Category: vet approved

Dogs can eat squid in small amounts occasionally. The squid must be cooked to ensure that there aren’t any food-borne illnesses in the squid. Seasonings should also be avoided, as many are toxic to dogs. Squid itself is completely fine, though, as long as it is prepared correctly.

Squid contains a lot of beneficial nutrients, including fatty acids. It is very similar to other fish, nutritionally speaking.

However, squid doesn’t contain everything your dog needs. For that, you’ll have to feed your dog a commercial complete and balanced food (or a carefully formulated home diet with supplements). Too much squid can also cause stomach upset, especially if your dog isn’t used to it.

Squid can be a good treat, though, and may provide extra omega fatty acids into your dog’s diet. We highly recommend being cautious with feeding your dog too much squid, though.

Potential Health Benefits

There are many potential health benefits of squid. When fed in moderation, squid can provide your dog with some benefits. However, the benefits your dog gets mostly depend on what the rest of their diet is.

Protein

Squid is very high in protein. In fact, it is mostly protein. Not all dogs need high amounts of protein; it largely depends on their breed and activity level. In many cases, a commercial diet has plenty of protein. However, dogs that are very active (like working dogs) may need some extra protein. Squid and other meats can provide this.

However, too much protein isn’t a good thing. Moderation is key, as excessive protein can lead to health issues.

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are extremely important for dogs. Omega-3s¹ are used for all sorts of different purposes. For instance, they can alleviate joint problems and inflammation. There are several studies pointing to other benefits, too. Plus, these fatty acids have few side effects (though some do exist¹).

Nutrients

Squid also contains several other nutrients. For instance, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin B12 are all contained in squid.

Potential Risks

Of course, nothing comes without risks. Squid does provide a few risks, though it isn’t outright toxic to dogs. No food is perfect, after all.

Mercury

Since the industrial revolution, all seafood has contained a level of mercury. However, different fish do have different mercury levels and luckily, squid does not have one of the highest mercury contents. Still, they do have some level of mercury. Where the fish comes from matters, as some waters contain more mercury than others. Chronic ingestion of mercury can result in health problems.

Allergies

There is always a risk of potential allergic reactions to food. Dogs can become allergic to foods even if they previously had no problems with that food. Therefore, feeding your dog large amounts of squid for a long time can lead to an increased risk of allergies. A varied diet is useful to prevent this.

Foodborne Bacteria

Like all foods, squid can contain dangerous bacteria such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Luckily, cooking the squid usually kills these bacteria. For this reason, we highly recommend cooking the squid before feeding it to your dog. Raw squid isn’t the safest food to eat.

Cooking Squid for Dogs

Preparing squid for dogs isn’t complicated. The most important thing to do is cook the squid thoroughly to ensure that bacteria aren’t present. It doesn’t particularly matter how you cook the squid—just that it is cooked through. Steaming, boiling, and baking all work.

You also don’t want to use any seasonings. Many spices are toxic to dogs, including garlic and onion. There are some seasonings that are safe, however, the safest option is to avoid seasonings altogether. Your dog will likely consume the squid so fast that it won’t matter, anyway.

You should avoid feeding your dog fried food, as these foods are very high in fats. Not only do dogs not need these fats, but they can also cause stomach upset. Therefore, fried calamari and similar foods aren’t recommended in the least.

What Seafood Can Dogs Not Eat?

While squid is safe, not all types of seafood are. Most types of seafood are not toxic to dogs but some are very high in mercury. Because dogs are much smaller than us, it takes much less mercury to cause side effects. You have to be much more careful with dogs.

Larger fish are typically higher in mercury. All seawater has mercury in it and fish absorb this mercury from the water. However, if fish also eat other fish, they’ll absorb the mercury in those fish, too. In the ocean, bigger fish often eat smaller fish. This leads to larger fish having a mercury level many times higher than smaller fish.

The largest fish in the sea that you should avoid are shark, tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, and albacore tuna. Skipjack is safe, though, as these tuna are actually very small. Today, most canned tuna is skipjack. However, you should still double-check the can before serving it to your dog.

Conclusion

Dogs can eat squid in moderation. It isn’t terribly high in mercury like other fish, and it does contain many amino fatty acids and other nutrients. Therefore, it’s a great option for dogs that need a little more protein in their diet or as an occasional treat.

However, squid doesn’t contain everything your dog needs and should only be fed as an occasional snack.

