Kids learn compassion and responsibility by learning to share life with and feed and care for their pets. They learn to value and appreciate all living creatures. They learn a lot about life itself, getting sick or old, living in the moment, sharing companionship and friendship– and also the care and commitment an animal companion requires and deserves.

When is it appropriate for a child to have a pet? It truly depends on the child’s family situation and his own maturity. As a parent, know that you are ultimately responsible for the care and well-being of your family pet. Children are well-intentioned and may promise that they will take care of the pet on their own. But we, as parents, know, that children are easily distracted and preoccupied with their own responsibilities such as school, extracurricular activities, human friendships and social obligations. They may be very well-intentioned, but lack the maturity to assume full responsibility for another living being.

Before adopting a pet into your family, it is very important to have serious discussions about the obligations and responsibilities associated with pet guardianship or “parenthood”. Your child must thoroughly understand that a pet is a sentient, living creature who may be shorter lived than he, who may get sick and require veterinary care, who depends on humans for his regular food, water, grooming, exercise and overall wellness. He is a vulnerable creature who depends entirely on his human caregivers. You must also decide which type of dog best suits your family’s personality and lifestyle and to whom which responsibilities of the pet’s daily needs will be delegated.

Much thought and deliberation of each family member is required to determine if a pet is appropriate for you. Consider that the pet should be spayed or neutered, receive his vaccinations and regular visits to the vet to make sure he is in good health, have a nutritious and healthy diet, daily exercise and playtime, frequent interaction with his human family, and receive socialization and obedience training. Each member of the family must understand that the pet requires a lifetime commitment to keep him as happy and healthy and comfortable as possible. If you do not have the time, space or budget to provide a healthy life for a pet, please do not adopt one. There are countless homeless animals who have been surrendered to animal welfare organizations and shelters and ultimately euthanised simply because their owners did not take the time to conduct research as to the time, space, activity level and money associated with keeping a pet or consider how much attention, interaction and care an animal companion requires. A pet has the potential of becoming a loving, devoted, loyal, unconditionally loving and beloved family member. If he is neglected, he can become sick, bored and destructive. Whether or not to get a dog for the kids is an extremely important decision. Take the time and make the effort to determine if a pet is in your child’s future!

source from: pet-articles

Let’s face it, animal shelters aren’t the most upbeat places in the world. When you leave, you wish you could take more animals with you.

Adopting a pet is most often consummated on emotion. Love at first sight. Your heart is ahead of your head, recognizing that shelter animals’ time clocks tick for only a short time.

Be Aware of the Limitations

While you are saving a life when you adopt from a shelter, what you see is not necessarily what you get. In the case of puppies

source from: petplace

The following are the information on Dog Cryptorchidism

Dog Cryptorchidism Information

• The Cryptorchidism occurs when either one or both the testicles fail to travel from the abdomen to the scrotum. It is a very common disorder among both dogs and cats where the incidence is more among the dogs. It is found that about every three incidence of the disease among dogs takes place with every one incidence among cats. This disorder is more common among pure bred dogs.
• This disorder is a genetic disorder and the dogs breeds that are mainly affected by the disorder is the miniature schnauzers, Chihuahuas, cocker spaniels and such. Though the above mentioned breeds mainly suffer from the disease, any breed of dog can get exposed to the disorder.
• The dogs are generally sterile that have both the testicles in the abdomen. When temperature of the abdomen is actually 4 to 5 degrees more than that of the scrotum. As a result of which the testes in the abdomen fail to manufacture sperms as they get damaged in high temperatures. This further affects the production of the male hormone called testosterone leading to non-male like characters in other wise male dogs.
• In case the testes happens to be having a single testes descending in the scrotum or the testes though present in the abdomen but are close to the skin of the scrotum the dogs may be fertile. But being a responsible pet owner you are recommended not to breed such dogs as the disorder is genetic in nature and the incidence of disease would transfer from the father to the son.
• Cryptorchid dogs are prone to the development of are certain type of cancer known as the sertoli cell tumor. The sertoli cells are actually the cells found in the testes that nourishe the sperm and are also responsible for the secretion of feminine hormones like the estrogen. The symptoms that are associated with the cancer are thin skin texture, loss of hair, aplsatic form of anemia, enlarged breasts and getting attracted to other male dogs. The hair loss related to the cancer is very unique as the loss of hair takes place bilaterally on the both sides of the body of the pet.
• In most cases the sertoli tumors are cancerous but they can be treated successfully with chemotherapy.

