August 2009

Sometimes it is extremely tough to have a pet when you live in an urban area. There is not a lot of grass or yard space for you to walk a dog in, which means that many people cannot buy a dog. It is very common to see someone with their little Dachshund or Yorkshire terrier dressed in small dog clothes. They have all sorts of dog accessories and start to look more like little people. Unfortunately these may be some of the only acceptable pets in an urban area because they are much more manageable than a large pet. And for other people, they may have too busy of lives to have children, so the pet is the closest thing to having a baby.

In an urban area, many people rent an apartment. Depending on what type of apartment building it is, you may not be able to have any type of pet. Sometimes certain tenants will residents bring in one or two tiny pets. It is not often that you live in an apartment where you can have a full sized pet. That is why many people will buy cats. Cats do not shed a lot of their hair, which means that they are more acceptable in apartment buildings. With little shedding, it does not cause too much of a problem for any allergy prone residents. It is unfortunate for many because a lot of times people will have to get rid of any animals before moving into their apartments.

There are some pets that are allowed in apartments because they are very low maintenance. Birds are one of these. There is no need for a bird to leave its cage, so the mess should not leave the cage under most circumstances. Not many people are allergic to birds, so tenants can get past that problem. Usually a very small pet, like a guinea pig or hamster, would be perfect apartment pets. They pose little concerns for building owners. The problem with many pets is that they will leave permanent damage to a building, making the apartment impossible to rent to another person.

It is a shame that many people aren’t allowed to own animals. There are many animals in need of a loving home. If you think about the amount of people that live in cities, that is a large number of people who cannot own a pet. Having an animal in the house can be a real treat to most. Most pets love unconditionally and will be waiting at the door when you come home. This gives many people a reason to relax and be happy when they come home from work. One can hope that many of these animals find homes because it would be a tragedy to see them never get the love they deserve. Maybe some people will see the need for pet owners and take it upon themselves to help.

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One of the biggest problems that most dog owners face, other than house breaking is prevent a dog chewing. Did you know that most any dog can find things to chew in a empty room?

Our first cocker spaniel chewed the front piece of wood on
our love seat, the fabric on the arm and back of our armchair and the arm of our love seat. I didn’t realize how much a young dog could chew, but over time, it really adds up.

Dog chewing is a normal pattern for dogs, since they associate eating with pleasure. One of the big reasons dogs chew is to relax. If you want your dog to be stress free, you want your pet to relax, but not at the expense of your living room, and house.

Dogs who chew have a destructive habit that needs to be controlled and changed.

Your dog may chew because he is teething, and just like with a baby it hurts (a lot). So give him something cold to ease the pain, like frozen rawhide bones. This is a very good way to begin breaking this habit. Just keep a few frozen rawhide bones in the
freezer.

Because a dogs have a short attention span, you can take advantage of this by getting 10 or 12 rawhides chews to freeze. The trick is to put five bones down, where your dog can find them. He will go from one rawhide to another, and chew on them.

Then in a few days, put them back into the freezer and set out another five.

Each rawhide will smell a little different and this gives him a variety of things to chew on without endangering your furniture or shoes!

Also provide your dog with lots of toys. You can never have too many of them and he will get a lot of comfort from them, even when you are not around.

Click here to learn more about prevent a dog chewing.

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