| Dogs |
It is always a great event when a puppy arrives in its host family. After often several weeks of waiting, the newcomer is the centre of care and attention. But, if these good relations are to last, you will have to make sure that the situation of the puppy you have just acquired is one which eases integration.
It is indeed these first weeks of life together which, to a large extent, will set the pattern for your pet’s behaviour in future years.
In particular, you must avoid two big mistakes:
- thinking of the animal as a human being as far as intellectual and emotional capacities are concerned
- or, on the contrary, acting as though it were no more than a machine, devoid of feeling and of understanding
Your dog is a living creature. In their natural environment, dogs live in groups with complex hierarchical social rules. Its development is based on attachment, and the first weeks are crucial for the rest of its life. This is when it learns the basic features of its environment, and how to control itself. The very long period of its dependence on its mother (or human tutors) goes with its considerable learning capacity. It is able to acquire social rituals favouring the harmony of the group and to forge individual bonds with one or other members of it.
For dogs, communication involves all of the senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch). It represents a blend of instinctive messages, reflexes and more complex learned sequences combining posture, vocalisation and emission.
- Like all mammals, a dog will adapt- several times in the course of its life, if need be- to very different conditions, families and environments. But do not forget that, whatever the circumstances, your companion is always going to react as a dog, with a dog’s understanding and a dog’s reflexes.
- Nor should you forget that your pet is unique- an individual moulded by its parents, birth, early environment, time spent with the mother, and all its various experiences of life.
All of the general rules which you are going to be given here will need to be adapted to each individual case.
So are you aware now of your dog’s complexity, richness and limits? If so, then, let us see a few important points so as to avoid getting off on the wrong foot.
Your puppy has no doubt only just left its mother, the primary object of its attachment.
- If it is less than 6 months old, then it is going to need someone to replace her. And so it will choose a person who can provide warmth and comfort. It will try to be always as close as possible to this person, whose contact is a source of calm for it. It is vital that this new attachment should be formed, for the pup to be able to set off to discover this new world of yours.
- At about the age of 6 months, the time of puberty, you will need to detach your baby dog from you- not that this in any way means ceasing to love it! What it means is simply helping it to replace its primary attachment, which was necessary at the beginning, by an attachment to the group as a whole, which will be vital for the rest of its life. For this, what you need to do is to make sure that, in the contacts between you and the little dog, the initiative comes from you and not from the puppy. This will enable it to put up with your being absent. And in this way it will not fall prey to a certain all too common pathology: separation anxiety, causing the dog to howl and ravage or foul the house when you are not there. This pathology is now well known and easy to treat.
Toilet training
Adopting a little dog means accepting that you are going to be using a floor-mop for a certain time. At the ideal age for adoption- around 8 or 9 weeks- toilet-trained puppies are few and far between!
To expedite matters, there are a few rules to follow, and especially some mistakes to avoid making.
- Spot the right moment: in very young pups, each and every meal, drink and awakening triggers the need to "do its business". If you take your dog out right then, you stand a good chance of being able to hand out a bit of reinforcement (strokes) for business done in a place of your choosing.
- Reward works better than punishment! It does not need to be systematic in order to be efficacious.
- Never punish your puppy if you have not caught it "on the job". It might get afraid of you. "Putting its nose in it" is not a punishment at all (you will see that dogs quite happily do as much by themselves!) and would not help it to know what you’re so cross about. It will, of course, put on its "hang-dog" look - but so would it if you scolded it when it had done nothing at all! It reacts to your expression rather than to any fault it may have committed itself.
- Don’t use the "newspaper method"! Learning twice over is just twice as hard. Take your puppy out, as soon as it has been vaccinated. That way, it will soon learn, and will never be afraid in the street.
- Don’t clean up its business in front of it. It’s going to take that as a sign of interest on your part.
Simple commands
If you are going to get on well with your dog, you will need to train it in two types of command: call and stop.
- Many a dog has been saved from an accident by being able to obey these very simple commands. In both cases, you should begin training your new friend very early on. Education begins as soon as the puppy arrives in your home.
- Use simple words, and always the same ones. "Heel, Fido!" or "Rex, come!" will do just as well one as the other, as long as you do not change them.
