Managing your dogs weight.

This post is so important that I can't believe that I didn't bring it up sooner. Your dog's weight!

Most dogs are obese these days and this is a serious issue. We love our pets and we want them to live for as long as possible. But obesity cuts the dog's life short. It can get diabetes, blindness, early arthritis from the compression of the joints and even heartdisease.

Picture borrowed from: http://ottawavalleydogwhisperer.blogspot.com/2011/12/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html

This chart above shows you a guideline on how to tell your dogs weight status. You should be able to feel the ribs with light pressure but with a fluffy dog this might be difficult for an inexperienced owner. A better tell sign is to keep an eye on the waist. Does it dip in after the ribs? Do you feel where the ribs end and is it easy or hard to tell? Does your hand back right into the thigh muscle or has the waist and thigh started to merge? Does the underline (belly) curve up? Keeping an eye on the waist is the best you can do since the scale can lie. Muscles weight more than fat and a dog should be well muscled to be healthy and last longer.

 Note: Some breeds are stockier than others. A sighthound will naturally be thinner than a bulldog that has a very special body shape.

Below shows a beautiful Labrador Retriever with the ideal weight illustrating the waistline in a dog that struggles with easy weightgain. 

Image borrowed from: http://puppydogweb.com/gallery/labradorretrievers/e.htm

Some examples of breeds that are prone to easy weightgain are dachshund, labrador retriever, golden retriever, beagle, corgi and pug, to mention a few. However, neutered or older dogs gain weight easier.

If you have decided to try to diet down your dog, here's a few tips for you. 

• Use a tapemeasure around the waist and behind the elbows once a week in the morning before the dog's breakfast and write down the date and measurements. You can also use a scale but measuring the waist if it shrinks or not is more accurate if your dog is gaining muscle during the diet.
• Choose a rich diet and dilute it with boiled (or overboiled into a paste) rice rather than buying diet dogfood. The dog will not get the nutrients it needs from diet food and will simply not get satisfied and this is not a healthy way of dieting. Dilute it 2-3 parts dogfood and 1 part rice. You can also give carrots if your dog enjoys carrots.
• Increase the exercise. If your dog is very big and shows sign of jointpain then I recommend swimming. Very small dogs can swim in the tub as long as you hold them to make sure they are safe. Hold the front leg to stop the swimming reflex when lifting out or to give the dog a break. 
• Play! The healthier your dog gets the more active, joyful and playful it will get. Play also strengthens the bond between dog and owner. 
• No treats or low calorie treats. If you have to treat your dog, try to split it into a really small piece to just give the flavor. 
• Patience. Healthy dieting doesn't happen in a week. 

When your dog seems more playful and active and doesn't show signs of pain (stiffness, limping, bad temper, etc) you can start the real exercise to build muscle to keep everything in place. You can bike and let the dog trot. You can play fetch (but not with sticks! Dogs have died from stick accidents.) or swim with the dog. You can walk in hills or mountains to let the dog climb or maybe begin a sport. As soon as your dogs life is more active you can stop diluting and give more of the food since it will burn more calories.

Not only will your dog get healthier, you will too! And what better friend to work out with than your best friend?

We're going plus!

I just created a google plus community with the same name for people to talk dogs, ask questions, share and have fun.

I hope you join!

Happy new year!

Happy 2014 everyone! I hope you all had a nice christmas and new years eve.

I come with some news regarding this blog today. I am getting a puppy for the first time in years, so this blog will cover a lot of questions that usually occur for new puppy owners as I see them pop up. I know most people get their puppies in spring so if you are expecting a puppy this spring you might enjoy keeping an eye on this blog from now on.

My first thing to bring up already now is how to choose the right dog and breed. I may have already covered this already but it's always nice when things are collected in the same spot.

Male or female?

This is very very individual and usually the first question people ask themselves and wonder what differences there are. My point of view is that males mature later but get very cozy as elders while females mature fast and can get pretty bitter with age and sometimes around heat. The female is in heat 1-2 times a year (Basenji only once a year) while the male is "in heat" all year round. So the question is, do you want the male that wants the females or do you want the female straight off and only deal with it twice a year. A male can refuse to eat, howl and be pretty messy when a female is in heat nearby. Sure, one can always neuter but there's risks to that that I will bring up shortly.

There's around 450 breeds out there. How do I find the right one for me?

Ask yourself the following questions, this will be the guidelines to find you the right dog.

