![two puppies playing](//cdcssl.ibsrv.net/cimg/www.curatedcontent.smb/730x401_85/147/choosing-dog-main-628147.jpg)
Select your new dog with your lifestyle and living situation in mind. In addition to your new family member's personality, consider its temperament, size, and coat as well. Some breeds have traits that may be objectionable in certain circumstances, such as hyper excitability or a tendency to bark. Your veterinarian is a valuable resource and should be consulted before you acquire a pet of any kind.
Breed Selection
There are two types of dogs--purebred and mixed breed. The 124 recognized breeds are grouped into seven categories: hound, working, terrier, toy, sporting, non-sporting, and herding. There are thousands of mixed-breed combinations. Each purebred or mixed-breed dog has a unique personality. Dogs originally bred for a specific purpose tend to retain these characteristics. These dogs may require additional training and patience. Selecting a specific breed does not guarantee a particular behavior, but choosing offspring from animals with desirable temperaments does increase one's chances of getting the best pet. Mixed breeds can be as beautiful, intelligent, loving, and companionable as purebreds.Veterinarians, breed-specific books (usually available at libraries and pet stores), and dog shows are excellent sources of information about individual breed characteristics and needs.
Friend or Protector?
Most dogs, even tiny ones, bark when strangers approach their home or yard. This bark is usually enough to deter intruders. A pet should not be trained as an attack dog. Attack-trained dogs require special handling and knowledge to prevent accidental injury to people, including members of your own family.
-
Lyme Disease & Your Pets
How to Prevent and Remove Ticks
Lyme disease is a top concern for dog owners who enjoy walking with their dog in grassy and wooded areas. Transmitted by deer ticks, Lyme disease can result in fever, joint lameness, fatigue, and general discomfort for your pet. While treatment is available, Lyme disease
Read more
-
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a re-emerging disease. This bacterial disease most commonly causes liver and kidney problems in dogs, but can also cause lung, pancreas, and eye symptoms. It is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transferred from animals to people, in fact, it is the most common zoonotic disease in
Read more
-
Is Your Pet In Pain?
There are signs to look for when your pet is experiencing pain. Together you and your veterinarian can identify and help your pet with pain that may be present. The issue of pain in animals is so critical that the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) teamed up with the American Association of
Read more
-
Is My Dog Sick?
Identifying the signs of sickness in a dog can be challenging, even for the most vigilant pet owners. Since a sick dog is unable to verbally communicate what hurts, pet owners must pay close attention to identify the signs of illness. Subtle changes in behavior or appetite may be symptomatic of an underlying
Read more
-
Helping Dogs with Low Vision or Blindness
As veterinary medicine advances, dogs are living longer and longer. With advancing age, more geriatric diseases are becoming prevalent. Problems with vision, such as cataracts, glaucoma, and keratitis, are common. Many of these problems occur so gradually that some people don't know they have a blind
Read more
-
H1N1 or Swine Flu Virus
The H1N1 or swine flu epidemic has many people concerned. It certainly holds the potential for severe, worldwide disease in humans. Currently, most cases in the U.S. have not been as serious as in other countries. Flu viruses commonly mutate though, and even a small mutation could increase the pathogenicity
Read more
-
Glaucoma in Pets: What You Need to Know
Glaucoma is typically a disease affecting middle- age to older pets. The symptoms can be very insidious in that they may not be noticeable at first, but eventually you may see a red eye or a dilated pupil, and ultimately, as the disease progresses, you can see that the eyeball is larger than normal.
Glaucoma
Read more
-
Don't Sneeze at Pet's Cold or Flu-Like Symptoms - Get to Your Vet
On February 14, 2011 IDEXX Research Laboratories confirmed that the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus was present in two cats from the same Wisconsin home. The cats were treated at an emergency veterinary hospital for severe respiratory distress. The owner of the cats had been experiencing flu-like symptoms.
The
Read more
-
Evaluation and Diagnosis of a Red Eye in Dogs
Dogs occasionally develop a red eye. The redness may be in the white of the eye, in the clear part of the eye called the cornea, or within the eyeball. There are many causes of a red eye, but all ocular diseases should always be considered an urgent matter, and be checked immediately by a veterinarian.
Evaluation
A
Read more
-
Ear Problems for Pets
Symptoms of ear disease are shaking the head, scratching at the ears, discharge from the ear canal, odor from the ear, or redness of the ear flap or entrance to the ear canal. Your pet may be tilting their head to one side although it's important to point out that there are causes for this other than
Read more
-
Dog Allergies and Lesion Locations
Dogs are taken to the veterinarian for skin problems more than any other reason. Most often they are itchy and that itchiness is typically due to allergies. The text of canine and feline dermatological diseases is large because there are hundreds of skin diseases, however, it can help to start with some
Read more
-
Canine Lyme Disease
There are several options for protecting dogs against canine Lyme disease. One option is vaccination, which may be the best choice for pets who live in an endemic area. Annual vaccination is an affordable means of protecting pets against this disease, which can have serious health implications. Some
Read more
-
Canine Juvenile Orthopedic Diseases
Puppies are happy and full of energy, running, wrestling, and playing so much that we often wish we had that much energy! But when that puppy is not happy, when it is lethargic and limping, then a visit to the veterinarian is in order. There are several orthopedic diseases that affect young dogs.
Osteochondrosis
Read more
-
Canine Hip Dysplasia: Causes & Treatment
Canine hip dysplasia is the abnormal formation of the hip joint and one of the leading causes of rear leg lameness in dogs. Hip dysplasia is most prevalent in larger breed dogs, especially German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Saint Bernards and Rottweilers. On the other hand, hip dysplasia
Read more
-
Cancer in Pocket Pets
A tumor (also known as neoplasm) is an abnormal growth of cells; this growth may be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors do not spread throughout the body and often have a limited impact on a pet’s overall health. Malignant tumors can develop in one location, such as a hormone-producing gland,
Read more
-
Addison's Disease in Dogs
Addison's disease is an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands, near the kidneys, fail to produce enough hormones. This disease is relatively uncommon (approximately one case per 3000 dogs) but it is more common in dogs than humans. It is very rare in cats.
The common symptoms of Addison's are
Read more