The Definitive Guide to Caring for Your Dog

Snoopy McLoughlin, 4 years old

Every pet owner will want to spend as many years as possible with their dog. That’s why it is essential to actively care for their health, which can improve a pet’s personal happiness and may increase their lifespan. Find out how to effectively care for your dog.

Keep Fresh Water Readily Available

It is vital to provide your canine companion with fresh water, which should be readily available within the home or when enjoying a walk outdoors. This will help to avoid dehydration, so your dog will have a healthy, energetic body.

A Nutritional Diet

Sadly, many pet owners are guilty of overfeeding their dogs, which can cause obesity. Overweight dogs are therefore more likely to experience a range of life-threatening medical conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes. Ensure your pet pooch maintains a healthy weight by discussing your dog’s dietary requirements, which will be based on their age, breed, size and activity levels. Hill's Science Diet dog food has been a trusted name for many years and is a food recommended by many vets.

A Flea Treatment

Fleas can often provide much discomfort to your dog. To ensure your pet is pest-free, we recommend investing in the best flea treatment for dogs on the market, so they will not be troubled by the annoying bugs that can ruin their quality of life. Invest in a product that will not only treat your dog, but your home and outdoor area, too.

Regular Veterinarian Examinations

We recommend having your dog regularly examined by a veterinarian, who can provide deworming help, vaccinations and health advice to put into practice within the home. Also, always ensure you contact a vet if you believe your dog is ill or injured. The vet will work with you to ensure your pet lives a long and healthy life.

Daily Exercise

It’s essential that a canine enjoys between 30 minutes to 2 hours of exercise each day. A vet can often advise a pet owner on the physical activity level for a dog’s age, breed and size. Daily walks will also allow your pet to maintain or lose weight, so they will be happier, more energetic and less susceptible to serious medical conditions.

Reproductive Control

If you do not want your pet to have puppies, you should consider the options of spraying or neutering your pet. Again, we suggest discussing the reproductive control options with your veterinarian, as well as any other alternative options that might be available.

Dental Hygiene

Many dog breeds are prone to gum disease, which can cause considerable health complications for your pet. For example, they may experience premature tooth loss, or it could potentially result in an infection to a major organ, such as a heart valve. Provide your dog with teeth cleaning foods that will improve his or her oral hygiene.

Dog Grooming

Even dogs need a little pampering now and then, as they may need grooming or nail trimming. For example, long-coated canines are likely to develop mats or ice balls in their fur. Elderly dogs are also more likely to have overgrown nails that can make walking difficult for your pet.

How to Run a Successful Photography Business

Photography is a dynamic and creative field that offers you a variety of opportunities to grow as a professional. That is why so many people enter this exciting niche and choose to start their own businesses in the process. You can become a nature photographer, a portrait photographer, an event photographer, or even a product photographer, as a few examples, so your options are wide and varied. But implementing the following tips, regardless of what industry you work within, will help you run your business successfully.

Set Up Your Photography Website

If you want to put your work out there for all to see, you need to have a photography website set up that looks professional and is easy to navigate. Your photo samples can be put on the site, and you can also provide potential customers with a means to easily contact you by phone, email, or social media. Plus, your website can also serve as your home base for your blog, special promotions, email list, and more. Check out morephotos.net/ to get started on building a site that represents your brand.

Invest in the Right Gear and Always Keep Learning

Without the right gear, your photography will not be as good as what the competition is able to put out. And because the world of photography is so saturated and so competitive, you really need to not only purchase the right gear, but you also need to know how to use to its fullest potential. So, in addition to shopping for the best cameras for beginners, as well as tripods, lights, and other important accessories, consider taking some classes. Educating yourself on how to make the most of your equipment will help you take your skills to the next level.

Learn How to Direct People

As a photographer, you will need to learn how to direct your models, whether you are working with a bride on her wedding day or a fashion model. You can take classes to discover effective ways to direct people who are in front of your camera. This is a great way to develop your confidence and learn the best methods for interacting with people professionally on any set.

Market Yourself

Without an effective marketing campaign, no one will even know about you. Again, photography is a saturated market, so you need to get your name and your work out there for people to see it and learn about you. This is especially important if you want to get published on major websites and in the most popular publications. Start by advertising yourself online or in magazines that your customers are reading. Use social media marketing tactics, have a content strategy in place for your blog, and become a guest blogger on other photography sites to prove your skills and expertise. Once you have a solid following, referrals, and sales, you can approach publishers who might be interested in your work. 

