There are 237 mL in a cup of fluid. A healthy 10-pound dog will produce about 480 to 960 mL of urine a day; that’s about 2 to 4 cups of urine in an average 24-hour period. Photo by Zen Rial, Getty Images
How long a dog can go without peeing is determined by bladder size. Normal, healthy dogs produce about 2 to 4 milliliters (mL) of urine per pound of body weight every hour. Our dog for this example is Fido, a 10-pound Miniature Pinscher. Fido will make about 20 to 40 mL of urine every hour. That’s about 480 to 960 mL of urine every day!
The average dog’s bladder will begin to expand once it contains about 16 to 22 mL of urine per pound of body weight. When a bladder starts to expand, neurons in the bladder wall send signals to the brain that say, “Hey! I’m starting to fill up with urine! Tell the dog to go pee so I can be empty again.”
Ten-pound Fido will start to feel the urge to pee when his bladder contains between 160 and 220 mL of urine. If his body produces urine at the maximum rate of 40 mL per hour, he may want to pee in as few as four hours (when his bladder contains160 mL of urine). If, in contrast, he produces urine at the lowest average rate (2 mL per pound of body weight per hour), and he can withstand the urge to pee until his bladder is as full as possible (220 mL), he could go up to 11 hours before having the urge to urinate.
It’s important to note that every dog’s ability to withstand the discomfort of a full bladder is different!
HOW MUCH CAN A DOG’S BLADDER HOLD?
An average dog’s bladder can hold about 44 mL of urine per pound of body weight. For Fido, our 10-pound dog, this would be about 440 mL of urine. It would take between 11 and 22 hours for Fido to make that much urine. At this volume, Fido’s bladder would be stretched to the point of being painful. If he can’t go outside or use a pee pad, he is likely going to find a convenient place to relieve himself – like the living room rug! (And who would blame him?)
HOW LONG CAN A DOG GO WITHOUT PEEING?
The general rule of thumb for normal, healthy dogs is to let them outside to pee every 4 to 8 hours, except at night. Most dogs are able to sleep through the night without having to pee. Their urine production slows down overnight because they are sleeping and not consuming water.
Puppies and senior dogs will need to pee more often. Puppies make more urine in a shorter period of time than adult dogs. And senior dogs feel the urge to urinate more often than they did in their younger days.
Medical conditions that cause your dog to drink more water will result in your dog having to pee more often. This includes diabetes mellitus, hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease), bladder infections, and chronic kidney disease. Increases in activity level or the ambient temperature will also increase water consumption, resulting in more frequent urination.
If your dog has trouble “holding it” for less than the amount of time that his bladder should start to expand, it would be wise to schedule a checkup with his veterinarian.
We put our dogs at risk! Due to diminishing wildlife areas, animals like coyotes forage for food in cities and other populated areas.
Credit: Kate McCarty | Getty Images
Coyotes may attack dogs, but it is important to put it in perspective. Attacking coyotes are more rare than common, and most attacks occur in winter, which is the breeding time for coyotes.
Most attacks are on small dogs. An attack on a small dog or puppy might be for food (yes, coyotes will eat dogs), but in general, predators prefer to eat prey animals, not other predators like another canine. Considering how many coyotes and dogs are coexisting in most areas, the risk is low in general.
The Lone Coyote
Almost all the time, a lone coyote will skirt away from you and your dog. If you see several coyotes together, it’s usually a family group as opposed to a true pack. Still, coyotes will sometimes work cooperatively on a hunt. A lone dog is more at risk if there are multiple coyotes.
Coyote Diet
The diet for the average coyote consists heavily of rodents and rabbits, along with berries, corn left in fields, and fresh roadkill. Unfortunately, with the loss of true habitat, the ever-adaptable coyote has moved into suburban and city environments. While rodents may be prevalent, a city coyote is more likely to come across small dogs and cats.
Coyotes and People
Most coyotes will avoid a dog with a human, but if the coyote is ill, such as with rabies, all bets are off. If you know there are coyotes in your area, keep your dog on leash.
A male coyote will be attracted to a female dog in heat – I had seven howling coyotes on my front lawn when one of my dogs was in heat one time. This means you must be extra vigilant at those times. Coyotes and dogs can interbreed, so the visit may be for love, not war, but it’s still unwanted.
In the spring, coyotes are raising their pups and may be aggressive while defending their dens. Stay away from coyote pups.
