Dogs

Where can I find good methods for dog training?

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:32:08 +0000

I want to get a dog soon, but I don’t know how to train them. I had a dog when I was small, but he wasn’t very well trained. He jumped up on people, barked at every random noise he heard, and always jumped onto the furniture. That’s why I want to know some tips for training a dog.

There are any number of books using positive methods.

Don’t Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor, 1996

Surviving Your Dog’s Adolescence, by Carol Lea Benjamin, 1993

Second Hand dog, by Carol Lea Benjamin, 1988

Dog Problems, by Carol Lea Benjamin, 1989

Super Puppy, by Peter J. Vollmer, 1988

HELP, Mt dog Has an Attitude, by Gwen Bohnenkamp, 1994

Owners’ Guide Better Behavior in Dogs and Cats, by William Campbell, 1989

What All Good dogs Should Know, By Wendy Vollmer, 1991

How to Raise a Dog When Nobody is Home, Jerry Kilmer, 1991

Puppy Primer, by Brenda K Skidmore and Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., 1996

Beginning Family Dog Training, by Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., 1996

What ate some good dog training books out there?

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:49:46 +0000

My one year old maltese needs some training in some areas, and I wanted to try to train him myself instead of behavior classes because they are SO expensive. What are some good books that helped you or that you know of? Also, what is a good way to socialize my dog, besides the training classes, if any? He barks and growls at other dogs and sometimes people.

Beyond Basic Dog Training by Diane Bauman

Do dogs act differently after you take them home from a pet store?

admin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:18:53 +0000

I want to pet a dog from a pet store but its kind of hyper when I was playing with it. I was told they act get a lot more hyper when you bring them home. Is this true?

In some cases yes.
I can only give you my own experience. I was looking into getting a puppy. Had found one I wanted to look at, had contacted the people. They lived out on a farm so I drove out there met with them. Discussed the breed and interacted with the puppy. He was a 5 month old shelter. The sweetest thing I have ever seen. He laid there and when I picked him up he nuzzled into my jacket and put his nose inside my collar. I was in love and when I asked if he wanted to go home with me it actually seemed like he nodded his head.
We went to petco and bought his supplies. The whole time me carrying him around because he gave me the most pitiful puppy look if I put him down. For the next 2 weeks we were ultimate snuggle buddies. We would watch movies cuddled up and he would lay right next to me in bed.
After 2 weeks Im not sure what happened..but he became a complete different dog. He would not sit still to save him and became very yippy and to be honest completely annoying.
I think he finally felt 100% comfortable with me but really I have no explanation for it.
I still have him to this day and love him to death but he is the most hyperactive(possibly mentally retarded) dog I have ever had.
TThat’sthe only experience Ive ever had with a dog acting differently once at home.
Though I have had many pets growing up none ever seemed too different than at the store. Definitely more comfortable but not more hyper.

Do I need a work permit to walk dogs/pet sit for payment in Malta?

admin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:02:28 +0000

I have recently moved to Malta from the UK and am looking for working. I’m considering starting my own dog walking/pet sitting business with the only employee being myself. A form of self employment surely. Do I need a work permit (or anything else) to take people’s money for walking their dog/pet sitting for them?

yes you will as if you are setting up your own company you need to register the company etc (as you would if you started your company up in the uk)

Is a pomegranate tree dangerous to pet dogs?

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:22:38 +0000

I have a pomergranate tree in my backyard, and am looking to plant a few more. I want to know if they pose any hazard to my dogs? No only the fruit but the leaves as well. (sometime they nibble on grasses and plants) I have checked the aspca site for dangerous plants, no luck there.

According to the ASPCA, pomegranate seeds, while full of healthy vitamins and antioxidants for humans, are NOT GOOD for dogs, causing “significant GI irritation and even central nervous system depression.”

Is it weird to give anthropomorphic cats and dogs pet cats and dogs in a cartoon?

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:00:13 +0000

I am writing a comic book about streetfighting cats and dogs. Some of them have watchdogs they keep as pets. I am wondering is it weird to give them pet cats? In some of the old Disney caroons Goofy had Pluto as a pet. In Goof Troop the Goofs had a pet cat and the Petes had a dog. I don’t see that as being any different. Please help.

Anything that makes your comic seem more interesting is good. It may be less common, but I wouldn’t say strange, it’s more "fantastical" and "boundary-pushing".

I’ve seen quite a few comics where the anthropomorphic characters have pets (I’ve even seen pets with pets with pets). In fact, sometimes these pets are as equally anthropomorphised as their animal owners.

However, I recommend that you made the pets less anthropomorphic just to make them seem more like, well… "pets".

Why do people still have pet dogs when they know they kill?

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:11:59 +0000

Many people have pet dogs but they know that they can kill with their bites. Millions of people die each year due to dog bites, usually the owner but sometimes innocent people such as kids.

Dogs are clearly wild animals, let them be wild, they are unsafe.

Oh and it isn’t just ALWAYS because the owner has treated them bad.
I was biten by a random dog for no reason.
I was at a park, dog was running lose and attacked me.

PEOPLE ARE MORONIC SCUM IN GENERAL , AND DOGS ARE DANGEROUS
A LOT OF LITTLE BOYS WITH SMALL PENISES LIKE TO HAVE A BIG DOG BECAUSE THEY CANT FIGHT AND THEY FEEL SCARED,
PEOPLE SHOULDNT BE ALLOWED DOGS WITHOUT A LICENSE, LIKE A GUN . OR ANYTHING ELSE WHICH CAN KILL

How does parvo affect a dogs health and consequence ?

