Archive for September, 2008

How To Tell Bad Shih Tzu Breeders

When you decide it is time to bring home a Shih Tzu for you and your family you want to be certain that you are getting the best start you possible can when you start life with your new pet.

The best way to insure you get the best dog you can get and a breeder you can trust is to do some research and make sure you get a reputable Shih Tzu breeder. A good breeder makes all the difference in the world, so take your time and make the right choice the first time.

The first thing you can do is check with the National Kennel Club to find a reputable breeder in your area. The National Kennel Club will have a listing of most of the very good breeders near you and also some information about the dogs that breeder offers. There are other breeder registries that you can also look into and check out any potential local breeder you may want to deal with. If they are not listed with a registry then you may want to avoid them.

A good Shih Tzu breeder will be there for long after you take your new puppy home. A good breeder will be available to answer your questions and advice while you are raising your puppy.

A good breeder encourages owners, especially novice owners, to contact them if they have any questions or concerns or if they feel they need any advice for the raising of a new dog. A good breeder knows that a good relationship between breeder and owner is essential to the ongoing good health of each dog.

Another good sign of a breeder is how helpful they are with your new dog’s diet. A good breeder will offer detailed advice on care and feeding of your new Shih Tzu and they also offer their own personal advice as well, based on their experience. Most breeders will also send you home with a food sample so you know what to get your dog for the future. If you are not getting any of this kind of help from your breeder then you may have a bad breeder.

When you get ready to take your new dog home from the Shih Tzu breeder the reputable breeder will offer you free pet insurance for a six week period after you leave their property. They get it as a free incentive from insurance companies and the hope of the insurance company is that you will want to continue coverage. Free pet insurance is not something a shady breeder can offer or will offer.

Any good breeder will offer many options and pieces of advice to any new or experienced owner. You should discuss with your prospective breeder any of these conditions to see if you are dealing with a reputable breeder or not. A reputable breeder will offer to take the dog back at any point in its life if you can no longer care for it, with no cash refund. That is something you do not get from a shady breeder.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Pets and Animals | No Comments »

Tell Tale Signs Of A Fake Shih Tzu Breeder

So the time has come to bring the pitter-patter of little feet back into your home and you and your family have decided on a Shih Tzu.

The very first thing you are going to need to do is be certain that you find the right Shih Tzu breeder and one that you can trust, as your relationship will extend way after you leave their property with your new puppy. Choosing a breeder is important so take your time and consider many.

The first thing you can do is check with the National Kennel Club to find a reputable breeder in your area. The National Kennel Club will have a listing of most of the very good breeders near you and also some information about the dogs that breeder offers. There are other breeder registries that you can also look into and check out any potential local breeder you may want to deal with. If they are not listed with a registry then you may want to avoid them.

The relationship between you and your Shih Tzu breeder extends way beyond the transaction itself. A good breeder wants to make sure you have a positive experience in owning the dog so they will make themselves available for consultation or whenever you have a question at all.

If you are having a difficult time getting a hold of a particular breeder, or they don’t seem too anxious to answer questions, then you may need to move on to a different breeder before you make a mistake.

Every good breeder is very concerned about your dog’s health so a good breeder will make sure you leave their property not only with a healthy dog but with detailed care and feeding instructions so you know exactly how to care for your dog. Many of the more reputable breeders will also send you home with a sample of the type of food your dog will need so you know exactly what to get.

A reputable Shih Tzu breeder will get an extra incentive from insurance companies that the more shady breeders do not get. A registered and reputable breeder will get the option to offer new owners free pet insurance on their dog that extends for six weeks after the purchase date. The insurance companies want you to use the insurance just once on a vet appointment and then extend the insurance. The breeder just wants to make sure the dog is covered.

