Ask any satisfied pet owner and they will tell you the same thing- delicious homemade dog treats are the best way to a healthy and happy pet. This is not to say all commercial pet food are bad-there are some good brands available in the grocery store; but homemade is still better. So are you ready to make some treats? You will know how to make dog treats by the time you finish this article.

Before anything else, have your pet examined by a licensed veterinarian. You need to know the condition of his health so you can make necessary adjustments in his meals. Does the animal have a health issue that warrants a specific diet modification? You can make it in such a way that you find recipes that include food with the needed nutrients in his snacks.

Decide on the kind of treats you want to make for the dog. Generally you can choose if you want the sweet variety or the more savory treats. When you decide on what you want, make sure that the recipe you have does not contain ingredients that are harmful to canines. You can look up these toxic food substances and post it in your kitchen.

After, it’s time to prepare the things you need. What are you putting in your culinary creations? Any kind of meat should be good except for salmon and raw fish. Salmon has been said to have caused infections in canines on a number of cases. Organ meat like liver is good; however, you must serve it in measured amounts. Too much of liver results in vitamin A toxicity.

If you want to put in fruits for the added vitamins, you can. However, avoid grapes, apricots, peaches, cherries and avocados. Some of the seeds of these fruits activate cyanide poisoning. Why not also buy special canine related cookie cutters and molds? It makes your treats even more interesting and more than that-other people might find it fun and would want to order some from you as well.

Now you have everything prepared, it’s time to get some cooking done! Do what the recipe tells you to do-boil, bake, toast or assemble the food together. When cooking meat, take out all the bones as these bones splinter when cooked. Otherwise, the canine might choke on his snack. Chop up these goodies in small pieces so it will be easy to chew and enjoy.

So now you’re done making the treats-what next? It is a good idea to make a few extra batches of the treats and keep them to save on time and money. Store the homemade treats in a sealed bag and keep them in the freezer until you need them. Make sure you defrost before you serve it to your eager pets-chilled teeth will make it harder to enjoy yummy food.

Now you know how to make dog treats-it’s pretty simple right? Just about anybody can do it. Go ahead and start applying what you just learned today.

Discover how to make dog food? You can find out about this and other fantastic homemade dog treats at HealthyHappyDogs.com-the site where your pet is tops

All dogs need some form of grooming, there is no question about that. Even hairless chihuahuas should be wiped with a damp chamois leather to get rid of loose skin and dust. However, one of the main purposes for grooming your dog regularly is so that you can check him for skin problems such as allergic reactions to flea or tick bites. Another reason is bonding. In a pack situation, dogs groom other dogs and are themselves groomed every day and dogs like it.

Therefore, you should groom or brush your dog at least once a week and take him to a dog parlour every three, four or six months depending on how fast his hair or fur grows and whether you can manage it or not. Having said that, you will find grooming simpler if your dog’s hair is the right length, because it will not tangle so readily.

You should wash your dog every month or so and groom him at at a minimum of once week. This will ensure that your dog gets accustomed to being bathed and handled. If this is done from the puppy age, most dogs will not only accept it, but they will come to enjoy it, although there will always be those dogs that bolt for it as soon as they see a hose and a bowl. They get to know what to look out for. If you talk to him constantly, comforting him and sometimes giving a doggie treat, he should soon come to accept the unavoidable – that he is going to be bathed and groomed.

Actually, most dogs enjoy the grooming, although many only tolerate the bathing. Anyway, bathing and grooming regularly will keep the job as simple as it can be. Once your dog is no longer a puppy, say after six months or so, you might take him to a professional groomer in a so-called ‘Poodle Parlour’. By that time, he should be becoming accustomed to the routine and he will accept the treatment from strangers more readily too.

You should look for professional groomers in adverts in the pet store or the vet’s or just ask your friends and neighbours for suggestions. Locating a groomer should not be problem, but you may have to try a couple before you find one whose style of cutting you like or who is adaptable enough to fit in with your lifestyle.

When you drop your dog off at the Poodle Parlour, ask when it will be ready to be picked up. Turn up fifteen minutes beforehand and you could be lucky enough to witness first hand how your dog is being treated and how your dog is getting on with the groomer. This is priceless information, because it will help you make up your mind whether the groomer is getting on with your dog or not.

If the groomer is doing a good job, but your dog is anxious, you can help put him at ease. If the groomer is being a bit too rough, then you will know whether to change Poodle Parlours or just have that groomer banned from taking care of your dog.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many topics, but is currently concerned with indoor mosquito repellent. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Mosquito Repellent For Dogs.

We all love our dogs, don’t we? We love to give them a little delicacy sometimes as well. Some dogs are so cute when they beg for a bit of what you are eating, but the fact is that some foods that are alright for us to eat are not so good for dogs. This should not come as much of a surprise as you would almost certainly be quite ill too if you ate a half-rotten bird that you found in the hedgerow.

The most common human food that will kill your dog is chocolate or more accurately the theobromine in the chocolate. Some chocolate has more theobromine in it than others. For instance, white chocolate has only 1 mg of theobromine per 28 g (1 oz) whereas baking chocolate has 450 mg per 28 g.

So how much theobromine does it take to kill a dog? Well, the response to that depends on several considerations like age and health but most importantly the weight of the dog. Let us say that an average, knee-high, collie-type dog weighs 20 kilos (about 45 lbs.), then it would take about 250 kg (560 lbs) of white chocolate to harm him, but he probably would have exploded by then anyway having eaten 12.5 times his body weight in food.

However, the scenario changes quickly when we examine other types of chocolate. It would take about 1.5 kg (3 lbs) of milk chocolate to have the same outcome and about a third of that in sweet cacao or half-a-kilo (1 lb). The most hazardous substance is baking chocolate. It only takes just over 100g or four and a half ounces of baking chocolate to give a medium sized dog life threatening problems.

Therefore, the biggest danger would be of a dog eating a chocolate cake with chocolate icing or topping. Children are the worst, albeit innocent, culprits: they frequently give dogs cake at parties and it is one to look out for.

So, what should you do if your dog eats chocolate? It depends on the quantity and the quality and your dog. The safest thing would be to take him to the vet as soon as possible, but if you are confident you could wait for symptoms like vomitting, diarrhea, twitching, seizure, palpitations or undue wetting.

Theobromine attacks a dog’s central nervous system so not all dogs will react in the same way, but you will definitely discern that your dog is perplexed, befuddled and distraught.

If you make your mind up to treat your dog yourself, the first thing you should do is stimulate vomitting all the while comforting your dog. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide should do the trick. Give your dog a teaspoon full if it is under 10 kg and a tablespoon if it is over 10 kg. Give every 15 minutes until it takes effect. After this, try to get some activated carbon into him to soak up any residual poison. Follow the recommendations on the box.

If you live miles from anywhere or you think that your dog is at high risk (the school vacation season is the worst), you could get a pet’s first aid box from your vet. They are not expensive and have a long shelf life and you will not be caught out if someone gives your dog chocolate.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with researching What to do if your dog eats chocolate. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at http://whattodoifyourdogeatschocolate.com.