Tips for Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Child

Has your child been injured by someone who was negligent?  While we don’t want to think about our children being hurt, the fact is that injuries do occur.  If you find yourself dealing with this difficult issue, you should know that there are people that can help.  For instance, a lawyer can help your child get the compensation they deserve.  Hiring a lawyer for your child’s case may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.  Today, we are going to learn some tips that will help you start the process of finding an attorney that can handle your child’s case. 

Choose Someone with a Good Reputation

There are many different lawyers to choose from but finding the right one to work with your child is very important.  Start your search by looking for personal injury lawyers that are highly recommended by past clients.  Most good lawyers will be happy to provide you with a list of past clients that you can speak with by phone or in an email.  On the other hand, if the lawyer you are speaking with cannot provide you with references, you just might want to move on to the next one on your list.  This is in your best interests as well as your child’s. 

Pick a Lawyer That Has Worked with Young People

When seeking legal advice, try to find a lawyer that has worked cases involving children before.  Many personal injury lawyers have experience representing young people so finding one won’t be an issue.  While your child will probably never have to set foot in the court room, if they do need to testify, your lawyer will have to walk them through the process.  Having an attorney with this type of experience will help put you and your child at ease.  This will allow you to get the compensation your child needs in order to pay for medical bills and other expenses related to his or her injury. 

Hire Someone That Has the Time for Your Case

Some attorneys will take on as many cases as possible in hopes of increasing their wealth.  But an overload in cases will often cause issues with clients.  Some lawyers will drag out cases for many months simply because they don’t have the time.  So, when you are in the hiring process, make sure that the lawyer you are speaking with has the time to represent your child.  Make sure to ask them about their case load and when they can start working on your case.  If it’s going to be longer than a month, try to find someone else even if it means that you have to change lawyers mid-case.

These tips may seem simple, but they will help guide you in the right direction. As you can see, finding the right lawyer to work with your child does not have to be a pain in the neck.  All you need to do is a little homework and soon you will find the right person for the job.  Remember that getting compensation your child is very important to their health and their future well-being.

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How to Cancel a Timeshare You No Longer Want

Many families purchase a timeshare thinking they’re a good investment that will increase in value over time. Unfortunately, this is hardly ever the case. Almost all timeshares are not only worth less than what they were originally purchased for, but are actually not worth anything at all. Buying a timeshare directly through a resort developer such as Bluegreen, Westgate and Hilton is just like buying a new car. It decreases in value by as much as 90% the second it is purchased. Considering the average cost of a timeshare is about $10,000, you can easily lose $9,000 in the blink of an eye when purchasing a timeshare.

This may be hard to fathom at first, but just think about everything a resort developer must do to sell a timeshare. They must hire and train staff, pay utility costs of their facilities, provide coupons and discounts that convince customers to go on tours and much more. These overhead costs are carried on to you, the consumer.

On top of the instant 90% loss, timeshare owners are required to pay annual fees towards the timeshare’s upkeep. These fees average as much as $850 per year, but can be as high as several thousand dollars. After several years of these fees, it’s not uncommon for a family to look for timeshare exit solutions.

While it is true that some timeshare brands such as Disney, Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham and Worldmark do hold some value, the majority of timeshares do not. Timeshare owners can try to give the timeshare back to the resort they purchased it from, but in many cases the resort won’t want to take it back. After all, the resort is enjoying its yearly guaranteed revenue stream from your maintenance fees.

If the resort won’t take the timeshare back, and no one wants to buy it on the resale market, the only thing a timeshare owner can do is look for a way to cancel the contract. This can be done with the help of one of the many timeshare exit teams on the Internet. These companies specialize in timeshare relief and work with resorts to get timeshare owners out of their contracts. Some of these “timeshare exit companies” have lawyers on-staff, and some simply have special relationships with resort developers. Simply do a search on Google for “timeshare exit companies” and you’re sure to come across several.

If you choose to hire a timeshare exit company to help you get out of your contact, make sure to ask a few preliminary questions before paying anything. These questions could be:

• Do you require an up-front fee? (not all of them do)
• What is your rating on the BBB?
• How long have you been in business?
• How long will the process take?Is there a money-back guarantee?

Make sure to shop around because each company can charge vastly different prices. You don’t necessarily need a law firm to get out of a contract. Sometimes one timeshare exit company may have a relationship with one particular resort developer that another does not. When it comes to exiting your timeshare, there are a lot of scams out there, so make sure to be careful and do your homework. 

Good luck!