Microchipping ensures that if your dog is lost or stolen it can be easily identified – especially if its identification tag has fallen off. You can get your dog microchipped at your local veterinary clinic or enquire at your local council. Some local council’s will subsidise the cost of microchipping your dog, however this varies from region to region. There are standards that must be adhered to when the microchipping is done so it is important you check with your local council for a list of good operators.

The microchip itself is the size of a grain of rice and the cost of the operation varies (usually around $45 – $80). It is inserted usually just behind the shoulders using a needle. The procedure usually only takes a few seconds and is not too different from a vaccination. The chip has a unique number to your dogs information and is stored on a national database, which means it can be scanned anywhere in New Zealand and be recognised. Most SPCA and pounds hold scanners so if your dog gets away from your home it can be quickly identified and returned.

Microchipping usually only has to be done once in your dog’s life and ensures that if your dog needs to be identified then it has a permanent way.

The usual background to a scared / nervous dog is a series of events which put it into this state. For instance a common incident would be taking your dog for a walk and it sees another dog and either barks at it or stops and turns into a lead weight which you can’t move, often curling into a ball with its tail between its legs.

Common signs of a scared / nervous dog is barking, erratic behaviour, extreme wagging of the tail while moving around another dog, tail between the legs, growling, turning into a lead weight and not moving. Extreme cases your dog may even turn into a catatonic state, where its muscles get so ridged that it is virtually impossible to move it.

Socialisation

It’s very important you give your puppy good socialisation when it’s young. Often puppy classes are great; however the emphasis is on GOOD socialisation. If you drop your puppy into a high energy situation then it will only encourage bad socialisation skills or heightened nervousness. It’s best to socialise a puppy with only a few other dogs at a time so that it can cope with the new situation and make sure the other dogs are of a similar level energy wise. If there are any barking dogs or high energy dogs its best to keep your puppy clear of them until they have been brought under control. Puppy classes often are very exciting places for your dog and they should be kept on the lead till you are confident you have control over them off the lead or they have a fenced of area for puppy’s. Often puppy’s the same size, same energy level will get along well, I have found larger out of control dogs just aren’t good influences on your puppy. Good socialisations will help to prevent your dog been nervous or scared of other dogs. It will learn its boundaries and how to deal with different breeds of dogs as they often all have slightly different behaviours.

Nervous Triggers

When you are faced with a scared or nervous dog the first thing is to identify what the triggers are that gets it into this state. Often it comes about from a series of events that builds up this nervous energy. A walk for example starts as soon as you signal to your dog its leaving the house. If your dog leaves the house in a high energy state it will continue through the walk and can contribute to your dog’s nervous behaviour (read this article on dogs pulling on the leash). It’s a good idea to drain your dog of energy before it goes for a walk, so this maybe throwing the ball around the backyard for 15mins. The next trigger that could occur on a walk is scent or smell. A dog can often smell an approaching dog before it even sees it and without us knowing it can start to get into a nervious state. Signs might be excessive sniffing or a slow down in walking pace. To overcome this trigger you need to be aware that your dog’s behaviour has changed and quickly snap it out of this mood with a quick tug of the lead. The key here is not to heighten its energy by using your voice but to correct its behaviour. The next common trigger will be seeing the approaching dog. A dog will already know what the energy of the approaching dog is well before it actually meets it (they pick up on body language, scent, eye contact and often size of the approaching dog). This is why the dog will often be in a scared / nervous state before actually meeting the approaching dog. If your dog barks you need to stop it straight away – quick tug will off balance your dog and should stop it. I would also use a “ssssssssssssssst” sound and touch it on the back of the neck if it continued. It’s very important you don’t yell or hit your dog as this only reinforces this behaviour. The next part is to simply walk past the approaching dog and make no big deal about it. If your dog gets fixated on the approaching dog you simply correct it. I often walk between my dog and the approaching dog so that it never gets the chance to assert itself and also to lower its dominance in this situation. It means you have better control over your dog and its nervous state. The more times you correctly walk past a dog without your dog reacting the less nervous it will get around other dogs.

