Puppy Care Information

• Chocolate
• Nicotine
• Alcohol
  
• Pain Relievers (unless prescribed by your vet)
• Macadamia Nuts
• Chewing Gum
• Bread Dough
• Grapes or Raisins
• Tea
• Onions

• Airline flight, surcharges and taxes - these are all fees charged by the airline = $190.00 (for puppies up to 5 pounds - over 5 pounds the rate goes up according to size)
• Shipping crate with bowls = $40.00 for up to 5 pounds: larger crates the rate goes up.
  
• Shipping vet exam and health certificate - required to ship all puppies/dogs = $55.00 per puppy/dog.
  

Tails Wagon Puppy Contract

The pros to choosing a Designer Dog over purebred is typically related to the health of the dog in question. The offspring of two different breeds rarely inherit genetic defects, because the bloodlines aren't as close as those of purebreds. Purebred dogs often have inherited traits that can cause genetic defects. Designer Dogs, much like mutts, bypass many of the health problems that purebreds are known for.  The difference between the Designer Dog and the mutt is that while a mutts heritage isn’t know, Designer Dogs often have papers stating what their heritage is, including the breeds and history of both parents.

A designer dog is a dog whose parents were both purebred dogs of different breeds or a Designer Bred breed. For example, a Morkie has one parent who is a purebred Yorkshire Terrier, and another parent who is a purebred Maltese; breeders also use the Morkie as one parent to keep the traits going that they like in that Morkie line. His/Her mother may have been the Yorkie, and his/her father may have been the Maltese — or vice versa OR one parent was the Morkie breed to a purebred parent. The designer dog was bred intentionally by a designer-dog breeder. A non-designer mixed-breed dog is a dog who was bred either intentionally or by accident with no plan goal in mind. One or both of his parents were not purebred dogs OR the Designer breed that they are trying to create.

Although breeders of designer dogs feel they're meeting the needs of a particular niche of people, purebred breeders and purebred dog clubs, such as the American Kennel Club, think the entire trend is dangerous to all dogs.

One of the advantages of Designer Dogs is the number of varieties available. More than 200 different hybrid combinations exist, which means there is a Designer Dog for everyone. Many of these hybrids are  designed to have good personality combined with adorability.

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When determining whether a male or female dog is a better pet there are some questions you will need to answer, concerning what exactly you want in a pet. For instance, when considering character and personality, the gender of a dog does not really matter. This type of decision depends upon how a puppy behaves and acts towards people (shy/friendly/happy/playful).

The truth is that male dogs are usually better pets if they are neutered young: 5 - 6 months before they reach puberty. If neutered young they do not roam, mark territory (including furniture), or to exert dominance over family members; they are more sociable and affectionate than females. They are also healthier pets: no testicles means no testicular cancer, which is not uncommon among aging intact male dogs.

The female is more dominant and protective than a male, than can be moodier and like to be in charge.  A female dog can hold her urine longer than a male--some can wait as long as twelve hours if necessary--which might be an advantage in a household where no one is home during the day.

Keep in mind that there is no evidence that one sex is more intelligent than the other.

Veterinarians prefer neutering young puppies because their reproductive organs are quite small at this stage and there is a reduced chance of bleeding and with youth on their side, they do seem to recuperate well.

It is more expensive to spay a female than to neuter a male.

Many pet owners consider a spay and neuter requirement to be an infringement of their rights.

Many think that sterilization is cruel; they project their own human feelings about loss of reproductive capacity on their pets. Many men have a difficult time dealing with neutering of their male pets.

There are many myths about canine reproductive needs. Chiefly among these is the suspicion that neutering turns a male into a sissy and spaying causes a female to get fat and to lament her lost capacity.

Females also tend to be better pets if they do not experience oestrus every six-to-nine months. Heat cycles bring hormonal changes that can lead to personality changes. Repeated heat cycles subject the reproductive system to uterine and mammary cancers and uterine infections. Some bitches experience false pregnancies that can be a bother to deal with and uterine infections that can be fatal.

