Month: January 2024

When your puppy wants to play, he probably won’t try to play it cool. Instead, he’ll make a strong play for your attention by bowing or pawing the air.

The play-bow is the most common way that a dog invites a person or another pup to play. With his ears alert and tail wagging, a dog will stick his rear in the air while lowering his front end and stretching out his front paws. The gesture shows submissiveness, and communicates to other dogs that any nipping or chasing that come next are intended in the spirit of fun. During the play bow, a dog’s face will be relaxed and his lips loose – his teeth will not be bared in aggression. Sometimes a playful pup will also bark, as if to say in doggie-speak, “hey, come join me in a game!”

Helping your new canine friend adapt to his  new home will be easier if you plan ahead. If you have all a dog’s basic needs in place you can focus on introducing him to his new surroundings and begin his training. [See all our other puppy and dog articles in our Doggie Tips section!]

Do your shopping in advance. If your choice is a puppy, you’ll need a collar and leash, a crate (a great aid in housebreaking), brush or hand mitt for grooming, toys that will be safe for the puppy, a bed for the puppy, as well as non-tippable, easy-to-clean food and water bowls. For more information, see our Puppy Necessities article.

If the puppy will be spending time outdoors when they are older, choose a well-insulated doghouse large enough to accommodate the puppy at its full-grown size. It should be located on a high, well-drained site protected from the wind. Choose a location that provides outdoor shade during the summer.

You’ll want the proper diet on hand to meet the special nutritional needs of your rapidly growing newcomer. Purina® brand Puppy Foods are formulated to provide the extra protein, calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients puppies require. Please remember: puppies have unique nutritional needs and benefit from a food formulated for those needs.

Select a veterinarian for your new puppy as soon as possible. Ask dog-owning friends and neighbors for recommendations. Choosing a veterinarian who is located nearby is a convenience and saves time if an emergency should occur.

Make arrangements with the person from whom you are getting the puppy as to the time you will pick him up. Avoid bringing home a new pet during busy times such as birthdays and holidays. Family members are generally too busy with the festivities to devote adequate time to help a puppy become comfortable in his new home. Ask that the puppy not be fed prior to pick-up time. This helps avoid the puppy’s becoming car sick on his way to its new home.

Once in his new home, remember that your puppy needs to adjust to strange new surroundings and people. Children can become especially excited. Explain to them that their new companion needs time out for naps. Show children how to pet the newcomer and the proper way to pick him up.

A puppy should be closely supervised and taken outside to relieve itself after eating, following naps and play periods.

As soon as possible after you adopt your puppy, take him to your veterinarian. At this time, a schedule can be worked out for needed vaccinations to protect your newcomer from a number of viral and infectious diseases. He should also be examined and treated, if necessary, for external and internal parasites.

Bring any immunization information you may have received when you adopted your puppy to your veterinarian to begin a case history for future reference. It’s a good idea to keep your own medical record. You may need it for reference if your pet’s veterinarian is not available.

Choose a name for your newcomer and use only that name in calling the puppy. In teaching a puppy its name, as in all training matters, 100 percent cooperation of all family members is essential. When a puppy is sent mixed signals, he can become confused and not respond to any of the contradictory signals.

Remember these key words and you’ll enjoy your new friends for years to come: Gentleness. Care. Patience. Consistency. Praise. Love.

 

More pet owners are traveling with their furry friends and hotels nationwide are opening their doors to the practice. Several Web sites list welcoming facilities, allow you to make reservations online and offer reviews and advice from fellow travelers. Check out “petswelcome.com,” “petfriendly.com,” “bringyourpet.com,” “takeyourpet.com,” and “travelpets.com” or just search the Internet for “pet-friendly hotels.” Reviewing these options in advance can make the difference in how your trip unfolds.

Traveling By Car

Before taking your dog on a long trip, ask yourself these questions:
• Will your dog be welcome at the vacation destination?
• Will your dog enjoy the trip?
• Is your dog in good health?

If you’ve answered “yes,” accustom your dog to riding in a car. Begin with short rides each day and gradually increase the length of each ride. If your dog is unable to adjust to short rides, a responsible sitter or a boarding kennel is preferable. If you board him, make reservations well in advance, especially for summer months and major holidays.

• Do not feed your dog for at least three hours before leaving on a trip. Take your dog for a walk just before you start the drive and he will be more comfortable as the trip gets underway.
• During stops, provide fresh drinking water for your dog.
• Feed your dog shortly after you arrive at your destination or when you have stopped for the day.
• If your car has adequate space, using a carrier is the safest way for your dog to travel. Never put the carrier on the sunny side of the car where your dog may become overheated.
• If a carrier is not feasible for your dog, consider using a restraining harness. They come in different sizes to fit all breeds and are available at pet supply stores.
• Always put your dog on a leash before letting him out of the car. If you walk your dog on the highway at night, wear reflective strips on your clothing and place a reflective collar on your dog for visibility and protection.
• Never leave your dog in a closed car, even on a mild day. Temperatures in cars can rise quickly even if the windows are open slightly. The heat and insufficient air circulation can quickly lead to heat stress, suffocation and death.

