Getting a new dog or puppy can be a time of great fun, but it can also be a time of anxiety and new responsibilities. Will this new addition to your family be easy to live with? Will he or she be finicky and hard to train? How will your new dog get along with children? A little research, time, and patience can help build a wonderful new relationship. Here are some tips that can help put things into perspective and help ease the transition from stranger into beloved family member.

Make sure you get a breed of dog that fits with your personal situation. If you have a family, of course, you will want an easy going and kid friendly breed. In regards to your living situation consider whether or not your living space can accommodate a big energetic puppy or a smaller mellower, maybe even older, dog?

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Take your dog to the veterinarian for regular check-ups. This keeps your dog healthy and safe. If you do not have a vet, call a local shelter or other pet-owning friends for referrals. Give your dog a nutritionally balanced diet and plenty of access to water. Your vet can help you determine how much, how often and what kind of food your dog needs.

Give your dog plenty of exercise to keep him in shape. Dogs that get enough play time and plenty of room to run around live longer and have a sense of well-being. They also tend to be better behaved. Enroll your dog in a training class. Training ensures your dog can be a well-behaved companion, and it strengthens your bond with your new dog. It is important for your dog understand how to behave around people and other dogs.

Make sure your dog has tags and proper licensing. Your dog needs identification with your name and contact information as well as a license that shows that his shots are up to date. Hopefully, you will never have to deal with a runaway dog, but with the proper tags and license, you have a much better chance of finding him again. You might also consider micro chipping your dog. A microchip ID will give you a much better chance of finding your lost dog, as it can be scanned by a vet or animal shelter. Even if the collar gets lost, all your information can be found, and your dog can be more easily reunited with you.

Finally, be patient. Have reasonable expectations and remember most behavior problems can be solved.

Boxer Dog Care And Health Tips

If you own a boxer, then you know that owning a dog is a lot of responsibility. A lot of the times, the person that is looking for a puppy just wants a cute pet and forgets about all of the things he will have to do to take good care of puppy. Boxer dog care isn?t just feeding your dog regularly and going out on daily walks, there is much more to it than that. You will have to take care of things like training, grooming, exercising, diet and a lot more if you want your boxer dog to be happy and healthy. Here are some basic tips to help you take care of your beloved boxer dog

Boxer Dog Care: Grooming

boxer-dog-layingBoxer dogs don?t require too much care in the grooming department, but there are still some responsibilities that you will have to take care of. Boxers take pretty good care of their own coat but you will still need to wash them when they get too dirty or start to smell like a sweaty dog. Another thing you can do help your boxer take good care of their coat is brush it two to four times a month. Be sure to brush your dogs coat outside so all the loose hair stays out and not inside on your clothes and furniture.

After a good bath, be sure to clean out your dogs ears. The best way to take care of their ears is to use a clean cotton ball when you clean them instead of a q-tip. Your boxer most likely won?t be too happy about you poking around in their ear and will give you a hard time. With all the moving around, you might accidentally poke your dog with a q-tip. It?s also easier to clean your dog?s ears with a cotton ball because q-tips are designed for the small human ear and dog?s ears are much larger.

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Washing and cleaning is a must and probably seems like common sense to most dog owners when it comes to taking care of their dogs, but dental hygiene is often forgotten. Just as humans need to brush their teeth and clean them regularly, dogs need to dental cleaning as well. No that doesn?t mean you have to take your boxer to the dentist for regular checkups, but it does mean that you should brush your dogs teeth once or twice a week. You should also get your boxer minty bones to chew on to keep his breath smelling fresh.

Boxer Dog Care: Exercise

A topic that doesn?t usually come up when talking about boxer dog care is exercise. This however is extremely important if you want your boxer to be happy and healthy. Boxers were bred as hunting dogs and were running and chasing down prey constantly, so there is nothing that your boxer loves more than running around. So if you go on morning runs be sure to take your boxer with you.

Regular exercise can prevent some health problems and can keep the boxer in a great shape. If your boxer is overweight, giving a good diet and good amount of activity for your boxer is the best thing you can to take good care of him.

Boxer Dog Care: Health

When you ask yourself ?How can I take care of my boxer dog?? or ?What are some important boxer dog care tips?? chances are the first thing that comes to your mind is the well being of your dog. Your dog?s health is the most important part and the ultimate goal when you think of boxer dog care.

