How to keep a puppy happy and healthy

         

All being’s health is related with their happiness because happy mind advancing a better health. Dogs are social animals because we adapted them to our society, so they need care and love like humans. We must treat them like a family member. They need our attention in their day to day activities that involved proper exercise, regular veterinary care, and offer healthy and tasty food.

          Daily exercise helps to smooth puppy’s blood circulation, so it gives pleasant mind and good health. We can play with them for exercise that also helps to develop emotional relation between you and your pet. Dogs like to run and play in order to be healthy and happy. Daily walks would give a puppy enough exercise. Also allow him chat and play with other dogs. The social interaction gives him a relaxed and comfort life.

          We must keep our dog’s all shots up to date, so do not miss any dog’s veterinary schedules. Vaccinations prevent rabies and other diseases. Veterinary fee is usually high, so you can take insurance on our dog. Don’t leave the dog with the veterinarian because they have innocent emotions more than humans, so we should stay with them in hospital.

          A dog’s health and happiness are related with his food, so feed your dog a balanced dog food. You can feed commercial dog food to your dog, but you must consider your dog’s taste when you pick his food. Allow some food for your dog before you eat, that help them from begging at the dinner table. Never give chicken bone to your dog because it splinters easily, so it can injured your dog’s mouth. All time keep fresh water at his food area.

          Caring for a puppy is not a difficult task, but it needs time and a lovable heart. A happy dog’s life is not only obeying his owner’s commands but also they desire an enjoyment life with us. Thus, play with him for exercise, and also take him outside for a walk. Keep up with your dog’s all shots up to date. You must consider your dog’s taste when you choose a healthy dog food. Give your love and care to your puppy, and make them a part of your family.

How to care for a puppy’s paw

          Paw care is important to the health and well being of a puppy. Puppy walks on every type of surface with his exposed paw, so it would come in contact variety of hazards. Puppy’s footpads take a lot of shock and impact daily, so he needs our help to maintain his paw healthy. At least weekly examine your pappy’s paw pad, and care for it on a regular basis. Paw care includes clean the paw with necessary stuffs, gently massage the animal’s paw in a specific manner, and apply all necessary balms and lotion.

          Puppy uses his paws to walk and play, so it would lodge a ton of dirt in between toe and pad. The dirt includes glass pieces, small rocks, sticks and sand, so paws cleaning is very important part of dog care. We can remove any unwanted debris from the paw with a set of tweezers and tissue, and then the footpads wash with a gentle soap and warm water. Wash in between toe and pad with the soapy water, then rinse and dry. Spread the pads gently to insure that no dirty objects are hidden in between the pads. There is no need for any special tools for this process, but you can use a commercial footbath if you are not satisfied with the soapy water cleaning. We can get several brands commercial footbaths from pet stores. Neatly keep your puppy’s nail and toe hair.

          A deep paw massage should be given to your puppy after the cleaning process. Puppy’s paw is tough skinned and cushioning body part, so we can use our hands for this massage. The paw massage would give better blood circulation and relaxation to your puppy. Start by rubbing between the pads on the bottom of the paw, and then rub between each toe.

          Puppy’s paw would crack if it dry over time and it will begin to bleed. We need to apply a moisturizing lotion on puppy’s paw pad. Don’t use any human moisturizing cream because that would soften your puppy’s paw skin. We can purchase a dog paw balm and lotion from pet store. There are several types of paw balm to choose from including scented and non scented.

          An unhealthy paw is an easy way of bacteria entrance into body, so paw care is very important in dog care. Regularly examine your dog’s paw, and clean it very well. Paw massage helps to increase blood circulation, and it give more strength to your puppy’s paw pads. Gently apply a paw moisturizing balm on puppy’s paw pads and toes. You must keep your puppy’s paw healthy if you love him.

How to cut a puppy’s hair

          Hair cutting is a part of puppy’s healthcare more than making it look well because good coat is a symbol of good health. Puppy needs regular care to keeping hair healthy, but its professional hair cutting cost is too expensive. You can save your money if you did this job at home. You are not a professional, so you should take more safety and plan about how you are going to cut your puppy’s hair. Clipping a puppy is a precise process that involves prepping the items needed, brushing the animal in a specific manner, and safely use the necessary clipping tools.

          Arrange all necessary supplies before starting the clipping job. That includes a brush, a comb, a pair of scissors, a trimmer, a clipper and cooling lubricant. Make sure the brush is suitable to your puppy’s coat. Pet combs can be purchased from pet stores; if not, you can use human combs for grooming purposes. You should invest in a high quality clipper and trimmer that last.

