I haven’t very inspired to write anything in this blog for the last couple a day. Usually when inspiration doesn’t come knocking on my mind I go around and look for it and just today while I was chasing inspiration I found this really cute piece for everybody to enjoy, so there you go…
There is this partnership going on between dogs and human beings that goes back centuries and centuries and seems to be getting stronger and stronger as time goes by and its really interesting how the relationship between both creatures is evolving for the better (except rare cases like the famous one that involved Michael Vicks with the dogs fighting scandal). Dogs’ loyalty has no boundaries and that is unique. It is true that they depend 100 % on us but we personally don’t mind taking care of them just to give back some of the love that we get from them in an every day basis. In our household we refer to Dali using several nicknames and one of them is Bebote, which is an Spanish expression for Big Baby and paying more and more attention to the various dogs that we meet we have come to the conclusion that no matter how big, how ferocious a dog can appear to be, every dog is a Bebote, have you stopped and looked at the expression in their faces? Their eyebrows tell everything about them. We can not express with words how moved and touched we feel whenever we interact with any dog and that is priceless. You can actually let go of an awful day if you relax and expend time with a dog. Your mind will be taken off the every day problems and the fast pace we all live in. Just try it in the middle of the week, dedicate the entire evening to playing with your dog, run, tossing toys in the air… the stress of your day will be gone and both of your will be happier.
And back to the dogs fighting scandal… there is some good news for the dogs involved in it.
That is a question that you should ask yourself before even considering breeding any kind of dog. Breeding takes a lot of patience, effort, and money and you should be ready to commit to it full time. First of all whoever is thinking of becoming a dog breeder needs to look around their own town and see how many Animal Rescue Societies there are and all of them are packed with dogs and cats that really need a loving home and that might take your idea off of your head. There are several facts that have to be considered and can not be ignored but if you are sure that breeding is right for you there is nothing anybody can do to keep you from doing it, so make sure you read this article to have a more accurate idea of what is needed to become a good breeder.
If you ever doubted whether to take special care of your dog’s mouth or not the article that I just read will take the doubt off of your mind and you’ll run to the nearest pet store and purchase the necessary elements to start cleaning your pup’s mouth… at least I know we will.
We weren’t really sure if this was needed or was just part of this entire trend about treating dogs like they are persons, but now after reading this piece we are truly convinced that dental care for dogs is absolutely necessary. There mouths are every were, they not only use them to eat, but to play and lick every thing that gets in their way so I guess is in their best interest to keep those mouths clean, don’t you think?
Back in the day when we started thinking about getting a dog and we commented among our friends that we wanted a Chihuahua, the first input we always got from them was that Chihuahuas would bark and bark non stop… as you all know by now we went ahead and got Dali regardless. We haven’t had any kind of inconvenient with our little one; actually sometimes we make him bark just for the sake of it or not to forget he is a dog… 
Anyways, we have met dogs that bark and bark and bark all day long no matter what. I have been reading this article that suggests as a solution for that problem an operation to cut the dog’s vocal cords… WHAT?!?!?! I was in shock when a read that the author of this piece even thought of that as a solution, that is cruelty and I think it goes hand to hand with the electric collar some people use to have their dogs not barking. The collar would give an electric jolt every time the dog barks so it make it stop but it will also make your “loved one” fearful and unbalanced. Another way to stop the yap yap is the citronella collar that sprays the smell as soon as the dog begins to bark.
