What About Dogs In Heat

What about dogs in heat

What is heat stroke?

 Too much time exposed to the dangerous combination of increased temperature and humidity can lead to a heat stroke.

A mammal's body (and that includes humans, too) can only tolerate temperatures up to about 107 degrees before cells start dying.

The higher the temperature, the faster this occurs.

The longer the body remains at an elevated temperature, the less chance there is for recovery.

Heat stroke can occur very quickly, given the right set of circumstances, and if too much time has elapsed, even your best efforts may not be enough to keep your dog alive.

Is my dog at risk for heat stroke ?

Any dog can fall victim to heat stroke, but hot weather is especially hard on puppies and older dogs, (they have a harder time regulating their body temperature), short-nosed breeds, (like pugs, pekes, boxers and bulldogs), overweight dogs, those with heart or lung problems, and dogs recently moved from a cooler climate.

These risk factors increase if your dog doesn't have enough water, if he's in an enclosed space or is exposed too long to direct sunlight.

How can I recognize heat stroke?

Heat stroke causes dogs to pant rapidly and heavily, the body's defense in an effort to lower the core temperature.

Their eyes may be open abnormally wide, and they may appear to stare blankly, ignoring your commands. They may drool excessively and stagger weakly.

 The gums will appear pale and dry and eventually, if left untreated, the animal will collapse into unconsciousness.

What should I do if my dog has a heat stroke?

If you suspect your dog is suffering from heat stroke and you're close to a vet or animal hospital, put him in the car, crank the air conditioning all the way up and get him there as soon as possible.

 They're the ones best equipped to handle your dog's recovery.

 If that's not possible, you must try to reduce your dog's temperature yourself.

Get him to a shady area and either put him in a tub of cool (not cold) running water, or spray him with a hose.

 Be sure the water penetrates his coat and wets the skin beneath.

Run it over his tongue and mouth, inside the legs and on his stomach. Remember that small dogs will cool down more quickly than larger breeds.

 Take your dog to a vet as soon as you can.

Hopefully your dog will never suffer a life-threatening heat stroke.

 If he does, at least now you know the signs and symptoms to be aware of, and the measures you can take that will offer him the best chances for a full and total recovery.

Your Intelligent Dog

Your Intelligent Dog The intelligence of the dog is among the highest of all the animals, maybe higher than we give him credit for.

 Although his brain is proportionately only half as large as ours, he is certainly the most intelligent of domestic animals.

As with humans, individual intelligence varies greatly according to inherited genes.

While no one breed can be said to be more intelligent that another, some breeds that have been selectively bred for work ability are often brighter and more receptive than those bred primarily for purely physical attributes.

Whether a dog is a mixed breed for purebred, studies have shown that neither is much more intelligent than the other.

However, dogs that have been exposed to a more varied lifestyle, both indoors and out, and with both human and animal interaction, does show more intelligent behavior.

Simply put, giving your dog an opportunity to investigate and manipulate all sorts of objects, to explore all sorts of places, to share all sorts of experiences with you will stimulate his or her intelligence.

Aside from getting a lot more out of life, your dog will be eager to learn more and he will learn with increasing ease and rapidity.

 Nothing is sadder and more wasteful than an intelligent dog that is confined in a kennel and deprived of mental stimulation.

Despite opinions to the contrary, dogs are endowed with an elementary reasoning power.

Anyone who has ever owned a dog has often seen him size up a situation and then taken some logical action.

 Guide dogs for the blind, as well as working and hunting dogs of many breeds constantly have to use their judgment and make decisions.

Memory is an important component of intelligence.

 The dog's memory for scents is extraordinary.

 His visual memory is only fair, but his memory for sounds is very good, since he can remember and identify familiar voices even after an absence of many years.

While he builds up a large store of identifiable sounds without the slightest effort, remembering different words requires more concentration.

The dog's capacity for learning is more a matter of memory than of true understanding. He will remember the sequence of cause and effect in his actions, but he is unable to draw broad conclusions from his experience.

The greater the variety of experiences and contact with others they have, the quicker they learn, and the more they retain.

Dogs are bound by nature to remain intellectually inferior to man, but we owe them a chance to develop their native intelligence by training, teaching, and working with them as much and as often as we can.

Your Dog Shed

Your dog shed,

If your dog sheds a lot it does not necessarily denote ill health.

