Dog Reports

Posts Tagged ‘canine’

Many pet owners underestimate the importance of an annual physical exam because their pet seems healthy. Annual exams provide an opportunity to prevent diseases, detect them early, or even avoid them altogether. Many diseases and ailments such as heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes are not often evident in early stages. Your veterinarian can conduct a comprehensive exam that includes a lab analysis, heart check, and dental exam to ensure top physical shape and optimum health for years to come.

Dogs age more rapidly than humans. In one calendar year the average dog can physically age 5-10 years in comparison. Medically, many changes can take place in that time. Once a dog reaches 8 years old it is considered to be geriatric. At this time, it is important to consider performing a “Senior Wellness Profile” which provides a more thorough work-up on major body systems such as the heart, liver, and kidneys as problems such as organ failure or cancer may develop and progress quickly if not detected. Many problems owners commonly assume are “old age changes” may actually be signs of underlying disease and can be very treatable.

What does a physical exam include? Your veterinarian has special training and experience in detecting subtle illness in pets and will conduct a very thorough “nose to toes” exam. Listening to the heart your vet can detect murmurs. Increased lung sounds may indicate early illness. Abdominal palpation may reveal pain in certain areas or abnormal size and shape of various organs or even tumors. Evaluating joint mobility may reveal arthritis. Checking out the eyes can detect early signs of cataracts or other ocular problems. Ears may be in need of cleaning or medication. Dental disease may be detected as well as signs of allergies or skin problems during a routine exam. It’s easier for someone who doesn’t see your pet every day to detect lumps and bumps that you may not have noticed. Comparing annual weights as well can determine if your dog is heading down the path to obesity or is slowly losing weight due to a latent illness or disease.

Annual examinations also give you an opportunity to talk to your Vet about training, hygiene, nutrition, and any other questions you may have. A few simple hygiene tasks added to your daily schedule can be very beneficial to your pet’s quality of life and feeding a proper diet rates as one of the most important considerations in health maintenance. Around 75% of pets relinquished to rescue groups are due to behavioral problem. If you train your dog and ensure by doing so that you provide it a home for life this can be one of the most important health decisions you make for your pet. Millions of dogs and cats are euthanized in the US each year due to easily correctable behavioral problems such as barking, leash pulling, growling and snapping. With cats, in proper litter box habits and scratching at furniture are two of the more common reasons that cats are surrendered.

You can reach Niki Tudge the DogSmith Founder via email at NikiTudge@DogSmith.com or to learn more about joining the DogSmith visit http://www.DogSmith.com
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Wouldn’t you rather learn how to deal with minor dog health problems BEFORE they become major ones?  I know I would, because let’s face it, dogs are part of your family, and no one wants to see a part of your family get sick or even die.

Even if you’ve got the most easy-care dog in the world, she’ll still need some attention to be paid to her appearance every once in a while – so it’s worth spending a bit of time learning the best techniques for easy, stress-free grooming.

Here is some of the valuable advice I got from one of my favorite sites for dog health care solutions, The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health.

WHY SHOULD I BOTHER GROOMING MY DOG?

Not so long ago, the average American’s approach to canine grooming was somewhat cavalier. Dogs were seen as something that lived in the yard (usually in a dusty, hard-floored kennel), ate whatever was put in their bowls, and existed as a sometime-playmate for the household’s children.

Today, we tend to care for our dogs a lot more, and view them more as members of the household than the Thing in the Yard.

Ever since this rise in the estimation of our beloved pooches became widespread, grooming has been increasingly recognized as an important facet of your dog’s regular health-care. It ensures that any skin-care problems are minimized (because grooming distributes the natural skin-oils evenly throughout the coat), and assists you in monitoring your dog’s overall condition – if you groom on a regular basis, you can’t help but notice the presence of any unusual lumps or bumps.

This preventative action has saved many a canine life. Our dogs can’t tell us where it hurts, but taking just a little bit of time every so often to check them over ourselves can save a lot of grief in the long run.

The trick is getting your dog to tolerate (and even enjoy!) the process …

THE FIRST STEP IN THE GROOMING PROCESS

Something that many owners lack experience in is how to wash their dogs. Dry-grooming (brushing and ‘buffing’ the coat) seems to present little problem for most people; the rot tends to set in when water is introduced to the mix.