- The younger the puppy, the more the training needs to be playful, and the shorter the sessions should be: 5 minutes at a stretch for a 3 month-old.
- Rewarding is always more effective.
- Disobedience is very often due to not understanding. Words mean little to a dog, so you should back them up with clear accompanying gestures which it can learn and interpret more quickly.
- As regards the call, never stand in front of your dog pointing at it and calling to heel!
Advice
For the first lessons, crouch, face away and call softly, tapping your thigh, "Come, boy!". This makes you attractive for your puppy, who will come, and be delighted to get a vigorous stroking as a reward.
Walking on a lead
Walking on a lead does not mean much to a dog. You are going to have to teach it this new relationship which binds it to its master or mistress.
- At first, you could put the collar and lead on your puppy, and let it get used to this little constraint.
- When you pull on the lead, do so gently. Give some little tugs, calling your dog’s attention by clicking your tongue. As soon as it follows the direction of the lead, be it only for a yard or two, reward it with some vigorous strokes.
- Once the puppy begins to frisk alongside you on its lead, go on catching its attention with lots of little sound signals, so as to get it used to making regular visual contact with you. In this way, the physical leash is backed up by a vocal tether.
- Keep the lead slack: as soon as the puppy pulls, bring it back sharply to heel and slacken the lead straight away again, accompanying your gesture with always the same command: "Spot, here!" or "Flash, heel!". As soon as the dog goes a few yards without tugging, give it a stroke.
Advice
A tight leash is a transmission line for emotions and may trigger undesirable reactions, such as aggressiveness towards other dogs.
Taking your dog out
- While taking all necessary precautions not to expose it to pointless risks (places soiled by animals you do not know and contact with unvaccinated animals), do walk your dog as soon as possible. In all likelihood, it is going to be spending its daily life in a completely different environment from that in which it was born and spent the first few weeks. To be truly at ease in its world, the puppy needs to encounter it regularly by its 13th week (i.e., its 3 months).
- By walking your dog, you thus let it avoid falling victim to the "deprivation syndrome". This all too common behavioural affliction consists in severe difficulty in adapting to urban life and intense fear when in contact with strangers.
- Should your dog seem unduly afraid when you first take it out, do not stroke it for reassurance: you would be rewarding, and so reinforcing, its fear! Just act as though nothing is wrong and start a game with it by way of distraction. If this is just too hard and your puppy is unable to respond to you in this way, do not hesitate to talk things over with the Vet.
Finally, to properly respect your dog’s nature, you should fix its place in a hierarchical structure. You should take on the dominant role yourself, and let your dog enjoy the peace of mind that comes with the submissive role in the pack. The dominant animals are the ones which take charge of the smooth operation of the group, settling the place of each member, their comings and goings and all the rituals of daily life. Therefore, it is not a matter of shouting and hitting, but of exercising an everyday authority which can reassure your dog and ensure a settled place for it.
- Feed your dog after you yourself have eaten, and share nothing with it at table. What to you seems to be an act of friendliness could be seen as a sign of submissiveness (not to mention the nutritional confusion!).
- Do not allow your dog to choose a sleeping place which is at a strategic location. Bedrooms, the entrance hall or corridors are thus unsuitable places to put your new little friend’s basket.
If you take care of these two very important points, you will run little risk of your dog developing a hierarchically aggressive behaviour pattern.
While your dog is still a puppy, if it does something it shouldn’t, then respond as its mother would: lift it up firmly by the scruff of its neck and hold it hanging there until it calms down. When it does, put it down and stroke its shoulder (pacification signal). This sequence, far more than anything else, will teach it that you consider yourself to be the dominant animal in the relationship.
Nowadays we are all convinced of the truth of the slogan, "One day, our food will be our best medicine."
To have a good and handsome dog later on, correct food needs providing from the earliest age. Canine nutritional science has made strides - puppies’ nutritional requirements are known precisely, so that industrial manufacturers can now supply perfectly balanced foodstuffs.
A puppy’s nutritional requirements vary with its size. Thus, puppies can be seen to put on weight very quickly at first. This then slows down, at between 4 and 6 months (4 months for small dogs and 6 months for large ones).
