Discovering Kennel Cough

Just when you thought that humans are the only breathing social organisms exposed highly to bacteria and viruses; canines also have to suffer a great deal, sometimes, much in the same way that humans do. If humans experience and suffer from fever and flu, dogs also have high chances to experience the same problem.

Coughing is also a common issue among people, young or old. But when it comes to domestic dogs, it is called kennel cough. This is a common problem in the world of dog health, but why the name? Why is it called kennel cough? Should it not be called canine cough instead? The name itself originated from how dogs in the same kennel can quickly acquire an infection. When this happens, inflammation on the upper respiratory system occurs to the dog concerned. As for other dogs inside the kennel, they also can easily catch the same virus and bacteria simply by air. Sneezing and coughing emits bad bacteria and can easily transfer to other dogs within the same area.

If your dog starts to show any signs of coughing without phlegm, hacking, retching, sneezing and snorting for several days, it could already indicate kennel cough because these are common symptoms of an infected respiratory system. In some cases, a dog can experience fever and the worst case scenario, is when kennel cough develops to something bigger and a more serious problem called pneumonia.

The idea is simple, though not too many dog lovers know it. Keep dogs where they stay clean and boarding kennels in particular, need to be hygienic too. Any activities that also require for dogs to interact with other dogs in places such as parks or training schools call for a vaccination alert. Doing precautionary measures in your dog health, even way before an infection starts to develop or symptoms to occur, is all worth it to save a dog owner from experiencing all the headaches and late night sleep disturbances if issue such as this ever happens.

The simplest way a dog lovers can do to prevent any type of virus and bacteria that can harm their dog health, is to disinfect kennels in a regular basis. Also, the importance of dog vaccine against parainfluenza, distemper and other type of bacteria is paramount. If these steps were not successful in preventing the early stages of bacterial and viral development in a dog, a cough suppressant is the next best choice. On the one hand, if there is no exact diagnosis yet, antibiotics remain undefeated in curing bacteria-related illnesses.

Dog Training 101

A lot of people think training a dog to hand-shake with a man is so easy. Maybe it is. So, they consider teaching a dog doing a hand-shake “dog training”. Certainly a no, no, no!

Dog training is more than just teaching a dog to do a hand-shake, or to catch a ball, or to roll. There's more to those tricks. But of course, those tricks are also a part of “dog training”. Other than caring for their dog health, dog owners will eventually want to teach their dogs with even just the basic tricks because they want them to behave in a way that they are pleasant to be around. Studies proved that dogs do not learn obedience on their own, instead they have to be trained in order for them to act the way humans want them to.

Dog training has several areas. One of the most popular and commonly done by trainers, handlers, owners or friends of the dogs is the obedience training. This is the basic area of dog training where you teach your dog to “sit”, “stand”, “lie”, “heel”, “beg”, “come”, and “stay and down”. Obedience is the prerequisite or the foundation of your dog training and it usually requires a good relationship and trust between the dog and the owner or the handler.

Once the dog already knows the basics and is already “obedient”, then you can move on to a more difficult area like teaching more tricks to be performed in a circus, or to be a guide to the blind, or to be a rescue dog and help find victims during a disaster, or be a hunting dog and help hunters find what they want in the forest. Be sure that you are not jeopardizing your dog health along the process of your dog training. Dogs play an important role as guard animals. You may also train dogs with other tricks which can be very helpful so they may be police dogs, rescue dogs, detection dogs, sheep dogs or schutzhund, a German term for protection dogs.

Dogs are considered to be man's best friend. They are among the very few animals that are easy to teach and to be tamed. It’s good to train dogs if they are still puppies because just like humans, this is the stage where their attitudes and abilities and dog health are still developing. Dogs that are petted and are handled carefully during this stage is more amenable to be trained and to be lived with in the house. There are some training schools for dogs where professionals teach them the tricks. However, it is also advisable that the owners learn the tricks as well. It is best that both the dog and the owner enroll to the training school together so they learn easily and interaction will be fun.

For those who are patient who want to spend time personally with their dog training, it is quite easy, though it requires patience. Just like life, you cannot just train the dog overnight. It also requires constant practice. It is trial and error. Communication is a very important factor. Humans want to teach the dogs what attitudes and behaviors are correct. They want the dog to know what is right and wrong, but it may be so difficult because these animals cannot talk nor can they understand what a person is trying to say. Dogs bark and they cannot speak so humans must make effort to show the dog what he wants to happen and once the dog learns what is being taught, they must also be given a reward. Just like human beings, these animals have feelings; too, so rewarding them for a job well-done will also boost their self-esteem.

Dog Kennel: There’s no place like home

Dogs need shelter from the storm and protection from their enemies. They also need a place of safety when necessary. Dog kennel provides the man's best friend this need and therefore protect dog health.

There are several types of kennels for the man's best friend. Some are made specifically for your dog health protection, others for show. Most of the time, we see those kennels which really resembles like houses so we term them “dog house” where our dogs rest after a long day of playing around, guiding us, giving us entertainment and looking after us.

Since dogs are very good companions, it is certainly a must that we provide them with a comfortable dwelling place. And since there are several designs of dog kennel, there are also professionals who can back us up and help us decorate our dog houses, we have no other excuse to just let your dog sleep in an unused room or beside your car in the garage.

But it is inevitable that families will travel and since the dog plays an important role in the family, it cannot just be left behind. It has to tag along in the family's picnic in the beach or be with the daddy and baby boy on their hunting adventure. There's only one problem; it is difficult to look for a place where the dog can spend the night because it cannot just sleep in the living room of the summer house. There's no worry though because right now, there are a lot of dog kennel that are handy and can be brought anywhere.

Dog kennel are available in various forms, sizes and colors. However, before we buy a certain kennel, we first have to consider several things. First, are the size of our backyard and the size of our dog. We also have to take into consideration the breed of the dog that we have and the sensitivity of the dog health. Some dogs have different needs so maybe its best we seek for help from our friendly veterinarians on what type of kennel does our doggy need. For humans, after a long day, when we're weary and exhausted, we want to lie down on that corner we consider to be our comfort zone. Dogs have that feeling, too, so let's make sure that the kennels we give our dogs will provide that need.

We don't really have to spend so much buying that ready-made dog kennel. If you have that carpentering skills, then start buying the equipments and take our your hammers, nails and saw and anything else that you need and make the best kennel that you can think of for you pet satisfaction and dog health. If you don't have that skill, check out some people in the neighborhood, I'm sure they're willing to lend a hand to help you out.