Dog Care Journey

Dog owners are always reading about dogs and talking to other dog owners, vets, groomers, breeders and trainers. We watch dog videos and TV shows and start dog blogs and volunteer with rescues and shelters. We can’t get enough about dogs.

Learning about dogs is an ongoing process, according to Omar Reyes of Dog Care Journey. That’s part of the reason why he started his blog in November 2009, to try to document the experience of sharing life with a dog. That includes everything from bringing a dog home to training, feeding and caring for an older dog.

Dog Care Journey is full of down to earth information about living with and appreciating dogs. Omar doesn’t claim to be an expert, just a well-informed dog owner hoping to make a difference for other owners and their pets.

“I think there are still a lot of people out there who mistakenly believe that having a dog, or any pet for that matter, is simply a matter of going out and getting one and everything else falls into place after that,” Omar said. “Many people don’t realize that it takes a consistent effort to properly care for your pet.”

When he was growing up, Omar said his parents believed dogs were not family members and should be kept outside. This was due to a lack of education about proper dog care, and Omar knew that eventually he would have his own dogs and view them as trusted companions. Today, he and his family own a schnoodle named Misha.

Misinformation about proper dog care is a common problem, Omar said, especially when it comes to obtaining a dog. People will run out and buy a popular breed just because it is hyped up by media or gets over exposure from celebrities.

Informing people on how to choose a family dog is just one of the many ways Omar hopes to help dog owners.

“Before we brought Misha home, I researched different breeds for several months before deciding on a particular type of dog that we felt would be a good fit for our family,” he said.

Some of the most popular posts on Dog Care Journey include the dog breed profiles, filled with information about each kind of dog. I really like that the “breed” profiles include common mixed-breed dogs such as the schnoodle. Maybe we’ll eventually see a post on the Labrador-great dane-pointer-miscellaneous hound!

Readers are encouraged to participate on Dog Care Journey by adding thoughts, comments, questions or disagreements. Omar’s mission for Dog Care Journey is to continue building information on various dog topics and then compiling them into reports people can download.

Dog owners may be interested in Dog Care Journey’s dog care handbook, a collection of tips on basic first-aid, pet safety and preparing for disasters and emergencies. It’s free and can be downloaded directly from the site.

If you are new to Dog Care Journey, a good place to go for general information about the site is the About page. From there, check out the Popular Topics on the right sidebar.

One popular post is on why you should train a dog. Dog training is an important topic written about often on Dog Care Journey. Omar trains Misha himself, focusing on positive reinforcement techniques. He also uses what he learned from taking his bulldogs to group training classes, working individually with a trainer and studying Cesar Millan’s techniques.

Omar said he would like to take the necessary steps towards working in animal assisted therapy with Misha. After a recent family tragedy, he saw the amazing healing power a dog has and said that Misha was the one to hold everyone together. She was often able to offer comfort and bring out smiles.

Since he is always learning more about dogs, Omar said he hopes to continue writing about them and building relationships with people who have the same passion. As we all know, life with a dog really is a journey worth sharing.

This was a paid web site review.