Everyone who has a dog confirms that taking care of a dog is not easy at all, and some even compare it to taking care of a child. But how to take care of a dog and what is the correct way to take care of a dog?
Well, the truth is this: depending on how much you care about your dog and its health and how much you don’t want it to get sick, keeping it can be difficult or easy. A dog owner who wants to experience a happy life with his dog, full of interaction and good feeling, spends time on his dog’s physical and mental health every day, and let’s be honest, he sees the results of his work. For example, there are differences between keeping a dog at home and keeping a dog in the yard and garden, and a good owner must pay attention to these things.
If you ask those who have a healthy and well-behaved dog, they will tell you that keeping a dog and living with that dog is one of the best experiences in their life. Of course, the opposite is also true. If you buy a dog with this mindset that taking care of the dog is just like feeding it, you will regret it after a few months, and if you stay together, you will have to live with a dog that is probably sick and ill-behaved and will cause you a lot of trouble.
First point: dog food, the most important factor in keeping a dog
The reason why dog food is important is quite clear.
These are the foods that help your dog to complete its growth and development, provide its body with energy and be able to continue its life. The quality of the functioning of the digestive system, blood circulation, and urinary system directly and other organs of the body indirectly depends on the food received by your dog. That’s why we veterinarians believe that dog food is the most important factor for keeping the body healthy.
Garbage-eating dogs are only healthy in appearance!
You may have seen dogs that survive by eating low-quality food such as bones, chicken skeletons, chicken legs, chicken heads, or animal meat and carcasses, and they may look healthy, but their quality of life will definitely decrease in the long term and suffer from There are many problems that show themselves over time. So if you care about the health and longevity of a pet dog and not just its survival! You should pay a lot of attention to its nutrition.
Homemade food for dogs
Can the food we prepare at home be useful and sufficient for our dog?
Yes, but there is a condition
The condition is that the vet depends on the characteristics of your dog, such as
- its weight
- his age
- The amount of activity
- his race
- Specific diseases of dogs and several other factors, determine the ingredients of dog food and their amount .
The recipe written by the veterinarian is calculated and formulated according to the specific nutritional needs of your dog, so it is very balanced and can be even more useful than dry food because it consists of fresh and high-quality ingredients.
What food is better for our dog?
The advice of our veterinarians is that the best diet for a dog is a diet that contains all the substances needed by the dog’s body. Therefore, if you want to use homemade food to feed your dog, your recipe must be written by a veterinarian and specifically for that dog. This means that the veterinarian will tell you exactly how much food you should give your dog daily.
Your dog food can also be commercial food. That is, it can be made from a mixture of dry food and wet food or canned dog food. These foods are produced in different types according to the age, breed, and sensitivities of your dog, and the ingredients in them are balanced according to the needs of your dog, and you can be sure that all the nutrients will reach your little friend’s body as needed.
Of course, I emphasize that you should only use high-quality dog food brands. In addition, a special diet should be taken into account when caring for a dog during pregnancy, caring for a dog that has just given birth, and caring for a sick dog. Whether you use the blood food prescribed by the veterinarian or the commercial food.
Is homemade food good for dogs?
If you cannot buy dry or canned dog food, you can make homemade food for your dog at home. Boiled chicken meat without salt and oil along with boiled carrots and potatoes is the best type of dog food. Of course, the problem of making this type of food is that you don’t know which food ingredient, how much will reach the dog’s body, and how much it needs.
Therefore, using a homemade diet for dogs in the long term can cause them nutritional problems. This issue becomes vitally important when caring for a nursing dog, caring for a sterilized dog, or caring for a dog after surgery, and it may endanger your dog’s life.
However, if you insist that your dog uses homemade food, or in the case of dogs that do not eat food other than homemade food, the use of food supplements can partially compensate for its nutritional deficiencies and is recommended.
Note: Use food supplements only and only according to the recipe. No less and no more.
Second point: Dog training is the most important factor in determining the quality of life of a dog
Raising a dog from a young age in a correct and principled way makes life with him enjoyable for us. This issue is very important when it comes to keeping an apartment dog because it is living in our own environment and in close contact with us humans.
A dog that is not properly trained from childhood will have behavioral problems and will not learn to listen to its owner. It can even cause you to get tired of keeping it and completely ban it, and that dog will lose its home!
