Is Very Low Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) Always Good in Breeding Dogs?

Is very low coefficient of inbreeding (COI) always good?

What if the breeder wants to reinforce a specific good trait in the pups?


A very low coefficient of inbreeding (COI) can be beneficial in certain situations, such as reducing the risk of inherited genetic disorders or improving overall genetic diversity. However, it is not always the best approach for every breeding goal.

If a dog breeder wants to reinforce a specific good trait of the dog, they may need to consider a higher COI. This can increase the likelihood that the offspring will inherit the desired trait. However, this also increases the risk of inheriting deleterious recessive alleles from both parents, leading to a higher probability of genetic disorders or undesirable traits in the offspring.

Therefore, the decision to increase or decrease the COI should be made with careful consideration of the breeding goals and the potential risks associated with inbreeding. A responsible breeder should prioritize the health and welfare of the dogs and strive to produce puppies that are both healthy and possess the desired traits. This can often be achieved through selective breeding practices and careful genetic testing, without resorting to high levels of inbreeding.

Important Reads (Not to be missed)
Click Through Below Links

An Insight Into The Coefficient Of Inbreeding (COI) in Dog Breeding

How to Calculate Coefficient Of Inbreeding (COI)

Popular Sire Syndrome - A Curse for Many Popular Breeds Today

So, how should a dog breeder consider Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) while framing his breeding program?


A responsible dog breeder should seriously consider the coefficient of inbreeding (COI) when framing their breeding program. COI is a measure of the likelihood that an individual dog has inherited the same alleles from both parents, indicating a high level of relatedness between the parents.

Breeding dogs with a low COI can help to reduce the risk of inherited genetic disorders and increase genetic diversity, which can be beneficial for the health and welfare of the offspring. However, this may also result in a lower likelihood of producing offspring with specific desirable traits.

On the other hand, breeding dogs with a higher COI may increase the likelihood of producing offspring with specific desirable traits, but may also increase the risk of inheriting deleterious recessive alleles from both parents.

Therefore, when framing their breeding program, a dog breeder should carefully consider the goals of their program and select breeding pairs with a COI that is appropriate for their goals. This may involve conducting genetic testing to identify potential risks and to ensure the health and welfare of the offspring.

A responsible breeder should prioritize the health and welfare of the dogs and strive to produce puppies that are both healthy and possess the desired traits. This can often be achieved through selective breeding practices and careful genetic testing, without resorting to high levels of inbreeding.


Here's an example of how a dog breeder might consider the coefficient of inbreeding (COI) while framing his breeding program:


Suppose a breeder wants to produce puppies with a specific desirable trait, such as a slightly longer croup, and also wants to minimize the risk of genetic disorders like displastic hip, in the offspring. In this case, the breeder might select breeding pairs with a low to moderate COI to balance the competing goals.

The breeder might start by conducting genetic testing on potential breeding dogs to identify any carriers of genes for common genetic disorders. Then, they would look for breeding pairs that have a low to moderate COI to reduce the risk of inherited genetic disorders while also increasing genetic diversity.

Once the breeding pairs have been selected, the breeder might also use selective breeding practices to further enhance the desired trait, such as hypoallergenic coat, while also ensuring that the puppies are healthy and well-adjusted.

By carefully considering the goals of the breeding program and selecting breeding pairs with an appropriate COI, the breeder can increase the likelihood of producing puppies that meet their desired traits and are healthy with minimal chances of developing genetic disorders. When these pups are grown enough to be bred, the same plan can be repeated by selecting breeding pair for him/her with a low to moderate COI to meet the competing goals, without resorting to high levels of linebreeding.

Important Reads (Not to be missed)
Click Through Below Links

An Insight Into The Coefficient Of Inbreeding (COI) in Dog Breeding

How to Calculate Coefficient Of Inbreeding (COI)

Popular Sire Syndrome - A Curse for Many Popular Breeds Today

Read more...

Dog Handling in Shows - Types of Turns in Front of the Judge

Are you an aspiring show dog handler? 

 If yes, this micro chapter is what you need to Go through; Understand; Practice and Grasp the basic methods. There are 3 ways to initiate a turning models, while moving away from the judge to show the dog's gait. 

  1) Courtesy Turn - When the handler makes a small circular movement right in front of the judge. This circular movement is basically meant to settle yourself along with your dog in fornt of the judge, thereby giving yourself and your dog a little time or organize and get ready for a good gait presentation, displaying a smooth and balanced trot. 

  2) Side Start Turn - Side start turn starts behind the judge or from one side of the judge. After the judge asks the handler to present the gait, the handler (who has practiced the dog for a side start turn) takes his dog little behind the judge, then takes the dog by your side, gets organized, then settles himself/herself and the dog right in front of the judge and starts the movement to show the dog's gait. 

3) Straight Away - When the handle choses to step in from of the judge and taking the dog straining away leaving the judge behind.

There is no hard and fast rule/norm to follow a specific movement pattern, but you need to chose the pattern based on what suits our dog the best. None of these pattern is mandatory in the show ring. Therefore chose your style, based on your how your dog act on it.

However, it is important that the handler needs to maintain good posture while he/she moves the dog. Handlers needs to be consistenty keep an eye on the dog (instead of looking at the judge) and should be aware of the judge's position in the field and the route that he should take while doing a Courtesy Turn or a Side Start. Since the dog is being held in the left hand a Courtesy turn should be clockwise (left to right turn). The handler MUST be consistently attentive and the dog MUST be in control of the handler (without force). The handler and the dog has to exhibit a wonderful bonding and coordination in the ring, wihtout which winning can be tough or impossible. Forceless presentation gives the couple an additional mileage in the ring. Score doesn't depend on the movement approach (while moving away from the judge). Be it a Courtesy Turn approacch or a Side Start or Straight Away approach, gaiting MUST be effortless for both the dog and the handler. It should be in a straight line and at the right pace (as per the breed and nature of the dog). What a judge looks forward to is a controlled trot with pressure/ force.

National Dog Show 2019: Best in Show (Full Judging) | NBC Sports

This videos will give you a great idea about the showmanship techniques 

Dog Show Tips & Tricks: Courtesy Turns & Intro to Free Stacks | Show toWin

This videos will give you a great idea about the 3 Movement Approaches

 

 

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Dog Psychology – Does Rex Sleeps by Touching His Back to You?

Yes! He does!  Here’s why… 

Rex tend to sleep touching your back with his back because he trusts you.

That’s an indication that your dog has complete faith and trust on you.  As commonly found with most dogs, the way they sleep is by lying sideways with their legs stretched out. This indicates that the dog is relaxed and out of stress. Along with this, if he keep his back in touch with you, then it indicates that the dog is not only relaxed and comfortable but telling you how deeply he trusts you. This happens when you have already built a strong bond with you dog. If you have not seen this behavior in your dog, it means you have not been able to build up and foster a strong bond with him to the desirable extent.

For a dog parent, it is really satisfying when their dogs show trust on them and they can trust their dogs. It is really crucial that there should be a mutual trust the dog and his owner to maintain a healthy environment while sharing life with dog(s).

