Pets Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Dogs’

Dogs are human’s best friends – except when the tired, busy human is walking dogs, opening doors for them… If you have one small lap dog, or a full-scale dog breeding kennel, you know the feeling. No matter the size of your canine community, you implement a few simple measures to make your home or facility canine compatible. Begin with the most basic necessities and how to meet them with little or no effort.

Automatic watering simplifies your life, and prevents hazardous dehydration. Inside you can use a large dish with attached reservoir. For outdoors, there are a number of auto-filling styles if there is a faucet in the dog kennel. If you keep food constantly available, an automatic dog feeder will save you time and keep Fido well fed. If you feed a specific amount, set a schedule and stick to it. This is easier for your routine, and better for the doggie-digestion.

If you have to walk your dog(s) every time they’ve got to take care of business, you definitely need a dog kennel. They can enjoy fresh air and do their thing while you go on about your business. The simplest arrangement is a through-the-wall dog doors, leading directly to the dog kennel. This saves you the time and effort of walking, and of opening doors frequently. It saves your dog the discomfort of having to wait – and the chance of an accident.

Commercial kennels and boarding facilities should avoid carpet in areas frequented by dogs, due to sanitation and fleas. In your home, you might choose to let the dog in carpeted rooms. However, for ease of cleaning, keep indoor dishes and dog beds off the carpet. If there isn’t an appropriate vinyl or tile floor, use a washable mat under the dishes and beds. No matter what the flooring, you can easily prevent tracking of mud. Place large patio rugs in the dog kennel outside the dog door, and washable indoor mats just inside the dog door. A few easy steps can make you, and your best friends very happy!

The attractive coat of the German Shepherd can unfortunately be quite attractive to parasites too. Beneath the coat on the skin itself, hot spots can be created by skin infections, which can arise from a poor diet or from an infected cut.

Other posts on this site discuss:

• looking after the coat of the German Shepherd
• maintaining a good diet (within the “coat” article), and
• caring for German Shepherd ears.

Flea and similar parasite infections are best dealt with by regular flea treatments from the high street or pet shop. The other main precaution is to make sure your dog gets a bath and/or thorough brushing after swimming or running near bushes, etc.

Minor lesions in the German Shepherd skin will usually heal quickly. They can be treated with antiseptic cream but in many cases a few licks from your dog will heal them quickly. If an infection hasn’t been discovered previously, excessive licking is usually the first clue of something more serious, and if it is not a parasite then it could well be that a “hot spot” has been created through infection of the lowest skin layers. Common antibiotics will normally cure these but any difficulty arises through your dog’s continuous licking of the area.

The most practical solution is to cover the area in a way that prevents your dog tearing any covering off, which can be a challenge. Depending on where the cut is, either wrapping and taping the area with gauze may work, or a sock on a foot or leg, or even a jumper or tea shirt to cover the torso. The other common solution is to apply the cone-like collar to prevent your dog getting at the infected spot.

Callouses are the other common skin problem but usually only form in older dogs through constant rubbing, often due to the dog’s posture when sitting or lying against or on a hard surface. Although callouses can be treated and discomfort eased with creams or veterinary treatment, in many cases they will simply reform and become a fact of the older dog’s life without being a major problem.

German Shepherd coats have two layers, more pronounced in the long-haired variety. The inner layer is dense and quite soft to keep your dog warm whilst the outer, more coarse and longer layer serves to keep bushes and other objects away from the interior.

The sheen of the coat is a good, visible indicator to your dog’s health. Grooming and brushing are almost secondary to maintaining the coat’s condition through a good diet. Sources of high protein and high fat, the latter through a good-quality kibble are best. The prime source of protein should be meat in the form of beef, chicken or lamb. German Shepherds will eat and benefit from vegetables such as carrots and small amounts of greens but these should be in kept in moderation for the GSD as its origin is primarily carnivorous.

Brushing your German Shepherd should be done at least twice per week and depending on the type of coat, it’s best to use a range of brushes, ranging from the metal rake type and good quality stiff brushes to finer ones with a small pair of round-edge scissors in reserve to cut out any mats that form, especially near the ears and lower sides of the face in long-haired varieties. Mats in the coat itself will be found more easily by initially brushing against the direction of the fur. Whilst most brushing is done in the fur’s directiopn, this will more often than not cover small mats as they are forming.

Bathing your German Shepherd is needed to reduce odours and especially after swimming, but must not be overdone as this will reduce the natural oils essential to the coat condition. Depending on the variety of your dog and the thickness of its coat, a little trial and error may be required to find the right shampoo to use, even amongst good quality ones or dedicated dog shampoo. I found with the long-haired GSDs I had that a baby shampoo worked very well, used sparingly on  some occasions depending on the state of the coat. In all cases, it is important to ensure that the shampoo is thoroughly rinsed out, or dandruff and temporary deterioration in the coat will occur.

Dogs need water and ventilation when travelling and possibly food as well depending on the length of the journey. Breaks should be made in the journey for the dog to stretch its legs and relieve itself. Dogs are best familiarised with car journeys from a young age. Initially, sitting with your dog to reassure it, hold it securely and keep it calm is a good idea.

Some dogs are particularly susceptible to motion sickness when travelling, and many grow out of it. It is possible to get travel sickness pills for pets that are suitable with vets advice, but the human versions are definitely not recommended, as the dog’s balance and digestive systems are different to ours.

Again, sitting with the dog can be helpful. Some dogs actually travel better in cages, possibly because it resembles a den, though the cage needs to be large enough for the dog to be able to stretch out and move around in. Putting a light cloth over the cage can be helpful to dogs that still suffer from travel sickness. Taking the dog out in the car shortly after being fed is obviously not to be recommended.

Although I have seen pet seatbelts recommended, personally I don’t think they are a very sensible idea. Every dog I have had has been fairly calm in the car, in some cases after a few journeys with someone sat with the dog in the back seat. After that, the dogs got used to sitting or lying down without any issues. If there is going to be a problem with your dog moving around the car, then it should either be:

• in a large enough cage for travelling
• partitioned off in some other way, or
• not taken in the car at all

Some dogs can become territorial about the car, barking at anything that moves outside. Some owners install blinds in the car windows, but the best solution in practice is to make a habit of sitting with the dog and bring it under control by making it clear that this is poor behavior. Eventually this spell will usually pass, though it may take time with severe cases.

Most pet owners know that animals should not be left in a vehicle with no ventilation, especially in sunlight.