Dog Care
Choosing a Dog
- NEVER buy a dog on a whim, as a surprise gift, or without consulting the rest of the family. Consider first whether you or the intended owner can accept the responsibility of feeding, walking and training a dog and of providing proper medical care.
If the answer is yes on all counts, then consider the type of dog. Do you want a guard dog or a pet for the children? Small or large? An inexpensive mongrel or a purebred? In considering a purebred, consult a Kennel Club breed description. Try to buy the dog directly from a breeder. I have a list of Breeders and dog breeds available at Dog Breeds. Be wary of puppy mills...
A dog acquired from a pet shop or an animal shelter may have changed many hands several times under stress. Ask for a medical guarantee and for an agreement that you can return the dog within a reasonable time if it becomes overly aggressive. Take your time when choosing a dog, you just can't discard it like an old slipper.
What to look for in a Puppy
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The best time to choose a puppy is at 7 to 8 weeks of age, when it should be weaned, is lively, and can walk and run. A healthy puppy has clear eyes, a smooth coat, and is alert and playful. Avoid a dog with runny eyes or nose, a potbelly, a cough, or diarrhea.
A friendly puppy will approach you, happy to be petted. If a puppy nips at your ankles and resists petting, it may turn into an aggressive, hard to train dog. A puppy that shrinks away from you may be ill or already showing nervous or shy tendencies.
Have a veterinarian examine your dog as soon as possible for worms and general fitness. Give him the dog's immunization record, if any, and schedule further shots. Puppies should be inoculated against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus and parainfluenza at 6 to 8 weeks, at 9 to 11 weeks and again at 3 to 4 months. Annual boosters are essential. Rabies shots are given at 3 to 6 months and thereafter at 1 to 3 year intervals. Unless you plan to breed a dog, ask your veterinarian about neutering or spaying.
Proper Feeding
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Feed your puppy a commercial puppy food three times a day (twice daily after 6 months). By 1 year it should be eating adult dog food once a day. Most canned, dry, or semidry dog foods provide balanced nutrition. You can add cottage cheese, cooked eggs, or cooked lean meat, but such supplements should constitute no more than 20 percent of the dog's diet. Provide plenty of fresh water; change it twice daily. Follow your veterinarian's advice on vitamin supplements.
Grooming a Dog
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Accustom a puppy early to regular grooming sessions. Hold it in your arms and gently brush it while talking reassuringly. The average dog need brushing once or twice a week. While brushing, check for skin problems, (flees, ticks).
Bathe a dog if its coat becomes dirty or foul smelling. Wash it in a tub or sink with warm water and a mild dog shampoo. Rinse and towel dry it thoroughly. Keep the dog indoors and away from drafts until it is dry.
Unless a dog's nails are worn down by outdoor activity, trim them periodically with special clippers; cut only the pointed tip of each nail. A mild boric-acid wash will usually clear up eye discharge, if it doesn't, see your veterinarian. Chewing on a rawhide bone once a month helps prevent the buildup of tooth tartar.
Daily Exercise
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Take your dog for a long walk in the morning, before bedtime, and after its main meal. Keep to a regular schedule, don't over exercise a dog after a large meal or on weekends to makeup for a sedentary week.
Housetraining your Dog
- Cage, crate, etc.
When you are home, a puppy should be taken outside after each meal and every 2 hours in between. Praise it highly when it evacuates in a designated area; positive reinforcement is important.
When you won't be home to walk a puppy, confine it to a crate. Puppies take to small, confining areas (boxes, under armchairs;) it gives them the comfort and security of a nest. And a puppy won't foul its nest. When confined to a crate large enough for it to stand up and run around, a young dog learns to hold its bladder and bowels until released in an approved area. Crates are cage like; some are collapsible, made of stainless-steel wire; other are of durable plastic.
Paper Training
Paper training is another way to housebreak a pup. Confine it to a small area - a back hall, for instance; cover with newspaper that part of the floor where you want it to evacuate.
A puppy can easily forget; place it on the papered section first thing in the morning, after each meal, and at night before you retire. When it uses the newspaper without prompting, reward it with a dog biscuit. If it circles and sniffs, its ready to evacuate.
Train an older dog to evacuate outside. Follow the same routine as with paper training. When introducing a paper-trained dog to the outdoors, place newspaper where and when you want it to squat. Being familiar with the method, it will most likely oblige. Gradually you may be able to do away with newspaper as a reminder and use it (or a scooper) only for cleaning up after your dog.
When your dog gets sick or old
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Some signs of canine illness are loss of appetite, dull eyes, a dry coat, listlessness, vomiting, diarrhea, and excessive thirst or urination. If your dog seems sick, take its temperature and call the veterinarian.
To take a dog's temperature, lubricate a rectal thermometer and insert it in the rectum, leaving it there for 2 minutes while you or an assistant holds the dog still. Normal canine temperature is 100 degrees F. to 102.4F.
With age, a dog may gain weight, lose its sight or hearing, or become sick. It needs fewer calories, and should be fed smaller amounts - perhaps of a commercial food for aging dogs - at more frequent intervals. Take an older dog to the veterinarian twice a year.
Dogs will be Dogs
Dogfights
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The best way of dealing with a dogfight is to keep it from happening at all. If your dog is leashed and shows signs of aggression toward another dog (growling, raised hackles, a stiffly wagging tail), pull hard on the leash, say "NO" in a firm, low voice, and move on quickly. When your dog is off leash outdoors, monitor its activities and leash it at the first sign of trouble.
Once a fight has started, direct intervention is dangerous. Try instead to distract the dogs long enough so that they can be separated. Dowsing the fighters with water, throwing a blanket over them, or creating a loud clanging noise may do the trick.
