Raising dogs, especially providing care for the french spaniel, is a specialty of people across the world. Experts postulate dogs were domesticated sometime between twelve thousand and twenty five thousand years ago—and that canines evolved from the wolf. Since those days, humans have selectively bred more than 400 breeds, ranging in size from 4-pound teacup poodles to Irish wolfhounds, whose three-ft stature earns them the title of tallest dog. However, the most preferred canines are non-pedigree dogs—the one-of-a-kind dogs known as mixed-breeds. The french spaniel is also a favorite choice with dog owners. Some owners are oblivious, however, of some crucial french spaniel care tips.
General health care cost for the french spaniel
The annual budget for caring for the french spaniel—which includes food and treats, veterinary care, toys and license—could range between $420 and $780. This does not even count capital costs for spay/neuter procedures, a collar and leash, dog carrier and a dog crate. Tip: Be sure you have procured all your supplies before getting your french spaniel home for the first time.
Typical french spaniel Care
french spaniel Feeding Routine
- french spaniel pups between eight and twelve weeks need four bowls of food daily.
- Feed french spaniel puppies three to 6 months old 3 meals every twenty-four hour period.
- Feed puppies six months to 1 year two meals per day.
- By the time your french spaniel hits his 1st birthday, 1 feeding in a day is sufficient.
- Sometimes adult french spaniels, however, eat 2 lighter helpings. It is your job to adapt to your french spaniel’s eating schedule.
Excellent-quality dry dog food ensures balanced nutrition for grown french spaniels and may be mixed with broth, water, or canned food. Your french spaniel may love cottage cheese, cooked egg, fruits and vegetables, but these dishes should not add up to more than 10 pct of his daily meal intake. french spaniel pups should be fed top-quality, name brand puppy food. You should try to cut down on “people food”, though, because it can cause mineral and vitamin deficiencies, tooth and bone problems, and might cause some very finicky food choices and obesity. Clean, potable water should be available exclusively, and make certain to clean water and food dishes frequently.
french spaniel Care Tips: Your french spaniel needs exercise daily
french spaniels need exercise to stay healthy, recharge their minds, and maintain their health. Exercise also really helps french spaniels avoid boredom, which can lead to difficult behavior. A little fun and games would cure many of your french spaniel’s instinctual urges to chew, dig, chase, retrieve and herd. Activity needs depend on your french spaniel’s age and her level of health—but 10 minutes outside and merely a walk down the street every day probably will not be enough. If your french spaniel is a 6 to eighteen month adolescent, her requirements will probably be a little more.
french spaniel Grooming
You can help keep your french spaniel clean and reduce shedding with brushing. Inspect for ticks and fleas daily during warm weather. Many french spaniels don’t need to be bathed more than a few times per year. Prior to bathing, comb or cut out any and all mats from the french spaniel’s coat. Carefully rinse all soap from the coat, or the dirt will stick to soap residue.
french spaniel Handling
Pups, as opposed to adults, are obviously easier to handle. While carrying the french spaniel pup, place 1 hand beneath your dog’s chest, with either your forearm or other hand supporting his or her back legs and rump. Never try to grab or lift your puppy by her front legs, tail or back of the neck. If you must lift a larger, full-grown french spaniel, pick it up from the underside, supporting his or her chest with 1 of your arms and rear end with your other arm.
How to House your french spaniel
Your french spaniel needs a warm peaceful place to rest away from all the breezes and off the floor or ground. You may want to purchase a doggie bed, or make one out of a wood box. Put a clean comforter or pillow inside the bed for cushion. Wash the french spaniel’s bedding frequently. If the french spaniel will be spending a lot of time outdoors, make certain he has access to plenty of cool water and shade in the summer, and a warm, covered, dry area when it’s cold.
french spaniel Licensing
Make sure to follow your community’s licensing regulations. Be certain you connect the license to your french spaniel’s collar. This, together with an identification tattoo or tag, can easily help secure your french spaniel’s return should he go missing.
Info on french spaniel Behavior
Thoughts on Training your french spaniel
Well-mannered, companion french spaniels can truly be a joy to own. But left untrained, your dog can easily be a lot of trouble. Training your french spaniel on the basics—”Stay”, “Come”, “Down”, “Heel”, “Off”, “Sit”, and “Leave it”—will improve the relationship with both the french spaniel and the friends. If you own a puppy, start teaching her the appropriate responses as fast as you can! A treat can be utilized as a lure and recognition. Pups can enroll in obedience class when they are adequately immunized. Contact your local humane society or SPCA for information on obedience classes. Always keep your french spaniel on a leash while in public, even as a puppy. Just be positive your french spaniel will come back to you if you say the word. A disobedient or aggressive french spaniel can’t play with kids.
Your french spaniel’s Health
french spaniels should visit the veterinarian for a full screening, shots and heartworm examination each and every year, and immediately if she is sick or hurt.
french spaniel Dental Health
Although we may simply dislike our french spaniel’s foul breath, we must be aware of what it may represent. Bad breath is a symptom that your french spaniel needs an oral screening. Dental plaque caused by germs causes a terrible stench that necessitates the help of a professional. After you give your french spaniel a cleaning from a professional, his gums and teeth can be maintained by brushing regularly, feeding a special diet focused on dental health, and eliminating table food. Your veterinarian can give you additional guidance for reducing dental disease as well as bad breath. You should brush the french spaniel’s teeth using a dog paste or a paste made of baking soda and water twice weekly. You can brush them with a piece of nylon pantyhose wrapped around your finger, a sterile gauze pad, or a child’s soft toothbrush. Periodontal disease,which is an infection between the gums and teeth, sometimes affects french spaniels. This painful disease can possibly result in loss of your french spaniel’s teeth and propagate infection to the rest of his body. Your vet will usually brush the french spaniel’s teeth while performing his typical health examination.
