Monthly Archives: January 2015

Dogs, health

Hip Dysplasia in Dogs

Hip displasia is a crippling and painful disease.  The dog’s hip to weaken, deteriorate and become arthritic.  There is abnormal development of the hip joint the head of the femur doesn’t fit into the socket.  It can be mild or severe and cause crippling arthritis.

Hip displasia occurs more often in males than females.   Some breeds are genetically predisposed to the disease, including German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and rottweilers. Environmental factors like type of diet, weight gain and rate of growth also contribute to abnormal hip development.

Diplasia develops in young growing dogs; the earliest age is approximately four months, and can develope at 3 – 12 months of age.  It also occurs in mature or senior dogs.

You may notice an abnormal gait, reduced function or lameness.  A puppy with hip displasia may have difficulty going up and down stairs.  An older dog may have trouble getting up or sitting down.

If your dog exhibits any of the following symptoms, consult your veterinarian:

  • Hind leg lameness (one or both legs)
  • Swaying or staggering
  • Discomfort when attempting to lie down or stand up
  • Reluctance to run and jump
  • Difficulty rising
  • Abnormal gait
  • “Bunny-hopping gait”
  • Changes in jumping behavior/reluctance to jump
  • Decreased activity/exercise intolerance
  • Some dogs can have a clicking sounds that you can hear when they walk or rise to get up
  • Diminished muscle mass in rear legs (in chronic cases)

Your vet will check the dog’s gait looking for lameness while walking or trotting.   X-rays will help confirm your vet’s diagnosis.  It will show the hip displasia and amount of arthritis.

In playful young dogs, sedation may be necessary.

Keep an eye on your dog’s gait.  My German Shepherd Dog, Logan, who left us 1 1/2 years ago, died from Degenerative Myopathy, DM.  This is similar to MS in humans.  It develops slowly, 1-3 years.  We were in a local dog park.  I noticed that his rear legs seemed wobbly; someone else also noticed and commented about his gait.  That was about 3 1/2 years ago.  German Shepherd Dogs are particularly susceptible.

Diana Ruth Davidson, Chief Pet Officer and Managing Nanny, Westside Dog Nanny

We offer pet services such as:  Pet Sitting,  In-Home Dog Boarding, Dog Walking, Overnights in your home, Doggie Day Care.

Diana@WestsideDogNanny.com
310 919 9372

 

 

Dog Training, Dogs

Dog Obedience Training.

The following is how to discipline a dog.  Dog obedience training has very specific ways of doing things.  This rigidity has a reason:  dogs can’t reasonly comprehend  the changes in their environment or changes in the words they are hearing.   They respond to consistency and easy-to-read signals about what we want them to do.  This is why we repeat instructions over and over again, and in a particular tone of voice until they learn the action.

Dogs love rules, regulations and consistency.  They need structure; cannot handle ambiguity.  They appreciate dog commands. They don’t understand the English language as we use it……they understand the comands they learned.   Remember they are dogs and cannot think through a situation like a human; they perform what they were taught to do.  This is why trainers repeat over and over, in movement and verbal commands, again a move until the dog gets it.

Another important factor in dog obedience training is tone of voice.  Commands should be given with sense of authority, firmly, and slightly above normal speaking voice, and not in a conversational tone.  No loving tones until you praise the dog when he is successful in learning move.  The dog then knows this is a command he must listen to and not just a “lovey dovey”.  When you speak in a “normal” voice, the dog does not interpret this as a commend he must obey.  Your voice is extremly important:  the firmness, above normal speaking voice.

Training becomes a lot easier when once considers that dogs want to please us.  When they perform a task, we go “flippy-do” and give them praise.  This is what they live for…to please us.  This is ingrained in dogs.  This is why we love them-they love us!

 

Diana Ruth Davidson, Chief Pet Officer and Managing Nanny, Westside Dog Nanny

We offer pet services such as:  Pet Sitting,  In-Home Dog Boarding, Dog Walking, Overnights in your home, Doggie Day Care.

Diana@WestsideDogNanny.com
310 919 9372

Diet, Dogs, health

DOES MY DOG NEED A GRAIN FREE DIET? DOES MY DOG NEED A GLUTEN FREE DIET?

Most dogs do not actually require a grain free or a gluten free diet.

Proponents of grain-free diets say that dogs’s ancestors did not eat them.  However, dogs have evolved to be able to digest grains.  They have evolved genes to allow them to diegest carbohydrates.   Today these grain-free diets are not required for metabolism.

Gluten-free diets are necessary when celiac disease is present; however, celiac disease is uncommon in dogs.

For dogs that have allergies to grains, a grain-free diet would be appropriate.

Here are some symptoms of allergies in dogs:

  • Itchiness
  • Excessive hair loss
  • Bald patches
  • Inflamed skin
  • Sores and scabs
  • “Hot spots”

Research has shown that only the Irish Setter is subject to Celiac Disease. A small number have shown a congenital disease that results in intolerance to gluten.  These setter are small in number and only in the UK.

So, unless your dog has allergies, stick to regular dog food.

Diana Ruth Davidson, Chief Pet Officer and Managing Nanny, Westside Dog Nanny

We offer pet services such as:  Pet Sitting,  In-Home Dog Boarding, Dog Walking, Overnights in your home, Doggie Day Care.

Diana@WestsideDogNanny.com
310 919 9372

 

Dog Psychology, Dogs

Animal Emotions. Do Animals Have Emotions?

Do our pets have emotions?  Many of us would say yes.  I would.  I had a German Shepherd Dog for 12 years.  When Logan was 3, I got a 3-month-old Abyssianian cat, Isabel.  They bonded.  Isabel would snuggle up to Logan.  Now, he was a bit stand offish and probably thought it’s only a cat.  Isabel loved him.  A year later, I got another Aby, Abigail.  The girls were always together.

Logan died a 1 1/2 years ago and Abigail crossed over the Rainbow Bridge 8 months ago.  I noticed a decided change in Isabel’s behavior.  She became a “velcro” cat:  she was always with me, and always “talking to me”.  This was totally different behavior.  She always slept with me under the covers.   Now, she stretches across my neck and positions herself right next to my face on the pillow……….sometimes it’s a bit difficult to breathe through her fur.  Of course, I love this.

It is obvious to me that Isabel missed Logan and Abigail and now she clings to me.  Which is fine.

Do dogs feel jealous?  Jealousy requires cognitive ability to determine self-esteem and to comprehend rival.  There is a study where a person held a stuffed dog that whinned and barked.  The person was very affectionate with the doll.  The dogs either pushed at the dog or owner, or tried to get in between owner and doll.  If the object was not dog-like, these behaviors did not occur.

Studies done with rats are interesting.  Laughing-like vocalizations have been heard in rats.  Tickling the rats produced a laugh-like vocalizations.   The rats who were tickled were more likely to approach the handler than the rats not tickled.

Pigs have been shown to exhibit empathy toward other pigs in their pen.  Pigs in positive situations displayed empathy toward other pigs.  Pigs in isolation displayed no empathy.  In order to demonstrate empathy, the pigs must comprehend the emotions of the other pigs.  Cortisol [stress hormone] was higher in the empathetic pigs indicting they recognized the stress of the pigs.

So, the next time you see an animal seemingly to act in an emotional behavior, you probably are right.

Diana Ruth Davidson, Chief Pet Officer and Managing Nanny, Westside Dog Nanny

We offer pet services such as:  Pet Sitting,  In-Home Dog Boarding, Dog Walking, Overnights in your home, Doggie Day Care.

Diana@WestsideDogNanny.com
310 919 9372