Dogs that spend a lot of their time indoors are exposed to electric lights and central heat and air which can throw off their normal shedding schedule that nature built in. However, profuse shedding may have other causes like an unbalanced diet, a kidney or bladder infection or a parasitic ailment.

If your dogs shedding leads to bald spots you should seek help from your veterinarian as soon as possible.

All severe shedding conditions are either parasitic or non-parasitic.

Parasitic means caused by parasites such as mites or fleas.

Non-parasitic means conditions created by a hormonal imbalance and or poor diet, which can easily be treated with vitamins and a more controlled diet.

Eczema is a symptom of an underlying disorder, usually dietary, rather than a disease. In older animals and altered ones, it may be caused by a hormonal imbalance due to a change of body chemistry.

 The skin becomes scaly and the hair falls out in patches.

You must correct the cause by hormone injections or a change in diet, usually by adding fat supplements of Vitamin A and E.

Eczema can also be caused by fleabite allergy, or a parasitic condition.

However, these bald spots usually appear suddenly and resemble lesions, or burns. To treat these, after veterinarian diagnosis, you must eliminate the fleas and use a local application of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory medicines.

Bald spots can also be caused by mange.

 There are two types of mange, ot mange, Sarcoptic mange or “Scabies”, which has a musty odor, often starts on the head and spreads to the ears, tail, the abdomen, chest and under the front legs.

 Skin eruptions may take the form of red dots or blisters, then scabs.

Your veterinarian can provide medicated baths; generally sulfur preparations and anti-itch topicals.

The second type of mange is Follicular or Demodectic mange or “red mange”, caused by a different family of mites that burrows into the hair follicles and most often attacks young puppies.

 Entire litters can be born with it.

 It is more serious and persistent that the other variety.

 In the most serious cases, pustules dot the skin where the hair has fallen out. Veterinary treatment will include oral medications and external treatments to kill the mites, but this type of mange takes a long time to cure.

Lastly, he may have contracted ringworm, a contagious fungal infection, (non-parasitic), that grows on hair follicles, rather like athletes foot.

 It is characterized by ring-shaped red patches covered with scales, and may be dry or moist, usually starting on the head, neck, and legs.

Your vet will advise strict anticontagion measures, since it is communicable to humans. Treatments include oral medications, anti-fungal shampoos or dips, and frequent applications of iodine.

Remember, shedding is a symptom of an underlying condition that is best diagnosed by your Veterinarian usually by microscopic analysis of skin scrapings and or blood tests. While bald spots may not be life threatening, the animal is suffering and the conditions usually only get worse with time, so asking your veterinarian for his opinion is more sensible than just worrying about it.

What Dog Should &Should Not Be Drinking To Stay Healthy

What Dog Should &Should Not Be Drinking To Stay Healthy

A constant supply of fresh water is essential to your dog's good health and comfort.    Like man, a dog can go without food for a surprisingly long time, but if he is deprived of water, he can't survive for more than a few days, or even hours, in a hot, dry environment.

Water is very important, representing and estimated 70 percent of the dog's weight.

A dog's water consumption varies according to the climate to his activity, and to the composition of his meals. 

Heat and exercise dehydrate him quickly. 

He gets very thirsty in cars or any confined space.

 However, excessive thirst for not good reason should be reported to your vet, because it may be an early symptom of diabetes or kidney trouble.

At home he should have a clean, full water bowl next to his food dish, another in his play area, and possibly a third one that is accessible at night.

 Away from home the problem is more difficult. 

A thirsty dog is attracted to water in the gutter, in stagnant pools and rain puddles.  Clean rain water is fine, but hard to find.

 Caustic chemicals used to melt snow on streets and sidewalks, weed-killers and insecticides on lawns and golf courses contaminate most standing water and should be avoided.

Try to keep a water-filled plastic container with you or in your car, especially if you plan on a lot of walking or running during hot weather.

Try to train your dog to drink only from his own bowl or what you offer him.

Milk is the only liquid, aside from water, that appeals to dogs and still agrees with them, (although it may cause loose stools). 

They are seldom tempted by other drinks and particularly dislike carbonated drinks.  Milk is always another good source of protein but should not be used as a substitute for meat. 

Most any flavored drink should be avoided, as it only tends to irritate the kidneys, causing frequent urination and dehydration.