There are a variety of steps involved in a good oral hygiene plan.  Most of this is stuff that we all know we should do.  And we all do it, don’t we?

I mean, brushing your teeth after breakfast and before you go to bed are essential if we want to even begin to talk about a clean mouth.  Other things that are part of the basic routine include using dental tape or dental floss to get between the gaps of our teeth. Even after brushing, there is still plenty that we can floss out.  Another part of the procedure is using a good mouth wash.  There are a load of brands to choose from.  I personally like to stick with Listerine because of the fresh feeling it provides.

Another thing that we can do that,  assuming we are doing the basics outlined above,  really helps to ensure that we have a clean mouth is to buy a tongue scraper so that we can keep our tongue clean too.  These tools are no where near as common as tooth brushes.  Hands up if you don’t have a tooth brush? Exactly, we all brush.  But we don’t all use tongue cleaners.  But why not?

When you try a tongue cleaner you will be shocked at the stuff that it is able to get off your tongue.  This is pretty disgusting but is in fact bacteria.  It is this bacteria that is responsible for most cases of bad breath.  So using a tongue cleaner is a great thing to do if you want to maintain a champion oral hygiene routine.

There are plenty of these oral tools that you can buy online.  Some are made from metal while others from plastic.  They are inexpensive products that are well worth it to help you clean your mouth and give you peace of mind.

Fortunately for people in the United States and Canada it is now possible to get your hands on these Japanese machines and cook great tasting rice for yourself. For example if you buy a Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 rice cooker you will find out just how good it can actually be. This unit makes use of their special Neuro Fuzzy technology which means that the rice will not burn in the machine and it will be cooked properly. Sometimes when trying to make rice in a saucepan it is very difficult to actually measure out the amount of water and rice correctly and therefore we sometimes end up with soggy rice. This is totally unappealing food to eat. Therefore to actually enjoy rice and not have to constantly attend to its cooking, the easiest way is to get a rice cooker.

There are many different manufacturers that make these types of machines. These include, Tiger, Panasonic, Sanyo, Aroma, Black and Decker and of course the firm mentioned above. My personal preference is for Zojirushi as they seem to have the backing of the highest number of Japanese people and they should know! If you get a NS-ZCC10 you too will be able to find out what all the fuss is about.

For people that really get into the Japanese way of preparing and eating foods, there is a further option worth considering. When you use Japanese bento boxes it means you can prepare a packed lunch comprised of much more than just sandwiches. Not that there is anything wrong with this kind of lunch, for me a decent sandwich can compete with the best ethnic options available.

However to eat like they do in the Far East, using something like a Zojirushi bento box means you can fill part of it with rice and then still have space for other foods too. The lunch box mentioned above actually has four separate parts that are stacked together and are held in a bag. This means that it is actually fairly compact as well as holding a large amount of food. It is not enough for two people but holds plenty and therefore can actually be quite a large meal just for one.

The four boxes that make up this Zojirushi bento set are designed to hold different foods. There is one large bowl that is meant for a soup. Then the second largest one is designed to hold rice. Then on top of that there are two smaller tubs. One of these holds the “main dish” and the smallest is perfect for a salad of some description. Of course you do not have to eat like a Japanese person would. It is easy to hold a pasta and sauce in the soup container. As it has four separate containers, the Zojirushi bento box is a very flexible piece of equipment.

There are many different brands, sizes and prices of rice cookers on the market today. So if you have taken the decision to start eating more rice as part of your diet then you may well be considering purchasing a rice cooker or steamer. Therefore there are a few different questions that you will need to ask yourself to make sure that you buy a model that will meet your requirements.

Firstly you will want to consider just how much rice you will need to prepare at once. For example if you live alone then a 5.5 cup cooker will easily satisfy your needs. This will even allow you to prepare extra rice that you could freeze for future use. Frozen rice is excellent as it can be cooked in minutes by using a microwave.

You will also want to know what your price ceiling that you are will into spend will be. If you do not want to go over $50 for example then it may be difficult or impossible to find a top line model like the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10. This is a Japanese rice cooker (read more about them below) that is currently selling well in the United States due to its quality.

