currently available for adoption. Read More…

San Jose’s annual “Bark in the Park'’ will be held in William Street Park on Saturday — and it will feature a special guest: “the world’s tallest puppy.'’ Read More…

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