As your dog ages, certain changes occur. There are two major areas of concern as your dog enters the twilight years. These include metabolic effects and physical effects. Both indicate the need for special treatment.

Photo:Dog Is Love

Metabolic effects

As your dog ages, his or her metabolism slows down. The metabolic rate decreases. This is a natural aging process. When this combines with a lack of activity, including exercise, the need to absorb and use calories also decreases. As a result, your dog is subject to weight increases. To counteract this effect, you will need to adjust the caloric intake. You can accomplish this by switching to lite or lifestyle food. This will ensure the amount of food ingested matches the amount required to be healthy.

Adjusting the amount of food eaten daily will ensure the dog does not become fat or obese. Make sure you consult your Vet if you are considering a change in diet. Do not, however, make a change in dietary intake an excuse not to take your pet for a walk. Older dogs do require amounts of exercise. At this stage of life, you may reduce the strain and amounts, but never eliminate it. Exercise is a way of maintaining healthy bones, joints and movement capabilities.

The ability of your dog to competently fight off disease becomes compromised with increasing age. Your dog is a little more susceptible to various diseases and infections. While vaccines continue to defeat many types of health issues, certain problems remain. Do not place your dog in a stressful situation. This will increase the chance of them developing problems. If your pet receives a serious cut, be aware of the increased recovery rate. Avoid places and environments conducive to causal factors of diseases and illness.

Photo: doggiesarefromheaven

Physical effects

Different physical changes occur as the pet’s body ages. These range from the obvious to the less overt. They are all part of the natural aging process. You cannot reverse them. You need to recognize them. You need to adjust to the alterations and make sure they have no negative impact on you and your dog’s relationship.

The skin of your elder canine is no longer as elastic as it was in the past. It is now thicker. The footpads and claws also change in flexibility, sensitivity and appearance. Claws are no brittle. Joints and muscles become stiff and knotty if the dog develops arthritis or osteoarthritis.

Some dogs have a genetic predisposition towards osteoarthritis. Check to see if this is true of your pet. While you cannot eliminate this problem, you can manage it. Adopt a system of appropriate exercise. Keep the weight of your dog under control. You do not need extra pounds straining the capabilities of joints. Medication may also help. In addition, you can consider various alternative treatments. These include visiting a chiropractor or using massage.

Photo:Jobe Roco

You may also notice teeth loss and gum problems. Gum retraction and gingivitis are possible. The dog’s teeth are often, by this time, blunter. Make sure there are not serious difficulties. Have your vet describe things to look for. You can avoid or reduce some of these problems through consistent dental hygiene. In other words, brush your dog’s teeth regularly. When he or she visits the vet, include a dental check-up.

There are many other possible physical problems to consider part of the reality of old age. Humans and pets share many of these common ailments. As the body ages, human of canine, it does exhibit various changes. A dog may suffer from incontinence or the prostrate may enlarge. The chance of cardiac enlargement increases. Some dogs become senile.

The extent of the difficulties depends upon many different factors. The breed of your dog, the size, gender and upbringing all affect the types and degree of health issues and physical problems. How you address the situation and treat your dog will also influence the outcome. You have an unwritten and unspoken contract with your dog. Live up to it.

Information written by Anthoney Morrison of www.ohmydogsupplies.com, where you can find a fantastic collection of large dog clothes online.

Heartworms are parasitic worms that are common in both dogs and cats. Like their name suggests, they live in the dog’s heart, normally free-floating in the right ventricle and nearby blood vessels. The worms are transmitted from dog to dog by mosquitoes which pass the worm larvae through their saliva. The presence of heartworms can be very dangerous to the dog’s health.

Photo: asininity

Although the dog will not display signs of infection until it has progressed considerably, heartworms can be life threatening and are sometimes difficult to detect and diagnose.

How do we know?