• How large do I want the dog to be?
• How much time per week do I want to spend on coatcare? Do I want a heavy/medium/minimal shedder?
• Do we have any allergies in the family?
• Do we have any kids in the family?
• Do I have any experience with dogs since before? (if not I recommend a breed that is forgiving to mistakes and very easy as a first time dog)
• How much time do I have to spend every day to walk the dog?
• What do I do with the dog during work hours? Do I have a dogsitter or dogwalker? Can I bring it to work?
• How much money can I spend on ensurance and food every month? This can determine the size of the dog or amount of dogs/animals.
• What do I want to do with the dog? This probably the most important question. Just a pet? Breeding stock? Competition dog? Sport dog? Rehabilitation dog? Hunting? Fetching? Herding? All dogs need a purpose so if one only wants a pet I would recommend a breed that was bred to be a companion dog, they usually are happiest just with the family life stimuli. If you want a dog to guard the house you need to either be able to deal with a high maintainence dog mentally and physically, or get an alarming dog which is almost any dog. Especially those that are known to be easy barkers.
• What kind of person am I and my family? Loud? Dont get a nervous breed. Meek? Don't get a stubborn dog. 
• How active am I and my family? High? Medium? Low?

The more questions you ask yourself the better you can find the right breed. I usually say the size of the home and yard does not matter cause it's the den. It's what happens outside the den that counts. So if you want a large dog but live in a small space you can still make it work with some commitment.

If you need help to choose the right breed for you feel free to email me and I'll gladly help.  Mark the mail with a subject so I know it isn't spam and I'll answer you as soon as I can. Email can be found under the "Contact" tab.

Remember! Choosing a dog is choosing a best friend! Don't stare yourself blind on the looks, make sure you have common interests!

 These lists usually narrow it down to a couple breeds that you then can read up more on, visit a breeder to meet the breed and see if it feels right for you.

What about the crossbreeds?

People usually talk about crossbreeds and designerdogs like a breed of it's own. But truth is that it is exactly what it sounds like. A mix between two breeds. It takes generations before real traits can be pinned to a type of dog. So if you consider a crossbreed, make sure you read up on the breeds in the dog and find out the worst case scenario that the puppy can turn into. Illnesses, mental problems, etc. If this does not spook you, then the dog might be right for you. But I recommend that if you buy a puppy, first, do NOT buy from a petstore! Those dogs come from puppymills so buying is supporting animal cruelty. Second, I would not buy a mix that has more than 2 breeds in it cause that minimizes the risks of things going wrong. Also, dogs that are within the same field is usually better than far apart. Like companion breed/companionbreed versus companion dog/hunting dog. Also, different herders and different hunters have different ways of working so doing a background check can save you tons of money at the vet office and heartbreak.

Adoption

Adopting is something I really try to get more people to do. There's so many great dogs in the pound that were picked by the wrong family and is by no means a bad dog. It was just a mismatch. Buying an older dog you can easier check the health, mentality, etc. Getting a puppy you can socialize it properly, but this can also be done with an older dog even if it takes a little bit more work. A dog with fears usually wasn't put through that situation as a puppy.

What about the neutering risks you were talking about?

Neutering has it's pros and cons. On the plus side you don't have to deal with unwanted puppies, hormones and heatcycles. But you get a dog that has a slower metabolism and easier gets obese which in turn can lead to diabetes and heart disease or stroke. Which means choosing food and exercise gets twice as important. You can get worse coat texture and more mats (like in cocker spaniel). You can even worse get a dog that can get incontinent, weak bones and easier fractures, etc. But on the other hand you minimize the risk of cancer in the prostate or mammary glands and a few other hormone related issues. Most neuter to get an easier teenager but truth is, the teenager is just as annoying with or without reproductive organs. One cant skip that.

I guess this sums up todays topic. Upcoming will be housebreaking and other puppyrelated topics. I will also bring up nailclipping pretty soon.

Dog Photography Tips

I wanted to give you some basic tips to succeed in getting good pictures of your dog.

Good lightsource is the first key. Even a cheaper camera can take better photos in good light. Avoid using the flashlight on the camera since it can cause discomfort to the dog and make it shy away. Natural light is always the best choice but cloudy and indoor lights can cause great photos too. Studio lights usually make a great light as well.

Low amount of distractions meaning keep your eye open for things that can be a disturbance in the background that pulls the eyes away from the dog.

