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Index:

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Age:

The best way to work out your dog’s human age is by following one of these formulae:

• For little dogs (up to 10kg) – 12 human years per dog year for the first two years, and then 4 per year thereafter. So a 10 year old terrier will be 56 and a 15 year old will be 76
• For medium dogs (10-30kg) – 10 human years per dog year for the first two years, and then 5 per year thereafter. A 10 year old spaniel, for example, will be 60 and a 15 year old will be 85
• For big dogs (30kg +) – A bit simpler - 8 human years per dog year all the way. So an 8 year old German Shepherd will be roughly 64 in human terms.

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Arthritis:

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Arthritis is one of the most common problems of older dogs, causing pain and immobility to a high proportion of elderly dogs. There are many causes, ranging from badly formed joints (such as hip dysplasia) to simple wear and tear, but whatever the original cause of the problem, there’s a lot you can do to help. Here are my top tips for looking after an arthritic dog:

1. Early diagnosis is vital, so look out for the first signs of arthritis, which include stiffness after exercise, reluctance to jump or climb stairs, lameness on one or more legs and general lethargy and depression.
2. Regular short walks are much better than less frequent long periods of exercise.
3. Weight is crucial as every extra pound on your dog’s waistline puts extra pressure on the painful joints so try and get that extra weight off with a lower calorie diet.
4. Your vet can prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs which help to reduce swelling and pain.
5. Food supplements and tablets which contain glucosamine and chondritin sulphate (from your vets) help the joints repair themselves and reduce pain.
6. A teaspoon of cod liver oil every day provides a great source of omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D, both of which help keep joints and bones healthy.

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Behaviour - ground rules:

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The most important fact to remember when thinking about dog behaviour is that dogs are pack animals and your family is their pack. A happy, well-behaved dog knows his place – and that place is at the bottom of the social order (well, perhaps above the cat!) If you have kids, it’s essential that the dog knows that the kids are above him in the pack – otherwise he might try and exert dominance over them and that’s when problems can occur.

To do this, lay down some clear house rules from day one which make it clear that the kids have more rights than the dog. For example, keep the dog off the sofa and downstairs, and make sure he doesn’t get his dinner until after you and the kids have had yours. If you stick to these rules, you should never have any problems with an over-dominant dog in the family.

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Behaviour - jumping up:

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A dog that is constantly jumping up at people can be a real problem – and be a nightmare for you the owner, and for anyone who comes too close on a muddy day (they always seem to jump up at people when they’ve just walked through a particularly muddy puddle, and choose the people wearing the most expensive clothes!)

But don’t despair if you’ve got a jumping Jack Russell or a pawing Papillion, here’s a simple tip to help you cure this problem.

The thing to do is to ask anyone who has regular contact with her to stick to the following rule: Whenever she jumps up, fold your arms and turn your back on her so she falls back down. Then, ask her to sit, and only give her the attention she wants when she’s calmly sitting down.

Get as many people as possible to stick to this rule, and she’ll soon realise that the best way to get attention is to stay with all four feet on the ground, and not to leap up at people.

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Behaviour - separation anxiety:

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One of the most common problems which drive people and their hounds to pet behaviourists is separation anxiety. This commonly manifests itself as destructive behaviour, such as chewing the furniture, or loud, constant barking whenever the dog is left alone.

This can be a really tricky problem to sort out, but if you catch it early, these tips should help:

Firstly, get him used to you leaving the house in small stages - just pick up your keys and walk towards the door. Do this a few times throughout the day without actually going out, and totally ignore the dog even if he barks. After a while, he should get used to this, and you can go a stage further by opening and closing the front door. Finally, leave the house for short periods at a time, making sure you totally ignore any bad behaviour. When you come back in, wait until he’s completely calmed down before giving him any attention.

When you do come back from being out of the house, the worst thing you can do is to make a big fuss of the dog. This only serves to reinforce the drama of you leaving and coming back in the dog’s mind, so it’s much better to wait until he’s really settled down before giving him any attention. This way he’ll start to realise that you going out is not such a big deal after all, and he doesn’t have to get so wound up by it.

