Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

11 Dog-Washing Tips

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1. Sometimes getting a job done is as simple as having the right tools and bathing your dog is no exception. An indoor pet spray that attaches to your sink faucet or shower head makes bathing your dog easier to manage. The spray is gentle enough for a small dog.

2. If you must bathe your dog indoors, getting him into the tub may be a job in itself, let alone bathing him once he’s there. To help in the effort, purchase a dog bath helper that has a mini lead attached to a suction cup that sticks to the bottom or side of the tub. The suction cup can be easily removed once your dog is squeaky clean.

3. When rinsing the soap from your dog’s coat, use a one part vinegar to four parts water solution to leave his coat shiny and clean.

4. If your dog just doesn’t like the water, use a waterless shampoo that must be applied then lathered into his coat until a foam appears. Brush and towel-dry with a blow-dryer.

5. If you prefer, give your dog a dry bath to remove any odors when it’s too cold to bathe him. Rub some baking soda into your dog’s coat, gently massage it in, then brush it out.

6. To help give a small dog a bath, place a small window screen across the sink in which you want to bathe him. The screen will give your dog something to stand on, and, because the bath and rinse water flow beneath it, will prevent him from having to stand in water.

7. If you want to give your dog some extra help in the self-cleaning department but don’t want to stress him by subjecting him to a bath, use pet cleansing wipes to remove dander and
saliva from his coat. The product, made from all-natural ingredients, leaves your dog’s coat clean and healthy looking.

8. If your dog comes into contact with chewing gum, remove it by rubbing an ice cube on the gum until it hardens and can be pulled out, then wash the area thoroughly.

9. If your dog walks on tar, remove it by rubbing butter or margarine on the tarred area until the tar softens and can be pulled off. Repeat if necessary, then bathe your dog’s feet.

10. If your dog rubs against oil-based paint, wipe it off immediately with a dry cloth, then bathe him. If the paint has dried and hardened, cut it out, then bathe your dog.

11. If your dog doesn’t like the sound of spray conditioner after his bath, spray the conditioner on a brush, then run the brush through his hair.

House Training: Is Your Dog Refusing To Follow Your House Training Rules?

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Some dogs just absolutely refuse to become house trained. No matter how long and hard you have tried to implement techniques to get your dog to use the bathroom in the proper areas, he still chooses to be “vengeful” towards you by not following your instructions, right?

Wrong! The common misconception that your dog is trying to be vindictive and countermine your housetraining efforts by refusing to follow the rules is a complete myth.

Dogs only have the capacity for simple, direct emotions, such as being happy, sad, or scared. Their minds are not capable of plotting ways to seek revenge for that swat on his rear, or how you scolded him an hour ago.

Dogs do, however, remember and draw upon past experiences that they associate with current situations. But it is important to understand that these associations only create an emotion in which they will feel when going through a similar experience.

In other words, lets say that you punish your dog for urinating on the front porch. If you continue to scold him for this behavior then eventually your dog will become fearful of using the bathroom outside. All he knows is that he is “outside”, not on the front porch. Your efforts will countermine your housetraining goals.

For this reason alone, it is important never to punish or yell at your dog when he uses the bathroom inside the house. Most housetraining problems actually stem from owners who completely instill fear in their pets when they go potty on the floor. This creates enough trauma to completely halt all of your housetraining efforts.

The key is trying not to react. Instead, remove your dog from the room and take him outside in a very calm and relaxed manner. Be sure that he does not see you cleaning up his mess. Quietly clean the area and be sure to use an enzyme-containing house cleaner. Vinegar or liquid soap will do just fine as well. By completely removing all of the older, this helps reduce your dog’s need to urinate and mark the same spot over and over.

Tip: Avoid using ammonia because the smell is very similar to that of a dog’s urine and can stimulate him to pee in the same area.

When all else fails, schedule a visit with your veterinarian so that the doctor can do a complete health checkup of your dog to make sure that there is not a health-related reason for his inability to become house trained.

Some dogs can be harboring illnesses that may prove to be the cause of not having the ability to control their bowel movements. Such illnesses could be caused by ticks, such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or the most common reason: a urinary tract infection.

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