Sometimes our dogs can get a little fat. This usually happens do to dietary reasons and due to a lack of exercise. The excess weight isn't doing much for your dog's physical appearance or it's health. You can help your dog lose that weight by using the tips included below.Your dog cannot speak, so you have to interpret non-verbal cues. You should never pressure your pet into interacting with strangers, be they human or canine. This could cause your dog to harm a person or another dog. Watch out for those non-verbal clues and let your dog guide any actions you perform.Don't give in to the urge to feed your dog food meant for humans. This teaches dogs bad habits. Your dog may develop digestive problems and become fat if you feed it table scraps. Make your dog stay out of the room when the family is eating.Avoid issues of jealously if you have more than one animal. Particularly if you bring a young dog into the home of an older dog, problems can arise. Be considerate of the patience and energy levels of your senior dog and make sure his feelings aren't hurt by giving the new guy all the attention.Research a particular breed of dog you may be interested in before bringing him home. Lots of people make the mistake of falling in love with a type of dog, then find out later that the animal isn't really for them. Chihuahuas, for example, are a trendy type, but very difficult to fully potty train, especially in colder climates!If training has become routine and boring with your dog, consider introducing agility exercises into the mix. These will still teach your dog to obey and be challenging, but they tend to be a lot more fun than the regular commands. Get the whole family involved by making an obstacle course and working the dog through it frequently.Be consistent when giving your dog commands. This is an area where a lot of dog owners have a problem, especially when you won't feed your dog from the table but your spouse will. Make sure that everyone in your home understands what's acceptable so that the dog will receive a clear message. That will make him more likely to obey.Check and double check your fenced in yard for spots your dog could escape through before letting him roam. The most secure method of keeping your dog outside is on a long run with a strong collar, but if you are comfortable that your fence can hold him, he'll enjoy that even more. Just make sure there's no room for error!Make sure that you trim your dog's nails on a fairly regular basis. You do not want them to get too long since it will make it uncomfortable for them to walk and they may develop health issues. They should be at a length that just about touches the ground.Try to provide your dog with plenty of opportunities to socialize. Take him on walks to the park or beach where he will be around people and other dogs. Encourage his interactions with others and praise him for good manners. He'll be much more comfortable in any setting and generally happier too.It is very common for objects to get lodged in the pads of your dogs paws. Check them regularly to make sure that nothing is in there. If you see something, be very careful about taking it out, or it may become lodged even deeper. It is a wise to use tweezers for this.Dogs sometimes get tiny cuts on their paws. If your dog gets a small cut, wash it with an antiseptic and place a bandage around the area. If the cut seems unusually deep, take your dog to see the veterinarian.Anytime your dog has an accident in your home, remove any trace of it. Use some professional strength cleaners and a good odor remover that works. If you still smell poop, your dog will too and might strike again.If you have a hard time with keeping your dog from chewing your possessions or your furniture, use a taste deterrent. Most pet stores sell bitter apple sprays or other products you can use to keep your dog from chewing. Choose a product that does not contain any chemicals if possible.Make sure there is one policy in your home for giving your dog table scraps. While some owners do not give their dog any table food at all, yet others wait until the family meal is done. This causes less confusion on the part of your dog, and makes meals much easier for your family.Make sure there is one policy in your home for giving your dog table scraps. While some owners do not give their dog any table food at all, yet others wait until the family meal is done. This causes less confusion on the part of your dog, and makes meals much easier for your family.Clean your dog's water and food bowls regularly. Dogs require a clean environment to drink from just like humans. Wash bowls daily and fill them up with fresh water and food.Be sure to keep your dog's nails clipped in order to prevent injury. This can occur both from the dog scratching itself or also from having its nails get caught in things such as carpet. In order to be sure you are cutting the nails correctly, be sure to check with the veterinarian or groomer.With these great tips, you can now really be an exceptional dog owner. This information provides a good foundation for dog ownership that you can build on