There are a few sure shot ways to get trust of your dogs. Here’s how…

Don’t lose your cool when Rex shows excitement

Rex should naturally have a tendency to greet your with loads of excitement while you are back after the long day. He will jump, whine and even bark and show undesirably excited behavior. Most people show back excitement. That’s not suggested. Showing back excitement will make them more excited and eventually you may lose your cool. Don’t lose cool. Losing your cool and/or yelling at them will break his trust on your, instead of strengthening it. Staying calm will make him calm down too, and there won’t be any reason for you to get angry on him by any chance.

Speak Soft; Touch Soft

Practice “Soft Touch” and “Soft Talk”. Don’t make strong eye contact. Let him be comfortable and relaxed. Let him build up his confidence on you. Confidence will eventually bring trust.

Sit Down at His Level

When you speak with them or interact with them anyway, bring yourself down at his level; sit in front or beside him with calm behavior. Remember that you have got into Rex’s very personal space. Hence, it is important to make him feel confident. An eye-contact and hard touch may kill his confidence and chances are there that he will start losing trust on you.

Be Approachable

If Rex is seeing you for the first time or after a very long time, let him approach you first. Do not approach him until he has already built his complete trust on you. Let him get into your personal perimeter and sniff you. Stay calm and stable, and let him know that you are a doggie friend! If you are not familiar to him, avoid touching him from the above. If he shakes himself out while touching, stay calm, composite and do not react. Behave as if you haven’t paid any attention to his action.

Go for a walk and play fetch

Winning your dog’s trust becomes easy if you give him some happy and content time. Go for a walk and play fetch. Some mental exercises may be suggested – especially if he is a working breed. Hiding his favorite toy and letting him find it and bring it back to you is a very effective mental exercise. Be a leader of the pack. Make him feel that his life with you is a pack happiness. And you will automatically get his trust.

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Selective Breeding and Its Severe Adverse Effects on Dogs

 

Human intervention in animal breeding has done bad alongside good to species.

Humans have been striving hard to have specific characteristics (of human interest) in plants and animals, thereby setting a goal to produce offspring, inheriting specific traits. Selective breeding procedure have been in the scene for several hundreds of years now. Humans have been taking very strategic actions, with knowledge of science in framing breeding programs that help both plants and animals to achieve adaptability (as desired by humans). 

Selective breeding has definitely come as a blessing to the planet in many fronts. Selective breeding has helped to discard many health disorders. It has tremendously helped in refining a species or a breed. Moreover, we can get more fruits and crops, cattle can produce more milk, sheep can produce more wool and so on... 

However, on the other level, human intervention in animal breeding has done and has been constantly doing massive harms. Some of the most significant adverse effects on dogs 

1) Animals are restricted to evolve naturally (for human interest), which is against the law of nature!

Selective breeding programs have hugely impaired to the natural evolutionary processes. With a goal, in mind, to produce offspring with specific traits and to contribute to the adaptability, humans are trying to take Nature's responsibilities in his own hands. Animals are losing their natural adaptability in a gradually manner, which is certainly due to genetic loss! And that's a permanent loss. 

Many people who wonder why stray dogs are more hardy and more adaptable to atmospheric and environmental changes than their pure breed counter parts, should get their answer here!

2) Selective Breeding Programs Have Exposed Dogs to The Risks Being Inbred

Purebred dogs often times come from the same small group of ancestral lines. This allows the coefficient of inbreeding to shoot up eventually generation by generation. This means the measurement of consanguinity index (that are found in the dogs based on their overall pedigrees) becomes little higher generation after generation with selective breeding programs that are designed to push the desirable traits.

Higher the index of consanguinity, closeness is the relationship.

Many so-called breeders forget that they are working with life. Most often they select breeding partners that have a great specimens present in the 3rd, 4th or 5th generation of both breeding partners, in order to get the desirable traits. The desirable traits are flown in, along with certain issues as well. Identifying the common ancestors is of immense importance.

Screenshot of a paper (authored by Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College, London and The Kennel Club, London) published in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)

3. Selective Breeding Generates Possibility of "Popular Sire Syndrome" 

Many of you may be new to this phrase - "Popular Sire Syndrome". Popular Sire Syndrome happens when a particular stud is being overly and widely used for a particular trait of a particular set of traits. If too many breeders are looking for particular trait(s), then there will be too many breeding requests for a specific stud. Too much of genetic materials being shared for a particular trait that a large community of breeders are running behind. This has a positive effect, because good traits are being passed on to generations. But in the long run there will certainly be severe adverse effects as there will be a noticeable depression in genetically strong population of any breed of dogs. Sooner or later the index of consanguinity will rise exponentially, and that will mark the start of breed extinction.

I guess the victimized breeds are German Shepherds, Dobermans, Boxers, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Bullmastiffs etc. because these are some of the most popular breeds that have been making money for breeders (both knowledgeable breeders and puppy millers).

     

4) No Body Can Ensure That The Positive Traits Will Be Passed On to Next Generation 

There's no way to ensure that the offspring from a particular selective breeding will bear the traits that the breeder is looking for, until the breeding partners bear "exactly same" genetic profile that the breeder wants to see in the next generation. There's only one parent with the desired trait and hence there's not more than 50% (or even as low as 25% in some offspring) probability that the offspring will bear the trait desired. However dominant the stud may be, there will always be a chance that the offspring be seen with entirely different traits than the sire and dam. There may also be some probability that offspring instead of bearing desirable traits, may exhibit better traits that in future may be considered as more desirable!

Most often breeders who have invested hugely in dog breeding business, comes up with guarantee about specific traits. Outcome of a breeding at the end of the day is the Nature's decision!

Breeders Boasting at Linebreeding Programs

It is most important to understand that Linebreeding programs are also exposed to the similar risks as Inbreeding programs. While inbreeding involves breeding partners that are genetically related, linebreeding involves partners that are genetically related - but more distantly. Breeders who talk about the disadvantages of inbreeding, and line-breed their dogs should know that Linebreeding Is Also a Type Of Inbreeding That Involves Breeding Partners That Are Genetically "Distantly" Related.

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Elderly or Senior Dog Caring Tips

We have been getting request for more information and help via Messages on our Welcome Dog Lovers Facebook Page. We have selected some interesting questions related to Senior Dog Caring Tips and tried to answer them in a way so as to make a nice blog post. We thought his will be of great help to our readers.

1) My Rottweiler is 11 years old. Should I consider him to be too old? Does it mean that my dog has reached an age of approximately 77 human years? Can my elderly dog be considered to be as safe with unknown children as he used to be three-four years back? We are concerned about him and keep eye on his health. We do not skip regular visit to our vet to ensure he keeps well.

(Query by Ketevan lobjanidze, Tbilisi, Georgia. Thank you Ketevan)

Your dog ages faster than you. Major health changes naturally occur in quite a high pace than in humans. Aging in animals actually vary and in the canine kingdom aging varies from type to type. While for small and toy breeds 7 years is an old age, for a medium and large breeds (having shorter span of life) the age of 6 years is considered geriatric. Your Rottie, at an age of 11 years is senior dog and you are already taking take special care for him. We oppose the popular belief that 1 year of a dog's life is equal to 7 years of a human's life. Practically, there's no logic to consider such calculation as reliable.

At this age many dogs tend to become more aloof than before, thereby developing behavior issues. They need good amount of rest without disturbance. Behavior may become unpredictable in a senior dog, hence unknown children should not be allowed near him unsupervised. It is always advised to keep children near an old dog under supervision.

