Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Don’t Delay Your Mortgage Further By Owning a Dog

Lots and lots of people in the UK have a mortgage and in these times of difficulty, are having a very difficult time trying to pay this off and are forced to increase the period of repayment due to the current economic crises and recession.

By interest rates increasing and self cert mortgages being very common, times are becoming tough for many out there.

For those who own pet dogs, one further option is available. For many, this is the last option you would like to take but there may be no choice. This option is to say good buy to your pet dog.

What this would allow you to do is to use that amount you used to spend on your pet dog/dogs towards your mortgage.

I understand some people would be offended by this but it does not mean the end of the world. You can always have your pet dog returned or you can find another pet dog once the recession and crises faced by the economy is no more.

Many will agree with me and many won’t. Please leave your comments and please give your reasons for you support or non support as it would be good to read the thoughts of both sides.

Bedding for puppies

Recently, we’ve been talking about responsible dog breeders and how they should flea and worm their puppies before they leave to go to their new home.  However, although these are important health considerations there are other factors to consider too. Read the rest of this entry »

Worm the puppies

Worming is a vital part of a puppy’s growing up.  It may surprise and even horrify you, but puppies are usually born with worms.  A responsible dog breeder will be aware of what worming requirements are needed for a growing puppy.  They should be wormed every 2 weeks whilst in the litter and again when they leave the litter.  After that, the new owner should Read the rest of this entry »

Flea the puppies

There are a lot of irresponsible dog breeders out there and if you are purchasing a puppy, be sure that you check the dog breeder has flea sprayed the puppies as the last thing you want to have when you have a new puppy is a load of fleas moving into your house at the same time! Read the rest of this entry »

$155,000 paid for clone of family dog

We are all upset when a pet passes away and we all wish we didn’t have to be parted, but one family took it a step further.

The Otto family from Florida were distraught when their family labrador, Sir Lancelot, passed away and they had his DNA frozen.

Nina Otto said:

“The only sad thing about dogs is that they have such a short life, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could live your life with the same dog.”

In July, they decided to bid on a biotech company’s auction to have a clone of their dog made.  Just one week ago, the family waited impatiently at Miami International Airport and were delighted to see their new three month old labrador puppy, Lancelot Encore, step off the plane from Korea.

The replica of Sir Lancelot Senior did not come cheap and his $155,000 price tag was raised by the Otto family by selling several pieces of expensive jewellery.

The family also have nine other dogs, ten cats, four birds and six sheep – let’s hope they don’t want to get them all cloned!

Choosing the breed

When you purchase a dog, then you should really research the breed properly beforehand.  It isn’t good enough to sit in the house one day thinking you’d like a dog, open the paper and get yourself round to a breeder’s home to purchase a puppy.

A responsible breeder should ensure that potential owners know what they’re letting themselves in for before they let you buy a puppy however unfortunately this is not always the case.

Don’t rely purely on reading a book either, if you’re considering a breed why not contact a reputable breeder and spend some time with their dogs and understanding what they need before you commit.

Even small breeds can be quite a shock to the system if you’re used to being able to come and go as you like and now you have to all of a sudden think about what you’ll do with the dog, so choose carefully.

Happy birthday

Well I may be a little early in this one but tomorrow is my birthday and I will be unlikely to be in any fit state to be writing about anything.

When it comes to birthdays, most children would love a puppy and it can be tempting to surprise your child with a birthday puppy.  However, before you do, be sure to take a little time to consider whether your child is responsible enough to help with the care and training of the puppy and whether you are able to properly look after them.

Consider what breed is best, do you need a non-shedding breed to avoid allergies or what size of breed will you be able to manage?

For my birthday tomorrow, I’ve got my little shih tzu with me and I’m glad those puppy days are long behind us.

Dog Allergy Testing?

When it comes time for you to welcome a new family member into the home, particularly if you have kids you are quite likely to consider buying a dog.

However, before you do so – and I’m in no way trying to put anybody off buying a dog! – you might want to check if anybody in the family has any allergies.

Many people are allergic to pets, but not everyone is allergic to dogs.  And just because you might be allergic to cats or cat hair doesn’t mean that you’re automatically allergic to dog hair too because dog hair is completely different.

To check if you are, you could go and visit a friend and sit with their dog for a while, but that’s not always possible or practical, and it’s also not always the straightforward answer either because different dog breeds have different types of hair and skin.  For instance, a work colleague of mine is allergic to cat hair but only certain types of dog hair, so the best way for you to tell might be to use an allergy testing kit or see somebody for allergy testing.  It isn’t usually the dog hair you’re allergic to anyway but the skin cells that are shed when the hair is shed.

If it turns out you are allergic, it’s not the end of the world.  There are certain types of dogs that do not shed hair at all so if it’s the skin cells that you’re allergic to when they shed, you might be alright with these.

Dog Insurance Small Print

If you are buying dog insurance, which of course you should be, then there are a few things that you need to check before you buy.

Dog insurance is important for more than just health reasons, it is important to cover you for third party liability and legal costs as well.  You might be thinking it doesn’t apply to your small breed, but no matter what size of dog, they can still cause some damage and even if you train your dog, it is better to be safe than sorry as the costs can be high.  For example, your dog might damage belongings of someone, and if was antique furniture or something, then reimbursing that person might be costly.  You could refuse, but then they could take you to court, and if it is someone you know you could lose a friend too – something I talked about last week.

Another thing to check is the level of cover.  It is not enough to see a nice high figure such as £5,000 vet fees and think that is ok.  Is that fee the total amount insured, i.e. if your dog uses £2,000 one year, do they then only have £3,000 left or does the £5,000 start again each year?  Or is it ‘per condition’?  For example, if your dog has an ongoing condition, such as cancer, that will use up more than £5,000 and you don’t want to get to year two and find you have used the £5,000 on cancer and the next year’s £5,000 cannot be used on that.

Be careful and read all the small print.

Buying a hypo-allergenic dog

Hypoallergenic dogs have been in the spotlight in the last two weeks, ever since Barack Obama said that he had promised a dog to his daughter, Malia, who suffers from allergies.

Obama seemed rather dismayed with the public’s interest as he wryly stated that the dog issue has

“generated more interest on our Web site than just about anything”

Around 10 per cent of Americans are allergic to dogs apparently although the level of severity varies from breathing problems to itchy eyes.  No dogs are truly hypoallergenic but there are several breeds which are recommended more than others, the non shedding varieties or the ones that shed less ‘dander’.

Dander is Read the rest of this entry »