The best possible way to get rid of such incidences of cancerous tumors the vet surgeon removes the testes or relocates the testis in the scrotum. Another characteristic of the pets with cryptorchidism is that they have twisted or torson spermatic chord or the duct of the testicle.

source from: petcaregt

Although excellent screening of young dog has been done by breed clubs with the help of veterinary ophthalmologists, the problem is all too frequent. This is because there are a lot of people who can’t be bothered with such testing and, since PRA appears to be a recessive trait, a normal female when bred to even a normal male carrying the trait will produce puppies with the problem.

Usually PRA is diagnosed in a dog anywhere from six months to five years old when it is brought in to a veterinarian because of progressive loss of sight. There is no treatment and no preventive for this problem other than the use of proper breeding practices.

Years ago a Collie male won best-of-breed at the Westminster Ken-el Club dog show. He was a beautiful specimen – but had a problem. He was blind when he won that show and only the handler and the owner knew it. Being in great demand at stud, he sired many litters before the truth was out. No doubt he was not the only dog to perpetuate this inherited eye disorder, which often leads to blindness, but he was part of the problem that responsible breeders have fought quite effectively at a great expense in recent years – not to let this happen.

To this we might add all sorts of “monster” puppies which are founding all breeds from time to time: puppies with one eye in the middle of the forehead or those with crooked tails, extra toes, deformed jaws, and cleft lips and palates, to name a few.

With such an imposing list, the problems with trying to improve a breed seem insurmountable for all but the breeder with large numbers of dog who works diligently at it for a lifetime. Moreover, this kind of breeder must either keep the progeny until they are old enough soothe problems can be identified or the puppies must he farmed out and not bred until they are obviously free of one or more genetic defects. About the best contribution most breeders can make is to breed sound dog and either destroy defective dog or sterilize them to prevent defective genetic specimens from perpetuating the problem.

Dog Progressive Retinal Atrophy Information

Generalized PRA – The symptoms of the early stages of the eyes disease includes failure of night vision from the very age of 6 weeks and the complete loss of vision takes place by the time the dog reaches the age of 1 to 2 years.

Generalized PRA (progressive rod cone degeneration) – The night blindness of the affected dogs takes place when they are in between 2 to 5 years of age. The peripheral vision gets entirely lost.

Central PRA or retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy consists of loss of vision at a much slower pace compared to the generalized PRA. The affected dogs lose vision completely as the center of the retina gets damaged. The disease may not include the initial symptoms like night blindness.

source from: petcaregt

One of the first observations made by veterinarians in the evaluationof skin disorders is to note the locations of lesions and whether or notthey are symmetrical. If the lesions are equal on both sides of the dogthe condition is suspect of being of internal origin. If asymmetrical, it isthought to be of external origin.

Many skin problems are self-limiting in that even after extendedperiods of severe dermatitis the problem disappears permanently with-out treatment. Many, perhaps most, young dogs develop this problem, which usually but not always disappears with maturity. The question is askedof veterinarians, why, if the problem is contagious, doesn’t the seconddog in the house have it too? The answer is that some dogs have animmunity to a particular disease to which another may be susceptible.

Pruritis or Itching. One of the more perplexing dermatologic prob-lems in dogs is pruritis, or itching, which is usually seasonal in the latesummertime and into the fall. Dermatitis and eczema are catchallwords, but since we like labels, many in the profession call the condi-tion “summer eczema.”

Once a name is given to a problem we veterinarians are as human as anyone.

After grass allergy came the term “grass fungus”; a fungus that was also found on grass could be cultured from the skin of affected dogs.More recently many veterinarians have decided flea bite dermatitis isthe cause, the theory being that affected dogs are allergic to the saliva of fleas and, theoretically, even one flea can bring on the condition andwhen are most dogs without one flea in the summertime? There is littledoubt that some dogs are allergic to flea saliva, but this should not besweepingly considered the cause of all summer itching.

We would like to offer quite a different opinion. Affected dogs are sensitive to some unidentified substance given off in the mois-ture secreted by the skin. Dogs don’t sweat as we do because they have few sweat glands in their skin, but moisture is given offnormally.More moisture forms in hot weather and dogssusceptible to this irritant in the moisture suffer.