2) I am Seaneka Nixon from Freeport, Bahamas. I have been a loyal reader of the chapters in your website since four years. I have 2 German Shepherd Dogs, named Rolley and Abey. Rolley is 12 years and Abbey 10+. Both of them are showing changes in their behaviors. Both Rolley and Abey are gradually becoming more and more dependent on me and my husband; Rolley more on me. Rolley has always been a very nice dog and even at his age of 12 years he is very friendly and docile, but he shows occasional uncharacteristic aggression, which most of the times becomes unpredictable. So far we have not noticed any kind of such aggressive behavior in Abey. What signs related to their behaviors and health should we be concerned about in our older dogs?  

(Query by Seaneka Nixon , Freeport, Bahamas. Thank you Seaneka)

Both your dogs – Rolley and Abey are older dogs and behavioral changes in them are quite normal and should not be surprising. There may be significant changes in behaviors in a senior dog.

Here are the few behavioral changes that you may notice in your geriatric dog:

• Less interested in petting
• Less interested in interactions, greeting people, kids or other animals
• Less interested in exploration
• Less interested in exercises or play
• Do not respond much to things going on around him
• Becomes overly dependent
• Sometimes wanders about aimlessly
• Sleep less in the night and more during the day time
• Behaves more irritably, accompanied with unpredictable aggression
• Inconsistent behavior – Not necessarily aggression, but also includes a Developing tendency to lick your face more frequently
• Noticeable increase in anxiety
• Develop tendency of house soiling
• Repetitive activity
• Increased vocalization

 

Here are some more clinical symptoms:

If you notice any signs like the ones mentioned below or any other signs that are unusual you should get in touch with your vet instantly for checkup.

• Solid-appearing lumps or bumps on your dogs’ skin
• Constipation or diarrhea or inconsistency in releasing bowel
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• Body stiffness
• Weakness
• Sudden deterioration of health
• Unusual discharges
• Changes in weight (getting too heavy or too thin)
• Changes in appetite (tendency to eat both more or less)
• Changes in frequency of urination or changes urine color and smell
• Changes in water intake (both overly decreased or increased water intake tendency)
• Stiffness or limping

General health risks that an elderly dog may get exposed to are:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Hepatic (liver) disorders
• Hyperglycemia (increase in blood sugar level)
• Hypoglycemia (decrease in blood sugar level)
• Joint or bone issues
• Renal (kidney) or urinary tract disorder
• Senility and Dementia
• General Debility (Weakness)

 

3) Hi, My name is Megan, and I live in Ashford, Kent. Wax – my beloved German shepherd is getting older. What kind of a food management should we follow for Wax? Is there any special type of senior dog food types to be followed for Wax? He has always been on home made diet and we have He is over 8 years and will be 9 in March 2015. We are a dog lover family. All of us in our family want Wax to stay happy and healthy all through! Waiting in the anticipation of your valued response soon.  

(Query by Megan, Ashford, Kent. Thank you Megan)

 

 

We would not suggest you any abrupt change his Wax’s food components and diet system, as long as he gets all desired nutrients to keep healthy and happy! Since Wax is an elderly dog he should have a maintained diet with controlled amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Obesity in dogs happens when your dog gets an inadequate level exercise and the extra glucose that is converted by the digestion of carbohydrates gets stored as fat. Moreover in an elderly dog maldigestion may occur at any point of time due to the sudden change in food.

 

A good senior dog food should contain natural enzymes necessary to break down carbohydrates. You can try yogurt, broccoli, parsley, papaya, carrots. If your dog shows no unusual symptoms, you can carry on with these along with the existing food.

 

Yogurt is a rich source of Probiotics - beneficial bacteria that enhances digestive health, and hence this is a wise addition to your senior dog food.

Egg is rich source of protein and is directly associated with several health benefits. Boiled eggs are easier for your geriatric dog to digest.

Liver is nutrient-dense food, having all essential vitamins and trace minerals and can help your elderly dog to keep healthy. You can feed small amounts liver regularly.

Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that support immunity. Fish such as salmon and trout can be added to your dog’s diet. Raw salmon may lead to salmon poisoning and can be potentially dangerous.

Meat - Lamb, beef are good because they are rich source of iron, zinc and other essential nutrients. Organ meat, such as liver, heart and kidney, added to your senior doog food a few times a week is a great idea. Chicken heart, liver and neck are good for your elderly dog.

 

 

4) I will be taking my elderly dog - 11 year old girl, Cindy, to the vet in a week or so for a yearly health check-up. I know that that my regular vet will not be at her desk as she’s out of the country for a couple of months and a new vet will be there whom I do not know much.

 

My concern is if I should go for vaccinating my girl. As I told she’s already 11 years old, will the normal vaccination that I gave her all through her life each year (4-in-1 vaccine that covers Distemper, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus) be safe for Cindy?

 (Query via Email - Name: Judy Ashley as per email signature and Place not mentioned)

 

Especially when it comes to an senior dog Cindy’s vaccination requirement may be different. It is highly suggested that you should talk to your regular vet who has been checking Cindy for so many years. Also keep in mind that Older dogs usually have impaired immune system that doesn’t work as good as a young dog. Also very important to beer in mind is that the vaccines that Cindy may need may be based on where you are currently living and the environmental condition you have.

 

 

5) Hi. My name is Jerry, owner of a small restaurant here in Jacksonville I have a 10 year old Neopolitan Mastiff Rado. Rado seems to be in pain. He is not active as he used to be. I have talked to my Vet and he says Rado’s developed arthritis? Any suggestion?  

(Questioned by Jerry from Jacksonville, Florida. Thank you Jerry)

 

 

Great that you have already talked to your vet and got Rado examined. Arthritis is too common in the older dogs, especially in the large and heavy weight breeds like Danes, GSD, Mastiffs, labs etc. Other joint disorders are also common found in the elderly dog.

 

I would suggest a giving Rado a good diet, avoid over-feeding, avoid high protein diet. Omega-3 fatty acids, especially EPA, has been found to be having high benefit in reducing arthritic inflammation. omega-3 fatty acids also prevents cardiac problems associated with old age in dogs.

 

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) is the most common treatment for arthritis in elderly dogs, and should only be administered under a strict supervision of a experienced and registered vet.

Related Reads

Feeding and Nutrition

Health Issues in Dogs

Dog Care Tips

Read more...

Human Relationship With Dogs and its Effects on Life During Covid Pandemic

The nature of the human's relationship with their companion dogs has witnessed a big change due to the restrictions imposed on human lives owing to Covid 19! And this is entirely a new situation that needs to be given a thoughtful consideration! Many pet dogs used to be mostly alone all day while their human mates went out to workplaces or schools. The situation for many such lonely canines is now different, as their entire pack (the family) stay at home and work or school from home. This has certainly affected especially the mental health of both the dogs and their humans quite positively! I have spoken with some of my friends and readers of my blog about their lives with or without a pet while maintaining a social isolation. Most of them claimed that their lives with their companion pets were different because living with their dogs day long, while working/schooling from home has had a therapeutic psychological impact during the crisis phase of uncertainty and stressfulness. My intention was to determine how relationship of the humans with their companion canines positively contributed to their mental health during the pandemic that caused severe emotional stress. 

