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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.238


by some statement such as:  "Complete nutrition for the entire life of
your dog."  Purina Dog Chow is one example of such a food.  Based on
these definitions, the answer to your question is YES, in most cases a
puppy should be fed puppy food until he reaches ninety percent of his
expected adult weight.  This will be less than a year for small breeds
and up to eighteen months for the giant breeds.  However, most puppies
should also do just find on an "all purpose" food, as well.  By
definition, these foods must be formulated to meet or exceed the
nutritional requirements of all life stages, including growth.

This has probably answered your basic question, but I thought that
some additional information might help you in your discussions with
other dog owners.  Comparing dog foods can be a tricky business and
given the complete lack of substantial information on the product
label, it can be almost impossible for the average consumer.  Before
comparing foods you need to consider how the dogs eat the food.  Dogs
do not care how many pounds of food you give them as long there is
sufficient energy in the bowls to meet their needs.  Put another way,
dogs eat calories, not cups or pounds.  If you have two foods, A and
B, and A has 2000 kcal per pound while B has 1000 kcal per pound, a
dog that requires 1000 kcal of energy per day will eat one pound of
food B but only a half pound of food A.  The point here is that in
order to compare foods, you have to compare them based on the amount
the dog will be consuming.  For example, if our two foods had twenty
percent protein for A and ten percent protein for B, even though A has
twice the protein content of B, if our dog consumed equal caloric
amounts of each food he would get exactly the same amount of protein
in each meal.  If we compare the average nutrient content of puppy
food, maintenance food and all purpose food on a nutrient per pound
basis, the results frequently don't make any sense.  There appears to
be wide variation from company to company regarding how much protein,
fat or calcium a puppy needs. If the nutrient contents can be compared
on a "per calorie basis" the similarities between various foods of the
same type become apparent and the differences between puppy food and
maintenance food are more readily demonstrated.  When analyzed in this
fashion, you will find that growth foods generally contain more
protein, fat, calcium and phosphorus than maintenance foods. These are
the nutrients most critical for growth.  Analysis of all purpose food
tends to closely resemble that of growth food.  This would explain why
puppies generally do so well on the all purpose foods.  There are some
marketing motives in producing puppy foods, however, and these may
lead to less than optimal nutrition for a puppy.  If a company
marketing an all purpose food opts to produce a puppy food, but not a
complete line of life-stage related products, there may be a tendency
to increase the "growth nutrients" in the puppy food above the amounts
present in the all purpose food. Since the all purpose food already
met the nutritional requirements for growth, the new puppy food might
be close to providing excess amounts of protein or calcium.  This is
not necessarily the case, but it has been known to happen and might
contribute to the poor performance of many litters on some puppy foods
as compared to those on all purpose foods.

The bottom line on the different types of food is essentially that
optimal nutrition for the animal comes from matching the nutrient
requirements for his life stage with the nutrient balance in the diet
he is fed.  If a pet food company has this philosophy toward dog food
it will be reflected in their product line; specific foods for
specific purposes. These are frequently the premium pet foods.  All
purpose foods are fine for most puppies. The major question which
should be considered is if this food has everything a growing puppy
needs, does it have more than an adult dog needs and could this excess
be harmful in the long run?  So the problem may not be with feeding a
puppy on all-purpose food, but in feeding this food, essentially a
puppy food in disguise, to an adult for a long period of time.  There
is no strong evidence to support the idea that the excess nutrients in
these all purpose foods might be harmful. For now it is a
philosophical question, but one that bears some thought.

