Sunday, July 11, 2010

Dog Nutritional Needs

The nutritional needs of dogs are divided into energy (carbohydrates, lipids), proteins, minerals and vitamins. After water, energy components are those whose loss affects the faster the dog's health. The ration energy wealth comes mainly from carbohydrates and lipids. The daily energy expenditure include those due to basal metabolism * (* energy cost of the animal when it is at complete rest), which represents 60% to 70% of total energy expenditure, which is compounded by the loss of Work-related muscular energy, digestion and thermoregulation.

The dog's energy needs are of the order of 132 kcal ME / kg PV0.75
(ME: metabolisable energy - PV0.75: metabolic weight).

Carbohydrates (sugars (glucose) and starch)
They provide energy to the body. The liver and muscles absorb glucose from the blood to assemble them into glycogen, which is a form of energy storage in animals. The digestion of starch is a factor to take into account, due to a low amylase activity in dogs. A physical-chemical treatment will yield a suitable maximum digestibility of it. Lipids (made from the fat) are the preferred concentrated source of energy. They release about twice as much energy per unit weight compared to carbohydrates. They are essential to the agency not only for their role in energy but also for their visual and functional roles.

LIPID
They provide what are known as EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) polyunsaturated fatty acids to long chain (C18 to C22), a constituent of cell membrane structure, they are indispensable to the maintenance thereof and cellular function, they have a role on the growth, beauty, hair, and the preservation of the skin, the liver and heart function, and also on fertility and coagulation.

PROTEINS
Essential elements of food, their role is first to provide the body with the elements needed for its construction. They provide the necessary amino acids for the synthesis of tissue proteins in the body, and as such are involved in growth and tissue maintenance "lean" muscles, nervous system and skeleton. Among these amino acids, some can be synthesized in sufficient quantities by the body and must therefore be supplied by food, are the essential amino acids. The amino acids involved in many biochemical pathways essential to life. By chemical modification, some amino acids are converted into biologically important molecules in the intervening phases of growth, neurotransmission, allergic reactions and in many other hormonal functions.

MINERALS and VITAMINS
They are essential for the proper functioning of the body. They participate in numerous metabolic reactions. As with other food ingredients, excesses prove as dangerous as the shortcomings, hence the importance of a food just right.
Essential for cell maintenance, vitamins perform many functions. They help to transform food into assimilable substances and participate in the development of blood cells, hormones and various chemical components of the nervous system. They come in many different functions such as vision, growth, reproduction, cell protection, growth of blood cells and in almost all metabolic reactions and energy. Minerals constitute the bulk of the skeleton and teeth. They are used to maintain the immune system, blood clotting and metabolism of oxygen in the body. They also arrange transportation of energy, water balance, and they come in bone metabolism and epidermal.

The main qualities of the food will meet all those needs and be attractive to the animal. The concept of need, should then take into account not only the level of expenditure of the animal (with all its factors of variation: physiological, physical activity) but also yields with which food intake will be used, again with many variation factors, related both to the animal (breed, individual ...) than the food (quality of components, manufacturing technology, nutritional balance, ...).

A balanced diet will cover the quantitative requirements (energy) and the qualitative requirements (substances essential).

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Canine Septic Shock Treatment

The principal and most important aspects of treatment of the septic dog include drainage of the septic focus, appropriate antibiotic treatment and aggressive fluid therapy. Low-output sepsis may be nothing more than inadequately resuscitated high-output sepsis.

Drainage of the septic focus is mandatory. Drainage may entail lancing an abscess or maintaining open abdominal drainage for peritonitis. Wounds and drainage should be cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, and the dog should be started on appropriate antimicrobial therapy with a bactericidal antibiotic. Pending the results of culturer and sensitivity, antibiotic choice location may be based on Gram Stain previous experience, and location of the septic focus. Otherwise, combinations ofof ampicillin and gentamicin, or cefazolin, metronidazole and gentamicin or cefotetan provide coverage against a broad spectrum or aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Antibiotics are continued until the temperature and white blood cell count have returned to normal.

Pulmonary damage and pulmonary hypertension also occur in septic shock; the etiology is not known. The dog is monitored for signs of pulmonary edema (increased respiratory rate, moist rales, radiography), and if pulmonary edema occurs, less aggressive fluid therapy is indicated. Positive end-expiratory pressure respiration has been recommended if respiratory distress is suspected.

Metabolic support is frequently necessary to arrest protein catabolism is septic shock. Intravenous hyperalimentation, possibly with branched-chain amino acids is recommended. Use of antiserum to the lipopolysaccharide core of endotoxin may be promising. Use of glucose-insulin-potassium mixtures may also be beneficial.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Puppy House Training | House Training a Puppy


House training your puppy

When you are training your puppy to be clean in the house do not expect too much from him at first. After every meal always put him out of doors or take him to a particular spot where you want him to be clean. Get him into the habit of going to the same place. If given the opportunity the puppy will much prefer to be clean out of doors rather than soil the floor.

As soon as he wakes from a sleep he should again be put outside for a few minutes. If this routine is carried out you will have very little trouble at all, but you must not expect your puppy to go through the night without making a puddle whilst he is still having his milk drink last thing at night. If he sleeps in the house a piece of newspaper put down near the door will encourage him to visit it and avoid accidents elsewhere. The old fashioned method of 'rubbing a puppy's nose in it' when he has made a mess is totally wrong and quite unnecessary. A little time and patience is all that is needed.

Consult your veterinary surgeon with regard to inoculation. Twelve weeks of age is the usual time to have the first injection but it does depend on the maker of vaccine used.
Distemper, hard pad, contagious hepatitis, and leptospirosis are the four diseases chiefly concerned, and are the scourge of the canine world. In order to obtain lifelong protection, an annual booster injection is advisable but this does depend on whether one's dog is likely to come in contact with possible sources of infection, such as going to shows. A small percentage of dogs do not respond adequately to vaccination but on the whole it is very successful and the only safeguard.

From the time the puppy is six weeks old get him used to standing on a table whilst you groom him and stand him as if at a show. He will soon learn to be handled and by doing this almost daily he will stand quite still and you will get a perfect picture of your future show prospect. When he is about three months old he will be too big to lift on to a table so you must continue to practice on the ground. As he gets a little older buy a light weight cord lead and, after grooming, put it on him and encourage him to run up and down. Treat it as a game and he will soon get the idea of following you. In the same way as one teaches a child good deportment, so a dog can be taught to stand and move correctly.

mycaninecare.com recommendation:
Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog and Your Life by Cesar Millan.
 

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