Category: Advice
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Things to remember when rehoming a rescue dog
Some people expect too much too soon when they home an adopted dog. It takes time, patience and understanding – especially as most Spanish hunting dogs have suffered maltreatment in their previous lives. Many galgos are adopted abroad, which means the following allowances have to be made as it could be weeks or months before the dog really settles –1. the dog may have been a street dog surviving for weeks or months
2. it may not have experienced any kind humans
3. it may not know how to live in an enclosed space such as a house
4. it may not have been walked on a lead
5. it could very well be used to living with other dogs
6. it could have left behind friends, a particular mate
7. it’s had a long journey in vans and planes
8. it’s a strange country with different weather and language.Below is the story of a poor little dog – not a galgo – who was the victim of just such misunderstanding.
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Give rescue dogs space and time to adjust to a new home
We’ve always had rescue dogs – that’s 70+ years of living with rescue dogs! Some adjust to home life reasonably easily, others take much longer. The longest for me was my galga Carmela who took about 2 1/2 years to become a ‘normal’ dog, even though she lived with 4 others!Last year some neighbours adopted a small terrier mix. He’d already had one home, this was his second. He was typical terrier, always on the go, needed exercise but also needed to socialise with other dogs, as he always barked at them. We used to take our dogs to a local dog park meet so I suggested they brought Billy with them , once a week meets. Sadly they didn’t, they didn’t walk him, in fact hardly seemed to do more than just keep him at home and in the garden. I didn’t see them for a few months and when I finally did, I asked about Billy. ‘Oh, we took him back, he nipped one of our visitors’. I walked away rather than say what I was thinking!!!
Here’s a story about a resce dog illustrating just how much care and thought has to go into adoting a rescue dog.
I do hope Billy’s next home after our neighbours’ was a forever one with people who understood him and his needs.
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Heartworm – Filaria – in dogs
Heartworm (also known as filaria) is yet another terrible disease caused by the mosquito which can be a killer if not diagnosed and treated. Rescued galgos and podencos are tested for filaria, along with the other Mediterranean diseases like leishmania, ehrlichia.
During my 10 years of working on the rescue team of L’Europe des Levriers bringing galgos and podencos from Spain to France for foster and rehoming, we only actually brought out 2 galgos who were suffering from the disease. This is because the stress of the journey and changing situation could make the situation worse.
Heartworm is actually a parasitic roundworm which lives in the lungs and heart of the host animal. Once diagnosed and treatment starts, the animal must be kept as quiet as possible with little exercise so as not to trigger movement of the worm.
Read about heartworm, its diagnosis and treatment, on this weblink.
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Lenticular Sclerosis in dogs
A couple of years ago we adopted an older Spanish podenco who was blind. His eyes are cloudy blue, but we believe he can see shadows. He amazes us with how he finds his way around life, using his ears and nose. e’s even learned to walk up the ramp into the back of the car. Our suspicion is that his blindness is the result of an eye infection untreated – we know how bad the Spanish hunters are at looking after their dogs, especially if it involves vet fees.This weblnk takes you to an interesting article about blindness in dogs.
And I would say to any readers – if your dog starts losing its sight, it is nothing to be concerned about, the dog will cope amazingly well. And use a Blind Dog harness, it’s a great conversation starter and a good way to tell people about galgos!
Lenticular Sclerosis in Dogs
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The protozoal parasite giardia in dogs
The protozoal parasite giardia in dogs can be a minor nuisance or a royal pain to treat and totally clear.
Symptoms of giardia in dogs include diarrhea, maldigestion, and malabsorption. Diarrhea is often intermittent, based on the parasite’s life cycle.
Giardia is contagious in dogs as long as giardia cysts remain in the feces. It can be difficult to clear the infection.
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How long should a dog go without peeing?
We were lucky when living on the farm in France as our dogs had direct access to a big barn with an earth floor. So we could go out for the day and not worry about them, as they used the barn if they wanted to pee.
Back in England now, our current 2 hounds are both 10, so company for each other when we want to go out and not take them. We can usually leave them 5-6 hours, which is good considering Bo drinks a lot of water. We do put newspaper down in the kitchen just in case!
Read the full article on this weblink.
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GPS trackers for dogs
I recently met a podenco owner who has fitted a tracker to her dog’s collar and she can check on her smartphone where her hound has got to. This particular pod does like to explore the sand dunes near their home, so the tracker is very useful. The dog also has good recall.
Here’s an article which looks at different dog trackers.