Get down to the dogs level is a good basic rule. However, sometimes being lower than the dog or taller than the dog can cause good photos in some cases. Be creative, but kneeling down to their eyelevel is usually a very good idea.

Keep an eye on focuspoints so you know where the camera put the focus. It is always a sad thing to think you got a great photo and come in and it shows it had the focus on the background or something in the foreground.

A better camera can usually preform better, like faster shutterspeed so it can freeze the dog mid air or similar fast speed photography that can cause blur. Better the light, the higher the shutterspeed you can use.

Prong and shock collars

I found this status update on facebook and I thought I'd share it here.

Zak George

I sent a letter to a dominance style trainer in the northeast US today. I had seen a video of his on a Facebook group devoted to positive training recently. Apparently he has some radio show or something where he presumably offers old school dog training advice that doesn’t acknowledge that a dog has a brain. You guys know how much I dislike prong collars and shock collars. As much as I hate them, I do not judge individuals who use them. I would rather teach by example than by lecturing. I save my real criticism for the “professionals” who recommend this shallow from of training to the general public. They are the the worst thing facing dog training today. I like to think of myself as a good communicator, but guys like this test me more than I can tell you. 

Remember, prong collars and shock collars are nothing more than the product of frustrated trainers who cannot seem to take the time to achieve meaningful communication with a dog during training. Their patience runs out. When your patience runs out, you’ve lost all credibility as a professional. I told him he had no business being in the same room with a client’s dog. I also went on to say that if I saw him jerking a dog around on youtube again I’d shine a spotlight on his unethical behavior. Furthermore, and this is what really gets me, all of his youtube videos have ratings and comments disabled. He can dish out this horrible advice but can’t take the heat of reading criticism. These types will yank a dog around during training, acting all big, tough and “dominant”, but cannot seem to tolerate someone who might call them out.

Guys, if something strikes you as shady, wrong, unethical, unnecessary, or overkill, it’s likely not the best way forward. True, meaningful communication does not happen through domination. Be bigger than this. You, the consumers, are the only ones who can really end these types of barbaric training practices. If any trainer encourages you to use a metal collar or a shock collar, please do not give them your money. 

Thank you.

-Zak George

 

https://www.facebook.com/TheZakGeorge

How to stop your dog from jumping

Zak George and kikopup are my two favorite dog trainers. Zak especially because he and I has the same approach and belief in dogtraining. Enjoy.

My favorite detangler

Cowboy Magic: Detangler & shine for horses is the best detangler I've ever seen, hands down!

You can find it on Amazon.com (among other places) and it is available in different size bottles.

(google image, this is what the 4 and 16 Oz bottles look like)

Cowboy Magic also have schampoo and conditioner for horses but I have never tried either since I haven't had the urge to. But the detangler & shine is a must to have if you have a dog that mats and tangles! It also works on horses of course, and human hair.

Here's a google image that shows pretty well how awesome it really is.

Yes, it is capable of detangling dreadmats! And no I do not sell this stuff, I just really love it cause it actually works!

Bathing your dog and maintaining your tools

Maintaining the tools will be a very short subject but I wanted to bring it up anyway.

The no 1 reason for scissors and nailclippers to go dull is dirt. Keep the tools, coat and claws clean and it will last longer. I use water in a glass and a toothbrush for kids to scrub off the dirt off the claws before I clipper them for this reason. Also, just like our nails, the claws get a little softer when wet.

Oil the blades on clippers, don't twirl the cord around it or the blowdryer cause it can cause damage on the cord in the longrun.

Remember to not bathe a matted dog, and that not only coat but also dirt collect in those mats. So letting mats build is not only harmful to the dog, it is harmful to the tools which means a bigger cost to you in the longrun. Maintaining the coat and brushing regularly litterally saves you money. Cause even if you don't groom your dog yourself, the dog will need less hours at the doggroomers if it is maintained between grooms.

If you have a smoothcoated dog or a dog of a breed where bathing only happens when necessary you're fine with the cheap stuff. But if you got a longcoated breed, nonshedding breed or hairless dog, choosing a good schampoo and conditioner is crucial.

As I've said before, a clean coat mats less, so a longcoated dog such as many toybreeds will need a lot of baths if you want to keep the coat long. some longcoated dogs, like sheltie and collie has a different kind of coat so they aren't really included into this, but maltese, yorkie, cocker spaniel, chinese crested powder puff, bichon frisé and havanais etc will need baths often. I heard on youtube "If your dog mats on day four, you bath on day three." and there's truth to that, atleast if you want to keep the coat fully long. If you keep it shorter you will need less but still will need regular brushing.