Males and females do not get fat simply as a result of sterilization surgery. Like other mammals, they gain weight if they eat too much and exercise too little or are genetically programmed to be hefty. Weight gain that seems to follow spay or neuter surgery is most likely a result of continuing to feed a high energy diet to a dog that is reducing his need for energy as he reaches his adult size. Excess energy in the food becomes excess fat on the body.

As far as we know, males do not lament their lost capability to reproduce. This is a different species than ours; they reproduce to ensure survival of their kind, not to nurture a pup for 18 years, watch it go off to college, marry, establish a career, and produce grandchildren. Females nurse their pups for a few weeks, teach them to behave like dogs, and go on. Males know nothing of fatherhood; they do not recognize pups as their own.

DOGS ARE PACK ANIMALS THAT THRIVE ON COMPANIONSHIP. Much like their wolf ancestors, dogs are very social. In fact, dogs are more social than humans and need to be part of human families. When you own a dog, you become the dog's pack and he wants to be with his pack. Forcing a dog to live outside with little or no human companionship is one of the most psychological damaging things a pet owner can do to a dog.

Should we have One Dog or Two?

 Dogs are pack animals, meaning they have an instinct to live among a group. They look at the world differently than humans. To them, there must be an order in their pack, a leader, a boss of the household. In their mind, everyone must have a place, from the leader on down to the lowest member of their pack. In order for humans and dogs to coincide happily, humans must understand the dogs instinct to have an order and understand how to show the dog where his order in the family is. When dogs live with humans, the humans become their pack. Dogs must be taught they are last in the pack order. What does this mean, "Last in the order"? It means, the dog looks at all the other humans in the family as the boss, his leaders. He will happily follow their commands and accept they are his boss.  Believe it or not, dogs are very happy to be last in the pack order. A dog becomes unhappy and stressed when the order is not clear to him and he feels he needs to test the order; which leads to growling at family members and even biting (Read Top Dog and Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position for more info on how to curve this behavior).

When a dog is separated from his pack he becomes worried, stressed and unhappy, leading to Separation Anxiety. A lot of destructive behaviors stem from dogs who just cannot deal with being separated from their pack. It doesn't matter if the dog is the leader of your household pack (which is very bad to let happen!) or if the dog is last in the human pack order, if his pack leaves him alone, he instinctually gets upset. A lot of unwanted dogs in pounds are there because of behaviors which stemmed from the stress of being left alone without their pack. It goes against every grain of a dogs instinct to be left alone. Can we really blame the dog for that?

It is very common for a dog to be perfectly behaved while you are home, yet destructive and untrustworthy while you are away. There are many things one can do to curve this behavior, like crate the dog while you are gone, however while crating the dog stops your furniture from being chewed, it does not cure the dog from being unhappy and miserable.

We humans have busy lives, and while we are focused on our tasks for the day in order to keep the household running, we must earn money and the kids must go off and get educated, but what the dog sees is his pack all leaving him behind, with no understanding of why everyone is leaving and not bringing him along.

So what can we do to help our dogs cope with living among a busy human household that must leave him behind on a regular basis? Ever think of getting a second dog? Busy households that must leave their dog home alone for long periods of time should consider it, especially if your dog is showing signs of stress. This may not cure a dog from chewing your trash while you are gone, as half his pack is still leaving him, and heck, there's something tasty in there after all! However, your dog will be happier. I have heard of countless stories of old dogs becoming active again, playing with the younger dog, and a skittish dog coming out of their shell when introduced to a second dog. Sometimes dogs are just happier living with another fellow K-9.

For those of you who have never owned two dogs, it is normal for the dogs to constantly compete for the, "who is first in the pack order". This is normal and healthy for a dog, and in most cases, should be left for the dogs to work out on their own. So long as the dogs do not challenge the humans. Humans should be so clearly the leader, the issue of boss among the humans never arises in the dog's mind. This can be easily accomplished with no yelling or hitting involved. Just some simple behaviors on the humans part. Read Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position.