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Regardless of where you live, your dog must always have its own private domain where it can feel at home. Find a quiet place for the dog to sleep. The location should be convenient for you and suitable for your pet. Make sure your dog feels comfortable there, and do not change the location afterwards.

An uncarpeted room, not too cold, with a floor that is easy to wash, is a good choice. A puppy must be well protected from draughts. Beware of cold air seeping in around doors and windows. A dog will automatically settle with its back against a wall, so arrange your pets spot next to a wall or in a corner but not too close to a radiator or heating vent because the dogs coat will dry out and become brittle.

The dogs place should be away from heavily traveled areas because the animal will probably need a lot of sleep, initially. But the dog should also be able to observe everyones comings and goings so it can start taking part in family life. Your pet can probably sleep comfortably in a crate lined with cushions, a towel or shredded newspaper. Large dogs generally just sleep on a blanket.

If your dog will weigh less than 30 pounds when fully grown, you can use a wicker basket lined with a soft, easily washable cushion. The main concern is to see that the animal is well insulated from the floor. Air the dogs bedding every day and clean it once a week. In summer, if your dog gets fleas or tics, treat the bedding with flea and tick powder or replace it completely.

You can put the dogs two bowls one for food the other for water, near its bed. If the dogs muzzle is pointed, use deep bowls, if its muzzle is blunt, shallow bowls are preferable. For a toy, give your dog a bone made of animal hide. It can cut its teeth safely, on the hide because even if it swallows a piece, the material is digestible. You may find that your dog will choose its own plaything; if so, make sure the choice is not an old shoe. This may encourage it to start chewing new shoes.

Randy Jones and his partner Brent Jones have been in the pet industry for a long time. Recently they formed http://www.joncopets.com. On the site, customers can shop for the latest dog collars, dog clothes, pet supplies and more. Check them out at http://www.joncopets.com.

Recent events in the UK have fuelled the debate over dogs and children. The death of a five month old baby after being attacked by two Rottweilers has saddened and shocked everybody and our thoughts go out to that poor family. For a while there may well be an over-reaction but lets keep a clear head and look at the facts and what can be done to help keep children (and dogs) safe. The thoughts that follow are not the voice of an expert but they are an informed opinion. My interest in animal behavior is that of a hobby not a career.

Some of the facts

Its very rare for a dog to attack a child

The most likely cause of an attack is teasing NEVER tease or provoke a dog, however friendly

Most family dogs accept and protect the family children but should never be left alone with them.

Stand still if a dog threatens you. It is instinctive for a dog to chase something moving.

Generally watch out for growling, pricked upright ears pointing at you and a stiff tail held high. (Unfortunately some dogs so enjoy a chase that they may wag their tails as if they were friendly when they are not, so try to get to understand doggie body language.)

The best defense is to become familiar with dogs and their signals.

Most barking, excited dogs you meet in parks may wish to chase you but are not intending you harm.

Dogs are not generally aggressive unless trained to be so. The danger lies in play which gets out of hand. Dogs are not little people in fur coats. They brains work differently from ours. They can hurt a child accidentally because they dont realize their actions will harm them.

Two or more dogs are more likely to get too excited and go into attack mode. The pack instinct rises up.

The only way a dog can tell you it doesnt like something is to move away or nip. Teach children not to pester dogs who are trying to get away.

A distressed dog will sometimes warn by snapping into the air. This is only intended to communicate their displeasure but they can catch a child in the face accidentally.

Dont touch a strange dog without checking with the owner that its okay first.

Take extra precautions if your dog shows any jealousy towards a child. You may want to consider whether you should keep him in those circumstances.

Treat dogs with respect, as fellow creatures not playthings. Dont rob them of their heritage and dignity. The relationship between humans and dogs has been rewarding on both sides. Lets celebrate that.

© Linda Cooke, 2006
http://www.good-ideas.biz
Dogs, cats, work, play and more

Linda Cooke trained as a teacher but has also produced writing and photography for magazines for more years than she would like to mention. More recently she has taken to the Web.

Throughout the web, you will find hundreds of business opportunities. From selling coffee to selling cars, you'll find hundreds of things that you have the opportunity to get into to make money. Yet, it is sad to report to you that on average, 70% of all new home based businesses will fail within the first three years that they are out there. Now, before you get discouraged, realize that they do this because of several reasons.

1. They are poorly executed, by individuals that are looking for a get rich quick scheme and realize that, well; it takes work to make money.

2. They are scams that were un-researched, poorly designed or just plain old dumb to start with.

3. The individuals that got into them didn't have the income to put into the business to make the business work.

With that said, there are some excellent things that you can do to actually make an income from home. You will likely need to invest something in it (you don't get something for nothing!) and you'll have to invest time in making it work well.

Here are some things that you can do in brief.

