How To Download And Read Our Books Without A Kindle or Nook

A lot of people have posted on the Cockapoo Crazy Facebook page, and others have emailed, asking if they can read our books if they don't have a Kindle or Nook. The answer is definitely YES!

We at Cockapoo Crazy understand that many people are still unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the world of ebooks, and we hope we can help with this post. We know all about the love of hard copies, being avid readers, and we frequent our library. Yet our reading preference has become more digital with each passing year, for several reasons.

We have gone to great lengths to make sure everyone who uses our website can also enjoy our books. How you decide to do that depends on what e-reading experience you prefer. This post will show you how to not only purchase and read our books, but how and why you should consider "getting into" e-reading.

Why e-books?

If you aren't into e-books, you really are missing out on some great books and deals. The cost of delivery is much lower for the publisher in the e-world, so some books aren't even available in hard copy these days, and when they are, they are often still far less expensive in e-format. Additionally, authors and publishers at companies like Amazon frequently run giveaways, where their book is free for a number of days. We this ourselves with some of our older books. Amazon, the world's largest bookseller, has a Top 100 Free ebooks section, where you can find something new and free to read, every day!

Ebooks have many advantages over regular books that make them ideal for many people. These range from the obvious (no trees need to be cut down to make a paperless book, ebooks take up less space, etc) to the not so obvious. For example, fonts can be resized instantly in ebooks, making them ideal for people with less than perfect vision. Ebooks also allow publishers to do things they couldn't before, like adding hyperlinks to take you to relevant websites, embed multimedia directly into the book, and not worry about print-costs when writing or putting together the content!

Here is a great list of the advantages of ebooks.

How do I do it?

Great question, and luckily, the answers are quite simple! Let's run down the options for people who don't already have a Kindle or Nook.

Chasing: Not All Fun & Games

Some dogs just love to chase!

Many dogs seem to take great delight in chasing, and it can be great fun and exercise. Unfortunately, some dogs don't discriminate about what they are chasing, whether that be your neighbor's cat, the mailman, or a passing jogger. A dog which habitually chases anything that moves is not only a potential danger to himself, but may also be a danger to the object of the chase. We'll call this "problem chasing". Understandably, people who are on the receiving end of your dog's attention do not always react favorably, since a dog bounding toward them could be either friend or foe!

If you find that your dog has a tendency to be a "problem chaser", be sure to keep him on a leash whenever you are out and about in public places, especially when there may be cars or other dangers nearby. While at home, be security conscious of your yard, so that your dog will not be able to jump over a fence, or dig under it, to escape into the neighborhood while chasing some small animal.

For many dogs, the need to chase is instinctive. In the wild, dogs habitually chase and hunt their prey. Without this instinct, they would not survive. While domestic dogs do not have the need to hunt, they cannot always fight against their natural instinct. For some dogs, this is also their favorite mode of play.

What Is A "Foster Failure"?

Have you ever fostered a dog or considered doing so? If so, you may have come across the term "foster failure". Below is a great info-graphic of how a "foster failure" happens, and why it is actually a good thing.

However, even if you don't plan on adopting, if you have time and space, please do consider becoming a foster parent for shelter dogs. It can save their lives, and provides a much better living environment, with more normal human love and interaction, than many shelters are able to give.

Get more info about fostering pets at Pet360.com/foster

Tips On Selecting a Dog Breeder

Image courtesy of cutecockapoos.com

Tips On Selecting a Dog Breeder

Contributed by Jamie of CuteCockapoos.com

I am a professional Cockapoo breeder. I raise Cockapoo puppies full-time and dedicate myself 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to raising my babies, caring for their parents, and meeting the needs and desires of my customers so, needless to say, I am a busy person and have a lot of experience in the field.

I recently read a book called "The Complete Cockapoo Owner's Handbook" by Edward Sweet at Cockapoo Crazy and I told him that I enjoyed the book, and agreed with most of it, but thought the "Finding a Cockapoo Breeder" section could use some changes and/or improvement. He wrote back that I should consider writing an article on my thoughts and experiences, so here I am!

I am in my 30's and have had animals my entire life. I have pictures of myself holding newborn puppies when I was in pre-school, so you could almost say animals are in my blood. I am passionate about them and my life would be empty without them. I've grown up with puppies at my side, so I have a lot of experience in the field, and have raised Cockapoos for a very long time. Cockapoos are an excellent breed, they are beautiful, cuddly, smart, friendly, and just all around great 'people dogs.' I wouldn't choose to breed anything other than them anymore in my lifetime.

Most of the time I create my own future breeding parents by breeding a set of Cocker Spaniels that I own or a set of Poodles, whichever I want at the time. I do it this way because I know their health history, genetics, background, and personalities of the parents I am breeding and am confident that their puppies will be suitable for future litters of Cockapoos. Once in a great while I do buy from outside breeders to get other lines and colors, and I have seen a plethora of different types of breeders out there, some very good, some very bad, and some are flat out puppy mills. I feel it is extremely important for people to know the difference between them to make a proper decision about who they are going to adopt a puppy from. The following is based on my own personal thoughts, experiences, and opinions. I do not mean to offend or insult anyone, so please don't take it that way at all.