3 summer products for dogs and dog lovers

I wish to share with you some of the top products I myself use and have enjoyed . These products are useful and beautiful and made me and Doni feel good and also look good in these summer days .

Waterproof Collar

So dogs come first and the product. I think is a really useful product and seems that Doni also really enjoys. I am talking about is a Waterproof Collar by Pridebites that is

1. Adjustable
2. Maintenance free  
3. Waterproof 
4. Personalized with your dog's name and phone number 
5. Odor resistant

What I need more from a collar that is waterproof ? .. well nothing more  :P
Use code YOURSPECIALDOG for a 20% discount off  your order   

Doglover Beach Towel

The fresh sea colors and the dog paw mark with a heart makes this towel perfect for a doglover person . Well in my opinion this can also be used by your dog ... i mean it is so adorable :D

LOVEROPE bracelet

Totally  in love with this vegan leather , simple meaningful and customizable bracelet .

You can go to their website and pick a color by your choice and also put a short saying or word that has a big value for you. I used also a code for a 20% discount:  ESSENCELOVE20

Affiliate links are included in this post!

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How to prevent a dog from nipping newborn baby

A dog nipping a newborn should never happen. Preventing a dog from nipping a newborn starts before you bring your new baby home. Your dog has no idea a new family member is being added to the household. There are a few ways to socialize your dog to your new baby before it arrives home.

1. Bring a blanket that smells like the baby and give it to the dog.
2. Let the dog sniff the baby while you are holding it.
3. Make sure to spend time with the dog and not lose focus on your friendship.
4. Don't be overprotective of the baby, it signals the dog to be overprotective of you.
5. Include the dog in the excitement, hold baby on one side and pet the dog on the other.

Ways To Prevent Dog From Nipping At A Newborn

Dogs feel jealousy just like humans, but don't have an understanding of what's happening. The best preventative if your dog is nipping at the newborn is to make sure the baby is always out of reach. Putting your dog outside or in a secured area of your home while tending to the baby is suggested. You don't want to disclude your dog for his behavior. Spending time with your dog without the baby involved can help relieve some of the bad behaviors. Reassuring your pet that "it's fine" and "everything will be alright" can help him adjust to having a newborn around.

Don't fret too much beyond keeping the baby safe. Babies, like puppies, grow fast. In no time at all your baby will be walking and your dog will have a new pal to protect. They'll fast become friends and you'll forget all about the dog nipping at your newborn. Being patient, aware, and firm with your dog will help you get through that tough first year of having a growing newborn.

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7 funny pics of dogs on roofs | Huck the roof dog

These pics made me laugh a lot and I'm sure you will enjoy them as I did .  After the laugh comment which of this photo you liked the most :P

I wanted to start the list with a supper famous dog called Huck the roof dog or better Huckleberry 

I can call this a dog or not ?

Guarding the place , always careful ...

Night walker , there is someone else above his head ...

Stuck

Enjoying the view

and of course i will finish the post with   Huck the roof dog :P

Why dogs like so much staying on roofs hmm ...

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17 amazing small dogs and their secret thoughts

Dogs bring so much joy in our lives and we share lots of amazing and funny moments with them. Have you ever felt full of positivity and forgot about your problems as soon as you were close to your furry friend? It is because dogs have a friendly and positive vibes that spread and make us smile instantly. Dogs are highly social and communicate using various facial expressions, being very amusing sometimes. They are experiencing lots of emotions like us, their faces become sweet and adorable. Dogs are loving, attention needy, jealous etc. Small breeds are highly expressive and are preferred by most people due to their small sizes and characteristics as well as to their abilities to adapt to almost any living conditions. LoneStarPups.com has created a collection of photos received from customers with their adorable puppies in various contexts. We tried to find out what these adorable dogs were thinking of. Let’s have some fun!!!

Don’t tickle me, I cannot control myself

I am busy now, let me alone, I am having fun with my toys!