Interestingly, the outcome of my small personal survey is exactly in line with that of bigger and more scientific surveys that had been carried out by big institutions and organizations like MetLife, CivicScience - the market research organization, University of York and the University of Lincoln

Some Interesting Responses From my Friends and Readers in my Small Survey 

My friend from China - Vanessa Pei said, "The cute cat named Yuki... He is a male cat. My sister and her husband hardly got time to interact due to their severe workloads, which impacted their work-life balance adversely. During the work from home phase in pandemic Yuki's presence has had a great impact in the family. It's that cute cat that brought my sister and her husband closer. They have more time to talk with each other. Because the kitten help reduce my sister's and her husband's stress. They often choose to discuss the distribution of household works..." 

Bonnie

Bonnie Lindsay, my friend from California (now in Delhi) said, "Leisel is with me every moment of the day, and is my sweet girl and a Godsend during this pandemic." "It's not easy to take a selfie with a wiggly dog," she said. However, she has still tried one and sent over a beautiful picture - above! And she continued, "My Liesel impacted my life in such a loving way. I was home everyday by myself and she was with me every moment. She gave sweet "doggie kisses" to me and l know she loves me so much and I love her so much too. She is my buddy. 😊"

Mary Mcintire

Mary Mcintire, one of my readers from Michigan said, "In the US, a lot of animals have been adopted from shelters because of the pandemic, which is a great news!". She said, "They give us unconditional love, they are wonderful distraction, they make us laugh and keep us busy so we are not watching the news every second of the day. they have needs that we have to meet and that give us purpose." 

Rightly said Mary! The presence of companion pets have given a purpose to some millions of depressed humans to stay positive during this stressful social isolation phase of Covid 19 pandemic.  

The motive of this small personal survey was to determine where the presence of pet impacted their life and psychological health. 2.6% of my friends said that having a pet during this pandemic created a financial burden for them, which in turn contributed to their mental stress. Rest were very positive about their pets, having an improved mental health.  

Gaurav

 

Gaurav Sharma from Delhi, India said, "The testing times of lock-down during the Covid-19 Pandemic has taken a significant psychological toll on most of us. However, having companionship as pets is a boon for the pet owners during these times. Our pets too got to spend a lot of time with their hoomans! I brought my pet - a German Shepherd puppy during the middle of the lock-down. The time spent with him during his initial few months at home has not only helped a great lot to form a deep bond between us but also the demanding care of the puppy consumed a significant part of my free time during lock-down. As they say a busy mind is a characteristic of a modern, fast way of life. With 'modernity' and 'fastness' both coming to a standstill during lockdown, being a pet parent and having a loving companion could nothing be less than a blessing." 

The hot question during this period where so many families are self isolating is whether their pet is helping to improve their owner's mental health. This survey found that 63% of the respondents claim that their pet is helping to improve their psychological status and to reduce their stress levels over all. An interesting sidelight is that women are 7% more likely to say that their pet is improving their mental health than do their male counterparts.  

There has been a noticeable rise in pet adoption irrespective of pedigreed animals or stray mongrels during the Covid 19 Pandemic; And this was mainly noticed in the US. Probably to beat the isolation blues people intended to adopt pets. Animal Shelter Administrator Mindy Naticchioni from Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter, said “Adoption rates have skyrocketed. Dogs are being adopted quickly and all the dogs we sent into temporary foster homes (about 70) when we closed in March were adopted.”

Related Read

So Exactly How the Presence of a Pet Is Helping Humans to Maintain Mental Health During Covid?

According to a new survey, "sharing a home with a pet appeared to act as a buffer against psychological stress during lockdown."

The outcome of the study - from the University of York and the University of Lincoln is worth mentioning. Author, Professor Daniel Mills from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln said: "This work is particularly important at the current time as it indicates how having a companion animal in your home can buffer against some of the psychological stress associated with lockdown. However, it is important that everyone appreciates their pet's needs too, as our other work shows failing to meet these can have a detrimental effect for both people and their pets." 

Lead author, Dr Elena Ratschen from the Department of Health Sciences University of York added: "While our study showed that having a pet may mitigate some of the detrimental psychological effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, it is important to understand that this finding is unlikely to be of clinical significance and does not warrant any suggestion that people should acquire pets to protect their mental health during the pandemic."

ScienceDaily has published an article worth reading about the study conducted by the University of York and the University of Lincoln!

Read more...

How Exactly Our Dogs Have Helped Us Maintain a Good Mental Health during Covid 19 Pandemic?

2020 was a dark year for almost everybody globally; that's beyond doubt! Covid 19 pandemic brought in much uncertainty and stress in our lives, which adversely affected the our mental health. 

There has been many surveys and research programs conducted by several renowned institutions/ organizations to understand how dogs (or a cat or a horse...) impacted the mental health positively. The research outcome confirmed that presence of pets have had significant role in maintaining a psychological health during the most stressful times brought in by Covid 19 Pandemic. 

So exactly how the presence of a pet is helping humans to maintain mental health during Covid?

 

There are a few factors that need to be considered while figuring out how dogs and cats have improved the mental state during the stressful time. The social isolation had been one of the biggest reasons for depressions in humans, apart from joblessness, health uncertainty and economic instability. The want of social interactions was so rampant for some people that it bred depression, adversely contributing to their mental health. A pet provide immense support to fight depression by the way of being a companion - rather a dependent companion that have their needs, which keep their owners distracted from their loneliness.

During the covid phase doctors repeatedly advised to maintain physical activities keeping a social distance. It had been noticed that many humans that have restricted activities due to lockdown developed psychological depression, which in turn impacted their physical health too. In the surveys it was found that the pet owners (mostly the dog owners than the cat owners) had had some kind of constant physical activities despite being isolated during the lockdown. This kept them away from mental stress.  

It was thus found that having a pet helped the owners to maintain mental health by mitigating depression due to restrictions during covid lockdown. 

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Our Rottweiler -- Ace, Shows Aggressive Behaviors Towards Our Gardener and Plumbers (Email Query From Dog Owners)

Email Query From Dog Owners

Question by Mike Murray, Location:- Redmond, Washington

I have read many articles in the Internet about dog aggression and how to handle aggression in dogs. Nothing worked well.  I hope you might have a few ideas for me.

I live on a 85 acre large farm in the Seattle, Washington area.  Our Rottweiler -- Ace -- is 22 months old, male and neutered.  He was born in Russia and we got him from a breeder who has been in the business for over 25 years.

Ace is very loyal, calm, obedient, happy, playful and submissive, and very friendly for me and my family. We go on walks through a forest (on our property) every day that I'm in town.  We play together and socialize a lot.

Unfortunately I'm required to be out of town every Tuesday - Thursday.  My wife travels with me.  Our housekeeper and her husband stay in our home when we travel.  Ace knows them well and is comfortable with them.

But when other people come into our farm property -- to mow the lawn, plant flowers, fix a plumbing problem, or deliver a package, Ace becomes aggressive.  And its getting progressively worse.  Many people are now afraid to get out of their cars.  My long-time lawn care man now carries a 2 foot wooden stick at all times, in case he needs to whack Ace.

If someone is carrying a rake or hoe or something like that and they turn towards Ace with the hoe facing Ace, he goes crazy and acts like he's going to attack.

I hired a dog trainer and Ace bit her on the first day (I was not present). But the day before the training, I introduced Ace to the trainer and he was sweet and docile.