Affiliate Marketing

This is an easy to understand concept. You'll design a website that is geared at selling someone else's product. You get a cut for the sales that are made because someone that came to your website makes a purchase. Often, you get a kickback even if they just visit the site. This is one of many programs that you can usually do together to make even more money. In other words, pair it up with other business opportunities and you are sure to see some profit.

Selling Readymade Products

For those that are looking to sell a product that someone else has made, check out these. Often, these are sold by the development of a website that promotes the product. Things like digitalized products or software are very hot sellers. People come to your website to learn about the product and you sell it to them or provide a link to where they can purchase it. In most cases, you get a commission like payment for doing this.

Think you can't just sell products online anymore? You can. In fact, you'll even be able to find products that are below cost and sell them with a good mark up as well.

Writing And Selling Ebooks

People come to the internet to get information. Why not sell it to them? If you have knowledge (or can get it) about a topic that others want to learn about, you can easily tap into this business market. All you need to do is to write an ebook (or have it written by a professional) and market it. This can be done through eBay or through hundreds of other methods.

Joint Venture

You can often team up your sales with others that are selling the same or similar products. By working together, you can hit a larger amount of people and pull in more sales. A joint venture usually splits the commission made as well as the cost of doing business.

Ecourse

Are you able to teach an individual something? If so, then you should write up an ecourse. This is simply a series of emails, of website information or any other medium that is used to teach or coach an individual. You simply provide information they want and they pay you to do it.

Teleseminars

If you are a good speaker and have information to sell (or that you can obtain) then teleseminars are the way to go. You simply provide a conference call where individuals can call in and listen to what you are teaching them. Of course, they paid you first.

Public Domain Products

Little did you know that you could use material that is labeled as public domain to help enhance your business. Team this up with other types of marketing and you are sure to sell your product.

Directory or Review Websites

By creating websites where individuals go to receive a product or service, you are opening the door to making profits. Team this up with things like affiliate marketing and Google Adsense and you'll see an income.

Membership Sites

Develop a membership of individuals that are looking for your products or information. They will pay you monthly to use your service.

Ezines

One of the fastest growing ways of marketing on the web, you simply put together an online form of a magazine or newspaper and sell it. You can also give it away free and fill it with ads to your products or website campaign.

EBay

Learn how to make money on eBay one of the world's largest auction websites. You can make an income, not just a few dollars if you develop a campaign to do so.

Blogs

Blogs work well on websites. By providing information there about your products or attracting individuals back to your blog, you can promote the products on your website easier.

Google Adsense

Normally individuals pair up Google Adsense with other marketing campaigns to sell their products. This is a way of getting a few extra profits when individuals visit ads that are on your website.

Podcasting

In the digital age, people are looking to stay connected all the time. With podcasting, you can sell your product or service or you can actually build a casting such as a radio show that goes out around the world.

Amazon Book Reseller

If you have books lying around your house that you would like to get rid of, you can become listed on Amazon as a reseller. Unlike eBay this is not an auction site. It's a great way to sell books that you don't need. (You can also find free or really cheap ones to sell if you don't have any!)

Opinion Panels

Why not take a few surveys and make money? There are many survey websites on the web that do actually pay you a good deal of money to take them. Once you find them, its easy sailing here.

Conclusion

Making money online can happen. You have to make the right decision about doing so though. You'll need to find the business that fits into your life and your needs. Then, you'll need to learn how to do the business, what it takes and the tricks of the trade. If you can learn this, you can buy it to learn throughout the web. From a little stream to a full time income, the internet is full of ways you can make money.

Keith Lee is a motivational speaker, a life coach and a fitness instructor for the past 10 yeras. He study and did research on the Internet Marketing Industry for years. Go to his webiste http://www.MyInternetMarketingSuccess.com for some superb tips.

Ever wonder why so many pet store puppies are sick or become sick within weeks of bringing them home?

The truth about pet store puppies is disturbing. If you're an animal lover, the following paragraphs will be difficult to read, but simply doing just that could potentially spare a life.

It's hard to imagine that in this country where dogs are considered valuable members of the family, have their very own telelvision and radio shows and people dress them in designer clothes and treat them like children, that a grave place called a puppy mill could still exist.

A puppy mill or puppy farm is a breeding operation with the sole purpose of making money. The animals are not screened for potential genetic health defects or even given basic medical care. There is definitely no attention paid to producing dogs that comform to breed standard for size or temperament.

A puppy mill can be a sign along the road advertising puppies, an ad in your local newspaper or they can even have a nice website, but they are almost always behind those cute puppies you've seen in pet shop windows.

You'd never know by looking at those puppies the deplorable conditions from which they came. You'll see how excited they get when you approach their cage. You might even slip your hand through the bars despite the posted warning not to and entertain the thought of bringing home the one who seemed most eager, but it's what you won't see that would leave you gasping.