A good breeder can mean many things to an owner and you should make sure to discuss all of these things prior to investing in a dog from any breeder. A good breeder will also offer to take back the dog, without a refund, at any point in the dog’s life if you can no longer care for it. A good breeder is interested in the health and happiness of the dog and the satisfaction of the family that bought it.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Pets and Animals | No Comments »

Important Shar Pei Training Information

The Shar Pei is a beautiful breed of dog. They are loyal, loving, and make a great family pet. There are certain differences between Shar Peis and other dogs however, in particular when it comes to grooming and training. Shar Pei training is very important, and you are going to want to make sure that you start training them when still a puppy. That way you can teach them how to behave o they will then grow up to be a polite and well-mannered dog.

Especially if you have children you are going to want to ensure that your Shar Pei is well behaved, and remember that even if you buy an adult Shar Pei you can still train them properly, although it will take a bit more time and effort. As long as you are willing to put in the time and effort required, you are going to come out with some great results and have a well-behaved dog.

This is why, although all dog training is important, Shar Pei potty training is especially so, because the breed can become so dominant and controlling. This would be especially problematic if you have children in the home because you do not want any sort of dog around your children if they are not obedient.

This includes electric dog clippers, dog balls, dog beds, dog bones, dog bristle brushes, dog collars, dog conditioner, dog dish mats, dog dishes, dog flea control medication, dog grooming sprays, dog leashes, dog shampoos, and dog tags. You can purchase additional items as well if you want, but these are the basics.

Aversive training is the type typically used with Shar Pei, and this includes methods that will teach your dog to obey you in order to avoid something bad. Positive training is also very important here, as the Shar Pei respond better to positive reinforcement and kind words. You want to make sure that you stay firm and consistent to get the best results but at the same time never get angry or yell at the dog to try and get them to do what you want.

Whether you are training with positive reinforcement or just trying to bond more with your dog, Shar Pei potty trainingis an essential part to owning a Shar Pei dog. You want to make sure that they recognize you as being the master, the one in control, but remember that if you try to force it too much you may end up just doing yourself even more harm.

As long as you are consistent and remember to take the puppy out every hour or so and after each meal, success should be easy. Teaching the puppy to ring a bell on the doorknob when it has to go is a good idea. And using a crate at night and when you away from home can be the best training support you can buy.

For help with any kind of training turn to your vet, a trusted breeder or a professional dog trainer. In no time you will have a happy well-trained dog that will live a long and healthy life as your companion.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Pets and Animals | No Comments »

What You Need To Know About Yorkshire Terrier Nutrition

Just as it is extremely important to make sure that you put only the best of the best food into your body, for the same reasons, you want to make sure that only the best foods and treats go into the little body of your dog. Yorkshire Terrier nutrition is one of the most important parts to consider and focus on when thinking of proper pet care. While there are many choices of food on the market and this may seem like an excellent thing, it can make it a lot more confusing when trying to find what will be best for your individual dogs needs.

Too many times an owner will only take into account the price of the product thinking that all dog foods are created equal and that is simply not the case. Take special note to who the makers of the dog foods are and make sure that you read through all of the fine print and the ingredients as well. When in doubt, your local vet should be able to direct you in the right direction as to which dog food is best for your little furry friend.

Just as a lot of people have problems with overeating, your puppy can have the same issues. That is another part of proper and healthy Yorkshire Terrier nutrition as it is not only about what type of food that you feed them, but also how much of it.

Even the healthiest of choices have to be taken in with moderation. By keeping an eye on feeding times and only providing food to your pup when it is time to eat and in the portion sizes that they need to have, you can help keep your puppy healthy.

As if shopping was not confusing enough, try adding in a hundred or so different types of dog food that all promise to be providing the best Yorkshire Terrier nutrition and you have a complete mess.

The fact is though, that not every type of dog food is suitable for every type of dog. The cheapest are not always the worst for your dog and the most expensive are not always the best for your dog’s nutrition.

Your vet may also suggest that you research and try out some of the different Yorkshire Terrier dog food recipes as these home made meals will often provide the essential nutrients that are required for excellent Yorkshire Terrior care.