The one other topic which I noted in your various [rec.pets.dogs]
discussions is the role of nutrition in the development of bone
disease in dogs.  The development of bone disease depends on a variety
of factors including genetics, environment and nutrition.  The only
nutritional factors clearly implicated in canine bone disease are
calcium and phosphorus imbalances and certain vitamin deficiencies or
excesses. In many cases excesses can be as bad, or worse than
deficiencies. There is some evidence that high protein or high
carbohydrate diets may contribute to problems in growing horses,
however, this information does not necessarily transfer to dogs which
have a very different metabolism.  The best advice that can be given
at this point is to provide growing dogs with a nutritionally balanced
diet intended to support growth and to avoid development of obesity in
puppies. Supplements should be used ONLY on the advice of a qualified
nutritionist to correct a known nutritional deficiency."


|G.  Dog Vision

|Excerpted from: Vaughan, Dana (Ph.D.), "Canine:Color Vision,"
|_Gazette_, May 1991:

|The article explained the following about "color vision" in
|dogs/people:

|Normal Human Color range includes VIBGYOR (each letter is a color
|Violet->Red).  The normal ability to see this wide range of color is
|due to the presence of three cone cell types: blue, green and red
|cones.

|The range of colors seen by deuteranopic (green-blind) humans and dogs
|are probably the same. Color Vision in the VIB portion of the spectrum
|is normal. However, both deuteranopes and dogs lack the green cones
|and thus have a color vision deficit in GYO portion of the spectrum.
|This means that blue-green appears white.  Colors more toward the Red
|(R) portion of the spectrum appears more and more yellowish. Red
|itself thus appears yellow.

|Note that it is difficult for a dog to distinguish between objects
|which are green, yellow and orange.  Note also that the colors red and
|orange are hard for a dog to tell apart, but that "red" is easily
|distinguished from blue.


H.  Early Neutering

Many animal shelters have instituted mandatory neutering policies in
an attempt to reduce the staggering number of unwanted dogs in the US.
However, compliance is difficult to ensure, even with financial
incentives and inexpensive neutering clinics.  Paired with the current
practice among US veterinarians to neuter at about 5-8 months, it is
very difficult to ensure that animals that should not be bred do in
fact not breed.

Some animal shelters, in responding to these problems, are looking
into early neuter programs.  Under these programs, puppies and kittens
are neutered before they leave the shelter.  Widespread adoption of
early neuter programs by shelters should have a positive impact on the
pet overpopulation problem.  The advantages for responsible breeders
are also obvious: pet-quality puppies can be neutered before they are
sold, assuring the breeder that there will be no further puppies out
of those puppies.

Obviously a number of questions have been raised over the appropriate
age for nuetering animals, and the safety of anesthetizing young
puppies.  Some new data is now available that shows

  * Early neutering did not affect food intake or weight gain.
  * Early neutering did not result in inactivity or lethargy, in fact
    the neutered dogs were slightly more active than their sexually
    intact counterparts.
  * Early neutering contributed to a slightly higher growth rate
  * Seven-week old puppies tolerated anesthesia well.
  * Spaying younger puppies was easier than spaying at the traditional
    age since there was less fat and less vasculature (resulting in
    less blood loss), reducing surgery time.

Since there are important differences between neutering 7-week-old
puppies and 7-month-old puppies, not every veterinarian can perform
the early neutering surgery.  The more extensive experience many vets
have in neutering at the traditional age generally means they will not
opt to change, thus for now it may be difficult to find vets
experienced with early neutering.

Summarized from
Marrion, Ruth, DMV.  "New Views on Neutering," in _Purebred
Dogs/American Kennel Gazette_, April 1992 (pp50-54).


I.  Example of a Spay/Neuter Contract.

 ____(Your name and address)___________________agrees to sell the
 following animal to ___________(Buyer's name and address)___ for the
 sum of __________________.

 BREED:                           SEX:
 SIRE:                            DAM:
 DATE OF BIRTH:                   LITTER NUMBER:
 MARKINGS:

