Golden Retrievers are a medium to medium/large dog breed. They reach a height between 20” to 24”. If a Golden Retriever could speak, they might say, “What can I do for you?” They are born people pleasers from hunting to tricks to family pet.

The Golden Retriever is AKC recognized with a coat color in varying shades of golden or cream with golden throughout the coat. They get their name, of course, from the color of their coat. They have a medium length, water repellent outer coat and a dense undercoat. Their coat is feathered. They require a daily brushing to prevent knots and they only need an occasional dry shampoo. You should only give them a wet bath if necessary.

Exercise and playful outside and calm indoors, the Golden Retriever is considered to be one of the best large dog breeds to have as a family pet. They are great with children and other dogs. Early socialization is recommended for birds and small non-canine pets because of their hunting history but they tend to get along with other animals as well. They are extremely easy to train, even for the dog novice. They love to learn and they are fast learners. They are best for active families as they need daily time to run and roam outdoors. If you are looking for an excellent hunting companion, the Golden Retriever is an awesome hunting dog.

Originating in the mid 1800s, some sources state England as their country of origin and others state Scotland as their county of origin. Lord Tweedmouth at Inverness-Shire, Scotland is said to have extensive records that show he developed the breed. Their ancestry includes the Water Spaniel, Retrievers, Setters and a Bloodhound. They were mainly used for hunting and retrieving and have an excellent sense of smell. They also make excellent therapy and guide dogs.

If you are in search of a large dog that is sweet, calm and affectionate and will be good with families that include other dogs or small children, it is hard to find a more pleasing, gentle large family dog. Exercise and play are important in their daily activities, but they will be just as happy relaxing inside with you at night.

Learn more about the Golden Retriever or visit us online to talk about Dogs or to see Dog Pictures

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The Greyhound is a medium to medium/large dog breed that is graceful and gentle. They weigh between 60-70 pounds and reach 26 inches to 30 inches in height. They are a breed that enjoys family companionship and loves routine. They love to eat at the same time each day, sleep at the same time and walk/exercise at the same time.

Recognized by the AKC, the greyhound is accepted in any coat color or color combination. Their coat is smooth, short, firm and straight. They are very easy groom, only requiring an occasional brushing and only needing a dry shampoo when necessary.
They are sensitive to cold weather and need to wear a sweater when they are outside in the winter to help keep them warm.

Calm inside and fairly high energy outside, the Greyhound can make a good apartment dog provided that they get regular outside exercise and walks. They are sweet and docile in nature and often display a bit of a timid side. Because of their timid side, they do best with older or well behaved children. Early socialization is best for other dogs and small pets. Even with socialization they might chase small, non-canine pets, particularly cats. Consistent training is important, but Greyhounds are fairly easy to train. They are not good watch dogs because of their calm, docile nature.

Dating back over 2000 years, the Greyhound originated in the Middle East. Most sources state that Egypt is their country of origin. Their strength, speed and agility made them excellent hunters and they were originally used mainly to hunt. Today they are mainly used in dog racing. When they can no longer race, they are often destroyed. Fortunately, Greyhound rescue organizations have been working hard to protect retired racing Greyhounds and they have had success with their adoption programs.

If you are looking for a calm, affectionate breed that will enjoy some outdoor exercise but will equally enjoy relaxing indoors with you, the Greyhound might be just what you are looking for. Predictable, calm family environments that will provide them with the companionship that they need are ideal for this breed.

Learn more about the Greyhound or visit us online to talk about Dogs or to see Dog Pictures

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It’s cheap, it’s easy and anyone can do it!

Video streaming, or video on your website, is a major trend for 2006. Website owners are using it all over the internet. It is increasing profit margins for owners by increasing traffic to their site, keeping those visitors on their site longer, and creating higher sales and usage of services on sites.

It’s being used by businesses and organizations of all sizes. Video is being used to communicate, train, inform, educate, promote, advertise, sell and market products and services. The benefits are numerous and in one form or another mean increased profits for the owners of those sites!

What do you need to know to put video up on your website?

.You can do it all with a camera (digital is best), a computer, a hookup from that computer to camera, and video capture software, or you can invest in professional, production type equipment

.Your usage, quality and budget determine your needs

.You can do it all with free video capture software provided by reliable well-known providers and get excellent results

.You learn how yourself or outsource it if doing major amounts of video for corporate training or communications, or lengthy video streams

.You should have a full understanding about video streaming on the internet even if outsourcing (anyone at any level can learn this)

.You do not have to rely on expensive monthly providers if only doing a small amount of video on your website - this can be done by yourself

.It can be used in numerous ways - emails, websites, blogs, articles, directions, and in any type of internet product that uses video

..and much more.

