How to Get your Dog Ready for a Show

If your dog is from a long line of pure breeds, you might want to let them join a dog show or pageant. These shows not only showcase your dog’s talent and looks, it can also let you win a cash prize or even a supply of dog food, grooming products and even vitamins to minimize your dog’s chances of getting degenerative myelopathy. Getting your dog ready for these shows isn’t as easy as it sounds. Here are some tips to help your dog be the best it can be during the big day.

No stress

First of all, don’t get the pressure get to you and your dog. Don’t stress yourself and your dog out with extreme preparation for the event. Remember, you’re just joining the contest for fun. Meet other dog enthusiast and let you and your dog enjoy the day and don’t be too competitive and serious, especially if it’s your fist time joining a contest.

Get some practice

It’s a good idea to take some time to go over your dog’s tricks a few weeks before the event. Your dog might find some tricks easy to do, while others might be a bit of a challenge, especially if they’re not use to doing it. Take some time to over your dog’s tricks and be patient with them. Just let them get used to all the commands while you still have time.

Go to the parlor

Help your dog look their best by going to the groomers a day before the event. Have their hair cut and shaped, give them a bath, and condition their fur. Don’t miss out on their nails, eyes, ears and paws when getting them cleaned. If your dog has the early stages of degenerative myelopathy, a good massage can help sooth their nerves and even let them perform better.

Vitamins

Giving your dog some extra vitamins can help keep them active and boost up their energy levels. You can find these in most vet supply shops or pet stores. Some dog owners even give their dogs vitamins that are for human consumption, but this isn’t advisable. Before giving any food supplement of vitamins to your pet, make sure you talk to your vet.

Rest

Make sure your dog gets a lot of rest before the day of the event. They might become too tired to perform on the day and this might even affect their behavior. Let them have a good night’s sleep before the event.

Common Wide Dogs as Pets

Most of us are used to pet dogs that are warm, welcoming and domesticated. These dogs are very used to the presence of humans and are commonly kept as pets. However, there are some dog lovers who take their love for canines to the extreme, even taking in wild dogs as pet. These dogs more or less have the same needs as domesticated dogs, even sharing the same illnesses like DM in dogs. In some countries, keeping wild dogs is against the law. However, some people still find ways to keep these wild dogs under their homes as “pets”. Many successfully domesticate these animals, but some end up in life threatening accidents and even death. Below are common wild dogs that people captivate and take in as pets.

Wolves

The wolf is one of the most common wild dogs found across the world. They are characterized by their long bushy tails, pointy ears, almond shaped eyes, medium to thick fur and large size. Wolves are one of the easiest wild dogs to domesticate, especially if they were bred and grew up on captivity. Wolves are even used in the entertainment industry as actors in movies, preforming tricks in front of a crowed and playing the “bad guy” in most films. Like German Shepherds, which are very closely related to them, wolves can also suffer from DM in dogs.

Dingo

Growing up in the Australian outback’s, you’re probably familiar with what a dingo is. These medium sizes wild dogs live mostly around the grasslands, edges of forest and deserts of Australia. They stay close to water and can’t live far from it. Most dingos settle in empty rabbit holes, dens that they dig up and big hollow logs. Dingos have made a bad reputation for themselves in the outback. Normally, these dogs don’t touch human livestock, but due to the migration of human presence to their natural habitat, many dingos have been hunted down and condemned because they attacked flocks of sheep and goats.

Jackal

This wild dog looks more like a mixture of a wolf and a fox. They have small, pointy-shaped heads with ears that stand up. These dogs are commonly found in northern Africa and west Asia, roaming around the deserts and dry lands. They feed of small animals like birds and lizards and they have the ability to walk and run for long distances. Unlike most dogs, jackals prefer to live in pairs, and in some rare cases, trios.

Keeping these animals as pets is a dangerous thought, for the sole fact that they are still wild and their primitive urges are still uncontrollable. However, if you do come across one and consider getting as a pet, you have to be ready for the responsibility.