If the dogs are of manageable size or if one of them seems endangered, two people working together may be able to break up the fight, but they risk being bitten. Each person should seize his dog's hind legs or tail, pull hard and heave the dog behind him. Restraining only one dog can result in injury to both dog and human.
If none of these tactics is possible, you may have to let the fight run its course, despite the risk of serious injury to one or both dogs. When one of them submits by rolling over and exposing its abdomen, the fight is usually over.
Dog Barking
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Correcting the Chronic Barker
Barking becomes a problem when it is triggered by random noises, telephone, passing cars, or loneliness. Because barking is more easily controlled in a young dog, begin corrective training early.
If your dog barks excessively in your presence, give it a firm "NO" and, if necessary, a mild, but sudden jerk of the leash or collar. As soon as the dog is quiet, praise and pet it. Follow this procedure consistently until the dog responds to the initial "NO".
The Solitary Barker
More difficult to treat is the dog that barks when left alone. Make sure your attitude is not encouraging anxiety in the dog. As you prepare to leave, chat with the dog reassuringly. Leave the radio on or a familiar object lying around - something that will make the house feel lived in.
If this doesn't work, try leaving as usual, but wait outside. When the dog barks, reenter, tell it firmly, "NO" and jerk its collar if necessary. Praise it when it obeys. Leave again; repeat the procedure several times daily, gradually increasing the time the dog is left alone.
Obedience Training
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In training a dog, praise is your main tool. When your dog obeys say, "Good Dog", and pet it gently. Praise quietly; exuberant petting will make the dog want to play. Never strike a dog for not obeying a command; that will make it fear you and dread the training sessions. Just say, "NO" in a firm, low voice and then show the dog what you want it to do by repeating the exercise. Begin with 10 minute sessions; late extend to 20 minutes.
Keep the dog to your left. Use a 6 foot nylon or leather lead and a chain or nylon slip-ring collar. Hold the end of the lead in your right hand and the middle of the lead with your left; let your left hand hang by your site.
To teach a dog to sit, press down on the dog's rump and pull up on the lead while saying, "SIT". Praise the dog immediately when it sits. Always give the command for an action in the same word and tone of voice.
To teach your dog to heel (to walk next to your left leg with its nose slightly in front of your knee), stand with the dog sitting beside your left let and say "SPOT HEEL", in a firm voice. Step forward, left foot first, and walk briskly. If the dog lags behind or forges ahead, jerk the lead sharply and say "HEEL". If your dog continues to forge ahead, begin circling; turn sharply and make figure eights. This will keep the dog at heel until it learns from your praise where you want it to walk.
Next teach the dog to stay. Have it sit beside your left leg. Say, "STAY" and bring your left hand, palm facing the dog, from about a foot in front of the dog to within an inch of its nose. Holding the leash loosely, step away on your right foot, then turn to face the dog. If it follows you, return to the original position and repeat the procedure. When the dog stays for a minute or so, walk back and praise it.
The come command is an extension of the sit exercise; walk away from the sitting dog, turn and face it, then say "SPOT COME!" and tug on the leash. Praise the dog when it runs to you. Gradually increase your distance from the dog; finally when the dog's response is prompt, practice with the dog off its lead.
Obediaence training classes are held in many localities. Consult the Yellow Pages or inquire of your veterinarian.
Chasing Cars
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Training Your Dog to Ignore Cars
Chasing cars not only annoys drivers, it is extremely dangerous for the dog. To prevent the habit from developing, train your dog while it is a puppy and keep it leashed, confined, or under voice control whenever it is outside.
Training a dog to retreat
First teach the dog to follow you on a leash. Then, with the dog on the leash, approach a road or driveway. At the moment that the dog shows interest in a passing car, turn and hurry away, calling to the dog to follow you. When the dog does so, praise and pet it.
Repeat the procedure often, using a long leash. Don't pull the dog unless necessary; try to get the dog to make the decision. When this habit is well established, proceed without a leash. Always praise the dog lavishly.
If your dog is already a habitual car chaser, try training it as described. Don't shout at the dog while it is pursuing a car; that may only increase the dog's urge to chase.
Stronger measures
As a last resort, try frightening the dog with a cold shower from a passing car. Have someone drive while you sit in the passenger seat with a pail of water. As soon as the dog comes close, throw the water over it. Keep out of sight of the dog; if it realizes that you are causing its discomfort, it may become afraid of you instead of cars. Repeat the procedure with as many different cars as possible.
Skunk Odor on your Dog
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Ways to get rid of it
To neutralize skunk odor on your dog, rub a thick coating of tomato juice or ketchup into its coat. Wait until the juice or ketchup begins to darken; then wash it off thoroughly. Several treatments may be necessary. A less messy procedure is to bathe the dog with a solution of Massengill douche powder and water mixed according to the instructions on the package. Rinse out thoroughly.
Commercial neutralizers are also available. Keep one on hand if skunks are common in your area.
If skunk spray gets into your pet's eyes, flush repeatedly with clean water and see a veterinarian at once.
Porcupine Quills
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A porcupine quill has tiny barbs that work the quill deeper into the flesh. Fast removal is essential so that the quills won't become more deeply imbedded. If there are only a few quills, extract them with needle-nose pliers. First muzzle a dog by closing its mouth and tying the jaws with a cloth. With the pliers, grasp the quill near the skin and pull straight; don't bend or twist the quill. Treat the wounded areas with an antibiotic recommended by your veterinarian. Observe the wounds for a week to see that they heal well.
If a quill breaks, move on to the next one quickly; take the animal to a veterinarian as soon as possible to have any broken quills surgically removed. If there are many quills or they are embedded under the surface, a veterinarian should extract them under anesthesia. If you keep pets in porcupine country, keep them in at night.
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