     Registration papers will be held by the seller until proof of
spaying/neutering has be received from a licensed, reputable
veterinarian.  When proof has been received via a receipt and/or
written statement for the vet, the registration papers and the sum of
__($50 or whatever seems appropriate)___ will be forwarded to the
buyer's address.  Spaying/neutering of this animal is _required_ to
receive the registration papers.  It is understood at the time of sale
that this dog is not considered to be of show or breeding quality, but
is a representative of its breed and is structurally and
temperamentally suited as a companion and/or obedience dog.  This dog
is guaranteed for two weeks against any general health irregularities,
and it is recommended that the buyer have the puppy examined by a
reputable veterinarian during this period.  A refund of purchase
price, upon return of the puppy, will be given for any puppy found
unsatisfactory during this time limit.  No other guarantee is given
except in the case of a genetic or temperamental defect which
develops, at any time during the dog's life, to the extent that it
renders the dog unsuitable as a pet.  In the case of temperamental
defect the buyer agrees to return the dog to the seller for a full
refund of purchase price.  In the case of genetic or hereditary
defect, the buyer will have the option of a replacement under the same
conditions stated in this contract when one becomes becomes available,
_or_ a refund of the purchase price.  If at any time, the above dog
must leave permanent ownership of the buyer, the seller must be
notified.  This dog is not to be placed in a shelter or humane society
without prior notification to the seller.  Failure to follow this
contract will entitle the seller to the amount of $400 as a result of
breach of contract and any legal fees associated with legal actions.

      The buyer understands that this is a legally binding contract
and that a copy of this contract will be forwarded to the American
Kennel Club to prevent fraudulent registration of the described dog.

Seller:_______________________________________ Date:______________
Buyer:________________________________________ Date:______________

_____________________________________________________________________

If you read the contract for its legal content, you'll find that if
the owner is your average "joe-pet-owner" he'll benefit by getting a
very sound puppy and a small bit of money back from this deal after
the neutering is done.  That's it, nothing tricky.  If, however, the
new pet owner does just get the puppy with no intention to keep it
later or no intention to follow the contract they will be subjected to
quite a stiff fine and legal fees.


J.  Facts and Opinions about Neutering.

Remember, "neutering" can refer both to spaying bitches or castrating
dogs.  An "intact" bitch or dog is one that has not been neutered.

1.  Practical reasons for keeping your dog intact

  * Conformation showing requires dogs and bitches to be intact.
  * Breeding stock (obviously) must remain intact

2.  Practical reasons for neutering your dog

  * Not a show-quality or breeding-quality dog.
  * It is a working dog (such as Seeing Eye or Guide dog) and must
    not be distracted by the opposite sex.
  * Medical and health benefits.
  * Its breeding days are over.

3.  Definite myths about neutering

"My bitch will become fat and lazy if I spay her."  Not true.  If you
hold to the same exercise and feeding schedule after surgery that you
did before surgery, her weight and activity will not change except as
a normal function of aging.  Bitches that become lazy after spaying do
so because of YOUR expectations: you take her out less because you
think she's lazier, and so around and around it goes.  Remember, too,
that the age at which many bitches are spayed (6-8 months) is also the
age at which they begin to settle down from puppyhood into adulthood.
Studies done on early neutering (at 8-10 weeks) show that such puppies
remain on par behaviorally with their unneutered counterparts.  If
anything, they are often *more* active than their unneutered
counterparts.

"I want her to have one litter before spaying because that will
improve her personality."  This is not true.  Clinical studies show no
permanent changes occur as a result of pregnancy.  Behavioral changes
that do occur are an effect of hormonal levels and lactation and are
strictly temporary.  If your behavior toward her does not change from
before her pregnancy, her behavior will not change, either.

4.  Ethical considerations over neutering

4.1. What is your goal with neutering your dog or leaving it intact?

Unless you know what you want to do with your dog, it may be difficult
to make the decision to neuter.  You must take into account how you
will prevent unwanted breeding so long as your animal is intact.  For
example, you must not let it roam.  You must have it under control at
all times.

Neutering your dog will not solve behavioral problems.  Solving
behavioral problems is a matter of training.  Both intact and
neutered animals, properly trained, make fine housepets.

Neutering your dog does guarantee that you will have no unwanted
puppies.  It does guarantee that *certain behaviors* related to
reproduction will be eliminated.  This includes dog interest in the
heat-scent, and bitch agitation during heat.  It eliminates certain
physical manifestations in the bitch, such as discharge from the
vulva.