Japanese rice cookers

There are a few different reasons why Japanese rice cookers are at the top of the heap when it comes to kitchen appliances that are designed especially to cook your rice. Two important factors are that the Japanese have been eating rice for centuries so are experts in knowing how it should be cooked. Since the Second World War, Japan has emerged as an electronics powerhouse manufacturing some of the best consumer electronics in the world today. By combining these two factors we can see that for rice cooking connoisseurs, an appliance built in the Far East may be the most appropriate option.

We all know that Japan is famous for its consumer electronics industry with firms like Panasonic and Sony being recognised as world leaders. However there are many other companies that are possibly less familiar to us but who also produce top quality goods. One of the lesser well known companies outside Japan is their number one rice cooker manufacturer, Zojirushi. This company sells the most rice cookers in Japan itself. This is a huge vote of confidence in their quality.

So what makes them so good? Partly it is the options that they have but more importantly it is just the sheer quality that they exude that makes them so popular. Of course they can be used to cook a wide variety of different rices and even many different foods. But the real test of a rice cooker is the quality of the plain white Japanese rice that it can make. And this is what the Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 excels at. It comes with a few additional accessories that make cooking your rice even easier. These include a measuring cup so that you know exactly how much rice you are making. This is important because it means it is then easy to know what quantity of water you need to add to the cooking bowl so that the rice comes out just right. This kitchen appliance is also particularly easy to clean which means there is every reason that you can expect it to last for a very long time.

You can read a more detailed Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 review by clicking the link which takes you to a website called Japanese rice cookers.

Dogs like all living creatures need food and water to survive. Food includes proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Dogs require vitamins and minerals in their diet as well and it is important to provide a dog with a well balanced diet that includes all the factors that they need to survive, it is just as important to provide the correct amount of the nutrients as it is to not give excessive amounts of as this can be dangerous and cause ill health- for example vitamin A can lead to malformation of the bones if given in diet in excessive amounts! Water is more important than most people realise, as well as quenching thirst it is a constituent of blood, eliminates waste through urine and helps temperature control.

As I said before in order to survive, dogs need water, protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fibre and trace elements. It is important that a dog gets a nutritional balance of all these ingredients, whether you are feeding a home prepared diet, or a commercial bought dry or moist food, not necessarily in every meal but overall it is the balance that counts. For my customers that are interested in understanding their dog’s diets better I give them the following information about each aspects of their dog’s diet.

Function of minerals

Dogs require about 20 minerals, but some are needed in such small quantities the absolute requirements have not been established. These trace elements are present in the common foodstuffs and deficiencies are most unlikely. Minerals perform many different functions in the body such as the formation of bone, teeth, and cartilage, maintenance of fluid and acid/base balance, transportation of oxygen in the blood, normal functioning of muscles and nerves, and production of hormones. Minerals work with vitamins, enzymes, and other minerals in the body to produce their effects.

Vitamins
Although required in small amounts, vitamins are necessary for normal health and function. A vitamin is an organic compound which plays an essential part in the regulation of various metabolic pathways and is broken down in the process. Vitamins are distinguished from other compounds with similar functions in that the animal is unable to synthesis (create) replacements and must obtain a dietary source. Deficiency in all vitamins have some similar signs in common like poor appetite, general loss of condition and poor growth. Vitamins are generally classified into two groups based on how or if they are stored in the body. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissue, these are vitamins A, D, E and K and are all retained when fed in excess amounts. This is why you need to be careful when feeding food that contains vitamin A and D as excess is dangerous and can cause malformation of bones (vit A) and calcification of soft tissue (vit D). Water-soluble vitamins, these are vitamins Bs, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin and choline are stored in only very small amounts by the body. They need to be taken in daily, and any excesses are excreted by the body each day through urine, therefore they are not considered toxic in excessive amounts.

Proteins

Proteins are one of the most important elements for maintaining good health. All the tissues, bones and nerves are made up mostly of proteins and normal brain function depends on adequate amounts of protein being consumed in the diet. During digestion the larger molecules of proteins are broken down into smaller ones known as amino acids. Amino acids are necessary for the synthesis of complete body proteins and many other tissue parts as well as providing the substances used to send info around the brain. Of the 22 amino acids the body requires 9 and these are called essential amino acids, these are the acids that cannot be produces by the body. Protein levels in food are very important. In order to work out the true amount of protein content depends on the amount of moisture contained in the food. Dry foods contain little moisture whereas canned foods usually contain a great deal of moisture which can significantly alter the protein level from that displayed on the label. So it is important when trying to get an accurate amount of protein in canned foods by comparison to dry food you must calculate on an either dry matter basis or wet matter basis where the water content is constant for both.