There is no doubt that baths give temporary relief to the itching ofsummer eczema but often for only twelve or so hours. Medicated soapsare effective but an oily solution which we call “yellow oil lotion” seemsto be better. Perhaps the oil prevents the contact of the irritatingunknown substance with the skin. The formula of one third each byvolume fine sulphur powder, corn oil, and kerosene has been a greathelp to relieve the itching but has the disadvantage of messiness.Pursuant to our belief that moisture is the cause of itching, we haveasked owners of dogs with early-stage summer eczema to dust their petswith an antiperspirant powder human antiperspirant not a deodorant daily. Many believe it has brought great relief and prevented theproblem of previous years.

Only in desperation should steroids be given to stop itching, as ste-roids depress the immune system. It is suggested the route of adminis-tration should be through the mouth and not by injection; once in-jected steroids cannot be withdrawn.

Lip-fold Pyoderma. Some breeds have folds of skin along the lowerjaw that are subject to an infection that usually produces a foul odor.Many owners think the problem is halitosis perhaps caused by badteeth or gums, but touching the area with a fingertip and smelling itreveals the odor. Antibiotics and even tamed iodine will correct thisproblem. An occasional dog experiences this problem even withouthaving the deep lip folds.

Moist Eczema or “Hot Spot.” Moist eczema begins as a spot thesize of your little fingernail one day, grows to the size of a silver dollarthe next, and is the size of your palm on the third day. The hair fallsout; the area is yellow, glistening, and painful. One of our colleaguessaid he thought that seven days in the hospital with treatment threetimes a day cures this disease; if treated otherwise it takes a week. The yellow oil lotion is the best treatment to be used on dogs with this problem. It must be applied liberally twicedaily until the scab that forms works off. The hair grows back with noaftereffects. This treatment usually reduces the discomfort and correctsthe problem in less than a week.

Shedding. It is perfectly normal for a dog to shed. The denser thecoat, the more obvious the condition. Even what may appear to a petowner to be excess shedding is a sign of good health. Dogs maintainedoutside tend to shed twice a year, in spring and fall, but pets living inthe house and exposed to the outside a few tinier a day tend to shed365 days a year. Breeders refer to a dog “blowing its coat” when shed-ding is at its peak. It is not normal for shedding to leave nude areas andif this happens you take the dog to the vet.

That hormonal problems are reflected in problems of the skin is well established. One good exampleis the loss of the coat in a female a month or so after whelping a litterof puppies. Many females in the wild lose a good deal of their coats toline their nests prior to whelping, but perhaps in domestication wehave altered the dog’s physiology.

Allergies. Allergies may be caused by inhalation or ingestion of aller-gens. Once the cause is established some dogs may be desensitized byinjections.

One city dog had been treated for recurrent attacks of itching,scratching, localized hair loss, and open lesions off and on for a year. Allergy problems due to ingestion are in effect year-round. One ofour canine patients cannot tolerate meat but can cat eggs with no illeffects. Remember, commerical dog foods have meat and fish in dehy-drated form. Food allergies can often be diagnosed by the owner whoselectively withholds a particular food from the diet over a two-weekperiod. Milk and eggs must be high on any list of allergic foods and,since these foods are commonly used in baking, all foods with anycombination of these should be withheld.

One of the more dramatic allergy reactions to food manifests itselfby large hivelike lesions that expand as you watch them. Some reachtwo inches in diameter and rise over half an inch above the normalskin. A dog with such a reaction usually shows no discomfort from this”hob-nail” pattern of swellings all over the body. This dog may berushed to a veterinarian as an emergency and the veterinarian maywatch the swellings recede before his or her eyes. If this condition ispersistent, steroids are helpful. One problem lies in the difficulty in thedetermination of the cause. It may be food ingested twelve or morehours prior to the reaction. The instance of a dog on a commercial foodthat has received a specific food in addition may give us the clue neces-sary, but as so many dogs either forage outside or are fed a variety ofleftovers it may be difficult to pinpoint the causative agent.

Food and Skin Disease. It is often said that certain foods are too”heatening to the blood,” that they cause skin disease. There is verylittle truth in that idea. Never feed fat or starches in hot weather becausethey cause eczema.

