Owning dogs, in particular providing care for the alpine spaniel, is old hat for humans. Some experts say that dogs were domesticated between 12,000 and twenty five thousand years ago—and that dogs evolved from wolves. Since then, humans have selectively bred more than 400 breeds, varying in size from four-pound teacup poodles all the way up to Irish wolfhounds, whose three-ft stature has earned them the distinction of tallest canine. However, the most preferred canines are the non-pedigree dogs—the one-of-a-kind dogs known as mixed-breeds. The alpine spaniel is also a favorite choice among canine owners. Some owners are uninformed, however, of some of the most common alpine spaniel care tips.
Health care cost for your alpine spaniel
The annual cost of rearing your alpine spaniel—to include meals and treats, veterinary care, toys and license—could vary between $420 and $780. This figure doesn’t include capital expenses for spay/neuter operations, dog collar and a leash, dog carrier and dog crate. Note: Be positive you have obtained all your supplies before getting your alpine spaniel home.
Basic alpine spaniel Care
How To Feed your alpine spaniel
- alpine spaniel puppies between eight and twelve weeks need four meals per day.
- alpine spaniel pups 3 to 6 months old should be fed 3 meals in a 24 hour period.
- Feed puppies six months old to 1 year old 2 times in a day.
- By the time the alpine spaniel hits his first birthday, 1 bowl in a day is all that’s required.
- Sometimes alpine spaniels, however, do better with two lighter servings. It’s your job to learn your alpine spaniel’s eating schedule.
High-quality dry dogfood provides balanced nutrition for grown alpine spaniels and may be mixed with canned food, broth, or water. Your alpine spaniel may enjoy cottage cheese, cooked egg, fruits and vegetables, but these should be less than 10 pct of his daily food allowance. alpine spaniel puppies should be given a high-quality, brand-name puppy food. Please cut down on “people food”, though, since it can cause mineral and vitamin deficiencies, tooth and bone issues, and might cause very picky eating habits and obesity. Give fresh, potable water at all times, and make certain to wash water and food dishes very frequently.
alpine spaniel Care Tips: Your alpine spaniel needs physical activity daily
alpine spaniels need exercise in order to stay in shape, stimulate their minds, and remain in good health. Daily exercise also really helps alpine spaniels fight boredom, which has the potential to lead to difficult behavior. Exercise can quench many of your alpine spaniel’s desires to chew, dig, chase, retrieve and herd. Individual exercise needs depend on your alpine spaniel’s age and his or her level of health—but ten minutes in the backyard and a couple of walks down the street every day probably is not enough. If your alpine spaniel is a six to eighteen month adolescent, his requirements will probably be a little more.
Grooming tips for alpine spaniels
You can help keep your alpine spaniel clean and reduce shedding with brushing. Inspect for ticks and fleas every day during the summer or other warm weather. Many alpine spaniels don’t need to be bathed more than a few times during the year. Prior to the bath, comb or cut out any mats from the alpine spaniel’s coat. Rinse all soap from the coat, or dirt will stick to the soap.
How to Handle Your alpine spaniel
Pups are clearly easier to manage. While carrying your alpine spaniel pup, take one hand and place it beneath the dog’s chest, with either your forearm or other hand supporting his or her hind legs and rump. Don’t ever try to lift or grab your pup by his or her front legs, nape or tail. When you must lift a bigger, adult alpine spaniel, lift from underneath, supporting her chest with 1 of your arms and rump with the other.
alpine spaniel housing
Your alpine spaniel needs a warm peaceful place to relax away from all the breezes and off the ground or floor. You may wish to think about purchasing a dog bed, or make one out of a wood box. Place a clean sheet, blanket, comforter, or pillow in the bed. Wash your alpine spaniel’s bed covering often. If the alpine spaniel will be outdoors much, make certain she has shade and plenty of cool water in the summer, and a covered, warm, dry shelter in winter.
alpine spaniel Licensing and Identification
Heed the community’s licensing rules. You should attach the license to the alpine spaniel’s collar. The license, together with an identification tag or tattoo, will most likely help you recover your alpine spaniel if he happens to go missing.
Information on alpine spaniel Behavior
About Training your alpine spaniel
Well-behaved, companion alpine spaniels can truly be a a joy. But left untrained, your alpine spaniel can easily be trouble. Teaching your alpine spaniel the minimums—”Heel”, “Off”, “Sit”, “Stay”, “Come”, “Down”, and “Leave it”—bolsters the relationship both with the alpine spaniel as well as the relatives. If you own a puppy, begin teaching him or her the appropriate responses quickly! Use doggie snacks as recognition and incentive. Puppies should join obedience classes when they are sufficiently immunized. Contact the community humane society or SPCA for details about obedience classes. It is wise to keep your alpine spaniel on a leash in public, even as a puppy. Be positive your alpine spaniel will come to you when you say. A disobedient or aggressive alpine spaniel can’t play with kids.
Knowing Your alpine spaniel’s Health
Your alpine spaniel should visit the vet for a thorough exam, immunizations and heartworm exam each and every year, and ASAP when she is injured or ill.
