Dog Sanitation

In a dog run, sanitation can keep a pet in sound health, whereas thelack of it may be responsible for its death.

Runs for pets of every kind are made of wire, concrete, sand, soil,gravel, grass, or of various combinations of these materials. Wire runselevated from the ground permit all excrement to drop out of the cage and can be cleaned and hosed readily. Kennel dogs kept in these ac-commodations are relatively free of parasites. Dogs kept on rough con-crete suffer the most from parasites, since concrete is a splendid incuba-tor. Highly polished concrete kept clean is successful but, beingslippery, is not an ideal surface for the dogs.

Grass is also objectionable. It is impossible to do even a halfwaysuccessful job of removing stools where grass grows. Worm eggs stick tothe leaves as they grow, and dogs may eat the leaves and becomeinfested or reinfested. Even when grass is started in a run, it soon diesout, leaving bare topsoil which then becomes muddy.

Washed builder's sand makes an excellent run floor. It costs little, iseasily removed and discarded, and is easily replaced. It shakes off adog's feet even when wet. In addition it doesn't track into the kennelas much as soil with clay in it does.

Sanitation, of course, consists of removing stools and replacing therun material. Proper stool removal requires that not only the stool itselfbut also the layer of sand under it be lifted out with a shovel. If rain haswashed some of the outside surface of stool off, any worm eggs may becarried down a fraction of an inch into the surface, since these eggs aremuch smaller than the pores between even the finest kinds of soilgranules. A little soil or sand should always be hoed up with the stool tobe certain that all contamination is removed.

In cleaning a dog ruin, do not rake all the stools into a pile and thenshovel them up together. When a stool is even partially pulverized byraking or sweeping, its parts, including worm eggs, are scattered andwashed into the soil, which soon becomes thoroughly contaminated.Worm eggs that have become embryonated may resist the elements foryears, waiting to be consumed by dogs. When hookworm eggs hatchand the larvae have reached the infective stage, they move upwardfrom fairly deep in the soil with capillarity. They will be found close tothe surface of the soil, even somewhat above the surface if they canfind a little stem or stalk to climb.

Too much care cannot be exerted in gathering stools. Stools cannotbe gathered efficiently from cinders, gravel, or grass. They cannot beremoved from rough concrete without leaving eggs in the pores. Onlyby burning or daily scrubbing can rough concrete be freed of parasiteeggs or larvae. Some kennel owners use flame-throwing oil burnerswhich heat the soil surface sufficiently to kill worm eggs and hookworm larvae, but such methods are, of course, impractical for the owner ofone dog.

It is difficult to clean any kind of dog run in winter. The problem isnot as serious as it might be, however, since worm eggs do not incubatein cold weather, nor do fleas develop. How is this problem managed inkennels where runs arc full winter and summer? All spring and summerthe sand runs are cleaned with hoe and shovel. A summer's cleaningremoves at least two inches and sometimes four from the run's surface.In the fall this is replaced so that the surface is an inch above surround-ing ground. Since the sand will pack down an inch, six inches of sandshould be added if four are gone. If a dog has infested a run with eggsor parasites, deworm the dog, shovel off the top two inches of sand, andfill the run with fresh sand.

In cold climates during the winter little run covering can be re-moved, except on balmy days when the surface may melt enough toenable shoveling. When snow covers the run the owner does the besthe or she can, which usually isn't satisfactory even from the standpointof appearance. As soon as the surface has thawed in the spring, the toptwo inches should be removed and replaced wills fresh sand.In a dog run the stools are generally deposited within a few squareyards. It is easy to dig away this soil and replace it with sand. But don'tmerely turn it over for a depth of a few inches and think that the wholeproblem has been solved. Dogs dig holes, and when they do they willscratch old buried worm eggs to the surface. Even the necessary re-moval of bits of earth with the stools will in time dig away enough soilto reach the eggs again. Whipworm eggs have been found to live foreight years in the ground.

There are few disinfectants that will kill worm eggs. Roundwormeggs can stand even carbolic acid. But hookworms cars be destroyed bya very strong salt solution poured over the surface of the runs until itstands in pools. It has also been found that a a percent solution ofhousehold lye applied in the same manner will destroy hookworm lar-vae. Neither method works very well on a slope. In addition, dogs mustbe kept off the lye until after a hard rain.

A more efficient method than either of these is the use of borax(sodium borate) made into a strong solution two pounds per gallon)and poured over the run's surface at the rate of two gallons per hundredsquare feet. Borax may be procured from kennel supply companies and wholesale drug distributors. It does have the disadvantge of killing allvegetation not only where it's applied but many feet around that area.

If a dog is left outside from spring on, it will be healthier than if keptindoors. It will have a better coat, shed less, and he in less danger ofbeing overfed. A majority of hunters believe that making house pets oftheir dogs ruins them for the sport.

