Manic Marlin

Manic Marlin
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Dog Training: How to "Lick" Your Dog's Incessant Licking Habit!

by Caroline Kent
Does your dog seem to spend an infinite amount of time licking himself? Why is he doing it? And how do you, as a dog owner, correct that annoying licking habit? Here are five of the most common reasons why your dog might be incessantly licking himself and the solutions to correcting the habit.

1. Your dog might have developed an unrelenting licking habit because he needs a bath.

If your dog spends alot of time outside, romping through the woods, tramping in the mud, rolling in the grass or wading in the nearest stream or pond, he is probably dirty. So, your dog may be constantly licking himself because the dirt is irritating him! Plus, all that outdoor activity may have gotten him infested with ticks, fleas, mites, or lice. Your dog's incessant licking may be an attempt to rid himself of those nasty varmints!

Give him a bath with a veterinarian-approved flea and tick shampoo. Before bathing him, make sure you brush out all the mats and tangles from his coat or the bathing will make them worse.

2. Your dog might have developed a chronic licking habit because he has a skin disorder.

Some common skin disorders that a dog may develop are mange or dermatitis. Mange is a skin disease in dogs that is caused by various types of mites. The dermatitis could be caused by an allergic reaction to fleas, dust mites, mold or a certain brand of dog food. If you suspect that your dog has a case of mange or dermatitis, your veterinarian will be able to diagnose what the disorder is and prescribe a course of treatment.

3. Your dog might have developed a persistent licking habit because he is under stress.

The stress may be a result of a new adoption, physical abuse, separation anxiety, or even a reaction to a new food. If you think separation anxiety might be the cause of his stress, there are several methods for solving the problem. Try exposing your dog to being alone for very short periods of time. When your dog has adjusted to being alone for that duration of time, gradually increase your departure period. If you must be away from your dog for a long period of time, while you are away at work, try to find a friend or neighbor who could come over and take him for a walk a couple of times during the day.

Perhaps a new dog in the family is causing the stress? It is very common to experience a period of stress and adjustment when a new dog is brought into a household that has an established pet. One way to help make the transition a little easier is to give your older dog alot of attention and love. It will let him know that he's still a vital part of the family. Just remember that it will take time for your dogs to adjust to one another and be one happy dog family!

Changing your dog's diet can also cause stress. If you're thinking of feeding your dog a new brand of dry dog food, do it gradually and over a period of four days or longer. On the first day that you change the food, feed your dog one quarter of the new food with three quarters of the old food. dd in another quarter of the new food after a couple of days or so. After another two days, add in another quarter of the new dog food. Finally, after another couple of days or so, you will be able to leave out the old dog food entirely!

If you cannot determine the cause of your dog's stress, talk to your veterinarian. He'll be able to refer you to a dog behaviorist who will be able to determine the cause of your dogs stress. If your dog has severe separation anxiety, an anti-anxiety medication might be considered to alleviate the anxiety. Drugs are not a complete solution, however, and should be used along with a treatment program.

4. Your dog might have developed an incessant licking habit because he has an injury that has resulted in an open wound.

A dog that has developed an injury that has resulted in an open wound will lick himself incessantly in an attempt to clean the wound and keep it free from bacteria. Dog saliva has been proven to kill some germs and when your dog licks an open wound, it will aid in keeping the wound infection free.

Veterinarian treatment may be required if your dog appears to be in pain, the wound contains a foreign material and is deep enough to require stitches, is bleeding excessively or becomes infected.

5. Your dog might have developed a relentless licking habit because he has developed the bad habit of doing so.

Some dogs develop the habit of licking their paws incessantly despite them being clean, uninjured and parasite-free!

Your dog may develop the habit of constantly licking himself because he has alot of nervous energy and no way to alleviate the stress. He also may have learned this behavior because he is
bored and this is a way to entertain himself!

Give your dog lots of time to play and run and work off any excess energy. If your dog is well-exercised and happy, he won't feel the need to relentlessly lick himself to relieve stress or boredom!

The information detailed above will help you discover and correct your dog's habit of chronic licking. With careful observation and a little attention to proper grooming, training, along with regular veterinarian visits, you can 'lick' your dog's incessant licking habit!

Article Source: Dog Training: How to "Lick" Your Dog's Incessant Licking Habit!

The Advantages of Snake Senses

by Snakes-Skin
Like most animals on the planet, snakes have the five normal senses. Those would be sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. Some features of the senses are limited, while others are extended beyond the norm.