I won’t come, I like my seat, it’s very comfortable. Thanks for making it softer 

Hey, what are you doing there? Come and play with me! I’m ready to get outside.

I hate labels. I have to remove this immediately.

I’m the prettiest in this house. Do you like my selfie?

Photo session is starting now. Oh, God, I am so precious! Will it be fine if I look down? How do I look like that? 

But of course I keep an eye on you! You are such a bad driver. I have to protect my lady.

Ya, you are talking too much like always. Say quickly what you have to say, I won’t listen to you all day long.

I feel sad because you left me with my inanimate friend and he doesn’t pay me any attention.

I was thinking about a good play session. I keep dreaming about it since the last one.

Tell me more, I am all ears.

Hey, what’s on your head? It hurts, don’t you know? 

I’m fine here, thanks. My corner is full of toys and I don’t need anything else.

Take me a photo right now. I’m the king of the couch. 

Let me dream, it’s Sunday and I don’t have enough energy for other stuff. 

Hey, look at me! I’m gonna make a magic trick with this bowl.

 

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Custom Frisbee GIVEAWAY by Pridebites

Yourspecialdog  in collaboration with Pridebites is giving away a Custom Frisbee . This  is the perfect gift for your favorite 4 legged friend! Customizing is as easy as 1,2,3... Choose between 5 color options, tell us your dogs name, then upload 2-3 pictures and your done!

PrideBites is a company that prides itself on making every product your pet needs, and they mean it! From toys , coats to beds, you can find exactly what you’re looking for, and personalize it to make it even better! When PrideBites started, they were unhappy with the dog toys on the market, so they set out to create something unique and special for the consumer. I think they made it!

Enter to win this Custom Frisbee from PrideBites below. While you are waiting for the winner to be announced, make sure you check out their website. You can enter the code YOURSPECIALDOG at check out to save 20% on your order of anything on their site. Good luck!

@Yourspecialdog Custom Frisbee Toy Giveaway

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5 dog birthday gift ideas

It's a beautiful time of the year our birthday and I think a joyful day must be for your dog too! So basically  what can you give to your dog to make them happy ? First would be of course food and than entertainment . Your special dog of course must feel joy on his/ her  special day .

So some birthday gift ideas for your dog might be :

1. Peanut Butter Delight Pupcakes

Such a fancy name don't you think :p .I found this really easy and tasty-looking peanut butter recipe from RUN DMT .It's dog-friendly and has also simple ingredients that you can find anywhere.

 2. Personalized frisbee from PrideBites

A really nice and beautiful toy which will make your dog happy. This toy has some qualities like:

• Squeaks & Floats
• Personalized with your dog’s name and image 
• Machine Washable  

You can use code YOURSPECIALDOG to save 20% from your order!

3.  Dog House/Fort

Make your dog feel special

image source 

4. A personalized placemat

Your dog will surely look cool with this this fancy placemat . It is personalized and it helps keep the place clean .

5. A slice of pica

Your saw it well a pica slice toy . It looks like food and it feels like game :P . I bet your dog will really love this

If you made something really unique and special to your dog as a birthday gift , please share it with us in the comments below :D

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5 Pridebites coupon codes 2017 | As seen on SHARK TANK

You already know Pridebites and also you must love their dog products that are uniquely  designed  for your unique furry friend . I think also you as any buyer deserve a discount when you purchase something you like. I am sharing some coupon codes with you guys so you can earn 20% OFF from your order on Pridebites.  As a partner YourSpecialDog offers the  coupon code YOURSPECIALDOG and lets you save  20% of the money  you would spend :).

The coupon codes with 20% discount from PrideBites: 

1. YOURSPECIALDOG
2. MKCLINTON
3. SHESPEAKSBARK

There are also 2 coupon codes for 10% discount   in case something goes wrong :P

1. RUCKUS
2. GTTSD 

Personally I like the products that are made with 100% love for animals so much . I am really happy that i can help you with an extra discount and save some money for you .