Traveling By Air

• Try to avoid peak travel periods when delays and stopovers are longer. Traveling in extreme hot or cold weather may be dangerous if your dog must wait very long before loading and unloading. Plan a trip with as few stops and transfers as possible.
• Make hotel, resort and airline reservations for your dog well in advance. Some airlines have limited space for transporting pets.
• Some airlines allow small dogs to travel with their owner (generally for an additional charge) if the carrier fits under the passenger seat. Otherwise, rent or purchase a carrier or crate which meets airline regulations and affix a LIVE ANIMAL sticker. Mark it with your name and address and the name of a person who can be contacted about your dog at your destination if necessary.
• Put a cushion or blanket on the crate floor. Attach a water cup to the crate door. The cup should be deep, but not too full of water to avoid spilling.
• On the day of the flight, take your dog for a long walk before leaving for the airport.
• At the end of the trip, pick up your dog promptly.

Certain countries and island destinations require a quarantine period for animals at the owner’s expense. Ask your travel agent or the consul of the country you plan to visit about quarantines.

Health and Identification

• Make sure your dog’s vaccinations are up-to-date.
• If the mosquito season begins earlier or ends later in the area you will be visiting, make sure you bring the appropriate heartworm protection.
• Be certain your dog is wearing an identification tag giving his name, your name and home address and telephone number including the area code.
• Take along color pictures of your dog and a written description of his colorings and distinguishing marks. Record your dog’s body size and weight. If he is lost, these identification aids could make the difference in locating him.

Packing for Your Dog

• Carry your dog’s health and rabies certificates with you. They may be needed if you fly anywhere or may be required if you board your dog during your trip.
• Pack your dog’s water and food bowls, grooming equipment and any heartworm or other medicine it may require
• If you are not certain that your dog’s usual diet will be available at your destination, take a supply with you to avoid digestive upsets which could be caused by a sudden diet change.

At your vacation site, observe all rules and regulations regarding pets. Confine your dog in a carrier or restricted space when leaving him alone. Your consideration will help keep dogs welcome guests.

Just as we care for ourselves differently at different times of the year, we should be sensitive to our dog’s needs during colder and warmer weather conditions.

COLD WEATHER CARE

Well-nourished dogs, are better prepared to withstand the rigors of winter, particularly if housed outdoors. Outdoor dogs normally need more food to generate enough energy to cope with the cold. This is easily accomplished by feeding a high-quality nutritionally complete and balanced dog food. Offer your dog fresh water several times during the day. Electrically-heated water bowls are available, but still should be monitored regularly.

Dogs housed indoors may require less food in order to maintain good body condition. They tend to be less active and expend less energy. Short-haired dogs, geriatric dogs, and dogs with health problems may need the protective warmth of a dog sweater or jacket during outside jaunts.

An outdoor dog’s shelter should be insulated, elevated, protected from prevailing winds, and watertight. Because they use their own body heat to keep warm, the shelter should be small enough to preserve the dog’s body heat.

Remove packed snow or ice from between the toes of your dog’s paw pads and wipe the paws thoroughly. Otherwise, moisture can be trapped and cause sores. Salt and other de-icers spread on sidewalks and roads may also irritate the pads and cause them to bleed.

Because of its sweet taste, dog’s are attracted to antifreeze and lap it up when it is not properly disposed of. Antifreeze is highly toxic to dogs and cats. Store antifreeze where dogs cannot reach it. Antifreeze poisoning requires immediate veterinary treatment.

You may find your indoor dog experiencing dry skin and shedding. This is usually the result of low humidity. Frequent brushing helps remove dead hairs, skin and stimulates oil glands.

Frostbite

If you suspect that your dog has frostbite, do not rub any frozen tissue, which will cause additional tissue damage. Seek veterinary treatment immediately.

WARM WEATHER CARE

As temperatures soar, dogs become more vulnerable to heat stress. Maintaining a comfortable environment for your dog is important. Providing plenty of cool, fresh water will help keep your dog cool throughout the summer.

Heatstroke

Heatstroke develops rapidly and is often associated with exposure to high temperatures, humidity and poor ventilation. Symptoms include panting, a staring or anxious expression, failure to respond to commands, warm, dry skin, extremely high temperature, dehydration, rapid heartbeat and collapse. Puppies and geriatric dogs tend to be more susceptible. Adult dogs more susceptible to heat stress include those who recently moved from cool to warmer climates, those with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, or with a history of heat stress. With any form of heat stress, prompt veterinary attention is important to deal with potential complications.

