Friday, January 11, 2008

DURA-BULL DOG BEDZ DOG BED THOUGHTS

With so many dog beds available in the market, buying dog beds can be confusing and an often frustrating experience. What makes choosing dog beds difficult is that dogs cannot let the owner know exactly what they like/dislike about the dog beds. Choosing a dog bed is not rocket science either, and the following points should be considered while buying dog beds:
Taken into account the size of the dog
Dog beds come in various sizes, and it is important that you find a dog bed that is just right for your dog. Dogs will only use their dog bed if they are comfortable in the bed and it is vital that the bed be neither too large nor too small for your dog. In essence, try and find a dog bed that can give your dog a ‘snug’ fit.
Consider the health of your dog
Dogs suffering from arthritis or ill health are usually prescribed special orthopedic dog beds. Make sure you observe the ‘style’ and comfort level of your dog, if you are not sure if your dog needs an orthopedic dog bed, consult a vet.
Check the filling of the dog bed
Dogs have a tendency of clawing and chewing at their dog beds (especially younger dogs); make sure the dog bed you buy is refillable. Most dog beds use foam or cedar fill (which repels fleas), both of which can be refilled if required.
Check the durability of the bed
The ideal dog bed should be resistant to urine and should be easily washable. Most dog beds available in the market support disposable or ‘easy clean’ coverings, but only the Dura-Bull TM dog bed can actually be washed off using a hose and is perhaps the only dog bed that can be “wiped clean” in the true sense of the word.
Look for an ergonomic dog bed
Although most dog beds claim to be ergonomic and comfortable, it is important to pay close attention to your pet to know if your dog is truly comfortable. What is equally important is the design of the dog bed. It is easy to get carried away by the looks of a dog bed, but the bed should match the décor of the room in which the dog will be sleeping (this will help the dog get accustomed to the dog bed).
Look for ‘healthy’ materials
The biggest concern with dog owners is that their dog should live in sanitary conditions. While choosing a dog bed it is vital to ensure that dog bed is resistant to water and urine, and is made from materials that are resistant to fleas. Newer dog beds like the Dura-Bull TM dog bed are easy to clean, and are made from new age materials that are resistant to fleas and other biological agents. To ensure greater resistance to bacteria and other biological agents, it is important that the dog bed be quick drying and made from resistant materials.
The Dura-Bull TM dog bed
The Dura-Bull TM dog bed is a patent pending dog bed made from Rip-stop vinyl fabric. The Dura-Bull TM dog bed is made from pliable memory foam and is ergonomically designed for greater comfort. One of the most impressive features of the Dura-Bull TM dog bed is that it is the only dog bed that can be wiped clean. Urine and other dirt can be hosed of easily and the bed’s quick drying material ensures the bed is ready to use in no time. Unlike other dog beds that have removable sheets (that can be replaced and cleaned), the Dura-Bull TM dog bed is far easier to clean and does not require any additional sheets. In addition the Dura-Bull TM dog bed is made from pest resistant fabrics and is resistant to fleas.
For more information on the “wipe clean” Dura-Bull TM dog bed visit www.dura-bulldogbedz.com

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

CHEWING A DOG BED (AND OTHER ITEMS)

If you have a chewing dog or puppy the first thing you want to do is purchase a quality Durable dog bed. Second is to read below, and take charge of training this destructive behavior until corrected.

Take responsibility for your own belongings: If you don't want it in your dog's mouth, don't make it available. Keep clothing, shoes, books, trash, eyeglasses, and remote control devices out of your dog's reach.
Don't confuse your dog by offering him shoes and socks as toys and then expecting him to distinguish between his shoe and yours. Your dog's toys should be clearly distinguishable from household goods.

Until he learns the house rules, confine him when you're unable to keep an eye on him. Choose a "safe place" that's dog-proof, and provide fresh water and "safe" toys. If your dog is crate trained, you may also place him in his crate for short periods of time.

Give your dog plenty of people-time. Your dog won't know how to behave if you don't teach him alternatives to inappropriate behavior, and he can't learn these when he's in the yard by himself.

