Dog owners will say that there is no proven formula for selecting a good name for a new dog or puppy. Whether they have to think of girl or boy dog names, normally they will pick something that sounds trendy or a name they like rather than putting some thought into what the name actually means. Popular boy dog names have a variety of meanings, but more often than not the meaning will not suit the dog it is given to. Here we give a guide to the top five boy dog names and what they really mean.

Undoubtedly, one of the first things you do when you get a new dog or puppy is pick a dog name for him or her. For most dog owners, this actually requires little thought. They just choose a dog name out of thin air and that is the name by which the poor mite will be known forever. However, there are certain issues that ought to be taken into consideration when going through dog names in order to make sure that you choose the right one.

First of all, dogs can sense attitude and tone of voice better than we are able to. If you pick a dog name for comic value or after someone you don't like, your dog will know by your tone of voice that something is not right. As a result, their attitudes may change towards you or they may refuse to respond to your commands. Dogs' names should mean something but should not be detrimental to their training, so you should really take the decision of the dog name carefully.

Although dogs are very clever animals, they can't understand the same amount of information that we can. Therefore, dog names ought not be more than two syllables long. If they are more than that, most dogs will not respond. Max, Sam, Becky, Lady, Molly and the like are excellent dog names because they are short and the names are easily heard. They respond to these dog names and that will help your probability of training them successfully.

However, dogs' names ought to help them mould a character of their own. Popular names don't really allow them to do that, so finding something simple but unusual can help their characters grow a great deal without damaging their willingness to respond to a command.

Max: This is perhaps the greatest boy dog name and the meaning is probably the reason why many people pick it for their dog. It literally means "the most". After all, every dog owner thinks that their dog is the 'most'.

Jake: Jake is short for Jacob, which means "champion". This is an apt boy dog name, if your puppy takes over the whole house within a short time of getting inside it!

Buddy: Buddy is a variation of Budd, which means "messenger". This boy dog name could suit a working dog or one you might train to bring in the newspaper of a morning. It is quite a popular boy dog name and can be very widely heard throughout America.

Bailey: The boy dog name Bailey is French and means "steward". This is fairly suitable if your dog is responsible and sensible, so it is apt for a Newfoundland or collie puppy.

Sam: Sam apparently means "an answer to prayers". This is a great boy dog name for dogs that are easy to train and are very little work!

Few new dog owners consider a name's meaning when picking a boy dog's name, so instead of just going ahead with your first idea, it would be worth taking the time to find a dog's name that is actually suitable for your dog. After all, it doesn't cost you anything to spend some time considering your dog's name.

Posted under Dogs

You really have to destroy heart worm, fleas and other parasites in dogs whenever it becomes apparent that your dog is infected by using the appropriate treatment on them. Loads of medications are available to defend our dogs from heart worms, fleas and other parasites like hook worms, whip worms, round worms, lice, ticks etc.

Of the heart worms, fleas and other parasites, fleas can produce a super-sensitive reaction in the affected animal. Animals infested with fleas scratch their skin very vigorously. Frequently the scratching is so severe that the skin becomes super-sensitive and dermatitis occurs in the scratched areas of skin.

The consequences of a serious flea infestation is often that the animal can not lie down for long or sleep comfortably due to the persistent flea bites. So, your dog appears to have some serious skin disease. If the your dog is not properly treated for these flea bites, there could be a secondary bacterial attack in these sites and there may even be a bad smell emanating from the affected area of the animal's skin.

You ought to observe your pet closely in order prevent a serious outbreak. It is essential to avoid such a serious infestation as they are extremely distressing to your dog. Similarly, the skin of the animal needs to be checked regularly for the presence of ticks and lice. In order to do this effectively, you must look at the dog's skin by separating the dog's hairs. The easiest way to achieve this is by slowly back-combing or ruffling the pet's hair.

Usually, if your pet is anaemic, and it is not he result of being plagued by too many fleas, you have to check for hookworm. Symptoms of hookworm are usually anaemia, loose stools and a pot belly. The dog's owner may notice these symptoms by themselves, however, speaking honestly, the dog needs to undergo a routine health check at the vet's, which involves both faecal and hematological tests.

There are many commercial products available on the market, some of which are effective for dealing with all these conditions in a single dose. Drugs like ivermectin are highly efficacious and are available in injection, oral and solution forms. The latter should be put directly on the dog's skin. These drugs can induce the prevention of the above conditions too.

So, the best policy to adopt is to keep a keen watch on your dog. This could very easily be done at bath time and when you are grooming him. You can use an anti-flea and anti-tick shampoo, which will keep these nuisances at bay, if used as stated on the bottle. Couple this with regular grooming with a lice comb and the use of a flea collar should keep your pet flea, lice, and tick free.

Posted under Dogs

Fleas and other parasites should always be awarded the top priority by dog owners. Flea bite allergy in dogs is very common and causes concern to many dog owners every year, especially in the summer, although all year round if your dog lives indoors with central heating. This is because flea bites often produce allergic reactions in the area bitten by the fleas, which is very often on the back just above the tail. In these cases, the affected area becomes red and bald due to the dog's continuous scratching of itself.

Heavy flea infestations can cause severe dermatitis in dogs. If the flea bites cause allergic reactions or dermatitis in the dog, it really ought to be taken to the vet, because on many occasions, the dog will be experiencing severe discomfort.

The vet will provide you a cream to ease the itching and reduce the inflammation and some powder or a spray to kill the fleas. Prevention, however, is better than cure and medicated collars are available to treat and prevent an infestation of external blood-suckers like ticks and fleas.

Besides fleas, other parasites like ticks and lice in addition to the internal parasites like hook worms, round worms, whip worms etc. can affect the health of your dog. For example, if hookworm infects a dog, that dog will usually suffer from anaemia. The signs of anaemia become more evident depending on the degree of infection by the hookworm.

Hookworm larvae can pass directly through the skin and cause problems inside the affected dogs. Such dogs may have lesions due to dermatitis on the paws and on the skin. Frequently, skin rashes are the result in such cases and the affected animal passes loose stools, which are tinged red with blood.

Most dogs and all puppies get round worms, which is why dogs can often be seen rubbing their bottoms along the floor. However, if round worms are present in large numbers, infected puppies show a pot belly, which is easily recognized by dog owners themselves. Piperazine salts are given orally for the treatment of this condition. However, broad-spectrum anthelmintics like pyrantel pamoate, fenbendazole etc. are also given to treat this condition.

There are many drugs on the market to treat fleas and other parasites these days, although medications containing the drug 'ivermectin' seem to be preferred by many dog owners to treat fleas and other parasites in dogs. This drug is available for injection or oral use but is now even available for external application too.

Posted under Dogs