As in everything else, excess and deficiency are both harmful. A puppy which is too fat is liable to be obese later on. Being overweight moreover predisposes to bone and joint disorders in large-framed animals. Hence the importance of weighing your puppy regularly, to check that growth is proceeding smoothly.
Commercial or home-made food?
Dog-owners believe they are doing the right thing by feeding their dog with the leftovers of the table, whereas dogs’ nutritional requirements have got nothing to do humans’. All the same, it is true that we have the choice between two ways of feeding our dogs: home-made or industrial food.
Tins or dog-biscuits?
Dog food manufacturers provide puppies with product-ranges adapted to size. These are perfectly balanced, which means that no extras are needed. The choice then is between dry rations (biscuits) and wet (tins). The former is often more practical and cheaper. You must make sure that the puppy always has fresh water at its disposal.
The choice of industrial food is based on an idea of quality: Vets supply "premium" and "superpremium" food. These high quality products may sometimes be a bit more expensive than down-market ranges, but the repercussions in terms of your dog’s health and its fur’s beauty are striking. The price difference mainly comes from the quality of the raw materials used, notably as regards proteins. Moreover, these products are very appetising, so that your puppy will be eager to eat.
Finally, certain owners wonder whether they should vary their animal’s food. The answer is no. Dogs do not need variety and may quite happily consume one type of food all life long. Not only that, but sudden changes in diet can cause digestive complications.
The amount of food to be given is shown on the packaging. However, you should check your puppy’s weight regularly and adjust the amount of food in line with its ideal weight.
Your Vet is also a nutritionist, and can help you find the ideal food for your puppy.
Home Cooking
There are those who remain unconvinced of the advantages of shop food. You can make your animal’s meals yourself. There are several types of rations which must absolutely be topped up in calcium and phosphorus (seek advice from your Vet).
Here is a possible menu (for 1kg of rations):
- red meat: 450 g
- cooked and drained rice: 400 g
- cooked and drained veg (carrots, french beans): 85 g
- salad oil (soy, rape or sunflower): 35 g
- extra minerals and vitamins: 30 g
Meal-time rhythm
For an adult dog, one meal a day is enough. For puppies, 4 meals a day are generally advised at first, the frequency to be gradually reduced.
Drinking
More or less, clean water should be constantly available. Water requirements vary greatly with food, weight and climate (e.g., a 25kg 6 month old pup, eating 500 grammes of dog-biscuits per day, needs 2 litres of water). The requirements will obviously be lower for a puppy feeding on tinned or household food.
Beware of treats!
Ideally, your puppy should only ever get meals. But it sometimes is hard not to go soft! Then, at least, no sweets: shop treats are better adapted to a puppy’s nutritional requirements. Also, your puppy should not be allowed to "beg" at the table - not only for nutritional but also behavioural reasons: sharing a meal is a sign of dominance in a dog pack. Dogs should eat after their masters and never get food during meals.
Reproduction and neutering
Our four-footed friends are governed physiologically by major vital functions, including that of reproduction.
This function aims at the perpetuation of the species. But let us be clear about one thing: a dog, male or female, has no need to reproduce during its life in order to be happy and in good physical and mental health.
Castration of males, and spaying of females may even in some cases have a good effect on health.
Puberty
Puberty begins at an age which varies from race to race and according to the size of the dog. It generally happens at between 6 and 12 months.
In males, it features changes in behaviour: The dog cocks its leg to urinate, and is attracted by the scent of females in heat.
In bitches, reproduction is cyclical. Every 6 months on average, the bitch will go into "heat". This phase, corresponding to ovule maturation and ovulation, features a swelling of the vulva, uterine bleeding (visible at the vulva labial commissure) and attraction to males. N.B.: this is not your dog’s "periods", but normal bleeding for this species prior to ovulation.
During the average of three weeks in heat, the bitch is fertile for only some 48 hours. The optimum coupling time for having puppies tends to lie between the 8th and the 25th day, although two thirds of bitches are "ready" from the 10th to the 15th day of heat. Your vet can help you identify the right time.