Also, he or she may even suggest trying to make your own dog food at home. By using different Yorkshire Terrier dog food recipes you will be able to control exactly what is and what isn’t in the diet of your precious pet.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Pets and Animals | No Comments »

Rated tops are the Batman & The Joker Halloween Costumes

At Halloween time, it’s easy to be someone you can’t be in real life. Our personality can be the opposite. One can be good or one can be evil. You can be good when you go to your Halloween parties wearing the Batman costume. You can be really bad wearing the Joker costume.

Batman and The Joker are the two main characters in this years hit movie “Dark Knight”. It’s the top movie this year and will soon be the top dollar movie of all time. It’s the sixth of the Batman movies and the most successful. As always, the Joker is very evil and Batman is there to save the people.

The choice is obvious this Halloween, of which Halloween costumes will be the classics and the rant of your friends. The Joker Dark Knight Halloween costume and the Batman Dark Knight Halloween Costume are by far the most popular. The Batgirl Costume, if this is your style, will again be a classic.

Anyone can wear the Batman Dark Knight Halloween Costume this Halloween, infants, toddlers, children, tweens, adults, and adults plus. Get your dog in the fun, wearing the Batman dog costume. The Batman Dark Knight deluxe muscle chest costume, is only for that person, who wants to be the star attraction of any party.

The star of The Joker costumes, is The Joker deluxe adult costume. But children, adults, and adults plus can wear The Joker costume.

There has to be a Batgirl, with Batman and the Joker, available in toddler and adult.

There are plenty of Batman & Joker accessories available, if you don’t need the whole costume. A Dark Knight Halloween party is attainable by having your friends or family wear the different masks, including: Joker Clown, Chuckles, Grumpy, Happy, Dopey, Scarecrow character, and School Bus Driver.Also, Batman adult and kids masks can be worn. Other accessories are, wigs, gloves, and gauntlets.

The Dark Knight is yours this Halloween, when you wear either the Batman Dark Knight Halloween Costume, or the Joker Dark Knight Halloween costume. A night of great memories will never be forgotten by you or your friends.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Movies | No Comments »

Spotting Fake Shih Tzu Breeders

So the time has come to bring the pitter-patter of little feet back into your home and you and your family have decided on a Shih Tzu.

The best way to insure you get the best dog you can get and a breeder you can trust is to do some research and make sure you get a reputable Shih Tzu breeder. A good breeder makes all the difference in the world, so take your time and make the right choice the first time.

The place you can start is any of the national breeder registries you can find on the Internet or just skip right to the National Kennel Club, which is the standard by which many breeders go by in the United States. The registry will point you towards a quality breeder and help you start your search off on the best foot possible to get the best results.

A good Shih Tzu breeder will be there for long after you take your new puppy home. A good breeder will be available to answer your questions and advice while you are raising your puppy.

If the breeder you are dealing with is not very accessible and seems unable or unwilling to answer questions then you may want to pick a different Shih Tzu breeder to deal with.

It is the job of a breeder to make sure that when you take your dog home you have complete and detailed care and feeding instructions so you know exactly what and when to feed your new dog. Most breeders will also send you home with a sample of food for your dog so you know what to feed it for proper health through its life.

When you get ready to take your new dog home from the Shih Tzu breeder the reputable breeder will offer you free pet insurance for a six week period after you leave their property. They get it as a free incentive from insurance companies and the hope of the insurance company is that you will want to continue coverage. Free pet insurance is not something a shady breeder can offer or will offer.

Any good breeder will offer many options and pieces of advice to any new or experienced owner. You should discuss with your prospective breeder any of these conditions to see if you are dealing with a reputable breeder or not. A reputable breeder will offer to take the dog back at any point in its life if you can no longer care for it, with no cash refund. That is something you do not get from a shady breeder.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Pets and Animals | No Comments »

When Digital Print Enlargements are Considered

Digital photos can be viewed on computer screens or printed on paper. Most of the time you are most likely to print on standard paper sizes like 4X6 or 5X7. Every now and then however you might want to make enlargements of some photos that you specially care about. Print enlargements quality depends on your digital camera mega pixels figure, here is how.