It can be argued that food containing high levels of protein can cause aggression, excitability as well as lots of digestive problems. However more recent research shows this could infact be a myth and you would need take into account other variables to be more accurate. It could be that certain types or brands of food are more suitable for individual dogs and although an owner may have seen a difference in the dog’s behaviour after they switched to a lower protein diet, may they have also seen a change if they just switches to any other diet? It seems more or just as feasible to suggest cereal content/source, colourings or additives are more likely to be responsible for aggression or excitability.

Just because you may have worked out the protein content of a food it is of little use if you do not know the source of that protein. Most people assume protein only comes from meat but that is not true it also comes from grains, beans and vegetables. This is important as the source of protein is very important to a dog’s diet as protein from meat is of much more use to a dog than protein sourced from plant matter. One of the reasons for meat protein being so much better is because it contains all the amino acids in the right proportions required by a dog and in a form that is easily digested and assimilated. The problem with plant products is that they do not contain the full range of amino acids and may not be so usable by the dog and may also remain partly or wholly undigested leading to fermentation in the gut with the resultant release of toxins.

Fibre

Fibre is considered the non digestible portion of any food, and is responsible for firm stool formation, as well as digestive motility. As an example fibre consists of cellulose, lignins, inulin, and others. With the exception of chitosan, fibre comes from plants and whole grains. Although it is a type of carbohydrate, enzymes are unable to break down this carbohydrate, therefore making it a fibre. There are two different types of fibre, soluble, and insoluble, and if you imagined the skin on a fruit, that would be the insoluble portion, while the soluble portion lives inside. Both soluble and insoluble fibre is undigested and are therefore not absorbed into the bloodstream. Instead of being used for energy, fibre is excreted from the animal’s body.

If you found this article of interest and need any further advice on your dog’s diet please have a look at my website for more information and services.

What is Socialisation?

Socialisation means habituation or getting used to environmental elements through exposure to them.  In a natural setting it is highly adaptive to increase distance between yourself and anything unusual and then to proceed with extreme caution when approaching, this is relevant for people or animals.  This is because anything unusual and new are potentially very scary and bad news, the main reason for this is that the new and unusual are not necessary to survive as you (animal or person) have made it this far without them!    We all adhere to rules governing social distance.  Sometimes it is acceptable for someone to be standing close to us like in a shop queue but other times like in the middle of an empty field it would not be acceptable!  Animals and people can be weird about being touched when not expecting it or when we do not know the person or thing doing the touching.

Animals including dogs work on a default setting of avoidance, when you think about it that makes sense, excessive curiosity could result in exposure to danger and hence a life and death situation which the animal would want to avoid, survival and reproduction is what counts.  As it would not be adaptive for a animal to be continuously spooking at rocks and trees for example a mechanism is wired in to ensure the animal habituates to normal environmental features, this is the socialisation period of any animal, which is a finite time when young animals are much less fearful and more likely to approach and investigate new things and when the young animals readily form social bonds.  It is possible for older animals to habituate to new things but it takes longer.  The window of socialisation has to close at some point or animals would be going up to people and other animals all the time.    Each animal species is different and has an average time to assimilate and accept things in their environment.  After this window they will increase distance to new things using fight or flight mechanisms, from anything to which they have not been socialised.  Some animals may become fearful of something they encounter in the critical window but then seldom see after that.

In the case of dogs the socialisation window closes somewhere between the ages of 3 to 5 months, this depends on breed and individual makeup, with easy habituation drying up by about 4 and half months old.    As time goes on people are leaning more and more toward early socialisation with puppies – the earlier the better between say 8 and 11 weeks old (this was unheard of 20 years ago when it was thought puppies of this age could not learn or be trained at all).  It is becoming increasing important to balance the need for socialisation with the need for avoidance in puppies with inadequate immunity to disease.  The main thing to remember about socialisation is the importance of it can never be overestimated – a puppy who is never socialised with men with glasses on for example can grow up with the risk of fear and aggression being directed at men with glasses.  With this is mind it is advisable to go overboard with socialisation choosing all ages, sizes, genders and colours of people for example to avoid issues when the dog is adult. You must remember though that the experience for the puppy should be made positive through the use of play and treats and nothing scary.  This positive experience should include a wide range of patting and movements for the humans in question but more about that later.

