The Beagle, also known as the "Beagle Hound", is one of the world's famous dog breeds and belongs to the category of hunting dogs. It is consistently ranked among the top ten most popular dogs in the United States and Japan, and its popularity continues to rise. Overall appearance: a robust and solid hunting dog, giving a sense of quality but not rough. The head is round with large hazel eyes, broad drooping ears, muscular body, and a tail thicker like an eel. Coat texture and color: dense, short, and hard hair, with colors including white, black, and liver, as well as white, tan, and lemon.
1. Dog Infectious Diseases
Dogs are susceptible to infectious diseases, common ones include canine distemper, canine coronavirus, etc. Common clinical manifestations include: fever, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea, lethargy, difficulty breathing, bloody stools, purulent eye discharge, dry nose, cracked paws, etc.
Generally, this type of infectious and fatal disease is more prevalent during the weaning period or around 1 year old. Puppies are more prone to infection, with a low cure rate and a tendency to leave sequelae.
How to prevent:
When bringing a dog home, it is recommended that the owner choose a dog through legitimate channels, vaccinate the dog on time, and do regular disinfection at home. Do not take the dog outside for a walk until it has completed vaccination, do not come into contact with unfamiliar dogs, and do not let others touch the dog's mouth and nose without permission.
2. Dog Skin Diseases
Dogs are prone to various skin diseases because they often go outside for walks. If a dog is accidentally infected with mites, bacteria, or fungi while outside, there is a risk of prolonged and difficult treatment. Therefore, dog owners must pay attention. Clinical manifestations of dog skin diseases include greasy skin, peeling, redness, itching, papules, ulcers, pus discharge, hair loss, scabs, etc.
How to prevent:
In daily care, it is necessary to keep the dog's living environment clean and tidy, avoid darkness and humidity. In addition, regular disinfection of the dog's living environment, internal and external deworming for the dog, use special dog bathing liquid, regular grooming, and supplementing vitamins and fish oil can help prevent skin diseases.
3. Dog Parasites
Common parasites in dogs include roundworms, heartworms, ticks, fleas, etc., which often cause skin diseases and intestinal diseases in dogs. It can bring about vomiting and diarrhea to cats, affecting the quality of life and physical development of dogs. Generally, dogs with parasites are usually thin, weak, and listless.
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How to prevent:
When feeding, the owner needs to pay attention, try not to feed the dog unsterilized raw meat and unknown meat sources. Internal deworming of dogs should be carried out once every 3 months, while external deworming should be done once a month. When going out, prevent dogs from eating and licking indiscriminately or going into the grass. After returning home, be sure to check carefully.
Newborn period: The newborn period is when the dog is just born, mainly relying on mother's milk for survival. The body cannot regulate body temperature and needs the mother for warmth. For the first day, there is no hearing or vision, only relying on weak touch to find the nipple. Eyes start to open around day 13, hearing develops after day 15, and teething begins after day 20. From day 21 to 28, the amount of milk is not enough, and the transition from liquid to semi-solid food is needed. This is a time when diarrhea and constipation are prone to occur, so lactase, probiotics, or goat's milk powder/pet milk powder should be fed. In the case of constipation during the consumption of milk powder, a small amount of vegetable oil can be fed, and massaging the abdomen can help with bowel movements. Deworming starts from day 14 to 28.
Puppyhood: 1 month to 2 months old. The puppy's digestive system is not fully developed yet, so it needs careful care from the owner. Generally, they should be fed at least 3 times a day, with fewer meals according to the dog's condition. Soak the dog food in warm water or goat's milk powder and feed it gradually. Do not feed too much, otherwise the puppy may have poor digestion. Pay attention to give the puppy drinking water, but never feed milk as it can cause diarrhea. You can give the puppy a small amount of probiotics every day to regulate its intestines and stomach. At this time, the puppy has a weak resistance to viruses and bacteria, so it should not be taken outside, let alone come into contact with people with colds to prevent the puppy from getting sick. Vaccination begins at 6-7 weeks, and is completed at 3 months. It is recommended to bathe the puppy after vaccination. Dry cleaning powder can be used for bathing in the early stages. Teething starts from day 19 to 28, and all milk teeth grow out at 2 months old. The puppy has a certain learning ability and can start training for potty training.
Adolescence: 3 months to 6 months. At this time, the puppy can gradually transition from soaked dog food to dry dog food. It is important to adjust the puppy's eating time gradually and establish a regular eating schedule. During this time, the puppy still eats dog food and drinks water. However, the puppy's bones and muscles are growing rapidly, so it needs a large amount of protein and calcium. The puppy's coat is gradually changing to an adult coat, and it may enter an awkward phase of appearance. The puppy also starts to develop dominance and tries to establish its own territory and dominate the owner. Destructive behavior increases during this period. The puppy's body length and height develop rapidly, so it needs a moderate amount of exercise every day to maintain its growth.