Halitosis in french spaniels
Although bad breath caused by oral disease may not be too serious if found early enough, sometimes halitosis may also indicate more serious, long-term causes for concern. A fruity, sweet smell can usually be indicative of diabetes, while diseases of the intestines or liver may cause foul breath. Kidney disease might be the cause when your french spaniel’s breath smells like ammonia or urine. When you notice your french spaniel has smelly breath in conjunction with other signs of disease, such as loss of appetite, vomiting, loss of weight, moodiness, including depression, increased drinking and urination, set a trip to his doctor.
french spaniel Flea and Tick Issues
Regular, daily checks of your french spaniel for fleas and ticks throughout the summer are crucial. Use a flea comb to find and remove fleas. There are numerous new techniques of flea elimination. Speak to your veterinarian about these and other options.
Heartworm problems in french spaniels
Your french spaniel is at risk of contracting heartworms if she is exposed to lots of mosquitoes. The insect carries this parasite from dog to dog. Heartworm infections can be potentially deadly. Your french spaniel should have a heartworm screen every single spring—this is critical to detect infections from the past year. It is recommended that you give your french spaniel a monthly tablet during mosquito season to help you protect her from heartworms. Whenever you travel in warmer climates with your french spaniel in the winter, she needs to be on the preventive medicine during the trip. There are some areas, usually the regions with warmer temperatures, where veterinarians recommend heartworm tablets be taken continually.
Toxins and Medicines
Never, ever give your french spaniel medicine that hasn’t been prescribed by her veterinarian. Are you aware that just 1 ibuprofen caplet causes stomach ulcers in french spaniels? Keep rat poison and other rodenticides away from your french spaniel. When you have reason to think your pooch has been exposed to a poison, contact the doctor or the ASPCA Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 twenty-four hours per day for help.
french spaniel Sterilization Procedures
Female french spaniels should be spayed—which is the removal of the uterus and ovaries—and males neutered—removal of the testicles—by 6 months old. Spaying before maturity greatly reduces the breast cancer risk, a common and frequently fatal ailment of older females. Spaying also eradicates the risk of a diseased uterus, a traumatic problem in more mature females that can only be treated with surgery and intensive medical care. Neutering male french spaniels prevents prostate diseases, some hernias and certain aggressive behavior.
french spaniel Immunizing
- The combination vaccine (also called a “five-in-one shot”) should be given to your french spaniel at two, three, and four months old and again once yearly. This innoculation protects your puppy from distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus, and parainfluenza. The french spaniel puppy’s innoculation program cannot be finished before 4 months old.
- If you have an unvaccinated french spaniel older than four or five months, he must get a series of 2 innoculations 2 or 3 weeks apart, followed by a yearly vaccination.
- Your french spaniel puppy’s innoculations should coincide with his socialization program. You should take your french spaniel puppy to socialization classes by eight to nine weeks of age, according to most vets. At this point, they should have received at least their first vaccinations.
Statutes are so different between different areas, that it’s best to call your local vet for rabies immunization information. For example, in NYC, the regulation requires all pets older than 3 months of age to be vaccinated for rabies. The initial rabies shot must be followed by a subsequent innoculation a year later, and then every three years. There are several immunizations, many of which are appropriate for your french spaniel. There are others that are not, however. Ask your french spaniel’s vet for his recommendation. By the way, if your french spaniel happens to get sick because she is not properly immunized, the shots ought to be administered once your companion animal fully recovers.
Roundworms in french spaniels
french spaniels are commonly exposed to worms and possible infestation—in all areas, both urban and rural. Tiny eggs made by roundworms are transmitted through an infected french spaniel’s stool. Most pups, even from healthy mothers in good homes, carry intestinal worms. An accurate, early detection is the key to effective treatment. This will ensure that the treatment is highly effective against the parasite your french spaniel has. A dewormer that eradicates roundworms, for example, cannot kill tapeworms. Your vet can best define the culprit—and assign the most effective treatment.
french spaniel Care Tips: Additional Info
Checklist of french spaniel Supplies
- Excellent-quality dog food and treats designed for french spaniels and similarly-sized dogs
- Food dish
- Water dish
- Toys, toys and more toys, including safe chew toys
- Brush & comb for grooming, including a flea comb
- Collar with license and ID tag
- Quality leash
- Carrier (for puppies)
- Training crate
- Dog box or bed with comforter or towel
- Child’s toothbrush
The no-no list
Never feed your french spaniel the following:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Caffeinated foods, like coffee, tea or chocolate
- Raisins and grapes
- Moldy or spoiled food
- Onions, garlic & chives
- Bones of chicken, turkey, or any other animal (choking hazard)
- Salt & salty foods
- Tomato leaves, stems or unripe fruit
- Dough
The scoop on poop
Unless you are at home, or in a fenced-in, secured place, keep your french spaniel on a leash at all times. When your french spaniel does #2 on your neighbor’s lawn, the sidewalk or any other public space, please remove and dispose of it! Don’t forget to check out these other articles about french spaniels
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