Teacup Yorkie: Is It Worth Buying?

By on September 4th, 2010

Do you want a Teacup Yorkshire terrier to be your canine companion? If you do, the first thing that would come to your mind would be how to find out someone who breeds teacup Yorkies so that you can get a miniature sized puppy for yourself.

Before you proceed any further though you might be interested to know that there is no such thing as teacup Yorkies. There is no separate breed of Yorkies that can be classified as teacup Yorkies or miniature Yorkies.

In fact the Yorkies breed is already a toy breed as classified by the American Kennel Club and there is in fact no definition of the term teacup Yorkies. Yorkies themselves are very small dogs and come in very small sizes, although some dogs may grow up to become quite large, but for most cases this is quite uncommon.

Most of the Yorkshire Terriers that you would come across weigh between 4-7 lbs. And while anything heavier or larger is generally considered to be normal, Yorkies having a body weight of less than 4 lbs are considered to be underweight and abnormal.

However, there are unscrupulous breeders out there who will resort to such ploys and plays on words as teacup Yorkies to get your custom. When you’re going around looking for your new Yorkie you will most definitely want to remember this fact. Any responsible Yorkie breeder worth his or her salt won’t sell you a Yorkie that will grow to be undersized.

If you’re wondering how they can tell which Yorkie puppies will be underweight, the only real reason is because they have years of experience behind them as well as the fact that even as puppies these small Yorkies will be the runts of the litter.

And the reason why a good reputable Yorkie breeder won’t sell you “teacup Yorkies” is because most breeders take pride in their work. They know that such small teacup Yorkies will more than likely face many health problems over their lifetime.

This can cause a lot of heartache and emotional pain to those owners who are not prepared to deal with this fact. It can cost the owner of a teacup Yorkie a lot of money in order to keep its prized Yorkie in better health.

You are best advised to stay away from any person or breeder who is trying to sell a teacup Yorkie to you, no matter how much money is involved. These breeders are not at all genuine and specialize in breeding small sized Yorkies which are either suffering from health issues or may suffer from serious health disorders in the future and possibly maybe even certain kinds of genetic disorders.

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Getting A New Dog, Get Good Guidance From A Guide Book

By on August 12th, 2010

There aren’t many homes that have a dog and have not found it adorable and life changing. It is just the characteristics of this animal that it blends into the family so well and makes a lot of difference to the members. Should you be considering to acquire a pet, you should first refer to a good dog book to help make this decision.

An important aspect that you need to look at is whether the dog can fit into your lifestyle. If you’d prefer to travel a lot around, you cannot obtain a big pet and having it with you constantly is impossible and simultaneously keeping it locked in the home constantly is cruel.

Besides these you must also see if you get the pet do you know the potential threats or problems you could face and how will you train the pup to avoid these problems. Getting all these factors sorted out before buying a pup can be quite a daunting task.

A good starting point would have been a guide book on the various pet breed and their behaviour. When you purchase any guide book make sure that it has something more than just pictures from the breeds. Yes they may be amusing but will not help you make a sound decision.

For some quality information you could look at Choosing a Dog Breed Guide. It is rather diverse in the pet breeds that it covers. So you get a wide range of options to consider before zeroing on the breed that you feel will be the best for your house. It also gives you good amount of information on these breeds.

In general choosing a good pet breed that can suit your family and one which your family can adopt is a big question. Good guide books can help solve this problem. Among them Choosing a Pet Breed Guide is among the better books to start with.

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Brindle Boxers

By on August 4th, 2010

Have you been thinking of getting a Boxer as a pet but have no idea regarding how to proceed, then let me tell you that what you really need is a methodological approach to this. This means that the first thing to do before getting a dog is finding everything about Boxers. This will help you in your decision and also make you aware of one interesting fact about dogs which is that they come is several colors. You can have a fawn colored, red, white and also a brindle colored Boxer.

There is no color favorite among Boxer owners, although brindle colored Boxers have their own appeal. It is also common to find white markings on Boxers of all varieties.

If you have ever been an owner of a boxer, then you know how playful and feisty Boxers can be. You would also be aware of the fact that they make good pets and there is no need to be scared of their ferocious behavior.

As mentioned earlier, Boxers are available in all shades from red to white to fawn, and among these brindle dogs are the most popular. But all this has no link with a dog’s temperament and if you think that the temperament of a Boxer would depend on its color then you are totally mistaken.

