Taking Your Cat for a Walk

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There's nothing strange about taking a dog for a walk, but taking a cat, well that's a whole new ballgame. Though taking a cat for a walk is not as difficult as it may seem. With a little patience and a very secure cat harness, it is possible.

Many people believe that cats should be kept indoor at all times, so our precious wildlife is protected. Cats can be notorious killers of small animals, and keeping them indoors is a great way to keep them under control. But do we know if cats are capable of missing the outdoors? Are we depriving them of some inbuilt instinct to hunt and capture their prey?

An easy way to overcome this is to let our cats outdoors, but only if they are fully under control. There are a few steps to take that will eventually allow you to take your cat outdoors, in a safe and secure manner.

Start by purchasing a cat harness and lead. These are available from your local veterinary surgery or pet supply store. If they don't have any in stock you can also use a very small dog harness, the size that is appropriate for a Chihuahua.

Introduce the harness to the cat slowly, leaving it near its bed and food bowls on a regular basis, over a period of days. Attempt to put the harness on the cat when it no longer appears interested in it. Continue putting the harness on for a two week period, until the cat accepts the harness as part of the daily routine.

The final step is to lead the cat outside, in small bursts only, for just a few seconds at a time. Each day, increase the amount of time spent outside. After a week or two of this, your cat should be very comfortable with the harness and with being outside.

If you have reached this step, congratulations. You can now start to slowly walk your cat for short distances. Soon enough your cat will be sitting at the front door waiting for you to take it for a walk.

Walking your cat is a great way to relieve their boredom and give them some exercise at the same time. It can stimulate their senses, exercise their body and hopefully save some of your household furniture from scratches. Give it a go, your cat will thank you for it.

Names For Dogs

Naming the family puppy can be a difficult task. There are many resources to help out with ideas and brainstorming, but in the end, a name that really fits your dog is hard to find in a book. The Internet provides a wide variety of searchable databases with thousands of names for dogs and some even allow you to purchase products such as nametags directly through their site.

Internet websites providing lists of names for dogs can be very particular. There are amazing amounts of websites that have names for dogs that only would be suitable for a small number of dogs. For example, I have found sites that list only aristocratic names for dogs, Celtic names for dogs, French names for dogs, Japanese names for dogs, Irish names for dogs, and Native American names for dogs. The most common names for dogs are usually non-gender names. Websites listing names for dogs pertaining to male or female gender, as well as non-gender names are also very abundant. The Pet Net Bookstore offers a wide assortment of names for dogs and you can purchase books, etc, directly from their site.

There are several people who want to help out with this difficult family task, and they have created their own personal websites in an attempt to help you brainstorm. These sites are usually just a comprehensive list of names for dogs, but these can still be very helpful suggestions. Try surfing through geocities.com to find this type of website.

There are professional sites that have lots of suggestions too.

www.dog-names.com is a free and searchable database list of over 6000 popular names for dogs and their meaning. www.petnamesworld.com is a really cool site listing a lot of names of dogs- including ethnic names for dogs and puppies.

www.doggynames.com displays thousands of names for dogs and puppies in a searchable database that provides the meanings of the names as well.

www.puppy-names.com has lots of good suggestions for naming your new puppy.

Hillary Kuenn is an author with a psychology major who specializes in creative writing, based on Marketing Strategies. To read more of her articles please visit http://www.dogs-cats-pets.reviewplace.com

10 Quality Play Tips for Your Cat

Boredom can sometimes be the root of feline behavior problems such as neurotic chewing, compulsive grooming, over eating, and in some cases aggression.

Even 15 minutes of quality play with your cat could prove to be beneficial when it comes to improving your cat's mental health and physical well being. In addition, playing with your cat regularly will also help to strengthen your bond.

Here are some fun ideas to add a bit of excitement to your cat's every day routine.

PAPER BAG (without handles)

Cats love little places where they think nobody can see them. Get out a paper bag, and watch how much fun your cat will have with such a simple item. They love to play in and out of it. You could even cut out a few holes in the bag and put in one of his favorite cat toys. This is sure to keep him busy!

BURIED TREASURE

Stuff one of his toys in between the couch cushions, or under a pillow. Your kitty will enjoy this hunting game. Once he has retrieved it, try another hiding place.

SWAT GAME

If you don't have a cat toy that you could dangle in front of your cat, create one. Simply tie a string to the end of a chopstick and attach an object to the string. You could try a feather or one of his existing toys.

Cats love this game of back and forth SWAT!

TOILET PAPER ROLE

Make sure the toilet paper role has no toilet paper on it. He will bat it around for quite a while. You could also put an object in it, such as a solid ball that has a bit weight to it, and then tape up the both ends of the roll. This gives it a wobble when he bats it around.

TISSUE IN A BOX

Your cat will enjoy taking the tissue out one by one. This could make a huge mess, but it's worth it and your cat will have great fun doing this!