But let’s put the old cliches aside and recognize that whatever thecause and effects there are some foods that affect some dogs adversely.We are inclined to think the cases are rare but some are so dramaticthey should he mentioned. Although many diet changes had been advised, including one week when onlyraw hamburger was fed, there was always the common denominator:meat. Of course dry commercial dog foods contain meat in a dehy-drated form.

The vegetarian diet consisted of a mixture of one half soybean mealcooked in a pressure cooker with one quarter of either boiled rice oroatmeal and one quarter crushed cooked mixed vegetables. A vitamin mineral mixture and two tablespoons of corn oil.

The dog has been normal since that time except for one twenty-fourhour period after a cookout, when someone fed the dog half a ham-burger.

Since the meat-sensitive German Shepherd we have found anotherdog that can eat only small amounts of meat without breaking out withan itchy rash. However, many’ of our vegetarian clients’ owners arefeeding our vegetarians formula out of choice.

Many dogs have a violent reaction to pork not small amounts buton that rare occasion when they are fed a meal of leftover smoked orfresh pork. The results are usually vomiting and diarrhea for part of aday.

Lick Granulomas. Chronic thickened skin on the surface of a fore-leg and occasionally on a rear leg where it is convenient for a dog to lickmay be a lick granuloma. The hair falls out and the skin appears to betoughs and featherlike. When medication is applied without a bandage,the dog promptly licks it off. At one time these lesions were treated byinjecting them with snake venom. Cobra venom was the choice and didhelp many such cases, but steroid injections seem to be more effectivewith topical antibiotics. Bandaging may help but often the dog licksthe edges of the bandage, resulting in a new lick granuloma. Surgeryhelps some cases but not infrequently the dog licks the healing woundand produces another area of involvement where the affected tissuehad been removed. There is good evidence that if the dog stops lickingthe lesions heals. And one wonders if the saliva contains an agent capa-ble of causing a lick granuloma.

Interdigital Pyoderma. Pyoderma means pus in the skin, and somebreeds appear particularly susceptible to this disagreeable problem. Ab-scesses develop between the toes, swell and rupture, then drain andheal. In a few weeks the swelling returns and the same sequence ofevents happens. Some dogs develop these abscesses between all the toeson all four feet but more often there will be only one or two at any onetime. The cause is not understood but experience indicates small dosesof the antibiotic tetracycline in the food daily does control but not curethe problem. Surgery helps to correct some of these lesions.

Fly Strike. In some areas of the country a blood-sucking fly willattack the ear tips of erect-eared dogs, causing bleeding and scabbingthere. These flies attack only dog that are kept outdoors. It helps tokeep the flies away by mixing a fly repellent, such as tolumide, withVaseline and applying it to the ear tips three times daily. Your veteri-narian can tell you whether these flies are a danger in your area.

Dandruff. The outer surface of the skin is shed constantly and evenwhen this shedding is normal it appears excessive in three- to four-month-old puppies. Many dogs have a coat texture that permits thedandruff to fall out unnoticed, but other coats seem to hold it, sug-gesting a problem. Any good shampoo and even dish-washing detergentwill remove it with a bath. But excess dandniff shedding can be abnor-mal and caused by many problems. A lack of fat in the diet predisposesmany dogs to have dandruff. Both allergy and the common types ofmange can cause it. Irritants such as too strong a soap used in a bathmay create large flakes of dandruff some days later.

Persistent excess dandruff may indicate the early stages of one ofseveral hormonal problems and a veterinarian should be consulted.

Coat Color Changes. Some dogs with dark coats may grow lighter-colored hair after a skin infection. Others with light-colored coats maygrow dark hair. Usually this color change returns to normal after shed-ding.

Ringworm. The term “ringworm” has nothing to do with worms butis a fungal infection that may be contracted from humans or vice versa.

Mange. Both demodectic and sarcoptic mange are skin problemscaused by mites.

Cheyletiella Dermatitis. Another less common suite-related derma-titis is cheyletiella dermatitis. It is easily destroyed by flea sprays,powders, and rinses.

Alopecia. There are more inherited skin problems affecting severalbreeds than space permits describing. One of these inherited problems,alopecia, may affect all breeds. The word refers to abnormal loss of hairwith no recognized infection or hormonal imbalance. There is no in-flammation and no itching involved, but unfortunately there is no reliable treatment.