Boxers are very playful and friendly in nature and early training can help them interact and live in harmony with other pets. A number of reasons can be cited to prove that a Boxer is a family dog, but one of the main reasons is that a Boxer is a loyal, playful and affectionate dog.

Another important characteristic of boxers is that they are highly intelligent and can be easily trained. They have a fast learning cycle that is why they can be easily trained, although they may get into trouble sometimes. Boxers can also be used a competition dogs, not only as show dogs but also in the obedience category.

One should also note that some Kennel Clubs do not register or accept white Boxers, although they may accept all other colored Boxers such as fawn, red or brindle ones.

If you would like to get your pet dog registered in a Kennel Club then it is better that your go for a brindle, fawn or red Boxer instead of a white one. Boxers are called so because of the fact that they sometimes use their front paws in a manner similar to human boxers.

Check out this great dog book on dog breeds spitz.

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Why You Should Keep Your Koi Pond Clean

By on July 19th, 2010

The primary concern of any koi pond keeper, indeed of any fish pond keeper, it to preserve the pond water at a high level of hygiene. This basically means that you have to keep the nitrate and ammonia levels down. However, the fish will not help in this endeavour, and nor can they, since they live and defecate in their surroundings, the water. You can accurately say that the live in their own toilet bowl.

Therefore, it is up to you, as their benefactor, to keep their water as clean as possible. This is actually not so difficult and much or the decontamination process can be automated, leaving you, the owner, to only have to carry out routine, weekly tests.

The first check that you should carry out can be made on a daily basis if not more often, when you give food to your fish, does the water look clear? Is it green? Are there lots of leaves floating around in it? If it is clear enough to see the bottom of the pond, you are probably doing OK, but do not rely on that, wait for the weekly chemical check up.

Never forget that you have created an unnatural environment for your fish to live in. It is nearer to nature that a fish tank, but it is a long way from being a river or a lake. This is why the bigger your pond is, the simpler it will be to maintain, because the closer it will be to the real thing.

The smaller your pond, the more that you will have to depend on water filtration and oxygenation systems to keep the water crystal clear. One way of helping to maintain clear water is not to over feed. Most fish pond owners give far more fish food that the fish have need of.

This results in more excrement and more rotting food on the bottom of the pond. All this excess energy in the water is happily soaked up by algae, which will also suck the oxygen out of the water as it blooms. If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing to do is reduce the amount of feed and clean the sides of the pond of algae. If you do not, the lack of oxygen will stress out your fish and stressed fish are more prone to disease.

Keep the water in your pond circulating as much as you can, as this will reintroduce oxygen into the water that the fish, algae and plants have removed. The typical methods of doing this are to have a fountain, a waterfall and an aerator (or bubbler, like you see in fish tanks).

Another way of dealing with oxygen and algae problems is to not overstock your fish pond. Koi will breed freely, so if you just start your population off with a few fish, you will soon have many more. They know when there are too many of them and they will eat the fry or control the breeding in other ways. If you do all you can to give your fish a good milieu, they will do the rest.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with fish pond accessories. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site now for some great deals.

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Horseback Riding Lessons – Does Your Horse Pay Attention

By on July 1st, 2010

Whether you’re taking horseback riding lessons on a school animal or your own mount, it’s important to have your equine partner’s full attention. Otherwise no benefit will be gained from your sessions.

Horses used in riding schools often doze during lessons, as the routine is frequently unvarying because repetition is the way to learn. It’s especially hard for beginner riders to change the sequence of movements while they’re still concentrating on how to give the aids correctly and steering the horse.

However, a major component of learning to ride is to gain the ability to change the routine sufficiently to prevent the horse from dozing off during the session. Luckily, several techniques exists which will help maintain the horse’s attention and focus.

Select the tactics that you are capable of undertaking and put them to work in making the horseback riding experience more enjoyable.

When taking horseback riding lessons request from your instructor permission to try the following exercises, or at least those that are within your skill level. Perhaps the entire class would like to try them.

1. Walk

Take the horse for a walk on a light contact one time through the arena, using two reins. Next, traverse a 20 meter circular path, beginning with the horse’s easier side, using a heavier contact. Demand longer strides, followed by shorter ones, followed by longer ones.

