From the monthly archives:

October 2008

Can You Catch a Disease From Your Dog?

by Wayne Booth on October 24, 2008

We all love our four legged friends, but is there a possibility we may catch something from them?

Most everyone is familiar with tales of rabid animals, dogs included. Animals that foam at the mouth go insane and are more than willing to bite. Chances are, you’ve never met a rabid animal, but you’ve certainly heard of one.

If you’ve ever been bitten by a dog, you’ll know that one of the things they have to do is rabies testing on the animal to make sure there is no way you could contract the disease from the bite.

Obviously, if there’s this much concern, there is definitely the potential for you contracting an illness or disease because of your dog.

Rabies is what is called a Zoonotic Disease. Derived from the Greek word “zoon”, or animal, and “nosos”, or ill, zoonotic diseases are diseases that can be transmitted from a wild or domesticated animal to a human (or vice versa).

While these diseases are relatively rare, they are still something to be considered when approaching strange or stray dogs as well as when handling your own.

Even if your animal does not appear to be ill, he could easily have a parasite you aren’t aware of. For example, hookworms can be present in the feces and (consequently) the salvia of an otherwise healthy dog without your knowledge. If you or your child were to let your dog “kiss” them while he is infected with hookworm, it could very easily be spread to you or your child. This demonstrates the importance of worming your animal early on and making sure your animal has regular check ups.

Hookworms, rabies, salmonella, roundworms, fleas, lyme disease, tapeworms, giardia, ringworm and other bacterial, fungal and parasitic illnesses are zoonotic and can be caught from your animal.

The best solution here is preventative maintenance. For one, always be sure to take your animal to the vet for regular check ups and for his routine vaccinations. If your animal is not sick, there is no way you can catch a sickness from him.

Also, do not handle animal feces directly. Always wear gloves or use a doggy poop bag when handling your animal’s waste. Also, always be sure to pick up any animal waste in your home quickly if there is the potential for your child to come in contact with it.

Wash your hands frequently when handling any animal. At the very least, be sure that wash your hands in between handling an animal and eating or touching your mouth in other ways.

Use caution around strange dogs. Even if they appear healthy and friendly, they way very well be carrying a parasitic or fungal infection which could be contagious to you.

While it seems like there is much to be wary about in terms of your animal (or other animals) infecting you, remember that the list of zoonotic diseases is very short in comparison to the number of diseases you can catch from another human. As long as you are sure to worm your animal, treat them with flea/tick treatment if necessary, take them to regular vet check ups and stay hygienic when handling animals, you have very little to worry about.

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How often should I feed my dog?

by Wayne Booth on October 14, 2008

So you’ve adopted a dog into your home and family. Your new pet and family member will require plenty of attention and effort: you’ll have to walk them daily, bathe them when they’re dirty, give them love and attention and of course, feed and water them.

You might be wondering, however, how often should I feed my dog?

The easiest option, of course, is what is called “free feeding” or just filling the bowl and allowing your dog to eat at free will. To someone otherwise unaware, this might seem like the best option. This is, however, the least favorable option for feeding your animal.

Dogs’ and cats’ wild ancestors had long periods between their meals. These breaks allowed their digestive system to rest and get ready for the next meal. Free feeding removes the potential for breaks between meals and is, essentially, the equivalent of you having a 24 hour buffet in your home. Not a good idea. Free feeding lends to animals becoming sluggish, overweight and lethargic. Your dog should be able to get excited about their meals, not have them be something that are always available. Food is one of the key motivators to use for dogs, in training, in praise and in their everyday feeding to boost their passion for things in general. If you can’t get them excited about food, there isn’t too much else you can get them excited about. Allowing them constant and free access to their food makes it much harder for them to get excited about it.

Usually, most people agree on either feeding your pet once daily or twice daily. Once daily is probably the best for your animal, although one of the drawbacks about it is that your pet may bug you continually during the day for food. While you can train your animal to stop such behaviors, it isn’t easy.

So the second best option that may work out best for you and your pet is feeding them twice daily. This keeps the meals spaced out enough for your animal, but they are close enough that your dog won’t fixate on his meals and pester you for them.

Another thing to be mentioned is that you should be sure to be consistent with how much, when, how often and where you feed your pet. Dogs thrive on routine and setting up a routine for feeding is best no matter how many times a day you choose to feed your animal. Being consistent will help your dog’s temperament, help him to respect you as his superior and help him in any training you may decide to participate in with him in the future. Another thing to be mentioned is the sensitivity of dogs’ stomaches. When you do find a dog food that your dog likes eating, stick with it. Changing up your dog’s food without slowly transitioning can upset their stomach and cause problems with their digestion.

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Does my dog have separation anxiety?

by Wayne Booth on October 3, 2008

You know that when you’re not home, your dog misses you. He always greets you when you’re back and he can sometimes be found expressing his frustration about not being around you by tearing things up around the house, digging, chewing or using the restroom in inappropriate places. These events can mean a variety of things, but in your dog’s case do they mean that they have separation anxiety or are they just bored and misbehaving?

Separation anxiety is a severe and serious condition your dog could be suffering from. Separation anxiety causes major distress for your dog when he is away from you and can result in him trying to cope with his stress by destroying the home when you leave. Because of the symptoms of separation anxiety, a merely ill behaved dog can often be confused with an animal that has separation anxiety, though there are many differences between generally poor behavior and separation anxiety.

Does your animal follow you closely around the home when you are present? When your dog does chew, does he focus on items that smell like you such as discarded clothing, underwear or socks, blankets? Does he chew these things only when you are gone, or when you are home too? Does your dog only exhibit these poor behaviors some of the times when you leave or does he do it every time you’re gone? Does the dog destroy things very soon after your leave, or does he wait a while? Does your animal do this every time you leave or only some of the time?

The difference between regular destruction from lack of training or boredom and separation anxiety is that the loss of you in the immediate sense is what has caused your animal to engage in these destructive behaviors. He is dependent on your presence for him to be calm and when your presence is lacking, he is desperate and frantic and misbehaves because he is so upset.

Has your dog had any recent cause to be worried when he is not around you? Have you recently started a new job and had a major change in your schedule where you can not be around him as much, where you used to spend a significant amount of time around him? Has there been any recent event in your life that your dog may find traumatizing, such as moving, a child leaving the home? Has your animal recently been kenneled or boarded?

If you are answering “yes” to a lot of these questions, then your dog may indeed be suffering from separation anxiety. If this is indeed the case, there are a few techniques that may help your dog’s anxiety.

  • When you leave your home, give your animal something that smells like you. An old t-shirt, a pillowcase or a towel you’ve used will all work 

  • Be sure not to make a big deal out of departures and arrivals from the home. Ignore your dog for the first few minutes when you get home and the last few minutes before you leave, even if it is difficult. 
  • Practice “Sit/Stay” and “Down/Stay” as frequently as possible, thereby teaching your dog that you can be in different places and be happy and calm.

Unfortunately, for severe cases of separation anxiety that don’t seem to be helped, you will need to contact a canine behaviorist to help in the training of your animal. It may also be necessary to consult with your Veterinarian who may suggest some medication, but remember that whatever the case, the situation is not hopeless.

If you think your dog is suffering from separation anxiety feel free to contact Canine Behavior Specialists, we have been able to help in the majority of cases.

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