For that puppy's mother, life (if you can call it that) is a desperate struggle. Her body is used up from years of overbreeding and because of this, she will probably never see her sixth birthday. She has never been shown love or compassion and probably has no idea what it would feel like to run in the grass.

Her life is not like that of a normal dog at all. She only exists for the purpose of breeding and has lived her entire life in the same small cage where she eats and sleeps and where she's probably given birth to several litters.

But that doesn't matter to the owner of the puppy mill. He only sees dollar signs when he looks into her dark, sad eyes. In another six months he'll breed her once again for the sake of filling his wallet and the puppies will be shipped around the country to various pet stores and puppy brokers and the morbid cycle will continue.

When she's no longer able to breed, she'll finally be put her out of her misery- if she's lucky enough. The sad truth is that she will probably still be worth a few dollars to a testing facility: A laboratory that uses dogs for the sake of testing new products.

There is no hope of ever stopping this morbid cycle of abuse as long as we keep buying puppies from pet stores.

Don't be fooled by AKC papers. Although the AKC doesn't condone puppy mills, almost anyone can register a new litter providing both parents are registered purebreds.

Please help put an end to this torture. Join the fight to eliminate puppy mills by refusing to purchase a puppy from anyone other than a reputable breeder. There are also millions of animals around the world in need of adoption. You might be surprised to know that one in four dogs rescued by the ASPCA, Humane Society and similar shelters is a purebred.

Please refer this article to a fellow animal lover or anyone who might someday be in the market for a purebred puppy.

My name is Brooke Faulder. I've made it my business, my passion and my mission in life to put an end to the exploitation of animals. Learn more about the plight of small breed dogs by reading through the pages of http://www.small-breed-dogs.com.

Many dog clubs and animal organizations sponsor activities throughout the year where you and your pooch can bond. This is especially true at Halloween, when you and your dog will have an opportunity to take part in costume contests, parades, and other events to show off your creativity. Our local Humane Society, for example, has a "Howling Party," while our dog club has its annual "Fun Fair." Other organizations put on dog parades. The best part about all of these events is that you are able to show your dog off in costume!

Even if you are staying home this year and waiting on trick or treaters to come by, consider having your costumed dog go with you to the door. Or, if you have trained him to open the door to greet guests even better! If this is the case, your dog should also be trained not to jump on guests when they arrive. A well-costumed dog greeter might have neighborhood children running away before they get their candy should he jump upon them.

Before I became a dog owner, I thought it was silly, unfair, and perhaps a bit inhumane to dress dogs up for Halloween. Since those days, I have become a dog owner and now realize dogs love to participate in all activities (except a trip to the veterinarian). Participating together in Halloween festivities with your favorite furry friend is another opportunity for you to cherish your time together.

WORDS OF WISDOM ABOUT DOG COSTUMES:

Over the years, I have learned a few lessons about dressing dogs up for Halloween. Every year when Halloween approached, I would work feverishly trying to create the perfect dog costume. Spending hours sewing together parts of old-fashioned mops, I attempted to make my terrier into an instant Komondor (a.k.a. Hungarian Sheepdog). For a day, I wanted him to feel like one of those amazing dogs with a Rasta-style hairdo. When people spotted him, they would exclaim, "Hey it's a dog in a dog costume!" But, I really thought, It's a dog in a people costume!

As I walked proudly down the street with him in his Komondor costume, he decided to shake until his costume des mops dragged along between us. From a distance, I thought he might get by looking like a street cleaner. But to my despair, he didn't. As crowds watched, he simply looked like a dog dragging a huge mop down the street how embarrassing!

This is when I learned the first two essential rules for dog costumes:

1) Keep the costume light.

2) Keep the costume simple.

The next year, I had a puppy to dress up. Constructing an adorable lightweight costume was my only goal. Since the puppy loved carrying objects in her mouth, I covered a stick in leather for her to bite and carry. Then, I attempted to put a pair of panties on her. She frantically yelped, bounced, and wiggled them off, and consequently refused to let me near her with the undergarments in hand.

This is when I learned the third essential rule of dog costumes:

3) Always give your dog a trial run before assuming she will wear any costume you muster. Or, better yet, have your dog wear the costume around the house before Halloween so that she will get used to it. Don't learn the hard way.

The following year, I made plans to take my older dog to the Halloween dog parade again. Since I had learned from experience, I chose to fashion a costume that was simple, easy to make, and lightweight. My dog was going to be "a walking billboard!" I glued two rectangular pieces of foam core together with material in the center and was going to lay it over the top of my dog. This time, however, I was determined to be smart about it by letting him get used to it beforehand following my own third rule.

