Pet Care Tips, Advice and Information

Canine distemper is an infectious disease of dogs, which is prevalent worldwide.
Causes and Symptoms:
Canine Distemper is caused by a virus and is certainly one of the most dangerous diseases pertaining to dogs. The distemper virus is discharged in various secretions and excretions by an affected dog, especially during the acute stage of his illness. The virus contaminates the atmosphere, thus making distemper an airborne disease, which can be transferred among dogs even without actual body contact, which of course, facilitates transmission from acutely ill dogs. Even if some affected dogs survive, they are often left with a permanent twitching of a certain group of muscles or gradual paralysis. The nervous symptoms usually start after the initial symptoms set in. sometimes the paralysis may cause the dog to lose control over the bladder and bowels. Even at this stage, when the dog may not be able to stand properly, he often has a normal appetite. At this stage, however, recovery is very rare.
Symptoms start within two weeks of getting the infection either by contact with an infected animal or otherwise. Initially the dog is dull and listless and there is lack of appetite. Such symptoms of depression and lack of appetite could be due to some other diseases too, but if the dog also has a high fever of around 40 deg C or 104 deg F, the owner should suspect the possibility of distemper, and take the dog immediately to a veterinarian. These symptoms may detract on their own, with the fever returning to normal, only to recur after a few days. This fluctuating elevation of temperature followed by loss of appetite, watery eyes and nasal discharge later develops into a discharge thick with pups. A cough, loose, black, foul-smelling motions are other characteristics symptoms of this disease.
In the later stages the virus often attacks the nervous system.
Treatment and Prevention:
There is no specific treatment for the distemper virus infection. Symptomatic treatment with antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections and other drugs, along with fluid therapy as considered suitable by the veterinarian, from the best course of action along with good nursing, simple food and cleaning of the eyes and nose frequently.
For the prevention of this awful disease, vaccination is almost foolproof, provided a reliable vaccine is used and the course of injections is given as per recommendations of experts. The pup should be kept inside the house or in a totally enclosed yard before he is vaccinated. Booster injections should preferably be given every year after the initial course of vaccination.

When faced with an unfamiliar person, a dog may become afraid. Stand sideways to the dog. Remain calm. If the dog appears fearful, get down on his level. Stand still, move slowly. Allow the dog to come towards you. Be friendly, reassuring and confident.
Don’t stand over the dog, and never hug a dog you do not know. He may interpret it as a challenge or a threat. If you come on too strong, he may feel he needs to defend himself. Don’t stare into the dog’s eyes.
Never scream or make quick movements. It will arouse his predatory instincts; he will become excited and could attack. Even a small dog can outrun you, and even a frightened dog will feel brave if you are more frightened than he is.
If you are attacked, drop to the ground, cover the back of your neck with your hands and ‘play dead’. Wait as long as it takes for the dog to relax or for help to arrive.