Dog training is so important and detailed that a lot of research has been done about it and the effective methods that are the result of this research help us to teach the dog to be well-behaved and listen to him by encouraging him in the right way. It doesn’t matter if you bought your dog from a breeder or if you intend to take care of a stray dog, all dogs of all breeds are trainable, and with a little patience and knowledge of the correct training method, you can have a calm, obedient and lovable dog.
We have prepared for you the result of the research in the field of dog training in an e-book titled “Comprehensive Dog Training”. Train your dog by reading this book and enjoy life with him for the rest of your life.
The third point: take periodic examination, deparasitization, and vaccination of dogs seriously!
In dog care, it is wise to entrust part of your dog’s disease prevention program to us veterinarians. Vaccination and deparasitization of dogs can prevent many dangerous diseases that cause the death of many dogs every year.
The continuous checkup of the dog by the veterinarian has the advantage that if a disease is starting, it can be prevented in the early stages to cause the least damage to the dog’s body. Also, since domestic dogs live in our living environment, it is necessary for your own health to pay attention to the correct way of keeping a dog from a medical point of view and visit a veterinarian regularly.
Many people ask us if keeping a dog causes illness. Or is it harmful to keep a dog? And questions like this. In response, we must say that a dog that is under the supervision of a veterinarian and receives its vaccines regularly does not pose any danger or problem to people’s health. So don’t worry!
We recommend that you consider a good veterinary clinic near your home in the first months of your dog’s life and visit the same clinic until the end so that a veterinarian will be informed about your dog’s history and every time you visit, you will have a complete file. to have
Vaccination of dogs
Dogs receive 2 vaccines.
- rabies vaccine that protects them against rabies; It is injected at the age of 6 to 8 weeks and must be repeated every year.
- A multiple vaccines that protect them against canine distemper, distemper, ICH or canine hepatitis, leptospirosis, and para-influenza. The first dose of this vaccine is injected at 6 to 8 weeks of age and after that, there is a reminder that is injected 1 month later and after that, it must be repeated every year.
Please note that only clinically healthy dogs are eligible for vaccination.
Deworming of dogs
The deparasitizing program for dogs includes taking an anti-parasitic pill that acts against digestive parasites and causes them to be expelled. You can give this pill to the dog from about one month old, but it may not be necessary, and many veterinarians give the first antiparasitic pill to the dog at the same time as a vaccination.
It is better to repeat this pill every 3 months.
Tip four: Have a plan to take care of different parts of your dog’s body.
Many people who have dogs mistakenly think that giving their dog the right food and vaccination is the only thing they can do to prevent it from getting sick, and the rest depends on luck and environmental factors.
In the following, we will tell you what other things you can do to take care of your dog, this little friend of yours.
How to take care of our dog’s skin and hair?
The most important thing you should pay attention to is this: excessive bathing of dogs and continuous washing with shampoo is harmful to them.
Many of us compare our dogs with ourselves and because we are used to taking a bath in the middle of the day, we bathe them once a week. The truth is that dogs don’t need constant bathing; Because:
- Unlike us, their skin does not have sweat glands. For this reason, their hair does not get greasy and does not smell of sweat; So bathing too much will dry the skin and reduce the quality of their hair
- Dogs are not sensitive to dirt and there is no harm to them! You are the one who wants your dog to always be clean and smell shampoo! He prefers to be dirty and smell like a dog!
So, one of the important points in caring for a dog is not to bathe it more than once a month and wash it with plain water or dog shampoo as much as possible.
The next point is to brush the dog. Depending on the amount of hair and the breed of your dog, brushing needs to be done differently.
The amount of brushing in different dog breeds:
- In breeds that have a thick body cover and so-called double coat or have long hair, 2 times a day
- Breeds with medium hair once a day
- Short breeds once every 2 to 3 days
Points to pay attention to while brushing the dog:
- Open his hair and check his skin for the presence of fleas, ticks, and external parasites
- Check if there is any rash, dandruff, redness, and pimples
- Untie the knots with
- After brushing, give him encouragement so that it becomes a pleasant memory for him
In addition, you should trim the dog’s hair several times a year, especially near summer, so that the body temperature can be balanced more easily and the hair does not get tangled.
If you see that your dog’s hair is tangled, do not brush at all; Because it causes the hair to stretch and makes brushing painful.
First, gently untangle your dog’s hair using a detangling comb and then brush.
Do not underestimate the care of dogs’ teeth!