Scientific studies on acclimatizing dog show that they should notbe exposed to sudden changes in temperature. An dog that mightdie of exposure when taken suddenly from warns to cold can standmuch lower temperatures if it is introduced to them gradually. Onereason is that cold stimulates the growth of the coat, which in timebecomes much thicker and so provides better protection. When dogsfrom the south are brought north, their coats are so inuch heavier intheir second winter in the north that they look like different dog.An dog that has become accustomed to cold can endure a greatdeal.

Northern outdoor dogs often prefer to be out in the snow when they might sleepinside of a comfortable doghouse.

Every fall outdoor kennels need to be prepared for the winter. Thereshould be no cracks for the wind to blow through, and the doors shouldhave a blanket or other substantial material hung over them. A singledog's body heat will keep a good kennel at 6o° F on a night when theoutside temperature is 15° F. These burlap front doors do not alwaysstay in place, however, since dogs seem to pull them off. Because of thishabit, our own dogs have spent nights with the temperature being sobelow zero curled up on straw beds open to the wind. As far as wecould see, they showed no ill effects from the cold. In fact, many dogsprefer sleeping curled up in snow on bitterly cold nights even whenthey can sleep inside in what would seem to be far greater comfort.

DISINFECTANTS

Disinfectants most be chosen with care. Dogs are quite resistant tomost of the ordinary forms, whereas cats and foxes cannot toleratephenol derivatives.

Odorless deodorizers are excellent and can be purchased at reason-able prices. "Phenol coefficient" on a label may not mean a phenolproduct. It simply compares a product with phenol in its germ-killingability. Some of the odorless deodorizers do have high phenol ratings.Some pet owners like the odor of pine oil; others prefer phenols,which often simply outsmell the odor to be removed. Good soap-and-water cleansing is usually adequate around pets, and if there is an odorleft after scrubbing, it is a safe assumption that the area is not clean.Disinfectants that give off chlorine are good but are also bleaches andmust be used judiciously on that account.

ENCLOSURES

Dogs allowed to run loose are least infested with intestinal parasites,except for the rabbit form of tapeworm. (Country and suburban dogskit and cat rabbits and thus become infested.) Dogs on small runs or on short chains have the most intestinal parasites.

A fenced-in yard is perhaps the best enclosure as far as safety andconvenience arc concerned; if the area is sufficiently large the parasiteproblem is minimal. It need not necessarily be a great and expensive project to fence a large area unless large, agile dogs are involved, inwhich case the six-foot height required may be a problem. For a five-foot fence, steel posts can be driven into the ground with a sledge-hammer and the fencing wired to the posts. A similar fence using chainlink fencing with pipes set in concrete accomplishes the same result butat many times the cost.

A tight wire stretched from the back door to a tree sonic distanceaway and eight feet off the ground is a preferred device for manyowners. One end of a chain slides along the wire and the other isattached to the dog's collar. A word of caution in appropriate here. Theend of the chain should, when hanging from the wire, extend about afoot from the ground. A long chain might entangle the dog's legs.An outdoor doghouse should not be palatial but rather should besmall enough for the dog's body heat to warm the area in cold weather.It should be constructed to permit ventilation in the hot weather. Apiece of carpeting attached as a flap to the top of the entrance helps tokeep flying insects out as well as to keep heat in during cold spells.Most dogs have a few intestinal parasites off and on and they areequipped to live with them. When a dog with a few worms is confinedto a small area that is not or cannot be properly cleaned the dog'schances of reinfestation are greater. It may still thrive with a moderatenumber of parasites but eventually the surface will he so contaminatedthat the dog may develop an overwhelming number which, untreated,can kill it.

The dog on a chain defecates, then ruins around dragging the chainthrough the stool, spreading it over no wide an area that it is usuallyimpossible to pick up. Dogs hitched to overhead wires have a betterchance to remain parasite-free because they generally drop their stoolsat one end of the wire and spend most of their time away from thedirty sections of their runs.

Long, narrow runs are preferable to square runs with the same num-ber of square feet. The dog usually defecates at one end of a long run,generally at the end farthest from the house. But if that is the endwhere the dog first sees you, it will spend most of its time in daylighthours there watching for you, and thus remain in the filth. If possible,the arrangement of the run should be such that this is avoided.If enclosures are built, the wire needs to be of sufficient strength thatdogs cannot chew through it, and it should be of a mesh that is difficult to climb. The wire should be buried at least eight inches in the ground a foot is even better.

RAT CONTROL

Rats should not be allowed to remain as kennel parasites anymorethan insects should be permitted to infest the kennel inhabitants. It isgenerally easy to eradicate them. Rodenticides, nonpoisonous to petsother than rodents, will keep rats at a minimum. When rats are knownto exist on the premises, put out a small bowl of dog food and let themeat it. Do this every night until the rats are bold enough to eat it all andthen you know how much they will take. When you have succeeded inmaking them to feel at home, mix the rodenticide with the food andleave it for them as usual. As a rule, four meals will eradicate the ratsand no more will be seen for a month or more.

Some of the rat poisons are extremely effective but dangerous topets. If they are used, they must be covered so there can be no possiblechance that the pets can dig them out or uncover boards or boxes toget them. With these poisons the dead or dying rodent is also toxic todogs.