Looking after a dog is a huge responsibility. In a lot of ways it is more demanding than looking after a person as a dog is 100% dependant on us to provide them with everyday essentials. A dog does not ask for a great deal in life. Essentially a dog can survive if we provide them with shelter, food and water. But this can not be considered as looking after a dog or any other animal for that matter. By bringing a dog in to our homes we are, in a sense, taking away the dogs liberty. Of course most of the time we will be providing the dog with a happy and action filled life that they could never have received if the were living in the wild as part of a pack. However it must be remembered that no dog has ever asked to come and live with us and we are not doing a dog a favour by simply providing it with 'the bare essentials'.



Dogs are first and foremost pack animals. They are not solitary loners and they do require mental and physical stimulation to thrive. Right from birth a dog is learning the ways of the world and forming it's own personality. The experiences of a puppy will have a huge bearing on how the dog turns out in later life. As with humans, genetics will play a large role in the dogs character but beyond that, the experience the mother passes on to her puppies will have at least as much and often more influence on how the pup sees the world.



The bond between a mother and her puppies is a great one. Even if the mother has not been particularly good at rearing the puppies, she may even have disowned some of them, the pups will consider their mother to be the be all and end all in their lives. It has to be understood that when we take a pup we will become the most important thing in their lives and we must make sure that the pup receives the care, stimulation and protection that we have denied them from their pack.



It can not be stressed enough that while physical well being is vital, so is mental stimulation and a well balanced life style.

Physical Care Requirements Regular health checks should be conducted by your vet but you should also be constantly providing your dog with certain health-care treatment.



Worming Worming should be done at least twice a year. You should also be astute enough to spot the tell tale symptoms if your dog already has a worm infestation. Symptoms can include weight loss, increased appetite, poor coat condition, mucus in the eyes, excessively bad breath, lethargy, constant irritation around the back passage, visible spine, pot belly and in some cases vomiting. If you do suspect your dog as having worms then, although unpleasant, you should closely examine the dogs faeces for evidence of either round or tape worm. Tape worm is rarer and it appears in segments and is flat. The more common round worm is pointed at both ends and looks like small strands of noodles, it is a pale yellow.



If you suspect your dog of having worms but don't find any evidence in the faeces this does NOT mean that your dog is worm free. Dogs do not always pass worms until they have been well treated. If you are slightly concerned with the prospect of your dog having worms then you must treat it immediately. It is quite common for people to suspect their dog of having worms and yet fail to treat the animal as they believe that the dog is only meant to wormed at a specific date and then wait until that date before worming.



You can not harm a dog by worming it more than twice a year. You must be aware of not worming too much within a short space of time between wormings and even more so with pups but it is not out of the question, in theory, to worm a dog more than 6 times a year if that dog is prone to picking up worms. There are many different worming treatments available. Some are for specifically for the treatment of round worm and others are multi-wormers. It must be noted that dogs can pick up worms other than round and tape but these are rarer.



You will usually find that if your dog still appears to be infested after a good treatment with a quality worming product that your dog may have one of the other forms of worm and vetinary advice should be sought. Wormers such as Panacur, Lopatol and Drontal Plus are excellent in the treatment of worms. If you are put off by the price of these products compared to some others, then check the ratio between dosage and body weight. You may find that the cheaper option requires far more tablets.



Dental Care In the shops there are now lots of different products for keeping dogs teeth and gums healthy. A dog should never have to have dental treatment if they have been provided with regular bones, raw-hide products and many other options that are now readily available. If your dogs mouth is in need of medical treatment ask yourself why. Unlike us dogs don't fill their faces with Mars bars, sweets and other confectionery. But sometimes we do give our beloved pets what we would consider to be a treat such as a piece of chocolate etc. You are not doing your dog any favours by giving them sugar. It is not a part of a dogs diet and just because we like does not mean the dog will gain the same satisfaction.