Fortunately, unlike us humans, dogs’ teeth are not susceptible to decay. But the bad news is that other problems may arise for them, such as the formation of mass (plaque and tartar) and subsequently, inflammation of the gums.
When these things continue, the dog’s bad breath and yellow teeth are the least of the problems you have to worry about. Unfortunately, dental problems in dogs can cause body infections and heart, liver, and kidney problems. So, one of the most important points in taking care of yourself is to take care of your teeth.
What should I do to prevent my dog from having dental problems?
The answer is simple!
- brushing his teeth
- Using dry dog food and chewable bones like pens
- Constantly checking his teeth and scaling if needed by a veterinarian
Brushing a dog’s teeth may seem impossible and difficult, but I assure you that it can be done; Even if your dog is the meanest dog in the world and doesn’t allow it.
Caring for dog’s ears and eyes and preventing their damage
Eye and ear diseases are very common and of course serious; But you can play an important role in preventing them. The possibility of contracting these diseases largely depends on the breed of dog; Some breeds such as Pug, Pekingese, Cocker Spaniel, and Maltese are more sensitive to eye problems.
Do the following to protect your dog’s eyes:
- Every once in a while, look at his eyes under the right light and check them for redness and inflammation, discharge, pain, and any abnormal problems.
- Look at the lower eyelid and inside it. The texture of this part should be pink, not red, and full of blood
- Clean the corners of his eyes carefully with wet cotton every day so that the secretions do not accumulate
- Every time after cleaning your dog’s eyes, give him encouragement so that it becomes a pleasant memory for him.
- Keep your dog’s hair short. Long hairs are sharp and often unintentionally enter the eye and cause infection.
- Although I know that it is very enjoyable for me and you and for the dog, but when you go out in the car, do not let him stick his head out of the window. Wind and dust can cause serious problems for a dog’s eyes.
- If you see any abnormal changes in the eye, go to the veterinary clinic.
To take care of your dog’s ears and prevent ear diseases, do the following:
- When bathing your dog, be careful not to get the water into his ears. For this purpose, you can put cotton dipped in Vaseline inside the ear.
- Once a week, clean the inside of his ear. To do this, wrap your finger in a piece of clean cloth or gauze soaked in dog ear cleaner and pull it into the earlobe (do not enter the ear canal).
- Look inside the ear while doing this. If the amount of secretions is more than usual, the ear is inflamed and red, or you smell a bad smell, go to the veterinary clinic.
- After cleaning your dog’s ears, give him encouragement so that it becomes a pleasant memory for him
Important point: One of the important symptoms of ear diseases is scratching and clawing and keeping the head on one side. If you see these symptoms, go to the vet clinic.
Allergy is a problem that affects many dogs
One of the problems that arise for many apartment dogs and makes life difficult for them is allergies or sensitivities. As you know, allergy is the response of the body’s immune system to a foreign stimulus. Three types of allergies are common in dogs:
- food allergy
- Skin allergy
- Allergy to environmental stimuli
Allergies can be caused by various reasons. But the most important reasons are food, environmental stimuli, and some external parasites.
What is very annoying about allergies is to find the source of that allergy and its cause. That’s why it’s better to observe some points before an allergy occurs in our dog:
- Smoking and hookah are prohibited in front of the dog
- Reduce the use of detergents and cleaners for scented and spicy surfaces
- Be careful that your dog does not consume spices and allergenic foods
- Never use perfume, cologne, or spray in front of your dog (use them in another room or outside the house)
- Do not prescribe any medicine to them without the permission of the veterinarian.
Fifth tip: Pay attention to the breed of the dog and its decisive role in the health of dogs.
The breed of a dog, especially when it is pure, has a decisive role in predicting health and diseases that it will suffer in the future. This is because a series of diseases that are common in certain breeds are genetically transmitted to the next generations. For example, in the German Shepherd dog, hip dysplasia, in the Doberman dog, Wabbler syndrome and heart disease, in the Dalmatian dog, urinary stones, in the West Highland Terrier dog, a type of eye disease and dislocation of the kneecap, and in the Shih Tzu dog, progressive retinal atrophy. The eye can be seen a lot.
What can you do about the diseases of your dog breed?
- First of all, and preferably before buying your favorite dog breed, get complete information about its breed diseases.
- Know the symptoms and ways to prevent diseases specific to your dog’s breed and check regularly
- As much as you can, prevent your dog from getting sick with the help of a veterinarian
Sixth point: What is the secret of the success of dogs that do not get sick?
