How often to feed?

Some general rules of thumb with respect to feeding puppies ...

(a) How often to feed? ... Feed between 2 to 3 times a day ... small portions until pup is about 10months old (or thereabouts) ... After that, for small breeds, you can continue to feed 2 meals a day (they have small stomachs and seem to do better on 2 small meals rather than one big meal) ... for larger dogs - once they hit adulthood, one meal should suffice.

(b) How much to feed? ... This depends from dog to dog and from breed (size) to breed ... Observe their poop, if the poop is soft, reduce food ... if the poop is very hard, increase the amount of food ... (In both cases, increase or reduce gradually ... until the poop is firm to the touch, and can be picked up in one piece) ...

General cautions:

Do not overfeed a pup/dog ... overweight pup/dogs will not be as healthy and can have health problems ... Slight underfeeding (especially with the larger breeds is recommended) ... It is better for a pup to grow slowly with time to build strong bones, then to grow too fast and have skeletal issues later on ... Slightly underfeeding your dog will NOT affect it's eventual size or growth ... The dog will still grow to its genetically determined size, just that it will grow slower and be more healthy.

With pups especially - I would concentrate on quality rather than quantity ... Good nutrition when dogs are young means healthier and stronger adults (just like people) ... Check the threads on nutrition and what is good nutrition.

A healthy pup is active, with bright eyes ... generally alert (but do remember, pups do sleep a lot) ... responsive and playful ... A dog that is sick will generally want to just lie down in a corner and not move so much ...

Cheers !

A Dog Humor: Adam and his companion.

Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me every day. Now I do not see you anymore. I am lonesome here and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me,"

And God said, "No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will know that I love you even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal,"

And God said, "No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but perhaps too well."

And the Lord said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not always worthy of adoration."

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility.

And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved. And Dog was happy.

And Cat didn't give a damn one way or the other.

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Anonymous

The Surprising Health Benefits of Love

The Surprising Health Benefits of Love
By Lisa Collier Cool
Feb 09, 2012

Love actually can make us healthier, so much so that if you could bottle it, you would have an incredible wonder drug, a Nobel Prize, the thanks of a grateful population and more money than Bill Gates. If a growing body of research is to be believed, love can lengthen your life, ward off stress, boost your immune system, lower your blood pressure, protect you from colds and flu, blunt your response to pain, hasten wound healing, and lower your risk of dementia in old age.

Studies have shown that health-wise, men are a lot better off married than their still-single pals; their wives are less likely to suffer from depression than their unmarried bridesmaids. Let a little romance into your life, and you’re less likely to end up in a nursing home when you’re old and gray. Love and marriage (or even love without marriage) turns out to be really, really good for us. Here are the main reasons why:

Love Defuses Stress

Unchecked stress can undermine your immune system, leaving you prey to all kinds of physical ills. Some studies have shown that happy couples produce less of the hormone cortisol when they’re stressed. This is a good thing because too much cortisol suppresses the immune system leaving us open to colds, flu and worse. It also prompts the body to store fat around the abdominal organs.

This kind of “visceral fat” is linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Marriage appears to be particularly good for health: rates of diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other chronic ailments are all lower in married people than in single ones.

Love Heals Wounds

A study at Ohio State University used a device designed to leave little blisters on the arm and to enable doctors to monitor the immune system’s response at the tiny wound sites. The researchers used a study grant to pay 42 married couples $2,000 each to agree to the blistering procedures and then to talk about topics that provoked tension and at another time to discuss topics that engendered supportive behavior. The upshot? The blisters took a day longer to heal after sessions when the couples disagreed than when they discussed something pleasant. The wounds took two days longer to heal when there was high hostility during arguments.

Better Brain Health

The give-and-take of marriage—or living with a partner—helps keep your wits sharp.

Living as a couple in midlife was linked to lower risk for cognitive impairment (unusually poor memory and mental functioning) in a Swedish study, while other research shows socializing, including getting together with friends, belonging to a club, or doing volunteer work also helps keep your brain nimble.

