Dogs - QUESTION THREAD ????
Couldn't seem to find any old threads on dog related questions, so thought it might be helpful to fellow dog owners, and with a forum expert (re: GTA), to start a thread on everything dog related.
We just got our 11 week old Coton Du Tulear, "Lucky", yesterday afternoon. He seems very sleepy most of the time and is still getting use to his new surroundings. He did sleep through the night in his create ok, and had a nice morning poop, which is a good start. doesn't seem to eat very much yet, or like his leash, and gets car sick, but its still the first week so hopefully he will come around. I am trying to get him outside every couple hours to try and get him use to going outside. He hasn't had his second set of shots yet so we are keeping him away from other dogs.
Anyone else have a new dog? Any suggestions on toilet training?
We just got our 11 week old Coton Du Tulear, "Lucky", yesterday afternoon. He seems very sleepy most of the time and is still getting use to his new surroundings. He did sleep through the night in his create ok, and had a nice morning poop, which is a good start. doesn't seem to eat very much yet, or like his leash, and gets car sick, but its still the first week so hopefully he will come around. I am trying to get him outside every couple hours to try and get him use to going outside. He hasn't had his second set of shots yet so we are keeping him away from other dogs.
Anyone else have a new dog? Any suggestions on toilet training?
Comments
Dogs love to eat, and people love to feed them. Though some dogs are picky eaters, many of these can be helped with simple changes in routine. How and when you feed a dog is a part of good care. You can also use food to solve problems that seem completely unrelated to eating.
Picky Eaters
Sometimes a dog doesn't eat well because the dog doesn't feel well. Certainly with a puppy, a dog new to your home, or a dog who normally eats heartily, you'll want to have your veterinarian check for medical issues. Puppies need a lot of fuel, so be especially quick to seek care for a non-eating pup. Do the same for any dog with other symptoms in addition to lack of appetite.
If your dog is ill, follow your veterinarian's feeding instructions. The instructions for picky eaters here are for healthy dogs only.
Be careful not to give a dog too much food at one time, because the result may be diarrhea, vomiting, or other complications. This is especially important to know when starting out with a starved or malnourished dog. Overloading the dog's system just delays the time you can get meaningful nutrients into the dog, so take it easy. Start slowly and give the dog's systems time to adjust before you begin to feed the robust amounts you yearn to give this needy creature.
Ask your veterinarian for guidance on amounts and schedule. A dog in this condition needs to see a veterinarian when you first acquire the dog, anyway.
Besides the possible gastro-intestinal setbacks, feeding even a healthy dog too much at one meal makes it more likely the dog will turn up a nose at the next meal. This isn't a good habit to start.
It's best to feed at least two meals a day (more if your veterinarian recommends it for the particular dog), and to have the dog promptly eat the food as soon as you give it. With this as your goal, you're likely to soon have a dog who is easy to feed, comfortable, has normal stools on a regular schedule, and is responsive to food when you use treats for training. You'll also quickly note any loss of appetite, an important means of knowing when your dog needs medical help and getting treatment in time to save your dog's life or avoid a minor illness from turning into a major one.
Start by offering a good-quality dog food (cheap dog foods are not bargains, because they often cause health problems) at regularly scheduled times. Give the dog 10 to 20 minutes at most to eat, and then remove the food. Offer another meal at the next scheduled time. Give NO between meal snacks of any kind! Healthy dogs will start eating on schedule within a few days of starting this routine, if you stick to it.
Don't play around with the food, changing brands or adding goodies after the dog rejects it, in hopes of tempting the dog to eat. The dog needs to understand the routine, and the routine is that we eat twice (or whatever number) of times per day, we eat what is put before us, and we eat it promptly. If we don't, it goes away!
Multiple Dogs
In households with more than one dog, it's best not to let them get into each other's dishes during meals. Your dogs may have cheerfully shared a dish for years, but the slightest change can upset this delicate balance and lead to the bloodbath of the century.
Dogs who would never fight over anything else will often fight over food. Once that happens, they might begin fighting over other things, too. It's much safer to simply avoid the risk in the first place.
Watching your dogs closely may reveal they're actually less comfortable with sharing food than you think. One of them may be distinctly getting bullied and not getting a fair share of the food or being allowed to eat promptly. One of them may be overweight from eating too much. You can't adjust the amounts until you change the dogs to individual, private food dishes.