          First brush your puppy’s coat thoroughly before clipping. You can use comb and scissors to remove any tangles and mats. Gently start to brush from the puppy’s neck, then move to his entire body.  Slowly and carefully remove the tangles and mats. You can go to next step if you make the hairs lie flat.

          You must plan about your dog’s hair style before you start clipping. Then stand your dog on a table or place him at your comfortable height and position. You must use sharp blades to prevent hair pulling, avoid loud sounded clippers, and spray a coolant lubricant on clipper’s metal parts to prevent heat. If you don’t do these things, it would irritate your puppy and that makes your job tougher. Carefully clip his body hair first, then the head and face. A trimmer is more of a detailing tool that is used for touching up and removing small hairs. Carefully use the trimmer around his ears, mouth, eye, nose and fingers to hair cutting. Make sure your puppy’s hairs are uniform before you pack your tools. Don’t forget to praise your puppy for his cooperation.

          We need patience and time for dog’s hair cutting. You can watch any clipping section that may help to reduce stress in this job. Gather all necessary items before you starting hair cutting. Thoroughly brush puppy’s body, and remove tangles and mats. Then carefully cut puppy’s body hair with clipper, and trim his facial hair and finger hair with trimmer. Don’t forget to use coolant on your clipper. If you organized all stuffs, then now you can cut your puppy’s hair.

How to control fleas

          Fleas are very dangerous because they bite and suck puppy’s blood, so eventually the puppy’s health would weaken and that may occur to death of the puppy. Puppy needs their owner’s help to remove fleas from their body, so fleas control is very important in dog care. Fleas are not only in puppy’s body. The insect lives around your puppy’s environment, so your home and surrounding also control from fleas. Caring a puppy from fleas is precise process that involves wash a puppy with necessary items, apply a flea comb in a specific manner, and flea off the dog’s environment.

          Coffee grounds are useful remedy to remove fleas. Caffeine is toxic, so we would traditionally use the coffee grounds against ants in our home. The toxicity helps to remove fleas from puppy’s body, so keep the coffee grounds when you make coffee in your home. Wash your puppy as usual, and then gently rub the coffee grounds in his entire body. You make sure the coffee grounds thoroughly coated on his body, and then rinse the puppy with warm water. Then washing with shampoos and dry as usual.

          A flea comb can be use on his body if your puppy’s body thoroughly dry. Flea comb is not expensive. That is usually effective in catching fleas that still remain on his body after bath. Arrange a bowl boiled water or a pot charcoal near you to drop the fleas into as you catch them. Start the combing from your puppy’s face and work toward the back. Make sure to comb your puppy’s belly and neck when you combing backward.

          Now you cleaned fleas from your puppy’s body, but the fleas’ eggs, larvae and pupae are still on your home. If you wish to remove fleas completely, then puppy’s stuffs must wash with anti flea detergent and vacuum your home with recommended flea control product. Fleas usually lives in moisture environment, so should kept away your dog from wet yard areas. We can get branded flea killing products from market, but you should consult with your veterinarian before apply.

          Fleas are a common problem in dogs, so they need our attention to recover from this issue. We can protect them inexpensively and naturally from fleas. The coffee grounds gently apply on his body when his bath time. Then use a flea comb thoroughly on his body after drying his body. You must remove fleas from your puppy’s environments. If you love your puppy, then care him from fleas.

How to care for a puppy’s nose

          Dog nose’s sense of smell is very powerful than humans, so our crime departments still exploiting the canine power for criminal investigations.  A puppy’s first days, smell comes before their sight or hearing. Nose is the first way puppies experience their world, so its care more important in dog care. We should care a puppy’s nose from texture changes, color changes and also protect its soft nose skin from sunburn.

          Puppies usually have moist or wet nose texture, but warm or dry nose does not mean the puppy is sick. A healthy puppy’s nose can vary between wet and dry several times over the course of a day. They need our attention when nose’s texture turn to dry and crusty skin. A medicated nose balm or nose butter should help your puppy to recover this problem. We can buy several kind nose balms from the market, but its quality is confirmed with your veterinarian before applying on your dog’s nose. If your puppy’s nose is cracked and you see scabs or sores, then immediately take a veterinarian’s appointment.

          When examining your puppy’s nose, another thing to look for is color change of nose. Bacterial infection is the main reason of color change. Your dog eats and drinks may affect the color of his nose because their nose touches their food and water bowl when they use it. Clean their bowls every day, and neatly care the bowl placing area. Plastic bowls could make color change of nose because plastic reacts with the dog skin, so serve food and water in stainless steel or ceramic bowls to your dog.