The Ball State

The next common issue is your dog sits down making it virtually impossible to move. This again comes about from a build up of triggers as mentioned above. Your dog firstly will slow down as a first sign, when this occurs you need to hold the lead shorter and snap them out of this mood. If your dog doesn’t snap out of this mood and turns into ball which you can’t move then do your best to get it upright and walking past the approaching dog in a calm state. To get your dog out of the ball state you can try to touch them under the stomach and often this will get them onto there feet. If this works then simply snap them out of the state and walk past the approaching dog in a calm state. Continue this as you walk past anymore dogs on your walk and never make a big issue about any dog approaching. If I’m approaching a dog on the street I often look around the street ignoring the approaching dog. I find this helps me forget about the thoughts that go on in your head like “oh no here’s another dog how’s he going to react to it?” Also stops me from pre-empting any bad situations that have occurred in the past.

If your dog curls into a ball and won’t move or you are just having no luck then you may need to address this in role playing situations. Use a friendly dog it knows in neutral places – such as your back yard. Attach both dogs to a lead and replicate the approaching dog scenario. See if the nervousness behaviour is replicated or if it’s much happier in this situation. Once it gets use to the dog approaching it and doesn’t show a sign of the nervous / scared behaviour then move to the streets doing the same scenario with your friend’s dog approaching yours. Replicate this till it is done successfully. Once you feel confident your dog is happy doing this then take your dog for a walk see how it handles random dogs approaching. If it doesn’t work then continue with the role playing / training situations. The more you do this successfully (i.e. your dog walks past an approaching dog without showing any signs of nervousness) the more likely it will lose this behaviour when on walks.

These days you can purchase some really good beds or with some simple materials you can make your own. When you look for a place to put your dog’s bed you need to think about a well ventilated area that’s not in the sun. It needs to be an area which can be cleaned easily and away from high foot traffic areas – so away from the front door.

The best dog beds I have found have a padded bottom are made from washable materials and have walls. The walls allow your dog to have an extra feeling of security and relax them more. Inside the dog bed I put a sheep skin, which I find they really love. If you don’t want to buy a dog bed you could also just use blankets and shape them into a bed. Often it can be a good idea to make the bed in the corner of a room so that they don’t have to worry about what’s behind them and have one way of entry.

The main reasoning behind a dog bed is that it’s a place your dog can go and feel this is its own space. It will help to create a well balanced dog and often can fix behavioral issues.

Brushing Dog Teeth

When I visited my local vet they showed me the large range of dog dental care and it wasn’t until then that I relised this wasn’t a joke. Checking my dog’s teeth I noticed straight away a dark brown colour at the top of his K9′s developing. This is a build up of plaque and tartar – now I’m starting to sound like the dentist. It’s true, animals do develop this on there teeth and often are made worse with diets which lack in bones. Raw brisket bones and dental chews will help clean the back of there teeth however it’s the front teeth and k9′s that often get this build up (if your dog doesn’t have raw bones or chew’s it’s most likely you will find a build up on the back teeth as well). If you do notice a build up of plaque and tartar you will need to get your local vet to remove this with a specialist dental tool (this should always be check when you take your dog to the vet for its routine check up). If your dog has really bad teeth then a detailed oral clean maybe required in which may be put under anesthetic. Once this has been removed you can then prevent this by brushing your dog’s teeth using a dog tooth paste and soft brush. There are some good brands out there which are flavored so your dog enjoys it.

If this build up is allowed to continue it can lead to preventable dental disorders such as periodontal disease and also affect the overall health of your dog. It’s a good routine to get into and you should start when your dog is young, that way they will get use to the brushing. If you have never heard of brushing your dog’s teeth and you own an older dog, then there is no better time to start than now. It will only improve your dog’s health and also there breath.

Your puppy will be fairly good at telling you when it needs to go and you need to be aware what those signs are.
- The may walk around sniffing
- They could whin
- Walk around in circles
- They become restless
- First thing in the morning and just before bed time
- After it drinks water
- After Dinner or any feeding times