If you spot a coyote while out with your dog (who is on leash hopefully), do not turn and run. That will attract the coyote. Make noise while moving away steadily and calmly.
Your dog cannot see all the colors that we can see, but he can see well enough to get along with a little help from his outstanding sense of smell and excellent night vision. Credit: Westend61 | Getty Images
What colors can dogs see? The colors dogs see well are yellow and blue. Red and green are not distinct. This is due to the dog’s eye having only two types of “cone photoreceptor cells” in their eyes. Dogs cannot see the range of colors that normal people do. Instead, their vision is similar to people with dichromatic – often referred to as “colorblind” – vision.
In addition, purple and blue will look alike to your dog. Red may appear brown or gray. Colors like yellow, orange, and green will all look yellow to a dog.
While your dog may not be able to tell apart toys or balls of different colors if they fit into this dichromatic color scheme, he can identify differences in brightness.
Dogs have more rods than people in their retinas, which enables them to see better at night. Superior night vision was important for hunting. Some genetic defects that cause night blindness in dogs. Briards can have this problem, which has been successfully treated with gene therapy.
Canine vision is also keyed into movement. While dogs might miss a “frozen” prey animal like a rabbit sitting still, but they quickly pick up that same rabbit if moves.
Some dogs will have difficulty picking out a red or orange toy on the lawn if it is stationary. If it is still moving, they will follow the movement of your throw. Once the toy is no longer flying through the air, bouncing, or rolling, you will notice your dog using his sense of smell to pick up the odor of the toy or your scent on the toy.
Dogs also tend to be nearsighted and have less visual acuity than humans. But, while dogs can’t match people visually, they are far superior when it comes to scenting. For a fascinating look at the color stream humans can see compared to what dogs can see, go to https://dog-vision.andraspeter.com/
Because Boone almost lost his mind the first time he saw someone riding a skateboard, I bought one to use to desensitize him to that stimuli. Teaching him to ride it is in progress. Photo by Nancy Kerns
You probably already know that I’m a huge fan of training – and while I am also a proponent of teaching dogs a few key behaviors that will help you spend time together, such as sit, come, touch, wait, stay, and back up, I also love teaching my dogs to do utterly useless things for the sheer fun of learning and working together. In the process of figuring out how to best get my dog to do something specific, reinforcing his efforts and doubly reinforcing efforts that are increasingly closer approximations of the goal behavior, I learn what motivates him to try and keeps him in the game. He shows me what really doesn’t compute for him and what makes him feel like quitting, and, in contrast, what sorts of things make our activity fun for him. Teaching him a new behavior, or a new way to do a behavior, turns into a highly interactive and highly enjoyable communication session.
Both of my dogs enjoy training, but 8-year-old Woody has a much shorter period of enthusiasm for sessions of learning something entirely new, and he’s much quicker to quit if he can’t figure out the goal behavior within a few guesses. With Woody, I have to keep my energy and rate of reinforcement very high, and the increments of improvement very low, to shape a new behavior.
Boone is the opposite: He shows an incredible amount of concentration and willingness (for a just barely 2-year-old dog) to persevere; he often keeps offering behaviors long after I’ve run out of treats and called our session done for the day. He will also spontaneously offer some semblance of a behavior we’ve worked on in new and creative ways at the most random times, to my delight and enjoyment. Recently, he offered a new behavior that was so funny I have to share it with you.
As a youngster, Woody learned to back up on cue (“Back!”) very easily and quickly, but I struggled with getting Boone to offer the same behavior. I tried all the techniques I could think of, and all the variations of luring, shaping, and capturing. No matter how I tried to lure Boone backward, or move into his space to try to get him to take even a tiny step back with a single paw, he would either bow or lay down or do a quick spin. And forget capturing; if he thought treats were on the table, he wasn’t going to move an inch away from me!
Then I saw a video of a trainer who taught her dog to “target” with his back feet, enabling her to use a mat or low platform to get her dog to back up onto the target and hold his position there. Boone already knew how to touch things with a front paw on cue (“Touch!”), and he knew “Up!” as a cue to jump up onto something. So I set about teaching him to touch something with a back paw, and then shaped that into stepping up onto something with both back paws. He would very handily (pun intended) reach behind himself with a back paw and, upon making contact with whatever it was, would back right onto it. The cue for this behavior became “Back up!” – and for whatever reason, he finally extrapolated that just “back!” meant to back up (with no particular target). Voila!