Below I am sharing a video of the co-founders of this company on SHARK TANK in case you missed it

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How to Prevent Car Sickness for Your Dog

Car sickness, which essentially is a form of motion sickness often coupled with anxiety about the car ride itself, is a common problem for dogs and for dog owners. Let’s talk about some of the reasons for car sickness and what we can do to help our dogs.

Many owners like to be able to take their dogs with them on outings. But when your dog gets sick and ends up vomiting all over the backseat of your car, the situation becomes uncomfortable for your dog and frustrating for you. Too often, it’s easier just to leave your dog at home rather than take him with you and risk the vomiting. At its worst, car sickness can even damage the bond between you and your dog. So finding a solution is important to many dog owners. Fortunately, there are ways to help your dog if he gets sick in the car.

Recognize the Signs of Fear and Understand How Anxiety Is Related to Car Sickness

It’s important to realize that many dogs are fearful of the car and this fear can make the car sickness worse as well. For some dogs, the car is simply an unfamiliar object and scary as a result. For others, a car ride may bring back memories of unpleasant experiences such as trips to the groomer, veterinarian, or boarding kennel. Some dogs may even be fearful of the car because of memories of previous episodes of car sickness, making the car even more scary.

Look for early signs of apprehension or anxiety in your dog. These signs may become evident when the car is first sighted, before the motor is even started and the car is moving. Signs that your dog is anxious about the car include ears facing backward or sideways, tail held low or tucked between the hind legs, yawning, licking the lips, shivering, whining, restlessness, and drooling. (Drooling may also be a sign of nausea.)

Dogs that are anxious or fearful of the car may need to be conditioned to ride in the car. Start slowly and don’t forget to reward generously for good behavior.

1. Begin by placing your dog in the car without starting the motor. Start with a short stay in the car (perhaps only a minute or two at first) and gradually increase your dog’s time in the car as your dog becomes more comfortable. Offer treats as a reward for being in the car.
2. For dogs that are particularly fearful of entering the car, feeding near the car and gradually moving the food closer and closer to the car until the dog is comfortable being near the car may be a logical first step. Eventually, you will be able to lure your dog into the car with food.
3. Once your dog is comfortable in the car, try starting the motor for a moment or two but do not attempt to move the car. Again, offer treats and increase the time spent in the running car gradually as your dog becomes more comfortable.
4. Once your dog is comfortable in a running car, try a short drive of a block or two. Offer treats. Consider driving to a favorite location within a short distance from your home as a reward for riding in the car.
5. Once your dog is riding comfortably in the car, you can gradually begin to increase the distances traveled.

Some dogs may need additional help in overcoming their anxiety. Options to consider include:

• Thundershirt or Anxiety Wrap – these products are designed to reduce anxiety and are essentially tight-fitting “shirts” for your dog that use pressure to calm your dog. Despite the name, Thundershirts are useful for all forms of anxiety, not just for thunderstorm phobias. The Anxiety Wrap is a similar product that works on the same principle.
• Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) – this pheromone product is a natural product that acts to calm your dog. It is a natural product with very little if any risk of side effects. DAP collars are useful for car sickness. DAP spray is also useful and can be sprayed inside your car or in your dog’s carrier. DAP is also known as Adaptil or Comfort Zone.
• Other natural calming products such as herbal anxiety remedies and flower essences may also be useful for some dogs.
• Anxiolytic drugs such as alprazolam (Xanax) may be needed for extreme cases to reduce anxiety associated with riding in the car.

When in the car, don’t forget to make the environment comfortable for your dog. Adjust the temperature accordingly in your car. Consider cracking a window for airflow/ventilation. When your car is moving, always make sure your dog is safely harnessed or in a carrier to prevent injury to either of you.

