African Boerboel Dog Facts

The African Boerboel Dog is well known for being a muscular, large and impressive looking dog breed. It is usually confused as a cross between a Bulldog and a Mastiff but we are talking about an unique breed that appeared in Africa, mainly as a working and protection dog. This dog breed comes with stronger and bigger males while the females are smaller. It is easy to differentiate between them. The African Boerboel has a square head and a thick, short muzzle. Its skull is flat in the area between the ears and a stop is visible. The breed's ears are folded and triangular and the eyes can by color of brown that is linked with the coat color. African Boerboel dogs have characteristic muscular and arched necks with shoulders that are also strong and well developed.

The coating of the African Boerboel is uniform, short, dense and coarse. You can easily care for it and will need little grooming and bathing on a regular basis, of course. Talking about the breed's temperament, you should know that it is a powerful and loyal watchdog but can become accustomed easily with who is a friend and act friendly. African Boerboels make for great watchdogs and will defend the house and the owners as needed. You must pay attention to keeping this dog secured as it can become a danger for strangers. On the other hand, we are also talking about a very caring family dog that loves to stay with the family. Despite the sheer size it presents it can be a great playmate for children and they are tolerant towards kids in general. The trick is applying proper socialization and the dog will become friends with just about anyone you want them to and enemies with who they need to be enemies with.

The African Boerboel is usually a healthy breed and only two problems are known to appear more often. The first one will only be present in females and is vaginal hyperplasia. This is genetic and any such female should not be used for breeding. The second problem is also genetic and can be found in both male and female dogs. We are talking about canine hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia. Breeding can still be done in these conditions but only if the vet gives the OK.

How To Make your Dog Sleep at Night

If you own a puppy or even an older dog that does not sleep at night you are surely going through a tough time and you are more than likely quite tired yourself. It is not easy to live with dogs that are running around the house when you are supposed to sleep and that is what we are going to talk about now: learning what you can do in order to get your pet to sleep at night.

The first step is making sure that your pet gets enough exercise during the day. Any dog will require at least 40 minutes of running, walking and playing every single day. If enough exercise is not obtained during the day your dog will be restless during the night. Combine this with feeding the dog early in the day and you will do a great work towards making him sleep at night. Any dog will get an energy after around 1 hour after they eat so feeding him late at night is not a great idea. You should position the dog's bed or crate in your bedroom, right next to where you sleep. This is because dogs are pack animals and we could say that you are the leader of the pack. When the leader of the pack sleeps the rest of the pack will also sleep in most cases.

Yawning is contagious to animals as well, not only animals. Yawn when the dog sees it and then lay down to sleep. Cover the crate where your dog sleeps with a sheet or curtain in order to make it quieter and darker. These two facts will help the dog fell asleep. If the dog wakes you up in the middle of the night just go quickly towards the bathroom and back. Never pat your dog and give him treats as this will only make him want to wake you up every single night for that.

Living With a Deaf Dog

There are numerous reasons why a dog can go deaf and there are even owners that choose to adopt deaf dogs because nobody seems to want them. The truth is that deaf dogs can be great companions and we will now discuss some facts that will make appreciate them to the fullest and make it easier for you to live with them.

First off, the easiest way to get the attention of your deaf dog is to stomp the floor or shine a light. As with humans, lack of hearing leads to the pet being more attentive to the other senses. When you wake up the dog make sure that you always touch the same spot and that you do it gently. This is in order to get him to get used to the touch and not feel threatened as he might bite.

Now a very good idea would be to start teaching your deaf dog hand signals based on the American Sign Language system. You don't need to teach the dog the alphabet! All that is needed stands in some signals that will aid you to communicate effectively with your pet. You can use treats and praising when teaching him, just as with training a regular dog! The training routine needs to be incorporated in your daily schedule and always treat the dog well, smile and pat him when he does something good. Remember to teach the dog a sign for it's name as well and always establish full eye contact when you talk to your pet in order to draw attention!

One rule that you must never break is keeping your deaf dog on a leach every single time he is not located in a confined place as running away would be very problematic as you can not call the dog back and danger will not be heard by your pet if it is approaching. If you have to crate the dog you should leave on a light, the TV or a favorite toy because deaf dogs usually have problems with being in a crate as they do not hear noises.

To keep it simple, living with a deaf dog is not difficult and all you really need is attention, love and caring for your pet!

Homemade Dog Food Recipe

If you want to do something special for your dog and get more involved with what he eats you can replace canned food with something else: homemade dog food. This is one recipe that is very easy to do and should be accessible for everybody. First off you will need 10 cups of water and add them to a boil. Then put in 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown rice, ground turkey, half a bag of frozen vegetables and a little parsley. Larger pieces of meat need to be chopped up and then stir everything you put in earlier. You will have to simmer everything for around 35 minutes by using the directions offered by the rice as guide. When the rice is cooked you can take everything off heat and allow the mix to cool. Now you will need to package everything in freezer bags and the size you want to make them is one meal for the dog. Freeze everything and defrost each serving in the microwave before serving! Here you go! Frozen homemade dog food that is safe and has everything needed for your pet. Pay attention to how much olive oil you put in though and do not exaggerate so that you can avoid cholesterol problems. Salt is not needed!

Keeping Dogs Comfortobale Outside in Bad Weather

If your dog is too big to bring inside you need to think about bad weather. This includes both storms and cold weather so if your dog is not house trained and can simply not be put in you need to think about how you can make everything comfortable for him outside for when bad weather arrives. This is especially a problem during winter as that is when cold can cause problems. Let us take a look at some tips that you can do in order to keep your dog comfortable during bad weather.

First of all you need to think about where your dog will go for shelter. The truth is that you decide this for him as the dog will actually go where he is going to be warm. In this case it is plain to see why a dog house is the best solution possible although old sheds can also provide suitable shelter. We recommend that you put blankets in the dog house or shelter. You can also purchase dog clothes or even use shirts and modify them so that your dog can wear them. Flannels are highly recommended.

Hygiene is always important with any pet so you need to make sure that the blankets and dog clothes are dry and clean. Placing a trap over the roof of the doghouse in order to stop cold air is also a very good idea. You must also pay attention to the distance the dog has to go through in order to reach food and water. Pay attention to the small details and all should be perfect for both yourself and your dog!