Though I often ask my dogs to jump up onto something for a portrait, now Boone most frequently offers to back up onto a platform or stair when I want to take a photo. Photo: Nancy Kerns
Now I can ask him to back up – but he still favors backing up onto things – perhaps because that’s where the lightbulb finally went on for him and he understood where I was going with all of this. Now, if there are treats around, or he just wants some attention, he’ll back onto something with his back feet and look for his reward. “Hey Nance, look at me! What will you give me for this?”
I have in my living room a device called a balance trainer. It’s essentially a four-foot-long slackline, which various athletes (and some of us older people) use to hone (or just maintain) their balance. Often, when we’re watching TV in the evening, one or the other of us will use the balance trainer while we’re watching a movie, or waiting for the popcorn to pop. Recently, while we munched popcorn during a movie, Boone decided that the balance trainer was his ticket to getting some of that popcorn. Spontaneously, he walked over to the balance trainer, turned to face me, and started deliberately reaching behind himself with his back feet, trying to step onto the slackline. That certainly took my attention off the movie!
I watched, somewhat incredulous, as Boone repeatedly fished about with a back paw, feeling for the two-inch wide webbing of the slackline and, when he made contact with it, placing a back paw onto the web and putting weight on it. Sure, that absolutely gets you some popcorn, you loony Boone! And within a few more repetitions of his one-paw-in-contact, when I held back from reinforcing him for that, he got one paw balanced on the line and started reaching with his other back foot. Within two minutes, he could balance with his back feet both standing on the wobbly line.
We’re now working to see if he can learn to balance with all four feet on the slackline!
This behavior was 100% his idea and invention, born out of a desire for attention and treats – as well as a certainty and trust that he’d get both if he could think up something interesting enough (and not rude, like openly begging). And while some people may find an attention-seeking dog to be a pain in the butt sometimes, I love his creativity and don’t mind letting him know how amusing I find it.
I don’t know that there will ever be a use for some of these silly behaviors, but interacting while I reinforce and shape them for our amusement keeps us connected and understanding each other – and that’s what “training” is really all about, in my opinion.
Not all dogs that itch have mange or mites, for that matter. But a dog who is incessantly scratching and itching and clearly in misery needs to be seen by a veterinarian. Credit: Fernando trabanco Fotografia | Getty Images
Dog mange mites on humans is possible, but confined to only a few species of mites. Dog mange is a skin infestation by mites. Canine demodex mites are species-specific, which means your dog’s demodex mites won’t thrive on you. People have their own species of demodectic mites that happily coexist with us. Sarcoptic mites on the other hand can affect both humans and dogs, but cannot complete their lifecycle on human skin making infection a matter of short term irritation.
Multi-Species Mites
A few types of mites will cross species and can cause problems even in healthy people and animals. The mite behind sarcoptic mange, Sarcoptes scabiei, is one of them. This particular mite is comfortable living on a number of hosts. Have you noticed any basically naked, but otherwise healthy, squirrels in your neighborhood? They probably have sarcoptic mange. Spot a sickly, scruffy looking fox? He probably has sarcoptic mange as well and, unfortunately, it is a serious problem for fox.
Mange Is Itchy
Dogs with sarcoptic mange are extremely pruritic (itchy). These mites burrow into the skin and cause itching, rubbing, chewing, and rolling. Dogs with sarcoptic mange are uncomfortable. Even just a few mites can make a dog miserable. With time, the damaged skin is prone to secondary infections, which only add to the overall discomfort.
Is It Really Mange?
A diagnosis requires demonstrating mites are present, if possible. Since these mites burrow into the skin, multiple skin scrapes are attempted. If your veterinarian does not come up with a mite, but still feels sarcoptic mange is a possibility, she might recommend treatment anyway.
Treating Mange in Dogs
Mange treatment requires topical therapy such as baths and dips to start with and then follow up with topical or oral medications. Revolution and Advantage Multi are examples of topical treatments that will kill sarcoptic mites. Oral medications that have shown to be effective include Interceptor, Sentinel, NexGard, Bravecto, and Simparica. Not all fhese drugs are specifically approved for the treatment of sarcoptic mange, but they are effective and can be prescribed by your veterinarian for off label use.