Pharmaceutical Help for Car Sickness in Dogs 

Dogs that are severely affected with car sickness may need additional help to prevent vomiting. Several options are available.

• Maropitant (Cerenia) is an anti-emetic (anti-vomiting) medication that is labeled for use in preventing vomiting as a result of car sickness.
• Meclizine is an antihistimine that also has some sedative and anti-emetic effects. Postafen is a similar product that may help with car sickness.
• The spice known as ginger has also been advocated as a means of controlling vomiting and may be worth a try before moving on to more potent drugs.

Some people have advocated withholding food for approximately one hour before travel for dogs that get car sick and vomit. Others have advocated feeding only a very small amount (i.e. a bite or two) before travel so that the stomach is not empty but is not full either. It may be that these approaches may work differently for different dogs. So, if withholding food does not prevent vomiting for your dog, try feeding a small amount before traveling to see if that works better.

Some dogs may need a combination of conditioning to the car, calming agents or sedatives, and anti-emetic medications to successfully overcome car sickness. Talk with your veterinarian about which medications are suitable for your dog. Your veterinarian may be able to offer further suggestions to help your dog with this issue also.

This is a collaborative post  . Check out  Kevin Davies blog

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Things to consider when adopting a small breed puppy

Caring for small breed puppies

Adopting a puppy for you and your family is a delicate aspect that needs to be properly analyzed to ensure yourself is a good decision to make. Puppies are cute and charming, but they also need attention and time, proper education as well as regular budget for their food and health checks and issues.

If you have already searched for small breed puppies for sale, you probably know they are the most suitable for almost any type of environment, especially for apartments as they don’t need too much space and exercise to be in a good shape. We have made a list of specific aspects you should reflect before taking a new puppy home, as your companion.

Photo credit: Premier Pups

Reasons to adopt a small breed puppy

Think about why you want to adopt a puppy: it is about your need to replace another pet that you have lost or you’ll be the first time owner of a gorgeous puppy? A dog changes your life completely for at least 10 years. A small dog breed life span is between 10 to 15 years and he needs constant care during this period.

Attention and time

Depending on the breed, puppies can be attention needy and demanding, so you won’t have the possibility to ignore him when you are busy or tired. Furthermore, you’ll have to feed him constantly, make sure you offer him fresh clean water. Also, you have to get him exercised, both mentally and physically in order to keep him healthy and to avoid bad behavior.

Budget

Caring for a puppy involves money to feed him and pay all the necessary vet checks, vaccinations, emergency care and specific vet actions such as spaying or neutering him as well as training classes.
There are also lots of things that you should buy such as dog bowls, blankets, toys, leads, micro chipping and dog cage and save some money for boarding kennels when you go on holidays. You may need a pet insurance if you want to have vet bills covered.

Training

Puppies need to be well trained and socialized during puppyhood to become a well-rounded dog at maturity and to avoid destructive behaviors.

Living conditions

If you are living in a rented house, you should ensure you are allowed to live with a pet and always take into account the necessity to move. You’ll have to find a place where pets are allowed, so it can become difficult for you to find a new home. A small dog breed is a great option if you live in a small apartment as he won’t need lots of space and high activity level to be happy. Choose a breed that suits your home environment.

Lifestyle and responsibilities

Think about your lifestyle and the ways you use to spend your free time. If you are likely to travel a lot or if your job is very demanding and involves being away from home overnight, think twice before adopting a puppy. Your holidays are periods that need special care for your dog. You’ll have to let him with reliable persons, take him to boarding kennels or apply for pet-sitting service so your dog can stay at home.
Be aware that a dog involves responsibility such as looking after him the way he needs, taking him to vet when needed and periodically for regular health checks, picking up any mess he makes in public spaces etc.

Tips to handle the first days with your puppy

If you have decided upon the breed and already moved forward to getting your puppy, get a crate to make housetraining easier. Let your pup sleep in your bedroom at least for the first few nights to avoid offering him a scary experience. Use baby gates to keep him out of places you don’t want him to have access and supervise him carefully. When you cannot supervise him, put him in a small area and arrange it with a bed and pee pads.