When I'm with Ace, I never see this behavior.  He knows that I'm the Alpha.  But when I'm not around, he cannot be trusted.

What do you suggest?

Also -- I'm 56 years old.  I've had about 10 dogs in my life.  We currently have Ace and an 11 year old American Eskimo.

Response to Mike's mail

 

Thank you so very much Mike for adding value to our site. We are honored that you have liked our website.

 

You are lucky that you've got a good dog! Ace has behavior problem, indeed. This can be resolved, which obviously cannot happen in a fortnight. Males are more territorial and this is quite normal. However, territoriality is very common in the breed you have - Rottie. A certain degree of aggression is also normal with Ace, due to his territoriality. The problem is that Ace seems to be little more aggressive than desired and has attacking tendencies. Over aggression is a deviation from the standard behavior of any dog - regardless of breed. We assume that his bloodline doesn't have any history of overly aggressive behavior in any specimen. By this we mean his undesirable behavior is not driven by genetics.

 

When other people enter your/ Ace's premises, Ace assumes it to be his duty to play the role of a protective guard, which is by instinct and is nothing wrong - rather quite appreciable! The problem is, Ace doesn't know who to allow into his property. It is important that you should teach Ace who are required to be greeted well. 

How?  

Instead of calling the plumber and gardener, only when they are needed (once in a while), we suggest you to invite them more frequently in your house as your guests. When they will come for the first time Ace will naturally behave the way he usually does. Keep him on leash (short leash) and boss him as soon as he starts behaving undesirably with them. Give him a slight and firm jolt with firm command - 'NO' instantly, each time Ace behaves undesirably. Ask your guests to overlook his aggression and not getting scared. Help your guest to trust you and on your ability to control Ace on leash. Talk to them normally, and they should not be scared of Ace. Spend time with them interior, having some kind of snacks together. Remember, Ace is NOT the right candidate to get any treat from the table at this time. Keep Ace on the leash hold tightly.  Spend time together.

 

Your guests will have to move out now... this is the second phase when Ace will exhibit problem behavior again. Hold him tight and give him a jolt saying 'NO' as soon as Ace stands, seeing your guests walking out. It is important to walk with your guests in your garden with Ace held with the other hand. It is suggested to keep your guests and Ace on your different sides. Keep him in short leash - ALWAYS. Walk together, and help your guests to intelligently ignore Ace's behavior and discourage him firmly to do that are not desirable.

 

This process has to be repeated multiple times and frequently before you can ask your guests (plumber and the garden man) to hold Ace's leash. Everything should be under strict supervision. Remember, the most important thing is to drive out the fear from your guests mind. Each time they are scared of Ace they secret fear hormone. Ace is smart enough to smell fear via the hormone secreted. This may sound weird, but this is a fact. Moreover, Ace very smart to sense fear in your guests by reading their body language. All dogs can read human emotions - working breeds like Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermans etc. are a lot more masterful in this than many other canine breeds. Ignoring Ace's aggression and not getting scared will fix this problem slowly.

 

I had the similar problem with Rex. Later I could keep Rex and my garden guys in a closed room :) It took me months to fix this problem.           

 

This is more like a joint venture... you need cooperation of your plumbers and gardeners to socialize Ace. Also you need to cooperate with them (guests) in make them feel at ease.  

  

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I have heard a lot about BARF, But I am Afraid - Dimitris (Email Query From Dog Owners)

 Email Query From Dog Owners

Question by Dimitris Riganezis, Civil Engineer, Location:- Athens, Greece

Hellow from Athens, Greece!

I will be a happy owner of a GSD in three months and thanks to your wonderful website i have plenty of useful information for me to prepare my self as better as i can! What i want to ask is about nutrition of my dog! I have heard a lot about BARF and comparisons with dry food! Although BARF seems to be the best nutrition way I am afraid that for inexperienced owners some crucial elements might be missed!

I want to ask if i feed my dog with a super premium dry food can I supplement raw food (mostly raw meat and bones) lets say two-three times a week? Can i do this from the beginning or is it better that the dog reaches some months of age?

Thanks a lot in advance and keep up the good work! It is very important what you do for us dog owners.

 

Response to Dimitris' mail

Thank you so very much Dimitris for adding value to our site. We are honored that you have liked our website.

 

BARF is good obviously and the one of the most renowned canine nutritionists, Maggie Rhines who have shared her valuable knowledge with our readers on "Welcome Dog Lovers Blog". Hope you have already checked out her suggestions on raw dog food diet and Prey Model vs. BARF Diets

 

 

Food and nutrition are amongst the most crucial factor of concern that every dog owners should spare serious thought over. Commercial food is good but not always. It is important that you should choose the right brand and correct type of food for your puppy. We have chosen not to mention any specific brand. Your vet is the right person to recommend you about that. Insofar the type of food is concerned we would recommend the ones that are fit for puppy; not for the adult dogs. We would recommend you to get the "super premium dog food", as you mentioned in your question. This way you can supplement raw food.

 

 

Another most important thing is to avoid offering very high protein. Remember, fast growing puppies get exposed to the risk of certain health conditions - especially Anatomic Diseases. Researches have shown that very high protein diet can catalyze development of Wobbler Syndrome in many canine breeds, including German Shepherds. Excessively proteinous diet can lead to conditions like Pano in GSD

Related Read on Aringsburg's GSD Blog: Panosteitis (Pano) or Long Bone Disease in GSD

 Home made food are also good. We suggest you to give him green. Veggies have great nutritional benefits. Fruits are also important. Whether you give your puppy commercial food or want to keep him on BARF diet, fruits and vegetables are important. Please follow a holistic feeding strategy for your Dog.

More Related Reads:

 

Cautionary Measures for Raw Dog Food

Dogs Food Philosophy - BARF vs Non-BARF

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Stephanie's Friend's Girl Dog was Diagnosed with Pyometra (Email Query From Dog Owners)

Email Query From Dog Owners

 Question contributed by Stephanie Clifton, UK, London

One of the female GSDs with my friend has been diagnosed with Pyometra, when she was taken to the vet due to odd discharge. Can you provide me with the information about the condition and what causes this?

Response to Stephanie's mail

Thank you Stephanie. We are honored to have your name displayed on this page of frequently asked questions about dogs, as a contributor to the growth of this website. 

Pyometra is a uterine disorders in dogs (irrespective of breed). The abnormal uterus of the dog gets infected, and in worst scenario it accumulates pus. Pyometra is actually a chronic ailment in female dogs, although it may appear acute. Pyometra usually develops slowly over a long span of time, without showing any clinical evidences.

Symptoms - First stage: Development of cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH), which is an abnormality of the uterine lining of the dog. With the repeated heat cycle this abnormality gets worsen, and becomes noticeable until the condition deteriorates to a great extent.   

Cause that worsens the condition: Once the uterus gets infected, it gets more infected easily. Normally the dog's vagina is not sterile, and the cervix that connects the vigina and uterus remains closed in normal situation. The cervix gets opened when the female is in heat. This allows bacteria (commonly E.coli) to move into the uterine region from the vigina. After heat period is over, the cervix closes up and bacteria gets trapped within the uterus, which worsen up the uterine infection.