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Featured Image Credit: Sorratorn Phosida, Shutterstock

The post Can Dogs Eat Squid? Is It Safe? The Surprising Answer! appeared first on Pet Keen.

Dogs are not-so-modest about some of the things they do. So if they have taken a shine to a couch pillow or one of your child’s stuffed animals, you might want to end the behavior once and for all—but that can be challenging.

Dominating inanimate objects can be a real problem for some dogs, but it is manageable. If you have a dog with specific sexual behaviors you’d rather keep tucked out of sight, try these methods to help the issue.

The 8 Tips to Calm a Sexually Excited Dog

1. Make a Distracting Noise

Don’t let the behavior continue. Clap your hands very loud, shout out a command—anything you can to get their attention. When you break the concentration, you should momentarily halt the behavior and then have time to push your dog’s attention toward other activities.

Try not to yell, threaten, or spank your dog. However, make it clear that the behavior is unwanted.

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2. Channel Your Dog’s Attention

Once you’ve broken their concentration, it’s time to put them on to something else. Toss them their favorite toy to chase or a bone to chew on. Whatever it takes to get their energy focused toward another self-play option.

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3. Strike Up Play Time

You might need to play along if you’re having trouble distracting them. That means finding an activity the two of you can do together. Take this time to have a miniature training session or play a game of tug of war.

Rearranging your dog’s thought patterns will interrupt the current action and put their energy to good use.

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4. Ignore It Completely

Some folks let their dogs do their business and stay out of it. If that sounds like something you prefer, remove yourself from the room so that your dog has some private time.

Make sure they don’t have any bedding, items, or belongings you don’t want to be destroyed.

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5. Remove Your Dog from the Area

If your dog wants to get frisky, they can do so in its own area. You can put them in their crate or kennel, let them go outside in the backyard, or separate them into another room. This way they can do what they want, and you and your family can rest distraction-free.

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6. Get Your Dog Spayed or Neutered

Sometimes, decreasing sex hormones can eliminate this behavior. If you have yet to get your pet spayed or neutered, it’s a really good avenue to consider. Spaying and neutering have their own series of health benefits, all of which can help your dog live a longer and healthier life.

Speak with your veterinarian about the pros and cons and schedule an appointment. Most veterinarians recommend getting your pet spayed by 6 months to 1 year old. It will be different from dog to dog.

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7. Keep Up with Daily Exercise

Exercise is vital to keep your dog fit and provides an excellent way to expel extra energy. Some dogs require more exercise than others. If your dog gets sexually excited frequently, it may come from a lack of channeled energy.

Get your dog out for a few brisk walks, make sure they’re getting enough time to run around, and keep them engaged and mentally stimulated as much as possible. Proper exercise often decreases the frequency of sexual excitement.

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8. Give Them a Treat to Divert their Behavior

Your dog might be excited about the teddy bear in the corner until they see the mouthwatering treat in your hand. You can divert your dog’s attention away from the stimulating behavior and satisfy their taste palate instead.

It’s important to make your dog realize in these times that they are not being rewarded for their current behavior. That is why you’ll need to snap them out of their recent activity and move their focus elsewhere.

Why Do Dogs Get Sexually Excited?

Sexual excitement in dogs can stem from a variety of factors, but it’s usually because they aren’t being stimulated enough in their daily life. It can also spawn from sudden excitement or stress they can’t articulate.

When dogs encounter these situations, they self-soothe by masturbating or mounting objects. While it can be a little embarrassing to us, this is quite natural for them.

Don’t Negatively Scold Your Dog

If your dog is performing this action a lot, you will want to make them aware that the behavior is unwanted without overdoing it. You should never punish, spank, or use negative reinforcement tactics to correct the situation.

Regardless of how annoying or embarrassing it might be to you, this is still a very natural process for your dog, and not one they should be ashamed of. It’s not so much that you should try to eliminate the behavior entirely, but there is a time and a place for everything.

If you need to excuse your dog or put them in a separate room until they can calm down, these are definitely solutions you need to implement over harsh discipline. Disciplining in this manner can lead to fearful reactions, poor behaviors, and destructiveness.

Get Your Dog a Friend

As humans, we can only fulfill so many of our dog’s mental and physical needs. Sometimes, your dog could be downright bored and unstimulated in other ways, which can lead to excessive sexual excitement.