Gestation
Gestation lasts an average of 2 months, and delivery 3 to 4 hours- 12 hours or more in case of a large litter.
Lactation lasts between 5 and 7 weeks. The pups, gradually weaned, then live independently.
It is advised not to have a bitch breed after 6 or 7 years of age, for fear of delivery complications. The rhythm generally advised is of three or four litters at most in a lifetime, with at least one year’s rest period between each
Contraception
It is possible to avoid your bitch coming into heat by administering hormones in the form of injections or tablets. In bitches not intended for breeding, however, it is preferable to think in terms of contraceptive surgery than to have to administer hormones all life long. Females operated early run less risk of developing mammary cancer later on. And this disease is one of the most common causes of mortality in female dogs. As for males, castration - widespread in the English-speaking world - has nothing to be said against it: castrated dogs are calmer, stray less and are just as affectionate if not more so.
As the owner of a puppy, you may come up against emergencies.
Knowing what they are is being better able to foresee them, but also being able to do the right thing and make the right decision.
Here are a few recommendations to follow in case of trauma, insect bites, poisoning, electrocution, infection or heat-stroke.
Trauma
Puppies are lively, easily distracted, and often fail to answer their master’s commands. They are all the more liable to get run over by a car.
Confronted by this kind of accident, you need to keep calm and try to assess the observable injuries. Your puppy’s pain and shock may make them behave abnormally, be cautious when assessing their injuries.
If your dog is bleeding profusely: press the wound with a finger, or, better still, with a clean cloth, to encourage coagulation. If your dog cannot get up, handle it with great care, trying to keep it horizontal. Spinal injuries may have been sustained, too much manipulation might aggravate this type of injury. If any bone is visible, do not touch it but cover with a cloth to stop any more germs getting in. Finally, regarding injuries to the muzzle, if there are blood or saliva clots interfering with breathing, remove them with a towel, taking care not to put your fingers between its teeth: it might unintentionally bite you under the effect of pain and shock.
If you dog appears unharmed after a traumatic accident: you must still consult your vet. Serious lesions can be invisible.
These recommendations obviously apply to any trauma : falling from a window, fights, etc..
Infections
Being young, your puppy is especially sensitive to infectious diseases, and notably gastrointestinal ones. These may be caused by parasites, viruses or bacteria. In the most serious cases, they can cause severe dehydration and death in a matter of hours. In less severe cases, a twelve hour fast, with water constantly available, may be enough for a cure. Fasting should not be prolonged, due to the danger of hypoglycemia.
If your dog’s condition worsens or the symptoms persist, you should consult your Vet.
Insect bites and other venoms
Insect bites cause swelling of the paw or muzzle, but can also lead to breathing difficulties or allergic shock.
Try to extract the sting with tweezers if you can see it, and take your puppy to see the Vet, who will administer an anti-inflammatory treatment to halt allergic reaction.
Electrocution
If your dog has attacked an electric wire and got itself electrocuted, there may only appear local burns at first; all the same, you must take it to the Vet’s, as a serious lung oedema may ensue.
Poisoning
Young pups also tend to bite and swallow almost anything. In case of poison, it is no use giving your dog milk or anything else to drink, or putting your fingers in its throat to make it vomit (failure almost assured!). You need to take it straight away to the Vet’s, who will administer something to provoke vomiting before the poison gets digested.
In case of convulsions, do not put your fingers in its mouth to take hold of the tongue: again, you might get bitten. Bear in mind also that not all substances have an immediate effect: good health for the first few hours is not the same thing as no toxic effect (e.g., anticoagulant rat poison).
Don’t forget to take the package of the poison, where the composition is mentioned: this will help treatment.
Heat-stroke
Simply, never leave your puppy in the car: in the sun, the inside temperature can reach 60° or 70°C, causing dehydration and a state of shock in a matter of minutes (remember that the sun "goes round", and the shade shifts). In such a case, your dog needs to be cooled down as quickly as possible: douse it with cold water and take it urgently to the Vet’s. Do not try leaving the window ajar: your dog could stick its head through and get stuck and hung in the door.
