Using Varying Terrains for Dog Sled Training
I recently returned from my honeymoon to Alaska where we got to try out one of the coolest things in the world: dog sled racing. After a short helicopter ride to a nearby glacier we were greeted by literally hundreds of snow dogs all preparing for various races. Some owners were from as far away as New England, while others were native Alaskans.
After interacting with a few of the dogs, we were allowed to ride on a sled pulled by actual Iditarod race dogs. Some of the dogs were pure muscle while others were full of agility and speed. One thing we noticed as we cruised over the smooth face of a glacier was just how much work it was to run a dog sled. So, we asked some of the trainers how they got in shape, especially since some of them don’t live in Alaska year round. Their answer: the use of varying terrains and workout regimens.
Flat Work
One of the most common workouts was flat work, or commonly known as road work. Essentially this is just straight running or jogging over flat land in order to build up endurance.
Hill Training
Hill training seems like the least fun of all the training philosophies. It is exactly how it sounds, training on hills. The idea is that during race conditions you never know what kind of inclines or declines you’ll encounter, so you train for them all.
Sand and Snow Training
Last but not least is snow training, or for those trainers who aren’t around the snow year round, they use beach training. We were familiar with beach training as we were from Florida, but snow training was much more difficult as some snow will actually cause you to sink down a foot or so. Not to mention how cold it is on your extremities, like fingers, toes, ears, nose, and face. One tip they recommended was using sports headphones to help get blood to your ears and keep your mind on the music and not the snow.
The end result is that using varying terrains for training surely increases your overall abilities to take on anything that comes your way in a race.
Dog Training Internet Business
Looking for some extra cash or one of those stay at home jobs? If you’re desperate or just like dogs, you could get paid to take care of other people’s dogs. If you can help train their pets, you could probably earn extra as well. If you’re really good at training dogs, you could probably make money from that knowledge. If you look at some of the internet business opportunities that are available, you’ll find that you could make money from all kids of things.
Since most people love dogs, the dog training niche is quite profitable. So what do you do? You could create short video series on dog training. You could write an ebook about it and sell it on Amazon. You could even create a site and sell other people’s training programs. You could sell dog supplies and toys as well.
When it comes to training dogs, there are two important things. The first is knowing the right things to do. The other is choosing a dog that is smart enough to learn what you’re teaching them. Let’s face it, some dogs are just smarter than others. If creating an internet business out of this seems like way too much, then you could always stick with training dogs locally.
1800Petmeds Keeps Dogs Healthy For The Iditarod Race
I live in Wasilla, Alaska and just down the road is the track used by the Iditarod race. Every year teams of dogs restart the race in Wasilla on their way Nome, AK, the end of the Iditarod race. You can find more faqs about the Iditarod race here. Each year hundreds of dogs race to the finish line and yet many will get sick, injured or just cannot make it the full length of the race. In fact about 50% of the dogs running the Iditarod will never make it to the end. Teams train in the off season and care for their dogs, keeping them as healthy as possible until the day of the race.
The Iditarod dogs are like any other dog. They require good food, water and care. These dogs can and do get sick so making sure they are well cared for is the owners top responsibility. These dogs are made to run a race, just like breeders of race horses, the Iditarod dogs are breed to run to Nome, AK every year. Keeping the dogs healthy is a top priority and requires a lot of experience and knowledge from experienced Vets.
One way dog owners can save money is by purchasing their food, petmeds and other dog products online from major retailers such as 1800Petmeds. The 1800Petmeds brand is a well known brand that’s known for its quality pet medications, pet food and Vet advice. Dog owners can save money by using a 1800petmeds coupon code when going through the 1800Petmeds checkout.
If you have never experienced the Iditarod race, I would suggest making it to Willow, AK one year to watch the start of the race.
Iditarod Vet Check in Wasilla, AK
The Iditarod Race Requires A Specific Kind Of Dog
To run in the Iditarod dog race dogs have to be very fit, and bred for this kind of work. The conditions are extreme, and they have to have trained really hard to be able to cope. If not then there is a good chance that they will become ill and even die, putting the rest of the team, and the handlers in danger too. This is because they all depend on each other and work as a team.
For this reason the breed of dog that is most suitable for these trials was the Siberian Huskie, these are really strong dogs, with the required stamina to run for miles. However over the years other breeds were used to enable certain characteristics to be introduced. So today the dogs used are mostly mongrels, all though not as we see them. These mongrels are worth a considerable amount of money, especially if they are race winners, they would be worth more than all your top Christmas Gifts 2012 put together!
The dogs have very thick fur too, to keep them warm in the extreme temperatures, they are also very loyal and work well in a team. These character traits are just as important as the speed and stamina, because they have to rely on each other, one dog causing trouble is likely to upset the whole team.
Our Cat Loves His New Cat Furniture
Our couch loves us as much as our cat does for buying some new cat furniture. We were having a problem with our cat constantly trying to sharpen his claws on the corner of our couch. Any cat owner knows how quickly that kind of behavior can ruin a piece of furniture. We decided that the best way to deal with this situation was to get him a new scratching post. Some people might ask, “Why not just get him declawed?” There was a time that I might have entertained the idea, but then I found out that declawing isn’t just a matter of removing a small part like a human nail bed while leaving the toe intact. It’s actually an amputation of the first section of the toe. I think I read somewhere that it is not illegal in Great Britain, but you may want to check me on that. In any case, we didn’t want to do that to our cat.