It *may* reduce the incidence of urine marking, mounting, and
intermale aggression in male dogs.  Interestingly enough, the *age* at
which an animal is neutered does not affect the likelihood that
neutering will have an impact on a particular behaviors.  *Experience*
seems to play more of a role in determining which behaviors are
retained.  That is, if habits have been established, neutering is not
likely to alter them.

Behavior patterns common to both males and females, such as protective
barking, playfulness, and attention-seeking are not affected by
neutering.  No basic personality or behavior changes occur as a result
of neutering, except that undesirable male behaviors may be reduced
or eliminated.

It is possible to sterilize dogs without neutering.  This means
severing the vas deferens in the dog and the fallopian tubes in the
bitch.  You eliminate the possiblity of puppies, and there is *no*
change in behavior because the hormones have not been altered: the
dogs are still interested in bitches and the bitches will still go
through heat.  However, they will be sterile.  You may have to look
hard to find a vet that will do this, as it is uncommon.

If you intend to breed, the decision is easy.  If you are putting your
dog to other work, you may be worried about negative or positive
behavioral changes from neutering in your dog affecting its work.  If
you simply have a pet you do not wish to breed, neutering is entirely
appropriate.

4.2.  What are the medical advantages/dangers of spaying and neutering?

Medical advantages:

Your bitch is no longer subject to reproductive cancers, such as
mammary cancer (the most common tumor of the sexually intact bitch).
Bitches spayed prior to their first estrus have about 0.5 percent risk
of developing mammary cancer.  If spaying is delayed after the second
heat period, the chance of developing a tumor jumps 8-26 percent.
Bitches spayed later than this remain at the same level of risk, 8-26
percent.  The incidence of pyometra is eliminated in spayed bitches.
Pyometra is a common disease of intact bitches, particularly in
bitches over 6 years of age, although it can occur at any age.

Your dog is less at risk from prostate disease and testicular cancer,
both of which can be life-threatening.  Even non-malignant growths are
a threat because the growth can cause infection that can eventually
kill your dog.

Medical disadvantages:

General anesthesia is a risk to any dog.  A small percentage of spayed
bitches may develop estrogen imbalances in later life that causes
incontinence (or rather, "leaking"), which is easily controlled with
dosages of estrogen.  There are no medical disadvantages (other than
anesthetic risk) to male dogs.

4.3.  What are the psychological effects on your dog?

There is wide disagreement over this, but there are various relevant
facts to note.

First, neutered dogs are no longer concerned with reproduction.  This
is a psychological effect, but the extent of it is confined to its
behavior with respect to heat.

The argument is often over whether or not neutered dogs remain
"aggressive."  In particular, guard dogs and working dogs are often
thought to lose something by neutering.  This is counterable with
specific examples: e.g., Seeing Eye dogs are always neutered and they
are fine, working dogs.  There are many neutered animals that are
dominant over intact animals.  For each claim made about the effect of
neutering an animal, a counter-example can be cited.  This means that
the effect of neutering is largely dependent on the individual dog.
And, most likely, because dogs are so attuned to their owners,
dependent on the owner.  Dogs are very good at picking up
expectations: if you *expect* your dog to mellow after neutering, it
probably will, whether or not the neutering was actually responsible
for it.

The question also arises over whether dogs "miss" sex or not.  Insofar
as neutered animals never display interest in sex afterwards, the
argument is fairly strong that dogs do not miss their sexual
capability.  "Mounting" or "humping" is a dominance related behavior
that any alpha dog, of either sex, intact or neutered, will engage in.

4.4.  What are the ethical issues?

There is a good deal of controversy over the practice of neutering
animals.  Please note that some viewpoints are culturally determined:
for example, many countries in Europe, especially Scandinavian ones,
do not have any sort of pet population problem; whereas in the US,
millions of dogs are put to sleep annually because of uncontrolled and
thoughtless reproduction.  Thus, any debate over the relative ethics
of neutering dogs must be careful to keep the background of the debate
participants in mind.  Your personal decision should also take this
factor, as well as others, in making that decisions.  In brief, here
is a summary, pro and con, of the various opinions and points that
proponents of either side make.