Finally, if you’re still not getting anywhere, try making a tape or CD with your voice on it – read a book or just talk away, the content doesn’t matter. Play the recording on the stereo in the living room and put the dog in the kitchen. This way he’ll be tricked into thinking you’re still at home when you’re out!

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Dental disease:

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Having a loving lick from your faithful dog can be great – but not if they’ve got a mouth full of rotten teeth! Apart from the bad breath, dental disease can cause some serious health problems for your dog, such as tooth root abscesses, ginigivitis and even infections in other parts of the body -  so it’s well worth making sure you look after your dog’s gnashers!

Check your dog’s teeth regularly, looking for yellow-brown tartar build up, loose teeth and red gums. If you’re worried at all, ask your vet for a dental check, and they can see if a dental procedure, where the teeth are cleaned and polished (and extracted if necessary), is required.

To prevent dental problems, regular brushing with special doggy toothpaste and a soft brush is ideal, but there are other things you can do to help as well, such as making sure your dog eats nothing but hard crunchy dried foods such as Joe & Jacks, and also gets plenty of dental hygiene chews and raw bones to chew on.

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Diabetes:

Diabetes is a disease which interferes with the body’s ability to regulate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream, and it is a not uncommon disease of middle aged and older dogs. The symptoms are very similar to those experienced by people with diabetes: weight loss, increased appetite, increased thirst and increased urination. Your vet will diagnose the disease using blood and urine tests, and treatment usually involves daily injections of insulin (much easier and less stressful than it sounds!) and strict dietary management, often using a prescription diet.
The ideal diet for a diabetic dog will contain lots of so-called ‘complex carbohydrates’ such as starch, and also plenty of fibre, while having low levels of simple sugars. This reduces the peaks and troughs of sugar in the blood by releasing energy gradually through the day.
The best way of getting this kind of diet right is to feed a specially formulated prescription diet from your vets. But that doesn’t mean you can’t treat her to the occasional home-cooked meal. As long as you stick to recipes like this one, which are low in sugar and high in starch and fibre, you can definitely cook up something tasty once a week or so, just to add a little variety to her life.

This basic diabetes recipe for ‘Joe’s Beefy Rice’ provides approximately 50% complex carbohydrates, which is ideal:

• 750ml water
• 1 stock cube
• 450g lean beef, cubed
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 100g of finely chopped broccoli
• 100g spinach
• 150g brown rice

Boil up the water and dissolve the stock cube in it. Then drop in the beef and simmer for about twenty minutes. Fish out the beef once cooked and set aside in a large bowl with the grated and finely chopped veg. Put the rice into the boiling stock and cook for about 30 minutes (less if you are using white rice) until tender.

Then drain any remaining water off the rice and pour the rice over the veg and meat, mixing well. The hot, moist rice will effectively steam the grated veggies, so they can be easily digested, but don’t lose any nutrients.

Allow this mixture to cool and then feed. It can be frozen in single serving bags, so you can defrost one once a week or so.

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Diarrhoea:

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Diarrhoea is a really common problem in dogs, and it can be caused by lots of things including bacterial infections, bowel inflammation and food allergies. Here are my tips for dealing with this unpleasant problem!

1. If there’s a mess in the house, clean it up well using a strong disinfectant. Make sure you wash your hands well afterwards and keep children away from the scene of the crime!
2. No food. In mild cases a 12 hour fast should do the trick, but generally 24 hours is best.
3. Plenty of water. Don’t ever withhold water as dehydration is the real worry with diarrhoea.
4. Make an electrolyte replacement solution. If the diarrhoea continues for more than a few days, make up a pint of warm water with a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of sugar mixed in. Offer this instead of water as it will help replace all the essential electrolytes being lost in the diarrhoea.
5. Boiled chicken and rice. When you reintroduce food after starving him, cook up something really easy to digest like chicken breast and brown rice. Gradually change back to his old food over the next few days if all is well.
6. Yoghurt. Give natural live yoghurt once he’s starting to eat again. The probiotics the yoghurt bacteria produce can help your dog’s intestines to recover more quickly.

