Entries tagged Dogs

Dog Allergies - Identifying The Cause

Published: Mar 2nd, 2010 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

There are a variety of conditions that can make a dog itch or have hair loss, including autoimmune. endocrine, infectious, and parasitic skin diseases. Therefore, it takes some detective work to identify the cause. A veterinarian may be able to diagnose the problem. Alternatively, they may need to refer your dog to a veterinary dermatologist, who is a specialist in treating skin conditions in animals.

If allergies are suspected, the first thing a veterinarian will usually ask is if the pet is on a flea-control product. Flea allergies are quite common and are the easiest to control. There are many options for flea control on dogs and in their environment. Once flea allergies are ruled out, and if the itch is non-seasonal, food allergies are the next thing to be checked. Food allergies are not related to a season, whereas many atopic allergies start out as a seasonal problem.

Dogs that develop atopic allergies typically show symptoms between 1 and 5 years of age, but food allergies can be a problem at any time. They are high on the list of suspected causes when a dog first gets itchy skin at an age of over 5 years, or less than 6 months. When testing for food allergies, the dog is put on an “elimination diet” for at least 10 weeks. This means the dog is fed food that consists of a protein and carbohydrate that the dog has not eaten before, such as venison, duck, and potatoes.

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Mighty Minis—-The Goldendoodle Size Issue

Published: Mar 1st, 2010 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

Put on your dorothy “wizard of oz” shoes and click your heels three times. As you click, repeat three times, “There’s no such thing as a mini Goldendoodle”; “There’s no such thing as a mini Goldendoodle”; “There’s no such thing as a mini Goldendoodle”.

Okay. Now that we got that out of the way. Let me tell you why there is no such thing as a “mini” Goldendoodle. It’s very basic really, to understand why a hybrid can’t fall into a size category like purebred dogs. Yes of course there are plenty of breeders out there who will boast they create miniature sized Goldendoodles simply because one of the parents is a miniature sized Poodle…but I’m afraid they aren’t filling you in on the important details that come after that statement.

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The Requirement So That You Can House Educate Your Brand New Four-Legged Friend

Published: Feb 27th, 2010 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

A dog will be the most popular choice of pet to enjoy and as a consequence most people love their particular company, very often a dogs company is significantly preferred to this of humans. They can certainly demonstrate us all lots of love and therefore could furthermore tell us or perhaps other people off when they need to.

Coaching a dog is certainly not in any way difficult yet, a development of mutual confidence needs to be moulded to effectively educate canines. Tolerance and as a consequence attention to detail should possibly be ones main focus, possibly not only from you but ones canine as nicely. Along with respect to house-training each canine is different; a number of pet dogs can pick this up easily and some may occasionally take ages.

Obtain to be aware of your own dog’s routine, each and every dog will generally show some sort of indication that they require the toilet. Recognizing these signs early can lessen ones house-breaking period greatly and may be a terrific accomplishment since it displays of which you actually are generally getting to learn your dog and therefore you actually will be bonding together with your own new canine pal.

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Choosing The Right Dog Breed For You And Your Family

Published: Feb 10th, 2010 | Author: ardhi Add Comment

It’s important to really think about what type of dog breed you want to buy before jumping into it. Dogs are a huge responsibility that require a lot of care and attention for you and your family. Dogs also need socialization so they don’t get aggressive and over protective. Obedience training is also needed so they don’t acquire bad behaviors.

There are many considerations to think about before buying a dog. Remember to consider the breed you buy carefully!

- Size: Size can be a huge consideration. It could be depending on where you live or maybe just a preference. If you live in an apartment or in the city, having a small dog would probably suit your lifestyle better. Large dogs need more energy then smaller sized dogs. Also, if you have children then some dogs are more fragile then other dogs. Young children may want to rough play with your dog and it could seriously injury him.

- Energy Level: Different breeds of dogs have different energy levels. Some are more active and need more exercise. If you have a small house or a house with no yard, having a breed with a high energy level may cause some problems.

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Hookworms in Dogs - Symptoms and Treatment

Published: Aug 7th, 2009 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

The hookworms appear quite frequent in dogs’ diseases. In the majority of cases, the puppies are the ones that get infected. The hookworms are some small internal parasites which are able to cause death, especially in the puppies.