It's best for a dog to never feel the need to worry that anyone or any other animal is a threat to the food. You give your dog a greater sense of security when you prevent other animals from approaching the food dish during meals. If you have animals other than dogs, don't let those animals bother the dog at mealtime, either.
You'll want to do some conditioning to make it reasonably safe for humans to approach the dog's dish during meals. See the article Food Guarding for more information on this conditioning. Some dogs start guarding their food dishes because they're bothered by other animals during meals, and continue that food-guarding behavior with humans. This is another important reason to separate your multiple dogs at mealtimes.
With highly trained dogs, an adult skilled in handling those dogs standing there to supervise may make it possible to feed the dogs in the same room, dishes spread several feet apart. In most cases it's better to physically separate the dogs for meals with crates, baby gates, or closed doors. The adage better safe than sorry definitely applies to separating dogs from each other at mealtimes.
If you have an adult dog eating two meals a day and add a puppy or other dog eating more frequently, just give the adult dog something whenever you feed the new pup. As you gradually reduce meal frequency for the new dog, you can do the same with your first dog. Or you can keep the increased feeding frequency if it fits your schedule.
Free Feeding
Some dogs go their whole lives eating without a schedule, having food left out all the time. Several things can cause this to suddenly become a problem, though.
If you add another dog to the household, or another dog comes to visit, you'll need to separate the free feeder from the other dog whenever they eat. The free feeder will suddenly not have constant access to the dish.
Dogs can develop medical problems from going too long without food. The free-feeder dog is of course not aware of needing to eat every so many hours. As a result, these dogs become candidates for things like seizures from hypoglycemia.
Free-feeding dogs often become overweight or underweight after awhile, resulting in the need to adjust food amounts. You'll need to convert the dog to scheduled feeding then.
Some boarding situations will require that your dog be able to eat on schedule rather than free-feeding. This would be especially true if a friend or relative with a dog needed to keep your dog for you.
Free-feeding a puppy makes housetraining more difficult. When a dog eats on a regular schedule, bowel movements occur on a regular schedule. That helps you figure out when your dog will need a potty outing.
Changing from Free Feeding to Scheduled Meals
To teach a dog to eat at meals and not expect free-feeding, you have to take away the free food and feed only at mealtimes. You have to be completely consistent about it, so that the dog doesn't think it's "just for today." Follow the same instructions as for the picky eater.
Make sure the meal frequency is suited to the puppy or dog. For example, a toy-breed puppy being switched to a twice-a-day schedule would wind up waiting 24 hours between meals if she refused a meal. That could leave her open to seizures from hypoglycemia. In such a case, try feeding four times per day instead of two. As the pup matures, you can reduce the feedings gradually to two.
It's always okay to feed more than twice a day, provided the dog eats promptly and well each time. This doesn't mean adding extra food, but rather dividing the proper amount of food into smaller, more frequent portions. One advantage to this can be with the overweight dog whose food needs to be reduced. On four feedings instead of two, the dog gets less ravenous between meals. Many people actually feed several times a day without realizing it, when they routinely use food treats for training.
Begging at the Table
Just as treats are a good idea in some situations, they're a bad idea in others. Do you have a dog who begs when people are eating? That's a dog who has been given people food when people were eating!
This is not a dog-training problem-it's a people-training problem! Get everyone to stop giving the dog people food when people are eating, and sooner or later the dog will stop begging. Dogs are smart enough to stop doing things that don't work!
Here's a good time to mention that powerful little factor of variable reinforcement. If you hold out and hold out and hold out against giving the dog food while you're eating-and then give in and give the dog a treat!-you keep the dog's hopes alive. This is exactly what creates gambling addicts! Never has to mean never, if you're going to teach your dog not to beg food from people when they're eating.
Since some dogs will progress to the point of actually mugging people-especially young children-begging can turn serious. Besides that, people have really harmed their dogs by giving them food that's okay for people but not okay for dogs.
As a general rule, no more than perhaps 10% of your dog's food intake should be other than a balanced diet. Take a small dog and add an overly-indulgent human, and soon you can have a dog with health problems, even ultimately fatal ones, because the person wasn't thinking.
