An important part of responsible dog ownership is providing your dogs with preventative veterinary care and immediate attention to injuries and illnesses.

People often ask me what I mean when I say my dogs are on a limited vaccination protocol or I mention other limited medications. Basically, I try to give my dogs the least amount of prophylactic chemicals that I feel will still do the job. This does not mean that I am not responsible in the care of my pets. I have put a lot of thought, research and consideration into these decisions.

NOTE: I am not a vet or a medical professional of any type. This is my personal opinion. I’m writing about it because people have expressed interest in my choices and why/how I made them. You should talk to your vet before changing the dosage or frequency of anything you give your dog.

Vaccinations

Canine Distemper & Parvovirus
After his initial puppy shots, Snickers had a distemper/parvo vaccination at one year and hasn’t had one since then. I had him titered in February of this year and he showed sufficient levels of antibodies for distemper and parvo, which means he doesn’t need to be vaccinated. I adopted Secret two years ago and she had just been vaccinated. I had her titered last month and she has plenty of antibodies also. She’s eight years old now, so I actually hope to never give her a distemper or parvo vaccination again. (There is some controversy regarding the usefulness of titer results. My vets trust them and I trust my vets.)

Most vets use a combination vaccine. I prefer that my dogs receive the least number of diseases in the vaccine. The only diseases I’m OK with being included in my dogs’ Distemper and Parvovirus vaccination are Parainfluenza and Adenovirus.

Rabies
I follow the LAW regarding Rabies vaccinations. Luckily, NY and IN are both 3 year states, so that’s how often my pups get their Rabies shots.

Other
I do not have my dogs vaccinated for Bordetella, Corona virus, Leptospirosis, Lyme disease or Giardia. My vets (one in NYC, one in Noblesville, IN) are both fine with that.

Related Links

• WebVet article explaining vaccinations in general
• Dr. Jean Dodds’ recommended vaccination schedule
• American Animal Hospital Association article on dog vaccinations
• WellVet.com’s recommended vaccine protocol
• Blogging vet, Dr. Patty Khuly, discusses difficulties of measuring a pet’s immunological status

Heartworm Preventative

My Shibas get heartworm preventative (brand and dosage as recommended by my veterinarian) every six weeks, during spring, summer and fall. Once the first frost comes, I discontinue until spring. The only time I make an exception for this is when Snickers and I are actively doing animal assisted activity visits. When we were visiting elementary school classrooms, my vet recommended we continue hw preventative year round because it also protects against roundworms and hookworms. (Apparently, most roundworm victims are children.)

I’ve read multiple articles about 45 day schedules being acceptable, but I can’t find any of them right now that don’t require subscriptions. Talk to your vet. My vet in NY said that the meds recommend 1x per month because (1) it is easier for people to remember and (2) a monthly schedule is still safe if you forget and do it late.

Flea & Tick Preventative

When we were living in Manhattan, I didn’t use topical flea & tick preventative regularly. If I was taking the dogs outside the city, I would treat them with Frontline Plus a day or two before leaving (unless it was winter time and therefore unnecessary). Now that I’m living outside the concrete jungle, I follow a six week schedule for flea & tick preventative. I treat them the Sunday after their heartworm preventative is given.

If you live in an area where fleas and ticks live year round, you should continue preventatives year round also.

hello everyone,

in case you are wondering, I am writing this the way I do most things… making mom do it with Shiba mind control. she wants me to share my point of view on things. I told her ok as long as she does the work of typing it. typing on the laptop is impossible when you have paws. I told her to type the way I tell her though without editing to make it perfect. besides, jaqi said that mom agreed not to edit her posts, so I don’t think she should edit mine either.

today I’m thinking about how city dogs live. I lived as a puppy and most of my life in our apartment with one bedroom near Times Square (that’s in new york city, the best place to find fresh meat on the sidewalk). now I live in a big house with corn and soybean fields all around but not many people or fresh meat. (I watch the cows across the street, but they don’t look so tasty.)

in new york city there are these people called tourists. they’re like regular people, but they don’t seem to know where they are, they act strange and wear bright colors. I have heard tourists say things like it is cruel to have a dog in the city and a dog can’t live in a small apartment. I’ve even heard new people (sort of like tourists but they don’t go home), say I miss my dog. I gave him away when I moved here. It would have been selfish to bring him.

first, for those people who move without their dogs… if my mom moved anywhere and left me behind, I would have a broken heart. luckily, she loves me too much to ever do that.

now, for anyone who thinks dogs can’t live happy in the city… you are nutty. I loved living in the city. our small apartment was great because I could see mom almost no matter where she went. now, in the house, I have to get up and follow her when she changes rooms. when we went outside, there were lots of people around to pet me and lots of fun things to do. I got to go in stores and eat at sidewalk cafes. we had dog runs that we played in. I had really close dog friends and human friends that I visited and played with a lot and a big group of shiba pals to play with too. we went for really long walks around midnight every night when the streets were quiet. mom took me to lots of places with her. I even went to the office a lot and played with mom’s work friends.

