Do Dogs Really Only See Black And White?

Veterinary research indicates that dogs do see colors, but that they can distinguish fewer colors than humans can. The mechanisms used for color recognition in both human and dog eyes are called cones. Dogs have cones, but fewer cones than humans. Thus, it is believed that while dogs can recognize and distinguish between certain colors, they do not see the full "rainbow" of the color spectrum that humans do. Don't feel bad, though, because some aspects of dogs' visions far surpasses our own. For example, dogs can see much better in dim light than we can. In addition, dogs are much better at detecting motion than are humans.

Spaying Before Or After First Season?

Absolutely not true. There are important health benefits to spaying your dog prior to her first heat. For example, if you spay your dog prior to her first heat, she has a minimal chance of developing a mammary gland (breast) tumor later in life. To wait for her to go through one heat cycle before spaying significantly increases her chances of developing this type of cancer. Spaying your dog prior to her first heat also immediately eliminates the risk for pyometra, ovarian cysts, unwanted pregnancies and false pregnancies.

Why Does My Dog Eat Grass?

Grass is in fact both a stomach irritant and a binding agent. Grass binds to certain toxins that may be present in your dog’s stomach. While not an optimum method for ridding your dog’s system of a particular toxin, ingesting grass can help your dog expel toxins from his system. However, it is generally believed that your dog is not making the connection that consuming grass leads to vomiting any more than he makes the connection that scavenging through the garbage will make him sick later on. Instead, your dog most likely eats grass – like garbage – because he likes the taste. Your dog’s wolf ancestors also ate grass when they consumed the intestines and stomach contents of their grass-eating prey, so the craving for a bit of a grass is likely still hard-wired in many dogs. One note of caution: eating even small quantities of grass can be dangerous if the grass your dog is nibbling on has been treated with pesticides or fertilizers.

Should I Use Garlic For Flea Control?

There is no scientific evidence definitively linking the use of garlic with flea prevention. And garlic can be toxic to dogs so you definitely do not want to start giving your dog garlic. There are many topical products available that can help to prevent fleas. Before starting on any flea prevention regime, however, you need to talk with your vet regarding which product will be appropriate for your dog.

Warm, dry nose - Is my dog sick?

Your dog’s nose may be warm and dry or cold and wet for a variety of reasons completely unrelated to how he is feeling or whether he has a fever. Dog noses often become warm and dry during a nap, or when they are in a warm or dry environment. For example, a perfectly healthy dog relaxing in the morning sun or even in a heated room during winter will often have a warm and dry nose. Legitimate signs that may indicate your dog is not feeling well include changes in activity level, changes in appetite, and of course, symptoms such as limping, coughing, vomiting or changes in urinary or fecal output. As an informed dog owner you should also be aware of your dog’s vital signs – normal breathing rate, heart rate and temperature.

Do You Let Your Dog Sleep In Your Bed? (cont.)

Regarding dominance, training and behavior "experts" often cite dominance as a cause of everything from aggression to pulling on leash. To be blunt, this is nonsense. Don't take just our word for it, though. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) is so concerned about the misapplication of "dominance" that it has issued a "Position Statement on the Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals." The paper points out that most dog behaviors that cause problems have nothing to do with dominance – rather, they're unruly behaviors that have been unintentionally rewarded, while the "right" behaviors haven't been taught. As for aggression, the position paper states flatly: "The most common cause of aggression in dogs is fear."

Do You Let Your Dog Sleep In Your Bed?

Having your dog sleep in your bed will not make him "dominant," nor will it cause other behavior problems. It is just not true. There are dogs who guard the spots where they rest and sleep, or who respond aggressively to handling or to being wakened suddenly. This is not a dominance issue nor is it a behavior “learned” as a consequence of sleeping on your bed. However, for the sake of both safety and behavior modification, these dogs should sleep elsewhere. There are also adolescent dogs who haven't learned any manners but have learned in-your-face attention-seeking behavior. They often make pests of themselves when sharing their humans' bed, so they too should sleep separately. And, of course, if there is not room in the bed for everyone to get a comfortable night’s sleep or if you or your furry friend is either a light or restless sleeper, get your dog a cozy bed of his own. This might sound intuitive but a 2002 study conducted by Dr. John Shepard found that more than 50% of the 300 patients he studied at the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorder Center said that their sleep was disturbed by their dogs or cats in the bedroom or on the bed.