Sexual maturity: 8 months to 14 months. At this time, the dog enters sexual maturity and has its first heat. The first heat is prone to hormone imbalance, resulting in heat disorders. Continuous heat, no heat, or false pregnancy can lead to low pregnancy rate and high difficulty in delivery. The dog needs to be supplemented with nutrients that promote reproduction, such as vitamin E, organic chromium, folic acid, etc. It is important to pay attention to hygiene during the heat period to prevent infection. If you do not plan to breed the dog, it can be spayed after the heat period ends.
Young adulthood: 6 months to 10 months, 6 months to 18 months. At this time, the dog can eat dry dog food completely and can also be appropriately fed with meat to enrich its nutrition, such as cooked beef and chicken. However, it is important not to feed the dog chicken or duck bones, as it can cause poor skeletal development. If necessary (such as poor nutrition, weakness, picky eating, etc.), some nutritional supplements can be added appropriately. Depending on the dog's condition, choose supplements such as vitamins, calcium, protein, or hair care. Do not overfeed and do not supplement a large amount of nutrients all at once out of love for the dog. This stage is when the dog's bones and muscles grow rapidly, requiring a large amount of protein and calcium. The dog has a strong curiosity and cognitive abilities, and has a good memory. This is the best period for learning.
Adult: 1 year to 6 years old. The dog is considered an adult at 1 year old, and its body size will not change much afterwards. At this stage, the dog can eat dog food normally, and there are no excessive dietary restrictions. However, it is still important to supplement the dog with appropriate nutrients, avoid feeding chicken or duck bones, avoid salty and spicy foods, feed cooked food instead of raw food, and avoid eating animal fat. If the dog catches a cold or gets sick, it should be taken to a pet hospital in a timely manner. Do not judge and treat blindly without professional knowledge unless you are a veterinarian. You should be responsible for the well-being of your beloved pet.
Senior: 8 years to 18 years old. Dogs over 8 years old are equivalent to being over 50 years old in human age, and they should enter the "old age" stage of their lives. At this time, the dog's organ functions decline, and aging-related diseases such as diabetes, weakened liver and kidney functions, and bone and joint diseases are prone to occur. It is important to supplement calcium. Choose to eat more soy products and cartilage, or use commercially available calcium supplements for dogs. Get plenty of sunshine and exercise regularly. Pay attention to hygiene. With care, you can spend more time with your dog.
With the development of society and the improvement of people's living standards, pet grooming is no longer just a bathing procedure, but has developed into a professional technique. Different breeds of dogs require different grooming tools and techniques, but most breeds follow these seven procedures:
1. Brushing (using a bristle brush): First, use a bristle brush to brush the dog's coat to remove dead hair and tangles, making the coat smooth, tidy, and shiny.
2. Combing (using a steel comb): After brushing the coat, you can use a steel comb to comb through and check for any remaining small tangles. If the tangles are not combed out before bathing, it will be even more difficult to comb through and thoroughly clean the dog's coat after bathing.
3. Bathing: When bathing your dog, be sure to choose a shampoo that is suitable for your dog's coat. The water temperature for bathing is generally 35-45 degrees Celsius, and slightly higher in winter. Generally, long-haired dogs should be bathed once a week, while short-haired dogs are more suitable to be bathed once every two weeks.
4. Blow-drying: After bathing your dog, use an absorbent towel to remove excess water from the dog's coat, and then use a blow dryer to dry the coat. You can also blow-dry while brushing the coat, which will naturally make the coat fluffy and beautiful.
5. Nail trimming: If a dog's nails are too long, it can cause difficulties in walking and even deformities in the skeletal structure, resulting in an unattractive gait, among other problems. Sometimes, long nails can even pierce the paw pads and cause extreme pain for the dog. Nail trimming may seem simple, but it is important not to cut too deep to avoid bleeding. If a dog has bled from nail trimming before, it will become resistant to letting its paws be touched, and its temperament may become difficult.
6. Cleaning the eyes and ears: Dogs communicate with humans through their eyes. When a dog's eyes are uncomfortable, they may scratch them with their paws, which can easily cause damage to the eyeball and cornea. The ear canal of a dog is also prone to ear infections, especially in dogs with long ears. If a dog frequently scratches its ears, shakes its head, or has a foul-smelling discharge, these are signs of ear problems. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly have a dog's eyes and ears cleaned at an animal beauty salon to prevent various eye and ear diseases.
7. Trimming the coat: Healthy dogs are naturally clean and will use their own tongues to lick and tidy their coat if it becomes messy. Therefore, it is important to regularly groom them and sometimes take them to an animal beauty salon for coat trimming. For example, if a dog's anal fur becomes too long, it can affect defecation; long fur on the abdomen and legs can affect walking or easily become soiled; and long fur on the paws can cause slips while walking, leading to falls. Therefore, all long-haired dogs should be regularly trimmed.
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