I live in the country now. we have something called a yard. it is sort of like a dog run but it is way bigger and no one visits it but us. I like it a lot because I get to chase squirrels and cats and chipmunks. mom and aunt debbie build fires and cook hotdogs sometimes, which is almost as good as scavenging street meat! I don’t get to go for long walks though because mom is afraid of the dogs that are outside without humans. she’s also afraid of the dark. it gets dark here at night, so we can’t take our long bedtime walks like we used to. I don’t like that we have to get in the car and drive to go to a real dog park to play. I do have a small group of shiba pals here and we go hiking, which is fun. mom says I’m healthier here from clean air and my fur is cleaner too. my skin itches right now though; our nice new vet said that’s from something called ragweed and it will go away soon. something I don’t like about the country is that people don’t take their dogs many places here so I can’t go in the stores and stuff. mom says I probably can’t go to work with her when she starts working again either.

anyway, I am saying that I would be happy living anywhere with my mom and the two places I’ve lived both have good and bad things about them for dogs. I hope I get to live in other places. as long as mom is there and we’re doing stuff together, I’ll be happy. I think most dogs who love their humans probably feel the same way, so don’t move without your dog. and don’t say it’s mean to have a dog in the city. city dogs live great lives!

that’s all for now,
snickers

One of the bullets listed under Responsible Dog Ownership on our mission page says that I believe our canine companions deserve at least one form of identification (tags, microchips, tattoos) in case they are lost.

Although tags are the easiest solution for someone to see and read if they find your dog, collars can break or slip off and are not always enough. According to the American Humane Association, only 17% of lost dogs find their way back to their owners. 17%!!!!! Microchips and tattoos are more permanent solutions than ID tags and give your dog a much better chance of being returned to you if they end up in a shelter.

I recently received an email from a Shiba friend suggesting I write about microchips. She said: "I have been involved with several Shibas and 2 Schnauzers that were lost. I took them to a vet to check for a microchip. They all had one. However, when I contacted the number on the microchip it was outdated. … These dogs were all re-homed because no one thought to change the pertinent information."

I had similar experiences when I was working with NYC Shiba Rescue. Most of the dogs we received were not chipped. We received several who were, but when we checked, the chip’s weren’t registered. One chip led us back to a pet store. They tried to contact the people who bought the dog from them, but the info they had was out of date.

Microchips are more permanent tha collars, but what good is a microchip if you never associate any information with it or let that information get out of date? None whatsoever!!!

Moving is a hectic chore - so much to do, so little time. However, my guess is that when you have JUST moved to a new area is the time you are most likely to lose your dog. If your dog gets loose accidentally and runs, he won’t know where he is when he stops running and tries to go home. Nothing will smell or sound familiar and there is almost no chance that someone who recognizes him will spot him.

Please, please, please… when you get a new puppy, change vets, change phone numbers or move, update the personal information associated with your dog’s microchip. Also order new tags for your dogs collar ASAP.

How Microchips Work

A pet’s microchip is simply an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip. RFID chips are used for all sorts of things: Read the rest of this entry »

My mind at the age of 10 worked very much like this. I thought it would be simple, but taking care of a dog was much more difficult than I had imagined. I had no idea what I was getting into and ABSOLUTELY no idea how hard it would be to take care of a puppy. As a child I didn’t have much knowledge of exactly what feeding, walking, and loving him really meant. I didn’t realize how much of your life included the dog or how important my puppy would end up being to me.

When I first got Snickers I was very surprised at how hard it was just to be in the same room with him. He was chewing on everything and was always having accidents in the apartment. I had been expecting a sweet, little, well behaved puppy. That definitely shows how little I knew about dogs. After some time Snick started to become the smart, wonderful, calm doggy he is today. Of course Snickers turned out to be my mom’s dog since she was the only one who actually knew how to take care of him.

After a while I started to understand the dog world, the reason for having a furry friend. They give you something to look forward to on a hard work day, they keep you busy, and are always there for you. The best friend a girl could ever have. I’m glad I get to have a best doggy friend to cheer me up and keep me busy. I never would have guessed having a dog could make someone so happy.

Recently, someone on a Shiba board asked for recommendations for a good vet to neuter their dog. One of the responses was "Why do you want to do that to your dog? If you are a responsible owner and control your dog, there is no reason."

Well… there are more than a few reasons why truly responsible owners have their companions spayed or neutered.

Even if “you are a responsible owner and control your dog” there is no guarantee that your dog will never be loose without permission (how many of us have had our Shiba slip or break their lead?). If you aren’t there to control your dog, you can’t be sure he won’t impregnate another dog (or get pregnant if she’s female).

Dogs that are not spayed/neutered are not welcome in as many social situations (like daycare and some dog parks) and therefore can’t be as well socialized and enjoy as many fun activities.

Unneutered males are attacked more often by other males - regardless of how well behaved the unneutered dog in question may be - because other dogs can smell the testosterone and it makes them more aggressive and defensive.

Unneutered males are more likely to develop prostate cancer. Unneutered males can develop testicular cancer. Unspayed females are more likely to develop breast cancer. The odds of all these things are pretty low, but why take the chance?

I will admit, I am absolutely pro-spay/neuter, although I am not a fan of early spay/neuter. (I waited until Snick was 14 months old to have him neutered because my personal conviction is that no hormone production should be altered until after the dog is physically mature.)

I have seen too much pain and suffering caused by the overpopulation of companion animals in this country - overpopulation caused by irresponsible owners, backyard breeders and puppy mills - to not be pro-spay/neuter. I don’t believe anyone should own intact dogs other than responsible, knowledgeable breeders who are breeding selectively to better the breed. I strongly encourage everyone who loves the breed in general and their dog in particular to have their dog spayed or neutered.