Human Mange
You can get sarcoptic mange from your dog. This requires close contact as the mites don’t run and jump like fleas. If you develop an intensely itchy rash just like your dog, you might have mange. The canine variant of the sarcoptic mange mite can’t fully reproduce in people, so symptoms will fade in 4 or 5 days.
People do have their own variant of this mite that can be transferred to dogs. Again, it can’t reproduce so signs fade quickly. If you develop an itchy rash which last longer than a couple of days, you should see your physician.
It’s not clear why dogs like to chew on wood, although one can guess it’s because it is just the right firmness with a natural scent. Credit: Bruev | Getty Images
Every dog – whether a large working dog or a small pet – seems to like to chew on things, although we don’t yet fully understand why.
A study published inApplied Animal Behaviour Science in 2021 determined that chewing was not motivated by play or activities, but 94% of households provide their dogs with a chew object.
In 2020, a study published in Frontiers in Psychology determined that chewing sticks was similar to the use of a tool. In other words, “If chewing is caused by, at least in some cases, a pain in the teeth and some inclination to chew sticks given that pain, or occurs after consuming food that is likely to get stuck in their teeth, this direct and immediate function of the behavior should qualify as tool use.” Researchers hypothesized that a dog probably doesn’t understand the difference between chewing on a wood stick from the woods and wooden furniture. Maybe dental chews would help here.
What Dog Experts Think
Since dogs aren’t talking and scientists can’t find a solid reason for why dogs chew on wood and other things, we looked to dog experts for some consensus. Here’s what we found
Wood likely offers a natural smell with a satisfying hardness that the dog can chew and pull apart. It’s just nature’s favorite toy. Note: Remember, wood chewing is fraught with potential veterinary emergencies, from splinters in the mouth to pieces lodged in the gastrointestinal tract and more.
Puppies need to chew, as it helps soothe sore gums, just as it does a baby who is teething.
For adult dogs, boredom appears to play a part in chewing. You leave your dog every day while you go to work or school. He probably sleeps for most of that time, but eventually he gets tired of looking at four walls and through the window at a pesky squirrel. So, one day he gnaws on a nearby table leg – and it’s fun and handy.
Anxiety can cause a dog to chew. Take that same dog but change his temperament to one that is anxious about being alone, who hears noises and voices everywhere. To calm himself, he chews up a chair from the kitchen table.
The third reason is somewhat supported by research, at least the tool idea. It’s oral health. Dogs may have an instinct to exercise their jaws and clean their teeth- or just a drive to make them feel better. Sticks and furniture are hard and rough, so they’re good for that.
What Can You Do?
Buy him safe chew toys! The type of chew toys you get depends on your dog. A Chihuahua or Miniature Poodle won’t want anything big or too hard, but a strong chewer like a Doberman or German Shepherd need big and strong toys. Kong and Planet Dog are just two companies approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council that make toys that will probably last your dog’s lifetime.
More exercise or activity will help your dog – and you. Take him on longer walks, especially before you go to work. Make more play time. Take him places to stimulate his brain.
Deterrents
To stop compulsive or confirmed chewing right away, you can mix apple cider vinegar with water and then spray or paint it on the things you don’t want him to eat. It has a sour taste that dogs don’t like, and it won’t hurt him.
But the long-lasting effect of behavior modification – with toys and exercise – is what you really need to discourage your dog’s craving for furniture.
High-energy, active dogs need more calories than their quieter cousins. Credit: Hillary Kladke
If your dog is too thin, adding calories is the obvious solution. But whether you have a working dog, canine athlete, perpetually active family companion, or senior dog, there are some things to consider when selecting the best high-calorie dog food for weight gain. Both wet foods and dry foods for weight gain can work.
Think Dog
Factors such as breed, age, size, environment, and overall health all impact a dog’s energy requirements. Dogs are known for their seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm, but sometimes that energy expenditure makes keeping weight on our companions difficult.
Working dogs and canine athletes often have higher demands than an average pet and many require high calorie dog food to maintain a healthy body weight and condition. If your dog started to lose weight without increased energy needs, however, a veterinary visit is in order.
Before changing from a food you like, consider adding a meal to put weight on your dog. If your dog usually eats twice a day, up that to three times a day, gradually increasing the amount of food, but keeping meals evenly spaced out.
Always monitor your dog’s weight and adjust their portions accordingly. Slowly transition when changing diets and be sure to consult with your veterinarian to tailor their diet to their specific needs.
