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If your dog gets fleas, it is not only your beloved pet that is affected; fleas can infest your home as well, and they are extremely difficult to get rid of! So, as soon as you spot any fleas on your dog, take effective preventative action by following these simple steps:

Call your vet
Your local vet can recommend a type of treatment for your poor itchy dog, such as a flea-killing solution, shampoo or rinse. However, the thing that will really kill those nasty fleas is a good flea medicine, but make sure to ask your vet about side effects.

De-flea your home
Wash everything your dog sleeps on, such as bedding or the sofa. Vacuum your house frequently and the fleas should die off within a couple of weeks.

Buy a flea collar!
To prevent future infestations, invest in an attractive flea collar for your dog. If your dog wears this all the time, it will help to keep fleas away from the neck and collar area.

So, you’re considering getting a new dog, but there are literally thousands to choose from. How do you know which one would be right for you and your family? If you bear the following aspects in mind, you should be able to get a loyal bundle of fun just in time for Christmas.

Breed
There are over 200 recognised dog breeds, and a countless number of mixed and cross-breed varieties to choose from. You can choose a pedigree dog or a unique mixed breed.

The main benefit of getting a pedigree dog is that you can be sure what you’re getting, in terms of size, character, susceptibility to illness, coat colour, length and texture, and energy level. However, with mixed or cross-breed dogs, you never know which genetic personality elements will come out as the strongest, because you can’t be sure of the dog’s parentage. Some owners see this as an advantage, because they get to own a dog which is one of a kind.

Age
You need to decide whether you want a puppy or an adult dog. Getting a very young dog will mean that you can train it to behave exactly the way you would like, but you need to make sure you have a lot of time and energy to spare in order to achieve this.

An older dog will already be trained and socialised, but can often come with bad habits or emotional baggage.

Gender
Do you want a male or a female dog? Males are said to be more confident, whereas some people believe that females are more independent. In both cases, neutering can make your dog easier to cope with.

Where to get your dog from
If you want a pedigree or cross-breed dog, you should definitely go to a reputable breeder to obtain one. For mixed breed dogs however, the best place to go is a re-homing organisation. Getting your new dog from an animal welfare centre or rescue centre can be extremely rewarding, because you know that you are providing an unwanted or abused dog with a new, loving home.

You may be delighted with the energetic antics of your bouncing new puppy, but you also need to consider how much of a handful he/she will become once fully grown. From a very early age, you need to make sure to train your puppy correctly.

For a puppy aged between 8-16 weeks, the first thing you will need to do is start to introduce some socialisation; take him to the park or to places where there are lots of other dogs and people. As long as he has a secure base to come back to, his confidence will grow. However, whilst this is important to your dog’s sense of freedom and essential to his maturity, you need to make sure you have a good recall ready, such as pulling the lead or a strong voice command, to make sure he’s safe and aware of who is in control.

You can then introduce simple training, including commands like ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘come’, using treats and slight punishments to reinforce your message. Remember, start as you mean to go on; don’t let your puppy get away with behaviour you would find unacceptable in an adult dog.

Finally and most importantly, you can concentrate on toilet training. Remember that dogs are creatures of habit, so by using something like a crate for your puppy to claim as his own and go to the toilet in, you can speed up the process of house training. You also need to take your puppy out to places you want him to perform and keep this routine consistent, using reward and reinforcement to cement the training. Most of all, be patient; your puppy will get there.

Crufts is the premier league of dog shows.

Hosted by the Kennel club at the NEC arena in Birmingham its officially the largest annual dog show in the world as its addition to the Guinness book of world records does observe.

The award of best in show is considered the highest accolade a dog and its owner to procure anywhere in the world.

The show began in 1886 By Charles Cruft, proprietor of an English based dog biscuit company. The show was named “The first great Terrier show” and attracted 600 entrants.

Today it’s a global phenomenon, with over 28,000 dogs being showed and with 160,000 human visitors to see the show.