If, and only if, you catch your dog chewing on something he shouldn't, interrupt the behavior with a loud noise, offer him an acceptable chew toy instead, and praise him lavishly when he takes the toy in his mouth.

Have realistic expectations. At some point your dog will inevitably chew up something you value; this is often part of the transition to a new home. Your dog needs time to learn the house rules and you need to remember to take precautions and keep things out of his reach.

Chewing is normal behavior for curious puppies who may be teething, but adult dogs may engage in destructive chewing for any number of reasons. In order to deal with the behavior, you must first determine why your dog is chewing—and remember, he's not doing it to spite you.

Play, Boredom, and/or Social Isolation

Normal play behavior sometimes leads to destruction, as it may involve digging, chewing, shredding, and/or shaking toy-like objects. Because dogs investigate objects by pawing at them and exploring them with their mouths, they may also inadvertently damage items in their environment when they're exploring or investigating. Your dog may be chewing for entertainment if:

He's left alone for long periods without opportunities to interact with you.

His environment is relatively barren, free of playmates or toys.

He's a puppy or adolescent (under three years old) and he doesn't have other outlets for his energy.

He's a particularly active type of dog (like the herding or sporting breeds) who need to be occupied to be happy.

Solutions:

Play with your dog daily in a safe, fenced-in area. Playing fetch is a great way to use up your dog's excess energy without wearing you out!

Go for a walk. Walks should be more than just "bathroom time." On-leash walks are important opportunities for you and your dog to be together. Don't forget to allow time for sniffing, exploring, instruction, and praise.

Increase your dog's opportunities for mental stimulation. Teach your dog a few commands or tricks and practice them daily. Take a dog training class; not only are they fun, but such classes teach commands important for your dog's safety and give you and your dog time to work toward a common goal.

Provide your dog with lots of toys.

Rotate your dog's toys to refresh his interest in them. "New" toys are always more interesting than old ones.

Try different kinds of toys, but when you introduce a new toy, keep an eye on your dog to make sure he won't tear it up and ingest the pieces.

Consider the various types of toys that can be stuffed with food. Putting tidbits of food inside chew toys helps your dog focus on these toys rather than on unacceptable objects.

Make your dog's favorite "off-limits" chew objects unattractive to him by covering them with heavy plastic, aluminum foil, hot pepper sauce, or a commercial "anti-chew" product.

Consider a good "doggie day care" program for two or three days a week to help your dog work off some of her excess energy.

Separation Anxiety

Dogs with separation anxiety tend to display behaviors that reflect a strong attachment to their owners. This includes following you from room to room, frantic greetings, and anxious responses whenever you prepare to leave the house. Factors that can precipitate a separation anxiety problem include:

A change in the family's schedule that leaves your dog at home alone more often.

A move to a new home.

The death or loss of a family member or another family pet.

A period at a shelter or boarding kennel.

Again, remember that these behaviors are not motivated by spite or revenge, but by anxiety. Punishment will only make the problem worse. Separation anxiety can be resolved by using counter-conditioning and desensitization techniques.

Attention-Seeking Behavior

Without realizing it, we often pay more attention to our dogs when they're misbehaving. Dogs who don't receive a lot of attention and reinforcement for appropriate behavior may engage in destructive behavior when their owners are present as a way to attract attention—even if the attention is "negative," such as a verbal scolding.

Solutions:

Make sure your dog gets a lot of positive attention every day—playtime, walks, grooming, or just petting.

Ignore bad behavior (as much as possible) and reward good behavior. Remember to reward your dog with praise and petting when he's playing quietly with appropriate toys.

Make his favorite "off-limits" chew objects unattractive or unavailable to him. Use aversives on objects that cannot be put away.

Teach your dog a "drop it" command, so that when he does pick up an "off-limits" object, you can use the command and praise him for complying. The best way to teach "drop it" is to practice exchanging a toy in his possession for a tidbit of food.

