Retriever Talk

Protecting your retriever from fleas and ticks

Your retriever may become bothered by little pests this spring

Spring is in the air. This means that you and your retriever may be spending more time in the great outdoors. It's a great time to be outside, but it also means that you and your retriever are getting the exercise you both desperately need. However, along with that exercise, your retriever may be picking up unwanted friends. He may be getting fleas and ticks. This is why it is essential to start protecting him now.

In most areas of the country, the winter months were warmer than usual. This may have been nice. However, this will mean that we will be bothered with more pests, including fleas and ticks. The ground didn’t become cold enough to freeze these bugs as much as usual. This is another reason why pet owners need to start thinking about fleas and ticks, earlier than usual. Vets fear that this may be a bad season for them.

What are your choices? You can bathe your pet regularly. Since most retrievers love water this is usually an easy task. Talk to your vet about the best shampoos to use. Remember if your retriever is a young pup, you should steer clear from any flea products for now, even shampoos. However, you can bathe him in normal shampoos. This will drown any fleas that are on him. You may just have to bathe him more frequently.

What else can you do? You can talk to your vet about some flea preventative care. There are many products on the market that will help kill any fleas that land on your pet. These include monthly topical medications. Talk to your vet about which one may be the best for your dog.

Finally, you can treat your house and yard. Yes, the humans in the household can carry fleas into the home on their shoes and legs. Once inside the house, these fleas will eventually work their way to your dog. For this reason, it is a must to treat your home. The best way to do this is through special sprays. You can talk to your vet about the best products to use.

These preventative measures can keep your loving retriever pest free, itch free and keep him from catching diseases from those nasty fleas and ticks all year long. Plus, as a pet owner, you need to realize that these fleas and ticks do have the potential of making your retriever really sick and even the potential of causing diseases that can kill him.

Tips To Help One Pick Out A Professional Trainer For Their Retriever

First, one will want a professional dog trainer who actually likes dogs

Retrievers are smart dogs. They can be taught to be obedient. They can be taught to be watch dogs. However, they can become bored easily when training. This is why many owners may choose to have a professional dog trainer train their retrievers, instead of trying to master these lessons on their own. Yet, one may wonder what skills they should look for in a professional dog trainer.

First, one will want a professional dog trainer who actually likes dogs. You don’t want a trainer who is in it just for the money or the glory of the job title. You want to see actual caring in their eyes when they see a dog. You also want to hear it in their voices. Yet, they may have to talk stern, to get the dogs to listen and respect them. However, they can do this in a manner that still shows the dogs and their owners that they like dogs.

Secondly, you want a trainer who has a good background. You want to know that this trainer has a solid background with dogs and that he or she hasn’t begun working with them. No, all of this background doesn’t have to come through schooling. It can come by having contact with dogs on a regular basis.

Finally, it wouldn’t hurt if you know other people who have trained with this professional. If you have seen the results first hand on how well the trainer can trained dogs, then you will respect the trainer before he or she even begins working with your dog. You will also have more confidence that he or she will be able to work magic with your animal.

Facts About The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

The Smallest Type of Retriever

Yes, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever has a long name. However, this is the smallest type of retrievers.

These retrievers are often referred to as Tollers. These are known as happy dogs. They are also very intelligent dogs, just like all the retrievers.

However, Tollers are very leery of strangers. They also tend to react towards strangers in the same way as their masters do. For this reason, if you don’t trust a stranger, they won’t either. Yet, they can sense when you trust someone and will trust the person, too. This is how they usually gauge when a stranger is a friend.

As for other animals, they are very curious about them. Usually, they will quickly become friends with other dogs.

Training sessions with a Toller should be kept short. Yes, they are smart and can learn quickly. However, they can easily become bored with repetitive lessons. Then their attention may wander. If a trainer can keep the training sessions new and exciting, the toller will continue to be interested. Once it becomes repetitive, he will slowly become bored.

Tollers are known to be comical. They got their named from working in the farm fields. During this time, the dogs were used for a number of different chores. While performing these chores, they would often put on comical shows. These brief comical episodes would include bringing ducks to the fields. This is how they got their name.

If you want a retriever which is considered a medium sized dog, standing at 17 to 21 inches, one who is intelligent, outgoing and always alert, this may be the dog for you.

Sources:

akc.org

retrieverrescueofcolorado

Learn About The Chesapeake Bay Retriever

If you want a dog that is power and intelligent, you may love the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

If you want a dog that is power and intelligent, you may love the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is a large muscular dog. He is also a sturdy type dog. Most people will even say as a puppy, he is a solid looking dog.

As for his colors, he is a brown dog of various shades from light tan to deep brown. He has a short coat. This coat may be a bit wavy down around his neck and back. He also has what is known as a double coat. This coat can feel slightly oily. This dog has yellow amber colored eyes.

This is another type of retriever that is known to make a great family dog. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever is good with children. They also make good watchdogs. They are very aware of their surroundings and they are weary of strangers.

These dogs don’t make the best hunting type dogs. They are a bit stubborn and don’t always follow commands. They aren’t mean. They are just independent and it takes a bit of training to teach them to follow commands, as well a lot of high praise.

These are highly intelligent dogs. They learn best with repetition. Positive rewards are the best training method to use with these dogs.

If a would be dog owner is looking for a large, smart dog, that would make great family dog, they should consider the Chesapeake Bay retriever breed. This is the type of dog that will love one’s entire family and will protect this family.

Sources:

terrificpets.com

The Temperament Of A Golden Retriever

Would a golden Retriever be the perfect dog for you and your family?

Would a golden Retriever be the perfect dog for you and your family? A golden retriever is known as a friendly dog. Many people also will describe this breed as being one that is calm, gentle and confident. Yes, he can be man’s best friend. However, he is also a dog that can be a family oriented pet. The reason why is that this dog loves everyone. This makes him a good dog for a family with children.

Children love this breed of dog because he is athletic. He is full of life in his younger days. He will follow the children around and play for hours. He is even known to enjoy swimming.

Golden Retrievers also make great watch dogs. They aren’t known for attacking strangers since they really do like most people. They are known for barking when they hear a person approaching or when they hear a sign. This can signal a person that someone or something is on their property.

As for his size, the golden retriever is not known as being a small dog. A Golden retriever can be get up to 80 pounds in weight and up to 24 inches in height. Health wise they are known to develop osteoarthritis in their older years. This is mainly due to their size. Making sure that you give them plenty of exercise such as daily walks and making sure you don’t over feed them can help keep this arthritis from forming, as quickly.

The only other real annoyance that comes with owning a Golden retriever is their shedding in the spring. They have thick winter hair and in the spring time their hair really sheds. This means an owner will have to do a lot of brushing during this time to keep the hair from flying everywhere.

Sources:

GoldenRetrieverFacts1