Spaying and Neutering

Spaying and neutering yet another controversial issue is imperative. The plain and simple is, there are too many animals in this world! There are not enough homes and unless you are willing to care for all the puppies your animal produces you are just adding to the problem. One un-neutered male can produce 67,000 puppies in on year. Yes I said 67,000 puppies, that's one hell of a responsibility.

On top of over population, dogs "are companions not commodities" - don't think your going to make some big bucks and buy a mansion breeding. It is irresponsible to breed! You will not get one just like your little Cookie who is the best dog in the world - what you will get is health problems and a damn hard time finding homes for them all. Research has proved that early spay and neuter will decrease the animals chance of certain cancers by 80%. And unless you are breeding for show, can prove the lineage of your dog and are working closely with a vet you will breed problems into your dog. Any Vet worthy of his degree will advise you to spay and neuter. You can often get this done for free or at low cost by doing a little research. Here in Richmond it is approximately $40 at the SPCA, or at Prevent A Litter, and if you qualify free.

Health & Wellness

I suppose now is a good time to talk about health. Dogs need 4 sets of shots starting at 6 weeks of age. The schedule is 6, 9, 12 and 15. At 12 weeks they get a rabies shot and are started on heartworm prevention. Heartworm prevention is one of the most important things you can do for your animal. Heartworms are passed through mosquitos - all it takes is one bite from an infected mosquito to doom your friend to a painful sad death. Yes it is true heartworms can be treated, but the cost to treat is usually $700 and up and the treatment itself can kill the animal. And even if treated, the dog may have irreversible damage done to his heart. All of this can be changed by giving your dog a monthly heartworm prevention for the life of the dog. You should however still get a yearly heartworm test done when he is getting his vaccination, nothing is 100%.

Parvo

Parvo, or Canine Parvovirus, is a viral disease that attacks dogs and if left untreated, kills them within days, primarily due to dehydration. Parvo virus initially lodges and multiplies in the lymph nodes of the throat. Three or 4 days later it spreads to the bone marrow and gastro intestinal tract, which both contain rapidly multiplying cells, which is just what the virus needs. In the bone marrow it kills the young immune system cells, and because of this, a low white cell count is the first clinical sign of possible parvo virus infection. Having a low white cell count also means that the host cannot fight the infection. Simultaneously the parvo virus is attacking the gastro intestinal tract, killing the new cells of the intestine walls before they have a chance to grow. The result is an inability to absorb nutrients, causing acute diarrhea. The gastro-intestinal wall becomes so damaged and thin, that bleeding occurs, allowing bacterial infection to start. So parvo puppies can die from either severe dehydration and shock, or bacterial infection... or more commonly, both.

Demodextic Mange

Demodex' is a kind of mange that is transfered from mother to puppy within the first 3-5 days of life. It is not contagious to other dogs or people. It is easily treatable with a simple skin scraping, oral and topical medications. It takes some time to fully recover (1-3 months). Demodex can re-occur throughout the dogs lifetime whenever their immune system becomes compromised, but it easily corrected once diagnosed.

Submissive Urination

Submissive urination is a behavior some dogs exhibit when overly excited or anxious . The simple way to correct this behavior is to simply ignore it. This behavior becomes worse when you try to correct it, the dog thinks it is not peeing "good enough" and tries to do better the next time. So in this situation just ignore the behavior it stops. Remember though that this is not the same as house breaking or crate training these are totally different behaviors.

Torn Ligaments

"A torn cranial cruciate ligament is one of the most common orthopedic disorders among dogs," says Dr. Harari. Dogs knees are very similar to humans knees, and the cranial cruciate ligament is the same as the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. Like human athletes who tear their ACLs, dogs tear their cranial cruciate ligaments during athletic activities."
Source: http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=43