Finding a reliable source on the internet is a task in itself. Work with those who are already experts in the field of audio and video streaming (playing audio and video over the internet). There is a lot of excellent, free advice on the internet from reliable sources. Learn all you can from them.

The biggest misconception across the internet is that you have to be a highly technical person in order to add video to your website! NOT TRUE! Anyone can learn how to put video on their websites.

If it’s a quick short video, you can get some simple, free, downloadable video capture software to do it all for you in a few simple steps and you don’t need to learn any of the behind the scenes technical issues. But even if doing short video’s you can learn some of the behind the scenes information and do it all yourself and save fees from providers that charge a monthly fee for their service for storing and streaming video.

bio = Cathy Linderman currently works with internet audio and video and her business provides related resources, practical training and products for all websites, whether personal or business. Cathy and her business associate, Komee, are known for their simple, practical, easy-to-learn techniques for using audio or video on websites.
Editor: Komee Carpenter
http://www.GlobalInternetBroadcasting.com

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This year I attended an event that had a dynamic panel program featuring a technology expert, a marketing & communication expert, an economics expert, and an accounting, tax & operations expert. While they talked about numerous trends, the one that I keyed in on was regarding the current hiring pool.

If you are trying to sell a home, then you probably already know that regarding the housing market, it is a buyer’s market. The same holds true for companies that have positions available — dare I say for sale? — because with regards to the employment market, it is an employee’s market. Why? Because there are fewer experienced employees than are looking for the positions available. It’s all about supply and demand.

What does that mean for your company? You will be spending more time and money for recruiting for open positions, particularly those requiring more experience. And, this phenomenon will probably continue well into the next decade as more experienced Baby Boomers begin to retire. Keep in mind, as you bring on newer, less experienced employees, this will most likely translate into additional training expenditures too.

But don’t get too caught up on focusing only on the external employees that you will be targeting for hire. There are cost implications for your company from an internal perspective as well. Forward thinking companies will recognize that they will need to spend additional monies on employee retention.

Can’t afford to? Better think again. According to the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM), it costs a company on average 3 to 5 times an employee’s salary to replace them. Do the math. If you can retain two employees with an average salary of $50,000 each, that would result in a cost savings to your company of between $300,000 to $500,000. My suggestion is to carve out some of those savings and put them towards employee retention programs.

Let’s get back to our Panel Experts. In addition to trends, they also identified five key focus areas to target with regards to marketing to attract customers. I believe that you can use these same strategies and employ different tactics to solve your employee retention and hiring challenges.

Five Key Focus Areas:

1. More One-On-One Marketing and Less Mass Market Strategies. This includes email, newsletter, and event promotion. Ask yourself, what are we doing today in this area to either attract or retain employees? What other things could we be doing? What can we do less of or get rid of altogether?

2. More Public Relations versus Advertising. PR is one of the most cost-effective ways to attract and retain employees. Evaluate your PR strategies. Don’t have one? Then consider hiring an expert consultant to assist you.

3. Interactive Website versus Passive Website. Most companies have focused on creating interactive tools for customers. Consider creating interactive tools for current and prospective employees to engage with your company. Remember, the more engaged they feel the less likely they are to leave.

4. Increased Online Marketing. This includes advertisements, blogs, podcasts, webinars/ webcasts and other online marketing tools. Just as you use these to target customers, you should be exploring ways to use these same mediums to attract and retain employees.

5. Analysis and Measurement. New tools require new measures to determine success. Examples include Google analytics and web metrics. Want to know how successful your retention and hiring initiatives are? Then you will need to develop new measures.

Most of my clients continue to tell me that they are required to do more with less, and that includes fewer employees. This comes at a time when 46% of workers say they feel they’re putting too much energy into work and too little time into “other things in life that really matter” and at a time when 28% of workers say they’d agree to take a pay cut to get more time off. (Source: Yankelovich.)

The challenges you and your company face are real and they are not likely to go away anytime soon. You have a choice. Do nothing or select one (or several) of the strategies above and develop tactics to target new hires and retain employees.

In reality, I think we all know that doing nothing is not an option. So, what are you waiting for?

bio = Regina Barr is a management consultant with a passion for helping women develop their full potential. For more information on her programs and services, check out her website, http://www.RedLadder.com or contact Regina at info@redladder.com.

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