Most dogs have a strong dislike of being bathed, and in many cases will become utterly panic-stricken when the tub comes out.

This article is going to deal with the basics of how to wash your dog in a way that’ll keep both of you relaxed and happy.

PREPARING YOUR DOG FOR GROOMING

First of all, the absolute most important thing you can do is to accustom your dog to the grooming process. Now, starting this in puppyhood is the ideal way to handle the situation, but of course not all of us have this luxury; if you’ve got an adult dog, you’ll probably need to move a little slower, but you should still start getting her used to being touched and handled all over as soon as you can.

As your puppy or dog gets used to the sensation of being rubbed and handled, she’ll slowly come to enjoy it. Dogs are social creatures by instinct, and physical affection and contact is a big part of their lives – it shouldn’t take long before she begins to trust you, and allows herself to get some pleasure out of your touch.

All you have to do is start rubbing her slowly all over. Fondle her ears, touch her cheeks and neck, rub her back and belly, pick up her paws and – if she’ll let you – give each one a gentle squeeze (treating and praising her whenever she lets you do this, since paw touching is generally a pretty big deal for most dogs). If she has a tail, rub it between your fingers; get her to roll over on her back so you can rub and stroke her belly and hocks.

This might not seem like such a big deal, but it’s actually a really important part of the grooming process: the more your dog enjoys it, the less stressful the whole event will be for both of you, and so the more often you’re likely to groom her – which increases the health benefits for her.

HOW TO WASH YOUR DOG

Bathing always comes before dry-grooming, since it makes brushing and trimming a lot easier as well as a lot more effective (there’s not much point in brushing a tangled, dirty coat!)

You will need some basic tools: a tub, a non-slip mat, a plastic jug, some warm water, a small sponge, and some canine shampoo (not human shampoo: the pH is all wrong for dogs, and will give her dry and flaky skin.)

Stand her in the tub, on the non-slip mat. If she’s a large or unruly dog, you may want to wash her outside to minimize mess – either that, or you can restrain her by tying one end of a light nylon leash to her collar, and the other end to the faucet.

Pour jugs of warm water all over her until she’s good and wet. This breaks down the grease in her fur, and ensures a thorough shampooing.

Mix a little shampoo with another jug of warm water, and rub it thoroughly into your dog’s fur. Start off with her back and rub it into a good lather (but don’t be too harsh!)

Now you can move on to her head and face. Be very careful here – dogs’ eyes are sensitive too, and if you get any water in her ears, she’ll probably get an ear infection. (You can plug her ears with a small twist of cotton wool to help stop this from happening, if you like.)

Remember to clean under her tail before you wash her off – dip the sponge into the shampoo mixture to do this properly.

Now it’s time to rinse: using the jug and some clean, warm, shampoo-free water, carefully tip it all over her and use your fingers to help disperse the lather from her coat. Rinse her off thoroughly at least twice, since any residue that remains will irritate her skin.

Now you’ll need to dry her off: if she’s got short fur, you can use a towel (an old one will do just fine, although big dogs generally need two); for dogs with longer fur, give her a gentle toweling-off first, and then use a hair dryer to get rid of the last dampness. Be certain that it’s set on low heat, and hold it far away from your dog’s fur to prevent burning either the skin or the fur.

KEEP YOURSELF CALM

Remember that most dogs have an inherent dislike of being bathed, which can cause anxiety and even outright panic.

Your dog takes a lot of her emotional cues from you, so make sure you act like a good role model for the occasion. Reassure your dog frequently, keeping your voice well-modulated, low, and even; keep your movements slow and deliberate; praise her lavishly for good behavior, and give her a couple of treats throughout the process to make it more enjoyable for her.

The more she enjoys the process, the easier it’ll be for you!

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Grooming your dog is just one tiny aspect of maintaining overall health and happiness. For a complete, encyclopedic survival guide to all aspects of dog health, from preventative care to choosing a vet to doggie First Aid (even the canine Heimlich maneuver!), you should take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Dog Health.

A survival guide for knowledgeable, effective, and life-saving dog care, this manual keeps your dog’s health and wellbeing firmly within your control – which is exactly where you want it to be.

It can’t hurt to look.

