Dogs eat less during hot weather

Here at Cotswold Pet Services we always notice two things during a hot spell. Firstly our dog food sales slow down and secondly we get lots of calls from worried owners saying "my dog won't eat".

It's a fact that just like us dogs just don't always fancy eating during hot weather. If your dog skips a meal or two don't go rushing off to the vet they just don't feel hungry.

Of course there are exceptions to this with dogs like Max my Golden Retriever or the majority of labradors!

Behavioral and Physical Effects of Spaying and Neutering Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris)

Behavioral and Physical Effects of
Spaying and Neutering Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris)

Summary of findings detailed in a Masters thesis submitted to and accepted by Hunter College
by Parvene Farhoody in May, 2010.
© 2010 Parvene Farhoody & M. Christine Zink

Spaying and neutering domestic dogs is generally accepted as a relatively benign procedure
conducted on millions of dogs each year. The view of spaying and neutering as benign and perhaps
even beneficial to dogs has been based on extremely limited scientific study of how gonadectomy
affects dog behavior and physiology. To investigate this, a 101-question survey called the Canine
Behavior and Research Questionnaire was used to collect information on seven behavioral
characteristics for 10,839 dogs. The C-BARQ is a qualitative behavioral assessment instrument
created by James Serpell and his colleagues at the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society
at the University of Pennsylvania. At this time, it is the only behavioral assessment questionnaire that
has been peer-reviewed and found to be reliable and valid (Hsu & Serpell, 2003).
Behavioral characteristics of intact male and female dogs were compared with those of four groups
of neutered dogs: those neutered at or before 6 months, between 7 and 12 months, between 13 and
18 months, and after 18 months. Our data showed that the behavior of neutered dogs was
significantly different from that of intact dogs in ways that contradict the prevailing view. Among
the findings, neutered dogs were more aggressive, fearful, excitable, and less trainable than intact
dogs.
In addition, we measured eight individual bone lengths plus the height of 202 agility competition
dogs to determine whether gonadectomy affected bone lengths. Preliminary analysis revealed
significant differences in bone growth between the intact and neutered groups.
These findings strongly support the need for an immediate re-evaluation of the current
recommendation to spay or neuter dogs to prevent or treat behavior problems, and an equally
pressing need to more fully examine the wide range of physical effects of spaying and neutering pet
dogs.

Aggression scores in male dogs neutered at different ages compared with intact male dogs. There was
a significantly higher aggression score in neutered dogs as compared to intact dogs regardless of the age at which the dogs were neutered.
Aggression scores in female dogs spayed at different ages compared with intact female dogs. There was a highly

significant increase in aggression score of dogs spayed at 12 months or earlier as compared to intact dogs.
Fear and anxiety scores in male dogs neutered at different ages compared with intact male dogs. There
was a significant increase in fear and anxiety scores in neutered dogs as compared to intact dogs regardless of the
age at which the dogs were neutered.
In all cases, spayed or neutered dogs had higher excitability scores.


Summary
The above data is just a small sample of the significant data that were determined in this study. By
using large a sample of dogs than any used previously to examine behavior in dogs, we found
significant correlations between neutering dogs and increases in aggression, fear and anxiety, and
excitability, regardless of the age at which the dog was neutered. There were also significant
correlations between neutering and decreases in trainability and responsiveness to cues. The other

three behavioral categories examined (miscellaneous behavior problems, attachment and attention seeking behavior, and separation-related behavior) showed some association with neutering, but

these differed more substantially depending on the age at which the dog was neutered. The overall
trend seen in all these behavioral data was that the earlier the dog was neutered, the more negative
the effect on the behavior. A difference in bone length was found between neutered and intact dogs,
suggesting that neutering has an effect on bone growth, which may be related to other orthopedic
effects documented in the literature. Examination of changes in bone length of gonadectomized dogs
is continuing.

For the full article click this link - LINK

Training English Pointers

I've been tasked with training two bird dogs, well bred English Pointers, George and Milly from the same litter.

Training a brace of pointers is almost an impossible task as they will gallop off together paying you virtually no attention. I train them individually as they are indeed individual from each other, one naturally pointing all the time and more inclined to disappear after prey than the other.

Once I have them sorted individually I'll bring together again.

Early whistle training and the aid of a check cord has been paying dividends as I am now introducing them to new environments and prey. Their recall is pretty good and they will stop on the whistle.

I've found that short bursts of training incorporated with play has been the best method with these dogs. They love a good gallop and early on found everything exciting from chasing leaves to eating twigs. They are sensitive souls and don't respond well to harsh voices or treatment.
Patience is the key.

I'll update you on their progress as we move onto more advanced training once the foundations are in.

Free Dog Training Advice & Tips!

Free Dog Training Advice!

Ask our trainer a question for free!

Follow this link:

Dog Training Advice

All we ask in return is that you register to follow our blog for more interesting dog training information and chances to win prizes

More Socialisation Walks!

Today we had a mid-week socialisation walk. We had a real mixed bag of dogs today with elderly dogs right down to 8 month old puppies. It was fascinating to watch the interaction between them all. One puppy , Teddy decided to try his luck with some of the older females only to be swiftly reprimanded! Well that's the idea of these walks to give the dogs a chance to learn the do's and don'ts.

New Gloucester & Cheltenham Division!

Our services now extend to Gloucester and Cheltenham

Following years of successful professional pet care in the Cotswolds we are proud to announce that we have come to Gloucester & Cheltenham.

Claire our walker/sitter is an experienced dog handler having worked at commercial kennels and helps out at the Dogs Trust.

We can now offer the following services:

• Dog Walking in Gloucester & Cheltenham
• Cat visits in Gloucester & Cheltenham
• Free home delivery of our dog food ranges
• Pet Photography from Fat Beagle
• Animal Physio
  
• Fully Insured
  

To make a booking or enquiry please call 07816 788224 /01285 720128

or e-mail : enquiries@cotswoldpetservices.co.uk

Web Site: www.cotswoldpetservices.co.uk

Dog Socialisation Walk Sherborne Feb 2011

Dog Socialisation Walk around Sherborne Feb 20th 2011

We had our 2nd dog socialisation walk today around a circular route at Sherborne park.

Around 8 dogs took part with their owners.
The majority of the dogs have had or still have problems dealing with other dogs although we had some dogs just along for the walk.
Today the dogs had a great opportunity to interact with each other, outside in beautiful woodland surroundings and under the watchful eye of Keith Fallon the trainer.
These walks also give the owners confidence a boost and teach how to confront certain situations when out and about with their dogs.

We had a wide range of breeds and ages and everything went off pretty smoothly.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the walk amongst the snowdrops and I have some great feedback.

If you would like to participate in our next walk please e-mail me,Keith Fallon at:

enquiries@cotswoldpetservices.co.uk
or visit the website:

Cotswold Pet Services