Finally, in a conclusion, I want to talk to you about a secret. A secret that I found as a veterinarian and during my experience.
This is the secret about the success of some people in keeping dogs! You may not believe it, but there are people whose dogs never get sick, they always listen to their owners, and the only feeling they bring to them is happiness, joy, and pleasure. Their owners never have to tolerate their barking, misbehaving with guests, cleaning the house and vandalism, or even take care of them when they are sick and suffer from anxiety and fear.
But what is the secret to the success of these dogs? How can you have a dog that is so obedient, healthy and cheerful?
The big secret can be summed up in 3 words:
Having awareness and patience
Yes, just having enough information and acting on them is enough to be able to enjoy a lifetime of having a healthy and loving friend!
For this, you just need to get information about the training and health of your dog from a reliable source and use that information in your life, so easily.
Seventh point: When do dogs need more care?
In addition to the general principles of dog care, sometimes it is necessary to take more care of our dog and pay more attention to food, cleaning, etc. Illness is inevitable and anyone may get sick during his life. In this case, with care and maintenance, you can shorten the period of his illness so that your dog can recover his health sooner. Also, female dogs need more care during pregnancy and after giving birth. Dogs that get sick also need at least one week of special care.
Dog care tips during pregnancy
A female dog that has been with you from the beginning and has good nutrition can have a safer pregnancy. The duration of a dog’s pregnancy is between 58-68 days, and due to the greater need of a pregnant dog for nutrients, its appetite increases; So that in the last few weeks of pregnancy, the amount of daily food should be 35-50% more than before.
It is also good to use special food for pregnant dogs, which contains a lot of protein and calcium.
During the dog’s pregnancy, be sure to take her to the vet regularly to ensure the health of herself and her puppies.
Caring for a newborn dog
- After giving birth to the dog, clean the body of the mother and the puppies with a soft and slightly damp cloth so that there is no pollution, house, etc. Do not bathe the mother dog immediately and only clean her body with a tissue. A few weeks after giving birth, the dog can take a bath.
- Provide a calm, warm and quiet place for the mother dog and her puppies so that the mother can safely take care of her puppies.
- A mother dog usually needs a lot of sleep and rest in the first days to be able to take care of her puppies.
- Always place fresh water and food near the mother so that she does not have to go away from her cubs to eat.
- In taking care of the mother dog, you must provide her with very nutritious food containing protein and minerals to meet the needs of the mother’s body after giving birth and during breastfeeding. In this case, be sure to consult a veterinarian.
Tips for caring for a sick dog
Dog care is different in every type of disease; But in general, keep these points in mind when caring for a sick dog:
- A sick dog needs more sleep and rest. Provide him with a quiet and peaceful place so that he can rest safely.
- Consult a veterinarian about the dog’s activity. Because in the case of some diseases, walking and even running helps to cure the disease.
- A sick dog has a weaker immune system, and that’s why it should be taken care of. The dog’s nutrition during this period should also be stronger to help improve its illness. In this case, be sure to consult a veterinarian.
Dog care tips after surgery
A dog that has undergone surgery and anesthesia for various reasons also needs special care. In the sterilization procedure, especially in the case of a female dog, complete anesthesia is performed, and it is necessary to take care of the sterilized dog in the days after the operation.
- If your dog has a complete anesthesia, it will take some time (even a day) to return to normal. During this time, provide him a calm, quiet place away from distractions to rest.
- Depending on the type of operation, the veterinarian may prescribe movement and physical restrictions for the dog. Follow the doctor’s instructions carefully and if the dog tends to be active, you can put it in the dog park. If a medicine is prescribed, observe the exact timing and the correct dose of the medicine.
- Carefully follow the veterinarian’s recommendations regarding bathing, cleaning the operation area, changing the dressing, etc. Regarding the care of a sterilized dog, the use of Elizabeth’s collar can prevent the dog from licking the wound and stitches.
dog care; Hard or easy?
We have given you a comprehensive overview of dog care by carefully examining the different angles of a dog’s life. You have to decide by considering these angles and of course according to the breed of your favorite dog. that taking care of a dog is hard or easy; It depends on you. What problems have you encountered in taking care of your dog? How effective was not having enough information about these problems? Which one did you solve by having enough patience or getting information?
You will definitely face many challenges in this path. Please share your challenges with us.