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:58:24 +0000

Canine parvovirus is the most common serious infectious disease of dogs in the United States. Canine parvovirus causes ulcerative enteritis and diarrhea in susceptible dogs. This diarrhea can be bloody and life threatening. The parvovirus has mutated several times since 1980. The most common strain today is CPV-2B.
The high mortalities of the 1970s and 1980’s have lessened due to effective vaccines. Still, some dogs continue to break with the disease and die despite vaccination.

Dynamics Of The Disease

Parvovirus is an extremely tough and resistant bug. The virus lives for long periods of time on floors, food containers and other household objects. Rugs are particularly difficult to sanitize. It is thought that household vermin such as cockroaches move the virus from place to place. The virus is both resistant to phenolic disinfectants and to heat. It can be inactivated, however, with ordinary household bleach used at a concentration of one part bleach to twenty parts water. Exposure to sunshine also kills the virus. For the bleach solution to work, any caked organic material must first be removed by washing.

Although it takes one or two weeks for the dog to develop signs of disease, the virus is shed in the feces from the third day of exposure onward. This means that dogs that appear healthy can already be shedding the virus and contaminating the home.

The Symptoms of Parvo

Parvovirus disease is remarkable in that symptoms can vary from none at all to a fatal disease. Four factors govern the severity of the disease: age at exposure, the size of the virus dose, the presence of maternal antibody, and the breed of dog involved.
Dogs receive transient maternal antibody from their mothers through their first milk or colostrum. This antibody gives the puppy resistance to the disease. Puppies that are housed in a parvo-filled environment rarely break with the disease until they reach 14-20 weeks of age. At that time their mother’s immunity no longer protects them and they may die of the disease.
Dogs over six month of age develop natural resistance to the effects of parvovirus. Many of these dogs show only transient diarrhea. By the time the dog reaches one or two years of age the disease can be so mild that it passes unnoticed by the owners.
For unknown reasons, Doberman Pinschers, Rottweilers and Pit Bull Terriers become more ill with this disease than other breeds.

The most common form of parvovirus infection is a sudden (acute) inflammation of the small intestine or enteritis. This is characterized by depression, vomiting, diarrhea and profound dehydration. Bloody stools and a drop in white blood cell numbers are common. Some puppies die as soon as diarrhea occurs but many linger on for 4-6 days. Those that survive eight days usually recover. The lack of white blood cells and ulceration of the lining of the small intestine lead to secondary bacterial infections. There are many other virus and bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea in dogs. This leads to misdiagnosis where not all cases of “Parvo” in puppies and adults are actually due to this virus.

Diagnosis

Although symptoms can be very suggestive of Parvo, true diagnosis requires an antibody test that detects the actual parvovirus in stool samples. The test is an ELISA test or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. You can read about the Idexx brand of that test here. Early in the disease, this test can be negative. Virus isolation is possible but the procedure is quite expensive and rarely done. In practice, the presence of an acute hemorrhagic diarrhea is usually all that is required for a tentative diagnosis of parvovirus.

Treatment

Treatment of parvovirus is directed at correcting the life-threatening dehydration that accompanies the diarrhea with intravenous fluids (lactated ringers solution with bicarbonate). Ten to forty milliliters per pound is given initially and then a slow intravenous drip may stabilize these dogs. Once the initial dehydration is corrected, maintenance fluids can also be given subcutaneously. We also give medicines that relax intestinal spasms such as metoclopramide (Reglan, 0.1-0.25mg/lb three or four times a day) and trimethobenzamide (Tigan, 1.5mg/lb three times a day). Besides this, the dogs are placed on antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infection through the damaged small intestine (cephalothin, Keflin @ 5-15mg/pound given four times a day intramuscularly or intravenously). Early in the disease dogs may run a short period of fever. But puppies’ temperatures often drop to subnormal a few days later. These dogs need additional sources of heat. It helps to sit with the dog, pet it and encourage its will to live. Many of the younger dogs have hookworm infestations that make the parvovirus disease more severe. As soon as these dogs can hold down liquids, I worm them with pyrantel pamoate (Strongid, Nemex, 2.5mg/pound).
Some veterinarians give the dogs small doses of butorphanol tar

Do pet dogs think they are part of the family?

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:07:32 +0000

My mom said that a dog thinks that our family is a "pack", and that he’s "one of us". Do dogs really think that way? Or does the dog understand we are an independant family and that he’s just a pet?

What!!?!?!?! A dog should KNOW that it IS a part of the family. Why wouldn’t it be? Yes, they do think that way and you should too.

What are some dog breeds that you believe are best to purchase from the country they originated from?

admin — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:58:30 +0000

Just wondering.

Also, do you think that for some breeds, the country they originated from try and stay more true to the breed than other countries that sell/breed the same breed?

If you could purchase any dog breed from another country-what breed would it be?

Also I apologize if some wording for this question seems off, I couldn’t think of how to word some of it better. Thank you in advance to anyone to responds!
Thank you all for your input, it was interesting to read and many gave good points.

well that is not generally true, there are some cases where the breed is more correct from their originated countries, like german pointers from germany, vizslas from hungary, russian toy terriers from russia, akita inu from japan, german shepherds from germany… these breeds (well the ones that are actually coming to me now) if you choose to get them from their originated countries, they would be nicer… but i have also seen dogs like yorkshire terriers, in poland they have kennels of the nicest looking dogs, also in hungary… chihuahuas the same, and i believe that most dogs that you would purchase from russia would be absolutely stunning, i.e french poodles of all the sizes, chinese crested both hairless and powder-puff, afghan hounds, german shepherds, caucasian shepherds and so many more… i believe it all has to do with breeding the right dogs together, finding the finest bloodlines, all my dogs apart from my yoirkies came from russia… they all became champions in my country and in russia too. so it all comes down to crossing the best of the best bloodlines together