Meeting Calorie Needs
High-energy diets should be calorie-dense to meet the increased energy demands of active dogs, those in stages of growth and reproduction, or to help seniors gain weight. Calories can come from a multitude of different ingredients, but their sources can be broken down into three main categories: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Protein is especially crucial for dogs with high energy needs. Whether your dog is young and active, or a senior who struggles to maintain weight, high-quality, highly-digestible proteins are essential for helping to maintain lean body mass, or muscle mass. High quality, digestible proteins support muscle and cellular development, repair, and supports energy levels. Animal-based protein, such as eggs and muscle meat, provide an excellent source of highly-digestible protein for dogs.
Fat is the most concentrated source of dietary calories and is vital for boosting the energy density of your dog’s food. Look for diets with moderate to high levels of healthy fats, including omega-3 (commonly found in fish oils) and omega-6 (commonly found in plant oils) fatty acids. These fats not only provide an excellent source of energy, but can also support skin and coat health, cognitive function, and joint health.
While fats are an excellent source of energy, excessive amounts can increase the likelihood of pancreatitis in dogs. Because of this, the National Research Council (NRC) lists a maximum fat requirement of 82.5g/1,000 kcal, meaning that no more than approximately 74% of a dog’s calories should come from fat. While this is a guideline to follow, every dog is an individual, so be sure to adjust the diet as needed and always consult your veterinarian about any concerns.
Carbohydrates serve as a source of readily available energy. Including carbohydrates from grains, fruits, and vegetables can help provide energy and nutrients, such as vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. Carbohydrate sources can also provide an excellent source of fiber, which can help with stool quality and can support a healthy gut microbiome.
Some dog breeders will use home progesterone test kits to plan breeding times. Credit: Jane Rubtsova | Getty Images
A dog’s heat cycle occurs approximately every 6 to 15 months, depending on the breed and genetic trends within the female dog’s family. A progesterone test for dogs can be used to determine which part of the cycle a female dog is in and whether she is receptive to mating. The canine heat cycle is divided into four phases:
Proestrus: Starts with swelling of the vulva and bloody vaginal discharge. This lasts an average of 9 days, with a range of 0 to 27 days.
Estrus: The period in which the female is receptive to mating. Ovulation occurs. Duration of estrus averages 9 days, with an average of 2 to 24 days.
Diestrus: The female is unreceptive to mating. Late in diestrus, mammary glands can enlarge, even if the female is not pregnant. This part of the cycle lasts for about 2 months.
Anestrus: The hormonally quiet period between cycles. This can last 4 to 13 months.
Using a Progesterone Test for Dogs to Determine Breeding Times
A breeder will want to know the optimal time for mating or artificial insemination to plan for breeding-related travel and to maximize litter size. This is most easily done by monitoring circulating progesterone levels using a progesterone test for dogs. During most of proestrus, progesterone hormone levels are low. Just before ovulation, progesterone levels rise precipitously, which corresponds with a surge in luteinizing hormone.
Usually, serial progesterone levels are measured every other day starting from when the bloody vaginal discharge starts, and when the progesterone is greater than 2.0 ng/mL, assume ovulation has occurred. Most progesterone tests are done through the veterinary office, using radioimmunoassay (gold standard) or chemiluminescence immunoassay.
When You Need a Progesterone Test for Dogs
Home progesterone kits measure progesterone, and while the perspective mother might be more comfortable being able to stay at home instead of traveling for a veterinary appointment, the home kits are not as accurate as the test through the veterinary office, and they will still require a blood sample.
Whichever method of progesterone testing a breeder decides upon, when measuring serial progesterone levels, it is important for accuracy to use the same lab for all the tests and pull the blood sample at the same time of day for all the tests.
Another advantage of knowing ovulation date via progesterone testing, is that the breeder will have a much better idea of whelping date (65 +/- 2 days after ovulation). This gives the breeder a time frame in which to be more vigilant in monitoring their pregnant dog and informs future puppy owners when they might be able to take their new family member home.
If your veterinarian says your dog is healthy but has bad breath, a home dental-care program may be suggested. Credit: LeslieLauren | Getty Images
Sudden bad breath in dogs is never normal. Bad breath, whether sudden or chronic, can be a sign of illness in dogs. In addition to the obvious causes of bad breath like tartar and gingivitis, metabolic disorders like gastrointestinal disease, diabetes, and kidney failure can cause bad breath in dogs.