Hypoallergenic Dogs

To dog-loving allergy sufferers, a hypoallergenic dogs sounds like a dream come true. Unfortunately, there is just no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. While sometimes allergies may be caused by a dog’s fur, often the real source of allergies is a protein that is found in a dog’s saliva. This protein sticks to the dried flakes of skin called dander which all dogs shed regardless of their type of coat or the amount of fur or hair they shed. So please don’t be fooled by the promise of a hypoallergenic dog.

Dominance (cont.)

In conclusion; I don’t really think the use of  the word dominance in describing some aspects of a dog is over used.  It’s use is definitely misunderstood; especially when you forget that words have more than one definition.  Plus we all tend to make the mistake of using human traits when we refer to our beloved furry friends.  I think we too often think of bad behaviors as dominance; in reality it is a lack of training our dogs.  Dominance meaning strong genetic traits is still appropriate to use when describing those characteristics in a dog.

Dominance (cont.)

Once aggression is established in a dog it will always be there.  Many people end up in training classes with their aggressive dog.  You will receive most of the training in that class not your dog.  The knowledgeable trainer will teach you how to manage your aggressive dog with various situations that routinely arise.  If a trainer tells you that they can get rid of the aggression in your dog, they are not being honest with you; find another trainer.  You need to learn how to manage the aggressive behavior because you are never going to be able to get rid of it.  Some people find they are not up to this challenge and thus are forced in to getting rid of their dog.  An aggressive dog is often very loving and loyal to their family; the challenge you are faced with is keeping others safe from them.  If your dog demonstrates aggression towards you or your family; they should be put down.

Dominance (cont.)

Do not approach training from the viewpoint of dominating your dog.  Training should be about helping your dog exhibit good behaviors.  Training should not involve punishment; you don’t want your dog to become fearful.  Fear and anxiety are always behind ongoing aggression issues; pain can cause aggression as well.

Dominance (cont.)

Dogs that jump on people, pull on leads, excessive barking, destroy your property are not showing dominance or alpha traits; they are exhibiting bad behaviors.  That is why it is so important to train your dog.  Training your dog is something that should occur for their whole life.  If you think that by enrolling in a puppy training class is all you have to do in order to train them; think again.  It is a great starting point, but training must be continuous.  Even the best trained dog will at some point challenge your authority and that is why you must make training part of your dog’s daily routine.

Dominance (cont.)

Veterinarians still use alpha when describing dogs; I view the term as a synonym for dominant.  If you have multiple dogs in your household; multiple alpha dogs is a real problem.  Households with smaller breed dogs have the ability to handle this problem easier than a household with large breed dogs.  It is much easier to separate small breed dogs from a physical encounter than to separate large breed dogs.  Dogs living in kennel environments can be kept separate when there is an issue with multiple alpha dogs.  Your family home is not the environment to have multiple alpha dogs; keeping multiple alpha dogs separate in your home is not practical, convenient, nor safe.  I advise once you discover that you have multiple alpha dogs in your home; then you need to change the situation quickly.  You should only have one alpha dog in your home.  Return pure-bred dogs to the breeder, check with rescue organizations for re-homing, find someone looking for a pet.  I advise against the wait and see attitude; things do not get better in these situations they only escalate.  I have personal experience with this situation and I will never go through it again!

Dominance (cont.)

I think we too often compare wolf packs with our domesticated pets.  Yes, they do share a common ancestry; but they are two totally different groups at this time.  The domesticated pet does not have to find food, water and shelter for itself; we provide this for them.

Dominance (cont.)

I personally feel that some dogs are more dominant than others.  I think the dominance factor is part of the genetic makeup in dogs.  Dominance can be viewed as a positive or negative trait.  Dominance when viewed in a breeding environment can be viewed as a positive trait.  Only the better specimen is being allowed to breed; Mother Nature’s form of quality control.  Dominance when paired with physical aggression is a negative trait especially when this is demonstrated by your pets.