Age: Female dogs of and over 5-6 years of age are prone to Pyometra

Clinical Symptoms: On maturity the symptoms of pyometra includes depression, lack of appetite, occasional vomiting, and heavy water intake, frequent urination and discharge of pus through vaginal passage. Quite often in older females the fluid becomes purulent even without bacteria being found on testing.

Cure: Most vets recommend ovariohysterectomy as the best treatment for canine pyometra. Vets will suggest the best antibiotics to treat canine pyometra

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Dog Afraid of Doorbell and Other Sounds (Email Query From Dog Owners)

Email Query From Dog Owners

(Question by Rebacca, Location:- Priorslee, Telford)

Hello my name is Rebacca from Priorslee, Telford. I have a pure breed German Shepherd, Rox, – 4 years old. We got Rox from a local breeder when he was approximately 8 weeks old. We have always kept him on proper play, quality food and lots of love. Rox is a great companion and has good level of intelligence. All we are concerned about him is that he shows fearful behavior to the sounds of door bell. 

We have replaced the doorbell with a better sounding one, but the condition for Rox remained all unchanged. Is there any way we can help Rox get better with the doorbell sounds? However we have tried in as many ways as possible, but failed. The doorbell has become big issue for him.

 

Response to Rebecca's mail

Dear Rebecca, thanks for mailing us your problem.

Rox’s problem is common, if not heard of too frequently. This is a common problem for many dog owners. While some owners seem to be concerned about their dogs being afraid of sounds of doorbells, cell phone and telephone rings, others look for tips to desensitizing their dogs to sounds of vacuum cleaners, hairdryers and honking horns.

Socialization comes to play its role here.

Rox needs to be conditioned to the sounds of doorbells. The aim is to establishing a favorable association between the particular sounds with some sort of positive experiences.

The process involves two sets of tasks

1. Creating a healthy, stable and positive state of mind in Rox

2. Introducing the doorbell sound when Rox is in absolutely good state of mind

A positive state of mind can be established with some activities that Rox likes. It should be some kind of indoor play that Rox like. With outdoor activities the doorbell sounds will be hard to be conditioned. The best methods may be running your dog up and down stairs, repeatedly hiding his bones or toys and set him to search, or engaging him in a fun filled game of fetch and keep away. A laser pointer can be a mind blowing tool in this session. Shine the laser pointer on the floor and toss the light pointer from side to side or back and forth and engage Rox in chasing the light point. Remember: pointing the laser beam into the eye will cause permanent ocular damage. So be careful.

Once your dog is completely engrossed in his play (which means once he is in perfect state of mind) ask somebody to play the doorbell sound for one time only. When the doorbell sound is played do not stop the play until few more seconds, so it helps Rox to be in the same state of mind. Give him some rest if he tired and repeat it again. Next time play the sound twice or thrice with intervals in a single session. Repeat the cycle several times in a day and continue it until your dog establishes a positive link between sound and fun.

In the first couple of sessions Rox may break out from his positive state of mind and try to move away from the situation. Do not lose hope and stop. Be assertive. A positive and strong behavior displayed by his pack leader (You) will help him to gain positive energy. Repetitions must be continued.

Related Read: Puppy Caring and Raising Tips For You

Rewarding is necessary, but at the right time

As soon as Rox starts showing assertive and non-fearing behavior, you know that it’s the time to be rewarded. Until then ‘NO REWARDS’. Pat him with assertive and positive behavior and praise him lavishly with couple of positive words as rewards. Take him to the door step and open the door.

The last and the most important part…

Gradually take out the play. In the first few sessions the play should be continued for some moments - say, a couple of minutes, after the sound. Gradually decrease the time of play after the sound. After a few days of sessions, try stopping the play on the sound of the bell. Continue with the reward session every time your dog shows desirable behavior with positive state of mind..

Related Read:Puppy Socialization Checklist

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Modern Dogs May Have Originated From Primitive Canids From Altai - Not From Wolves

A Deviation From Widely Known Information: Probably Primitive Wolves Are Not The Ancestors of Our Modern Dogs

The DNA analysis affirms that the Canidae from Altai was a primitive and one of the oldest ancestor of dogs. DNA was collected from a right lower lateral incisor and a mandibular bone fragment from the dog-like canid

Fact be revealed at the very outset! Clear and unambiguous phylogenetic reconstructions of the evolutionary process of today's dogs cannot be laid with perfection because incidences of hybridization within the genus Canis has disturbed the evolutionary flow to a great extent. This eventually lead to an unresolved trees. Hence, the perfect interpretation of branch support values on phylogenetic trees of the evolution of contemporary dogs may not possible. However, researchers have ascertained that today's dogs had very close relation with a dog-like canids from Altai, contrary to the popular belief that dogs have descended from Pleistocene wolves.

There has been a lot of controversies related to the origin of the modern domestic dogs. Findings from the advanced genetic research indicated that the modern dogs that we domesticate today have no relation with wolves of Late Pleistocene age. Some fossils of ancient creatures somewhat like dog were found even prior to the * Last Glacial Maximum. It was, thereafter globally accepted that the dog domestication had started even prior to agriculture about 10,000 years ago.

While evaluating the genetic relationship of one of the oldest dogs, the researchers have isolated ancient DNA from the recently described putative 33,000-year old dog of Pleistocene age from Altai. They analyzed 413 nucleotides of the mitochondrial control region, and came to a conclusion that the unique haplotype of the Altai dog is more closely related to our modern dogs than it is to contemporary wolves.

In the year 1975 Dr Nikolai D Ovodov conducted the first paleontological survey, when complete skull and mandibles of a dog-like creature were discovered. the fossile was found in a cave called Razboinichya in southern Siberia, Russia. The Razboinichya cave was discovered in the year 1962 in the northwestern zone of the Altai Mountains.

* Note: The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was the last period in the history of Earth's climate. This was a period when ice sheets were at their greatest extension and the period was approximately between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago. This was the peak of the last glacial period.

The discovery of a 33,000-year-old fossil tooth in southern Siberia opened up a new chapter about the age of dog-human relationship. This was the fossil of one of the oldest known ancestor of the dogs that we see today, said the researchers, who named the animal 'Altai Dog' - named after the mountain where the discovery was made. The study was made by a group of scientists led by Anna Druzhkova from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Russian Federation.

According to the researchers 'Altai dogs' have been found to have more close resemblance with the contemporary dogs and prehistoric canidae found in the American continents than it has with the wolves. The finding shows that the dog-human relationship could be as old as around 33,000 years, which means human used to domesticate dog even 33,000 years ago.

The skull of a dog-like canid found in a cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia

(Image: © Ovodov ND, Crockford SJ, Kuzmin YV, Higham TFG, Hodgins GWL, et al. (2011) A 33,000-Year-Old Incipient Dog from the Altai Mountains of Siberia: Evidence of the Earliest Domestication Disrupted by the Last Glacial Maximum. PLoS ONE 6(7): e22821. doi:10.137)

Documentations have shown that human and dogs had been buried together in Germany around 14,000 years ago. This has gone a long way to prove that dog-human relationship is quite old. However, advanced genetic studies have shown that the act of domesticating dogs was originated in China and the Middle East, as reported by LiveScience.