If something you're eating is suitable for the dog, a good way to share it is to wait until the humans are finished eating, and then give the dog the food in a different location. If the dog misbehaves while you're eating, no after-dinner treat. Smart dogs figure out this pattern and become even more motivated not to bother you while you're eating.
Dinner and a Movie
Since dogs love food so much, it's a powerful motivator to use in training. Pieces of the dog's regular food are easiest on the tummy for this purpose, but healthy dogs can have other types of treats. When in doubt, check with your veterinarian about any particular food.
Remember that food used as treats still counts in the dog's daily intake, and adjust meals to allow for it. You might even decide to feed some meals AS treats. When a dog is in need of physical or mental exercise, hiding the food for the dog to find can be just the ticket.
You can also use a food-dispensing toy such as a Kong or Buster Cube to make mealtime more dog-entertaining. Anytime you put your dog into a crate is a good time for a treat, whether just a little piece or a food-stuffed Kong.
Treats can help with all sorts of training and behavior modification, from teaching a dog to talk (yes, it's been done!) to helping a dog overcome separation anxiety. A good time for a treat reward is when a dog is doing something you like and want to see the dog do more often.
Make the Calories Count
A little thought about what you're doing whenever you give food to your dog will have powerful benefits in a happier, healthier dog. Feeding time is a wonderful opportunity to build better relationships with our dogs at the same time we take excellent care of them.
Vaccine FAQ and General Information
Why do Baby Animals Need a Series of Shots and how many do they Need?
When a baby kitten or puppy is born, its immune system is not yet mature; the baby is wide open for infection. Fortunately, nature has a system of protection. The mother produces specific milk in the first few days after giving birth. This milk is called colostrum and is rich in all the antibodies that the mother has to offer. As the babies drink this milk, they will be taking in their mother's immunity. After the first couple of days, regular milk is produced and the baby's intestines undergo what is called closure, which means they are no longer able to take antibodies into their systems. These first two days are critical to determining what kind of immunity the baby will receive until its own system can take over.
How long this maternal antibody lasts in a given puppy or kitten is totally individual. It can depend on the birth order of the babies, how well they nursed, and a number of other factors. Maternal antibodies against different diseases wear off after different times. We DO know that by 16 to 20 weeks of age, maternal antibodies are gone and the baby must be able continue on its own immune system.
While maternal immunity is present in the puppy’s system, any vaccines given will be inactivated. Vaccines will not be able to "take" until maternal antibody has sufficiently dropped. Puppies and kittens receive a series of vaccines ending at a time when we know the baby's own immune system should be able to respond. We could simply wait until the baby is old enough to definitely respond as we do with the rabies vaccination but this could leave a large window of vulnerability if the maternal antibody wanes early. To give babies the best chance of responding to vaccination, we vaccinate intermittently (usually every 2-4 weeks) during this period, in hope of gaining some early protection.
When a vaccine against a specific disease is started for the first time, even in adult animal, it is best to give at least two vaccinations. This is because the second vaccination will produce a much greater (logarithmically greater) response if it is following a vaccine given 2 to 4 weeks prior.
Whether or not infection happens depends on the interaction of three factors: Host vitality, including immune experience/vaccination status; virulence of the virus, including how many viral particles the host is exposed to; and environmental factors. Obviously these three aspects interplay somewhat as a stressful environment will reduce host vitality, a dry environment will reduce the number of viral particles, etc.
Where does the Virus come from?
Remember that this virus has been around since the 1970s, is hard to disinfect, and is shed in extremely large numbers by infected dogs. This means that there is virus everywhere: on every carpet, on every floor, in every yard and park. Virus is shed in the stool for the first two weeks or less after the initial infection but only a tiny portion of infected stool - which could be months old depending on the environmental temperature and humidity - is needed to infect a non-immune dog. Some dogs become what is called subclinically infected, which means they do not appear particularly sick. These animals tend not to be confined since no one knows they are infected, thus they can spread virus around a large area depending on where they leave their droppings.
Why only Puppies?