Eyes - The range of sensitivity of the eyes vary greatly from snake to snake. Most snakes see the actual movement of objects clearer than the object itself. Snakes that are active during the day normally see in this fashion. On the other end of the spectrum, some snakes, such as the blind snakes, see shades of light and dark. Snakes do not have eyelids in the traditional sense. They cover their eyes with a clear membrane, called the brille.

Ears - Snakes lack an external ear opening. Their ear bone is attached to their jaw bone. They can only hear very low sounds.

Tongue - The snakes tongue is the most interesting part of their anatomy. Everyone knows the typical action for the tongue; flicking. Snakes flick out their tongue, and either wave it in the air, or touch the ground with it. This is one of their touch sensors. It is also used to find or detect chemical scents. Molecules of any chemical are collected by the tongue, brought back into their mouth, and analyzed by the Jacobson's organ. Using this method, a snake can more effectively find and follow its prey.

Some snakes can detect infrared heat rays. Some species of snakes have small holed, or pits, on their faces, including; pit vipers, boas, pythons. This pit allows them to distinguish minute changes in temperature in the direction they are pointed. Hunting prey is made simple by picking out warmer temperatures in front of them.

Article Source: The Advantages of Snake Senses

Training Your Pit Bull Terrier With Dog Treats

by Tim Amherst
Every responsible Pit Bull owner wants a well trained pet. There are several training options which may be used to achieve the desired results. One of the most popular methods used by owners is treat training. Treat training is a reward system using either the dog's favorite snack food such as cheese, bits of hotdog or by using store bought treats.

Treat training allows the owner to use these small bribes as a form of positive reinforcement for good behavior. Proper use of treat training will enable you to teach your Pit Bull to follow the sit, come and lie down commands, as well as teach him almost any trick you can imagine. If used with friendly rubs and praises, it can also assist you to housebreak your Pit Bull.

To teach your Pit Bull to sit, you'll need to prepare a treat bag just before you begin. A plastic zip top baggy comes highly recommended by me for use as a treat container. It allows you to put the treats in your pocket while allowing you to keep your pockets from getting soiled and soggy. Believe me, try it without the baggy and you'll not try it that way again. This is especially true if you opt to use bits of table food such as the cheese and hotdog slices.

Decide upon what you will use as the treat. Think of what your Pit Bull likes to eat, but you don't give him very often. This makes an irresistible bribe, and you will see faster results than if you'd used an every day treat. Once you've chosen your bribe, put the baggy in your pocket so you can reach it easily. Don't try to hold the bag in your hand, as this will distract your Pit Bull, and may even get him to jumping up in an attempt to try and grab the entire bag.

If you have more than one Pit Bull, or other dog for that matter, take the time to put the other dog away so you can do one on one training. Other animals in the vicinity will only hamper your training as your Pit Bull will think the session is a competition for which dog can get the treat fastest, rather obedience training.

Now that you've prepped your treat bag and have your Pit Bull alone with you, it's time to begin.

Take a bit of your chosen treat and hold it above your Pit Bull's head while giving the command to "sit." If you hold the treat high, the dog will have to sit to see the treat. Once he sits, give him the treat and be sure to praise him as a "good boy" for the sit. You can repeat this four or five more times, but after that give it a rest until the next day. I know it doesn't sound like rigorous training, but it is considered a full session.

Once your Pit Bull has mastered the "sit" command, start to gradually offer gentle rubs and praises rather than treats. You'll eventually phase out the food treats, and your Pit Bull will continue to sit on command.

Using treat training is an effective and gentle way to train your Pit Bull. It also allows you to be close to your pet for a session of giving treats and praises. Imagine how much your Pit Bull will enjoy that!

Article Source: Training Your Pit Bull Terrier With Dog Treats

Birds, Birdwatching, And What To Feed Them

by Michael Russell
Birds. Alfred Hitchcock did his best to scare the heck out of usin regard to our fine feathered friends but birds are stillabout the safest of all animals to be around. Even the leastattractive bird has a beauty to it. Maybe that's why so manypeople take up bird watching.

If you're thinking that the only thing involved with birdwatching is going outside, making your way to a park and openingyour eyes then you need to think again. Bird watching canactually be very involved. There are many techniques birdwatchers use to just get the birds to come.

Starting with feeding.

What is it that birds want? Well, if you're trying to attractbirds in the winter time to stare at from the confines of yournice warm home, the first thing you need to know is that mostbirds you will see in the winter are seed eating birds. So ifyou have a bird feeder in your backyard then what you simplywant to do is make sure it is supplied with seeds and water. Dothis regularly and eventually the birds will know that this is aconsistent source of food and will come back regularly. Assumingthat your bird feeder is close to a window you can get a,forgive the pun, bird's eye view of your dinner guests.