          Some dogs are sensitive to the sun especially light skinned and short haired puppies, and it is risk for sunburn and skin cancer. Their moisture nose provides some protection, however they also need our attention to protect their nose skin. We can use on his nose a dogie sunscreen with SPF before a sunny day outdoor. We can get sunscreen lotion and spray from a pet store, but make sure it not irritating your puppy’s skin.

          A dog does searching everything with his nose, so he needs our special attention to keep his nose healthy. Daily watch your puppy’s nose texture, and use nose butter if he needs. Don’t use plastic bowls to dog feeding, neatly serve food and water in stainless steel or ceramic bowls. Use a dogie sunscreen lotion or spray before a sunny day outdoor. You can healthfully keep your dog’s nose if you take these precautions. 

How to care for a puppy’s eyes

          Eyes are one of the best indicators of healthy puppy. Puppy’s eyes require our daily attention especially long haired puppies. Puppy’s eyes would need more care when bathing and traveling outside. If you give frequent care to their eyes, then you can find any eye problem early and prevent it easily. Puppy’s eye care includes some safety precautions, cutting the long facial hair and eye wash with necessary items.

          Safety precautions should help you to reduce hospital expenses. It is better to be safe than sorry, so we should take safety precautions to puppy’s eye. We can use tear free shampoos to washing a puppy, and should give extra care to his eye when using flea control formulas. We can also use protective ophthalmic ointment before washing your pet that can prevent eye irritations. Don’t allow puppies to stick their heads out of car windows unless they are wearing well fitting eye goggles. Watch your puppy’s outside activities because most bacteria are infected from outside.

          Long haired puppies’ eyes irritate by their facial hair. If the long facial hair would touch on the eye cornea, it helps to grow bacterial infection, and it also blocks his clear eye sight. So we should trim puppy’s facial hair around his eye. We should carefully clip the hair with blunt nosed scissors. My puppy, peeti’s facial hair would irritate him very much because he has a yorkie genus dog. I would clean up his facial hair once a month.

          We should clean up puppy’s eye corners because gunk free eyes help to prevent infections. We can use a wet cotton ball to clean his eye. Gently wipe outward from the corner of the eye and be careful not to touch his eyeball.  We can get tear stain remover from market that will help you to clean puppy’s eye gunk. We can also use sterile veterinary eye wash or eye drop for eye cleaning, but we should make sure its quality with your veterinarian before apply to puppy’s eye. Constant tearing also may indicate another health problem, so immediately take your veterinarian’s suggestions.

          Daily eye observation and prevention should keep your veterinary expense down, so take all safety precautions to your puppy’s eye. Take care of your puppy’s eyes when you use medicated shampoos or flea control formulas. Puppy’s facial hair should be trim and clean around his eye. Keep your puppy’s eye gunk free, and apply tear stain remover if he needs. If you care about your puppy’s health, then you keep your puppy’s eyes clean.

How to brush a puppy’s teeth

          Healthy teeth are a symbol of a healthy body. Routine tooth brushing will keep your puppy’s teeth healthy. Dog’s dental hygiene is too costly, so proper care can save money and dog’s life. We should brush the puppy’s teeth once or twice a week. You can brush your puppy’s teeth every day if you have time and he needs it. Tooth brushing a puppy is a precise process that involves prepping the items needed, handling the animal in a specific manner, and applying the necessary toothpaste and brush.

          Firstly arrange all necessary tooth brushing stuffs that included dog toothpaste, pet toothbrush, a piece of soft cloth, warm water and your puppy’s favorite mouth toy. We can get different flavors of dog toothpaste from market. My puppy, Peeti likes beef meat, so I would use beef flavor toothpaste for my puppy’s tooth brushing. We can use a soft infant or child tooth brush for tooth brushing the puppy if not get a proper pet toothbrush. We can use the puppy’s favorite toy for open his mouth during the teeth cleaning.

          Stand your puppy on a table for tooth brushing, and firmly hold him. Prepare the puppy’s mouth open with a favorite toy, and then wrap your hand around his muzzle to hold it in place. That gives you easily access to his teeth, so you can do your job stress free. Then simply wrap the soft cloth on your finger, and dip it in warm water. Gently massage puppy’s gum and teeth with the wet cloth. We can go to tooth brushing process after his mouth is fully wet.

          Most dogs should inspect any things before putting in their mouth, so allowing him for smelling the toothbrush and toothpaste before apply. Never use human toothpaste to a puppy. That would damage puppy’s internal organs because they swallow the toothpaste form, so only use dog toothpaste for the teeth brushing of your puppy. Your puppy’s precious object is his teeth, so carefully scrub on his teeth with the toothbrush. Gently brush around the teeth up and down position. Some puppies prefer their owner’s finger, then we can buy finger toothbrush from the market. After brushing, we can clean his teeth with the wet cloth. Then praise your puppy, and give him a chew bone. Chew bones and chew toys should keep your puppy’s teeth strong. 

