When buying an outdoor dog kennel for your new dog there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, remember that your cute little puppy, depending on the breed, may grow up into a sizable dog.  Most pups are small and cute when they are little, however the larger breeds especially can grow up quite rapidly. If you are buying a kennel, shop for a size that will fit your grown dog and not your puppy. While he may look dwarfed next to his kennel when he is only three months old, in under a year most breed are approaching their full size.

You will also need to try to estimate how much time your dog will spend in his dog kennel and run. If he is going to be an outdoor dog, or spend a lot of time outdoors while you are at work, you will need a kennel that will provide him with plenty of shelter. It should be comfortable for him, with a floor of some kind and be well ventilated. While all dog houses should be comfortable, pay extra attention to small details if you know your dog will be using it often.

Buy something that is not destructible and that is not too lightweight. I have seen grown dogs walking around, dragging their kennels behind them. It was fairly humorous actually, as the dog was unperturbed by it. The owner was not; the kennel was wrecked.   A typical example of this is buying a thin, plastic doghouse for a large breed dog. Some breeds have a tendency to chew on objects including kennels and kennel roofing, again the voice of experience speaking here. Wood kennels look beautiful, but unless they are made from hard wood they are also delightfully pleasant to chew on. Edges will become quickly gnawed and your poor dog may end up with splinters around his mouth.

These are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for a kennel.  Read online reviews to see what other people are saying about items and discuss it with others who have the same breed dog as you.  If you buy the right kennel in the beginning you will  save on time and money in the long term.

Providing Shelter with a Metal Carport

We had just purchased some land North of the bridge and transported all the animals over our property where we had a metal carport on the property that we stored food for other animals. This was perfect as it provided shelter from the wind, rain, and other harsh weather conditions that can really impact how an animal survives. They all loved the new environment and it was good to see them all in good spirits, running around, and enjoying the new protection from the weather.

Community Came to Help Out Daily

More and more of our friends would go out the the metal garage building and spend some time with the animals, bring them treats, or play out on the property grounds running and jumping with the dogs. All the cats were pretty mellow and they really enjoyed all the back scratching, ear scratching, and just the love in general. We were so happy with all the people who were coming out we decided to throw a barbeque for all of the friends, pets invited.

The “Pet” BBQ was quite the event; dogs, horses, cats, hamsters, mice, and many more little critters came to the property that day and had a blast. There was more food to go around than we knew what to do with but no worries as all the pets that people brought took care of that problem. What a day, great fun, great people, and great animals of all kinds!

When you have finally gotten to the point that you’re considering 5 -10 plans, then looking at a pet insurance review is a good idea. That way you can see if people were happy with that specific insurance plan and company. Reading about their personal experiences will help you make up your mind.

Here’s what to look for when reading these reviews.

- Can you Make Changes to your Pet Insurance Plan?

Dogs and other pets have different health needs at different stages in their lives. An insurance plan that you bought when your dog was young may not be good for your dog that has grown older and has different medical needs now. You may have to change your plan to keep up with your dog’s age.

By reading insurance reviews, you can find out how a certain company handles plan changes. You can read about their customer service reps, the time it takes for the changes to take effect, and if there are charges to make the changes.

- Will You Be Reimbursed?

Many clinics and vets want the dog owners to pay for the visit upfront; this means that you have to lay out the money before the insurance company will reimburse you.

By reading insurance reviews you can find out how long it takes for the insurance companies to reimburse you. Will the company try to find an excuse not to pay you? How long will you have to wait to be reimbursed?

Here’s one thing to look out for when reading insurance reviews online – many reviews are written by the company themselves. Make sure that the reviews you’re reading have been written by regular people – dog owners who wrote about their personal experiences.

Online reviews can sometimes be written by industry experts. Make sure that they are written from an impartial point of view.

When looking at a pet insurance review it is a good idea to look at both kinds of reviews – personal experiences and those from industry experts; that way you can see it from both ways.

Of course, you are assuming that your pet is the perfectly behaved darling that you play with each evening. If your pet is anything like mine then the term “mischievous” may come to mind. The scary side to having a pet cam is that you can actually see what they are doing when you aren’t there to keep them in line. Yes, that’s your little “cutie pie” wallowing on your white sofa and chewing on the corner of the comforter your great grandmother made you. He’d never do that when you are around, you say? Well, remember, he’s smart and you aren’t around as far as he knows ! Wait a minute – did that cat just jump onto the counter and lick the ham that’s thawing there?

So, you have a lot to consider. You can get the pet cam and be reassured that your pet is okay when left alone. On the other hand, do you really want to know everything your pet does? Maybe you are better off not watching and discovering the truth. Instead, continue to believe that your pet is the best behaved in the neighborhood. As the title asks…Are you sure you want to know? Don’t worry about your bullet camera won’t go to waste if you decide it is too scary to watch your pets, as these cameras can be used in a number of other ways!

