She owns two dogs, Tyson, a neutered mixed bred male and Asta, a Jack Russell female as well as three stable cats.
What should I think about when I am choosing food for my puppy?
The veterinarian is recommending a complete food that is designed for all the stages in the dogs’ life or that is manufactured for puppies and young dogs. The benefits with a complete food are that it gives the puppy all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that it needs. It is not uncommon that the puppy loses its’ appetite during the first few days in its’ new home. It may be a good idea to give the puppy the same food the breeder was giving it and change to something else when the puppy feels more at home. It is especially difficult to know exactly how much of nutrition such as proteins, minerals and vitamins that a growing dog needs. Leftovers and extra vitamins and minerals can change the balance of the nutrition in the complete food.
Can my dog be allergic to its food?
An allergy is something that the dog is born with. The most common allergy with dogs is an airborne allergy called atopi. Food allergies usually are shown as itchy skin or rashes, but also vomiting and diarrhoea are common symptoms. Luckily food allergies are uncommon among dogs, but it is still unfortunate for the dog and the dog owner. A food allergy usually starts to be apparent with the dog before year one, in comparison to airborne allergies that usually are shown after year three.
There is no blood test that shows whether your dog has food allergies or not. Instead you need to give your dog a low allergen food during a longer period of time (approx. 6-8 weeks). After this period you should feed your dog the food or ingredients that you suspect it is allergic to during two weeks. When you know what your dog is reacting against, read the nutritional facts. Also please consult: Bozita Food finder.
My dog is neutered, how do I avoid him/her gaining weight?
Veterinarians are recommending that you neuter your bitch or your male dog as early on as possible, preferable around six to eighteen months. This is to avoid that the dogs get hormonal related diseases such as udder cancer or problems with their prostate. Both male and female dogs can be neutered, meaning that the testicles respective ovaries and uterus are removed. After being neutered both males and females are likely to gain weight. The reason is that the hormones and metabolism change. To prevent your dog from gaining weight, you are recommended to give it a light food when it starts gaining too much weight. It is always easier to prevent weight-gain than start dieting when it is already overweight.
My dog is vomiting and/or has diarrhoea – what should I do?
There are several reasons for your dog to vomit or to have diarrhoea. The first thing you should do is to remove the food for one or two days until the symptoms have decreased. Given that the dog is drinking properly and keeping the water without vomiting, if not you need to go see you veterinarian.
When your dog has ceased to vomit or have diarrhoea, you should wait for a few hours or a day to feed it, but always remember to give your dog free access to fresh water. Start by giving your dog small portions of easily digestive food such as rice porridge. After a day you can give it white fish or low fat meat and gradually increase the portions. After a few days you can start mixing it with the normal food, then after another few days you can start giving the dog its normal food and normal portions.
How often do I need to de-worm my dog and against what?
It is common that puppies get roundworms from the environment or from the bitch. Young puppies do not yet have a strong defence-system against parasites and it is therefore recommended to de-worm both the puppy and the bitch. A healthy grown dog without any symptoms of losing weight, vomiting or having diarrhoea does not need to be de-wormed regularly. If you suspect that your dog has intestinal parasites take a stool test and send it to a laboratory for analysis. If you find worms or eggs in the faeces you know that the de-worming really is needed. Although, you should not de-worm a healthy dog ”just in case” since it could possibly lead to that the parasites are creating a resistance against the de-worming medicines.
My dog scratches him/herself – what should I do?
If your dog is scratching himself/herself it might have many reasons. External parasites are the most common ones. Therefore start by examining the fur to see if you find flees or lice. Lice live on the skin and their eggs are large enough to be visible to the eye. Flees just suck blood from the skin and are then living in the surroundings.
Another parasitic condition, usually seen in younger dogs, is mange, caused by mites. Mites are not visible to the eye, only in a microscope, because they burrow into the skin rather than being on top of the skin like fleas and lice. They itch a lot and it leads to scratches and wounds on the dog’s skin.
