The cost of dog feed is one factor that is most important in the case of feeding of dogs with different kinds of food items. Yes. This is true. The cost factor needs to be looked into in various perspectives during the preparation of the food items, required for the balanced feeding of dogs with proper vitamin and mineral supplementations in the food.
Cost will not always matter much because the dog’s value is being assessed in terms of companionship and the happiness derived from the dog to the dog owner. Though the cost of the food items is comparatively more, many dog owners don’t mind much due to the increased benefits derived from their dogs in terms of protection, guiding, etc.
Selection of ingredients for the home made food needs to be however based on the quality factor. Even when the quality is more, general persons may seek some cheaper items only. Recommended nutrient contents may be obtained from the national nutrient academies in all nations and this will provide guidelines.
One can correlate the cost factor with items available in their own country. Generally, the commercial food items are expensive especially the ones that use the modern technologies of food preparation like oven-baking, sterilization of cans, air drying or freeze drying of contents etc.
Canned items cost more than the dry food items. However, the cost of the items depends on what kind of food item to be used for the dogs. Food allergies need to be monitored during usage of different food items in case of dogs due to the cheaper cost of the items. Often the quality need not be compromised because of the cost factor.
Most of the dog food items nowadays have mentioned their cost in the label itself. Hence, the dog owner need not have any problem in taking a decision on the purchase.
Jun 30, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
Common questions about vaccinations are to be understood by the dog owners, as a priority. One of the common questions is whether the dog needs to be given vaccination on the first week of age or not. The dogs need not be vaccinated within five to six weeks of age. But, if they did not receive vaccinations, then the vaccination against the parvoviral infections used to kill viral vaccines and measles disease may be given.
Another common question is whether dog is to be given bordetella disease vaccine and lyme disease vaccine. No, these vaccines are only optional. Can the parvoviral vaccine can be used in first week of life? No. This will interfere with maternal antibody levels.
Can a pregnant animal be vaccinated? Yes. Two to three weeks earlier to pregnancy activity that is expected, the pregnant animal may be vaccinated against viral diseases. This helps to provide maternal antibodies to the young one to be given birth. Is there any need to give rabies vaccine to dogs? Yes. It is a must to go for the anti rabies vaccine for dogs.
When this anti-rabies vaccine is given to the dogs, what precaution does one need to undertake in this regard? Rabies vaccine is given at age of thirteen to fifteen weeks of age and should to be repeated in fifteen months and then once in three years. It is important that the dog is given this vaccine.
However, this depends on the risk area. Is there any need for canine distemper vaccination in case of dogs? Yes. There is a specific requirement in the case of dogs for the vaccination against the canine distemper. This disease is more prevalent in most of the countries.
Is there any vaccination against leptospirosis and at what age, the dog is to be vaccinated? This is to be given at age of at six to eight weeks of age, again at tenth to twelfth weeks, and again at thirteenth to sixteenth weeks of age.
Jun 23, 2009 | | Health
The common questions about heart worm are often related to the
species affected by heart worms in addition to the dogs. One
should know that in addition to dogs, the cat, fox, wolf,
horse, sea lion etc. are also affected. Can this be cured
or not? Yes. This can be treated.
What is the drug used often for the prevention of heart worm in
dogs? Ivermectin is the drug used often to have preventive
actions for these heart worms. Dogs affected reveal constant
coughing, panting and dullness in many occasions.
What will be the size of the worms? In the case of the females, it is about twenty-seven centimeters and in the case of males, it is about seventeen centimeters in length. Is there any vector involve in
the transmission of the disease? Yes. Mosquitoes often get associated as vectors in which the early development of larvae of heart worms occur in them.
Is the prophylaxis meant only for heart worms or others also?
The prophylaxis is meant not only for the heart worms but also
for the hook worms, whip worms, and round worms. What is the
infective type of larvae that is associated with the transmission
of these heart worms? The third stage larva that is transmitted by
the mosquito bites.
This occurs through out the world. In some areas, the incidences
are less in colder months in which the mosquito breeding will not
be there and may be dormant during these periods. What is the name of
the drug used for therapy and prevention? Ivermectin and
milbemycin oxime may be used for both purposes. Ivermectin is
available in injection form and oral form.