In 2009 The best in show was won by a Sealyham Terrier, an apt winner by all accounts with the breeds connection with the show’s original name.

Just as our own DNA suggests that we as a race are descended from an African  origin, it seems that new studies also proves that dogs were also first domesticated to become mans best friend in Africa also!

It was originally thought that the domesticated dog came from Asia but the even more diverse genetics of the African dogs now points to their new place of domestication.

How dogs came to be domesticated is very poorly understood, but dogs have become as dependent on their owners as the dogs owners have on them these days.

The scientific group who produced these findings looked at the genetics of 318 dogs all over Africa. The reason for this wide spread genetic research? Writers co-authors were travelling around Africa on their honeymoon, talk about taking your work home!!

As a Child I remember seeing shows such as that’s life, where a squirrel may have been seen waterskiing, or a Duck may have grown up thinking it was a dog, I remember seeing a cat that had adopted an orphaned hamster, all very bizarre, but I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like this. The Japanese it seems do everything better than everyone else and it seems that producing world champion Dog boards is no exception. Click on the link below to witness on of the wonders of the modern “that’s life generation”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQzUsTFqtW0

Quite Quite wonderful.

Tips for kids:
* Stroke the dog gently on the head Don’t hug’ it around the neck
* Don’t stare a dog in the eye they don’t like it!
* walk sensibly and stay calm around dogs don’t scream!
* Let a sleeping dog lie. – And let a dog have his dinner in peace!
* Treat the dog with kindness and respect

Tips for New babies:

New Babies can provoke Jealousy in a dog you may already own Be prepared!

* Change the dog’s routine ahead of the baby’s arrival so it becomes used to its new regime – it may have to cope with fewer daily walks for the first few weeks, for example
* Encourage the dog not to go upstairs if that’s where your baby will be sleeping
* See how your dog reacts if you lavish a doll wrapped in a blanket, this is a good way to gauge their reaction to the imminent new arrival.

Keep your dog away from your baby for a few hours after you first come home. After that, introduce the dog on a lead.
Outside the home

Otto Jones is not a German ex pat living in Wales, but in fact the oldest dog in the world.

Otto, a Dachshund terrier cross is 20 years and eight months old. In dog terms that makes him a ripe old 140 years of age in humans terms although i always have misgivings about that particular scale.

Apart from the odd touch of Arthritis Otto is still going strong, enjoying the good old fashioned fetch a ball game with the neighbours kids.
Owners Peter and Lyn Jones described Otto as a lovable rogue, and put his longevity down to a diet of Sunday roasts and vegetables.

Bachelor Otto has been invited to appear on TVs the Paul O’grady show; let’s hope the excitement doesn’t get the better of him.

Meet Cindy, Cindy is a Poodle with an owner that you could refer to as a “pushy parent”. If Cindy was human, she would definitely have been entered into baby beauty pageants. But is it ethically correct?

Cindy’s owner as you would presume states that Cindy loves the attention and that she is no way harmed in the process of turning her into a Camel, or a snail. The paint is harmless and non toxic, the preparation albeit, time consuming, in no way harms the dog. So what’s so wrong.. ?

to be honest im not sure, i can’t put my finger on it, but it just seems wrong in some way. If dogs could have a counsellor, and sure that Cindy would have a diary full of them.

Yuor thoughts please.

Welcome To Absolute Boxers, the one stop shop for everything to do with dogs, dog paraphernalia, Dog Behaviour and Doggy products. I shall also be looking to add in posts relating the weird and the wonderful world of Dogs.
Some people say the dog is nothing but a very well adapted parasite. To others a Dog is mans best friend.
Dogs can provide friendship to the young, company for the elderly, they can be raced for profit and entertainment, and they provide eyes for the blind. Or they can provide help for the disabled. Dogs are not a parasite they are an integral part of modern human life, through this blog i hope to highlight this.