Slow the walk down before circling in the other direction. Before bending your horse the other way, walk him in a straight line for one horse’s length. Ask him to alternate between longer and shorter strides once more.

When doing this you should notice that the horse is more alert, because it is being forced to pay attention to keep up with your movements.

Now ride the horse in figure eights, try to keep the changes between right and left as smooth as possible. Always walk one horse length before you change directions.

2. Trotting Techniques

The walking exercise can be done at a trot as well as a walk, it is a great way to avoid leaning on one rein and getting the horse bogged down in one direction.

Introduce changes between trotting and walking, and then return to trotting once more. Try hard to make easy changes, in order to get the horse to listen compliantly to our aids and starts to accede to your contact.

Riders of a more advanced level may perform trotting serpentines in the arena in three equal loops. Riding from one longer side to the other one, request that the horse complete a couple of walking strides prior to ramping back up to a trot. The horse will begin to anticipate your aids, which is a positive thing, though you should make use of your legs to assure that you are always moving forward. It is important that the horse not become anxious as he begins to expect a shift downward. Therefore, you do not want to consistently request walking at the same spot.

3. Canter Techniques

Request lengthening as you reach the long side, and gain control of the horse prior to reaching the short side. Consistent switching from canter to trot and then a resumption of canter, incorporating cantering changing to walking, will help your horse remain at attention, as lengthening and shortening the horse’s stride on the circular 20 meter paths.

All the above exercises help your horse become attentive because you’re varying the routine and suppling his body, making it easier for him to do as you ask. If you make your horse’s task more pleasant for him, he’ll make your horseback riding lessons more pleasant for you.

On his horseback riding lessons site, Jim provides simple and comprehensive lessons including video instructions. Learn how to ride a horse the safe and the comfortable way.

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Caring For Your Fish Pond

By on June 26th, 2010

Do you like the sound of running water? Do you find the sound relaxing? Well, you can easily produce the sound of moving water in your own garden. You can put in a fish pond or a water garden. So, if you think that your garden needs landscaping, it might be a good idea to consider a fish pond or water garden.

People think that a fish pond takes lot of looking after, but that is not inevitably true. The truth is that the larger the fish pond, the less effort you have to put into it. This is because a big pond can create its own ecosystem, whereas a small fish pond needs help.

The ways that you can help a small fish pond be a decent environment for your fish are as follows:

Pond Filters – use a pond filter with a good pump. Do not forget that you could use a solar powered pump. It will save on the environment and on your purse. You should use a pond filter on a small pond, because the ecosystem cannot cope with all the plant waste of a small ornamental pond on its own. A pond pump will feed the filtration system and a waterfall or fountain if you wish.

Your pond filtration system should be left running twenty-four hours a day, but you can not just set it and forget it. Check that the pump is running daily and keep the filter as clean as needed for it to do its job. You may find that you have to clean it two or three times a week in the summer and autumn but only once a week in the winter and spring.

Leaf Netting: stop leaves from clogging up your pond in the autumn. The net should be poised a foot or so above the pond to prevent autumn leaves falling into the water and rotting.

Feeding: all fish should be fed fish food, not bread or scraps. Some fish ought to have specific fish food in order to preserve their colour. When you buy your fish, the salesperson should inform you what they eat. In general, the larger the pond the less trouble feeding becomes as they will eat natural food like insects, grubs, larvae and flies.

Fish need less food in the winter when they become semi-dormant and live off the fat reserves that they built up in the warmer months, so give food often in the summer and autumn, but less often in the winter. You must look to see if surplus food is left floating on the surface.

Winter: make sure that there is a hole in the ice so that the water can take in oxygen and the fish can feed if they wish to. You can buy a floating de-icer or some people float a round football in a hoola-hoop, which seems to work unless the temperature gets very low.

In fact, the hoola-hoop is a good idea all year round really. If you place the food in the hoop, it remains in one place and you can see if you have given too much. It also makes a nice site to see all the fish feeding in a shoal.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is now concerned with water garden pumps. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site right away for some extra special deals.

categories: fish,pond,water,home improvement,family,pets,animals,recreation,equipment,entertainment,outdoors,other,uncategorised,happiness

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What Would A Stroller Do To Your Cat’s Life?

By on June 16th, 2010

I saw something the other month that I’d never seen before. At first I thought it was strange, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I’m talking about cat pet strollers.