If your dog is excessively lickingand has bad breath, it’s time to look in his mouth. Dental disease (tartar, gingivitis, infection, periodontal disease, loose teeth), growths and foreign bodies in the mouth can all cause oral pain and drooling, which can result in excessive licking. Be sure to look at the roof of the mouth. I can’t tell you how many times I have found a stick or a bone lodged across the roof of the mouth with the dog licking excessively to try and dislodge it.
If you notice sudden bad breath or persistent, chronic bad breath in your dog, it’s time to schedule a veterinary exam. Your doctor will do a thorough oral examination as well as a full physical exam. If dental disease is identified, a dental cleaning and evaluation under general anesthesia is usually recommended. If the mouth looks healthy and the source of the bad breath is not revealed during the physical examination, a general diagnostic work up may be recommended to include blood tests and possibly chest and abdomen x-rays.
If your veterinarian determines that your dog appears to be generally healthy but has bad breath, a home dental-care program may be recommended. The gold standard of home dental care in dogs is daily tooth brushing with a veterinary enzymatic paste. If your dog will not tolerate tooth brushing, you can visit the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) website for effective alternative approaches to home dental care including diets, chews, water additives, wipes, sprays, and gels.
We have to balance the risk of every activity with our dogs with the risks of keeping them unexercised and unsocialized; this new illness is just one more instance where we have to make an informed decision and accept the consequences. Credit: Nancy Kerns.
By now, you’ve all probably heard something about the mystery respiratory illness afflicting dogs in various parts of the country. Symptoms include fever, lethargy, nasal or eye discharge, difficult or rapid breathing, mild to moderate tracheobronchitis, loss of appetite, and dehydration. In some cases, the illness progresses to pneumonia and symptoms are not responsive to the most commonly used antibiotics, and some dogs have died. The most recent roundup of news about the illness was presented in this USA Today article published on December 4, but it’s not yet known whether it’s being caused by a virus or a bacterium – though researchers at the University of New Hampshire’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory suspect a bacterium is implicated.
Researchers haven’t identified the causative agent of this illness, aren’t sure of how it’s spread (direct contact between dogs? Airborne secretions?), whether there are different strains of the illness, or how to treat it most successfully. So the most protective advice that veterinarians can give right now is to prevent your dog from coming into contact with other dogs, and making sure they are vaccinated against the known agents of respiratory infections; this article has the scoop on the many causes of “kennel cough” and how to protect your dog.
It may be smart to keep our dogs home, avoiding contact with other dogs, whether in dog daycare, boarding facilities, groomers, vet hospitals, or on walks or at the dog park – but is it really best for our dogs?
If there was an outbreak or reported cases in my town or neighborhood, I’d surely walk my dogs only when there was zero chance of running into another dog, and cancel any plans that called for my dogs to board or attend group classes. But on the news of a communicable disease in a nearby state, I’d perhaps tighten my dogs’ social circle to a select few dogs whose vaccination status was known to be up-to-date. I’d still attend classes or daycare where the dogs were required to have current vaccinations, but would eschew nose-to-nose meet-and-greets anywhere else. (Truthfully, I don’t allow my dogs to greet other dogs on leash ever anyway! Here is a good article on why leashed greetings should be avoided even when there are no worries about contagious diseases.)
I’ve had friends and family ask what they should be doing to protect their dogs, or if it’s safe to take them out for walks. And I have to admit, I am loath to prescribe a specific answer. In my opinion, folks need to inform themselves about the risk and then take responsibility for their decisions about the risks to which they subject their dogs. I think the answer has to be answered on an individual basis. It’s different for the person who doesn’t really take their dogs out much anyway than it is for the person whose dog becomes destructive or self-destructive if she doesn’t get a three-mile jog every day. It’s different for someone whose dog will be alone for 10 or 12 hours a day without daycare or a dog walker than it is for someone whose dog has a dog door into a secure yard or someone home all day. It’s even different for someone who has an old or frail dog than someone whose dog is young and healthy.
So, my advice is: Make sure your dog’s vaccinations for anything that can cause a respiratory disease (bordetella, influenza, and parainfluenza in particular). Call your vet (or check her website and/or Facebook page) to see if there have been any local cases reported. Keep your dog from greeting or playing with dogs you don’t know – and decide for yourself if you should maintain your dog’s regular exercise or training schedule with other known, vaccinated dogs. I am – but, at last report, we haven’t had any cases in my area.