When a dog is first infected with heartworms, there are literally no signs and the presence of heartworms can not be detected even with a blood test. Once the worm larva reaches the heart and matures, however, signs that are detectible by X-ray start to develop almost immediately. These include damage to the blood vessels around the heart and lungs. It is rare that a dog will be infected by only one worm and as the mature worms in the heart grow in size and number, the conditions worsen, eventually causing a blockage of blood flow. It is at this point that the dog will start to display physical signs which can include pain, hypertension, difficulty breathing, lethargy or even fainting.

In extremely progressed cases the dog can suffer from heart failure and death although by the time the heartworm disease has reached this stage the owner has probably realized that something is going on and sought veterinary care.

How to Treat them?

Once a dog has been diagnosed as having heartworms, treatment must be started. What this treatment is and how it is administered is dependant on the stage of heartworm infection. Generally, there are four stages of heartworm disease.

• Stage One – Dogs at the lowest risk – heartworms are detected in X-rays but all other tests appear normal.
• Stage Two – Dogs are moderately infected, may have some difficulty breathing and be demonstrating coughing
• Stage Three – Dogs are severely affected & may display weight loss, have difficulty breathing, blood tests likely show kidney and/or liver damage
• Stage Four – Dogs have Vena Cava Syndrome and are in shock, essentially dying – surgery may be undertaken to remove worms, but there is no guarantee that it will save the dog.

Photo: manyfires

When it comes to heartworms in dogs, prevention truly is the best medicine.  The best time to begin a preventative treatment is early in puppy-hood, before the dog is seven months old since dogs older than seven months are at a great risk for adverse reactions to the preventative treatments.
 

Anal Gland are occasionally referred to as "scent glands", because they enable the animals to mark their territory and identify other dogs. The glands can spontaneously empty, especially under times of stress, and create a very sudden unpleasant change in the odor of the dog. The anal glands normally empty when the dog defecates. Failure to empty results in discomfort from the full anal gland pushing on the anus.

Photo: Soi Cats & Dogs Rescue

The glands can be emptied by the dog’s keeper, or more typically by a groomer or veterinarian, by squeezing the gland so the contents are released through the small openings on either side of the anus. Discomfort is evidenced by the dog scooting its posterior on the ground, licking or biting at the anus, sitting uncomfortably, difficulty sitting or standing, or chasing its tail. Dogs will exhibit this behavior if the anus or hind quarters are itchy, but it can be a sign of an impacted anal gland which can be a problem for some dogs.

When the sacs are functioning normally they empty whenever the animal has a bowel movement. The dog’s anal sacs may become blocked. When this happens a number of problems can develop. Some are benign as a foul smell but the can lead to serious problems like diarrhea and infection.

You’ll want to hold the tail up and pull it gently toward the dog’s head. In the other hand hold a tissue or paper towel and place your thumb on the left side of the left gland and your forefinger on the right side of the right gland. Squeeze firmly but not roughly and the glands should empty a brown or yellowish liquid onto the tissue or towel.

Photo: coral11

Impacted glands will be harder to drain and the fluid may be thick and pasty with a foul odor and a dark brown, grey, or black color. Infected anal glands may produce a discharge of bloody pus and can be an indication of a more serious problem. Anal glands may be removed surgically in a procedure known as anal sacculectomy. This is usually done in the case of recurrent infection or because of the presence of an anal sac adenocarcinoma, a malignant tumor. Potential complications include fecal incontinence, tenesmus from stricture or scar formation, and persistent draining fistulae.

You meet a dog in the middle of the street on your daily afternoon walk. You decide to slowly approach the dog to perhaps find the rightful owner. You reach out to the dog to pet it only to find it crouching down and it seemed to have a disturbed look in its eye. Two seconds later the dog snaps at you for no apparent reason. Suddenly, it dawns on you that this dog is potentially an abused dog.

Photo: msnbc.msn.com

Abused dogs are known to be fear biters. And from what was described in the above paragraph simply describes a dog afraid of anyone who puts a hand near him. Some people have abused a dog badly enough to kill the poor dog. This is such a shame. Animals do not deserve to be abused just because of entertainment purposes. The abuse only leads the animals to their death. While this is considered amusement to some people, it really should be considered first degree murder in the law.