Personally I think that the best way to find a solution is to determine the cause of the constant barking, dogs won’t bark just because; there has to be a reason and if you take the time and dedication to find out the cause and treat it everybody will be happy no cruelty involved…
As Dali grows older we have started to notice he likes the food we feed him less and less every time. We have been feeding him both dry and wet puppy’s food up until now and were told to keep doing so until he becomes one year old. The thing is that our concerns about him not liking what we feed him are really worrisome and we are thinking of trying homemade meals for him which can be very beneficial; much more now when all the frenzy over pets food being recalled seems to have gone forgotten and we don’t really know if there are still risks for our pet right on the pet store shelf. So we have been looking for what’s good and what’s not to include in our recipes for his meals and vegetables, lean meats and whole grains are always at the top of any list of ingredients. We also have discovered really good sites and articles with advice on the “how tos” and “dos” and “don’ts” of making your own pet’s food. Our best bet is to go ahead and use for Dali the same ingredients we would use for ourselves… and as much as he likes it we are not going to include any cork coasters in his diet (he has destroyed about 10 of them right beneath our bed) And while I write this post he is licking the carpet to death and that is another ingredient that is off the list…
I don’t think there is any other breed out there to be considered “aggressive” like Pit Bulls are. I don’t think it is fare either. Pit Bulls have been bred to be protective not aggressive. Thing is that is up to the owners to pay close attention to the dogs reaction to different circumstances, and identify aggressive behavior when it starts to develop in the pet. One of the causes of aggression could be fear. Dogs aren’t naturally attackers of any kind, they are very sociable creatures and it is very rare that a pet will turn against their owner or any other member of their family for that matter. Another reason is protection. If they feel that their pack members, family or even their territory are in danger they might react aggressively so, Pit Bull owners out there, we recommend you keep an eye on your pets reactions and if something unusual shows, the best bet is to take the dog to the Veterinarian who will be able to address the problem along with you. There is some more information about dog’s aggression in this link, it is very interesting.
As I have said so many times, we are new at having a dog, caring for him and getting used to what owning a canine really means. What I haven’t said is that we love it more and more every day. I remember the first day we got Dali we stopped at a pet store and bought a bed, a blanket, some toys, food (way too much for his size :)) and dogs shampoo and conditioner. These last two items ended up in our shopping basket just because. Being newly dog owners we wanted to have it all but we didn’t actually know the real reasons why we should use a special kind of shampoo for him. Thanks to this article we gladly found out that we are doing well since dog’s skin is more sensitive and delicate than that of humans and using beauty products that aren’t designed specifically for their skin could have given our dog a skin rush, allergies, complications with his hair and so on… So whenever people comment that we are treating Dali like he was a human being we can correct them and assure them that he is being treated like a dog and that is why we use dogs shampoo on him ’cause we really know the differences between his nature and ours…
When we first got Dali we had no idea about tea cup versus toy breed, we just loved him from the moment we saw him because he was so tiny and defenseless that it touched our hearts and wanted to take care of him as we do every day. Once we got him we started to pay more attention to the trend of “Tea Cup” and came to the conclusion that in this age and time it has become very popular to have small dogs, no matter which breed as long as it is a “Tea Cup”. Everybody seems to need the smallest computer, the smallest cell phone, the smallest car, the smallest dog… well some things might carry several pros with their smaller size but as we came to find out the smaller the dog, the bigger the problems, and I am not talking about problems for the owners, no it is a diverse account of problems for the pets themselves, since they are smaller than most they are susceptible to more health problems, since their bones are tiny they tend to break easily and so on. That is why I want to advise everyone out there who is looking to acquire a “Tea Cup” of the extra care they need and certainly deserve. But who am I to be advising anyone about anything? Follow this link and see for yourself…
It is quite amazing how proud of our “know it all” humans can be… and after reading some articles about differences in perception I can’t help but think we are just a bunch of fools trying to pass as a superior breed… birds can see way better than we can, they are even able to see ultraviolet light. Cats can see clearly in conditions six times darker than we can. And dogs; our best friends and whom we consider to be their masters; have about 44 times more smell receptors than we do. And cats and dogs can perceive sound that we can’t even dream of and that’s why they have become such sophisticated home alarm systems. The truth is that no one can be certain of how animals perceive the world around them, but one thing can not be denied by any human: Planet Earth is being destroyed day by day by us, human beings, who think of ourselves as superior creatures… what about our eternal companion that only gives us love and friendship… we should follow their example and adapt to the environment that surrounds us instead of changing everything to better serve us. That is just one thought…