Some advice
Keep your puppy out of harm’s way! It is just amazing how many dangers a house or a flat contains. Think about it, before anything happens. Keep everything tidy:
- Your medicines: your dog could tear up a box and swallow the contents.
- Chocolate: nice, but easily toxic... for a dog, because of the theobromine.
- Cleaning products: caustic, and can cause burns (e.g., bleach).
- Electric wires: electrocution!
- String: blocked intestines.
- Sewing baskets: needles.
- Razor blades and knives: cut hazard
- Any boiling liquid or even hot bath-water.
- Cocktails left on the coffee-table have alcohol in them.
- In the garage, antifreeze, apparently, tastes nice and sweet. Also highly toxic.
- In the garden shed, pesticides, weed-killer and rat poison are best stored at a height, out of reach. If your dog swallows any, go straight to see the Vet, who will do what is necessary.
Finally, beware of beautiful plants. Indoor plants are nice for you to see, and for your dog to nibble! E.g., Diffenbachia, philodendron, poinsettia, holly and ivy. Water containing fertiliser has an exotic taste and could send your dog to the veterinary clinic.
You know that your puppy is in good health. You feed it properly, and have it vaccinated, wormed and treated for parasites according to plan: fine ... You can still show all your love, in various little ways of daily care and comfort. You alone can save it from the dangers of life; Its health and well-being depend on you.
Brushing, for your dog’s pleasure and your own
Brush every day, if you have a long- or medium-haired dog (Yorkshire terrier, colley or golden retriever), twice weekly for woolly or tough fur (poodle or fox terrier), and once a month for short-haired dogs (dachshund or boxer). Talk to your dog during these moments of conviviality, and finish up with a reward.
Trim claws
If your dog spends more time walking on carpet than on hard floors, teach it to give you its paw to have its claws cut or filed. Your vet can advise you as to the right tool, and how far to go.
Eyes
When you find mucus in the corner of your dog’s eyes, or even a slight watering, you need to take a sterile compress soaked in a special ophthalmic solution for dogs (or cats). Press your hand, with the compress, against the skull and clean directly. In case of blood-shot eyes or persistent watering, consult your Vet without delay. Eyes are precious jewels.
Walks
So far as possible: always at the same time of day, regularly ,and at least three times a day, take your dog out on its lead. The lead can become a symbol of enjoyment. More-or-less always take exactly the same route, for the sake of habit and the dog’s intellectual comfort: they hate change.
Self-cleaning ears
So long as your dog’s ears are clean and odourless, leave them alone and they will stay perfect. Some dogs do have too many hairs in their ears, and gentle depilation is required (done by your Vet, your groom- or yourself: they can show you how). Many puppies have too much black or dark brown earwax, causing them to shake and scratch their heads. If your Vet diagnoses ear-mange, you will be told what course to follow so as to clear up this form of parasitosis once and for all within a month.
Shining white teeth.
Scales, of mineral salts contained in the saliva, all too quickly form on the dental plaque, especially in certain small-sized races.
Use a brush or special finger-stall to brush the teeth with a special dogs’ toothpaste. No joke! It’s the one way to ensure healthy adult teeth which will last all life long, with sweet breath and better health into the bargain.
If scaling occurs all the same, the teeth risk coming loose. Regular de-scaling- by ultrasound, of course- is the optimal solution.
Bath-time
Generally speaking, you need quite hot water, at around 39°C, and to get it all over with in 5 minutes, then dry your dog thoroughly (towels and hair-dryer). Some dogs do not need washing more than once a year.
Shampoos for humans are a little different for those carefully developed for dogs. Your Vet will advise as to the rhythm and special product to use in case of problems: sebum or allergy, for example.
Finally, don’t forget that, during most anti-parasite treatments (for fleas, or tics, etc.), it is recommended not to bathe the dog for 48 hours prior to and after treatment.We know that you care for your dog and want to ensure that he remains happy and healthy throughout his life and will do all you can to achieve this.
One easy way in which you can help to ensure that your dog is protected from infectious diseases is to ensure that he is vaccinated as a puppy and regularly throughout his adult life.
Why Vaccination is important
Dogs can and do become seriously ill or die from infectious diseases that could have been prevented through vaccination every year.