Every digital photo that you take with your camera has a certain resolution normally expressed as the number of pixels in the photo or sometimes as two numbers depicting the number of pixels over the X axis and the number of the Y axis (multiplying these two numbers provides the total number of pixels in the digital photo).

When you print digital photos you are really printing those digital pixels on paper. If the paper size is very big relative to the digital photo resolution the result will be a poor quality print. One of the most noticeable results of such poor quality is your ability to actually see the individual pixels on the print also known as pixelization.

So how can you determine what is the maximum print enlargement that you can make from a certain digital photo? There is no one precise answer. In addition to the actual number of pixels in the photo there are other things that can influence the answer like how many details are in the photo, what were the lighting conditions and more. Even when considering the number of pixels the answer is not precise since different people would have different views about the quality of a photo print.

A rough guess of what consists of a good print quality is based on the pixels density or in other words the number of pixels per inch on the printed photo. This is also known as PPI (pixels per inch) and it represents the number of pixels over an axis line.

The following qualities are generally associated with a specific PPI number:

PPI 100 - fair to bad

PPI 200 - good

PPI 300 and up - very good

The next logical step would be to figure out how many mega pixels are needed for good quality printing on a specific paper size. Fortunately calculating this number is very easy. To do that all you need to do is to simply multiply the page length by its width in inches. The result is the number of square inches on the page. Next multiply this number by the square of the PPI number and the result is the number of pixels on the page which is the number of pixels we want our source photo to have. Here are the numbers calculated for some common sizes (for 100,200 and 300 PPI respectively):

page 4X6 0.24MP 1MP 2MP

5X7 0.35MP 1.5MP 3MP

8X10 0.8MP 3MP 7MP

page 11X14 1.5MP 6MP 14MP

page 16X20 3MP 12MP 28MP

page 20X30 6MP 24MP 54MP

This table is just an estimation of what is considered suitable number of mega pixels for different paper sizes. There are many other factors to consider when making enlargements. Experimenting with different paper sizes is the best way to go but it can be expensive. In addition sometimes what is considered poor quality pixelization can actually be a nice artistic effect which strengthen the unfortunate fact that in addition to the above calculation some common sense and experience are needed in order to match a specific digital photo to a specific paper size enlargement.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Photography | No Comments »

How To Raise A Beagle Pup

A beagle pup is a great thing to get for you and your family as they make great family dogs and can be a lot of fun to raise and watch grow up. But beagle puppies require a lot of patience and beagle puppy care is not as easy as it may seem. Take the time to do some research on how to raise your beagle pup the right way so that it stays healthy and grows into a great family dog. Always keep your vet involved with regular appointments and consultations if something should go wrong.

When you are raising your beagle pup you need to look at it like a fast developing human baby. You cannot expect a one-year-old human baby to use a computer so you should not have unrealistic expectations for your beagle pup either. Do some research and find out what to expect at each stage of your beagle pup’s development so you know what your puppy’s limitations are.

If you are caging your beagle pup to try and housebreak it and the process is not working then there is another way that may do the trick. Set aside a 48-hour period where you and someone else can take the dog out every hour on the hour and take it to the spot where you want it to do its business. Reinforce to the puppy that this outside spot is where to do these things and that the inside is not a good place. If this alternative does not work contact your vet.

Dogs respond better when they understand what is going on rather than fearing what they consider to be random violence. If your puppy barks constantly then point at it and tell it to stop with consistent but short one-word commands. Never beat your dog and never run at your dog in anger as the dog can sense this and fear is a lousy trainer.

Teaching your beagle pup good manners at a young age will greatly decrease the chance that any other problems will arise later in life. Teach your puppy the proper way to walk on a leash and they will keep that for the rest of their lives.

It takes patience but you need to make sure that all negative behavioral traits are eliminated when they are still young enough to learn.

A beagle pup is like an empty book waiting to be filled with information. If you wait too long to address behavioral issues then those issues become patterns in adulthood and negative behavioral patterns are much more difficult to stop.