Puppies development from birth to 8 weeks old when they arrive at their new home are made up of different periods of time during which the puppy will learn certain things. Certain elements to what and how they learn are more important than other times of their lives.    This period is set out below in detail to understand how important socialisation is.

Socialisation Periods in Dogs – 4 to 12 weeks

The period from roughly 21 to 49 Days, or 3/4 to 7 weeks is the Canine Socialisation Period, when the puppy learns to use their senses – specific behaviors that make him a dog.

To reach his genetic potential, the puppy must stay in the nest with the dam and littermates throughout this time. During this period he will practice body postures, facial expressions and vocalisations, and will learn their effects on his siblings, the dam and any other dogs he meets. He learns how it sounds to bark and be barked at; how it feels to bite and be bitten.

During these 2 months the puppy’s relationships are adaptable and impressionable.  During this period the pup’s relationship with the dam changes to one of dominance-submission and the puppy will be learning to accept discipline. The puppy starts to waggle its tails, yelp, lick the dam’s face, jump up, paw and follow the dam around.  At about 5 weeks old the puppy tends to stay awake for longer periods of time during the day, although they still sleep a lot!

During week 4 or 5 the dam will start to walk away from the puppy and paw the puppy into submission and some dams even punish their puppies with an ‘inhibited bite’ if they try and nurse during this period  she will also start to play with her puppies. Research (Bruce Fogle-Eric Wilson) has shown that puppies who received lots of ‘inhibition bites’ are often more socially introvert and less likely to play especially later on in life. Contrary side of this research has shown that puppies that were under non-punishing conditions by the dam were impossible to train later on in life. By the time the puppy is 7 weeks old the care relationship with the dam has evolved and changed to a dominance-submission relationship.

From 4 week to 6 weeks is mostly a Social period to other dogs. During this time play with littermates is very important and has the main functions of creating social bonds with other dogs, by learning communication skills (molding social behaviour). Play also defines the dominance relationships between the ‘pack’, promotes mental flexibility and physical dexterity, enhances coordination and allows the puppies to experiment under safe conditions. During this time puppies also learn how to maintain balance, learn to carry out events in a sequence, problem solving and this is all learnt by allowing for safe exploration of all these things within the litter.  Play such as chase games, bringing each other down, greeting and fight games make the puppy learn how to be a dog later on in life.  This also makes the puppy part of new situations and new experiences and therefore helps the puppy to evolve. A puppy which has grown up without playing with its littermates is often a poor learner, introverted, hyperagressive with other dogs, afraid of people, animals or noises and reluctant to explore anything.

During this stage a puppy learns to send signals to his littermates such as dominance, friendliness, submission, tolerance and cooperation. He also learns other activities with his littermates such as sleeping together, feeding together, walking, running, investigating together, barking or howling together, grooming each other and sniffing, nosing or licking each other.

By about 8 weeks of age a puppy is very well developed mentally and capable of learning from experience and more formal training, although an 8 week old puppy’s attention span is short and his capacity for concentration is not as good as an adult dog’s. During this time puppies are very receptive to new experiences and tolerate changes much better than at any other times during their lives.

It is during this phase that puppies learn what it means to be and how to be good members of a ‘human pack’ and they develop an acceptance of the world and environment around them. This is the time most puppies leave the breeder and go to their new homes.

The basics of house training should have been laid down in the nest and by the end of this period, with correct encouragement/reinforcement puppies should be well be on the way to becoming clean in the house and easy to house train completely.

From 6/7 week to 12 weeks is mostly a Social period to humans. The best time to bring a puppy into it’s new home is during the Human Socialisation Period, from 7/8 to 12 weeks. It is also the best time to introduce him to those things that he will come into contact with in his future life. For example, if he has not already been exposed to cats or other animals and it is necessary for him to live peacefully with them, it is at this age that he should meet them in a positive, non-threatening manner. If the breeder has not already introduced him to the sounds of the vacuum cleaner, car engines and traffic, etc. he needs to be exposed to these now. The puppy also needs to be exposed to children, men and women of all ages and descriptions wearing all sorts of different things, as people all appear different to a puppy. His education and socialisation should include exposure to many types of people, animals, sounds, objects, obstacles and training. This socialisation will make the puppy confident and familiar with all the different situations and people he will come into contact with in his life.