Dominance

Some dog trainers are now taking issue with the use of the word dominance when describing a dog.  One definition of the word dominance is; control or power over others.  However, another definition for dominance is exhibiting a genetic trait.  I think the problem most dog trainers have with the word is using the term as a human trait and applying that human trait to a dog.  I would agree that we as pet owners often use human characteristics when describing our dogs.  We love our dogs and they are part of our families.

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

In conclusion; be a good neighbor a howling, barking dog is a real nuisance.  If you are away from home each day; check with your neighbors to see if your dog is barking or howling while you are not at home.  Showing that you care goes a very long way toward being a good neighbor.  We all know dogs bark, just don't let it be a nuisance!

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

Try to train your dog to bark when you would want them to.  Try to distract them with something when they are barking and you don't want them to.  For instance drop a plastic bottle or jug with coins, screws, even rocks inside it.  The idea is this will catch their attention and hopefully stop barking.  As soon as the barking stops; immediately praise your dog. 

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

Dogs also bark to get attention.  Since dogs are social animals they crave attention; even if that attention means getting in trouble for barking.  Your dog just views it as getting attention; it doesn't matter to them that it is negative attention.

Why Do Dogs Bark? (cont.)

Often a dog barks out of pure boredom.  When a dog is frustrated or bored; they may just bark.  Try to provide them with toys, exercise them each day; both can help with a bored or frustrated dog.

This oversized home-made tinker toy is great for the big dog

Why Do Dogs Bark?

Dogs bark to communicate.  They are social just like us.  Yelling or scolding them is not the way to address this issue; your dog just thinks you are joining in on the conversation. 

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

The prospective buyer of a big dog should give pause to all of these things.  Saint Bernards in particular become very attached to their families.  Those cute little balls of fur turn into 100 to 200 pounds of mega producers of drool and they also shed more fur than you can ever imagine.  Many people cannot handle this bigger dog and all that comes with it; so they drop them off at shelters and rescue agencies.  These individuals do not have a clue how devastating this is to a big Saint Bernard.  So stop and think before you decide to get a big dog; remember big responsibilities come with a big dog.  The purchase of a big dog should be for the life of that dog; if you cannot make that commitment then don’t buy a big dog. 

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

As these big dogs age, mobility issues can arise.  Will you be able to help your big dog get up off the floor when they need a little help?  Can your budget absorb long-term medication expenses?  Cremation for your big dog is not cheap either.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

Many people realize their two-seater car is just too small for transporting a big dog.  The cost of a larger vehicle can easily break one’s budget.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

Dog crates must be large enough for your dog to stand up in and easily turn around.  The large size crates are expensive; you will need the size range starting at 42 inches and possibly up to 54 inches.  Do a search online for crate pricing and you will see what I am talking about.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

Groomers and boarding facilities will charge you more as well.  In most cases their fees are based on the dog’s weight.  Just the cost of a weekend for boarding can make you wonder why you didn’t just stay at home.  Yes, it really is that expensive.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

Toys, food/water bowls, and collars need to be larger and they will cost more.  A Saint Bernard puppy grows quickly so you have to replace collars often.  Saint Bernards are not considered a high energy dog; but while they are puppies and even up to age five they can have a lot of energy.  During those younger years if they are very active they can also eat a lot of food.  Puppy food is much more expensive than adult food; puppy food provides an excellent foundation for your fast growing pup.  A high quality dog food is not cheap either; especially when consumption can range from three to six cups a day dependent upon the dog.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

Flea control or heartworm medication require larger doses for the bigger dogs.  The dosage for these two products is based on the dog’s weight.  Saint Bernards can range in weight from approximately 100 to 200 pounds.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog? (cont.)

You will quickly learn that the costs connected with ownership of a big dog are also large.  Whenever your big dog needs medical care beyond the basic exam; the fees are enormous.  I am referring to teeth cleaning, x-rays, any surgery requiring anesthesia; some vets actually class Saint Bernard as Giant not just Large.  If your big dog needs medications that will cost more as well; larger doses are required and they cost more.

Do You Really Want A Big Dog?

I am often contacted by individuals looking for a Saint Bernard puppy; I cannot help but wonder if these individuals really know what they are in for.  A big dog is not for everyone.  If you have never owned a big dog or been around big dogs; then do some research before you bring a big dog into your life.

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2013

 

Brandykegs wishes everyone good health, good cheer, and good times!