The most important factors in whether parvovirus infection occurs seem to be the experience the dog’s immune system has had with the virus plus the number of viral particles the host is exposed to. In the 1970s and early 1980s when the virus was new, all dogs young and old were susceptible, but now that the virus is everywhere, all dogs, even the unvaccinated ones, have at least some immunological experience with this virus. Any exposure no matter how small is likely to generate some antibodies. Also, vaccination is a widespread process nowadays and it is likely that a dog has had at least one vaccine at some point. Will these antibodies be enough for protection? In general, the answer seems to be yes as infection in dogs older than one year is somewhat unusual. It is important to realize, however, that this observation should not be taken to mean that adult dogs should not continue their vaccinations. Even though infection is somewhat unusual in adult dogs, adult dogs should still continue their vaccinations as this is a life-threatening disease for which treatment is expensive. No chances should be taken.
The younger the dog, the less immunologic experience and the more susceptibility to infection there is.
Natural Protection?
When puppies are born, they are completely unable to make antibodies against any infectious invader. They would be totally unprotected except that nature has created a system to protect them. Their mother secretes a specific type of milk called colostrum for the first day or two after giving birth. It contains all the antibodies that the mother dog has circulating in her own body and in this way, she gives her own immune experience to her off-spring. These antibodies are protective until they wear off sometime in the first 4 months of the puppy’s life.
How much colostrum an individual puppy gets depends on its birth order and how strong it nurses; not all puppies get the same amount of antibodies. Every nine days the antibody levels possessed by the puppies drops by half. When the antibody level drops to a certain level, they no longer have enough antibodies to protect them and if they are exposed to a large enough number of viral particles, they will get infected.
We recommend that puppies be restricted from public outdoor areas
until their vaccination series is completed at age 16 weeks.
There is a period lasting a good week or so during which the puppy has no antibody protection leftover from its mother but still is not yet competent to respond to vaccination. This window is where even the most well cared for puppies get infected.
Incubation
The virus enters the body through the mouth as the puppy cleans itself or eats food off the ground or floor. A minuscule amount of infected stool is all it takes.
There is a 3 to 7 day incubation period before the puppy seems obviously ill.
Upon entering the body, the virus seeks out the nearest rapidly dividing group of cells. The lymph nodes in the throat fit the bill and the virus sets up here first and replicates to large numbers. After a couple of days, so much virus has been produced that significant amounts of it have been released into the bloodstream. Over the next 3 to 4 days, the virus seeks new organs containing the rapidly dividing cells it needs: the bone marrow and the delicate intestinal cells.
Within the bone marrow, the virus is responsible for destruction of young cells of the immune system. By killing these cells, it knocks out the body's best defense and ensures itself a reign of terror in the GI tract where its most devastating effects occur. All parvoviral infections are characterized by a drop in white blood cell count due to the bone marrow infection. Seeing this on a blood test may help clinch the diagnosis of parvoviral infection. Also, a veterinarian may choose to monitor white blood cell count or even attempt to artificially raise the white blood cell count in an infected puppy through treatment.
The GI tract is where the heaviest damage occurs. The normal intestine possesses little finger-like protrusions called villi. Having these tiny fingers greatly increases the surface area available for the absorption of fluid and nutrients. To make the surface area available for absorption greater still, the villi possess microvilli, which are microscopic protrusions. The cells of the villi are relatively short-lived and are readily replaced by new cells. The source of the new cells is the rapidly dividing area at the foot of the villi called the crypts of Lieberkuhn. Parvovirus strikes right at the crypt.
Without new cells coming from the crypt, the villus becomes blunted and unable to absorb nutrients. Diarrhea in large quantities results, not to mention nausea. The barrier separating the digestive bacteria from the blood stream breaks down. The diarrhea becomes bloody and bacteria can enter the body, causing widespread infection (remember that that virus has also simultaneously destroyed the bone marrow's ability to respond immunologically).
The virus kills one of two ways:
Diarrhea and vomiting lead to extreme fluid loss and dehydration until shock and death result.
Loss of the intestinal barrier allows bacterial invasion of potentially the entire body. Septic toxins from these bacteria result in death.
How is Survival Possible?
Even parvovirus cannot disrupt the entire immune system. Plus, every day that goes by allows more antibodies to be produced. This antibody can bind and inactivate the virus. Whether survival is possible amounts to a race between the damaged immune system trying to recover and respond versus the fluid loss and bacterial invasion.
