A dog's eating habits are controlled by three things: its brain, its experiences, and its environment.  The very first experiment in behavioral psychology was done by a scientist named Pavlov who taught dogs to get ready to eat when they heard a certain sound.  Since that initial experiment, scientists have observed over and over how important the things happening around, and to, a dog are when it comes to affecting the dog's eating habits.

Once, when dogs were wild, most of their daily activity was devoted to obtaining a meal.  While the need for this activity has practically disappeared with humans providing their dog food, mealtime still constitutes one of the most important events in a dog's life.  And, many of a dog's behavioral responses are still linked to its eating routine.

Today's dogs have become creatures of habit.  They thrive on monotony and are most comfortable when things remain the same.  Few dogs appreciate a sudden change in their sleeping quarters or the surprise of a new dog food in their bowl.  The more that can be done to prevent change in a dog's feeding program, the better it will be for both the dog and its owner.  Regularity in feeding promotes good appetite, good digestion and regular eliminations.  Therefore, the first general consideration to be made when feeding any dog should be the establishment of a regular feeding schedule with the same dog food and should stay that way without being altered.

Puppies have conventionally been fed small portions of their daily dog food at frequent intervals during the day.  The rationalization behind this is sound, but the frequency of feedings often is too high.  Even newborn puppies do quite well when fed only four times daily.  Some breeders even reduce this to three times daily, but unless your schedule absolutely prohibits it, a minimum of four feedings should be the limit.  The feedings need not be separated exactly six hours apart, but it is desirable to space the feedings as evenly as possible throughout the 24-hour time period.  For example, my own schedule usually works out best when I feed around 7:00 A.M., 12:00 Noon, 6:00 P.M., and 1:00 a.M.  Yours may be different. But so long as his dog food appears regularily your dog will adapt to your scheduele.

The frequency of feedings should not be reduced to three a day until the puppies are weaned.  Whether you are feeding newborn puppies four times daily, or older puppies three times, once the pattern of feedings has been set, it should not be changed, but should occur at the same time every day.

In the past fifteen years there has been a development of new cross breeding of dogs. Popular culture has dictated that these new breeds of "designer dogs" be small to medium in size, cute and easily manageable; the latter still remains to be seen. So, in order to help you learn about just what new cross-breeds are out there today this article will cover the most popular ones as they will be the easiest ones for you to find if your are in the market for a new pup.

The Aussiedoodle is a cross breed between the Australian Shepard and the Poodle. Appearance and temperament can vary with this one but the general look is that of a muscular Poodle that can be taught to herd. They have been known to be predisposed to hip, elbow and patella dysplasia. In intellect they can be very obedient but the key is to socialize them very early.

The Beaglier is a cross breed between the Beagle and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. In appearance they retain much of the Beagle look but are a bit stockier in the leg and wider in the face than a typical Beagle. This dog cannot be left alone […]

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Understanding dog interactive behavior can protect you and your children, and it can protect your dog. Knowing what constitutes dog interactive behavior will help you to react safely.Remember that dogs interact with each other through their behavior, not through language, as we know it. Each movement and pose a dog strikes sends a message to other dogs. These messages can be a warning, they can show playfulness and they can demonstrate friendliness or curiosity.Many people don't know how to read dog interactive behavior and often do the wrong thing. It's important for people to understand and teach their children how to respond when in a dangerous situation.As a child, I always found that freezing was a good way to avert being bitten by a strange dog in the neighborhood. My experience was that freezing confused the dog so that he backed away.To my surprise, I now discover that this was the worst thing I could have done.By freezing, I was using dog interactive behavior without realizing it. This sent the message that I was on high alert and ready to defend myself. You see, when a dog freezes and closes its mouth, he's saying that his next move might be […]

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