"BULLY BREEDS" are American Pit Bulls, American Staffordshire's, American Bulldogs, Boxers, Mastiffs, and what I refer to as the "ghetto pit". All of these breeds, and then some, as well as predominant breed mixes are known as bully breeds. They are strong, stubborn and wonderful. They come in all colors and sizes. And when treated right with the proper training they are fabulous companion animals. Most only want the love and attention of their human friend.
Socialization
The majority of bullies do great with other animals if, like all dogs, they are socialized properly. Socialization is one of the most important things you can do for any companion animal. This means exposing him or her to other animals in a controlled way, in order for them to learn how to behave around other animals. All guardians should begin this at a very early age - a dogs socialization period is between 3 and 12 weeks of age. You can socialize an older animal but may not always get the results you would get from early socialization. Between 3 and 12 weeks a puppy will try all new experiences without fear, this means that your dog will learn that it is good to be friendly with others.
There is an on going argument over whether animals learn aggression or are born that way. In doing rescue and working with hundreds of bullies, I tend to believe that in the majority of cases it is learned. There are 3 major things dogs need:
This means that to be a good guardian we must not only give them food, water, and shelter, but we must also give them our time and love as well as things to do.
Training
To have a happy puppy you should crate train. Crate training is used to give the puppy or adult a SAFE place. Crates should not be used as punishment. It gives the pup a place all to himself - most dogs will go lie in their crate with the door open if training is done properly. I always recommend to new adopters to put the dog in the crate when 1) they are not at home 2) when they are sleeping (the adopter not the dog), and 3) to feed them. Most puppies will house break in a week or two if you follow this rule. Nobody likes to go to the bathroom where they eat and sleep. A crate is not mean, it is keeping your new friend safe when you can't be watching them.
A major thing to be learned by all is to NEVER LEAVE YOUR DOG OUTSIDE UNATTENDED! An unattended animal especially a bully can be stolen, this happens everyday in all kinds of neighborhoods. Besides theft there are also many harmful plants as well as the element. These are companion animals - they should be living inside your home as a family member. If your dog cannot live inside, by law you have to have food, water and shelter at all times, and when they have those ozone days and tell you not to go outside that applies to animals as well. There are even a few counties here in Virginia that it is against the law to leave your dog outside for more than 12 hours at a time.
Health and Prevention
I suppose now is a good time to talk about health. Dogs need 4 sets of shots starting at 6 weeks of age. The schedule is 6, 9, 12 and 15. At 12 weeks they get a rabies shot and are started on heartworm prevention. Heartworm prevention is one of the most important things you can do for your animal. Heartworms are passed through mosquitos - all it takes is one bite from an infected mosquito to doom your friend to a painful sad death. Yes it is true heartworms can be treated, but the cost to treat is usually $700 and up and the treatment itself can kill the animal. And even if treated, the dog may have irreversible damage done to his heart. All of this can be changed by giving your dog a monthly heartworm prevention for the life of the dog. You should however still get a yearly heartworm test done when he is getting his vaccination, nothing is 100%.
Parvo
Parvo, or Canine Parvovirus, is a viral disease that attacks dogs and if left untreated, kills them within day's, primarily due to dehydration. Parvo virus initially lodges and multiplies in the lymph nodes of the throat. 3 or 4 days later it spreads to the bone marrow and gastro intestinal tract, which both contain rapidly multiplying cells, which is just what the virus needs. In the bone marrow it kills the young immune system cells, and because of this, a low white cell count is the first clinical sign of possible parvo virus infection. Having a low white cell count also means that the host cannot fight the infection. Simultaneously the parvo virus is attacking the gastro intestinal tract, killing the new cells of the intestine walls before they have a chance to grow. The result is an inability to absorb nutrients, causing acute diarrhea. The gastro-intestinal wall becomes so damaged and thin, that bleeding occurs, allowing bacterial infection to start. So parvo puppies can die from either severe dehydration and shock, or bacterial infection... or more commonly, both.
Spaying and Neutering
Spaying and neutering yet another controversial issue is imperative. The plain and simple is, there are too many animals in this world! There are not enough homes and unless you are willing to care for all the puppies your animal produces you are just adding to the problem. One un-neutered male can produce 67,000 puppies in on year. Yes I said 67,000 puppies, that's one hell of a responsibility. On top of over population, dogs "ARE COMPANIONS NOT COMMODITIES" - don't think your going to make some big bucks and buy a mansion breeding. It is irresponsible to breed! You will not get one just like your little Cookie who is the best dog in the world - what you will get is health problems and a damn hard time finding homes for them all. Research has proved that early spay and neuter will decrease the animals chance of certain cancers by 80%. And unless you are breeding for show, can prove the lineage of your dog and are working closely with a vet you will breed problems into your dog. Any Vet worthy of his degree will advise you to spay and neuter. You can often get this done for free or at low cost by doing a little research. Here in Richmond it is approx.. $40 at the SPCA, or at Prevent A Litter, and if you qualify free.
Demodextic Mange
Demodex' is a kind of mange that is transfered from mother to puppy within the first 3-5 days of life. It is not contagious to other dogs or people. It is easily treatable with a simple skin scraping, oral and topical medications. It takes some time to fully recover (1-3 months). Demodex can re-occur throughout the dogs lifetime whenever their immune system becomes compromised, but it easily corrected once diagnosed.
