Ear infections are very common in dogs. Among all dog breeds, Poodles and Cocker Spaniels are the ones most prone to this type of health concern. Yeasts or bacteria are the common causes of these infections. And this condition could make your pets uncomfortable and very irritable.

Symptoms of Ear Infection in Dogs

You’ll know if your dog is suffering from ear infections if its ear canals seem to be very sensitive.
Normally, your dog will shake his head frequently in the attempt to get rid of the fluid or debris present in its ear. You will also see your dog scratching his ears habitually or tilting it to one side. As a result, its ears would get red and even seem swollen. You may also notice that your pet’s ears are slowly developing a foul odor. Yellowish or black discharge could also appear from time to time.

Causes of Ear Infection in Dogs

Ear mites can possibly cause ear infection in dogs. However, mites are more common to puppies than adult dogs. Adult dogs would only develop ear mites if it gets associated to puppies that have them. Ear mites could trigger the infection because they become carriers of fungi and bacteria.

Aside from ear mites, the accumulation of wax in the dog’s ear could also be the reason why dogs develop ear infection. This only goes to show that regular cleaning of the dog’s ear is very important. Proper hygiene is still the best way to preventing ear infections.

Aside from these two causes, a foreign body finding its way into the dog’s ear may also be the culprit. Any debris in the dog’s ear, such as matted hair or tumor, could possibly lead to this health concern. Impaired ear drainage is also one reason why dogs develop ear infections.

Diagnosis for Ear Infection in Dogs

Diagnosing the severity of the disease and the reasons why your dog had developed ear infection is very important so that the veterinarian can administer the right cure. To check the dog’s ears, an otoscope is used. The otoscope is a medical instrument equipped with both light and magnification powers for proper viewing of the ear canals. With the otoscope, the vet can easily see if there’s any foreign object or debris present in the dog’s ear. Some dogs would find this procedure painful. For them, sedation may be required.

The vet could also get a sample taken from the ear canal to check what it is made of. He would analyze it using a microscope, following the basic cytology process. Here, the vet tries to determine which organism had caused the infection. It could help him prescribe the right medicines to counter the disease-causing elements. Further lab tests and x-rays may also be required, depending upon the severity of the infection.

Treatment of Ear Infection in Dogs

To treat ear infection in dogs, the vet may prescribe medicines designed to counter attack bacteria or fungi, depending upon which organism triggered the infection. If one or more of them are present, several drugs may be given. Regular cleaning of the ears will also be advised. If your pet’s ears are infected, it should be cleaned everyday for two weeks. If you can’t clean the dog’s ear yourself, you can ask the veterinarian to do it for you. However, for more severe cases of ear infection, surgery might be required.

Prevention of Ear Infection in Dogs

Proper hygiene is your first step to keeping your pet healthy. If your dog has pendulous ears or if they tend to grow too much hair in these areas, you have to be specifically observant of their ear’s hygiene. Make sure that you inspect them everyday after their baths. Clean them as per your vet’s instructions. Have your pet’s hairs cut and plucked regularly, especially on the ear part.

Dogs that have allergies and those with other health problems could also be prone to ear infections. Try to take your pet to the vet weekly for ear cleaning. You might also need to apply some ear cleaning solution so that infections would be prevented.

Talking parrots are some very interesting and odd animals. Most parrots are not seriously taught to talk – they merely pick up odd words and scraps of conversation they happen to overhear. A few phrases such as “Good morning, Polly” or “Hullo, Polly!” may be clearly enunciated for the simple reason that they were, when said, actually addressed to the bird itself. I am convinced, therefore, that if you have a suitable subject in a young parrot and want it one day to be a brilliant talker you must train it to become one, and this can only be done by patience and kindness.

The best time to teach parrots to talk is in the late evening when they are apt to be in a quiet and contemplative mood, whereas in the morning they are usually at their noisiest and most active. It is essential also to choose a time when the room’s sole occupants can be yourself and your parrot – if other people are talking in the room it is hopeless.

It is a good plan to get the bird used to having the back and two sides of its cage temporarily covered over at lesson time so that it will have its attention distracted as little as possible and be able to concentrate on what you are trying to teach it.

You should then say over very clearly whatever sentence you wish it to learn, and, always. allowing a suitable interval between each, repeat this perhaps a dozen times. It is of the utmost importance that you should then leave the bird alone to think over what it has heard you say.

