Dogs have special abilities that provide companionship and loyalty that rivals humans. For a conscientious dog owner, learning more about properly caring for a dog is no burden. This article is the best place to start learning.

Be careful of the ingredients in many flea treatments. There are ingredients in some of them that can risk cancer in your children. Talk to your vet about safer options, especially when there are kids around.

Train your dog indoors or in the backyard. Avoid training your dog in heavily occupied areas. It is very difficult to teach a dog that is distracted by people and disturbances.

Hand signals are great when they are paired with verbal commands. When you give your dog these kinds of signals, he may learn faster. Always associate the spoken command and the hand gesture at first and choose the system that works best later on.

If you are not sure of how much to feed your dog each day, talk to your vet about it. Many people look at the guidelines on the dog food bag; the problem with this is that some of the recommendations may be inaccurate and could cause your dog to gain weight. Therefore, ask your vet the acceptable amount of dog food your dog needs to ensure its health and well-being.

Correct your dog’s bad behavior immediately. If you ignore any issue with your pet then later on it’s going to be harder to train it to obey because it doesn’t know any better. Neglecting your dog’s behavior can lead to injuries.

Put a leash on your dog at all times when walking him. He should be on your side, not behind or ahead of you, and he should know how to respond when told to “heel.” This will not only make your walks more enjoyable, but it will also help keep your dog safe. This will also help to prevent your dog from choking themselves, when trying to pull ahead.

Listen to your vet when he tells you how to administer medication or care. There’s a reason dogs have to endure uncomfortable situations like a cone-collar! Your vet makes recommendations that will help your dog be happy and healthy, so you should follow your vet’s advice.

Identification will be great in the event that your dog gets away from you. It’s a good idea to fit your dog with a sturdy collar equipped with ID tags. Make sure that a current telephone number and the dog’s name are included on the tag. If a tag doesn’t feel like the right option for your dog, consider a microchip.

Make sure that you are keeping up with your dog’s vet appointments. A good vet will be able to easily spot problems with your dog way before you actually see something. Annual dog physicals can spare lots of money later for owners and keep them from suffering now.

There is no doubt that dog ownership offers an incredible array of benefits, and can be the foundation of an incredible friendship. The best thing to do is to spend time learning about all of the things your dog may need. The above advice can be used for times to come.