Nasal Solar Dermatitis. Although also called “Collie rinse,” nasalsolar dermatitis is not confined to that breed. The problem is a sensitiv-ity to the sun that causes a dermatitis on the surface of the nose. Thecondition sometimes eventually extends up to the eyes. When theproblem is advanced, the nose becomes disfigured and erodes away.When the dog is kept out of the sun, the condition improves. Tattoo-ing, covering the nose with black ink from felt marking pens has con-trolled many cases, but the tissue may be so damaged that tattoos maynot “take.” Perhaps making the dog a nocturnal dog is most effec-tive. Steroids and antibiotics also help minimize solar dermatitis.

Canine Pemphigus. Superficial ulcers of the lips, eyes, anus, vulva,and penis that progress to deep ulcers which then spread to other areasis a condition called pemphigus. When present this autoirnmunc dis-ease is not correctible with antibiotics and antiseptics but steroids andother medications do help to control it. Pemphigus is considered incur-able.

Acanthosis Nigricans. With acanthosis nigricans a few breeds anddogs of mixed breeds develop a dark pigmentation, usually under theforelegs, that progresses slowly to other areas of the body. The skinbecomes thickened and is sometimes referred to as elephant skin. There is no external treatment to cure this nuisance disease but pallia-tive salves and lotions help to minimize it. It is found in dogs with adecrease of thyroid activity.

Seborrhea is a result of overactive glands of the skincalled sebaceous glands exuding a waxy substance often with a rancidodor in excessive amounts. When this occurs, the dog is miserable withsome itching and thickening and scaling of the skin. Although there isno known cause, seborrhea can be controlled by bathing at weekly orless intervals for the life of the dog. Special medicated soaps are neces-sary, which your veterinarian may prescribe.

Atopic Dermatitis. Skin inflammation from inhaling airborne parti-cles that produce an allergic reaction is called canine atopy. The agentsmost commonly responsible are pollens, dander, dust, and wool. Thetendency to get this dermatitis, which starts between one and fouryears of age, is thought to be inherited. Saliva-stained extremities anditching are common signs, but many dry itchy conditions may be atopy.Skin testing is usually helpful in a diagnosis.

Contact Dermatitis. Marry substances applied to the skin eitherintentionally or accidentally, such as acids, caustics, strong soaps anddetergents, may cause irritations. Synthetic fabrics including carpetingand wool have been found to cause this as have chemically impregnatedplastic collars. Some people claim poison ivy causes contact dermatitisbut our research, which involved massaging the leaves into our ownBeagles’ lower abdominal skin twice weekly for two months, producedno reaction, although one of us developed the typical poisoning. Eveneating from plastic dishes may cause dermatitis of the lips and nose insensitive dogs.

Frostbite and Burns. It requires prolonged low temperatures to causefrostbite in dogs and virtually never occurs if a dog is free to findshelter. If an dog is chained or otherwise confined where there isinadequate shelter, however, the ear tips and scrotum arc the mostvulnerable areas to be affected by frostbite. Systemic antibiotics andantibiotic ointments are the treatments that should be used. They areobtained from a veterinarian.

Perhaps the most common cause of burns is hot fluids, such as coffeeor tea, being spilled from a stove. You should apply an ice pack forfifteen minutes and take the dog to your veterinarian. He or she willgive you an antibiotic with a steroid to be applied frequently. Moreserious burn cases should be hospitalized.

Removal of Paint. Most of us are cognizant of the dangers of lead in oil-based paints. Since some of these oil-based paint pigments are poisonous they should be removed immediately. If the dog comes home with still wet oil-based paint on its coat, turpentine will remove it, if plenty is used without allowing too much to come in contact with the dog’s skin. The turpentine must be removed by thorough washing with soap and water after each application.

If the oil-based paint is dry, first try to dissolve it. And if your dog’s skin is especially tender, use linseed oil to do this. When you have diluted the paint greatly, wash it and the oil out with soap and water.You may, however, have to cut the paint out with scissors as a last resort, even though this may make the dog look less attractive for awhile. Of course, water-based paints can be removed by washing with water.