Regular vaccination can protect your dog from infectious diseases such as canine parvovirus, canine distemper, canine hepatitis, leptospirosis, canine parainfluenza and rabies.
This page contains information on each of these diseases. By preventing these diseases you ensure that your dog stays healthy and happy.
Why you need to vaccinate your dog regularly
Primary Vaccination
For the first few weeks of life, puppies are usually protected against disease from the immunity they receive in their mother’s milk. However, this maternal immunity may also neutralise any vaccine given at this time. Gradually this protection decreases, and the maternal immunity declines to a sufficiently low level for the animal to no longer be protected. This also allows the animal to respond to vaccination and so at this stage it is possible to start the vaccination programme.
Your veterinary surgeon will suggest a programme of vaccinations to fit in with your pet’s particular needs and the local disease pattern.
Annual Vaccination
Many people believe that if they have their pet vaccinated when they are puppies the immunity they receive will protect them for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately this is not the case.
After the last injection, the immune level reaches a peak and then begins to decline. After a year, the level of protection offered to your pet may no longer be sufficient.
Revaccination stimulates the immune response so that protection is maintained for another year. Without these yearly vaccinations, your pet’s immune system may not be able to protect it from serious, often fatal disease.
How vaccines work
Vaccines work by training the white blood cells in your dog’s body to recognise and attack the viruses or bacteria contained in the vaccine. This should prevent infection with that particular organism if your dog comes into contact with it again.
Fatal diseases of dogs
There are four major infectious diseases affecting dogs today. Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis and Leptospirosis. All are highly contagious and difficult and expensive to treat.
Canine Parvovirus
Parvovirus is perhaps the most common canine infectious disease.
Parvovirus was first recognised in the late 1970’s and rapidly became an epidemic. Many hundreds of dogs died before an effective vaccine could be produced. Sadly, this disease remains a major problem. Outbreaks still occur regularly across the country.
The disease is usually seen as bloody diarrhoea in young animals, with a characteristic offensive odour and severe dehydration. Many will die within hours of the onset of symptoms.
Once a dog becomes infected by parvovirus, the virus invades the intestines and bone marrow. This leads to sudden and severe bleeding into the gut, resulting in dehydration and shock and damage to the immune system. Death is common and frequently rapid unless emergency veterinary treatment is received.
Canine Distemper
Canine distemper, sometimes referred to as ‘Hard Pad’, is caused by a virus very similar to the measles virus, although it is not a risk to humans.
Although less common than it was 20 or 30 years ago, outbreaks still occur, mainly in urban areas where a large unvaccinated population of dogs and foxes exists. These tend to be ‘explosive’ in nature, causing death or permanent brain damage. Transmission of the virus is by inhalation and direct contact.
The distemper virus attacks most parts of the body, including the spleen and bone marrow. This makes it easier to catch secondary infections. As the disease progresses, the virus spreads to the lungs and gut, the eyes, skin and brain.
The classical signs are of a dog with a high temperature, a discharge from the eyes and nose, a cough, vomiting and diarrhoea. Hardening of the skin may occur, in particular the nose and pads, hence the term ‘Hard Pad’. The virus can reach the brain causing permanent damage, ranging from involuntary twitches to fits. Dogs that recover may be left with some permanent disability such as cracked pads and nose, epilepsy, and damage to teeth enamel.
Once again, treatment is lengthy, expensive and most importantly, often unsuccessful. As the incubation period is long - often about three weeks - it is usually too late to vaccinate when an outbreak occurs.
Canine Hepatitis
As the name suggests, canine hepatitis attacks the liver. Some dogs may become infected but show no obvious signs, but in acute cases the death of your pet can occur within 24-36 hours.
The disease is spread by direct contact and from faeces, saliva and urine from infected dogs. The virus is carried to the liver and the blood vessels where the major signs of the disease appear.
The symptoms are very variable depending on the severity of the infection. Some animals may show a slight temperature and at the other extreme may die suddenly. Intermediate cases exhibit fever, vomiting, pale gums, jaundice, abdominal pain and internal bleeding. The less severe form of the disease has been associated with "Fading Puppy Syndrome".
