Today, I am posting a interesting article written byChristine Wilford who received her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Texas A&M University, Texas.The point of the article is that doing fecal exam on your German Shepherd Dog is likely a waste of time and money.Like all animals, your dog will get stomach worms, such as round, hook, tape, and whip worms are the most common.We at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennel do not do fecal exams rather like livestock ranchers, we assume that our dogs will get worms; therefore we place them on a worming program.Thus, worming our dogs twice a year for less than the cost of a fecal exam, which as you will read is not a reliable method to determine whether your German shepherd has or does not have worms.You too can learn how to worm your German Shepherd Dog for less than the cost of a fecal exam.
I’m Worm Free Because Dad Worms Me Twice a Year
Veterinary News
FECAL EXAM RELIABILITY
A common test for worms may not always give you the right results
A majority of owners may be surprised to learn how inaccurate the common fecal examination really is.Many owners are familiar with the annual regimen of bringing fresh fecal samples to their dogs’ annual physical examinations.Likewise, most owners take heart in hearing their dogs’ test are normal or, alternatively, owners are glad to receive medications for treating the worms lurking within the bowels of their companions.But what do these results really tell us?Understanding how the test is run and knowing a few facts about intestinal worms can help you understand the test’s relative inaccuracies.
In general, the fresher the sample, the more accurate the test results.As a sample ages, the contents of the eggs may hatch, may dry out and burst, or may mix well enough with the solution to be separated and float.How fresh is fresh?The preservation of worm eggs in a stool sample varies tremendously depending on temperature, humidity, and the consistency of the sample.AS time elapses, eggs will degrade and thus will go unrecognized when the slide is examined.During busy times of the day, other priorities may cause fecal samples to be left unexamined far beyond the optimal reading time.Even when a sample is fresh and handled appropriately, results may still be unreliable.
The chances of finding a worm egg depend on how many worms there are in the intestine, how many of the worms are female, the maturity of the worms and whether the females were laying eggs during the time that the feces was formed.If there are only a few worms in the intestines, the relative number of eggs laid in a fecal sample is usually much lower than if there is a heavy worm concentration in the dog.It is also possible to have a significant worm burden with relatively few female worms present; thus, a dog could have clinical signs of intestinal worms without showing evidence of that in a fecal examination.Similarly, if many of the worms are too immature to lay eggs, there will be no way to identify their presence through a simple fecal exam.
Additionally, because worms do not lay eggs at a constant rate, there may be no eggs in a fecal sample simply because the feces were formed and collected during a period when the adult female worms were not shedding eggs.
Based on this information, one could argue that an annual screening of an otherwise healthy dog is an unnecessary, and possibly inaccurate, test.So why bother checking a fecal sample if the results could be misleading?If no eggs are found, then there may be no worms present or there may be worms and they’ve gone undiagnosed.Owners cannot depend on a single negative result.Veterinarians who specialize in the gastrointestinal diseases recommend examining three separate fecal samples before concluding that a negative result is reliable.
When your dog’s stool is abnormal, that is, if you see blood, mucus, or a change of color or consistency, or your dog has loose stools, a fecal examination is advisable.Depending on the types of worms present, clinical signs may not occur or may be subtle.Worms do not necessarily cause weight loss or decreased activity.
In many cases, veterinarians use deworming medication as a diagnostic tool when fecal exams do not reveal worm eggs.In fact, it may be easier, cheaper, and faster to administer a deworming medication that eliminates the common types of intestinal worms.If the stools return to normal, it is concluded that the clinical signs were caused by intestinal worms.Sometimes, common sense and practicality should prevail over complicated and expensive diagnostic tests.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Below is an easy way to prepare several evening meals for your German Shepherd Dog or puppy. Once prepared you can freeze in individual bags and sit out on bag per day to defrost.The defrosted contents can be added to the good quality dry-food in the evening to provide a fast, easy, and healthy meal for your German shepherd.
Healthy Food Means Healthy German Shepherds
To do a mass cooking for your new dog:
Get a whole chicken and place it in your crock-pot.Cook it for about 4 hours.Then put whole carrots in the crock-pot with the chicken.Cook 3-4 hours, until the chicken is done and the carrot are soft.
Healthy Food Means Happy German Shepherds
Let it cool to room temperature the let it cool in the icebox overnight.The next day take the fat off the top and debone the chicken.An ice cream scoop is about 3 ounces; place one scoop of meat in several zip-top baggies.Then put the cooked carrots (1/3 of a carrot per feeding), 1 clove of garlic for each carrot third, and two table spoons of cooked spinach (2 heaping tablespoons per feeding) to match the carrots in the blender. Put some of the broth in the blender.Make a purée of the veggies and separate that into the number of feedings (6 carrots = 18 feedings).Everything needs to be no warmer than room temperature.
In Most cases you and other family members are the sole source of information and training for your new German shepherd puppy.Please read the following and follow the simple suggestions herein and you will have a wonderful, loving shepherd that is a real joy to live with you.
