General Care Tips For Dogs In All Seasons

 Winter Feeding for your dog:

Dogs that are kept outside in the winter need extra energy to maintain body heat. It is highly important that you provide a quality "premium" food that is high energy. Usually this will indicate a "high protein" and "high fat" level in the food. I stress "premium quality" because a premium food company usually buys their ingredients from the same sources on a regular basis, consequently the dog's diet is not being changed in minute ways because of the differences in the source origins of the ingredients, which can happen in a lower quality "off the shelf" dog food.

You should also feed a bit of warm stuff daily on your dog's food in the winter. For one thing, the warmth of the food will cause the dog's scenting ability to increase and thus give him a greater appetite, encouraging him to eat. The other thing is that warm food will benefit his digestive tract. This comes from the dog's natural instincts...fresh kill is always warm! The dog's intestines readily accept warm food. 

Traveling with your dog:

Many dog show exhibitors camp with their dogs, as well as people who just have pets and don't want to leave them behind. Truckers who do long jaunts over the road also have a lot of dog lovers in their ranks, and they travel with their dogs. Learning proper roadside manners with a dog, plus trainng your dog to be  relaxed about going potty in strange places, eating in strange places, making new friends, and becoming familiar  with all the noises and confusion of travel is highly important.  The book Dogshows 101, although the title may appear to be about akc dog shows, is also about learning how to train your dog to meet all these challenges easily and without problems.

As for campers, Just train your dogs to behave with a few "camping manners" and everything will be fine! Be sure that you have a dog that is under control in a campground situation. this means a dog that is trrained to either be in a crate or on a "tether", a dog that does not bark excee\ssively at strangers, a dog that walks well on a leash, a dog that comes to you when called, in other words: an OBEDIENCE TRAINED DOG.

Fellow campers will appreciate it if you are also a RESPONSIBLE OWNER.

Part of your responsibility is to make sure that you pick up after your dog. always take along a good supply of plastic bags! If you feed your dog outside, pick up the left over food also. Make sure, if you leave the campground area  without your dog, that he is safe and will not be a danger to other campers  or a hazard to himself, that he will not end up in the blazing sun as the  shade moves or that he cant become entangled on too long a tether .

Having a young puppy in a campground is no different than having a young child. Be responsible,  be aware, and be careful. 

If you are going to travel and use hotels along the way, many options are available. There are lots of GREAT TRAVEL TIPS available in the NEW BOOK "Dogshows 101". This book is available ONLINE as an instant E-book or printed edition with photos included HERE.