Very often children are bitten by their dogs when the animal is startled or irritated or excited during the course of play. Similarly this may happen when the children pull the dog’s tail or annoy a dog. The pet may sometimes retaliate. The owner should learn to recognize the behavior patterns of dogs. In fact, if they learn to differentiate between aggressive and relaxed behavior, submission and fear, they may be able to avoid a dangerous situation. It is also imperative to wash your hands after fondling or even touching your dog.
Aggressive Behavior:
Many recognizable behavior patterns precede any extremely aggressive behavior. By recognizing and dealing with them in the initial stages you may be able to avoid a dangerous situation. The progression from relaxed to aggressive could take only seconds.
Dominant Behavior:
An arched neck, high tail, bold, stiff-legged walk; a hard, cold stare, close mouth, taut ears, erect posture – all these are indicators of a dog taking an offensive, dominating position. His hackles may come up and the tail may wave slowly.
This dog is making a decision:
1. Whether to fight, or play;
2. Whether he needs to protect his territory, or accept the intruder.
His decision will depend on the response of the intruder. A challenge or threat will result in aggression. His decision will also be influenced by past experience.
Submissive Attitude:
When greeted by a dominant dog or person, the submissive dog reacts with lowered body, ears back, lips drawn back, nose up, tail tucked. He may lie down, roll on his back, and urinate.
Such a dog is usually friendly, but do not rush him. Stand still or squat down on his level. Remain sideways to the dog. Be calm, friendly and reassuring. Do not confuse a grin with a snarl. A submissive greeting is accompanied by squinting eyes, groveling, sneezing.
Predatory Behavior:
A lowered head, eyes fixed on a target, ears forward – these are signs of predatory behavior. The target could be a cat, another dog, a running child or jogger, or moving car or bicycle.
This tendency is prevalent in herding breeds such as shelties, collies, shepherds. Stopping the movement of the target and distracting the dog’s attention are most effective.
Inviting Play:
A dominant dog stands over a submissive dog and may place his paw over the latter’s shoulder. The submissive dog may, in turn, peck at the neck and chin of the dominant dog. There may be some growling and play-fighting, but as long as one dog remains submissive, no fighting will occur.
If serious eye-contact occurs, a challenge may be issued. If accepted, a fight for he dominant position, or ‘pecking order’ could ensue.
Fear:
A frightened, insecure dog usually puts on a front of being more ferocious than he really feels. He will bark, and his hackles may be up. His tail will be down. He may slink about behind or under bushes or furniture, or behind his master’s legs. He is the ‘sneaky nipper’ who darts out to bite you when your back is turned, or just as you withdraw your hand after petting him. He may be reacting to a fear based on past experience. A frightened dog or fear-biter rarely acts rationally or predictably.
If confused by such a dog, stand still. Be calm and reassuring. Do not make any fast movement, or make him feel cornered. Stand sideways to the dog and keep him in your sight at all times. If he thinks that you are not looking, he may attack from behind. Back slowly out of his area.
If cornered, the dog will react with rolling eyes, lips tense, ears back and up. He may show avoidance behavior, refusing to make eye contact. He may freeze in a tense bundle of nerves. He may appear catatonic.
If pushed too far, he will panic in a frenzied, frothing, snapping ball of fur and fangs.

It’s the fact that, by nature, dogs are very clean animals. However, by bringing them into a home, their freedom of movement becomes limited. Thus just they need your help to remain clean. Toilet training or house-breaking is not that difficult a job as it appears to be. Though it can be started at whatever age the pup is when you bring him home, it must be remembered that the younger the pup is, the more careful we must be about house-breaking, as younger pups have a more frequent need to eliminate urine and stools. They have to be provided relief more often. Thus the progress amongst younger pups is comparatively slower as compared to their older counterparts. House-breaking does not take a long time. It can be successfully taught within about 1 to 3 weeks, provided you follow a regular, fixed schedule everyday, without a break. It is important to be utterly consistent. House-breaking requires patience and a control on your temper, no matter how irritated you feel sometimes. Gentle but firm handling is the answer.
Some veterinarians feel that the use of newspapers is the best method for house-breaking. They recommend that newspapers be kept on one side of the puppy’s box as already mentioned. This is important as a young puppy cannot be expected to exercise self-control veterinarians feel that the use of newspapers is the best method for house-breaking. They recommend that newspapers be kept on one side of the puppy’s box as already mentioned. This is important as a young puppy cannot be expected to exercise self-control veterinarians feel that the use of newspapers is the best method for house-breaking. They recommend that newspapers be kept on one side of the puppy’s box as already mentioned. This is important as a young puppy cannot be expected to exercise self-control veterinarians feel that the use of newspapers is the best method for house-breaking. They recommend that newspapers be kept on one side of the puppy’s box as already mentioned. This is important as a young puppy cannot be expected to exercise self-control during the entire night. It is further recommended that several layers of newspapers be kept on the floor near the puppy’s box, and the puppy placed on them immediately after feeding, as soon as he wakes up, whenever he starts to whimper, sniffs the floor or runs in small circles. Praise the puppy when he uses the paper and scold him by saying NO firmly if he relieves himself anywhere else. When soiled newspapers near the box are removed, leave a small damp piece so that its smell will draw the puppy back there the next time.
With the possible exception of puppies of toy breeds, or if outdoor-training is not possible in the beginning due to apartment living, illness or other reasons, you can begin outdoor-training either immediately or while you are paper-training your puppy. If you do not want your sleep disturbed, you can train the puppy to go outdoors during the day and use paper at night. Take the puppy out the very first thing in the morning to the area you want him to use, and let him sniff around. Stay close by. The moment your puppy relieves himself, praise him liberally and bring him back inside. If it is raining or cold outside, many people do not take the puppy out, for fear it may catch cold. This does not generally hold true. By the time a puppy is weaned, he has enough fur which can protect him from catching cold in the short time that he is out to relieve himself. It has been observed that in such circumstances, puppies finish their job quickly to get back into the house.
You may have to take the puppy outside quiet a frequently for the first few days. After taking him out the very first thing in the morning, take him out every two hours, especially after a meal or a drink of water or milk. Afterwards, the moment the puppy sniffs, appears restless or goes around in circles, he will have to be rushed outside immediately. There is no short cut to these inconveniences that you will have to undergo frequently for the first few days, but once the puppy adapts to the routine, you will have to take the puppy out only four or five times during the whole day.
In general, especially till the dog is house-trained, the food should be kept for about 15 minutes only. Uneaten food should be removed immediately thereafter. The puppy should get the next meal at he fixed time. Most dogs relieve themselves soon after eating and drinking. If the food keeps lying before the puppy, it causes over-frequent elimination and digestive upsets, which interfere with the house-breaking process.
While house-breaking a puppy, do not allow it to run about just anywhere in the whole house. If you do that, you will find the puppy passing urine and/or stools anywhere. Keep him confined to a small area where he can be watched. This will festinate the process of training. If the puppy makes a mistake at a wrong place, wash the area preferably with warm water, followed by a little water-diluted vinegar. This will definitely remove the odour. Since the puppy’s sense of smell is very strong, any lingering odour of urine is likely to make him want to use that spot again. Washing the area with warm water and diluted vinegar will discourage the puppy from using that area again.