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is caused by a bacteria that is spread in the urine of infected animals.
Two major forms of the disease exist in dogs. One (L.icterohaemorrhagiae) causes acute illness and jaundice and is usually caught from rats - either by the animal being bitten or coming into contact with rat urine. L. icterohaemorrhagiae infection usually produces a sudden disease with fever, vomiting and diarrhoae, thirst, bleeding, and jaundice. The outcome is usually fatal and death can occur within a few hours.
The other type (L. canicola) can also cause acute disease but frequently takes a more prolonged form. This leads to the slow destruction of the kidneys and renal failure can occur many years after the original infection. Even animals that show no signs of illness may still go on to develop chronic disease.
Other major diseases of dogs
Other major diseases of dogs include:
Canine Parainfluenza
This virus is one of the pathogens responsible for the disease known as ‘kennel cough’.
Dogs with this disease suffer from a harsh, dry cough that can last for many weeks, causing distress for both the dog and owner.
Rabies Vaccination and the Pets Travel Scheme (PETS)
Rabies is a fatal disease, which affects both dogs and humans. Rabies was eradicated from this country many years ago and strict systems are in place to make sure that it is never seen again.
If you are intending to take your dog to another European country and return to the UK with it you must ensure that it is protected by having it vaccinated against rabies.
Your dog must be at least 3 months old before it can be vaccinated against rabies. It can then be vaccinated any time after it has been fitted with a microchip. Before vaccinating your dog, the vet will check its microchip number and enter it onto your pet’s vaccination record.
If your dog is vaccinated against rabies before it was fitted with a microchip, it will have to be fitted with a microchip and vaccinated again. This is to make sure that your pet is correctly identified when it is vaccinated.
In order to prevent future complications please discuss the PETS Scheme in advance with your veterinary surgeon.
Booster vaccinations
After your pet has been vaccinated, it will need regular booster vaccinations. Your vet will advise you further. You must make sure that your pet is given its booster on time otherwise it will not meet the conditions of the scheme and would have to be vaccinated and blood tested again. It would have to wait another six months before being able to enter the UK.
Please discuss with your vet vaccination of your puppy and dog throughout its life, the important infectious diseases and how you can help keep your dog healthy and happy.Canine herpesvirus (CHV-1) is a virus that has been largely ignored for many years. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the virus causes many more problems than was first thought. Like all herpes viruses, CHV is highly infectious, and a recent study showed that more than 80% of dogs in England have been exposed to the virus at some time in their lives.
The problem
For most dogs CHV is not thought to cause any significant problem and so for a long time is has largely been ignored by both breeders and vets. However, it is now clear that CHV can be a significant cause of death in young puppies, and also smaller litter size and weight.
The unborn puppy
CHV attacks the placenta of the mother, starving the foetus of nutrients. This can lead to abortion, stillbirth or re-absorption of the foetus (seen by the breeder as infertility).
The newborn puppy
If the puppy is infected before birth and survives, it may be underweight at birth and have a weakened immune system, making it vulnerable to early puppyhood infections. If the puppy is infected soon after birth, CHV is known to be one of the factors in "fading puppy syndrome", in which the pup fails to suckle, loses weight and fades away despite intensive care.
The adult dog
in the dog, CHV can cause painful lesions on the genitals. In the bitch, there may not be any external signs, but the bitch seems infertile or gives birth to undersize and weak litters. In both males and females, CHV is also known to be a cause of kennel cough.
Treatment
There is no cure for an animal that has CHV - infection is probably lifelong and can flare up repeatedly during periods of stress. Antiviral drugs do not appear to be effective and are very expensive.
Prevention
A vaccine has been launched in the UK by Merial Animal Health Ltd, best known as the makers of Frontline®. The vaccine, Eurican® Herpes 205, cannot prevent infection but if given during pregnancy it has been shown to significantly improve fertility rates and reduce early puppy death. Even bitches that already have the virus can be vaccinated.
The vaccine is available from veterinary surgeons now and for more information about this new vaccine, or any of the Eurican dog vaccine range, contact your local veterinary surgeon or log on to www.canineherpes.com or www.merial.com.
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