By Fr. Morris Grace Lhusenge
It is important to remind ourselves that keeping a dog (or any other pet) at your home is a choice. You are not obliged to have one. Once you choose to own a dog, you have a duty to give it the care it deserves. Below are key areas you will need to pay attention to:
1 . Puppies need to sleep in a warm place and on soft surfaces. Provide a cage/room for them that is free from wind and water. Put some cloth, dry grass or other material for their bedding. Change this bedding weekly or at least sun-dry it. Do this for puppies until they turn 05 months. From the 3rd to the 5th month you can start releasing the dog out for a short time during the night and then gradually increase the number of hours up to a full night at the completion of the 5th month.
- Dogs are social. Allow them to interact with members of your household. However, this should be done with moderation, especially for dogs that are meant for security. There is a risk of turning them into only pets.
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Wash your dog weekly or at least twice a month. Use lukewarm water with dog shampoo or toilet soap that humans use. After bathing the dog, dry its fur with a cloth & then let it play under the sun. Do not wash your dog on a cloudy day.
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Deworm every 06 weeks using Ascarten tablets or other drugs that your vet may recommend.
5 . Consult your area vet and vaccinate against killer diseases such as parvovirosis (which claims most young dogs), rabies, etc.
- Keep the dog kennel (shelter) in a place isolated from visitors, yet easily accessible by members of the household. That is the number one determinant of your dog’s aggression. [We shall look at the recommended design of a dog kennel at a later point]
7 . Give your dog a name and let him/her know it. The name should be short and easy to be sounded even by children. That name is the number one password you will need to call out in case of an unfortunate situation where the dog gets wild and charges at an innocent person or animal. Avoid confusing the dog with many names, calling it without reason or giving unnecessary commands.
8 . Tame your dog. Let him/her know your hands, your voice and your commands. And let him know what you like and what doesn’t please you. Find a practical way of making him/her to understand in gesture and word the difference between:GOOD and DON’T. That makes it easy to restrain the dog during vaccination/treatment or in time of unwanted aggression.
9 . While most security dogs are fed once a day, if food is available, feed your dog twice (morning and late evening). Puppies need as many meals as possible. This helps them to grow at a good rate and in sound health. Three to four servings a day are okay for them. In either case (mature or puppy) the evening meal should be given at the time of release from the cage and preferably be done by one person.
10 . It is important to keep in mind that a dog is a carnivorous animal. Bony meat is its best food, though most of us may not afford to provide this daily. In order not to constrain your family budget because of a dog, feed the dogs on leftovers from your table. Since the leftovers may not be sufficient and consistent, it is advisable to prepare a meal specifically for dogs using incredients that are pocket-friendly. Below is what I have for years been using and I find reliable:
Buy some concetrate (I mean the one usually served to grower chicken): animal blood powder, bone powder, soya, powdered silver fish, etc.
Mix 01kg of the concetrate in 2.5 or 04kgs of super maize flour, for puppies/mature dogs respectively. In simple terms, 10kgs of concetrate will mix in 25kgs of posho (for puppies) or 40kgs of posho (for mature dogs).
Set water on fire, at boiling point add in the mixture and let it boil for more 5 to 10 minutes. Let the meal cool and then serve it to the dogs. The meal should appear like thick porridge, not hard maize bread.
While you feed them on the above food, puppies need animal milk at least up to 05 months. Keep in mind that most of them are weaned off their mothers at about 06 to 08 weeks, a stage at which they still need the naurishment from milk. One cup of fresh milk a day is sufficient for a puppy. If you are not sure of the health condition of the cows that produce the milk, you will need to first boil it.
- Dogs get stressed having to keep locked up most of the day. Once in a while, find an evening and take your dog for a walk. It is advisable to ensure you have complete control of your dog when you take it on public road. Restrain it using a leash and not a chain. The latter causes injuries to the neck bones when the dog pulls with greater force vs your resistance.
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We consider a dog mature at the completion of 07 months.
I wish you successful breeding and care for your dog and other pets.
N.B: The above information is given from the perspective of experience and not a specialist’s point of view.