It gets even worse from here. Have you heard about the Chinese government and what they think about having dogs as pets? In 2006, there was an outbreak in rabies where a small number of humans died due to being bitten by a dog. In order to sustain this outbreak, the Chinese killed 50,000 dogs. No investigation was made to determine which dogs had the rabies, so the government went on a rampage to seek out every dog in the city. If an owner was out walking their dog, the dog was swiped out from their leash, beaten, and killed on the spot. Some owners were bribed with sixty-three cents per animal to kill their own pets before the government had a chance to snatch them. Dogs’ finders went around mimicking dog barking sounds arousing all the dogs. This process was used to detect those dogs that were in hiding.

What would you do if you were in this situation? There is no person to call who will save your pet because the government has full control. If it were me I would gather neighborhoods to retrieve the government back to some morality.  

Photo: all-creatures.org

Farming animals is another form of abuse towards these Godly creatures. I personally am a huge animal lover and would love to have a breeding facility; but to go to the extremes of caging hundreds of dogs to one cage. They would be covered in feces and fighting each other. Dogs are territorial as it is and then they are enclosed together side by side. It makes me sick to even write this article.

China is widely known for numerous cases of animal abuse. They are also known to use animals, which we Americans typically cherish as pets, as dinner. Everyone has to eat and we eat cows and chickens but we do it in a manner that is ethical to the animal. Chinese will skin a dog alive literally. To skin an animal alive is highly unmoral and I am surprised the people doing so do not get bit in the process. God needs to create a species that will attack in one large group and give the people a taste of their own medicine. The new species could skin the Chinese alive, and then they will be filing lawsuits against one another.

Dogs are known as the man’s best friend. It is widely believed that the dog was one of the first animals to be domesticated by the human race. It is believed to be domesticated while the human race was still a hunter-gatherer. Hence our relation with the canine race has been quite a long one. Dogs have faithfully acted as guards and companions for us for a long time.

Photo:Just Jo

Since the domestication of the dogs (roughly 15000 years ago according to some estimates), there has been a wide range of breeds available. There are about 475 registered breeds in the world today. This is due to the selective breeding of the dogs which allow pups with certain desirable trait in them. Some breeds are more suited to heavy works such as Siberian Husky, others are more suited to family life such as the Labrador, while there are other breeds like the Chihuahua which are more of a playful pet.

While there are a number of breeds but the most popular breeds for the year 2008 in the U.S.A according to the AKC (American kennel club) registration records is the Labrador Retriever. The other popular breeds in the top five according to the registration records were Yorkshire terrier, German Shepherd Dog, Golden Retrieve, Beagle in the decreasing order of popularity. The bulldog was the eighth popular breed, making it to the top ten for the first time in more than 70 years.

The Labrador Retriever has been the most popular dog in America since 1991. The popularity of the Labrador Retriever speaks of its ability to adapt in the role of a family dog. Some qualities and attributes of the Labrador Retriever are:

• General Temperament - The Labrador Retriever is an intelligent and family loving dog. It is quite affable and energetic, adapting well to indoors as well as outdoors, and its great love and patience for children make it the ideal dog for a home. It adapts easily to the apartment life. Also its good intelligence, loyalty, patience and eager to please attitude make it ideal for the role of helper dog. In its role as a helper dog it is used a guide dog to the physically challenged as well as companions to the elderly people. Labrador Retrievers are easy to train and very obedient making them perfect for search and rescue helper dogs for the police and other official bodies. It has also been traditionally used as a hunting dog.
• Physical Appearance - The male weighs about 30-35 kg while the female is lighter, in range of 26-32kg. Their coat is quite short and straight. The tail is otter like, broad and strong, while the toes are webbed. Their coat is interwoven and hence somewhat waterproof. Thus making Labrador quite an accomplished swimmer. They are available in five colors: black, silver, yellow, charcoal and black-and-tan.
• Life Expectancy - The average healthy Labrador Retriever is expected to live for 12- 14 years. It is quite prone to obesity. Due to its floppy ears, it may get ear infections. It also has increased risk of some inherited disorders like hip and elbow dysplasia.