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Responsibilities of Dog Ownership

In order for your dog to feel and look it’s best, and to give you his best there are some important things that you, as his master, need to consider and look at.

Like humans, dogs have basic needs.  There are four that are predominant to a dog. 

1)       Food

2)       Shelter

3)       Water

4)       Safety

There are some basic and secondary needs of a dog.

1)       Love

2)       Psychological fulfillment

3)       Emotional Fulfillment

There are some other things that need to be attended to as well.

1)       Medical care

2)       Grooming

3)       And, yes, Obedience training

You, as a master, need to fulfill those needs to that your dog can concentrate on doing his best for you.

So, lets break those down and discuss them here.

FOOD

It is really tough to walk into your local pet food store and know what is the appropriate food to feed.  There are so many of them!

I don’t personally have a preference except that the food that I feed must have the following criteria:

1)       No Corn

2)       No Soybean

3)       Prefer no by-products

4)       No artificial preservatives

Other than those, most premium foods on the market meet my specifications.  Many of the leading chain pet stores now offer a “Buy ten, get one free” deal

Keep in mind, it is actually cheaper to feed a premium food than it is to feed a cheap food!  

If you look closely at the feeding directions, a food with soybean and corn in it will require that you feed 2xs as much, sometimes 3xs as much, as a food without those ingredients in it.  Feeding directions for a non-premium food and a premium food are listed below, based on a 100lb dog:

Dog Chow                             Ol Roy                    Eukanuba              Pro-Plan

8-12 cups                              8-12 cups               3-4 cups                3-4 ½ cups

So, if Dog Chow requires 8-12 cups, and Eukanuba only 3-4 cups, where does the other 6-8 cups go?  Straight out your dog’s hiney and into your back yard!

Now, lets compare costs.  We can see that we need 2-3 bags of Dog Chow and Ol Roy to equal 1 bag of Eukanuba, right? 

40# of Dog Chow                 40# of Eukanuba

15.99 x 3=$47.97                $32.99

Hmmm…. that’s a savings of about $15.00!  And your back yard is less stinky!

Now, I don’t necessarily advocate only Eukanuba.  There are lots of premium foods on the market.  Solid Gold, Eukanuba, Wysong, Nutro, Nature’s Recipe, Pro-Plan.  BEWARE OF CHEAP FOODS TRYING TO PASS THEMSELVES OFF AS PREMIUM!  LOOK AT AND READ THOSE DIRECTIONS!  Make sure that they do not contain soybean or corn!

SHELTER

While, dogs are resilient and able to withstand a lot for the most part, they still need shelter.  And it is our responsibility as a good pack leader to see to it that they have that shelter. 

My dogs live in the house, but they are outside as well.  Out doors they have a doghouse, and several doorless crates that they can get into if the weather becomes inclement, as it often does in South Florida. 

They also have plenty of shade from the heat!  And during the summer, when it is hot out, they are kept indoors under air condition and or fans.

I also think dogs need in-door shelter as well.  A place, besides under the bed, where they can go, to get out of the “weather” if you will.  I am speaking of a crate!  They are not cruel, they are not mean, and they may save your dogs life someday!

WATER

Water is a life sustaining force for all animals.  Dogs, if driven to thirst, will drink from just about anything to stay alive.  I maintain a 5-gallon bucket of water in the yard, which is dumped, cleaned, and re-filled daily.  Please remember to wash those dog dishes.   I mean, do you like to drink out of a dirty glass?  No?  Then why should your dog?

Some dogs have sensitive stomachs and require filtered, spring or purified water.  Distilled water is said to be helpful in reducing the tear stains on some of the white-coated dogs.

SAFETY

All pack leaders are responsible for their dog’s safety.  No one likes to feel unsafe, and for a dog to feel that way…. well, lets just say it can be a dangerous and scary thing. 

A dog that does not feel safe can become a threat to neighbors, friends, even to you, his master.

Keep your dog safe!  Keep him safe from human and non-human danger.  Check your yard on a regular basis for frogs, snakes, baited meats, holes in your fence, broken glass, anything that might cause your dog damage.

Can your dog swim?  Do you have a pool?  Does he know where the steps to the pool are? If he can’t swim, can you teach him, or are you willing to screen off the pool, so that he can’t fall in accidentally?

Have you taught him not to crash the front door, so that he doesn’t run out into traffic and get killed?

Is he a puppy, who is still chewing and gets behind the computer to your electrical cords?

LOVE and EMOTIONAL FULFILLMENT

All of us, need to feel loved.  And we all have different personalities when it comes to the amount of love and handling that we need.

Some dogs, like humans, are more social than others, and require more attention.  I try to never acquire a dog that is more needy than I can handle.  And if I do have one of those in my life, it is my responsibility to see to it that his needs are being met.