If in doubt – go to the vet. Diarrhoea can be a really serious problem, especially in old or very young dogs, so err on the side of caution and get a veterinary opinion if things aren’t getting better.

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First aid essentials:

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7 First aid essentials
• Know your vet’s emergency number so you can call for advice anytime of day or night – best to keep it in your mobile phone.
• Find out where you will need to take you dog in an emergency out of normal working hours – many vets are covered by different practices at night and you need to know how to get there in an emergency.
• Keep a basic first aid kit at home and in the car, with bandages and antiseptic cream.
• Always have a supply of fresh water available when you’re out and about, especially in hot weather when it can be a life-saver for an over-heating dog.
• Keep a thick blanket in the car to wrap up your dog if he’s injured and keep him warm until you get to the vets. It will also help you carry him to and from the car easily and without doing further damage to any injuries.
• Research any problems that particularly affect your breed of dog – for example big dogs like Wolfhounds and Great Danes are prone to bloat and twisted stomachs and it’s important you know what to look for.
• Take out good pet insurance so that money never becomes an obstacle to treatment.

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Fleas:

Fleas may be tiny but they can certainly cause big problems – heavy infestations of these blood-sucking insects can be life threatening in young puppies – and even in adult dogs fleas can cause serious health problems including skin disease and allergic reactions.

Thankfully, treating infestations and preventing fleas getting a hold in the first place is easy – just ask your vet to prescribe a product such as Frontline or Stronghold which kill off fleas for up to 2 months after being applied to the back of the neck.

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Gastric torsion:

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: One of the most serious and quickly life-threatening canine emergencies is bloat caused by a twisted stomach. This is mainly a problem of big dogs like German Shepherds and Great Danes, and it tends to occur after they’ve eaten a big meal and then had some vigorous exercise. What happens is the stomach twists around and then becomes massively bloated with gas. If not treated very quickly, this can lead to fatal complications, so it’s really important to recognise the signs and get veterinary help as soon as possible if you suspect this condition. The main things to look out for are:

• Hard, bloated stomach
• Vomiting and retching up white froth
• Pain and discomfort

The best tips for preventing the problem occurring in the first place are to feed at least twice a day rather than in one big meal, and to avoid any exercise within 2 hours of a meal.

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Grass seeds:

These innocent-looking awns can be really nasty, because they get trapped in the fur of dog’s ears and feet, and once there, they can burrow into the skin, and cause horrible infections.

The reason they’re so unpleasant is their barbed shape. This means that once they’ve pierced the skin, they can only move in one direction – deeper in. As the dog moves, the seed will gradually work its way in to the foot or ear, and cause a painful swelling filled with infection. Often the first a dog owner will know is when the dog goes lame and is constantly licking his foot, or his ear develops a foul smell.

There is a way of preventing grass seed problems though, and that is to check your dog’s ears and feet thoroughly after every walk in grassy areas in summer. It’s mainly Spaniels and terriers which suffer from this problem, but any dog with hairy ears or feet should be checked. It’s well worth the effort, as it could save your dog from a very nasty infection – and you from a big vet bill!

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Healthcare diary:

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Here’s a summary of what you should be doing every day, week and month to keep your dog in great shape:

Every day:

• Brush teeth
• A good session of hands-on play, checking all over for any lumps or bumps
• Check feet and ears for grass seeds after walks in the summer
• Check eyes for discharges and redness
• Groom long-haired breeds

Every week:

• Check ears for signs of wax
• Groom
• Give dental chew to keep teeth clean
• Check coat carefully for fleas

Every month

• Check nails and trim is necessary
• Check ears and pluck away any overgrowing fur
• Give big raw bone or pig’s ear to chew on
• Examine teeth and consider a veterinary opinion if in doubt
• Treat for fleas (exact frequency depends on the product being used)

Every three months

• Worm with a good quality worming tablet

Every year

• Annual check up and vaccinations at your vets

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Microchipping:

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Thousands of dogs are lost and stolen every year, and getting them back can be almost impossible, because it’s often your word against the new ‘owner’s’. The best protection for your dog is to have a tiny microchip implanted in his neck. This contains a unique number which is help, along with your details, on a national database.