It worked out great as he paced around the house and the billboard costume got some great laughs from friends and family members. I was happy that things would turn out better than the two years previous. As the parade began, we marched along together and he suddenly did the unexpected, as if he were planning it all along. He crouched down and the billboard became a non-flexible tent. He was able to walk right out of it, which got additional laughs from the crowd, but meant an immediate disqualification from the contest.

This is when I learned the fourth essential rule of dog costumes:

4) Expect the unexpected, even when you think you've thought of everything!

The following year, I tied a large helium balloon around the dog's mid-section and put a small lightweight blanket over him. The blanket had a little box sitting on it with two tiny stuffed animals. I had ribbons around the bottom of the balloon that I attached to the box. The costume was adorable, or so I believed. It was a balloon-ride costume. The bobbing balloon must have been more exciting to the other dogs because as soon as the other dogs got sight of him, they started pulling away from their owners in hot pursuit of the shiny red balloon. Fortunately, I had a pair of scissors and cut the string. Up, up, up it went. Bailey and I were free, but so was our balloon. And once again, we were disqualified from the parade, as had become a tradition.

This is when I learned the fifth and sixth essential rules of dog costumes:

5) Be prepared. Before you go to any gathering, think about what you should bring along In case something needs a quick fixing or if something goes wrong.

6) Bring your camera and have plenty of film. I wished I had gotten a picture of my dog in his balloon costume before I snipped the string. Check your camera batteries too. And, have a friend take some photos of you and your dog together you'll enjoy them later.

Last year, however, I took the easy way out. I purchased a Superman costume from a costume shop. Most costume shops now carry such paraphernalia. The costume was lightweight, which was a plus. I decided I would just use the cape and keep the other parts of the costume as back up. So, once again, we were off to our annual dog club "Fun Fair," and one of the featured activities was a Halloween dog parade with an award for "Best Costume".

My dog was dressed upon arrival. I tied the cape under his chin and that was it. Kids shouted, "It's Super Dog!" Adults responded by shouting "Not original!" Someone walked up to me and asked, "What happened? We expected you, at least, to be original." Feeling guilty, I sat there not taking home any awards. But, it was the first time my "Super Dog" participated in his very first Halloween parade. To me, he looked great and I was so proud of him. Then towards the end of the night, we were called over, along with several other "Super Dogs" with the same attire, for a photo shoot.

Submitted 10/26/2006

Copyright (c) 2006 Melanie Light

Melanie Light is an artist and art educator. She is site owner of Wheaten Works at http://www.wheatenworks.com, ArtZpet at http://www.artzpet.com and Petz Classic Dog Art at http://www.cafepress.com/petz . Her portfolio site can be found here: http://mlightart.com . You will find more artwork, gifts, and information on these sites.

How many people reading this enjoy at least one sport and wouldn't mind taking the afternoon off to watch their favorite team play? I'll bet 9 out of 10 hands go up!

Sports are fantastically popular with people of all ages and all walks of life in EVERY country in the world. This is not only true today, but has been the case since the Ancient Greeks hosted the first Olympics thousands of years ago.

While not everyone ranks themselves as a sports enthusiast, most of us can easily agree sports are a good thing. Sports tend to bring the best out in people everywhere. Even co-workers who don't care for each other become friends at a sporting event. And you can't deny even warring countries often set aside their differences when it comes to a long anticipated sports event between the two.

Wouldn't it be great if you could meet a lot more people who share your exact interest in sports? If you're a SF Giants fan, knowing other Giants regulars would be a cool thing. You'd have so much to talk about and lots of fun tips, gossip, and inside knowledge to share.

Unfortunately, we rarely get to meet many of the people who share our sporting interests. Watching TV at home may let you share a game with your immediate family or a good buddy, but forget knowing any of the other millions who may be watching the game.

Even if you sit in the stadium with tens of thousands of screaming fans, you'll be lucky if you meet anyone other than the person sitting next to you or the person behind you in the line to the bathroom.

Today's Internet technology has advanced to the point where sports fans and teams can EASILY find and communicate with each other.

With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can quickly create your own fan page on a system that has thousands of other fans just like you ready to view your page. You can talk with each other on blogs, via chat, through email and more.

Additionally, teams can create their own pages as a way to invite fans to communicate with them. This gives teams valuable insight into what their fans find exciting, what they don't like, and what will get them to attend more games.

Keep in mind, your fan or team site can be included on a vast network of sports sites where there is always a large and ready audience to interact with your page or posts.

If you love sports, you really should get involved with the online sporting community. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment of your team, the sport, and your day-to-day life.

Jason Hu is creator of http://SportsDigger.com The site's easy systems let you instantly create your own fan web page or team page. Search for and easily communicate with anyone who shares your interests anywhere in the world. And it's all 100% FREE! Contact Jason at contact@sportsdigger.com.