          Home dogs need their owners care for keeping their teeth healthy, so we should give their teeth maximum protection. We can get doggies dental diets from pet stores that give strength and pleasant aroma to his mouth. You should arrange necessary tooth cleaning stuffs before bringing a puppy to brushing. Gently massage his gum and teeth with the wet cloth. Then carefully brush your puppy’s teeth with dog toothpaste and pet brush. If you have arranged everything, then you are ready to brush your puppy.

How to clean a puppy's ear

               Ear cleaning is an essential part of a puppy’s health care. Puppies need ear cleaning once in a month, but it may vary by the difference of breed. If you do not give proper cares to your puppy’s ear then it may diminish their hearing capacity. Dirty and moisturized ears can develop infection, so I give frequent care to my puppy ears. Healthy puppy’s ears are commonly pink. I could find out my puppy’s ear cleaning time when his ear flap turn to dark color. My puppy, Peeti would always cooperate with me in this job because he likes the ear massage that is included in the ear cleaning procedure. Ear cleaning is a precise process that involves collecting the stuff that is needed, wiping the inner portion of ear flap, and applying the ear cleaning solution.

               We should gather the necessary ear cleaning supplies before began the ear cleaning. That stuff includes cotton balls, diluted vinegar solution (50% vinegar and 50% water) and a professional ear cleaning solution. We can buy ear cleaning solution from a pet store, but you should confirm the product’s quality with your veterinarian. Some warm water may make your job smoother if your puppy’s ear is excessively dirty. If you give a distraction toy to your puppy that will help you easily proceed with the cleaning, and that will also help your puppy relax.

               The first procedure is to clean the puppy’s ear flap. We can use cotton balls, the diluted solution of vinegar and warm water for this cleaning purpose. The cotton ball dips into the vinegar solution, then gently wipe your puppy’s inner ear flap with the cotton ball. If your puppy’s ears are very dirty and hard to clean up, and then you can simultaneously by apply the warm water on his ear flap with the colon ball. We must squeeze out the excess water from the cotton ball before applying the cotton ball to your puppy’s ear. Moisture would damage puppy’s ear, so avoid getting water into puppy’s ear when you are cleaning. The ear’s visible portion only cleans at this time. Don’t go deeply into the ear that would damage the ear drum, so carefully wipe the ear flap outward. We should repeat this process until the ear flaps are clean. We can go to the next step after complete the both ears’ cleaning.

               Firmly hold your puppy, and then squeeze a small amount of professional ear cleaning solution into your puppy’s ear canal. Gently apply the solution into each ear, and then massage for a minute at the bottom of the ears. Puppy gets good feel by this massage, so he should lean into your hand. His ear wax should be softening by your massage. The ear wax with the cleaner will spray from his ear if you allow him to shake his head, so keep a distance from your puppy at that time. He will shake his head, if you stop the ear massage. Then you should clean once more his ear flap with cotton ball and warm water. Make sure your puppy’s ears are dry after the procedure is completed.

               This is not a hard task if you frequently check and clean your puppy’s ear. Check your puppy’s ears at least once a week, and clean it at least once a month. Gather all ears cleaning stuffs before you start the ear cleaning job. Carefully clean the visible portion of ear flap with the cotton ball and vinegar solution. Then apply the professional ear cleaning solution in his ear. Keep you puppy’s ears clean and dry. Don’t forget to praise your puppy after the job. Now you can start your puppy’s ear cleaning if you organized the cleaning stuffs. 

How to trim a puppy's nail

         
           Puppy’s nail trimming is an important part of dog caring. If puppy’s nails grow too long, they wouldn't get grip on the floor and their foot would go out of position when they run. The nail may crack or break when walking outside or catching something. That would be very painful for them, so they need their nails trimmed once a month. I can hear my puppy’s nails clicking sound on the floor when his nails need a trim. My puppy, Peeti never likes his nail trimming because his nails are very soft and sensitive, so I give a special care to his nail trimming. Nail trimming is a very careful and patient job. It has three steps; they are respectively clipping, buffing and powdering.

          We need a dog nail clipper for nail clipping procedure. We can get several types of nail clippers from pet stores. Puppy’s quick covered with the toenail. Quick is the tissue part of puppy’s finger, so don’t touch your clipper on this part when you clip your puppy’s nail. If you accidentally cut the nail too short and hit that sensitive quick, puppy can’t tolerate the pain. Nail cutting would irritate your dog if you cut all the nails at once. A trick that helps you for enjoyable nail trimming is clip a nail and then feed your dog a treat, clip another nail or two and feed another treat. Dog will probably decide that getting his nail done is fun because of the repetition treat.