     PRO                               CON

Neutering prevents unwanted         You can control your own dog's
puppies.                            reproduction.

It prevents certain behaviors       You can control your dog; again,
such as roaming, being in heat      why should we take something away
going after bitches in heat.        from the dog?

There are medical benefits to       There are valid moral objections
neutering.                          to "tampering" with your dog.

Neutered dogs are content with      Who wants to have neutering possibly
established pack orders.            affect your dog's abilities.

Dominance is unrelated to intact-   But there are also cases where the
ness; many neutered animals are     dog lost some edge.
just as, if not more so, energetic
determined and aggressive as their
intact counterparts.

Many bitches perform the same       But why take the chance on an
duties as well as dogs;             individual dog's temperament
testosterone is not the magic       changing?
ingredient, training and
individual temperament is.

5.  References

Hart BL. "Effects of neutering and spaying on the behavior of dogs and
cats: Questions and answers about practical concerns," in JAVMA
1991;198:1204-1205.

Houpt KA, Coren B, Hintz et al.  "Effects of sex and reproductive
status on sucrose preference, food intake, and body weight of dogs,"
in JAVMA 1979; 174:1083-1085.

Johnson SD.  "Questions and answers on the effects of surgically
neutering dogs and cats," in JAVMA 1991;198:1206-1213.

LeRoux PH.  Thyroid status, oestradiol level, work performance and
body mass of ovariectomised bitches and bitches bearing ovarian
autotransplants in the stomach wall.  J S Afr Vet Assoc
1977;48:115-117.

Marrion, Ruth, DMV.  "New Views on Neutering," in _Purebred
Dogs/American Kennel Gazette_, April 1992 (pp50-54).

Salmeri KR, Bloomberg MS, Scruggs SL, Shille V.  Gonadectomy in
immature dogs: Effects on skeletal, physical, and behavioral
development.  JAVMA 1991;198:1193-1203.

Salmeri KR, Olson PN, Bloomberg MS.  Elective gonadectomy in dogs: A
review.  JAVMA 1991;198:1183-1191.

Thrusfield MV.  Association between urinary incontinence and spaying
bitches.  Vet Rec. 1985;116:695.


K.  Finding a Home for a Dog.

For whatever reason, you may need to find a home for a dog.  List
everywhere: newspaper, bulletin boards, computer bulletin boards,
newsletters, anywhere you like.  But limit sharply: don't adopt out if
they don't meet standards.  Minimal standards: will neuter as soon as
the dog's old enough, committed to a 20 year responsibility, they have
a home or apartment that permits pets, knowledgeable about dog health
and behavior or committed to become so.  Do charge a nominal fee, at
least US$30, unless you know the adopter well; this keeps away those
collecting animals for research.  (You can donate all or part of the
money to animal causes if you like.)

If the animal is a purebred, you can look up the breed rescue
organization for it.


L.  Guard or Protection Dogs.

Many people consider getting a dog for protection or guarding
property.  Toward this end, "ferocious dogs," such as Doberman
Pinschers, Rottweilers, and other large dogs are procured.  In many
cases, the dogs will be encouraged to bark, bite, etc.

This is an *extremely poor* approach.

In the first place, many burglers are primarily deterred by
*attention*.  If your dog barks, that may be all that is needed.  And
virtually any grown dog that is attached to its family will bark when
stranger approaches.  There is no need to get a "vicious" dog.

A *properly* trained protection and attack dog is a considerable
investment of time and money.  In addition *you* must understand how
to keep it trained.  You will throw money down the drain if you buy
such a dog with no idea of how it is trained or how to reinforce the
training.

In addition, many dogs that are advertised as "trained attack dogs"
are in fact poorly trained, and may cause you serious trouble when it
goes for your neighbor's child.