You Are Responsible for Training Your New Heidelberg German Shepherd Puppy
Housing breaking is best achieved and most important in the first twenty-four hours you live with your new German shepherd puppy. You either housebreak your puppy or create lots of problems for yourself. Therefore, make up your mind that you are going to follow the instructions below and have a wonderful experience with your dog rather than poop and mess to cleanup.
A Properly Trained Heidelberg German Shepherd Will Provide Years of Pleasure and Security for Your Family
Remember, when you bring your dog home the first twenty-four hours are the most important: To begin, hang a bell with a string at nose height from the door the puppy will be going outside to potty.Now every time you take the puppy out make it ring the bell with its nose and say “Let’s Go Potty”. Then you should make a “NONO” bottle.For example, an empty plastic water bottle with six pennies wouldn’t really hurt the puppy or dog if you threw it and hit the puppy, but it would startle it immensely, thus stopping it from fowling the floor.Therefore when you see the new puppy squat to potty, you will throw the NONO bottle at it. If you don’t have something light weight and noisy to throw, the puppy will potty before you can get to it to stop the mess.If the puppy starts to get into position, throw your NONO bottle and shout “No Potty”.Then take the puppy to the door, ring the bell, and repeat the key word, “Let’s Go Potty”.
You cannot involve yourself with watching TV, become absorbed in reading, talking on the phone, or anything that will distract you from watching your dog.Your dog must be confined in an area that you can watch it.It cannot have the run of the house where it can get away to another room, out of sight and potty.You must watch your puppy at all times!!!.When you have an interruption and can’t watch your dog, either crate it or put it outside.
NONO Bottle
Normally the puppy/dog will begin to sniff the floor and circle and appear very nervous, sometimes even to the point of whining.When this happens, say “let’s go outside and potty”. Always use the same door and procedure because all animals are creatures of habit.Repeat the above and when you go to the door say “let’s go potty”. After a day or two the puppy will start to ring the bell with its nose when it needs to go outside.
It so important to provide supplement nutrition including macro and micro nutrients to the diet of your German Shepherd Dog especially as growing puppy.Researchers have just discovered how important vitamin c is to proper growth and development of joints while German shepherd Dogs are growing.If insufficient amounts of vitamin c are provided in the diet during growth spurts that joint disease can develop even in puppies that are not genetically predisposed to joint disease.
Feeding just dry-food will leave your German Shepherd Dog or puppy deficient on macro and micro nutrients, vitamins, and certain minerals.The reason why these supposedly balanced and even the top-of-the-line dry-foods cannot supply these nutrients, vitamins, and minerals needed for proper growth and maintenance is due to the way it is manufactured.Dry-food is cooked at such high temperatures and extruded at such high pressures that the nutrient values that are in the starting ingredients are destroyed or altered in such a way that they cannot be assimilated or digested.
This is why we supplement our Heidelberg German Shepherd Dogs’ diet with our Pure Total Dog Supplement, which provides all the macro and macro nutrient, vitamins and minerals in a form that is readily digested and absorbed by your German shepherd.Our Pure Total Dog Supplement is loaded with vitamin C, all the B-complexes including biotin and B-6 and 12, Digest K yeast which helps with digestion, desiccated liver powder, which helps with finicky eaters, selenium that is important with skeletal growth maintenance, Omega 3 oils, which supports the circulatory system, and Diatomite powder, which provides the macro nutrients needed for joint growth and maintenance.
Pure Total Dog Supplement
Our Pure Total Dog Supplement in combination with a daily tablespoon of Cod liver oil, which provides vitamin A and E and a good quality dry-food will provide everything needed for your German Shepherd Dog or puppy to grow correctly and thrive.
We sell our Pure Total Dog Supplement and Cod liver oil to the public.Our Pure Total Dog Supplement cost $19.95 and is a four month supply for one dog.Our cod liver oil comes in a quart bottle and will last two-months for one dog and is priced at $19.50.Our cod liver oil is imported from Iceland and is the most contaminant free cod liver oil available.We only purchase human grade for our dogs, which decreases possible contaminants such as PCB’s. Dioxins, and mercury. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in purchasing these items from us.
A Happy Healthy Correctly Fed and Supplemented Puppy
We have a started a new series of Basic Obedience Classes at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels taught primarily by Dean Heckathorn.Our Class takes place on Saturday morning at 10:30 am and runs about an hour. The class location is at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels located in Mannford, Oklahoma by Keystone Lake.The only requirements and cost for the class is a dog of any age and breed and a good attitude.
Obedience and Canine Good Citizen Class at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels
I am a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the American Kennel Club and; therefore, my obedience classes focus on socialization of our students to strange dogs and people.After attending my classes for 4 to 5 times with a lot of work at home most of our students should be able to pass the Canine Good Citizen test and earn their Canine Good Citizen Certificates, which is the first step towards becoming a Therapy or Service Dog.
Obedience and Canine Good Citizen Class at Keystone German Shepherds & Kennels
Please come out attend one of classes. If you plan on coming for the first time please call me at (918) 261-4729 to get you signed up.
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
Recent Comments