2008 Woodie Awards
Barking up the right tree
Visiting vet assures pups health, well-being
By: Linda Overly
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Shelly Hays has been a certified veterinary technician at Mangrove Veterinary Hospital in Chico for more than six years. She said the primary focus of pet hospitals is preventive medicine, and recommends these important health maintenance requirements and tips for dog owners:
- Bring a puppy to a veterinarian for its first exam as soon as possible
- Puppies should start vaccines for the prevention of canine parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, leptospriosis and rabies at six to eight weeks old, and should continue every three weeks until the pup is 15 to 17 months old
- Puppies older than 17 months and all other dogs should receive booster shots and a full physical exam annually
- Owners should feed their puppies and dogs premium dog food for its high nutrition values
- One of the best ways to keep track of a dog is to get a micro-chip identification installed in its shoulder blade. The low cost device, about $35, is the size of a grain of rice and contains a serial number that responds to a special scanner
- Exercise is essential. Puppies and dogs should be walked or at least played with daily
- Don't forget good hygiene; dogs should be washed at least once every two weeks and get a good teeth brushing at least once a month
"You can see less aggression in him than before," she said.
"And he's not peeing everywhere anymore."
Hays final advice is simple.
"Show (your dog) love and attention," she said. "But you always
want it to know that you're the boss. If not, it will run your life."
For more tips on doggy T.L.C., including tips on traveling with
your dog, check out these Web sites: www.animalhealthcare.ca/ and
www.twyla.org/hints.htm
Hounding down the perfect pooch
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