The study of Anna Druzhkova and the team was published Jyoti Madhusoodanan in the journal PLOS ONE in 6 March, 2013. The study was made by the critically analyzing of "DNA extracted right lower lateral incisor and a mandibular bone fragment" from the fossil of dog-like animal that used to live in southern Siberia. The genetic sequences of the the Altai specimen was compared with those of 72 modern dogs picked from 70 different canine breeds, 30 wolves, 4 coyotes and 35 prehistoric canid species from the Americas. The study on the new Siberian fossil revealed that it was one of the oldest known domestic dogs that was more related to the the dogs of today that the wolves.

The 'Altai Dog', as the researchers named it, used to be domesticated, which means the origin of the domestication of dogs would be pushed further back and the widely popular belief of domestic dogs evolving from the grey wolf has been seriously debated.

Scientists say, "Pleistocene wolves from the Razboinichya cave are not closely related to the specimen studied here.... more data of prehistoric wolves from the same region are needed to estimate the population diversity and obtain a more comprehensive picture of genetic relationships of Altai canids"

In 1975, the researchers excavated the skull of dog-like canid that existed on the Earth some 33,000 calender years ago. the excavation was carried out in Razboinichya Cave, located in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Dr. N.D. Ovodov, co-author and member of Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS, stated that the team had extracted DNA from a right lower lateral incisor and a mandibular bone fragment from the fossils of canid, by rigorously following the all stringent criteria of extraction that are mandatory to prove the authenticity of ancient DNA.

Outcome of the Research:

Dr N.D. Ovodov said, "We obtained mitochondrial DNA control region sequences from both the tooth and mandible of the 33,000 cy old putative dog specimen from Altai and found them to be identical. In order to evaluate the genetic relationship of the Altai specimen to any known dog/wolf specimen, we performed several analyses." Sir Ovodov said that the outcome of their research revealed 99% similarity (but no perfect match) to any dog that we know of today.

The team of scientists also took another step forward and compared the mitochondrial DNA control region sequences of the dog-like canid with those of the Pleistocene wolves from the Razboinichya cave. Dr. Ovodov said, "Pleistocene wolves from the Razboinichya cave are not closely related to the specimen studied here".

Reproduced from the articles written by:

Anna S. Druzhkova, Vladimir A. Trifonov, Nadezhda V. Vorobieva, Alexander S. Graphodatsky

Department of Genomic Diversity and Evolution, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia

Olaf Thalmann

Division of Genetics and Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Jennifer A. Leonard

Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Seville, Spain

Nikolai D. Ovodov

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia

Robert K. Wayne

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Click here to know more about the study.

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Can Dogs Give and Take Coronavirus Covid 19 To and From You?

This is a pertinent question that many dog owners are having at this stage when the world is loosing before Coronavirus. Social media channels - especially Facebook and Twitter have been noticed to be over flooded with misconceptions.

Fact be revealed here.

A German shepherd dog from the Pok Fu Lam area in Hong Kong have been detected positive with Covid 19 and quarantined on Thursday, March 19, 2020 followed by the owner being infected. This news has been confirmed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in a statement. However, the GSD wasn't quarantined alone. His pack mate - a mixed-breed dog has also been quarantined along with, although the mixed-breed wasn't diagnosed with corona. According to AFCD neither of the canines did show the obvious symptoms of Covid 19.

Even before this, there was another news of a 17 years old Pomeranian (owned by a 60 years old lady) that expired on Monday, March 16, soon after the dog was released, being cured on Sunday, March 8, 2020. This geriatric canine was tested by AFCD on Feb 26, 2020 and was detected positive with Covid 19 (though mild). AFCD quarantined the pom for 14 days. Subsequent blood tests done by AFCD revealed that the pom's immune system was not responding well enough, when the department said: “The negative result indicates that there is not a strong immune response and that there are not measurable amounts of antibodies in the blood at this stage.”

The news of the Pomeranian's sad demise after getting release from the quarantine turned the world dog lovers community speechless, although many animals welfare organizations concluded that the death of the dog was due to the severe stress when quarantined.

So, one thing is very evident - Dogs can get Covid 19. Now the question is if dogs can spread corona virus - Covid 19.

A new veterinary test system for Covid 19 has been set up, where canine and feline specimens have been scientifically evaluated. According to the experts Covid 19 virus gets transmitted from humans to humans via oral and nasal pathway. The World Organization of Animal Health (France) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (America) have both said that there is no evidence that companion pets can spread this virus. However, this doesn't give a confirmation that pets cannot spread Covid 19.

It is important to understand that the planet is still in the learning stage with Corona (Covid 19) virus, and nothing can be guaranteed at this point of time. Researchers are uncertain and reports data are confusing.

Meanwhile, something noticeably more interesting happened! According to scientists, the Covid 19 that had originated in Wuhan has undergone mutation. This means the original coronavirus that originated in Wuhan has altered its characteristics and now has new abilities. In this related context CSIRO's professor Trevor Drew said, "This virus belongs to a group of viruses that exist not as a single virus but as a cloud of subtly different ones and if it finds a new niche to occupy, it will do that and slowly get better at replicating in the new host or alternatively it might die out."

Therefore, today's finding that dogs and cats can be carrier of corona covid 19 virus, but may not be source of transmission to humans, may prove to be false in the coming days because of the changing nature of the virus due to mutation.

Kai Kupferschmidt - the contributing correspondent for Science Magazine in his post - Mutations can reveal how the coronavirus moves, published in ScienceMag has given a bit of understanding of this. Kari stated, "although China accounts for 80% of all COVID-19 cases, only one-third of the published genomes are from China — and very few of them are from later cases. And because it’s early in the outbreak, most genomes are still very similar, which makes it hard to draw conclusions."

In the same line, associate Professor at the Biozentrum, University of Basel stated: "We just have this handful of mutations, which makes these groupings so ambiguous... As the outbreak unfolds, we expect to see more and more diversity and more clearly distinct lineages... and then it will become easier and easier to actually put things together."

Hence the reality is, no doctors are in a position to guarantee that pets cannot spread Covid 19, although so far there is no official evidence. However, there's definitely a clear evidence that pets can get Covid 19.

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Some Very Important Suggestions for Effective Puppy Training

Providing obedience-training is one of the most important parts of sensible dog-raising and it shapes and balances the fine link between the canonical spirit and the human society, making both the aspects acceptable to each other. Sit on command training is a comparatively easy one to handle by both the dog and his owner. Sit on command is often taken as one of the primary steps towards training your dog about obedience, and acts as a base for the dog to develop and learn more advanced forms of obedient training.


Early start is suggested

The training makes your dog look good and admirable near the guests as this prohibits him from jumping on them to greet them. The best time to start sit command training is when your dog is still in his puppy-hood as that is the time when the lessons have a long-term effect on the dog's mind and life. So earlier the better! Therefore it is important for you to build a tight bond and trust with your puppy from the very beginning. A strong owner-dog bonding will help you build trust and confidence in him for you. Eventually he will start treating you as a leader.


Detaching distractions is suggested

To begin with, a small room (adequately airy and clean) should serve your training purpose. A small cozy closed space will help you detach your pup from any sort of distraction.  You can choose any time of the day to start this training. It is important to keep in mind the following factors while teaching your dog sit on command.


Patience and positive attitude is suggested

It is important that your puppy grows fondness, dependency and loyalty towards you, which again depends on how to treat him and how you instill lessons in his mind with positive reinforcement.
    