Additionally, the forms for external application are also
available. The cost factor needs to be worked out for all these
treatments. What is the frequency of drug used for prophylaxis?
One month before the mosquito season and up to two months after the
mosquito season, ivermectin or milbemycin oxime may be given
once monthly for the prophylaxis. Diethylcarbamazine may be used
for therapy purpose.
Jun 16, 2009 | | Health
Many dog owners generally think of clipping as only a mechanical activity. Few understand that clipping a dog is an art. Clipping a coat or nail needs to be carried out in a careful manner to avoid the injuries to the skin or nail. Clipping of the coat is to be taken care of as per the breed characteristics. If the coat is not properly clipped, this may lead to the dust accumulation in the coat and the animal may start showing signs of skin diseases. This is true especially when the grooming activities are not done in a proper manner.
Clipping of coat helps to get rid of the parasitic burden to a greater extent and also, the clipping of your dog is of more useful to expose on the type of parasitic problem that the dog is likely to suffer. Many pet health parlors are available wherein the clipping of dog will be carried out in a more systematic manner.
Always make use of a sharp clipper and in the winter regions, avoid the close clipping. This is due to the fact that the closer clipping in the winter seasons may expose the dog to the environmental stresses like the cold climate. Hence, the dog may become more vulnerable to the frostbite. Avoid the close clipping of coat or nail because this may cause injury to the underlying tissues and may cause bleeding in the concerned animal.
Many pet owners need to avoid any clipping activity when the animal is not in healthy status. Clipping instruments are available to a greater extent in many pet shops. Avoid the blunt instruments because they may not clip well and hence, repetition is required often. Always use modern equipments for clipping activities.
Jun 09, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
Boredom and variety are always inter connected in case of dog misbehaving. Yes. This is true. Many a times, boredom can be managed with variety of materials that will distract the animals to a greater extent. Hence, the dog may not do the abnormal or unwanted activity arising out of the boredom experienced by it.
Boredom experienced dogs may have different types of behavioral patterns. For example, some dogs will be seen barking continuously and some may be engaged always in some digging activities.
There are many ways to get your dog out of its boredom activities. Many toys are available which simulated duck, dog, rodent etc.
These may be kept inside the crate and in particular, puppies love these items. A buster cube with multiple treats may be placed in the dog’s shelter and the animal soon understands on how to roll the buster cube to get the treats it prefers. A Buster Cube is an ingenious toy use for simulating and activating your dog during play and feed time. Instead of placing the food monotonously in one place, change the place of feeding suddenly.
Such actions will be helpful for removing the boredom like activity in your dog. Activities pertaining to boredom need to be redefined well by the dog owners. This will help them to a greater extent to drive away the unwanted behavior patterns in their pet dogs.
For example, some dogs may often have destructive biting characters and will be seen biting chair, cloth, mats, and everything that can see. After ruling out the teething problem if it is a puppy, provide it with some large sized balls, mineral mixture based bone materials, etc. Such variety of materials help to reduce the boredom related activities.
Jun 02, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
Bathing a dog needs to be given more emphasis. This is because of the fact that if you are careless in bathing, the animal may end up having some infections. For example, if you don’t close the ears with large cotton ball, the water may enter into ear canals and may cause some ear infections with signs like constant discharge from the ears and shaking of head.
Frequency of bathing actually depends on the breed of the dog. If the dog is of a hairy type like the cocker spaniel, then the bathing is to be carried out once in six to eight weeks. If these breeds are bathed too frequently, then the skin and coat loose the protective characters. However, when the dog has defecated on the skin due to the frequent digestive upsets leading to diarrhea, to avoid the bad smell, the dog may be subjected to frequent bathing some times by the owners.
Take more care in avoiding some irritant soaps or human soaps. The soap materials used for human beings are not suitable for dogs. Similarly, many human shampoo products are having some ingredients that are not suitable in the proportions that are to be used in case of dogs. Hence, always try to use the shampoo products that are mentioned mainly for use in dogs. Take more care in using any new product.
Always have good time and patience for products required for bathing in one place with availability of water source. Dogs love the sprinkling of water, river, and oceans. Even when you are using bathtub, have everything in one place and then start bathing of the dog. Try to have a leash, conditioner, towel, and shampoo in the bath place.