The reason you want a good shampoo and conditioner is that bathing often will take the oils out of the coat and skin and dry it out - so it will mat and tangle even worse and that is a bad cycle you don't want. My personal preference is Espree cause I love the result, scent and ingredients but there are many good ones out there. They cost a little more but they last a really long time. If the coat seems dry and you aren't about to show and don't worry about the coat being heavy you can do a conditioner-only-bath to conditioner the coat.

The dog has a different pH in the skin than we do, so don't use human specified products. 

With a long coat you do not, I repeat not want to rub the lather in. Rubbing causes mats. You comb it in with your fingers or a boar brush. When you toweldry the dog you scrunch the coat, not rub. This goes for all matting coats. 

Hairless dogs need regular baths to keep pimples and blackheads away. All people have different ideas on how they keep them away and I have heard people use Dove products since they are so skinfriendly and moisturizing. I sadly have no good tips since I lack experience in hairless dog skincare more than hearsay. But I know products for kids are commonly used since they are more skinfriendly.

As for the best care on the curly coated breeds, I sadly can't help there either, but you can always ask a breeder that shows, they usually have the best tips to give.

And of course, the coarse coats such as terrier. These coats rarely need baths cause every few weeks the coat is stripped out and therefor all the dirt on the hair comes off with it. But if you have to bathe the dog cause it stinks, use specialized coarse coated schampoo. As for clippered coarse coated breeds I recommend the same tips as for the matting coats, but it can handle scrubbing a little better since it's short. If the dog just smells a little, you can mist it with detangler spray and brush with a boarbrush. Repeat until satisfied with the result and wipe off with a damp cloth. If the dog simply feels too oily for your taste I've heard that you can put on babypowder and brush it out but I haven't tried this myself so I honestly don't know if it works or not.

Coat always mats the easiest under the armpits where it's a little moist and coat is being rubbed to eachother. If your dog is just a pet you can easily cut this part short to avoid the hassle. Wet coat also mats worse so make sure you comb through after a walk in the rain. Always dry your dog completely dry after it's been wet to avoid mats and keep the dog healthy. Not even dogs want to go around wet and cold. Make sure the coat isn't just damp or "almost dry", but completely dry.

The shorter coat, the less risk of mats.

Grooming different coats

The smooth coat

The smooth coat is probably the easiest one to maintain and the most annoying doghairs you can find. They are often described as needles cause they burrow theirselves into the skin and it is pretty painful. They also stick to the furniture which can be difficult to clean out.

The grooming stone I recommended in the previous post will help shed this type of coat really well.

The medium coat

By medium coat I mean australian shepherd, border collie, spitzes and some other "not really long/not really short" coat.

The tools I recommend for this type of coat is the mars coat king and furminator. If you got those two you are pretty well set. Start with the coat king and finish with the furminator. use a regular brush or slicker brush for the furnishings (like the ones on the back of the thighs), tail and behind ears to keep it mat and tangle free. Finish up with a comb to make sure you caught it all. Combs pull mats pretty hard so if your dog mats up in the heavier areas, get some good dematting spray and maybe a matcutter tool. The more often you comb and brush the less work you have to put into those bad mats cause they won't have time to build up.

The long coat

Chinese crested powder puff, maltese, cocker spaniel, afghan hound, yorkshire terrier, bearded collie and so on. if you're gonna keep this dog full coated you got a lot of work ahead of you.

Regular baths, only combing and brushing when coat is damp, blowdry completely dry and maybe even put the hair up if you are showing to protect the coat from being unnecessary tearing and wearing. If the dog starts matting on day four, you do a bath on day three, I heard an american cocker spaniel breeder say on youtube. It was very wise. A clean coat mats less.

Your breeder will help you in what items you need, cause it will be a whole lot depending on what breed you have.

The curly coat

Poodle, bichon frisé, lagotto romagnolo, and spanish waterdog type of coat.

This coat is pretty high maintenance. There are a lot of do's and don'ts if you are going to show. But regular baths and brushing is a definate must. The longer coat the more care it needs so if you don't want to put too much time and effort into it, keep it short.

There are also american waterdog, curly coated retriever etc which I honestly don't have enough personal experience about to know for sure what care they need since their coat are meant to be oily to repell water. If you got one of these, your breeder can help you.