There are dogs that are content to lie on the floor, just being within 4-5 feet of you.  They don’t need to be petted, they don’t need to be fussed over, and they are quite content to have 5-10 minutes a day of physical attention from you.

Other dogs need to be touching their human on a very regular basis.  They need, sometimes, hours of physical attention a day. Petting, being groomed, etc…

Lets make sure that our dogs’ needs to be loved are being met.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FULFILLMENT

We all have this need.  It is the need to be doing something with our lives.  Something valuable and useful.  Something worthwhile.

Some dogs, like some humans, are more “driven” than others.  You know the ones I speak of, those that must constantly be busy and on the go! 

In order for dogs to achieve this, they often need a job.  So give them one.  Teach them to turn on/off lights, teach them to get you a beer from the fridge, teach them to pick up quarters and keys.  Then allow them to work.

There are many other paths to fulfillment.  Some dogs excel at tracking, agility and personal protection.  Be willing to invest the time into the dog and meet his needs.

MEDICAL CARE

Routine Vaccination coverage, fecal checks, heartworm checks, heartworm preventatives, dentals, blood work…. sigh…. so much.

There are several books written on this topic, but the best source of information is your veterinarian.

Gang, let me throw something out here about vets!  Some of us tend to think that all our vets care about is money.  Folks, did you know that the average salary of a vet is less than $60,000 a year?  And they have to go to college for 7 yrs!  Just like a medical doctor.  And just like a medical doctor, they have college loans, malpractice insurance, a car payment, and a house payment.  There is not a lot of insurance available for dogs (we will discuss that in a few moments).  If the vet owns the practice, he has overhead, rent, insurance, salaries of the technicians, receptionists, and kennel staff---they have to eat too!  So, the next time you are tempted to complain, think about those things.

Ok, off my soapbox!

Most vets are more than happy to spend the time with you to answer your questions.  And if they aren’t, find another vet! 

Heartworm preventative.  Can’t say enough about this.  Needs to be done, especially in south Florida.  You might think that it is expensive, but trust me, heartworm treatment is more expensive.

Same with flea/tick treatment.  Some tick borne diseases are deadly or very expensive to treat.

Now, doggie insurance.  There are several out there, but I am most familiar with “VETERINARY PET INSURANCE”.  The cost on this is about $300.00 a year.  HOWEVER, they will take monthly payments, and they will cover vaccines, heartworm preventative, flea treatment and so forth.  The first year alone, you will get all your money back on puppy vaccines and neuter/spaying that you put into your premiums.

For instance:  They will pay $60.00 toward spaying/neutering.  They will pay $9.00 of a rabies shot.  They will give you $15.00 a quarter toward heartworm preventative.  The will give you $15.00 a quarter for flea/tick preventative.  They will pay about $10.00 for a parvo shot, $10.00 for a distemper shot, and $10.00 for a kennel cough vaccine. They will also pay $25.00 to an office call.

Now, if you have a puppy, and do 3 sets of parvo/distemper shots, a rabies, kennel cough, heartguard/frontline, and kennel cough for a year, you have just been re-imbursed $304.00.

Nice thing about this is, if your dog breaks a leg, they will pay for about 60% of the bill.  Recently had a customer who followed my recommendations about this topic, and was she glad she did!  Her dog had OCD, a problem with large breeds in the joints.  The surgery for each knee on the dog was about $1300.00, for a total of around $2600.00.  The doggie insurance re-imbursed her around $1700.00 of that!

Ok, enough said about that!

GROOMING

Some dogs need more than others.  Most dogs enjoy a good bath tho.  But it is also important that you do not bathe your dog too often.

Talk your breeder, consult breed specific books, and talk to your groomer about individual grooming needs.

You can make your groomer very happy, by teaching your dog to accept grooming, nail trimming (you don’t actually have to trim the nails if you don’t want to) and submit to handling.

Be careful in choosing a groomer.  Make sure that they are kind, gentle and care about what they are doing!

OBEDIENCE TRAINING

Last, but not least! 

There is nothing more pleasant to live with than a dog that listens and does what he/she is told to do.  I cannot stress this enough.

More than 50% of the owners that euthanize their dogs in this country do so because of behavioral problems.  The majority of owner turn-ins at the local shelters are because of behavioral problems.

If your child had behavioral problems, you would not hesitate to seek out help for that problem.  With dogs, it is simpler, usually, than that. 

PREVENTATIVE maintenance---obedience training.  Obedience training can save your dogs life.  Some day, your dog’s life may depend on whether he does a sit/stay---regardless of the “Carrot” dangled in front of him.  His life may depend on whether he comes when he is called.  It may depend on not jumping on someone.

Obedience training is nothing more than school.  You don’t neglect your child’s education; so don’t neglect your dog’s!

By the way, I have found over the years, that basic obedience training will solve 90% of all behavioral problems!