Pick a potty spot in a certain area and take him directly there when it’s potty time. Take him outside after each meal to eliminate and to choose his own potty area.

It is useful to set a daily routine to make the housetraining easier. If you have the possibility to enroll him to puppy classes, your pup will learn quickly basic commands and will socialize with other puppies and people.

Set common rules regarding puppy care with the entire family and don’t encourage bad behaviors. Make time to play training games and get him properly exercised on a regular basis.

Start grooming early to get him accustomed. Expose him to various experiences to be properly socialized. Make sure you introduce new experiences slowly and avoid to increase his fears and get him overwhelmed. Provide him proper toys and baby carrots to chew.

Always reward good behavior. Don’t take him to dogs’ park until he is not vaccinated against various diseases.

Feed him 3 meals a day and don’t leave the food to eat whenever he wants.

Pick up anything you don’t want to be destroyed by chewing up.

Take your pup to vet to install a microchip. If he gets lost, you’ll find him easier.
 
Separate him from you, take him in his crate or room so you can avoid separation anxiety.

Treat him gently even if he bites you when he is a puppy. Do not yell at him, smack him or make any other action to punish him. Biting or chewing you is not a sign of aggression.

Offer him treats when taking him to the vet in order to make it a friendly environment and experience for him.

Teach him to walk nice on leash so to avoid bad leash manners at adulthood.

Enjoy every moment you spend with your puppy and take as many photos as possible as puppyhood won’t last too much!

This is a collaborative post.

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How intelligent is Your Dog?

The subject of dog intelligence is an interesting one. We all know that dogs are clever. For centuries, they have been helping humans to complete tasks that would otherwise be very difficult, or, in some cases, impossible. Dogs can be trained to do all kinds of things. Including tasks that humans are not capable of, even when using specialist equipment.


It is widely accepted that dogs are intelligent, but we have only recently started to try to answer questions like – how clever are dogs?, and which breeds are the most intelligent?

 The findings are still coming in, but over the past few decades several methods have been developed to rank dog breeds by intelligence. One of the best, and biggest, bodies of research into this area is that carried out by Stanley Coren who is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. He, and his team, have spent a lot of time analysing the intelligence of dogs, and have ranked many breeds using a simple, and easy to understand method.

How Coren’s team ranked dog intelligence 

They simply used the number of times a dog needed to be shown something before they would learn it as a way to measure intelligence. The most intelligent breeds only had to be given the command up to five times before they understood, and obeyed. These dogs obey commands that they already recognise 95% of the time.
Dogs that understand commands after five to 15 repetitions make up the second tier. They obey 85% of the time, once trained. The third tier of dogs require between 15 and 25 repetitions before understanding what they need to do. Once they understand what is required they then obey around 70% of the time.

Which are the most intelligent dogs? 

Unsurprisingly the working breeds came top of the list. The top ten includes border collies, German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, Australian cattle dogs, and Doberman pinchers. This is not surprising because they are all working dogs that are still used, today, for important tasks.

source

At number two on the list, is the poodle, something that surprises many people because poodles are rarely put to work in the modern world. As a result, their exceptional talents, and intelligence, are now not well known.
You can read more about Professor Coren’s work here, and check where your pet appears in his dog intelligence list. It is a bit of a revelation, and is sure to help you to better understand why your pet behaves in the way they do.
 Using the list will also help you to work out which type of dog is right for you. The next time you see puppies for sale in Scotland, or elsewhere, you will be able to use the list to gauge how clever the puppy is likely to be once it has reached adulthood. For those who want a dog that is quick to learn and obedient this is an important consideration. Knowing which breeds to focus on, will help you to find a puppy that is right for you and your family.

This is a collaborative post.

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