I would just like to point out the ‘Fear Impact Period’ from 8 to 11 weeks old. During the Fear Impact Period, from eight to eleven weeks, any traumatic, painful, or frightening experience will have a more lasting impact on the puppy than if it had occurred at any other time. The puppy’s perception of the experience/incident is very important, it is really important to remember that what the owner thinks about the experience or incident is not relevant by comparison to what the puppy thinks. For example, a trip to the veterinarian during this period, if unpleasant, could forever make a dog apprehensive about going to the veterinarian. By taking along a toy and some treats to the veterinarian and making the experience pleasant and fun, the potentially negative impact is alleviated.

How do we go about Socialisation?

Socialisation can be upgraded from neutral to positive experiences and from passive to active.  It is better for an owner to actively seek out people and things for the puppy instead of hoping that the puppy will come into contact with ‘enough’ of everything and all bases will be covered.  Note also that some puppies are more at risk from lack of socialisation such as puppies that are timid or sensitive, where owners are overprotective, or puppies that come from litters that are not whelped, or raised in a human infested home, even puppies that are raised in a rural location can be at risk of not enough socialisation.  Consider a large guard  breed dog like the Rottweiler – strangers will probably stay away from this dog, so easily the puppy could be under socialised with people as it gets older.

One of the first important parts of a puppy’s socialisation (or even an older dog that needs it) is training classes.  In the puppy’s case this is puppy classes.  It is a real loss to wait to take the dog to a class when he is an adolescent as we now know puppies can learn and be trained as soon as they arrive at their new homes.  Ian Dunbar has paved the way in the last 20 years for other trainers to carry on with dog training in a more positive nature.  In 1981 after buying an 8 week old dog of his own and looking far and wide for training classes for the dog but being unable to find anything, Ian Dunbar developed Sirius which is the original and leading provider of off-leash puppy classes worldwide. Before this time there was no training offered for puppies – dogs under 6 months old, as it was thought they could not learn as they were just too young at this age and not capable of understanding and carrying out commands.  These puppy classes taught owners and dogs so much from sit to down, to heel work which was just unheard of before Dunbar developed the Sirius classes.

The other advantage to puppy’s classes is the instant provision of age mates for the developing pup. This is providing the class is a true puppy class, limited to vaccinated puppies under the age of say 18 weeks rather than a beginner’s level obedience class.  Of course if your dog is older and has ‘problems’ and needs to be socialised a good and reputable class should be found which includes only dogs with similar problems and is being run by a experienced and or qualified dog trainer who the owner has checked out by going to watch the class.  If the owner has received recommendations for the class before attending with the dog this is also good.  This class should then run an X amount of weeks at one class per week and the instructor should provide support and advice along the way.

Types of Socialisation

This can be split into several different categories like people, dogs, other animals and objects.

Dog Socialisation

Dog to dog socialisation can be a difficult subject and some owners fear for their puppies and therefore overprotect them and do not allow them access to other puppies and this can lead to all sorts of problems for the puppy (of course puppy socialisation should always be done in a positive way with supervision at all times and removal of the dog from the situation if he shows signs of stress or fear, but fuss should not be made at any time by the owner).  Dogs that do not regularly play with other dogs usually have the poorest social skills of all.  As you would expect they have difficulty in both delivering and reading dog body language.  These dogs tend to fall into 2 categories one is the tense antisocial and nearness sensitive type that can be shy and snappy when approached by other dogs, and can evolve into lunging on the lead and aggression as they learn what display keeps the other dogs away and works for them.    The other category is the dog that is hyper motivated and keen but still with extremely coarse skills, these dogs are often described by their owners as ‘too excited’ when they meet other dogs and they are frankly annoying with their gross play and rude investigations all of which can evoke defensiveness in other dogs.  The main advantage to regular play with other dogs is that it improves the dog’s communication and maintains the dog’s soft mouth.    The more the dog interacts the better his social skills will be and then in turn he may be able to coax even the most worried or asocial dogs into play, appease tough dogs and defuse potential fights with subtle body language – the possibilities are endless for a dog with good social skills.