This command may require a little more patience, more practice and obviously more time than the previous commands. The objective is to make the dog lie down with his front paws extended before him. Make the dog sit and then sit in front of him. Draw the pup’s attention to your hand in which there is a treat. Using the same technique as used for the SIT command, snap your fingers; move your hand with the treat in it from the dog’s nose down to the front forwards, giving a little bit of the treat sometimes while moving the hand. When he is down, praise him profusely.
The other method is by making the dog sit and then pulling his front legs forward with your right hand, while pushing his back down with your left hand. At the same time, say DOWN and praise the dog when he is in a lying position.

This is another important command. Your dog should always come to you on command in spite of any surrounding activities or distractions. Attach a long rope securely to the choke collar. Put the dog in a SIT-STAY position and walk ten to twenty feet away. After the dog remains in that position for about two minutes, give the order COME, using the dog’s name, and simultaneously wave your hand from him towards yourself to indicate ‘Come On’. If he does not start towards you, tug at the leash slightly to move him. Praise him generously as soon as he reaches you. Practice this for several days till the dog comes promptly.
Later, take him without a leash to a safe area, where there is not much traffic. If the dog carries on going away instead of obeying your command, turn around and walk away from him. Soon, he will change his mind and come back to you. When he comes, never forget to praise him.
Even before starting the formal training for COME, start using the word to call him for his food and other daily activities. When he obeys, praise him lavishly, but do not grab at him. As he comes to you, lightly scratch his chest.

