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The canine parvovirus is the most common and very serious infectious disease of dogs in the United States. Canine parvovirus causes ulcerative enteritis and diarrhea in susceptible dogs. This diarrhea can be bloody and life threatening. The survival rate in veterinary care is 50%.

The Parvo Virus

The very resistant virus lives for long periods of time on floors, food containers and other household objects. Rugs are especially difficult to sanitize. The virus can be inactivated, with ordinary household bleach used at a concentration of one part bleach to twenty parts water. Exposure to sunshine also kills the virus.

Although it takes one or two weeks for the dog to develop signs of disease, the virus is shed in the feces from the third day of exposure onward.

The Symptoms

Parvovirus disease is remarkable in that symptoms can vary from none at all to a fatal disease. Four factors govern the severity of the disease:

1.Age at exposure

2.Size of the virus dose

3.Presence of maternal antibody

4.Breed of dog involved

Dogs over six month of age develop natural resistance to the effects of parvovirus. By the time the dog reaches one or two years of age the disease can be so mild that it passes unnoticed by the owners.

The most common form of parvovirus infection is a sudden acute inflammation of the small intestine or enteritis. This is characterized by depression, vomiting, diarrhea and profound dehydration. Bloody stools and a drop in white blood cell numbers are common. Some puppies die as soon as diarrhea occurs but many linger on for 4-6 days. Those that survive eight days usually recover. The lack of white blood cells and ulceration of the lining of the small intestine lead to secondary bacterial infections.

Treatment

Treatment of parvovirus is directed at correcting the life-threatening dehydration that accompanies the diarrhea with intravenous fluids (lactated ringers solution with bicarbonate). We also give medicines that relax intestinal spasms.

Besides this, the dogs are placed on antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infection through the damaged small intestine. Some veterinarians give the dogs medicine to relieve the severe abdominal pain that accompanies this disease. Dogs and puppies that begin to accept small portions of food invariably are on the road to recovery. Wagging their tail is also a good sign. Despite all my efforts, many young dogs with parvo do not survive.

The most common canine pest, the flea, is actually a remarkable being of adaptability that would be much admired if they weren't so pesky. Since they often carry tapeworms, can cause extreme severe itching and allergies, often bite humans, and because of their jumping and survival talents are reviled instead of revered.

An adult flea mates shortly after emergence and begins laying eggs within 36 hours. In her brief 50-day lifespan, a single female flea can lay more than 2000 eggs. Female fleas need blood to complete their reproductive cycle. Baby fleas need blood to grow. Although fleas prefer dog and cat blood, human blood will do in a pinch.

The female lays eggs on the host animal, but the eggs fall to the ground, carpet, sofa, dog bed, owner's bed, or easy chair where they hatch in two-to-five days. The flea larva feeds on organic debris in the environment. Within a week or two, depending on temperature and humidity, the larva spins a pupa (or cocoon) to protect it during metamorphosis to the adulthood.

In the hard-shelled pupa, the larva transforms from a tiny maggot-like creature into a six-legged blood-thirsty super-jumper able to leap 100 times its own height, and the cycle begins anew.

Humidity is critical to flea survival. Eggs need relative humidity of 70-75 percent to hatch, and larvae need at least 50 percent humidity to survive. In humid areas, about 20 percent of the eggs survive to adulthood; in arid areas, less than five percent complete the cycle.

If your dog scratches, he may have been bitten, but he may also have dry skin, an allergy, or mange mites. If he bites at his rear end especially around his tail or the inside or outside of his thighs, fleas are a possibility.

Flea dirt looks like sprinkled pepper on the dog. If you drop some of this "pepper" onto a damp paper towel and it turns reddish, it's fleas, not seasoning.

Treatment

Dog owners have access to a variety of flea control products from herbs and electronics to biological controls. Powerful chemicals and systemic insecticides seem to be on the way out. The systemic insecticides can build to toxic levels in the dog if not used extremely carefully. Some products repel fleas, some kill adult fleas, some kill larva or eggs, and some prevent fleas from growing and reproducing.

Garlic and brewer's yeast are popular flea repellents with the natural crowd, but there are no tests that indicate these diet supplements are effective. Many dog owners believe they work, however.

Electronic flea traps are sometimes used to attract and kill the pests before they attack the dog, but they do nothing about fleas in the yard or flea eggs or larvae in the house.