As an owner you should understand that puppies cannot be expected to stick to one kind of game for a long period of time and hence any training should not be an elongated process. There should be repetition as many number of times as possible with intermediary play and walk breaks one. An elongated session of teaching a particular trick will make the puppy feel confined and tired in the process. Make the process fun-filled with suggested breaks and praises to make the puppy enjoy the training. Patience and positive attitude is very important here.

    
Maintaining consistency in everything related is suggested

Very important... you should be very consistent and yet informal with the training, so that your dog does not take it as a burden and become lethargic. choice of command words must be consistent. If you choose the word "Down" to teach him to lie down, then NEVER use "Lie" or "Lie Down" for the same purpose. Consistency in choice of words and your action is the key to the success story! The most important thing to keep in mind as an owner is to make sure that your dog is understanding what you are asking him to do for you. If he is not understanding, then there's something that you need to fix at your end... there's no problem with the dog.


Helping in associating words with actions is suggested
 
Remember, your dog doesn't know human words! Use of a particular word, for example, 'Sit' will become a command, if and only if you can successfully help your puppy associate your word with the desired action. Dictionary meaning of a word doesn't matter with your dog. What matters is the association of sound of the word with the action you help him to associate with.


Reward based training is effective and suggested

It is important for the owner to help the dog relate action with the sound of a word and then use rewards to practice it. However, Reward based training process are misused by many trainers.

Reward Based Training is not always Positive Reinforcement Training, contrary to the popular belief. A "Reward" is a stimuli that is presented before the dog to initiate teaching good behavior. But a stimuli that stimulates a dog to initiate a bad behavior is thew on set of failure. Because often times, the trainers are not skilled enough to start the implement a Reward based training process. And consequently end up making the stimuli make the dog behave undesirably and then get punished as corrective measures... This entire process is unscientific and illogical.

However, many dog trainers, consider the Reward Based Training methods as unsuitable, because they think a reward is an opportunity for the dog to fail. They, instead, take "Reward" away from their training process and apply other approaches that they think better for the dog, because taking  away the reward is killing the opportunity for the dog's failure. A Positive Reinforcement is the reward based training when the scope doesn't exist for the dog to make mistake and get punished, but only get reward for desirable behavior and the negative behaviors is tactically ignored by the trainer.

Related Read: Myth about food based reward training

Keeping a realistic expectation is suggested

Have realistic expectations from your dog, as he tends to take time to grasp your command and act accordingly. There's not one dog on this planet that cannot be trained. All dogs can be trained; They are Caninesteins! All you need is to have a realistic expectation from your dog. If you have enough Time, Patience, and Scientifically Backed Practical Knowledge then it is surely possible.

You cannot expect from an un-socialized dog to behave calm in front of other animals and strangers. That's not a realistic expectation. Once the dog is socialized you can apply corrective training methods to rectify his behavioral problems with yourself being patient and having positive attitude. This is realistic expectation.

Related Read: Rehabilitating and Un-socialized and Shy Dog

Deter from punishing your puppy for slow or no progress, as dogs hardly has a sense of reason or time and hence tends to get baffled and confused when they are treated badly. This is the best conclusion I have come up with!   

 

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Puppy Caring and Raising Tips For You

Frank Howard Clark, the famous screenwriter said it perfect... "A habit is something you can do without thinking - which is why most of us have so many of them." Dogs - irrespective of breed, type and size, are of no exception. Rather, they can exhibit more disciplined life by being in a set of particular habit and routine, provided the habits are not bad. Developing a habit falls much under the training activities, and the best way to start developing desirable habits is initiating a regular grooming session when he is just a few weeks old. If you are considering bringing home a puppy, CONGRATULATIONS!! With just a little planning bringing home your little fur-ball will open the door to years of love, fun and happiness.

After, bringing home your puppy, taking care of it becomes a full-time responsibility. So, you need to take care of it from the first day. Here are some very important puppy care tips you should consider. These puppy care tips for feeding, medication, vaccinations, socialization and building up good habits, are almost all the same for all pups - irrespective of breed, group and size.

Caring and raising a German Shepherd puppy are not something that demand a very different approach. Like any other breeds, GSD puppies should be fed well. Improper feeding may bring immense problem in German Shepherd puppies. Prior to weaning your German shepherd puppy, make sure he has obtain the utmost nutritional needs from his mother's milk. By the time you are picking the puppy make sure he has been totally weaned to solid foods, and that too of good quality.

Provide your GSD puppy a perfectly suitable environment is of utmost importance. The essential components that can make effective raising includes comfort, safety and amusement. Your puppy needs a comfortable bed to sleep, but more than that he should be provided with a space which he can consider his own. Keep him in a room with rough surface floor. Rough flooring is essential for your German Shepherd puppy. If you have slippery floor, make out a solution immediately before his legs or paws get deformed. Many GSD puppies are big time stone eater. They even consume mud and trash if they get a chance. Continuous perseverance and supervision may be a solution.

By nature they are very inquisitive and may get into things that are lying around him. This is quite common for puppies of all breed. Keeping harmful object out of his reach is important. Consider including lots of safe toys & things that can amused your puppy as they need attention.

Food plays the most important role during the first few months, because it is the time for the development of bones and muscles. Quality is preferred over quantity. Overfeeding can lead to anatomic problems like deformed pastern, and may even lead to serious issues related to hips and elbow. The best advice is to provide several feeds in small quantity, instead of two or three feeds in large amount.

If you experience loose or semi-muddy stools, poor coat quality, skin rashes, inadequate growth of bones and muscles, etc., with your puppy or if you have noticed other problem related to growth then chances are high that he is not getting the right kind and proportion of nutrients that he requires from it's current food or feeding style. Taking care of your puppy's health today is like a health insurance for him for tomorrow.

His first vaccination, first stepping outside, first visit to the park, first meeting with the other animals, first interaction with your friends, first experience of the thunder claps and so on are all very important part of puppy care and socialization. Socializing your pup is as important as quality food. Socializing your pup to different situations, sounds, strangers and other animals is the most important part of raising your pup. A reasonable amount of socializing will give your pup a healthy and stress-free life. Socialization should be aimed at helping your pup to understand new and varied situations, places and people, and help your pup to have a very favourable experiences with such things. Proper and strategic socialization will help your pup grow with confidence.

Related Read: Puppy Socialization Checklist

Maintaining hygiene is your responsibility. Always check his eyes, ears, feet and in between toes regularly is as important as providing him with best quality food, fresh water and pure love.

Often times I receive emails from my friends and readers that are related to giving their pups additional nutritional supplements. The last Sunday I got a call from one of my old buddy, who has adopted a GSD pup recently. He was wondering if he should give his pup any additional dose of minerals or vitamin supplements. If the pups is getting adequate amount of high quality diet there should not be any need for additional health supplement or vitamins. Growth should be fine if the pup is getting balanced diet.

Related Read: Dog your dog needs vitamins?

Additional doses of minerals, vitamins and protein can have adverse impact on your pup's health. Excess amount of calcium and phosphate can do more harm than good... they can expose the pup to the risk of developmental bone diseases.

Excess of protein, vitamins and minerals hardly have any impact on the final adult size. The adult size is only dependant on the genes your pup is carrying.

Related Read: How to intensify bond between yourself and your pup

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