in years to come. Put these tips into practice, and you and your dog will be better off.Making A Zip Line For Your DogKeeping our dog safe, and abiding by the rules of many of the places we visit, means that Myles spend a lot of time on-leash. Though we’re always exploring new places, life at the end of a six foot tether doesn’t provide him with much freedom. So, to give Myles more room to wander while we’re camping, we made an inexpensive zip line for our dog!Zip Line vs. Tie-OutThe zip line has a lot of advantages over cable tie-outs, which people often use to keep dogs from wandering off.First, jumping up every two minutes to untangle your dog doesn’t happen with a zip line. If you have a dog who’s constantly wrapping his tie-out around the picnic table, tent stake, trees, and your chair, you know how impossible it is to relax with those shenanigans going on!Second, you’ll never again feel the dread of watching your dog bolt to the end of their unforgiving cable tie-out. The zip line has more give and protects pets from injury.Third, the zip-line won’t trip you when you’re stumbling around the campfire in the dark!Materials and AssemblyAll you’ll need to make a zip line for your dog is some nylon rope and two spring clasps. Any hardware store will have these materials, or you can order them online for about fifteen dollars.We chose a rope with a smooth cover, which makes it comfortable to handle when we’re putting it up and taking it down. It also has a bit of stretch for some shock absorbency to protect Myles from a sudden stop.Rod used his Eagle Scout skills to handle the knot tying. He made quick work of the two bowline knots, attaching the spring clasps to the ends of rope.Melting the fibers by passing the raw ends of the rope though a flame keeps them from unraveling. And – SHAZAM – the zip line is ready for action!Deciding On LengthThe most difficult part of making your zip line will be deciding how long it should be.We decided on a 50 foot line, which gives Myles plenty of room to explore. And because having too much is better than not enough.That length also gives us more flexibility if we’re at a campsite with few anchor points. If we don’t have trees, we can attach one end to the ladder on the back of our motorhome and the other to a picnic table or post.Setting Up The Zip LineBefore setting up your dog’s zip line at a park or campground, check the rules to verify that they allow the rope to be wrapped around the trees. Also, placing australian shepherd have tails to 2 inch webbing between the tree and the rope will help protect trees with soft bark. Nails and screws should not be attached to the tree when putting up your zip line.It takes about five minutes to set up our zip line. In the photo below, we’ve wrapped one end of the rope around a tree and clipped the spring clasp on to the rope. Then, keeping the rope taught, we ran the rope to another tree, going around the tree as many times as necessary to take up the slack before clipping the spring clasp back to the rope.The rope is placed high enough to just give Myles the ability to lie down comfortably. Giving him just enough leeway keeps him from building up too much velocity and jerking at the end of his leash if he decides to chase a gofer or give a squirrel a run for his money. We also use the dog zip line when our campsites have a ramada. It’s easy to wrap the line around two posts and snap the ends back on the rope. One Zip Line For Two Dogs When we still had Ty and Buster, we made separate runs for each dog on the zip line.We’d wrap the rope around the first tree and clip the spring clasp back to the rope. Then we’d make a complete pass around a second tree, creating the first section of zip line where Ty’s attached in the photo below. Then we’d wrap the rope around a third tree and clip the spring clasp back to the rope. That created the second run of zip line where Buster is attached in the photo below. Giving the boys their own space kept them from getting tangled around each other!Connecting Dogs A Zip LinePets should never be attached to a zip line by their collar, because it could choke them if they became tangled. When he’s on the zip line, Myles wears his harness, which has a loop on the back to connect the leash. The final step is to slip a heavy-weight carabiner through the leash handle and snap it on the line.What’s “heavy-duty” enough for your carabiners? It depends on your dog! Mass times velocity = force. So, if you have a 50-pound dog and he can accelerate to 5 mph on the zip line, a caribiner rated for 250 pounds should be sufficient. Again, it’s best to err on the side of safety.Place your pup’s water bowl within easy reach and you’re done! Just remember never to leave your pal unattended on the zip line.Have you tried a zip line with your pets? Please share your experience in the comments below! https://www.gopetfriendly.com/blog/making-a-zip-line-for-your-dog/As a serious person who reads on Pets, I thought sharing that short article was worthwhile. Those who enjoyed our page plz make sure you remember to pass it around. I value reading our article about Dogs.