Practice the concept of "Nothing in Life is Free" with your dog. This gets your dog in the habit of complying with your commands and is a good way to make sure he gets lots of positive attention for doing the right things—so he won't have to resort to misbehaving just to get your attention.

Your dog's destructive behavior may be a response to something he fears. Some dogs are afraid of loud noises. Your dog's destructive behavior may be caused by fear if he tends to be more destructive when he's exposed to loud noises, such as thunderstorms, firecrackers, or construction sounds, and if the primary damage is to doors, door frames, window coverings, screens, or walls.

Solutions:

Provide a "safe place" for your dog. Find out where he likes to go when he feels anxious, then allow access to that space or create a similar one for him to use when the fear stimulus is present.

Don't comfort your dog when he's behaving fearfully. Try to get him to play with you or respond to commands he knows and give him praise and treats when he responds to you rather than the fear stimulus.

Don't crate your dog unless he's thoroughly crate-trained and considers the crate his safe place. If you put him in a crate to prevent destruction and he's not crate-trained, he may injure himself and/or destroy the crate.

What NOT to Do

Punishment is rarely effective in resolving destructive behavior problems, and may even make the problem worse. Never discipline your dog after the fact. If you discover your dog has chewed an item but don't catch him in the act, it's too late to administer a correction. Your dog doesn't think, "I chewed those shoes an hour ago and that's why I'm being scolded now." People often believe their dog makes this connection because he runs and hides or "looks guilty." But dogs display submissive postures like cowering, running away, or hiding when they feel threatened by an angry tone of voice, body posture, or facial expression. Your dog doesn't know what he's done wrong; he only knows that you're upset. Punishment after the fact will not only fail to eliminate the undesirable behavior, but may provoke other undesirable behaviors, too.
The following was provided via the Human Society.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

WHAT MAKES DURA-BULL DOG BEDZ SPECIAL

As long time dog owners, for years we have been frustrated with the dog beds currently on the market. Most are made of surplus cloth with various fill materials ranging from wood chips to Styrofoam pellets. None provide what we consider to be essential to the comfort and well being of our dogs not to mention the health of our home environment.

For these reasons, we decided to create the ultimate dog bed. This dog bed, aptly named after my partner's bulldog, Otis (that's his image in our logo) would have the following features:

Resistance to pest infestation such as fleas and ticks. Most cloth and fabric dog beds are breeding grounds for pest infestation. And while some dog beds can be washed, this is only a temporary fix to an on-going problem.

Resistance to the transfer of odors, oils and dirt. Again, most cloth and fabric dog beds act as conduits to the build up of odors and the transference of oils and dirt. And like pest infestation, this poses a serious health issue.

Ergonomic and skeletal support. Dogs like humans need and deserve a dog bed that will be supportive to their skeletal makeup, especially older dogs. "Fill" dog beds do not provide this support as the dog's posture is allowed conform to whatever angle the dog bed provides. Not what is best for the dog.

Ease of cleaning. For those of us who have had cloth dog beds and experienced washing the cover, you know how much of a hassle it is and after a few times it makes more sense to purchase a new dog bed! And, if the dog urinates on a cloth dog bed you might as well just throw it away.

Indoor and outdoor use. There is no reason to have multiple dog beds for one dog. Try using a cloth dog bed outside and then have it rain!

Resistance to water and weather. Cloth dog beds are a nightmare when they get wet and are definitely not suited for all weather conditions such as rain, snow, and extreme heat.

Multiple usage. A dog bed should be easily transportable for usage in the home, SUV, truck, boat or campground.

Durable to withstand damage and your dog's daily use. Dogs are unpredictable and very inventive. A dog bed should be tough enough to hold up against playing and chewing.