LASER LIGHT

Take caution when using a laser light. You should never shine it in the eyes!!! A flashlight may be used instead.

Your cat will love to chase the little light around the floors and walls; it's a great challenge for him and gives him a bit of a workout.

BOUNCY BALLS

They are always BIG fun for your cat!

SOCKS

Your cat will surely enjoy a stuffed sock! Stuff an old sock with different sized cotton balls and a bit of catnip, and watch that crazy cat go!

ICE CUBES

Slide an ice cube back and forth across your kitchen floor. You now have a game of feline ice hockey that he is guaranteed to win!

PING PONG BALLS

A couple of ping-pong balls dropped in your empty bathtub is another great way to keep him entertained.

These are games your cat and you can enjoy together. Two or three play sessions a day, preferably at times when he tends to be most active will keep him happy and fit.

Have fun!

How To Change Your Dog's Diet

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As more and more new findings about your diet come to the surface, many a dog owner will begin to consider changing the diet to the best available so the dog will have good health and live to a ripe old age.

However, it’s very important for any dog owner to take precautions when trying to change a diet. The following 5 steps are suggested in a manner that can be done effectively without throwing the dog off balance:

Step 1: During such times as changing owner or moving to a new location, it's best not to change the diet so as to avoid too much unnecessary emotional strain on the dog. Once the dog becomes accustomed to the new owner or living environment, then it would be the right time to change the dog's diet as planned.

Step 2: When it comes to changing the dogs diet, it should be done by replacing only 25% of the old food with the new. Most dogs will not be able to notice any difference if the old and the new are mixed well enough. They should eat the new mixture as well as the old diet.

Although some might not get used to the new diet initially, patience should be taken to allow for the break-in period to complete. It has taken the dog many months to get used to its old diet; therefore, for the dog to accept a new one it might sometimes take as long. As soon as the dog is eating 25% of the new mixture of diet, then it'd be safe to proceed to Step 3 as shown below.

Step 3: Mix and replace 50% of the old diet with the new this time and make a little less effort to hide the new diet from the dog as it should be more receptive to the new food presented in the new mixture now. When this is evident, proceed to Step 4.

Step 4: This time, it should be easily understood that 75% of the new food be substituted with the old one. And make an even lesser effort to hide the new food from the dog. At this stage, the dog should accept this newly mixed diet in an "as-a-matter-of-fact" manner. It should eat the dog food without any sign of hesitation when first fed.

Step 5: At this point, the dog should be accepting the newly mixed and replaced diet without any problem at all. If the dog accepted the first feeding at Step 4 easily, this final step should just be "a piece of cake." Just like humans, dogs are uniquely different and some are bound to require more patience and attention.

Therefore, don't become discouraged too easily when the dog is not fitting into the new diet in the beginning.

After all, changing a dog's diet is often a time consuming process that should be done with care and understanding.

How To Potty Train Your New Puppy

Many questions arise when you bring your new puppy home.

Such as....
How do you potty train your puppy?
What can you do about your puppy when you are at work?
Are there steps to follow when potty training your puppy?

Keep in mind that raising a new puppy is a lot like raising a child. It is a lot of work, they keep you up at night, they get into things and make messes, but your new baby (puppy) also gives you a lot of joy and love.

Potty training puppies is not that hard.

Here are some proven steps to potty train your new puppy:

1) Purchase a play pen or kennel.

2) Line the kennel or play pen with newspaper or puppy pads.
In the play pen there is room for newspaper on one side and bedding on the other. If you use a kennel it is a little smaller and your puppy may have a few accidents at first. Generally dogs do not potty where they sleep but when they are very young they just can't hold it for long.

NOTE: Using a play pen is such a great way to potty train your puppy. The play pen is also great for when you are unable to give your puppy undivided attention. You can place your puppy in the play pen and it is a safe place for them to play and not get hurt or get into anything.

3) Keep your puppy in the play pen or kennel when not attended or when you are not at home.

4) Within 30 minutes of feeding your puppy make sure there is newspaper or puppy pads accessible for your puppy to go on.

5) If you catch your puppy in the act - place your puppy immediately on the newspaper or pads so they can finish there.

6) Do not hit your puppy. They do not respond to cruelty. Instead reward your puppy with treats whenever they go potty properly on the paper or pads.

7) As soon as your puppy has received its third set of shots you can begin putting them outside to go potty. You can move the newspaper outside to help them get used to going outside.

8)After a while (usually 4-6 months) they will get trained to go outside.

9) The end result will be that you will get a well trained well behaved puppy and a happy owner too!

The first week of potty training your new puppy may be a little trying at times but you have to remember this is a commitment to a life long friend and your new puppy is getting used to his or her new family.

You really want to be consistent in your training of your puppy. Your puppy will be more easily trained if you follow a routine -- otherwise you will confuse your puppy, cause your puppy to have more accidents and have a much harder time with potty training.

Putting time into your puppy at the beginning of its life will pay big dividends in good behavior later.