Considering dogs are basically social animals created to bond with any living thing they have sufficient contact with before 4 months of age it is a tragedy that any dog should be fearful or aggressive with other dogs just because they are basically under socialised with their own species.  Unfortunately restricting access to other dogs only makes this situation worse but owners often do not know what else to do and are too afraid to try anything else.  Well socialised dogs will be extremely attracted to and enjoy playing with other dogs so owners should be prepared to make sure the dog is well trained in obedience to come away from other dogs when he needs to, this means training well using positive reinforcement on recall with the dog, the owner needs to be more attractive than the other dogs and this is no small feat!

People Socialisation

It is critical as stated above that puppies are socialised between 4 and twelve weeks of age to interact with people because otherwise if puppies are raised in isolation they will remain shy throughout their lives and possibly become aggressive with people or children.  A timid dog will require more of his owner’s attention and patience during each situation it encounters from meeting new people to going out for a daily walk and this obviously will cause a potential problem and cause of anxiety for the owner.  This is again the obvious advantage of getting a dog as a puppy but if you get a older dog all is not lost if the dog has not been socialised to people or children and patience, time and treats (or other rewards) are required.  Also through a structured selection of positive and rewarding experiences for the puppy or dog with strangers and/or children who give the puppy or dog space and act calm and allow the dog to approach in its own time and then give the dog a tasty treat, or praise.  This will build up the confidence of the dog and meeting people will become less of a fearful and stressful situation for the dog, owners just need to remember that it just takes a little longer with older dogs than it does with puppies but they will get there with praise, reward and consistency.  It is important for an owner to remember that more socialisation is better than less as it cannot be overdone, make sure the puppy or dog meets all ages, sizes, colours, sexes of people wearing all sort of different clothes, accessories and carrying different things.

Dogs notice all sorts of differences in people. With good socialisation, dogs learn to ignore the differences that are not important, such as beards, hats, skin color, and the like. If you react in such a way that your dog thinks there is reason to fear that type of person, though, you can inadvertently create fear, suspicion or defensiveness in your dog toward other people. That becomes inconvenient, and sometimes downright dangerous. So strive to treat people the same no matter what their differences when you are socialising your dog!

If you have been given the special challenge of socialising an older dog to strange people, it may not be as difficult as it sounds. There are rules to follow — try to bear in mind how YOU would feel.

Use common sense – do not allow the dog to become overwhelmed. Watch the body language — this will tell you all about how he feels/what his intentions are. If he approaches strangers with his head slightly down, tail wagging, this is good – it is submissive, but happy.

Do not allow people to pat the top of the dog’s head — this can be perceived as an ‘aggressive’ gesture. Have them offer their hand for sniffing then rub the chest area, a natural calming spot in all dogs.

Carrying extra-special treats (reserve the really good stuff for use when meeting strangers) will really speed the process up. If the dog hangs back from meeting people, do not encroach on his “safety zone” — allow him to approach in his own way, in his own time. Food treats will help.

Reward for appropriate behavior — appropriate behavior is interest only — no barking or growling. If the dog barks (not in a friendly way) or growls, you have forced him past his limit, stop and try again later.

On the subject of growling: growling at humans is inappropriate. In situations where the dog is fearful, though, it is a first-line-of-defense against the scary things, and the last thing you want to have happen is for someone to teach this dog not to growl, as this could mean the dog will bypass the growl and go straight to the bite instead!. If you find a human that your dog will growl at the best way to handle it is to teach the dog that this human means good things for him this means really good treats and profuse praise offered in conjunction with the presence of this person and this will help enormously.

Objects Socialisation

On the subject of environmental socialisation it is sometimes overlooked by owners and not thought of as important, obviously it is more distressing to have a dog that is a problem with people or other dogs than a dog with a problem with something like the hoover but nevertheless attention should still be made to the socialisation of puppies to all things that the dog will come into contact with in it’s daily life.  Things like the washing machine, lawn mower, hoover, stairs, telephone, door bell, etc are everyday things that a dog needs to be associated with so they become used to them and do not grow up fearful or aggressive towards these unknown things.  Owners often forget the importance of things like types of floor surfaces and furniture surfaces, consider indoors and outside, all these things will be new to a puppy and exposure to these things often and with praise and reward will allow the dog to be accustomed to them throughout their life.  It can be upsetting for an owner that forever has a dog that is afraid of the hoover just because the dogs has not been correctly socialised to it.

Conclusion

Keeping the family dog out of trouble with the authorities is important but is not the only reason for socialising dogs. Socialisation is an important tool in building good relationships with other dogs, other pets, and people, and is essential in maintaining a healthy, happy, and balanced mental outlook for the family pet.  Who wants to own a dog with a bad reputation with other dogs?