If you would like to give your dog a treat they would be perfectly happy with whatever it is you chose to give them - the fact that YOU are giving them a treat should be pleasurable enough and often a hand full of cornflakes or such like is very well appreciated. (Most dogs idea of heaven is either aniseed or cheese but this to should be give very sparingly) It is wise to let your dog have access to some sort of raw-hide based chew at least once a week as this will act as a K-9 toothbrush and will clear the dogs mouth of any debris or tartar. Every so often a knuckle bone will go down well and not only will your dog love you for it, so will their teeth.



Diet All dogs are ancestors of the wolf. All wolves are scavengers. As with many other characteristics the wolf gene is fairly small in some but large in others, but it manifests its self, in some way in all dogs. Why are some dogs greedy? Is it because we don't feed them enough? Are they genuinely hungry?



How come I had a Jack Russell that used to pick at his food and often leave it completely and now I have a Labrador that virtually eats us out of house and home? The answer to this is again down to the wolf. 99% of the time a dog that is begging for food and giving you that "I haven't eaten for days" look is usually not hungry or under-fed. So why does he bolt his food and then come looking for more? It is because since this particular dog is displaying the scavenging instinct more predominantly.



A wolf pack really does not know were it's next meal is coming from. Sometimes they wont have eaten for days at a time, so every opportunity that comes along will be treated as if it is the last meal for a long time. And after gauging if another feeding opportunity arises straight away they will take it, and some dogs are no different. We know that they are going to get fed at the same time tomorrow, but the dog may have adopted the attitude that today's meal could be the last for a month. If you were to constantly try and satisfy this type of dogs appetite you would almost certainly condemn the dog to an early grave. It is a sad fact that this happens all too often.



On the other hand many dogs quickly accept the routine of being fed at the same time every day and become quite blas? about the whole thing, often leaving food for a later date, after all they know that you're not going to get down on all fours and get stuck in to their delicious bowl of tripe and biscuit, so if there are no other food threats in the house they can simply afford to pick and choose their feeding times. Again this is not 100% satisfactory.



In an ideal world the dog should gobble down their meal and then be quite satisfied for the day, and this is often how a lot of dogs are. If you have a dog that is 'fussy' over food, although we just joked about you getting down on all fours, believe it or not, if the dog really does think you are food threat it may encourage them to eat the food while it is still around.



If you take the food away the minute the dog starts to show these symptoms it can often cure the problem. As regards what you feed your dog, there are literally hundreds of companies out there telling us that their food is the finest, juiciest or healthiest. At the end of the day dogs are like us in the fact some of them like one thing, others like something completely different (Labradors like just about anything that is even slightly edible) Try and find a food that suits your dogs lifestyle.



If you have a Yorkshire Terrier that is quite happy to stroll around the garden once a week and call it exercise, then don't feed it a food designed for Greyhounds or Working dogs and vice-versa. It is not at all a bad idea to vary the food you give your dog and the routine in which they are fed. Dogs, like us, find that variety is the spice of life.



and action filled life that they could never have received if the were living in the wild as part of a pack. However it must be remembered that no dog has ever asked to come and live with us and we are not doing a dog a favour by simply providing it with 'the bare essentials'.





Dogs are first and foremost pack animals. They are not solitary loners and they do require mental and physical stimulation to thrive. Right from birth a dog is learning the ways of the world and forming it's own personality. The experiences of a puppy will have a huge bearing on how the dog turns out in later life. As with humans, genetics will play a large role in the dogs character but beyond that, the experience the mother passes on to her puppies will have at least as much and often more influence on how the pup sees the world.



The bond between a mother and her puppies is a great one. Even if the mother has not been particularly good at rearing the puppies, she may even have disowned some of them, the pups will consider their mother to be the be all and end all in their lives. It has to be understood that when we take a pup we will become the most important thing in their lives and we must make sure that the pup receives the care, stimulation and protection that we have denied them from their pack.