The Power of Touch

A study at the University of Virginia showed that holding a spouse’s hand can diminish stress set off by a mild electric shock. A total of 16 couples took part; first the wives received the shocks while their brains were monitored via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Next, each woman held the hand of a stranger during the shock--this dampened the stress response seen in the brain. Finally, the women held their husbands’ hands during the shock and the fMRIs showed that the reduction in stress was even greater.

The Cuddle Hormone

Women who get the most hugs from their partner have the highest levels of oxytocin, a hormone sometimes called the “cuddle hormone,” University of North Carolina researchers reported.

Oxytocin is believed to play a role in social bonding and has a powerful effect on the cardiovascular systems. In the study, the frequent huggers had lower blood pressure.

Togetherness and Health

Another clue to the power of love to keep us well comes from a study showing that health suffers after a divorce or when one spouse dies. The researchers found that being single after being married brings about a decline on physical health. The divorced and widowed in the study had 20 percent more health problems such as heart disease and diabetes than mid-life couples who remained married to their first spouse.

Even worse, the positive health benefits of marriage were cancelled out for the divorced and widowed people in the study: they had worse health problems than men and women who had never been married.

The Happiness Factor

Here are some startling statistics illustrating how vital love is to our mental as well as physical well-being: rates of major depression are nine times higher in unmarried men; divorce or separation more than doubles the risk of suicide in men; married men and women drink less alcohol and use less marijuana and cocaine than the unmarried; 70 percent of chronic drinkers were divorced or separated - only 15 percent were married.

So there you have it, love is good for almost everything. The only exception: it doesn’t help you lose weight.
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http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/surprising-health-benefits-love

White Golden Retriever.

White Golden Retriever. Is there such a thing?

Many people are unaware that there are a couple of different lines when it comes to Golden Retrievers. There are American lines and English lines. The English lines are often known as the “White Golden Retriever”, since they are often much lighter than most of the American bred Golden Retrievers. While you may not be aware of the differences, showmen and breeders are sure to quickly see the differences. Learning about the differences is a great idea and it may even influence your decision next time you are ready to purchase a Golden.

“White Golden Retriever” is just one of the names that are used for English Goldens. This name was given to them because many have coats that are nearly white. Some of the other common names include British Cream Golden Retrievers, Platinum Retrievers, or even Blonde Golden Retrievers. In most cases, American Golden Retrievers vary in color from pale yellow to very dark red or mahogany colors. However, most of the Goldens from the UK are significantly lighter.

White Golden Retrievers have hair that is a bit shorter and it is lighter than most American Goldens. However, they have differences in more than just color as well. These dogs are usually stockier and their heads have a square shape instead of being long like the American Goldens. These dogs were bred to deal with the climate in the area, which is cold and wet.

One of the benefits of the shorter coat that a White Golden Retriever usually has is that it doesn’t take as much grooming as the coats of the American Retrievers. You’ll also find that there are a few other ways that these English dogs vary from the American breed. Usually you’ll find that the dogs from the UK usually have eyes that are darker brown. Since their eyes are darker and they have a broader head, sometimes their facial expressions may be a bit different as well.

Of course, you’ll find that the White Golden Retrievers and the American Retrievers both have the same disposition. They are friendly, loving, happy, active, and very eager to please. Most enjoy being outdoors as well, since they were bred to be hunting dogs.

You’ll find that a White Golden Retriever is often considered by some to be a purer form of this breed. These dogs come from the UK, which is where the breed originated in the first place. Even if you are purchasing a Golden within the United States, you may want to consider looking for dogs that have lines that directly trace to the English line of Golden Retrievers. In many cases, these dogs are considered to be more valuable as well and they often will show traits more like a White Golden Retriever. Some breeders have even experimented with putting a more traditional American bred Golden with a Golden that has a UK lineage. This results in beautiful Golden Retriever puppies that bring together the best of the two different lines