          We can go to nail buffing procedure when finish with all nail cutting. Actually, nail buffing is an art work because it is shaping puppy's nails' sharp edges smoothly. We can use a dog nail file for this purpose. A dog nail file is sandpaper like on a stick or a rotating tool. We should safely use this tool because now puppy's quick is very closer to your tool. If your file tool hit on his quick, it will bleed for hours because the quick has lot of veins. Before you go to next step, the edges of each nails should be carefully file until smooth.

          If you make a mistake and hit on the puppy’s quick, don’t allow your puppy to twist away from you and run around. Firmly hold him; then apply clotting powder or corn starch on edges of nail, and press the powder to the end of the nail until the bleeding stop. We should apply a septic powder on his nails when all the nail buffing is completed. It helps to prevent any infection on his nails. On that day don’t allow him outside after nail trimming. Praise your puppy lavishly when the job is done, and give him a delicious treat.

          Most dog owners dread to trim their puppy’s nail, so they will go to pet grooming centers for nail trimming. I also dread when I trim my puppy’s nail because his nail is very sensitive. Actually, nail trimming is very easy job if you know how to do that. We should arrange three stuffs for nail trimming; a clipper, a file and a septic powder. Remember to give your dog a tasty treat after each cutting section. Carefully use the file on the end of your dog’s nail because his quick is very closer to the tool at this time. Should apply a septic powder on his nail’s end when finish buffing. If you arrange all nail trimming stuffs, then start to trim your puppy’s nail smoothly and carefully.

How to wash a puppy

PEETI

          This is my puppy, Peeti. He is a cute Yorkie genus puppy. He needs a bath at least once a week because he's a long haired puppy. If not, a bad smell comes from his body and shining of his hair goes away. He has beautiful brown and tan color hair. I like his silky hair, so I given extra care on his washing procedures. I like to wash my puppy, but he does not like to bath. He runs to his cage and sits at end corner when I call him for his shower, so I trickily catch him for bath. Washing a puppy is a precise process that involves prepping the items needed, washing the animal in a specific manner, and applying all necessary shampoos and sprays.

          We arrange all bathing products near the washing area before bringing a puppy for washing. The puppy should run when release him from our hands to pick any bathing product, so we can select a deep tub or basin for the puppy's washing place. Mainly two types of shampoos will be used to bathe, medicated shampoo and odor shampoo. Medicated shampoo protects from fleas and ticks, and odor shampoo gives freshness. We can use a towel and blow dryer to remove moisture from puppy's hair. A body brush and fragrance spray also are used on his body for getting a good result.

          Firstly, we must keep out children from the bathing area because the puppy's bathing products are dangerous to children. Before bath, we should be remove the neck belt of puppy. Puppy will jump when you drop water on his body, so tightly hold him in your hands. You can firstly apply water to his body, but don't apply water straight to his face. You should cover puppy's face with your hands, and drop the water on your hands, then slowly remove the hands. You should confirm wet the puppy completely before going to the next step.

          Then, you can apply the shampoos on his body. At first, you should apply a medicated shampoo because it removes fleas and ticks from his body. We should rinse the puppy before going to the next step. We can apply an odor shampoo after rinsed the medicated shampoo, it removes the medicated shampoo's medicine smell from puppy's body, and also gives freshness to him. Puppy will be shivering during the bath time, so don't wait to dry him after clean down. You can use a bath towel for taking the puppy from the tub, and also pat dry his wet body with this towel. He is a long haired puppy, so we can't completely remove moisture from his body with the towel. So we should use a blow dryer for drying his hair. Then we should brush his body with a puppy comb. After this process, we can use a fragrant spray on puppy's body for good smell. You should be caring puppy's eyes when you apply shampoos and sprays. We should cage puppy after washing because puppy will roll on the floor after wash. Don't forget to wash his neck belt, and clip the neck belt after bath.

          Most dogs will give care, love and respect to their owners. Peeti, my small Yorkie genus puppy also gives me a big security. He is really intelligent and smart. His body hair will shine after bathe, so he looks smart after bathe. Don't forget to arrange the bathing products near the bathing area before bring your puppy for washing. You should confirm puppy's body neatly wash and rinse before takeout from the tub. Dry puppy's hair before you apply the fragrant spry to his body. Don't forget to cage the puppy until the hair completely dry. Now that you are organized, you are ready to wash your puppy.