5 Benefits of crate training your puppy

Generally, the first lesson that you will give to your dog is how to be house-trained. To achieve a faster result, getting a crate has been strongly suggested for this kind of dog training. Getting a crate for your puppy is like getting a crib or a playpen for a baby. Puppies and dogs like them. It acts as their own safe haven and also provides them a sense of warmth and comfort. Listed below are five benefits of crate training your puppy:

1. The crate gets him ready to get on a schedule for house training.

2. It provides security and functions as a babysitter. To make sure that your dog will not get into any kind of trouble when you’re not around or too busy to look after him, putting your pet in a crate is a good way to guarantee his safety.

3. It is their private room, their place of sanctuary. It is a place where they can get away from the entire commotion and turmoil of everyday life. A corner where they can hide out, especially when there are children in the house who always like playing with them. It is also a familiar place for him when you take the dog with you on vacations. He won’t feel stressed or sad if you leave him alone in the hotel room or any strange place.

4. Putting your dog in a crate provides safety inside a moving vehicle. It protects both you and your dog particularly during an emergency stop.

5. There may be instances where you have to keep your dog in one particular area, maybe after an injury or after being altered. If your dog is used to being in a crate, he will not have to go through added stress should anything happen to him where he would need to be confined.

4 Tips to help prevent your dog from coughing and hacking

If your dog has a cough then do not dismiss it as if you would a human cough. For people, it is normal to cough because nature has built in the cough as a protective measure to insure that our nose and throat passages stay clear of things like dust, bacteria, hairs, etc.

If your dog is coughing and it is something other than the occasional hairball, then take notice of how long your pet has the cough. If it goes on for more than a day then you may have a serious problem on your hands and you should contact a vet immediately. However, for those short term coughs that are caught in time and are not serious then we have some tips for you below to help soothe those dog coughs.

1. Keep your dog well protected by the elements of nature. Pollen, dust, fumes, or any other similar type items will just as easily cause your dog to cough as it would yourself. But the outdoors is not the only place that you need to protect your dog from. Cleaning products, carpet powders, and vacuuming all play a part in causing both people and dogs to cough. Try to keep your dog in the other room when you vacuum. Also, the summer months bring with it a lot of pollen that you should protect your dog from. You can do this by keeping your dog inside in the early morning and late afternoon hours.

2. Keep the air in your house humid but increasing the humidity. Dry air will cause your dog to develop mucus in the throat and airways which in turn signals the body to cough. You can easily alleviate this problem by investing into a humidifier for your house.

3. No more smoking! We all know that smoking is extremely bad for anyone or any animal breathing it in. In fact, it can be worse for your dog if they breath in cigarette smoke. There are several known cases where the family dog actually developed emphysema from the owner's second hand smoke.

4. Try a cough suppressant. Vets recommend using a product containing the active ingredient dextromethorphan, such as Robitussin Maximum Strength Cough Syrup. But of course, always ask your vet which would be the right one for your dog.