Unless your dog has been playing with – or rolling in – fish, a fishy smell is not something he should be sharing. Credit: Keven Cass | Getty Images
Unless your dog has been rolling in dead fish, a fishy odor is not something to expect. Three common causes of a fishy odor are anal gland expression or abnormalities, urinary tract infections, and dental disease.
Why Does My Dog Smell Like Fish When Scared?
Your dog has two glands called anal sacs located just inside her anus. These glands contain a stinky fluid and are naturally expressed when your dog poops (this is what gives dog feces their distinctive aroma).
Your dog can also reflexively express his or her anal sacs when afraid, squirting out all the stinky, oily contents. This is a useful strategy when trying to get away from a predator or other threat because the fishy stink distracts the attacker, giving your dog a chance to escape. Our pet dogs may not need to escape from bears or lions, but they still may express their anal glands during stressful events, resulting in that stinky fishy smell.
Anal glands can also become impacted or infected. The buildup of excess contents or the buildup of infection will increase the odor, and may cause your dog to smell fishy even when she is calm and resting. If you notice your dog scooting or that her hind end has an unusual odor, schedule an appointment with her veterinarian.
Why Does My Dog’s Breath Smell Like Fish?
Dental disease is a common problem in adult dogs and with it comes bad breath. Depending on the type of bacteria wreaking havoc in your dog’s mouth, your pup’s breath could smell like rotten fish.
A dental cleaning under anesthesia will remove the bacteria, plaque, and calculus from your dog’s mouth and resolve the odor.
Why Does My Dog Pee Smell Like Fish?
If your dog’s urine smells like fish, she may have a urinary tract infection. As long as your dog has had a wellness exam within the past year, your veterinarian may let you drop off a urine sample to be evaluated without bringing your dog in for an appointment. Once the urine has been examined, your veterinarian will dispense the appropriate medications to resolve the infection.
Many people start hair dye for dogs projects by just doing part or all of a dog’s tail. Credit: Coldsnowstorm | Getty Images
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Whether you aspire to enter grooming competitions or just want to temporarily deck your dog out in your favorite sports team’s colors, be sure to choose products intended for use on dogs. Human hair and skin are different from dog hair and skin, and using human products on your pup could result in skin irritation, coat damage, or death. Choose a product that is formulated specifically for dogs.
Critter Color and OPAWZ are popular dog hair dye products. OPAWZ has a ton of options ranging from temporary to permanent dyes and even air brush and chalk options.
Always read the instructions for any product before using it. Following the instructions exactly as stated will help to protect your dog from any possible harm and limit mess.
Special Considerations
Some states do have laws about dyeing your dog. These include Colorado, Maine, Florida, and South Carolina.
Many people have strong opinions about dyeing your dog’s hair and may strongly disapprove. Just be forewarned.
Dog sports organizations may also have rules about dyeing your dog. If you compete in dog shows with your dog, check the rules to see what is allowed before getting too crazy.
Remember that bleach, lightening products, and hair dyes formulated for humans can all damage your dog’s fur and skin and are toxic if licked. Skip these and choose a trusted product formulated for use on dogs.
Dog Hair Dye Ideas
There are endless ways that you can get creative with your dog, including:
Dye just the paws or tail tip for a splash of color
Go green for St. Patrick’s Day or orange for Halloween
Match your dog to a favorite sports team or university colors
Turn a white ruff into a rainbow
Use different shades of blue dog hair dye to create a gradient or blue sky with clouds
If you are a novice at this, start with a temporary dye so that you can easily wash it out if it doesn’t turn out well.
Black Dog Hair Dye
Light-colored dogs are the easiest to dye because the colored pigments will show up on their coat. For black dogs, you will need to limit yourself to any small white markings they might have.
Human bleach products should never be used on a dog. OPAWZ does have a lightening product for dogs, but even the OPAWZ company strongly cautions it should only be used by professional groomers. This is because anything that bleaches hair can also potentially irritate or burn the skin, and your dog can’t tell you if he’s starting to feel a weird tingling.
A couple of days ago, I received a text from a dog-training client, wondering about a video she had just watched—and which she linked in the text. “Is meat meal bad for dogs?” she asked. She followed that message with, “I get that she’s selling her own pet food, but is it (meat meal) that bad?”