The best seeds to provide for your dinner guests are sunflowerseeds. These seeds attract cardinals, woodpeckers, blue jays,goldfinches, purple finches, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches.

Another really good seed is niger. Goldfinches absolutely loveniger You can easily have as many as a dozen goldfinchesvisiting your feeder at one time. However, be forewarned, nigeris very expensive. How expensive? Over $1 a pound expensive. Soyou want to be very careful with niger and don't waste it. Thebest thing to do is buy a hanging tube with tiny holes designedespecially for it. Then hang it where you can see it from yourwindow with the best view.

Another great seed to buy is safflower. This is a white seedthat is smaller than a black sunflower seed. What's great aboutthis seed is that squirrels won't touch it, which leaves morefor the birds. These seeds are great for cardinals, titmice,chickadees, and downy woodpeckers.

White millet is another important seed to get for your featheredfriends. This is a very cheap seed and you can scatter it on theground for sparrows, juncos, and mourning doves. You can get a50 pound bag of these for close to nothing. Very, very cheapseeds.

One thing you should never buy is bags of mixed birdseed. Thereason is that there are going to be seeds in the bag that somebirds will eat and some won't. Ultimately, because a bird willstumble upon a seed it doesn't like, the bird will fly away. Inthe end, all the birds will fly away and not come back. So stickto a seed that you want to use to attract the bird you'relooking for.

Article Source: Birds, Birdwatching, And What To Feed Them

Help! How Can I Stop My Cat Attacking Me?

Author: Jenny Jackson

Cat aggression towards owners is a common problem and can be very distressing, not to mention painful! There are a range of reasons why your cat might be doing this. If you can identify the cause, then a solution is more likely to work.

Pain

If your cat has recently become aggressive, he or she may be in pain. No doubt you are pretty grumpy when you have a headache or toothache, and cats can experience these things too. If your cat has a condition like osteoarthritis, it may be more uncomfortable later in the day, and this may be when she becomes aggressive.

Play aggression

If your cat is fairly young, he or she may actually be playing with you. Kittens are most likely to play fight. Theories suggest that it helps kittens to strengthen their muscles, develop eye-muscle coordination and learn gentle social play. As the kittens get older, the amount of play aggression increases and gets rougher, eventually leading to the dispersion of the litter. Owners often find young cats sneaking up, biting and ambushing passing ankles instead.

You will need to redirect the cat's behavior towards inanimate objects instead of you through active play with toys that move. When the cat becomes aggressive, a squirt of water or startle noise can help them learn not to attack you. You might consider introducing another cat of about the same age so that the play occurs between the cats instead of involving you.

Predatory aggression

The instinct to hunt is triggered by the sight or sound of moving prey. Hunting behaviors are instinctive so eliminating them is not possible. They can, however, be directed into acceptable outlets. Encourage active play with moving toys and direct the behavior toward objects that can withstand claws and teeth. If your cat is allowed outside, it can expend some energy hunting insects instead of you.

Redirected aggression

When a cat becomes upset, it would normally direct the aggression toward the source, however, if the source is not accessible, the cat may redirect the aggression towards something closer such as you, a dog or another cat. Unfortunately, the association between a victim and a stressful event can stick for a long time, so that every time the cat is around the victim, it is reminded of the incident and may attack again.

Prevention can be easier than cure. Don't try to calm or handle an upset cat. There are times, however, when this is impossible. The most common solution is long-term separation of the cat from its target, but this can take a long time. Alternatively, your vet can prescribe anti-anxiety medications that you can combine with gradual reintroduction and rewards. If the victim is a cat that has become excessively fearful of the aggressive cat, it can also be treated to reduce its fear and increase its boldness.

Maternal aggression

Mother cats with young kittens are naturally protective of their young. Hormonally-influenced aggression is strongest during the first week after birth and gradually diminishes as the kittens get older. This is normal behavior. If you need to handle the kittens, try to keep a kitten between you and the mother cat. It is unlikely that the new mother will go over a kitten to attack you.

If you have an ongoing problem with cat aggression, it is best to speak with your vet to discuss various behavioral solutions. Medication is usually only for extreme cases, but can be helpful until behavioral measures are working.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/help-how-can-i-stop-my-cat-attacking-me-397083.html

About the Author:Jenny is a cat lover and webmaster of www.great-pictures-of-cats.com . You are welcome to reproduce this article on your pet or family related web site, as long as you reproduce the article in full, including this resource box and link to her website featuring photo and video galleries of beautiful cats.