Mild exercise like walking is essential throughout pregnancy but any strain should be avoided during the last half of pregnancy. Great care should be taken to see that the bitch avoids jumping. Grooming the dog daily is imperative. If there is some discharge, especially during the last two weeks of pregnancy, the vulva should be cleaned with warm water. Females usually deliver sixty-three days after the mating. However, a few days more or less are frequent occurrences. It is always desirable to keep a record of the mating date to calculate the probable delivery date. The whelping chart will readily enable you to find out the approximate date when the pups can be expected.
First Stage: Sometimes the first stage of labour may not be noticed, and a litter of pups may arrive without the mother displaying any sign of discomfort. However, generally, there is marked restlessness, panting and sometimes, crying, especially in a maiden delivery. The bitch may also scratch her bedding, shred the newspaper while trying to make a nest and refuse food. Her body temperature will probably come down to below 37.7 deg.C or 100 deg.F from a normal of 38.6 deg.C or 101.5 deg.F. There is usually a clear discharge of mucus which acts as a lubricant before the first puppy begins to arrive.
Second Stage: During the second stage of labour, contractions start taking place, as the female strains to expel the puppy. At the same time there is more discharge, and a membrane bag filled with fluid may also be visible. Usually the sac ruptures, liberating clear fluid. The pup is attached to the mother by an umbilical cord, which is connected to the placenta. The placenta is a circular organ which nourishes and safeguards the foetus. It is expelled after birth. A watch should be kept on the bitch off and on to see that the after birth is expelled after each pup as its retention can cause infection later. The mother usually tears away the sac, bites off the umbilical cord and eats the afterbirth. This is perfectly normal and stimulates milk supply on account of concentration of certain hormones in these membranes. However, she should be allowed to eat only one set.
Arrival of the Pups: Before or soon after the arrival of each pup, the mother vigorously licks the pup to stimulate his breathing, whereupon, you may then hear the pup’s cry. If, by rare chance, the mother does not open the sac, you should do so immediately, either with clean fingers or with a pair of sterilized scissors. Open the mouth of the pup to enable him to start breathing and rub him briskly with a soft dry towel. If the umbilical cord is not bitten off, tie the cord firmly with a silk thread, about four and a half centimeters away from the body of the pup, without pulling at the stomach wall, and then cut through a bit below the knot. Ensure the use of sterilized scissors and apply a drop of tincture of iodine. Resist the urge to help unless the puppy is in danger. It is also desirable to keep your veterinarian informed about the approximate date of whelping, so that he/she is available for help.
The time gap between the deliveries of each pup may vary from a few minutes to a few hours. If the mother seems to have no trouble, it is advisable not to interfere as Mother Nature generally takes a favorable course.
Puppies are born with their eyes closed and remain so for about ten to fifteen days. Children should not be allowed to go near the pups till all of them appear normal. Similarly visitors should not be allowed to go near the mother and her pups for at least three days.

The dog’s feet should be examined daily while grooming. In the case of hairy dogs like spaniels, it is desirable to keep the hair trimmed between the toes and around the pads. You should look for thorns, burrs and ticks between the digits and around the pads, and if present, they should be removed immediately. The accumulation of grit, small pebbles and splinters between the digits and under the pads may cause interdigital cysts and wounds. Regular care of feet can go a long way towards avoiding these problems. Dogs that walk or exercise a great deal on hard roads may wear down their nails, but this does not happen with most as they spend more time indoors or on grassy or soft grounds. Thus the nails of dog have to be trimmed regularly. This must be done very carefully, as if the nail’s inner fleshy area called the quick is cut, it may cause bleeding and pain to the dog. Since the upper inside nails or dew-claws do not touch the ground, they continue to grow, sometimes curbing and piercing the flesh, and causing severe infection. These nails also have to be trimmed regularly.

This command may either be coupled with SIT or DOWN. Start with SIT-STAY. STAY means that your dog should remain in that position till you return and release him. If used daily, this command can support your leadership. If the dog is aggressive and hyperactive and ignores you, work on this command.
Keep your dog on his lead on your left hand, in a SIT position. Bend at the waist; point at him saying STAY, and then, with palm open towards the face of the dog like a policeman stopping traffic, say STAY. The voice and the hard work should be in unison. If the dog moves, jerk the leash. Now keeping the palm open towards the dog, and while still holding the leash, stand upright and slowly move away from the dog, releasing the leash. Rushing away may encourage him to follow you. Stand quietly while praising him softly. However, do not call him by name, for then he may come to you.
As you continue teaching STAY, drop the leash and walk away around your dog. Practice this in several sittings. Release the command by asking the dog to COME.
Teach DOWN-STAY in a similar manner. Gradually the dog should be able to hold the STAY position in due course for about five to ten minutes while you do something else.
For dogs kept in cities, this is an important command because it could avert injury in high traffic areas. It is also useful when the owner gets the dog examined by a veterinarian.

The SIT command can be taught in two different ways. One method is to call out the dog’s name and praise him when he looks up at you. Draw the pup’s attention to your hand in which you can hold a treat. Snap your fingers; move the hand up to your face, and then move the hand with the treat almost touching the dog’s nose, forehead and then towards the back, all the while calling out the dog’s name and asking him to sit. The dog will sit this way. When he does, give him treat and praise him lavishly.
The second method is closely linked to the HEEL command. Once the dog is heeling on a leash, he should be taught to SIT as he will often be required to sit while walking on a leash. While the leash is held in the right hand, it should be coiled up into a fairly short length and held a little taut. The dog should then be commanded to SIT, while simultaneously pulling the leash upwards and pressing his hindquarters downwards with your left hand. When the dog sits, reward him with a pleasant sounding GOOD BOY or GOOD GIRL.