This was prompted by a friend who was impatiently having concerns about his 4-month-old GSD puppy not barking at people coming to the door, as a watchdog should, yet barking during walks in the dark or at strange-looking things such as a big rock that doesn’t seem to “belong there” or at something that the …
Giardia is a single-cell organism in what we used to call “the animal kingdom” because early classification systems distinguished animals from plants by the ability of the former to move from place to place “of their own free will.” The Giardia cell does this by whipping its appendages, like a shark’s tail, or a sperm …
A very common tendency among humans, be they dog fanciers or not, is to anthropomorphize. That means we ascribe human intelligence, motives, and morals to animals. Now, this is perfectly understandable, because there ARE a few things that both people and animals do for the same “reasons” (an odd choice of words, but you know …
THE EASIEST METHOD Get some “Dr. Scholl’s” type shoe inserts designed to give comfort if you have bad shoes or bunions. Use a scissors to cut a roughly-triangular shape that will fit inside the ear. At the wider base of this flat triangle, cut a small inverted narrow V shape out so you’ll be able …
December 2011. The modern dog is to a great extent a manufactured product. That is, most breeds had been developed originally for specific purposes, but more recently have been changed via selective breeding to suit personal ideas of aesthetics (beauty). Utility has largely taken a back seat, but even in those circles where certain job …
© Copyright June, 1998, 2004 by FRED LANTING and LELAND CARMICHAEL, DVM, PhD, (Professor at Cornell) Reprinted with permission from Fred Lanting and PureBred Dogs/American Kennel Gazette, August 1988; pp. 88-93. Copyright owner: Fred Lanting Breeders’ responses to early puppy deaths vary. Some expend a great deal of effort, while others “let nature take its …
updated November 2011 WORMS Most worms (nematodes) settle and grow in the small intestine, though some species are found in the cecum, heart, lung, and other tissues in various stages of development. The intestinal nematodes produce eggs, which are carried with the digestive products to exit in the feces. But since the egg-lay¬ing does not …
The best house training uses the dogs own instincts to avoid soiling its bed to train the dog where and where not to eliminate. That is the basis behind crate training, in which the dog is confined to its crate in the absence of the owner, and den training, in which the dog is confined …
Until he has been weaned, a puppy plays with his litter mates and playthings aren’t necessary. They are even uninteresting and possibly dangerous. From the age of 6 to 8 weeks, he starts to take an interest in toys. Almost anything will do, as long as it cannot be swallowed, or cause injury. Puppies enjoy …
Play is one of the best forms of exercise for a puppy. Fifteen minutes of vigorous play can be equivalent to an hour’s walk. Many owners do not realize that games are also good vocabulary builders. When it’s all part of a game that he enjoys, your puppy will very quickly learn the meaning of …