David Meyer - The Total Dog Manual: Meet, Train, and Care for Your New Best Friend

David Meyer, Abbie Moore, and Dr. Pia Salk

Adopt-a-Pet.com is the worlds largest non-profit homeless pet adoption website. Thousands of animal shelters, humane societies, SPCAs, and animal rescue groups post hundreds of thousands of pets for adoption, and millions of potential adopters use Adopt-a-Pet.com each month to search for pets. Our service is entirely free, and is made possible by the passionate pet lovers at Nestl Purina Pet Care, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health, and the Petco Foundation.

Our mission is to ensure that every companion animal has a safe and loving home. This means that

every pet that is born has a loving home,

the human/animal bond is strong and people have all the knowledge and resources they need to have a happy life with their pets, and

when a situation arises where a pet really does need a new home, a new and loving home is found.

Our primary tool to help animals is technology. We use the internet to get homeless pets seen and adopted, and to deliver information that allows people to have happy and successful relationships with their pets. We also support animal shelters and companion animal protection organizations of all types by providing technology to help them work faster and smarter.

Technology, however, is not the only tool we use to help companion animals. We also conduct real-world events and publicity campaigns, such as our annual Pooch Smooch around Valentine's Day, an event to raise awareness of companion animal issues. Additionally, we conduct campaigns in various cities, featuring local sports stars championing our cause. Those campaigns involve media events, printed billboards, and local radio and TV.

Our team is made up of a small, dedicated group of animal lovers, who themselves are often volunteers for local animal shelters and pet-rescue organizations, fostering pets in their homes and helping with weekend adoption events. Our staff played a key role in rescuing many thousands of animals who were stranded in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and are often involved in important issues when we see a way to help animals.

Please visit Adopt-a-Pet.com to learn more and find a pet to adopt near you today.

Welcome to the world of having a dog in your home. If you have never shared your life with a dog, you are about to learn why dogs really are mans best friend.

We at Adopt-a-Pet.com have written this book to help you find a dog to share your life and home with, and to help you have the best possible relationship with your dog throughout his or her life. Understanding more about your dog will help you have a great relationship that will hopefully last for many years.

Animals enhance our lives and we can enhance theirs. They remind us of our connection to nature, and they give us the unconditional love we often forget to give ourselves. As humans, we have a special responsibility to animalsto treat them with love, respect, and compassion. And as anyone who has lived with a dog or cat (or other companion animal) will tell you, they give us back so much more than we give them. A dog can help a shy child gain confidence, add joy to families, give comfort and assistance to the sick or disabled, and provide needed companionship for the elderly. And all they need from us is love and the basic care needed to keep them safe and healthy.

So sit, stay, and enjoy this book and learn from it. Whether you are planning to get a dog, or have one (or many) already, on these pages you will find things that help you understand your dog and enhance your relationship. Like any relationship, you will get out what you put in. And even if you cant adopt a pet, do visit Adopt-a-Pet.com, find a pet you want to help, and share that pet with your friends. That small act can save the life of a pet in need.

Wishing you nothing but wags,

David Meyer,Abbie Moore, and Dr. Pia Salk

No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.

LOUIS SABIN

You know the saying, A dog is a mans (or womans) best friend? To make it come true, remember that friendship is a two-way street. As with any friend, you need to understand your dog without a word being spoken. You need to care about his or her needs, and find the activities that you both enjoy doing together. In short, a great relationship with your dog begins with a basic understanding of who your friend is and what it is he or she needs to be happy.

A dogs breed is not at all as important as you might think. It is important to realize that while specific breeds do have tendencies that most dogs in that group will exhibit (perhaps high energy or enjoyment of swimming), all dogsno matter what breed or mixare individuals. Their behaviors and needs will be as diverse as those of any two people, even if both people are from the same ethnic group or household. Are you exactly like your brother or sister? Just like people, dogs have different personalitieseven siblings who were raised together. And a dogs personality, just like a persons, is influenced by his environment, his age, and his unique nature. So when you look at a dog, try not to see a poodle or a Chihuahua, but instead try to see the individual. Is this dog friendly? Is this dog high energy? Is this dog large, and will she need a lot of space?

Bringing a dog into your life will mean years of joy for you and your family, but it comes with responsibility. You need to be able to pay for the things your dog needsmost notably food and occasional medical care. You need to make the time to take your dog on walks and give him love and attention. You will need to be able to arrange for your dogs care if you choose to travel. All of these responsibilities last not just for this month or this year, but for the life of your dogand dogs can live for 15 years or more.

If you think making new friends is hard, then its time you met a dog. When you bring a dog into your family, you get a lot more than a loyal pet. Quite apart from the unconditional love that dogs offer their human families, research has repeatedly shown that dog owners are generally fitter, less stressed, and live longer than their dogless counterparts. Regular exercise with your dog helps you maintain a healthy weight, reduces blood pressure, and improves cardiovascular fitness. Psychological benefits include higher self-esteem and a lower risk of mental health illnesses such as depression. Such therapeutic benefits are evidenced by the increasingly common employment of canine companions in hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes.