Puppy Training All Nipping Should Be Eradicated By The Age Of 15 Weeks

Your puppy should not be displaying a biting or nipping problem once he reaches the age of 15 weeks or more. By that time you should have already administered proper training techniques and specific commands to get your puppy to stop his mouthing behavior. However, if this is still a problem or if you have adopted a puppy that’s a little older than 15 weeks and is new in the home, then the following tips can help you get your puppy to stop biting your hands and nipping at your fingers:

1. The first item on your checklist should be to immediately cease playing all puppy games that include roughhousing. I realize that part of the fun of having a new puppy is playing games like tug-of-war and wrestling, but unfortunately, if you’re faced with an animal that is still not over his mouthing period, you must sacrifice these types of activities. By playing these games, you are giving him the notion that he is allowed to roughhouse with you at any time he wants. And dogs to do this mostly through nipping and biting.

Although the symptoms are almost similar canine colds are not the same as the common cold in humans. Your dog may develop a cough, runny eyes, sneezing and there may even be a yellowish green discharge from the dog nose.

However, these are mostly the symptoms of a viral or bacterial infection that mimic symptoms of common cold. In most cases these symptoms disappear on their own over time. But it needs to be known that certain infections can progress into serious ailments if not attended to.

Canine colds fall under the category of dog respiratory problems and may occur due to the following common infections.

1.    Parainfulenza virus is the most common infection that produces symptoms of common cold in dogs. There is no effective vaccination available to protect canines against this virus and the condition is likely to run its course no matter what. At the most your veterinarian will try to evaluate the illness and prescribe medication to prevent secondary infections.

Dog Behavior Dogs Are Like Children, They Need Leadership & Guidance

Dogs having a natural instinct towards being “pack” animals. Just like their ancestors in which they came from, the wolf, dogs think in terms of partnerships and teamwork when it comes to certain activities. Similar to the way a sports team will work together in order to accomplish the combined goal of winning, your dog looks towards you and the rest of the family as his “team” and counts on you all to help him survive, learn the rules of the house, and condition his behavior.

And like a winning team, there are certain characteristics that must be adhered to and provided by all members of the family, including your dog. Such examples of winning characteristics are disciplined structure, operation among everyone in your dog, and most important, respect between your dog’s “pack”. Without these items, there would be chaos and very little way in which your dog can recognize who is in charge and leading his team.

Cushing’s syndrome is a disorder of the endocrine system caused by excessive secretion of cortisol by the adrenal cortex. The underlying cause can lie with the adrenal glands or the pituitary gland, which controls adrenal secretions with ACTH, a hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland.

A pituitary adenoma (benign tumor in the gland, also known as Cushing’s disease), adrenal tumor or other conditions that lead to excessive production of ACTH may also lead to a series of symptoms associated with Cushing’s syndrome.

Common symptoms of Cushing’s disease include hair loss, weight loss despite proper diet, lethargy, increased thirst and urination and anemia.

The conventional approach to treating endocrine disorders is to use immunosuppressive drugs or hormonal replacements as the case may be. Conditions caused due to an adrenal tumor may require complete removal of the gland. However, in cases of pituitary tumors it may not be possible to remove this delicate gland.

The disturbing factor associated with conventional treatment is that Cushing’s disease may also occur due to a complication resulting from treatment, especially steroid use. Administration of steroids can lead to the most recognizable symptom, hair loss.

Aggression What is Territorial Aggression & Why Does It Make A Dog So Angry?

All dogs have one form of aggression or another and to some degree, it is perfectly natural. However, since our pets are domesticated then there is a certain level of calmness that we should expect from them. The most common aggression behavioral problem that dogs display is called “territorial aggression”. To sum up the definition of territorial aggression, it simply describes a dog that goes absolutely crazy whenever a stranger approaches their home.

What encourages a dog to display such aggressiveness?

As we stated earlier, it is natural for your dog to want to defend his home and make it known that the area is his territory. However, the following scenarios may cause your dog’s aggression over his territory to escalate:

1. Aggression is reinforced in a dog whenever, for example, a delivery person approaches the house and then after dropping off a package he leaves the territory. Your dog actually thinks that he drove the stranger away and this in itself creates more aggression.

Canine or feline parasites are a potential source of danger for pets and humans alike. A single female Toxocara canis, commonly known as roundworms, can shed up to a hundred thousand eggs in a single day. Humans, especially children, are exposed to these eggs when they are excreted in stools or vomit. On entering the skin they can cause visceral larva migrans leading to red, intense itching eruptions in humans. Ocular larva migrans can even lead to blindness.

Worms in dogs and cats are a common phenomon with most of the transmission of the contagion taking place through the fecal or nursing route. Intestinal parasites do not spread through contact but the eggs that are excreted in the stool are capable of infesting other pets and humans.

Roundworms and tapeworms are two of the four most common intestinal parasites that are visible with the naked eye. A close observation of the stool of the animal is enough to determine whether it is infested with parasites or not.

Roundworms change color from white(when fresh) to tan (later). They assume different sizes and shapes during their lifecycle and the whole worm can be seen externally in the cat’s stool. Tiny larvae of roundworms can transmit to tissues in kittens while they are in the mother’s uterus or through the mother’s milk while they are nursing.

One thing you can count on when bringing home a new puppy is the fact that he will nip and bite at your fingers during the first few days or weeks. This is perfectly normal and there is no reason to get alarmed that you may have purchased an aggressive dog. However, like any behavior you wish to change about your dog, you need to take a few steps so that he realizes that nipping is not something you as the pack leader want him to continue doing.

So how do you change this natural biting behavior that a little puppy has? Well the first thing to do is determine his age. This is important because puppies under the age of about 15 weeks need to be handled a little differently when it comes to mouthing and nipping than puppies over the age of 15 weeks.

If your puppy is brand new and younger than the 15 week period, the following tips can help you control his nipping behavior:

One of the major problems that veterinarians face is diagnosing liver disease in dogs and a possible liver failure. The liver is a multidimensional and a multi-functional organ in the body that also has an immense reserve capacity with self-regenerative properties. During the course of performing its functions, the liver aids and is aided by quite a few of other organs in the body. Due to this inter-relationship, it is often affected with primary as well as secondary diseases.

Usually most of the ailments have specific symptoms that make it easy to identify the disease easily. The symptoms of liver disease in dogs , however, present two major problems:

* They surface very late, often when the disease has progressed to an extent that treatment poses a major challenge.
* They duplicate with symptoms of other minor conditions, which often lead to confusion over whether it is liver disease or any other disease that is manifesting itself.

One of the indicative signs of liver failure is the yellow appearance of gums and mucous membranes, observed in jaundice. Jaundice is associated with excess levels of bilirubin, an orange-yellow bile pigment.

Two weeks ago something absolutely terrible happened to my neighbor’s dog. The dog’s name was Emma and she died from heat exhaustion as her owner kept her waiting while he went inside the mall to run some errands.

Don’t let this happen to your pet. I know you have heard this advice before but it’s worth repeating a thousand times over: Never leave your dog stuffed in a parked vehicle with the windows rolled up, especially when it is hot.

Even if the car is parked in the shade with a slight crack open for air, the temperature inside a car on a warm summer afternoon can reach unbearable levels. Some dogs have went into heat exhaustion on days where the temperature was less than 80 degrees. But the inside of the car, left in the sun, can hit temperatures of up to 105 degrees or higher, and in less than half an hour.

And if you happen to see someone else’s dog locked in a car during a hot day, especially if the animal is under obvious distress, call the police immediately. You can also contact your local humane society. Do not worry about what the owner might say. It’s the life of that dog that counts!

Dog Travel Keeping Your Dog Safe When Traveling By Airplane

When you have to fly your dog by plane in order to travel to a new destination, the last thing most of us want is to stuff him in a box while he sits in the cargo area during the entire flight. Unfortunately, if you have no other choice but to use the airlines for your travel needs, your dog will have be placed in a crate for the flight.

Your job here is to make sure your dog or puppy is as comfortable as he possibly can be. Below are a few tips to help you prepare him for the flight:

1. You are going to have to invest in a USDA approved kennel that is designed for travel and should be custom fit to the size of your dog. Be sure that the kennel unit is stable and provides enough room for your dog or puppy to stand up in, as well as offers the ability for him to turn around if he needs to.