Proper socialisation is important for dogs of all ages, not just puppies. It exposes them to new environments and situations and allows them to develop skills to cope with new experiences in a positive manner, thereby reducing stress and fear. This can be especially beneficial for dogs that become easily excited or agitated. A poorly socialised dog or one with no socialisation at all, is a hazard to other animals, other people and even his own family for reasons mentioned above.

Socialisation reduces stress for the dog and the owner in the long run and makes life more pleasant and enjoyable for all involved and who come into contact with the dog. If you found this article of interest and need any further advice on puppy and dog socialisation or dog psychology please have a look at my website for more information and services.

Take your time

Regardless of where you are getting married you should place just as much importance on getting the right wedding photographer as you do when choosing your wedding venue. Most wedding photographers have their own websites these days where you can view some of their wedding galleries. This is an important piece of research as it enables you to get a feel for their style of photography and to see if it is compatible with your ideas.

Do a little research

As well as looking through the testimonials on their website you should Google them and look for any other articles about them and comments that Brides or Grooms that have used their services have made. There are many wedding planning forums where discussions just like ‘Do you know a wedding photographer in..’ take place and they are a great resource for learning what really goes into planning your wedding.

Pre wedding meetings

Your wedding photographer should also put you at ease before, during and after your wedding day and with most photographers they will arrange pre and post wedding get togethers to plan and review the days events and shot selection. It is worth taking the time to discuss what types of shots and compositions you would like to have taken on the day. Give your photographer a core list of friends and family that need to be included in the wedding photographs, it will help the photographer make sure that all of your angles have been covered and no one is left out.

It is also useful to suggest that the photographer bring some sample wedding albums and a selection of photographs for you to look at, you may see a particular composition that you would really like to have on your day too.

And finally..

my name is Paul Jones (www.pauljonesphotographer.com) and I am a wedding photographer in Paphos ,Cyprus. I have many years experience in creating that certain something special to capture your wedding day. In September 2009 I had a photograph published in Vogue magazine which was a very special day for me and a wonderful suprise for the bride.

So if your looking for a wedding photographer to cover your special day in Cyprus why not drop by my website and say hello.

Whether you are a small start-up web designer or a marketing guru for a major corporation getting your site visible to the masses is a hard task. Nowadays there are directory websites, some free, some not, that will add a listing whether it be a simple URL link or small article to their listings, and at first sight they seem to be the answer to help promote your site and raise it’s awareness to the search engines. After all, we all want links to our website as we know it helps our ranking. Having spent some very lonely days researching how to give your website kudos it has become apparent that quality links to your website are what count and not simply quantity. Many directory listings can actually harm your kudos and send you plummeting of the search engine results pages, so what to do?

Seek Out Quality User Driven Article Directories

The key to your website success is it’s content, it’s articles, it’s information. Rather than just have a URL listing to your website and hope that it gets you some search engine love, submit a full, content rich, keyword rich article to an article directory. Not only will you be able to provide high quality informative content from your site but you can link to other like minded conscientious authors who also add value to your business, hobby or products.

With article directories you are in control of what links to your website and you can post as many articles (without duplicating) as you need. If you add a new section to your website submit an article to promote it. Seeking out the quality article directory websites can be a minefield so it’s an idea to look through the content that already exists and see if you feel that it is well structured and well written, you don’t want to be associated with poorly written articles! So with all that in mind I decided to create the Content Emporium, a category structured authority.

Editor Controlled Publishing

We have all heard the saying “Content is King” and even bad content is king, so to prevent the directory from being associated with bad content all articles submitted are proof read, tweaked (if needed) and then published by editors. This ensures a consistent high standard of published articles which will only give your website a good reputation. The article guidelines are there to help achieve the high standard required for an authority and is a must read by anyone wishing to become a contributor.

Content Emporium’s Ultimate Aim

By creating a website with good quality, relevant and up to date content it will given time become an authority with the many search engines that we all use daily to find our information. With a good authority comes good ranking and with good raking comes good back link kudos. The websites that are linked to from within this authority will therefore receive good weight for their rankings, well when the site becomes established anyway.

As with any new community there are always things that have not been included from the outset and if you have a suggestion for improvement or require a new category to be added please use the contact page and send me a message.