So make sure you take the time to train your pup while it is still young so you and your family can enjoy it for years to come.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Pets and Animals | No Comments »

Singers Are Not Born. They Are Made - The Top Myth About Singing

It is very common for someone to think that they weren’t meant to be a singer - they just “weren’t born with it.” There is a broad group of people to blame for this myth: the unlearned.

For someone to say “singing is something you have to be born with” is like saying “swimming skills are something you have to be born with.” Tell Babe Ruth that it is something you have to be born with. You might have heard about the story. Michael Jordan got Ignored from his high school basketball game team.

He didn’t take that very well so he began drilling all day every single day. Then he made the team. Then he earned a spot on one of the most important college basketball teams in the country. Then he was enlisted to the NBA and went down in history as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Basketball attainments aren’t something you have to be born with, and neither are singing skills.

Anybody can learn how to sing.

There is something else to blame: the modern culture’s hit show “American Idol.” The show is DESIGNED for entertainment, it is a BUSINESS. How do they get money? They sell all of the raw vocalists to America as a kind of amusement. Also realize that those vocalists are specifically chosen due to the fact that they are the worst case scenarios of singers who don’t know how to apply their voice and have no control over pitch. That can be changed.

Back to the uneducated. Individuals who don’t recognize anything about singing will articulate that all of those awful American Idol auditioners are tone deaf. If you reckon they are all tone deaf then I am happy you are reading this. They aren’t tone deaf. They just don’t know how to employ their voice. Tone deafness is in reality very unusual. The real trouble is a lack of vocal cognition. I was in the same spot as those “tone deaf singers.” Anybody who saw me sing would right away point the finger and mark me as “tone deaf.” I am NOT tone deaf. When I met Peter, he took me through some pitch rating practices and it was clear that I am not tone deaf at all - I just didn’t recognize how to use my voice. I could hear the melodic phrase and pitches utterly clear IN MY HEAD, but as soon as I tried to translate it into vocals, I didn’t know HOW to do it - therefore it SEEMED as if I was tone deaf.

So the next time you discover a singer that you would pronounce as “tone deaf,” think again. They probably just don’t know how to use their voice.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Arts | No Comments »

Birthday E-Cards: Quick and Cheap

by Fabian Toulouse

Who loves getting greeting cards? Everyone. Who loves sending them? Not many of us. This is where the cost of email reigns supreme. Well-wishers never need to buy stamps, paper, pens, or greeting cards - they end up saving gas, time, and money!

First it was the hype of sending emails, now its sending e-cards. E-cards are electronic greeting cards designed for any possible occasion or event. Most of them have simple animation and musical scores. Moreover, you can send a video e-card, which is a snippet of live-action or animated video designed to celebrate every occasion under the sun.

A popular video e-card on the Internet features a dog that eats a birthday card. It is a popular clip and it is a riot. Remember the tired excuse about your dog eating your homework? It would be fitting to send your best friend, who is now working as a teacher, an e-card version of this old standby.

Another popular video e-card involves a birthday girl getting her face covered with cake. Since a birthday girl is not allowed to be angry with her friends, the resulting tension is pure hilarity. That’s not fair, you say - true - but all is fair in love and birthdays. After all, preparing the party is always a thankless job.

Yet another video involves a dog with the distinctive face of a bloodhound. It is also a birthday card and the message is very simple: “It’s your birthday, so smile!” The recipient does not have to be a dog-lover to appreciate the lovable canine. A feline version would be fitting, though getting a cat to react the way this adorable dog does would be quite a feat.

Video e-cards are so straightforward to send. Choose the one that tickles your fancy, enter the recipient’s email address, and off it goes. Certainly, sending birthday e-cards does not match the formality and forethought of sending a traditional greeting card - after all, there is something to be said for the touch and feel of paper and pen - but it is a quick and easy way of letting someone know they are in your thoughts.

About the Author:

Posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Under: Humor | No Comments »