If you cannot find any visible parasites and if you know that it is not likely that the dog has been in contact with any sort of parasites you can bath the dog in luke-warm water with a sensitive soap or an anti-itch shampoo. Call you veterinarian and ask him to examine your dog if this does not help. The veterinarian can exclude various parasites with blood and skin tests in order to look for other diseases that can cause the itch.
Which vaccinations should I give my dog and how often?
There are two sorts of vaccines, core vaccines and noncore vaccines.
It is recommended that all dogs are core vaccinated for canine parainfluenza virus, canine parvovirus and Lyme disease. Other noncore vaccination is bordetella (kennel cough) is recommended for working dogs or dogs that are competing, in some cases it is mandatory. The vaccination for rabies is also recommended especially when you are travelling with your dog, in many countries it is mandatory with vaccination against rabies. It is also often mandatory for dogs at a doggy care centre or at dog hotels to be vaccinated against bordetella (kennel cough).
The first vaccination that the puppy gets, may include vaccination for bordetella (kennel cough), and is given at an age of seven to eight weeks, about a week before the puppy moves in with its new family. After that another vaccination is given week twelve. If there is a high risk of the puppy catching a disease or that the bitch got her vaccination shortly before the pregnancy you might want to consider another vaccination at week 16. After the vaccination year one it is recommended to give a vaccination for canine parainfluenza virus, Lyme disease and canine parvovirus every third year and bordetella (kennel cough) every year.
Are there risks involved in giving a bone to my dog?
Soft chewing bones are not dangerous, but if you are giving your dog leftovers the softer marrow can cause problems such as irritation in the intestines and in the stomach.
Small bone fractions can be separated from the bone and the fat in the bone marrow can also cause constipation in the intestine. Also small, hard bones can be very dangerous and even life-threatening if the dog chokes on them. A constipation caused by a bone can be difficult for the body to dissolve and can lead to several days of intensive care at an animal hospital.
My dog does not want me to clip his/her claws – what do I do?
It is important not make a big fuss about the process of clipping the dogs claws. Start introducing the clipping of the claws on the puppy as early as possible. Make sure you are using a sharp clipper suited for the size of your dog. If you have an old clipper, change it immediately!
If you accidently clip too much and it starts to bleed keep yourself and your dog calm. Your body language will tell the dog that it is dangerous to clip the nails if you are showing stress or anxiety.
If the quick of the claw (the end of the blood vessel at each claw) is showing and it is starting to bleed always make sure that you have styptic powder or corn starch to stop the bleeding. The quick of the claw looks like a little greyish dot or triangle under the claw, and if you see it, be careful so it does not start to bleed. If the claw is colourless it is easy to see the quick of the claw. If your dog have lots of fur around his/her paws make sure to cut or remove the fur in order to see the claw properly. It is also possible to use a foot file. On claws that are overgrown you can start by filing the sides of the claw. This gives more pressure to the softer middle part of the claw when your dog is walking, and by giving more pressure to the quick of the claw it makes it shrink a little.
How do I prevent that my dog is getting plaque?
The most important and effective way to prevent plaque and caries is to brush the dog’s teeth every day. Not all dogs accept that you are brushing their teeth, but the mechanical abrasion is the most important. The easiest way to start is with a compress or gauze that you put on your finger with luke-warm water. It is most important that you clean the outside of the upper and lower jaw. You can also use tooth pastes that are especially developed for dogs. Do not use your own tooth paste. It contains to high levels of flour.
What temperature does a healthy dog have?
The body temperature of a healthy dog is between 38–39° C. To take your dog's temperature, you will need a rectal thermometer. Ask someone to hold your dog's head while you lift his tail and insert the thermometer into the rectum. A hot summer day and after some exercise your dog’s temperature can raise about half a degree above normal without the dog being ill. But do care for your dog and protect it from heat-strokes. Keep the dog in the shade, make sure that it always has fresh water close-by and wet it regularly to help him/her keep the body temperature low.