The basics of keeping your dog healthy are a good diet, fresh water and regular veterinary checkups. Each one is equally important when it comes to the boxer?s health. You need a good diet full of nutrients and vitamins so your dog can develop into a healthy and strong boxer dog. Fresh water is vital to any living organism including your boxer. Water keeps your dog hydrated and helps get rid of bacteria and other unwanted things in your dog. If you want your dog to be protected against diseases and viruses that are floating around, visiting the vet is essential. Veterinarians went to medical school to learn the best ways to keep your dog healthy and are specialized in animal health.

If you want your boxer to be healthy and happy, you will have to take care of a lot of responsibilities. Owning a dog isn?t easy, but all the effort is worth it. There is no better reward than knowing your boxer dog is happy and healthy.

I strongly recommend you read the Boxer Dog Owners Guide if you own a boxer. It?s a complete guide to owning a boxer with important information about health, diet, exercise, training, obedience and more. It is a must have for every boxer dog owner.

Question by redcore86: Do you think it should be required by law for potential dog owners to go through dog care classes?
I think so. There are so many ridiculous people out there and in this section. I mean it is common sense really and they are usually unprepared to handle anytype of dog care, because they cant afford it, are too lazy, and etc

Best answer:

Answer by Yo LO! Aussie Grins
Yes and a general “Aptitude” test before that.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Keep your dog safe in your backyard. All dogs suffer when it is too hot. Some are particularly vulnerable to heatstroke. If you are in a hot climate, make sure you have a shaded area or a porch where the dog can get out of the sun. It is vital they have a secure source of fresh water; by secure we mean he can’t easily tip it over. Common sense is important when deciding whether it is safe to leave your dog outside: a short coated dog or a companion dog that is bred to spend his life indoors will not be able to tolerate being left outside in a cold climate. Your dog care tips include:

Avoid Dog Poisoning

Antifreeze kills dogs. It is reported that antifreeze has a taste that dogs like so they are naturally attracted to it. As a responsible dog owner, this dog care tips is one of the most important dog health care tips that I can give you. Make sure that antifreeze is stored in a sealed container and when flushing your radiator that you are quick to thoroughly wash away any spills that may occur.

Read more on How to Clean Dogs Ears and How to Stop a Puppy from Biting and How to Stop a Dog from Barking

Protect Your Dogs Paws

Protect your dogs paws from harmful irritants such as salt when walking your dog in the winter.

You should know that both ice and salt can be harmful to the pads on your dogs paws. Both can damage the skin leading to tears or possible infections on the pad of the paw. Also, most dogs will lick the salt off of their paws thus digesting the chemicals found in the road salt. Pet supply store. Your dog may resist wearing the booties at first but you should be persistent in order to protect their sensitive paw pads. Play it safe and train your dog to wear dog booties.

Safe confinement:

New dogs that are just starting to learn the basic of potty training should be put in a safe confinement. Safe confinement like crates or cages is recommended for this dog training. Crates or cages can give the dogs the right idea about potty discipline. The size of the crate or cages should not be large, because large sizes will encourage the dog to eliminate on any part of the crates or cage. To be more effective, don’t put any newspaper, box or blankets inside the crates or cage to avoid your dog from chewing it

Proper Training:

One effective way to train them is by using a leash. Since they are coming from crates or cage, they will be playful and distracted when you let them out so it is recommended that you use a leash.

Leash is an effective tool to get back their attention to their potty training. You can use the leash to also make directions where your dogs will eliminate. But remember that you should always supervise your dog when on a leash. Using a leash will be more effective with proper use of words in dog potty training. Words like “outside” or “let’s go pee” will show your dogs that the right place to eliminate is outside the house and not inside the cage or the house. Aside from the word outside or let’s go pee, you can create your own “command name” that will signal to your dog that it is time for eliminating or urinating outside. Whatever the “command name” that you will use, you have to be consistent in using it in training your dog to let your dog get used to it.

Question by AMac: Anyone have information on how much is appropriate to charge someone for house-sitting/dog care?
I live in the San Francisco Bay area (Palo Alto area). One of my clients has asked if I would like to take care of her beautiful home and her dog for 2 &1/2 days. Involves light gardening, walking dog 3X per day and staying overnight. How much is appropriate to charge?

Best answer:

Answer by littlechrismary
10 bucks a day per dog.

Add your own answer in the comments!