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.