by Betty Carew

Created on: August 18, 2009

When you bring a dog home you are making a commitment to that dog for the rest of his life. There are some essential things that you should do if you want your dog to live a long happy life. These essentials cover many things with love and companionship right at the top of the list. Then there are the basic needs that every dog should have. Here are a few suggestions of how to care for a dog.

Identification

Identification is very important for your dog. Where there is a door there is the potential for your dog to get out and run the neighborhood. You can help this situation by taking him to a vet and having an ID microchip placed under his skin. These are essential in having your dog returned if he is lost and increases the chances. In addition to the micro chip, place an identification tag on your dog's collar stating that he has a microchip along with information of where you live and your phone number. These two types of identification go a long way with your dog being lost for a few hours versus a life time. Inform all the dog shelters and dog pounds around your area of the microchip along with your personal information of where you can be found if they find your dog.

Spay or neuter

Spaying or neutering your dog is probably one of the best gifts you can ever give your dog. It will ensure that they stay healthy especially with females. Many things can happen with females such as other diseases that derive from not being spayed like as urine infections or major problems with labor. It ensures your dog will not stress from going into heat or for a male dog wanting to roam when males smell another female's scent. These are only a few of the benefits of spaying or neutering your pet.

Vaccination

Vaccinations are extremely important from the time you bring your dog home until his life is over. Bring your dog to your vet for all vaccinations he needs to prevent any possible disease that he may come in contact with. Take him for regular checkups to keep tabs on how his general health is. This may save you a lot of worry and expense in the future.

Leashing

When you're going off your own property always keep your dog on a leash. There are many dangers beyond the gate of your home and things can happen very quickly. It doesn't take a lot of time for a dog to run out in traffic whether he is trained or not. If they see something that interest them more than walking with you they are bouncing towards it without looking.

For example, if you have a bird dog

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