Periods of Confinement

Confinement in a car or any other poorly ventilated enclosure can be fatal to your dog. One study reports that when the outside temperature is 78°F, a closed car will reach 90°F in five minutes, and 110°F in 25 minutes.

Exercise

Avoid excessive exercising of your dog during hot days or warm, humid nights. The best time to exercise is either early in the morning before sunrise or late in the evening after the sun goes down.

Sunburn

Dogs who have recently received short haircuts may become sunburn victims and are as susceptible to heat stress as dogs who haven’t had their haircoat trimmed. In fact, your dog’s haircoat has insulating characteristics to help protect him from the heat.

One of a pet owners greatest fears is getting separated from their pet. Now, many shelters and veterinarians are installing identification chips on pets. It’s a hi-tech way to resolve the separation anxiety of losing a pet.

A microchip implant is a tiny integrated circuit placed under the skin of a dog or cat. The chip emits passive radio frequencies that can be identified by a scanner at a shelter where a lost pet is taken. Think of it as an invisible electronic identification tag.

Early compatibility issues between different kinds of scanners and chips have mostly been resolved. There’s now a universal scanner that reads all brands of chips. They’re helping to get missing cats and dogs back in the grateful arms of their owners.

Regardless of the reason for the switch, chances are you will need to transition your cat to a new food at some point in her life. When it’s time to make the change, try to take your time with your cat’s transition from one food to the next.

Cats have sensitive stomachs and may become ill or stop eating if their food is changed abruptly. This can happen when a new food alters the intestinal environment, which may lead to diarrhea, vomiting and a refusal to eat—that’s why it’s best to gradually wean your cat off the current food and onto the new one.

Our friends at Purina recommend using the “1/4 every 4 days” rule:

• Add 25% new food every four days until your cat is completely transitioned to the new diet.
• Start by feeding your cat 75% of her current food and 25% new food for the first four days.
• On the fifth day switch to 50% current food and 50% new food for the next four days.
• By day nine you should be feeding 25% “old” food and 75% new for the following four days.
• In a little less than two weeks your cat will be fully transitioned to the new food!

Dogs are social animals and bark for the same reasons humans speak: to communicate. Dogs do bark to warn and to sound an alarm, but they also bark in response to commands and at playtime. Like people, dogs can get lonely, fearful and stressed out. Their barks often give insight into their state of being.

Researchers have studied dog barks under different conditions to assess their range of tones. Findings show a contented dog’s bark is round and harmonious. An unhappy or distressed dog, on the other hand, tends to have a repeat, high-pitched, unpleasant bark. In either case, the dog is sharing information and inviting a response from its listeners.

Sudden onset shortness of breath, apparent weakness, or a distended abdomen might be signs of heart disease in either your cat or your dog. But all too often, there are no symptoms, so your pet’s best bet is regular visits to the veterinarian.

Jonathan Abbott, a Cardiologist at the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, says there are a number of ways to diagnose heart disease in pets: “x-rays of the chest, electrocardiography and cardiac ultrasound or echocardiography are the tests most commonly used.”

Your veterinarian will also be able to listen for a heart murmur and use a blood test to check for heartworm. Once diagnosed, there are treatment options that will enhance both the quality and length of your pet’s life.

When the family pooch is eating like a racehorse, drinking water like there isn’t enough left on this blue planet, and requiring walk after walk to relieve himself, something is wrong! What’s going on with your friend?

Your dog may have diabetes mellitis, the most common hormonal disorder of dogs. The disease is caused by a lack of insulin, the hormone that regulates how sugar is absorbed and used by cells and tissues in the body. It most often afflicts dogs between the ages of five to seven and female dogs are more susceptible than males. Obesity seems to be a risk factor. So if you notice your pooch displaying signs of extreme hunger, thirst or urination, contact your veterinarian. Diabetes is manageable!

Giardia and cryptosporidium are two pesky parasites that can affect an animal’s small intestine, causing diarrhea and cramping. These nasty organisms are transmitted when a form of the parasite called the cyst is shed in one animal’s stool and consumed by another dog or cat.

Dwight Bowman, a professor of Parasitology at Cornell University, says that when the animal ingests drinking water or puddle water or pond water, or eats something that’s contaminated with the cyst, they can get infected. He says that if your dog has diarrhea, diagnostic tests will help determine the cause.

Fortunately, if giardia is to blame, you don’t need to worry about picking it up from your pet. Bowman says there’s no evidence that the species infecting dogs also infects humans.