Your vet can implant the chip using a needle and once it’s in place, it’s there for life, and can be easily read using a special scanner.

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Neutering:

Unless you’re planning on breeding from your dog, it’s advisable to get him or her neutered. Neutering, especially when carried out at a young age, protects against some serious diseases including mammary cancer and womb infection in female dogs, and prostate disease in male dogs. It also reduces some forms of aggression and helps reduce straying behaviour.

The castration operation for male dogs is quick and straightforward, and they usually recover very quickly. Spaying, which is the term for the female neutering operation is more invasive and does take a few weeks to fully recover from. Both operations can be carried out from 6 months of age.

The only real downside is the tendency of neutered animals to put on weight after their operations – but you can easily counter this effect by reducing the amount of Joe & Jack’s you are feeding slightly and cutting out tit-bits.

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Old Age:

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One of the most important things about looking after an older dog is to get their diet right. Too rich a diet will lead to weight problems and can also cause more serious internal problems such as kidney damage and even diabetes. The ideal thing to do is to feed a high quality natural diet which is not too high in protein or energy, and supplement this with some tasty, healthy home-cooked meals of chicken, rice and vegetables.

As your dog gets older, he might continue to look fit and healthy on the outside, but this isn't always the whole story. Internally, things can be starting to go wrong, and if left unchecked, these underlying problems can suddenly turn into full-blown, life-threatening illnesses. In order to combat these internal problems, which can include kidney disease, liver disease, cancer and diabetes, you need to find them before they become obvious, by which time it's often too late. When your dog reaches middle age (perhaps 50 in human terms), ask your vet for a general blood test. This will check all your dog's internal systems and will either give him a clean bill of health - or enable you to tackle any problems that exist. Repeat these tests every few years as he enters old age to make sure nothing is missed.

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Re-unification services:

Losing your dog is a terrible experience, but luckily there is a now an organisation who can help protect your dog and re-unite you should the worst happen. The Missing Pets Bureau register your dog and then will help you recover him should he ever go missing – and that’s not all, they can also take a DNA swab from your dog’s mouth and this can be used to prove the identity of your dog in a court of law. Have a look at their website at www.missingpetsbureau.com or call them on 08701 999 000.

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Road traffic accidents:

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Cars are one of the biggest killers of dogs. Everyday dogs are killed and injured as they run out in front of cars and are knocked down. The best thing to do is, of course, to stop your dog from being at risk. Make sure she’s always on the lead whenever you’re near a busy road, no matter how well behaved you think she is, and check the security of your garden to make sure she can never escape and end up wandering onto a road.

If the worst does happen though, there are a few important things to remember which could help save your dog’s life.

Firstly, make sure she is safe from further injury. If she’s lying in the road, carry her gently to the verge and make her comfortable there.

Secondly, identify and stop any obvious bleeding by applying direct pressure through a rolled up t-shirt or other item of clothing.

And finally, get her to your own vets (or emergency vets if it is out of hours) straight away, where they will be able to assess her injuries and get her treated straight away.

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Socialisation:

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The world can be a confusing place for a young dog, and so it’s not surprising that they can get very upset by some of the stranger things we expect them to cope with.
Take cars for example. They may seem very normal and mundane to us, but to a dog who has never seen the world move in front of his eyes like that, they can be very scary indeed! And a scared dog, barking and growling at the steering wheel, is no fun for anyone.
The best tip for avoiding these kind of problems is to socialise your dog with anything likely to cause fear at an early stage so he can get used to it while his mind is still open to new ideas. This window of opportunity generally lasts until they are about 4 months old – so as soon as your dog is fully protected with his vaccinations, get him out and about meeting and greeting!