Have you ever seen one of these? They’re becoming more popular, but I live in a small town, and I’d never seen one before in my life. Like I said, at first I wondered why in the world anyone would want a stroller for their cat. But as I kept thinking about it, it made more and more sense. And now, I’ve also the proud owner of a pet stroller.

Cat pet strollers may seem like an extravagant luxury, but they’re not. You’re probably thinking, oh, come on, who ever takes their cat out for a walk? But that’s the whole point.

Cats and dogs are different, and dogs love being out with their master, even on a leash, and are happy to follow along, or take the lead as the case may be. They would walk all day with you if they had the energy. But cats? Not so much.

You’d be dragging Fluffy along, and she wouldn’t like it one bit. And pretty soon, you’d have one very unhappy kitty on your hands. But with cat pet strollers, your furry friend doesn’t have to walk to accompany you.

That’s the wonderful things with these strollers. Your cat can come along on your walk or your jog safely and securely in her stroller. She will still get all the fresh air and mental stimulation while being safe.

Pet strollers aren’t great just for walks. They are great for traveling in general, while going to the vet, going out on your own patio or in the back yard watching the birds and squirrels. Once you get a stroller for your kitty you’ll have a very happy and content feline.

Read more about pet gear strollers for dogs and cats and pet cat stroller on our site dedicated for our furry friends, catsdogsandpets.com

categories: pets,cats,dogs,animals,pet supply,home,shopping,sports,recreation,family

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Maintaining The Oxygen Level In Your Pond

By on June 8th, 2010

We all realize that stress kills in the human world, but did you realize that stress kills in the animal kingdom as well? It should not really come as much of a surprise an humans are only intelligent animals anyway. Stress kills animals, as well as fish as certain as it kills us.

However, fish do not pay bills and most of them do not even care about their kids. Some fish even eat their own children, so why does stress build up in a fish?

Well, stress can build up in a fish for many reasons, but the main one is bad environment, which means water that contains a chemical imbalance or a lack of oxygen. Fish can also get stressed, if it does not have anywhere to hide from predators or the sun.

It is straightforward to give your fish somewhere to hide. You can grow plants in tubs or buy floating lilies and you can also create caves of a sort for the fish to go into. A chemical imbalance can be checked with a kit and rectified by following the instructions that came with that testing kit.

Algae can have a huge effect on the amount of oxygen in your pond’s water. During the day, the algae consumes carbon dioxide and produces oxygen – all well and good – but at night the opposite is true and a mass of algae can suck all the oxygen out of your pond water in no time at all.

So you have to control the amount of algae in your pond. And it is no good scraping it off the walls and hoping it will die, because rotting vegetation also uses up oxygen. Surplus algae has to be removed. A rule of thumb to check whether your pond water contains enough oxygen is to watch your fish. If they are frequently gulping air at the surface, then your pond water is oxygen deficient.

Warm water has less capacity to hold water than cool water. Once water temperature reaches 80F or 25C, then you can be fairly certain that your pond water requires mechanical aeration. A fountain or a waterfall may not be enough, but it could be – it depends on the size of your pond, the number of plants, the quantity of fish, the surface area of the pond and the amount of algae.

It is not easy to determine the oxygen content of the water in your pond, but you can keep an eye on the general appearance of your pond and its contents. Algae is bad news, in general, do you have a lot of it? Are your plants, particularly the lilies doing well? Are your fish gasping at the surface? Are they lethargic or lively?

By observing at these indicators you should be able to get a good idea of what is going on in your pond. If you do not have a fountain, install one. Are things any better? If not, install a bubbler. Did that help? If not enough get a better filtration system and let the water run back into your pond via a waterfall. If that does not help, give up and try bee-keeping!

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is now concerned with water garden pumps. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site now for a great deal.

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How To Take Care For Your Fish Pond In Winter

By on May 18th, 2010

If you live in a temperate zone, fish from temperate zones can effortlessly overwinter outside. On the other hand, tropical fish would die without a water heater. We will be looking at how you can keep cold water, temperate climate fish contented during a typical winter.

If you live in an region where winter is cold enough to create ice, you will need to bear this in mind when you construct your fish pond. How thick is ice normally in your region? In most cases, a ‘deep end’ of thirty to forty five inches should be sufficient, but you will have to get advice locally if you do not know the answer. A pet store, a neighbour or the zoo can provide the necessary advice.