The wirey coat

Schnauzer, terrier, wirecoated dachshund, german wirehaired pointer, etc.

Now, I will say something that probably will not make much sense at first, but I will explain. The more time and effort you put into this kind of coat, the less work you have to do. 

Eh, what? You probably just said. The thing is, the hard work is to get the coat into shape and not let the undercoat take over the coat. Once this is done, you will have a very easily maintained dog. Especially if you roll the coat (which means you keep a strict regular schedule where you strip a certain amount every X weeks to keep the coat in several layers) because then you only need to handstrip the dog a little every so often instead of for hours when the dog is a mop and then have a naked dog for about a month. Not only that, but a wirey coat does not mat like soft coat does. Not only that, a wirey coat pretty much never requires a bath! Only when the dog actually stink after rolling into something or so.

No baths? Wth? Yeah, cause you strip the coat out every so often that you simply just get rid of the dirt regularly. And some dirt just simply fall off when it dries or can easily be brushed out.

But my dog is just a pet, can't I just clipper it down instead? Yes, you can. But clippering you do for your own convenience, not for the dog. A clippered coat will only be undercoat, so it will be like a winter jacket in the summer that won't breathe the skin, and like a winter coat in the winter that cannot keep the heat to stay next to the body. It is for the dog a worthless protection. A shortclipped coat is right next to the skin, so when it gets heated by the sun, it is almost burning the dog right to the skin. A dog's skin is more sensitive than the human skin since the human skin is more protective than skin that is protected by coat. But when the dog has two layers the sun is shining on the top coat, while the isolating undercoat (which hasn't taken over the entire coat when it's combed out reguarly to get the top coat going) lets the skin breathe and regulate the heat a bit better, or keep the heat during winter.

The wirey coat is also water repellant so when the dog gets wet it will dry so much faster than if it is clippered cause that coat just sucks up water and dirt like no tomorrow - and it can mat and tangle.

There are grooming courses to enroll yourself and your dog in to learn how to do this.

You will need: brushes, comb, undercoat rakes (I rake with stripping knives, mars coat king can be used on pets cause it can cut some of the hairs and it is unwanted in showcoats). The grooming stone recommended in the previous post is great when the coat is too short to rake with regular rakes. You can strip with either stripping knives (that can cut the coat if you do it wrong), stripping stones (love them), rubber gloves or just your fingers.  Always keep skin tight when raking and stripping and always pull the direction that the hair grows.

This page is priceless when it comes to grooming a schnauzer. http://britmorschnauzers.com/groom.html
That link goes to clippering the schnauzer, if you scroll down you see handstripping and rolling the coat as well.

The corded coat

Puli, corded poodle, komondor.

The only real work with this type of coat is to split the dreads as they are forming all the way down to the skin. When bathed, make sure the dog is COMPLETELY dry or the dreads can start to really stink.

The hairless skincare

Hairless khala, chinese crested hairless, mexican hairless, peruvian hairless.

No hair, no coatcare, easiest care ever! You might think. That is not true. The hairless breeds needs skincare. In the teenager stage they get blackheads and pimples just like people and there are endless of things people have figured out that works best for their dog to keep the zits away and keep the skin smooth. They need regular baths, moisturizers, and sunblock, especially on pink skin. Use only products that are child friendly and low on alcohols and perfume since the skin is about as sensitive as a child's skin when it comes to products.

Bathing a dog and caring for your tools will be brought up next. But I feel this post is long enough for now. :)

New category: Recommendations

I don't know if you have noticed but I always put the posts in categories so new visitors can easier find what they want to know more about. Now I am starting a new one: Recommendations!

In this category I will recommend things that may be helpful to dogowners.

My first recommendation that should be in every home; the groomers stone. It is usually sold for horsecare and is a grey lightweight stone that helps shedding your pets and raking undercoat on wirecoated breeds.

But not only that! You can get babysmooth feet by rubbing the stone on the rough areas, especially if the stone or rough spot is wet or been soaked.

I bought mine in cherrybrook online store and I am very pleased with this store. Here's the link to the stone: http://www.cherrybrook.com/index.cfm/a/catalog.prodshow/vid/429130/catid/208/vname/Mr_Groom_Groomers_Stone

I've heard this stone have other names too, lavastone is one of them but it's usually called grooming stone or similar. 

It is absolutely the best on smooth coats, so if you got a smoothcoated dog (such as boxer, boston terrier, doberman, pinscher, rottweiler, and so on) you will love this stone!