Things to get your dog used to…

• Going in the car
• Meeting people in wheel chairs
• People on bicycles
• Kids on skateboards
• Shopping trolleys
• Cats
• Farm animals

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Training - basics:

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Lots of people think that the only way to train a dog is to shout at it loudly and give it a smack whenever it does something wrong. This is entirely wrong, and negative training such like this should be used as sparingly as possible – and physical discipline should never be required.

It’s much more effective to reward the dog whenever he does the right thing, as this motivates the dog to follow your commands and not to misbehave.

Negative commands should only be used when a dog is doing something he really knows he shouldn’t be – such as trying to steal a sly sausage off the kitchen table!

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Training - clickers:

One of the best innovations in dog training has been the clicker. These are small plastic devices which make a loud ‘click’ when you press them. Now you might be wondering how a click can help train a dog – well the answer is in those famous Pavlovian dogs who learnt to salivate whenever they heard a bell. It happened because they were always fed whenever a bell sounded, and so they quickly began to associate the sound of the bell with eating. Later on, they still subconsciously associated the sound of a bell with food, and so they produced saliva, even though there wasn’t food around anymore when the bell rang.

To use this principle in dog training is really easy. All you do is get your dog to associate the sound of the clicker with a reward, such as a biscuit. Whenever he does something good, like sit on command, you click the clicker and give him a treat. After a while, you can start to leave out the treats and just click the clicker, as you dog will have come to associate the sound of the click with a reward – in effect the click itself has become the reward in the dog’s mind.

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Training - howling at night:

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When you bring a new puppy home, the first few nights often turn into a battle of wills as the new arrival demands attention throughout the night. The best solution is to be firm from day one, and teach your puppy that howling brings no reward. Endure one long night of howling without returning to comfort your puppy and you she will never try it again. If you give in at 3am, she’ll be sure to try the same tactic the next night – only this time she knows she might have to persist until at least the same time again.

It might sound harsh, but dog training is all about being firm and fair. Lay down your ground rules from day one, and you’ll have a happy, well-behaved dog – and neighbours who still talk to you!

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Training - sit:

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This is one of the basic commands your dog should obey – and also one of the easiest to teach. A good tip for getting your dog to sit really easily is to take a small treat and hold it above his nose, and then move the treat slightly backwards. As his eyes follow the treat, his back end will naturally drop down towards the ground. As this happens, give him the ‘Sit!’ command so he associates the action with the word. Once his bottom is down, give him lots of praise and let him eat the treat (and give the clicker a click if you are using that method). Easy!

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Vaccinations:

One of the most vital parts of looking after a dog is to have him vaccinated. This protects him against some really nasty diseases, including distemper, parvovirus and leptospirosis. Not long ago, before most dogs were routinely vaccinated, these diseases killed thousands of animals every year, so they really are an essential part of looking after your new friend.

The injections themselves are very small, and generally painless. Most vets will put the needle into the scruff, and this part of the skin is not at all sensitive to pain, as it is where bitches pick up their puppies using their teeth.

The first injection should be given when a puppy is about 8 weeks old, and the second 2-4 weeks later. Full protection comes a week after the second jab, so it’s worth keeping away from parks and other communal spaces until then. After these first injections, most vets recommend annual boosters against leptospirosis, and full boosters every 2 or 3 years.

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Vomiting:

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Being sick can be a sign of serious ill health – but it can also be perfectly normal for lots of dogs. I’ve known many dogs who would regularly bring back their dinner every now and then (and then proceed to wolf it down again of course!) so you shouldn’t worry if your dog develops a similar habit. It’s generally caused by over-eating or eating too quickly, and if you want to stop it, try feeding smaller meals more frequently.

On the other hand though, persistent vomiting can be a sign of serious problems, and if your dog suddenly starts being sick it’s important to get to the vets as soon as possible for a check up.

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Worming:

Intestinal worms can cause serious illnesses for both puppies and adult dogs – and some roundworms can even pose a health threat to people, especially children. Thankfully they are easy to deal with, and you can keep your dog worm free by regularly dosing with a good quality wormer from your vet. Puppies should be wormed every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old, and adult dogs should be treated once very 3 months.

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