Old dogs rarely get infected with the hookworms. And if they do, the infection is not that severe and it cures quickly. A dog owner should always protect the dog from these parasites because they can cause serious damage.

Appearance of hookworms in dogs

Besides hookworms, dogs also can get tapeworms, roundworms, and whipworms. The hookworms are most of the times caused by some infested soil that has worms. The dog can eat the eggs of the worm. These larvae then are able to go into the lungs and then the whole pet’s bloodstream.

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Canine Depression - Simple Boredom or Depression?

Published: Aug 7th, 2009 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

Just because your dog can’t talk this doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings. He can be depressed to. Sure, it is hard to determine that, but it can happen. Many people associate depression with boredom.

Depression or Simple Boredom?

In order to find the answer to that question, you may try to take the dog to a new exciting place. For example, you could take him to a new park and then play with him. If you try this and try to please him and you see no or little response, it could be dog depression.

But be patient and do this move with the dog at least 3 or 4 times and then draw the conclusion. If by the end of the week your dog shows no sign of improvement, then try with different type of food. After that you may assume it is depression. It is hard to figure out this disease.

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Canine Leukemia

Published: Aug 6th, 2009 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

Leukemia is one type of cancer that affects the blood. This disease is characterized by a significant increase of the leukocytes, popularly called white blood cells.

The first symptom is a large number of these cells in the blood marrow or even in the circulation. Leukemia is a result of a genetic malfunction, a mutation that happens inside the bone’s marrow. This disease has several types. It is classified taking into consideration the type of the white blood cells that are involved and also the way in which the disease is progressing.

Leukemia can derive from the bone marrow and it is called myelogenous or granulocytic leukemia and also lymphocytic leukemia when it involves the lymph nodes.

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Dog Lice - How to Get Rid of Dog Lice

Published: Aug 6th, 2009 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

Even the cleanest dogs can have lice, even if they are well cared for and groomed every day. They can carry it as a host. So you must be aware of the symptoms and as soon as they appear, you should contact the vet.

But what is it? Can it affect the owner too? How can you get rid of it?

These are a few questions that we will try to answer in this article. Dog lice can happen to clean dogs too. It is very common in the country. Lice infestation has many symptoms that the owners should be aware of.

For example, the infestation with lice causes the dog to get some severe irritations and illness symptoms. The dog lice also can carry other diseases and can turn to complications like dog anemia.

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The Golden Retriever — Versatile and Devoted Companion

Published: Aug 5th, 2009 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

The Golden Retriever is one of the most versatile dog breeds known to man. Their intelligence and versatility sees them employed in a variety of roles including illegal drug detection, search and rescue, as hunting dog, as guide dog for the blind, as therapy dog, and as a service dog for the disabled. Its friendly, eager-to-please and patient demeanor has made it one of the most popular family dogs in the world. The Golden Retriever has an endless number of positive attributes when being considered as a family pet. They are also very competitive in agility and other performance events.

Golden Retriever puppy are known to be very playful and very friendly and making it the best choice for kids of all ages. While young children should always be supervised when playing with any dog, the Golden Retriever is remarkably accepting of children’s sudden and often random movements or behaviors. Friendly with everyone, including other dogs, the Golden Retriever has very little, if any, guarding instincts. They are a fairly robust and healthy dog breed that can be expected to live for 10 to 14 years.

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Why Do Dogs Bite People?

Published: Jul 29th, 2009 | Author: marbolec Add Comment

Dog attacks each year cause serious injury and even death to many victims. An estimated 4.5 million people are bitten each year. Children and older people are the most common target of attacks. Over half of dog attacks involve children under 12, and those 70 and older make up 10% of the bites and 20% of those are fatally injured. Fatalities from dog attacks have risen over the years. Is the dogs owners to blame or can it be blamed on certain breeds of dogs? There is much argument over this.

Which dogs bite? Is it a certain breed and/or breeds that are the most dangerous? Is it the lack of training or poor training by the dogs owner? Aggressive dogs are often owned by irresponsible owners who provide inadequate training or, worse, teach the dog to be aggressive. Owners should not encourage aggressive behaviors such as playing tug-of-war. This encourages dominance aggression. Dogs not spayed or neutered tend to display more dominance behavior. Male dogs are more aggressive than female dogs.

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