Submissive Urination
Submissive urination is a behavior some dogs exhibit when overly excited or anxious . The simple way to correct this behavior is to simply ignore it. This behavior becomes worse when you try to correct it, the dog thinks it is not peeing "good enough" and tries to do better the next time. So in this situation just ignore the behavior it stops. Remember though that this is not the same as house breaking or crate training these are totally different behaviors.
Torn Ligaments
"A torn cranial cruciate ligament is one of the most common orthopedic disorders among dogs," says Dr. Harari. Dogs knees are very similar to humans knees, and the cranial cruciate ligament is the same as the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. Like human athletes who tear their ACLs, dogs tear their cranial cruciate ligaments during athletic activities."
Source: http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=43
Ringworm
Ring Worm in Dogs
By Marcus Peterson
Ringworm is one of the most common diseases in pets, especially dogs. Unlike its name, Ringworm is not a worm but fungi called Dermatophytes that thrives on dead tissues present on skin surface and follows circular path to spread infection.
Ringworm is an infectious skin disease and your pet usually picks it up from his surroundings like kennels, rodent burrows or from other animals who are already infected. There are about 35 species of ringworm that can affect dogs. The most common is Microsporum Canis, which accounts for majority of ringworm cases.
One symptom of ringworms in dogs is a lesion on the skin that looks like a rapidly growing circular patch of broken hair. The patch may look inflamed and may appear to have dandruff-like flakes on it. The most common areas where it can occur are face, ear tips, tails and paws.
If you find any of these symptoms, take your pet to the veterinarian. He may diagnose the disease by plucking hairs from the infected area and examining it under ultra violet light. On finding fungi traits, he may advise some anti fungal pills or topical medications for your pet.
Humans need to take some precautions since ringworm is an infectious disease. Be sure to keep kids away from an infected pet, and adults should wear gloves when handling any items that have come in contact with the animal. Also keep your dog neat and clean and clip his hairs short since longer hairs promote unhygienic conditions.
Although, ringworm is a mild disorder the problems due to its infectious nature and slow recovery time can be problematic.
Article source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Ring-Worm-in-Dogs...
Heartworms in Dogs
What is Heartworm Disease?
Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition caused by parasitic worms living in the arteries of the lungs and occasionally in the right side of the heart of dogs, cats and other species of mammals, including wolves, foxes, ferrets, sea lions and (in rare instances) humans. Dogs and cats of any age or breed are susceptible to infection.
Dogs or other animals harboring adult worms are the recognized reservoir of heartworm infection. The disease is spread by mosquitoes that become infected while taking a blood meal from an infected dog. When the mosquito then bites another dog, cat, or susceptible animal, larvae are deposited on the skin and actively migrate into the new host. For about 2 months the larvae migrate through the connective tissue, under the skin, then pass into the animal's venous blood stream and are quickly transported to the arteries of the lung. It takes a total of approximately six months for the infective larvae to mature into adult worms that begin producing offspring. Adult heartworms can live for five to seven years in the dog.
How is Heartworm Disease Prevented?
A heartworm prevention program is effective and simple, and consists of three parts:
- Regular Blood Testing - This ensures your pet is free from heartworms before he begins or continues on his preventive medication. Your veterinarian will advise you as to the frequency of regular blood tests.
- Preventive medication - This means administering a heartworm preventive to your pet for at least six months to a full year depending on the mosquito season. Prevention for dogs includes monthly oral preparations.
- Reducing your pet's exposure to mosquitoes - This means making your pet's environment less hospitable to mosquitoes. This decreases the risk of your pet being infected with heartworm in the first place.
Heartworm prevention is safe, easy and inexpensive compared to treating a dog or cat after worms have matured into adults. While treatment for heartworm disease is possible, it is a complicated and expensive process, taking weeks for infected animals to recover and there is usually permanent damage to the heart. By investing in a preventive medication, you will spare your pet from this deadly disease and its complicated treatment. Talk to your veterinarian today to start a prevention program for your pets.
How is Heartworm Disease Treated?
Although heartworms can be fatal and treatment for the disease involves risk, the condition is usually curable. Treatment requires careful medical care and complete rest at home afterwards.
The first thing your vet will do is evaluate your dog's health, performing a physical examination, laboratory tests and chest x-rays to evaluate the condition of the heart and lungs. They might find other problems that need attention first, or if the heartworm infestation is very severe, they might want to adjust our treatment plan.
Adult heartworms are about six inches long and live mostly inside the heart. Baby heartworms are microscopic and live within blood vessels throughout the body. Each stage must be treated separately. First, your vet will eliminate the adult worms by giving a series of injections spaced out over a two day period.
When treatment is finished your dog's heartworms will be dead or dying. That's good, but the heart is still full of worms. The worms gradually break into smaller and smaller pieces until the fragments are tiny enough for the body to eliminate them. The critical period is when worm fragments are small enough to disperse into the body but still large enough to plug small arteries in the lungs. Vigorous activity makes the heart pump faster, pushing bits of dead heartworm out into small blood vessels where they can cause trouble, so vigorous activity must be avoided.
After treatment, your dog will need significant rest and follow-up visits to the vet to ensure all of the worms have been eliminated. Please consult your veterinarian for detailed treatment arrangements.