Pitbull Puppies for Sale

On the way home today, I saw a man standing in the back of an old, brown, 4X4 truck. He has holding a plywood sign with the words “Pitbull Puppies For Sale” spray painted on it. The mother of the puppies was chained to the side of the truck. She was cowering under the vehicle with her tail tucked between her legs.

What really scares me is that, during the holiday season, this man will probably sell every one of those puppies and the consumer will have no idea as to what they are really getting. Now please understand that I have nothing against Pitbulls and I think the breed, in general, has an undeserved reputation. However, there are so many questions left unanswered by a man on the side of the road. What were the puppy’s parents like? Is the poor dog, hiding underneath the truck at a busy intersection, any indication of what the puppies are supposed to be like?

When we searched for our dogs, it was a very time consuming process. We started with the typical “puppies for sale” search on the internet. We researched breeders and went onsite to meet the parents of the dogs and see where the puppies were raised. We checked the lineage of the parents and verified that the puppy’s parents and the puppies had the proper certifications (hips, eyes, etc.) We turned down several breeders before deciding on the one’s we picked.

I’ve had friends who have bred champion dogs. They all said they do it for the betterment of the breed because, typically, you really don’t make much money at it. (Some of them said they were lucky to cover the vet bills.)

Should I Get a Christmas Puppy?

A friend of mine recently wrote an article on Reasons Not To Buy A Dog For Christmas. In this article, she does a great job explaining why getting a dog for Christmas is not a good idea. There are lots of responsibilities when getting a new puppy.

We’ve recently been fostering two young puppies for a shelter while they wait to get fixed, and I can tell you it’s a lot of work. Even though it was only a year ago when Shadow was a young pup, its easy to forget during the puppy housebreaking phase how you have to constantly follow the puppy wherever they go to make sure they don’t make a mess. Puppy housebreaking is a full-time job for the first few months while the puppy gets used to its new surroundings.

In the author’s opinion, summer time is a good time to get a dog. I definitely agree, especially if you have kids. Assuming at least one adult is at home, it gives the adult more time to watch the puppy. The kids will also have a chance to help socialize the dog.

Dog Spelled Forward in Puppy Diaries: Life With a New Puppy has a good article on who they think should get a dog.  For those people that have a lot of extra time on their hands, perhaps getting a puppy is a good idea. However, getting a child a puppy to teach them responsibility does not seem to be a good choice.

For my next article, I will discuss how to research and find a good dog breeder and what to look for in a puppy.

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I was as happy as a tick on a fat dog to find out that Shadow came out of his surgery okay. In case ya’ll didn’t hear, he got neutered today and, as expected, he survived.

I reckon that’s one way to lose a little weight (although with him, it won’t be much  ;  ).

Ya’ll be good.

Abigail

For starters, I should tell you about myself. My name is Shadow and I’m a 9 year old (that’s a little over 1 year if we have any humans reading this) Chocolate Labrador. Other than running things around here, (did I mention I’m the alpha dog?) I like to play with just about anything and anyone. In my yard, I have tennis balls, Kong balls, rope toys, and my new favorite, the Skineez toy (it’s a fox that I can chew on, but it doesn’t have any stuffing).

Since I’m the new editor-in-chief of this blog (I think I deserve that title), I will be taking over and making sure that the posts get out on time. I will also be writing blog entries for stuff like…

TENNIS BALL

Oh sorry, one of the humans just threw a tennis ball across the yard and I had to get it. What’s with these humans throwing away good tennis balls? I keep bringing them back and they keep throwing them away again. Its fun, but I just don’t understand it.

As I was saying, I will be writing blog entries for stuff like dog toys, fun games, long walks in the park, meeting other dogs and sniffing other dog’s…

TWO BALLS AT ONCE?? Now that’s not fair! I can’t hold two balls in my mouth at once.

Anyway, now that you know about me, I guess I should tell you about my friend, Abigail. She’s okay and all; however, she’s not as much fun as I am. I decided to give Abigail the job of talking about the stuff I don’t care about. Things like dog health, arthritis and stuff to help older dogs live better. Me, I’m not so interested in that, so when she asked if she could have a part, this seemed perfect for her. Don’t tell her I said so, but she’s a bit older herself. She was here when I arrived.

We also have two cats in our house. One is named Flynn and the other Kazi, that’s short for Kamikaze and she definitely lives up to her name. That cat is crazy! I like to chase the cats around the house sometimes, but they never seem to understand that all I want to do is play. If they would just let me sniff them, everything would be fine.

Oh, I almost forgot the two new additions. The two girl humans that live here have two guinea pigs. They are Teddy and Squeaker. Dog, are those things loud! I know I’m not supposed to touch them. I got yelled at for licking one, but I just want to see if they squeak any louder when I chew on them. I promise I wouldn’t hurt it.

So long, I’m going to tell Abigail that she needs to write the next entry.

That’s my food bowl, back off.

Shadow

Thanks to Cephus, Nathan, Stephan Todd, maccam87, corcor from Bloggeries for the ideas and assistance this past few week.