I would not have your puppy out in parks/public places until at least the second set of vaccines...usually around 12 weeks of age due to Parvo (above).
Socialization and training are a lot of fun -- obedience and agility are great ways to get your dog trained and for you and your kids (not sure how old they are) to have fun with and build a relationship with your dog. You can ask your vet what groups he/she recommends in your area.
IMO, crate training is the best way to potty train your dog. Almost all dogs that were not raised in puppy mills will not want to go to the bathroom where they sleep (the crate) and will vocalize to let you know when they have to go out. Never scold your dog for having an accident, but reward him with a small treat when he goes outside where you want him to defecate/urinate.
Each food is different. I am not familiar with that brand...ask your vet about it. There should be a feeding guide on the side panel about how much to feed. If your puppy is not eating well at first I would offer 1/6 the daily amount every 4 hours and then start spacing it out more (1/4 every 6 hours, etc) as he is eating better. Small puppies can get a low blood glucose quickly if they are not eating and this can lead to weakness and even seizures. If he is not eating well he may just be stressed and tired from all the change. If he is not eating well after a day I would get him seen ASAP.
Will see if I can find a crate training article.
I think everything else is covered above, but if you have more questions then let me know.
What are your thoughts on raw food? There is a local supplier that offers this service and some people say its healthier for the dog.
Is it ok to bring the dog to a park if it stays in a travel carrier and doesn't go near the ground or other dogs?
I can tell you having worked emergency for 13 years that I see lots of illness caused by raw diets. DO NOT get advice on the health and care of your dog from a food supplier or a breeder.
I would not take your dog to a dog park until at least the second vaccine, maybe the 3rd depending on the timing (ask your vet). Parvo virus is terrible and it will cost you $3000+ to treat if your dog gets infected. Even with incredible treatment at a 24 hour hospital some dogs will die from this infection. The virus takes 6-8 months to die in the environment and is almost certainly present in a dog park.
Just like in people, there are meds you can give to dogs if they get car sick. I would give it a bit of time first to see how things develop. Eating vomit isn't a bit deal.
Today when I took him in the backyard, he is trying to go under our deck, which may make it impossible to retrieve him. I have started keeping him on the leash now always in the backyard. It is secure but I don't want him trying to go under the deck. He is getting a little better with the leash. The first time was tragic and he freaked out. He seems to be coming around to it. He often just wants to sit in the backyard and rest. I have to encourage him to start walking. So far all poos have been in the backyard but he still tends to want to pee in the house. He was trained to be on a pad in the house so this may take some time to get him use to peeing outside. Maybe once we can start walking around the neighborhood. He loves his afternoon siestas!
After a while, you'll start to notice the behaviour patterns that indicate they need to go and you can take them outside. You may feel like an idiot doing it if your neighbours are out there, but when they pee outside slather on the praise. Big time. Make them feel like they just did the best thing they're ever going to do.
Leashes also take a while to get used to. When we were first using a leash on Ace, he'd attack it and try and chew it to pieces. Took about a month before we could go on a walk 'peacefully'. Walks at your pups age should be short at this point anyway, even if they want to go for longer ones. Bones and joints need to develop.
Is there any way you can block access to under the deck? Often times there can be nails, screws, construction debree, etc. poking out from the decking under there that could be dangerous to them. I had to use various chunks of whatever was lying about to block access.
He seems to be getting better with the leash, although he tends to bite the metal clip a lot.
Any suggestions for cleaning the poop off his fur?
Yeah, the leash thing is incredibly annoying. I kind of think it's just something they grow out of. If you get him moving on a walk, keep him moving. Don't let him see the leash as a distraction.
Poop on fur... I never had to deal with that fortunately. I would assume luke warm water and a cloth. No soaps. If he doesn't fuss when you're doing it... Praise, praise, praise.
Oh, post a pic! We had a hard time taking pics of Ace when he was that age. He never stopped moving.
Our dog is 1.5 yrs now and whenever she gets in the car now she immediately lies down and becomes very calm, and we've had no carsickness for basically a full year now.
So far the dog has slept through the night, no problem. Got the second shots today and first visit to the vet. Things went pretty good. He did get car sick on the way home again but I was able to catch most of the remains so he didn't eat very much of it. Doesn't look like they digest their food very much. He still isn't eating very much and it seems less than before.