Basically, if you want protection, put in a burglar alarm and start a
Neighborhood Watch program.  Neither of these security assets will
sell you down the river for chuck steak and neither will be a
potential liability.  Choose your dog as a companion -- choose it
well, for it will be your companion for quite a few years -- and
accept its contributions to your security profile as a bonus.


M.  Housetraining Topics

1.  Getting the dog to go consistently in one area

Every time you take the dog out, take it to the same spot and,
preferably, give it a command like "potty" or whatever.

If the dog is already in the yard and decides to go to the bathroom,
distract the dog by yelling NO (or clapping or whistling) and take it
to the spot it's supposed to go (even if it's finished already) and
give the command to go to the bathroom.  Don't yell or correct
harshly, just distract it enough to stop the behavior and give you an
opportunity to move it to the right spot.

It helps if the spot is marked out.  A common way to do this is to dig
out a square at least several inches deep, line up 4x4's along the
edge and fill with gravel.

2.  Housetraining an older dog

With regards to housetraining an older dog, it can actually be easier
to do this.  Puppies do not have the physical capacity for "holding"
it until they are 4 months old or so.  Before that you are just doing
damage control and trying to get the concept across to them.  Older
dogs, especially ones that have been kept outdoors in a kennel, will
not want to go indoors because it doesn't feel right.  Follow the same
rules that you would with any other dog during housetraining: out
after every meal, out after every nap, and out every two hours
otherwise.  And don't just put them out in the yard and expect them to
do their business.  Take them to a specified spot and wait with them
until they do their stuff.  Take that opportunity to teach them a word
to "go" too, if they don't already know one.

And, when they go, outdoors: PRAISE THEM!  If they have an accident
and you catch IN THE ACT, then tell them NO and take them to their
spot to finish, praise them when they do it there.  If you don't
actually catch them in the act, then quietly, clean it up, control
your temper, and pretend it didn't happen.  They will learn rather
quickly but you *must* watch them at all times when they are in the
house until you learn to read their signs and anticipate problems.

3.  Sudden onset of marking

There are several possible causes for a dog that suddenly starts
marking (urinating) in the house.  First, rule out medical problems
with your vet.

If you've just moved into a new house and your dog starts marking,
it's probably to claim the house.  Try leaving your dirty laundry all
over the house for a few days so that YOU mark it as yours.  Take it
up after a few days.

4.  Peeing in one spot

For a dog that pees in a particular place in the house, leaving
laundry in that spot can also work to discourage it.  Dogs may
consider little-used parts of your house sufficiently "distant" from
the den that it's OK to pee there.  Your laundry there marks it as
"den".  Also, you can take them to these distant or used spots and do
some obedience or other dominance work with them there.

It also helps to actually catch the dog in the act.  You can then yell
"NO" to distract it, and then take it outside.  This works well for
dogs that simply think its OK there because its "distant" and you
haven't specifically said not to.  You MUST catch it in the act,
though, yelling at it *after* all's said and done will accomplish
absolutely nothing.

Be sure to clean up that spot thoroughly with enzyme based cleaners.


N.  Invisible and Electric Fences.

There are a variety of fences that are called invisible fences.  Each
is detailed below.

1.  The Invisible Fence

This is an arrangement where electric wire is buried around the
property and the dog wears a collar that shocks it if it gets too
close to the electric wire.  This kind of a "fence" does not depend on
the presence of a physical fence, although it could certainly augment
one.  Points to consider:

  * You must *train* the dog to understand what is going on, you can't
    just expect to put it on and have it work.
  * This does not prevent other dogs (or people) from coming in and
    bothering your dog, unless it is supplemented by a physical fence.
  * If your dog somehow gets outside the perimeter of the fence with
    its collar on, it will be shocked when attempting to *re-enter*!
    (The collar will not shock the dog beyond a given distance regardless
    of which side the dog is on.)

2.  Electric fences

Many owners, when faced with a dog that persistently digs out or
scales the backyard fence, will run a "hot" wire along the bottom of
the fence or along the top of the fence.  This often works quite well,
to the point where the presence of the wire, whether hot or not, will
deter escape.  Points to consider: