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Responsible Dog Ownership


With all the companionship and love that our dogs give so freely, it's hard to imagine that some owners just don't take responsibility for their dogs. But it's true. Millions of dogs-healthy dogs-are euthanized every year. Whether through owner neglect or owner ignorance, millions of healthy dogs will endure the same fate this year. So what's a responsible dog owner to do? The best thing you can do, as a dog owner, is to ensure that your dog doesn't become a statistic, and you do that through responsible pet ownership.

Welcoming a new dog into your house means taking on additional long-term responsibility. Many new dog owners find something cute or romantic about bringing that puppy in the window home until they realize that there's a modicum of work involved in caring for that cute, adorable little face, and a price to pay for those wet, slobbering kisses. You wouldn't expect to return a baby. Its' no less wrong to return a dog when the novelty wears off, and it ought to be criminal to leave a dog somewhere on its own. In many ways, dogs are as vulnerable as newborn infants are, but dogs are dependent upon their owners for their entire lives.

Listed below you'll find basic steps to responsible dog ownership, and many of them are just common-sense rules of the road.

1. Selecting Your Dog - Turn to a local animal shelter or rescue operation to select a puppy or dog. Remember that older dogs need loving owners too. Refuse to purchase a puppy or dog that started life in a puppy mill.

2. Test Your Dog - Contact a veterinarian and ask him to run the usual series of tests on your new companion.

3. Spay or Neuter Your Dog - Responsible pet owners always spay and neuter their dogs and cats. There are far more dogs waiting for adoption than there are owners to adopt them.

4. Provide Medical Care - Aside from the annual physical examination and vaccinations, protect your dog from heartworm, ticks and fleas. Talk with your vet about the many options available today. Contact your vet at the first sign that something is wrong with your dog.

5. Provide Adequate Food and Water - Provide food suited to your dog's age, size and condition.

6. Walk Your Dog - Your dog will let you know when it needs to be walked.

7. Provide Exercise and Recreation - Provide ample space, dog toys and opportunity for your pet to exercise. If you haven't thrown a Frisbee in twenty years, you'll be surprised at how much fun it is to try to outsmart your dog-unlikely!

8. Protect Your Dog from Abuse - Animal cruelty is serious business, and in some states, it's a felony. Even the FBI acknowledged that animal cruelty is a known marker (future indicator) of violence against humans. If anyone in your house intentionally mistreats your dog, seek help immediately. You could thwart the next school shooting.

9. Discourage Aggressive Behavior - You'll know the difference between hearty play and aggressive behavior. Contact your vet at the first sign of aggressive behavior to discuss your options.

10. Coping with Serious Illness and Geriatric Dogs -Geriatric dogs are prone to many of the same illnesses that plague geriatric humans. You'll want to do everything in your power to keep your dog comfortable at the end, but at some point, it may become necessary to end the suffering. If you've been a responsible dog owner throughout the dog's life, you'll want to end that life just as responsibly as you cared for it.

M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on shopping online for dog food and more dog products. M J Plaster has been a commercial freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce vita.


MORE RESOURCES:

Pets - Google News

About 40 pets removed from Hillyard home - The Spokesman Review


About 40 pets removed from Hillyard home
The Spokesman Review
Spokane Police assisted SpokAnimal Care officers in removing a total of about 40 dogs and cats today from a northeast Hillyard bungalow which carried such a heavy stench that the workers were forced to wear hazardous material suits and respirators to ...

and more »

Tufts Joins City Schools to Help Pets in Need - Patch.com


Tufts Joins City Schools to Help Pets in Need
Patch.com
That effort has since grown to serve 200 pets each year at six WHA sites. “By pairing veterinary assistant students alongside professional DVM students, we will be able to do more than just treat the critically underserved pets among the neediest ...
Tufts to open vet clinic in WorcesterWorcester Telegram

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Dog therapist helps pets get fit - Asbury Park Press


Dog therapist helps pets get fit
Asbury Park Press
Josie's owner, So Scazafavo, began a program of pet therapy at Wag Wellness in Bothell. Josie can't twirl around like a ballerina like she used to, but she has regained some of the use of her hind legs and is doing really well, Scazafavo said.

and more »

February is National Pet Dental Health Month - Sacramento Bee


February is National Pet Dental Health Month
Sacramento Bee
Poor oral hygiene may lead to serious disease in our pets. Given that February is National Pet Dental Health Month, the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association encourages you to better care for your pet's teeth. Just as we can experience plaque and ...
February Marks Pet Dental Health MonthKTUL (blog)

all 7 news articles »

Pet oxygen masks can save animals' lives in fires - Alton Telegraph


Pet oxygen masks can save animals' lives in fires
Alton Telegraph
16, 2010 file photo, a pet oxygen mask is placed on a dog, Mocha, during a demonstration by a member of the Portland Fire Department in Portland, Maine. While pet oxygen masks have been used for decades by veterinarians in offices and hospitals, ...

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Michigan Humane Society Pets for Patriots Program - MyFox Detroit


MyFox Detroit

Michigan Humane Society Pets for Patriots Program
MyFox Detroit
The Michigan Humane Society (MHS), is teaming up with Pets for Patriots to give back to the men and women in uniform who inspire us all. The partnership will give active duty personnel and military veterans the opportunity to save even more lives by ...
Pets eat the weirdest things; pet proof your homeDaily Camera
Bad pet owners might be causing fee hikes for everyone elseKFOX El Paso
Meridian Valley Humane Society joins forces with Pets for PatriotsKIVI-TV

all 4 news articles »

Fracking's Toll on Pets, Livestock Chills Farmers: Commentary - San Francisco Chronicle


Fracking's Toll on Pets, Livestock Chills Farmers: Commentary
San Francisco Chronicle
A new study by veterinarian Michelle Bamberger and Robert Oswald, a professor of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, chronicles case studies of dozens of farmers and pet owners in six states over the Marcellus Shale. Their findings, published in ...

and more »

Proposed Bill Protects Pets of Domestic Abuse Victims - Patch.com


Proposed Bill Protects Pets of Domestic Abuse Victims
Patch.com
Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who's district also falls partly into Clearwater, extends legal protection to pets of an abuse victim and makes beating or abusing the victim's pet grounds for violating a court-ordered domestic violence injunction.

and more »

Pet Obesity Rate Rises - VetPracticeNews.com


VetPracticeNews.com

Pet Obesity Rate Rises
VetPracticeNews.com
The percentage of pet cats and dogs classified as overweight remained relatively constant over the past year, but the rate of obesity increased, especially among cats, according to the fifth annual veterinary survey conducted by the Association for Pet ...
Pet Owners May Be In Denial But Study Says Rover Isn't Big-Boned, He's FatThe Consumerist
Alison Sweeney Backs 'Million Pound Pledge' for PetsZootoo.com
New Survey Shows US Dog and Cat Obesity Rates are climbingFirst Coast News
KPHO Phoenix
all 6 news articles »

Meet Your Match boosts puppy love (and kitty love) by matching people and pets ... - Washington Post


The Associated Press

Meet Your Match boosts puppy love (and kitty love) by matching people and pets ...
Washington Post
The color-coded program evaluates shelter pets and the people looking to adopt them in an effort to match personalities, energy levels and needs. Playing Cupid with Meet Your Match helped workers at the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to ...
Find puppy love (cats too) through Meet Your MatchWTOP

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