The Dental Health of Your alpine spaniel
While many of us might simply dislike our alpine spaniel’s foul breath, we must pay attention to what it might be a sign of. Foul-smelling breath usually means that your alpine spaniel requires an oral screening. Dental plaque , which is caused by unhealthy bacteria causes a bad odor that requires treatment by a professional. After you give your alpine spaniel a cleaning done by a professional, her teeth and gums may be maintained by brushing the teeth regularly, feeding a specially formulated dental diet and treats, and avoiding table scraps. The veterinarian can provide you more info on eradicating periodontal ailments and stinky breath. You can easily clean the alpine spaniel’s teeth with a doggie toothpaste or a paste made of baking soda and water twice weekly. Use a child’s soft toothbrush, a gauze pad or a piece of nylon pantyhose stretched over your finger. Sometimes alpine spaniels have periodontal disease, another term for gum disease. This troublesome condition will sometimes result in tooth loss as well as spread disease throughout the body. The doctor will brush your alpine spaniel’s teeth as part of her routine health assessment.
alpine spaniels with Bad Breath
If your alpine spaniel has foul breath, gum disease might just be a symptom of another ailment. Intestinal or liver diseases sometimes cause halitosis, whereas a fruity, even pleasant smell may be indicative of diabetes. Kidney disease is a possible cause when your alpine spaniel’s breath smells of urine or ammonia. Set an appointment with a veterinarian whenever your alpine spaniel has halitosis along with other signs of disease like excessive urinating or drinking, depression or lethargy, weight loss, nausea, or decreased appetite.
Dealing with Ticks and Fleas in alpine spaniels
When it’s warm, it’s important for you to perform regular, daily checks of your alpine spaniel for ticks and fleas. You can remove and find fleas using a flea comb. There are many new techniques of flea and tick mitigation. Talk to your vet about her recommendations.
alpine spaniels With Heartworm Issues
Your alpine spaniel is at risk of heartworms if she is exposed to lots of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes carry the worm from dog to dog. Heartworm infestations are fatal. It is wise to make sure your alpine spaniel has a heartworm screen each and every spring—this is vital for catching infestations from the previous year. A once-a-month tablet given during mosquito season can help to protect your alpine spaniel. Your alpine spaniel should be on heartworm medication throughout a winter trip to a warmer climate. There are some places, usually the places with hotter climates, where the vets advise parasite pills be consumed throughout the year.
Toxins and Medications
If you’re pondering giving your alpine spaniel medication that was not prescribed for him by his veterinarian, don’t do it. As little as one ibuprofen tablet can create stomach ulcers in alpine spaniels. Make sure your alpine spaniel is never exposed to rat poison and other rodenticides. When you have reason to believe that your doggie has eaten a poisonous substance, immediately call the doctor or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 twenty-four hrs. per day for information.
Spaying and Neutering alpine spaniels
It is recommended that female alpine spaniels be spayed—the removal of the ovaries and uterus—and males neutered—removal of the testes—by 6 months of age. You will greatly reduce your female alpine spaniel’s breast cancer risk by spaying before adulthood. Spaying also eradicates the possibility of a sick uterus, a traumatic problem in more mature females that necessitates intensive medical care. Prostate diseases, testicular cancer, some hernias and certain types of aggressions can be prevented by neutering male alpine spaniels.
Vaccinating your alpine spaniel
- The combo vaccine (also known as a “five-in-one shot”) ought to be given to your alpine spaniel at 2, three, and 4 months old and again once yearly. This shot immunizes your pup from distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus, and parainfluenza. The alpine spaniel puppy’s innoculation regimen cannot be completed prior to four months old.
- If you have an uninnoculized alpine spaniel older than four or five months, he must have a series of 2 innoculations given 2 to three weeks apart, followed by an annual vaccination.
- Your alpine spaniel puppy’s socialization should coincide with the innoculation program. Most doctors recommend that new owners take their alpine spaniel puppies to socialization courses, as early as eight to 9 weeks old. At this age, they should have already received their first immunizations.
Because regulations vary so much around the country, contact a local doctor to get information on rabies immunization. For instance, New York City statutes declare that pets older than three months must be immunized for rabies. After the initial immunization, you must get another immunization the following year, and then every three years after that. There are a variety of immunizations, many of which are appropriate for your alpine spaniel. Others, however, are not. Your veterinarian can give you his opinion. By the way, if your alpine spaniel gets sick because she is not innoculated, do not give the shots until the dog has made a full recovery.
Hookworms in alpine spaniels
alpine spaniels are often exposed to worms—especially in rural areas. Eggs that carry intestinal worms are transmitted through a dog’s feces. Most puppies, from all environments, even those with healthy mothers, carry intestinal worms. An accurate, early detection is the secret to effective treatment. This will maximize the possibility that the medication is successful against the worms your alpine spaniel has. A dewormer that eliminates hookworms, for example, can’t kill tapeworms. Your alpine spaniel’s doctor can best identify the culprit—and prescribe the best medication.
Additional alpine spaniel Care Tips
Checklist of alpine spaniel Supplies
- Premium-quality dog food and treats specifically for alpine spaniels and similarly-sized dogs
- Food bowl
- Water bowl
- Toys, toys and more toys, including safe chew toys
- Comb & brush for grooming, including a flea comb
- Collar with license and identification tag
- Leash
- Carrier (for pups)
- Crate for training
- Dog box or bed with warm quilt or towel
- Doggie toothbrush
Warnings to be Heeded
The following items should never be fed to alpine spaniels:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Caffeinated foods, like coffee, tea or chocolate
- Raisins and grapes
- Moldy or spoiled food
- Onions, chives and garlic
- Bones of chicken, turkey, or any other animal (choking hazard)
- Salt or salty foods
- Tomato leaves, stems & unripe fruit
- Dough
The “Bottom” Line
Keep your alpine spaniel on a leash when you are outside, unless you are in a secured, fenced-in spot. And please, when your alpine spaniel defecates on your neighbor’s grass, remove and dispose of it! Don’t forget to check out these other articles about alpine spaniels
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