We believe that most people purchase a dog bed by their own comfort standards not the dogs. Keep in mind, dogs possess a fur coat and do not sweat.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Keeping the Dog or Pet Bed Clean

Bathing your dog every day, or even twice a day, will not make them free from all those dust and pollen, and other dirty stuff available in the environment; no amount of regular bathing would make them as clean as you want them to be. The dirt that you do not want them to associate with is all over the place. There is dirt inside your house and there is mud outside.
They really shed a lot, and this residual fur will contain all the nasty stuff such as harmful parasites. The pests that you hate so much, such as worm or disgusting fleas will be all over the place your pet dogs reside in. When the time comes that the eggs of these yucky fleas hatch on your beloved dog’s bed, would be the time that everyone in your house, and mostly the children in your family, will be put to a lot of itching and possible serious danger. They spread diseases all over the house. They have a foul odor to them, aside from the serious health crisis that they might bring. This would be elevated when the people in your family has allergic reactions to them.
This can be resolved if you have the right kind of bed for your pet. Pet beds would have been a thing of ridicule in the past, but now they are quite important to modern day society members. Because of the lack of proper resting place, the dogs without proper dog beds sleep and shed fur all over the house.
These poor dogs might also suffer from unwanted allergies and skin illnesses. These sicknesses are normally from the dirty place that they stay in. These mucky places might be full of infection and parasites. You might not know it but every parasite known to man might be enjoying the heck out of the expense of your dog’s health.
You should always clean the place where your dog sleeps at. If your beloved pet does not have a proper pet bed, then make sure to buy one now! There are a lot of tips out there that will give you the right idea of how to choose the right bed for your pet. Make sure that there are nice and clean pet bed blankets in your dog’s resting place. Do not leave them on the dog’s bed for weeks without shaking away residual fur outside. If there is a little amount of pee, make sure to clean it up. You should also make sure that there is no obvious physical sign of insect activity on the pet blanket. Blood stains are telling signs of unwanted insect activity on your pet’s body. The mites and other kinds of parasites (and sometimes there might be many kinds of parasites at once) might have been biting your lovable pet the whole time, and you did not know it. If this is the case, it is quite a serious matter, because your pet might get infections, serious ones, from these parasites.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Staying Informed About Dog and Pet Beds

Information is really the most valuable thing there is. Make sure that you know the things that you need to know in order to keep your beloved dog safe from any uncomfortable situation. There are so many different dog breeds out there and you might not know the breed your dog belongs to. Some people actually do not know what the breed their dog is, which is quite surprising, and not at all funny, because they should know how to take care of their precious pets. If you do not know the breed of your pet, then how can you take good care of them?
Another reason why you should know the breed of your pet is, because they are a good way of telling what pet bed to purchase. With the vast number of dog breeds out there, there are also as many kinds of bed for dogs out there. They really vary a lot because they only go with the type of breed they were made for.
As said earlier, there are so many kinds of pet beds out there. They are wonderful because they make your pet comfortable and feel well taken care of. A sample of a dog bed available in the market is the Pillow Pet Bed or a Cushion Dog Bed. These beds are one of the most common pet beds out there, used by the wonderful house pets. These pet beds are available in so many different kinds, shapes and materials they are made of. Some are round in shape, some are squared, and others are rectangular. These shapes are suited for different breeds, and they are almost fit to any breed of dog. There are also so many fabrics out there, and they come in so many varieties of colors. They are usually stuffed with polyester foam, and they come in very effective flea repellant sprays. However, these anti flea chemicals might cause harm to your pet. Because they were designed to keep the flea out, or kill these annoying pests, they might cause allergic reactions from our beloved pet. Make sure that there is almost no known history of skin allergy from your pet.
There is also the orthopedic kind of dog beds. They are designed for pet dogs that have arthritis, and other kinds of problems that are affiliated with joint problems. There are old dogs that develop hip problems, also known as hip dysplasia. These beds may be a bit more expensive than your normal pet beds, because they are made from more high tech materials and innovative solutions. But that is all right because there is no pet bed that surpasses the value of your beloved pet dog right? Make sure that you are ready with the price tag because they might surprise you.
Loving your family means giving them the very best in this world. No matter what you do, and what you give them, it is not enough because they are worth much more than that, and isn’t your pet dog part of your family?