If you insist upon lingering in the room to lavish endearments on your pet, such as “Polly has been a good boy”, you will merely find that the sentence you have been trying to teach the bird will – if remembered at all – have “Polly has been a good boy” interposed quite irrelevantly in the middle of it – and you will have only yourself to blame!

What I have said applies equally of course to any bird that can be taught to talk, but I thought it worth including this note on teaching a bird to talk instead of letting its sole repertoire consist, as is so often the case, of a hotchpotch of people laughing, dogs barking, disjointed scraps of talk and, that delight of most talking parrots, the one-sided conversation of somebody telephoning in an adjoining room.

Most parrots will pick up anything they hear – and an Amazon of mine imitates to such perfection the rather lost, eerie sound of a train whistle on a frosty night that you almost expect to hear the train itself! Some imitate the barking of dogs of various sizes; others the screaming of babies; and almost the sole sentence of some I have encountered has been “Polly want a cup of tea?” which I suppose does at any rate show that they have come from a typically English household!

What I have said about teaching a parrot to talk applies every bit as much to teaching it to whistle a tune. Whatever the tune may be it must be whistled right through from beginning to end, and, allowing suitable intervals between, this must be done several times over and the bird must then be left in peace and quiet for it to sink in.

Most parrots whistle odd scraps and snatches of tunes, but only properly and patiently trained ones will whistle a tune right through from beginning to end without a mistake; and I do think the training – which involves no hardship for the bird – is very well worth while in the way of results. Let no one suppose that, for the bird’s owner, it has been as easy as falling off a log. It has not, for it required both skill and patience, but most of all – patience. Using these simple skills most parrots can be taught to talk. Have fun!

Bringing home a dog involves much more than just providing it with love, care and other basic necessities. To make the dog a good pet, a great deal of training may be required, so that it behaves in a desirable manner. Some dog breeds can be easily trained, while some may require the dog owner to put a lot of effort and time into training the dog. Although, professional dog trainers can be hired to do the job for you, training the dog yourself can strengthen the bond between the two of you and can be a learning experience for both. Many tools for training dogs are available to facilitate this. Listed below are some of the easy to use and dog-friendly training tools.

Dog Training Leash and Collar
The simplest tool for training your dog is the leash and the collar. It might sound surprising, but the dog’s leash and collar can be the easiest to use, for training your dog when outdoors. As far as the dog leash is concerned, a shorter leash ensures better control over the dog. There are automatic recoil leashes available that can be used to adjust the length of the leash. Various types of collars like no bark collars, remote operated collars, beeper and tracking collars, chain collars, etc. are available for obedience training.

Dog Fencing
Dog fences are essential when you want to contain the dog to your premises, so that you don’t have to deal with annoyed neighbors. Apart from the conventional fences, electric dog fences can be very useful for this purpose. The invisible electric dog fence trains the dog to refrain from venturing out of home, by producing beeping sounds, and if the dog still tries to move out, a mild static shock is delivered.

Clicker
A clicker is a small plastic device with a metal piece inside, which when squeezed and released produces a clicking noise. This device can be useful when you train the dog to follow commands and instructions, as the clicking noise attracts the dog’s attention towards you. The dog will also be able to recognize this noise after a few days of use, which will enable you to track your dog, in case it goes wandering about.

Dog Crates
Dog crates are used to train the dogs in the housebreaking process. Dog crate training also enables the dog to have a place of its own in the house, especially when it is left alone in the house for long hours. You can place soft comfortable blankets, a bowl of water and something to chew onto so that the dog feels comfortable in the crate.

Dog Training Treats
Dog training treats encourage dogs to follow commands, so that they earn the treat. The treat should be something that is not included in the dog’s daily diet, like liver, chews, biscuits, cheese bites, etc. The dog would want to be rewarded with the treat, which will encourage it to perform the task well.

Muzzles
Muzzles are used to train dogs who incessantly barking, biting and chewing problems. The dog’s mouth is covered which prevents it from barking, biting and chewing onto anything that comes its way.

Apart from the above-mentioned training tools, a number of books are also available that can guide you, on providing your dog with effective training. To produce the desirable behavior, make the training an enjoyable experience for your dog and treat it with love and respect.