Choosing a Healthy Puppy
The best time to acquire a puppy is at 8 to 12 weeks of age. At this age a puppy should be well socialized, will have received the first series of immunizations, and should be weaned and eating solid food. The breeder can usually make a good guess about whether a puppy is of show or breeding quality. But keep in mind that picking a future champion at 8 weeks of age is a problem, even for breeders with considerable experience.

Most puppies look healthy at first glance, but a closer inspection may make some puppies more desirable than others. Take your time and go over each puppy from head to tail before making the final decision.

Begin by examining the head. The nose should be cool and moist. Nasal discharge or frequent sneezing is a sign of poor health. Brachycephalic breeds, such as Pugs and Pekingese, often have nostrils that collapse when the dog breathes in. This is undesirable.

Check the puppy for a correct bite. The correct bite for most breeds is a scissors bite, in which the upper incisors just slightly overlap the lower ones. An even bite, in which the incisors meet edge to edge, is equally acceptable in most breeds.

The gums should be pink and healthy looking. Pale gums suggest anemia, possibly caused by intestinal parasites.

Feel for a soft spot on the dome of the skull. If present, the fontanel is open. This is not desirable. In toy breeds, an open fontanel can be associated with hydrocephalus.

The eyes should be clear and bright. If you see tear stains on the muzzle, look for eyelids that roll in or out, extra eyelashes, or conjunctivitis. The pupils should be dark and have no visible lines or white spots that may indicate congenital cataracts or retained fetal membranes. The haw (third eyelid) may be visible. This should not be taken as a sign of disease unless it is swollen and inflamed.

The ears should stand correctly for the breed, although in some breeds, such as German Shepherd Dogs, the ears may not stand up fully until 4 to 6 months of age. The tips should be healthy and well furred. Crusty tips with bare spots suggest a skin disease such as sarcoptic mange. The ear canals should be clean and sweet-smelling. A buildup of wax with a rancid odor may be caused by ear mites. Head shaking and tenderness about the ears indicate an ear canal infection.

Feel the chest with the palm of your hand to see if the heart seems especially vibrant. This could be a clue to a congenital heart defect. The puppy should breathe in and out without effort. A flat chest, especially when accompanied by trouble inhaling, indicates an airway obstruction. It is seen most commonly in brachycephalic breeds such as Pugs, Boston Terriers, and Pekingese.

A healthy coat is bright and shiny and has the correct color and markings for the breed. In long-coated breeds, the puppy coat may be fluffy and soft without a lot of shine. Excess scratching and areas of inflamed skin suggest fleas, mites, or other skin parasites. “Moth-eaten” areas of hair loss are typical of mange and ringworm.

Next, examine the puppy for soundness and correct structure. The legs should be straight and well formed. Structural faults include legs that bow in or out, weak pasterns (the area between the wrist and the foot), flat feet with spread toes, and feet that toe in at the rear. Two inherited bone and joint diseases that may be present in puppies younger than 4 months of age (but are usually not discernable on puppy selection exams) are canine hip dysplasia and patella luxation. Certification of the puppy’s sire and dam by the OFA, PennHIP, or GDC is highly desirable in breeds with a high incidence of these diseases.

The puppy’s gait should be free and smooth. A limp or faltering gait may simply be the result of a sprain or a hurt pad, but hip dysplasia and patella luxation should be considered and ruled out. Patellas can be examined at this age, but this should only be done by an experienced breeder or veterinarian.

Thanksgiving is a time for families to get together, give thanks, eat wonderful food and then pass out in front of the TV watching football. It’s also a great time for clever dogs to sneak off with the trimmings.

While tossing your dog a carrot or two, or even a piece of cooked turkey here and there, won’t be too harmful (here’s a list of more safe foods), some other Thanksgiving goodies are bad for him.

You should not give your dog the following 10 foods on Thanksgiving – or any other day, for that matter.

 

1. Bones

It seems counterintuitive, but bones are bad for dogs. Carmela Stamper, DVM, a veterinarian in the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said, “Bones are unsafe, no matter what their size. Giving your dog a bone may make your pet a candidate for a trip to your veterinarian’s office later, possible emergency surgery or even death. Make sure you throw out bones from your own meals in a way that your dog can’t get to them.”

 

2. Raw or undercooked turkey

Turkey Day’s main dish is dangerous for one reason: salmonella bacteria. Even though you may believe your dog’s stomach is iron-clad, it’s not.

 

3. Turkey skin

Seems harmless enough, right? It’s just the skin. But fatty foods like turkey skin and gravy are difficult for dogs to digest. Your dog’s pancreas can even become inflamed, resulting in pancreatitis, a very serious disease. Turkey skin isn’t good for you, either, so it’s best to throw it away and make more room for the mashed potatoes and gravy.

 

4. Dough and cake batter

It may sound like an urban legend, but the combination of raw dough and your dog’s body heat can actually cause the dough to rise inside his stomach. This will make your dog vomit while suffering severe abdominal pain and bloating. Not to mention that the batter used in cakes and pies has raw eggs, which could contain salmonella bacteria. If you’re making a cake or pie, make sure your dog is not in the kitchen, and clean up any scraps or droppings that hit the floor right away.

 

5. Beer

Some dogs love beer, but this doesn’t mean you should share a cold one with your dog. It can really do a number on your dog’s stomach. Depending on how much he consumes, the hops can cause your dog to have a fever, rapid heartbeat, seizures and liver damage. It can even be lethal.

 

6. Macadamia nuts

These nuts in particular are very bad for your dog. In fact, they could cause a reaction called macadamia nut toxicosis. The symptoms range from lethargy and vomiting to your dog being unable to stand up.

 

7. Mushrooms

Fungi are good for you, but bad for your dog. Should your dog ingest mushrooms, you can expect a slew of unwelcome symptoms that could become quite severe, including vomiting, seizures, coma and possibly death.

 

8. Onions and garlic

These two culprits are always on the list of foods your dog should not eat, and for very good reason: they can make your dog very sick. Both onions and garlic contain sulfides, which are toxic to dogs and can cause the destruction of red blood cells, leading to anemia.

 

9. Sage

This multi-purpose herb is used in countless recipes and for cleansing a new home, but for dogs, sage is bad. It contains essential oils and resins that can upset a dog’s stomach and do a number on his central nervous system.

 

10. Nutmeg

Nutmeg is a sneaky spice. Found in sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkin pie and most desserts, nutmeg has mild hallucinogenic properties that, when ingested by your dog, can cause seizures, tremors and central nervous system problems. Note that both pumpkin and sweet potatoes are good for your dog; just make sure no nutmeg is on them before you share them.

Chocolate is also very, very bad for dogs. It’s not on the list because it should be a given for every pet parent: Never feed your dog chocolate.

The best way to keep your dog safe is to have plenty of his food on hand, as well as treats. Ask your guests not to feed your dog human food. Also make sure your dog gets lots of exercise. A tired dog is a good dog.

 

If you think the answer is “yes,” you are wrong! Modern science has answered this age-old question: Dogs can see color, but not in the same way that we do. The palette of colors they can see is limited in comparison to ours; it is also less vibrant.

Eyes have “rods” and “cones” to help identify color. Rods tell us how bright or dim something is (black or white) and cones help us identify color. Humans have three kinds of cones, which help detect yellow, violet, and green.

Dogs only have two types of cones, so they see orange, yellow, and green as yellow. Blue-green is seen as white and red looks as though it is brownish-black. While they can see blue, they can’t distinguish shades, especially as the color blue gets darker. To learn more about how dogs see color, check out the “Canine Corner” blog on Psychology Today’s website.