Flea collars have mixed results depending on the chemical involved, the size of the dog, and the density of the dog's coat.

Does your dog howl and whine forever when you leave him? Does your dog’s destructive behavior leaves your home in a mess when you leave it alone? If your answer is yes, then your dog has a real problem: separation anxiety.

Sometimes, when the relationship between owner and dog is too close, the dog becomes confused and frightened when left alone. To overcome this problem, time and repetition are your best solutions.

You can always prepare your dog for your departure. In stead of extra petting and kissing, you should decrease your interaction with your dog prior to leaving and ignore it in order to make your departure less noticeable and worrisome. You can, moreover, provide your dog with some sort of distraction before you leave, thus giving your dog a new toy before you leave will make your departure a pleasurable experience in stead of a painful one. The sound coming from a TV or a radio channel will also help sooth your dog, decreasing its feelings of stress and loneliness.

Although training your dog to get rid of such anxiety is not easy, with patience you can reduce its fear.

When choosing a dog for your home, the first thing you need to consider isn’t what kind of dog would look cute on your arm, or look tough in neighbourhood, but rather what size he will grow and if he’ll fit into your home!   The next thing you need to think about is whether he’ll fit into your life> 

A big dog needs a lot of maintenance.  The larger the dog, the more space he’ll take up, the more exercise he’ll need and as ugly as bringing up money when talking about what will become a member of your family, the more he’s going to cost you.  A large dog costs far more in time and money than a smaller one.  Do you have the time and money – as well as the physical space – to comfortable raise a dog that’s tall enough to look the average four year old directly in the eye?  If not, you need to downside your search until you find a breed that fits what you have to offer.  Just because you have a flat, and work all day, doesn’t mean that you can’t have a dog, it just means you have to be honest about what the dog requires before you rush out and buy it on a whim.  Even a small dog requires some attention during the day, is there someone who can look in on it, or even someone – perhaps an elderly neighbour – who would be delighted at little companionship that didn’t need anything more than a dish of water and chance to relieve itself once or twice in your absence each day?  

When you make a decision to buy a dog, it’s easy to get caught up in the ideal dog that you’ve always wanted and were never allowed to have.  Unfortunately your current physical and budgetary restrictions may make that dream impossible for the moment.  Bringing a dog into a home that is too small, and where you’d find it hard to pay food bills never mind veterinary ones, and where you don’t have time to give it adequate walks is a disaster in the making for all of you.  Avoid the heartache by assessing your restrictions before choosing the right dog for you.

In training your dog, you can easily avoid stressful situations by following a few rules.

When you visit the park with your untrained dog, do not expect it to know all the tricks and the games like the other dogs. Your dog can learn the very same antics but the new lessons will take some time.  Secondly, try not to lose your temper and avoid hitting your dog, for it will only cause harm to your relationship and will not solve the problem or make the dog obey your orders. Thirdly, never let your dog become the master in your relationship, for it cannot control its behavior and might become a danger to itself and others. You have to take the leadership role from the very beginning. Fourthly, never give up on your dog; dogs love to learn especially when rewarded and they are intelligent creatures. Just give your dog time and it will respond to your training. Lastly, you have to be consistent with your orders until they are carried out. Try to use the same commanding words to enforce the same action. Rewarding your dog with play time or verbal praise also helps during repetitive lessons.

If you follow those 5 simple rules, you will be saved from many frustrations encountered when training a dog and you will enjoy a healthier, happier relationship. 

If your dog provides you with everlasting, unconditional love, loyalty and friendship, you will, in return have to do a few things for it to ensure its safety and protection. The major things to follow are as following.

First, make sure that your dog has an ID tag with your name, address and telephone number so that in case it gets loss, it will come back to you. Secondly, follow the local rules when licensing your dog and never forget its vaccination for rabies. Thirdly, whenever you are off your property, keep your dog on leash; keeping your dog under control is good for both of you. Fourthly, if you leave your dog outside for some time, make sure that it can enjoy a relatively large doghouse, especially if the dog is large and active. However, do not forget that your dog craves for your companionship. Fifthly, you can think of spaying or neutering your dog. Sixthly, ensure that your dog has a nutritionally balanced diet and fresh water is always available. Seventhly, in case of behavior problems enroll your dog in a training.