We found a great scratching post that is covered in rope and it got some great reviews when we checked around online. So now our couch loves us, our cat loves us, we love our cat, and our cat loves his new cat furniture.
Monkeys as Pets
This is a subject I feel really strongly about and it truly makes me mad when I see people taking on monkeys as pets. Monkeys do not make good pets, not capuchins, marmosets, chimpanzees, orangutans none of them, period! so why is it so many idiots go and get themselves a primate as a pet? I honestly have no clue what they must be thinking, but they should realise they cannot possibly provide that monkey or ape with the conditions and stimulation it needs. I was actually delighted to come across an article recently called Why Monkeys Do Not Make Good Pets, and it clearly explained all the reasons not to buy a monkey as a pet.
There are so many pets that are far more suitable than primates, and another article I discovered covered in great detail many other options for pets that people might want to consider. I found the article packed with ideas for loads of far more ideal pets for the average person. I strongly suggest anyone thinking of taking on an ape or monkey as a pet changes their mind once they read the first article I have linked to above. Then they should go to the article called How to Choose the Ideal Pet and find a more suitable pet that they can give the proper care to.
Ideas for Halloween Decorations
If you’re always on the hunt for ideas for Halloween decorations and scrambling to come up with innovative Halloween props, then do what I do. I treat my decorations for Halloween in the same way as I think of my Christmas decorations. At Christmas my Christmas tree is the focal point of my holiday decorations and then I add smaller touches. Well at Halloween my haunted cemetary that runs along both sides of my walkway is my focal point.
This is my 5th year using that design element, so we can put up and take down the cemetary in less than 30 minutes. Then I decide whether I want zombies or ghosts populating my cemetary and what kind of lighting I want. This year I’m forgoing the zombies coming up out of the ground. I’m going to have ghosts flying in trees above the tomstones. I got a great buy on a dozen and we are going to have them featured with ghostly and eerie green lights. In the middle of the ghosts is going to be a witch on a broom. For a touch of humor I’m going to have a black cat looking up and wondering what the heck is going on.
Dog Food vs. Cat Food
Some pet owners assume that dog food and cat food are pretty much the same. After all, kibble-like cat food does look a lot like dog food, but looks can be deceiving. Dog food and cat food are more different than you might think, and cat food does not make a good substitute for healthy dog food, and vice-versa.
This might surprise you, but dogs aren’t actually strict carnivores. Of course, meat makes up a large part of their diet in the wild, but dogs also eat fruits, vegetables, and grains. On the other hand, cats are true carnivores. Because of these differences, dog food is formulated differently than cat food is.
Cat food is almost always higher in protein than dog food is, and it’s usually higher in fat, too. dogs don’t require as much protein and fat as felines need to be healthy. In fact, too much protein can be bad for your dog, and too much fat can cause pancreatitis in canines.
Another difference is the vitamin A content. Dogs need more vitamin A than cats need, so dog food includes higher levels of the vitamin.
Don’t panic if your dog occasionally nibbles your cat’s dinner. A little bit won’t hurt your pooch., but it should never be fed in place of a dog food that’s made specifically for canines.
American Recipes for Inexpensive Beef
Americans, on average, eat a half-pound of meat a day, and most of that is beef. Needless to say, there are tons of American recipes for beef dishes. Beef recipes range from homemade hamburgers to filet mignon, with all sorts of beef recipes in between. Of course, tender cuts of beef can be successfully prepared just about any way, but the problem with such choice cuts is that they are usually very expensive for consumers.
Tough vs. tender cuts
The most tender cut of beef is the filet, which comes from the tenderloin. The tenderloin is located near the animal’s backbone, and it doesn’t move much. It doesn’t support much weight, either, which is why it’s so tender. Other tender cuts of beef come from the short loin and the rib, including prime rib, ribeye steaks, T-bone steaks, New York strip steaks, and Porterhouse steaks.
Tougher cuts of beef include chuck steak, chuck roast, round steak, round roast, brisket, rump roast, short ribs, flank steak, and shanks.
American recipes for tough beef
Even inexpensive, tough cuts of beef can be cooked to delicious perfection. Marinades, enzymes, pounding, and cubing can all help break down muscle fibers. Of course, grinding can serve the same purpose, as with ground beef, hamburger, and beef sausage.
The way meat is cooked can also affect how tender it is. Tough cuts of beef are usually cooked at low temperatures for extended periods to ensure tenderness. Because many of the cheap cuts of beef lack adequate marbling, liquids and/or fat is often added to recipes that call for such beef. These recipes might include braising, roasting, smoking, stewing, or cooking in a slow cooker or crock pot.
Dog pink eye holistic treatments
If your like many dog lovers these days, you try to find all natural, holistic herbal dog remedies. These are much more gentler on your dogs system and have none of the common side effects of other vet treatments.
One of the best places to get great holistic dog treatment remedies is Pet Wellbeing. Take for instance their Holistic, herbal dog pink eye treatment. Called Eye Easy, it’s made from only quality herbs with proven medicinal qualities.
In most cases of dog pink eye, you only need a mild form of treatment to reduce the pain and itching in the eyes. In fact it often clears up on it’s own in time. Eye Easy is a pink eye drop liquid that works great on all dogs.
It soothes the itching and pain most dogs get with pink eye, reduces the swelling and promotes healthy eyes. If you use it at the first sign of dog pink eye symptoms you can often clear it up in a matter of days.
So check out Eye Easy for dog pink eye today and keep a bottle around for the next time you need it. Your dog will be very happy you did and you’ll feel better you could clear it up fast.