The other problem with winter and ice is that a layer of ice prevents poisonous gases escaping and oxygen entering, as it would do in the usual course of events. Therefore, you will have to ensure that there is always a hole in the ice. However, smashing a hole will scare the fish.

There are several ways by which this air hole can be maintained under mild freezing conditions:

Aerator: a bubbler, can be placed in the pond. It has to be under water, obviously, and it has to be pretty vigorous, so that the bubbles keep breaking the ice above it. If it is placed in water that is too shallow, it can freeze up too, so that is a consideration to be borne in mind.

De-icer: a mild, floating heater. This kind of device does not create enough heat to threaten pond liners, but it is sufficient to keep a small surface area ice free under most weather conditions.

Water pump: a pump pumping water at force through the surface can keep a breathing hole in your pond, but only under fairly mild icy conditions. The pump must be placed in deep water or it could freeze solid.

Hoola-Hoop: if the weather is only mildly icy, a hoola-hoop with a round football floating in its centre can be effective at stopping ice forming within the hoop. The wind keeps the ball moving within the hoop and ice does not get a chance to form.

This hole in the ice is critical. Your fish will be semi-dormant in the winter and you may not see them for months, but they still have to breathe and excrete and the gases that that and the plants give off have to be permitted to escape or they will poison the water and kill your fish.

At this time of the year it is extremely important not to over-feed. Fish build up layers of fat during the summer and live off that fat during their semi-hibernation during the winter, but they do eat sometimes. The only problem for you is that you will not know which days they decide to come up for a nibble.

This is where the hoola-hoop can come in handy again. If you only feed within the hoola hoop, you can see how much food has been eaten and how much has been left. Aspire to give no more than they will eat.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is now involved with water garden pumps. If you are interested in a Solar Powered Pond Pump, please go to our web site now for a great deal.

categories: fish,pond,water,garden,home improvement,recreation,pets,animals,outdoors,other,uncategorised,family,environment

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Benefits of Dog Pepper Spray

By on May 14th, 2010

Dog bites can be one of the most dangerous of all type animal bites if not properly treated. Annually, many die as a result of rabies contracted from dog bites. Of those who are bitten by a dog, many victims tend to neglect such bites because they don’t understand just how serious they can be. Thinking the wound can be managed by simple cleansing or by taking antibiotics. What these people don’t realize is that a vicious dog bite can lead to serious infections, deformity, disability and even death.

You can escape from an attacking dog through several means. Keeping a safe distance between the canine and yourself is the best way. Another effective way is to avoid provoking the dog to attack you. If you encounter such a scenario, slowly retreat and move away from the animal. However, there may come a time when you will find yourself in this scenario, no matter how careful you are. This is where the dog pepper spray comes into action.

A dog pepper spray is an animal repellent used specifically against a threatening canine. It comes in an aerosol container which you can take along in your knapsack, handbag, or attach case. For further ease of use, you can even affix it to your belt or key chain. There are several advantages of using defense sprays. Once it is sprayed on the animal, the symptoms of dog pepper spray will be straightaway. The effects of the spray last long enough giving you enough time to get away from the animal to safety. The pepper spray will cause so much agony and discomfort that the dog will turn his attention from attacking you to recuperating from the burning sensation. If you a lover of animals, you don’t need to worry about these chemical substances because they do not cause lasting or critical injury to the animal. The effects of the spray are non-lethal and will disappear in about half an hour. One other reason why this type of animal repellent is used widely is because it is legal to use anywhere in America, providing it is used only for self defense. There may be restrictions in some cities or states, so always check your local law enforcement agency for any state’s ordinances covering the use of pepper sprays.

What is the difference between human pepper spray and dog pepper spray? The pepper resins in dog pepper spray are not as strong as the ones in the human edition. The amount of pepper resin present in this type dog repellent is typically less than half of the pepper resin in human spray. In case of a crisis, you could use human grade pepper spray to stop a dog attack but not a dog grade pepper spray on attacking villains because it will be ineffective.

You possibly will need protection from some dogs if they attempt to bite you, even if you are a dog aficionado. Because all animals are dangerous by nature, do not underestimate a dog’s ability to harm you. Using dog pepper spray is not only effective, but it is also an animal-friendly way to safeguard you and your loved ones from potential dog attacks.

To learn more about dog pepper spray and other animal repellents visit www.a1selfdefenseproducts.com.

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