Conditioner is of helpful to make the combing activity easier later. Bathing should be a convenient activity to both the dog and the owner. This should not be a burden.
May 29, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
Dinner time is an important family time for most families and let’s face it, our dogs are members of our families. It is important to know not only when is the proper time that a dog should eat, but why that is when they should eat. If at possible, a dog should eat after the family dines. Whether the family sits at a dining table or gathers around the television during dinner time, it is important that the dog not be fed from the dog owner’s plate, and also not be fed at the same time.
Dogs are naturally pack animals, even though they are tame they still have many of the same natural tendencies and instincts that their wild animal counterparts do. Wolves and coyotes travel in packs and there is a definite structure in terms of who is the pack leader and has the authority over the rest of the animals in the pack. When feeding in the wild, it is the pack leader who eats first while those animals lower in the structure feed later, and finally those at the bottom of the pecking order will feed last. When a dog is in a home, it is important that they know their place in the family structure. By feeding them last, it is clear to them where they rank and who in the family is of more importance.
By helping a do learn and realize that they are at the bottom of the home pack, it helps in a number of other areas too. It can help in obedience as they learn that all other members of the family rank above them and should be respected and listened to. It can help a dog learn it’s boundaries as far as eating off of people’s plates or jumping on people when they come indoors. It can also help a dog bond closer with it’s family and not feel that it is competition for affection or play time, this closer bond can benefit a family in that the dog will interact with the family members better and may also be more protective of the entire family, including the children.
Mar 12, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
Some dog owners feel that one of the most annoying habits their dogs can pick up is the habit of incessant chewing. Dog chewing can be a normal activity, but when done at an excessive level it can be harmful to the dog’s psyche as well as the dog owner’s property. But, why do dogs chew like that? There are actually a number of reasons that dogs resort to chewing.
-Chewing can be somewhat of a stress relieving behavior for dogs. Whether they are dealing with separation anxiety, the loss of a sibling or parent, or even the loss of a human, dogs sometimes deal with these stresses by developing a chewing habit. The chewing habit of a dog can sometimes be compared to humans biting their fingernails, among other bad habits.
-Dogs that don’t get the level of exercise that they desire often use endless chewing as a way to release pent up energy.
-Boredom can also be the instigating factor in a dog’s obnoxious chewing behavior. This is perhaps the most easily solved chewing habit as simply providing chew toys or alternative activities can sometimes do the trick.
-Chewing is a natural process that dogs use as a way to pass time and satisfy themselves. The chewing action stimulates the saliva glands and many dogs enjoy what is to them a basic and familiar natural function.
Understanding why a dog chews all the time can go a long way in determining what kind of reaction the dog owner should have so that they can get them to either stop or lessen the amount of chewing they do and destruction they cause.
Mar 09, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
There are a number of acceptable ways to potty train your new puppy, but one thing you must do during whatever process you choose to use is constantly reward the young dog after it does the right thing. Puppies love to please their new families. Most of the annoying or wrong things that puppies do are things that they don’t have a lot of control over. As they learn to go potty on paper or outside, rewarding them will reinforce what they are learning and hopefully help them master it sooner. A reward for a puppy or full size dog does not always have to be food. Dogs are very social animals and a reward can be as simple as scratching the tummy or playing ball, of course rewards can also be any of the tasty treats that dogs of all ages love to eat.
Mar 05, 2009 | | Dog Know-How
One of the oldest methods for potty training a new puppy is the paper training method. To do this you will isolate your new puppy in one room, if it can be a room with a door to the outside that is all that much better. To use this method properly, you lay down newspaper or potty training pads throughout the room so that whatever the puppy does it won’t ruin the floor. Gradually you make the paper area smaller and smaller once the puppy has gotten into the habit of only going on just the paper. If the room has a door to the outside, slowly move the small square of paper towards the door, and soon it will be relatively simple to make the transition from pottying on the paper near the door to pottying outside. The paper training method is one of the oldest methods in use for potty training a new puppy, but it is also a very successful one that many people have used over the years.
Feb 26, 2009 | | Potty Training