Dogs play an interesting role in our society these days. Dog obedience training is now expected of our furry friends. They live in our houses, walk our sidewalks beside us, play with our children in the front yard and visit their doggie buddies at the dog park. They are expected to be on their best behavior at all times. This is a lot to ask of an animal!

Many years ago, dogs held a different role. Most likely, our parents grew up with dogs who didn’t know what a leash was! There was always the scary dog who lived in the neighborhood and children knew to petal quickly by that house on their bicycle! Dogs may have lived outside – all the time. Tell that to today’s dog who attends doggie daycare 3 times a week and wears designer collars!

Today, the role dogs play in our lives and societies has changed (that scary dog in the neighborhood is no longer accepted as “just being a dog”, now the owner would have to deal with neighbor complaints, city fines and legal issues if the dog ever bit someone). It is the dog owner’s responsibility to make sure their pup has the skills to be a good fit in our homes and communities.

Situations Where You Want Good Dog Behavior

There are some activities that you and your dog participate in where having a certain level of dog obedience training is not only convenient, but expected. Such situations are:

Daily life; walking a dog, having him or her in your house, interacting with family members and people who come over to your house.

Competition sports such as: agility, dog shows and flyball.

Volunteer programs such as visiting nursing homes, hospitals or schools.

Emergency situations, such as when outside and the dog’s collar comes off or their leash breaks or gets dropped.

Why Getting Obedience Is Sometimes Difficult

The primary reason dogs and people misunderstand each other or have trouble communicating is because we are two very different species and we do not speak the same language. The one thing we do have in our favor, however, is that we both seem to have an affinity for each other. Basing our relationship on the fact that we enjoy each other’s company means that we need to find an effective way to “talk” to each other. Because we are the people in the relationship (unless of course your dog can read and is the one reading this!) it is OUR responsibility to ensure we are being clear when we communicate with our dogs.

Before starting out dog obedience training, it is important that we recognize the difficulty involved in this for our dogs.

easons why training may be difficult for our dogs:

They are trying to read us and figure us out. As a human, we can make their job a little easier by being as consistent and clear in our instruction as possible. Reward good behavior, ignore or redirect incorrect behavior.

Dogs are under exercised and under stimulated. Asking a puppy, who has been in their kennel for a few hours while you were at work, to be calm once they are let out is an impossible task for them. It is not physically possible for the dog, therefore we can not expect it. If we want a calm dog, we need to give them exercise and energy outlets.

They may never have been taught training. Dogs become more savvy to training the more practice they get. Be patient with a dog who is a novice. If your training is clear, your dog will make progress.

Dogs do have minds of their own and we have to respect and understand that. If a dog is showing signs that training is difficult for them, analyze what may be the cause. Sometimes the dog is in physical discomfort; therefore the “sit” behavior may hurt them. Other times there are distractions such as kids, good smells, or other dogs. Imagine if you were trying to concentrate on your teacher, but someone kept waving a piece of chocolate cake or plane tickets to Hawaii in your face… it would be hard to remain focused on the teacher!

Every dog can learn. It is up to us, as the human who has specific expectations of our dog’s behavior, to help them understand what we want. We need to be patient, clear and understanding.

How to Achieve Good Behavior

If you are having trouble with dog obedience training, you will likely find that seeking the help of a professional dog trainer not only provides some great tips and suggestions, but provides a lot of fun for you and your dog! Dog training is actually a highly developed skill that involves deep understanding and the study of psychology. Just like bankers are good with numbers and plumbers are good with pipes, dog trainers are good with dogs. It is commendable that if you don’t have the knowledge to train your dog that you seek the help of someone who does. You certainly wouldn’t try to work on your water pipes if you knew nothing about plumbing! The same goes for our dogs and the way they learn.

A dog trainer who uses positive training techniques will encourage their clients to utilize treats and praise when teaching the dog good behavior. Because the behaviors being learned are brand new behaviors, it is important to give the dog rewards for doing them until the behaviors are very consistent. Once the desired behaviors are known very well by the dog, the use of treats can be used intermittently. Using positive training techniques is good for our dogs, good for us as people (the traditional ways of training where we used physical force to intimidate our dogs into acting a certain way doesn’t reflect very kindly on us!) and good for the bond we share.

Just remember, the saying that “an old dog can’t learn new tricks” simply isn’t true! Every dog can learn dog obedience training that will help them become better members of our homes and societies.