Puppy Wraps

Today’s pet food market is larger and more diverse than ever before.  While this offers a large number of choices in various types of pet food, it also presents a dilemma in choosing the healthiest food for your dog.  Are generic or store brands suitable for a dog?  What about familiar name brands like Purina and Alpo?  Are the pricier brands that advertise specially formulated ingredients (Science Diet, Eukanuba) really living up to their claims and worth the extra money?  All of these are valid questions that loving dog owners deserve to have answered.

Dog Food Considerations
There are several factors to consider when choosing the right food for your dog.  Different dogs have different nutritional needs at different stages in their lives.  Some things to consider when selecting the food you’ll give your dog follow.

The Dog’s Age
Puppies have different nutritional requirements than adult dogs just as human children have different needs than adult people.  Senior dogs also have different requirements than younger adult dogs.  Make sure that you select a food that is appropriate for your dog’s stage in life.
The Dog’s Health
Does your dog have a specific medical condition?  If so, the food you choose may need to be partially dictated by that condition.  Diabetic dogs need low-glucose foods and dogs with specific allergies (yes dogs can be allergic to all sorts of things, just like people) may require certain foods as well.  Your veterinarian can help you choose foods that are appropriate for a dog with a specific medical condition.
The Dog’s Size or Body Type
Some dogs are overweight.  Some dogs are underweight.  Some have a natural tendency to get lots of exercise while others tend to prefer to lie around a lot.  There are, of course, small, medium, and large dogs as well as the ultra-tiny “toy” dogs.  All of these different types of dogs will have different requirements for the type of food they need as well as how much of it.
Your Budget
Dog food can be expensive, there’s no doubt about it.  And where dog food is concerned, the rule really is “you get what you pay for.”  Low cost generics and store brands will lighten the burden on your wallet, but may not be the healthiest choice for your dog as they are made with cheap ingredients and lots of fillers.  You should buy the best dog food you can on your budget to help ensure your dog’s nutrition.

If you choose a purebred puppy – and there are hundreds of breeds to choose from – you’ll know ahead of time how your puppy is going to turn out when he grows up. That’s the benefit of choosing a purebred as opposed to a mixed-breed or hybrid dog! You can find out before you even buy him: how much he’ll shed, how easy he’ll be to train, how much grooming he’ll require, whether he’s going to be a good watchdog or guard dog, how big he’s going to be, what he’s going to look like, how athletic he’ll be, and how he’s going to behave. Of course, every dog has it’s own unique personality and behavioral quirks. But in general, all dogs of a particular breed will grow up to act and behave like the other dogs of that breed. For example, you know that a German Shepherd puppy is going to grow up into a dog that striking in appearance, very easy to train, eager-to-please, athletic, protective, and intelligent: like all German Shepherd dogs are. Purebred dogs are man-made.
They wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for us. Pugs, Border Collies, Yorkies – every breed – wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for us humans creating them. To create a new breed someone decides what characteristics they want the breed to have. Then they only breed dogs together who have those characteristics. Lots of inbreeding then takes place. After years of selective breeding (breeding out the undesirable characteristics) and inbreeding a new “breed” is born. And when you breed dogs of that new breed together they produce puppies who grow up to be the same as the parents.
As I mentioned above the benefit of choosing a purebred puppy is that you know how your dog is going to turn out — in advance — even before he’s born. So assuming you’re going to purchase or adopt a purebred puppy or dog, here are some of the things to consider about the many different breeds: Shedding All dog breeds shed hair. They all shed different amounts of hair. Some breeds shed virtually no hair, some shed quite a lot, and some shed a lot of hair! If it bothers you finding loose hairs stuck to everything in your home then choose a low-shedding breed. Ease of Training Some breeds are easier to train than others because they learn training commands faster.
The easier the dog is to train the less time and patience you need to train him. If you want a dog who learns your commands quickly choose a breed that is easy to train. Grooming How much time you need to spend grooming your dog depends on the length of the coat and how much the coat sheds. If the dog breed you’re considering has a long coat you’ll need to either clip it short, or brush it often. If the dog breed you’re considering sheds lot of hair you might find yourself brushing the coat every day to remove the dead hair. Because what you remove with a brush doesn’t end up in the house! Want a Jogging Companion? Some breeds were made to be athletic and posses great stamina. If you want a dog who can accompany you on long walks, hikes, jogs and rides then you should choose one of these breeds.
Good With Children Pretty much all breeds are great with children. Thousands of people have small children and own Rottweiler, Pit Bulls, and other more aggressive dogs and they never have any problems at all. These owners will tell you that their dogs are the sweetest and most gentle dogs on earth. And it’s true. However, which dog has the ability to do more damage to a small child: a Pit Bull or a Pug? Obviously it’s the Pit Bull. So if you want to play it safe choose a breed who doesn’t really have the ability to harm a child or one who doesn’t have a bad reputation. And always supervise very small children and babies around the dog! Small children could inadvertently tease the dog and he could snap at them. Guard Dog or Watchdog Some breeds like German Shepherds and Rottweilers make excellent guard dogs.
They’re naturally very protective and suspicious of strangers. They have the ability to intimidate and deter an intruder. On the other hand, some breeds are just good at keeping watch and raising the alarm. And some little dogs have such a loud, deep bark they can even scare and intruder away. Size When choosing a breed consider size. Small dogs are make training easier because you can control them a lot easier than a big, strong and powerful dog. The small breeds also make less mess, and they coast less to care for.