Animal Odors. The sources of dog odors, aside from excrement of course, are ear canker, lip-fold or other infections, anal gland secretions, sebum from thousands of body glands, and dog collars, which absorb sebum. All of these can be eliminated by cleaning the ars, by treating the infections, by expressing the anal glands, and by thorough bathing.

Parasite Control. Bathing in itself will not eliminate parasites, as many people seem to think, but preparations of excellent efficiency for use with bathing are readily available. Some are used as a rinse or dip following the bath; others are liquid soaps or soap cakes with insect killers added. Some manufacturers claim that their products will pre-vent fleas and lice from re infesting dogs for several days to a week after use. Some claim their products will kill the eggs of lice (nits).

In eliminating lice, it is necessary to apply the killing agent every eleven days, as this breaks the generation and so eliminates the lice. If there is any doubt about the thoroughness of the treatment, apply the preparation once a week for three weeks.

The more effective way to control pests is to use a liquid dip, soap, or rinse to kill all the insect pests during the bath and then keep the dog well powdered with a nonpoisonous flea powder. Flea collars that were once effective are less so now, thanks to the emergence of resistant fleas.

source from: petcaregt

What to Look for in a Dog Trainer’s Qualifications:

Certifications: How a trainer obtained their certification should be taken into consideration. A trainer should be certified through a specialized organization which trains dogs for services work or a dog training school which gives a credit equivalent to a college degree. Be aware that there are many companies which offer certifications on-line or through the mail; this involves a short written course which, for a fee, they will send you a certification. There are no standards to theses tests, allowing each company to determine what qualifies an individual to pass the “course”. Ask what type of certifications an instructor has.

Verify: how many years the trainer has been teaching professionally and not as a sports trainer or hobbyist. While years alone are not enough to determine the quality of a trainer’s experience, it will tell you something if they have had the ability to continue in their profession.

Licensed: Is the trainer licensed as a business and meets all city, county, state and federal regulations?

What to Look For in a Dog Trainer’s Methods:

Observe: Attend a class! If a trainer does not allow you to do so, look for a different trainer Watch the students reactions to the instructor. Are they enthusiastic or reserved? Do they seem comfortable? Both dogs and clients should enjoy themselves and a quality trainer will be courteous and polite to both human and canine students. Notice: Does the trainer provide clear instructions? Is there proper demonstrations of what the trainer expects the students to do? Do they provide students with individual assistance when needed?

Methods: A good trainer will provide you with an honest explanation of the pros and cons of methods they employ. Pay attention to what equipment is being used when you attend an observation class. What types of collars are the dogs wearing? Chokes or prong collars have their place but are not for a beginner obedience dog. Such a dog has no understanding of the new commands they are learning and should not be punished for what they do not “know”. Bullying and all similar methods or equipment that could cause the dog pain, distress or has the potential for physical harm are unacceptable. If you feel that anyone, a trainer, an animal care professional or other, is causing your dog undue pain, harm or distress in any form, you have the complete right to stop them immediately! Do so!!

Preferred Style: Ask about a trainer’s background and which style of training they prefer. A teacher whose primary experience is in Schutzhund or Protection Training may not be the first choice as a house companion dog instructor. It does not disqualify them as a quality trainer, however, an instructor who enjoys working families and children, competition obedience, Therapy Dogs or puppy kindergartens may be the preferred teacher for a companion pet.

Protect: An instructor should take steps to protect a dog’s health in a group environment. Are all dogs and puppies required to be vaccinated prior to enrollment? Which vaccines are required?

Behavior problems: Be wary if a trainer assures you that a specific behavior problem will be resolved. A trainer can assist you with behavior modification, nothing is absolute. While a good trainer should guarantee satisfaction, they should not guarantee complete results. They should instead promise to do their best and convince you to help your dog and yourself by being consistent with your pet and promising follow-up training at home.

Your Needs: Does a trainer offer multiple schooling options and advise which is best suited for your individual needs? Or does the trainer have a ‘one size fits all’ approach?

Follow Up: Does the trainer provide any satisfaction guarantees, follow-up support, and if so, what is the cost?

While a good dog trainer does not have to be expensive, don’t base your choice on price alone. Sit through a few classes and do some research before signing up for lessons. What you learn from a dog training course can mean a better behaved canine companion and make a difference in your daily life for the next 17 years.

Source:findoutaboutdogs.com