If you only have a single dog in the home, it might be time to invite another canine in that can match their energy. The two can spend time romping around to alleviate a lot of that extra tension.

You might notice fewer of these behaviors, and you have a playmate for your dog, so you can get some work done. There are plenty of rescues, shelters, and breeders with amazing dogs of any age. Just make sure to get the dogs fixed if they’re different genders and you don’t want any unwanted puppies, or get two dogs of the same gender instead.

Conclusion

A sexually excited dog can be a real pain sometimes. But there are reasons for everything, and your dog is simply following something instinctual. There are ways to curb the behavior, or at least put it in its proper place.

Just remember to refrain from highly harsh punishments. Reacting out of frustration can cause fearfulness in your dog, resulting in worsening issues.

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Featured Image Credit: zoegammon, Pixabay

The post How to Calm a Sexually Excited Dog (8 Tips & Tricks) appeared first on Pet Keen.

Weimaraners are pretty healthy as far as dog breeds go. This breed was developed largely to be a working animal. Therefore, health was a primary concern during much of the breed’s development. Health issues in working dogs are a huge issue, after all.

However, this breed is still prone to some health issues. Some of these are purely genetic, which means they can be avoided with careful breeding. This is why it’s vital to work with a qualified breeder when adopting a puppy. Some other conditions are affected by environmental factors, so how you raise your dog may affect their health later.

The 6 Common Health Problems in Weimaraner Dogs

1. Entropion

Weimaraners are a bit more prone to entropion than other dog breeds. This condition occurs when the eyelids roll inwards. While this may seem benign, the eyelashes can cause irritation to the eye very quickly. Often, this leads to pain and swelling. Eventually, infection can occur, leading to loss of the eye. Rarely, this condition can be deadly when allowed to progress.

For the most part, this seems to be a genetic condition. There have not been many studies done on potential environmental-related factors, though. Therefore, your best bet is to choose a qualified breeder when adopting your Weimaraner.

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2. Hip Dysplasia

As a larger dog, Weimaraners are sometimes affected by hip dysplasia. While there is some genetic factor to this condition, diet also plays a role. Hip dysplasia occurs when the ball and socket of the hip don’t grow at the same rate. These growth differences lead to the hip degenerating very early in a dog’s life. Often, this condition is diagnosed within the first few years.

If a large breed puppy is fed too much, their growth rate can be affected. Often, this leads to them growing faster than their skeleton is made for, leading to hip dysplasia. However, some dogs may simply develop hip dysplasia even if they are fed correctly. Therefore, it is believed a genetic component also exists.

Overexercising a puppy can also lead to excessive joint degeneration. Therefore, it is never recommended to over-exercise your Weimaraner puppy.

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3. Bloat

Sadly, bloat is a largely misunderstood condition. It occurs when gasses build up in the stomach to a dangerous level. Sometimes, the stomach also flips, cutting off possible exits for the gas. If untreated, bloat can turn deadly in only a few hours. The stomach will swell, cutting off blood flow to the surrounding tissues. Eventually, this leads to the other tissues dying. It’s very painful and constitutes an emergency.

Surgery is almost always needed to re-flip the stomach. Often, the stomach is fastened to the inside of the abdominal wall during surgery to prevent bloat from occurring again.

We don’t know exactly why bloat occurs. You’ll find many arguments for all sorts of different factors. However, studies haven’t actually confirmed any of these. For this reason, our recommendation is to learn the symptoms of bloat so that you can act if your dog develops it.

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4. Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy

This condition doesn’t occur as often in Weimaraners as in some other breeds, but it still occurs more often than in the general population. It occurs when a dog’s bones grow excessively. It’s a developmental disorder, meaning it is often diagnosed in puppies. Sometimes, it can be diagnosed when the dog is only a couple of months old (and therefore, before they are adopted).

Males seem to be at a higher likelihood for this condition, though experts aren’t sure why. This condition often affects the largest bones the worse. However, the dog’s jaw and vertebrae can also be affected. Often, this condition is painful and most symptoms are pain responses, such as limping and yelping. The symptoms are very similar to hip dysplasia, but diagnostic tests (like X-rays) can tell them apart.

There is likely a genetic component to this condition. However, there is no genetic test to check for it. Therefore, it is harder for breeders to avoid.

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5. Panniculitis

Panniculitis occurs when inflammation develops in the fat-containing tissues. It is a pretty uncommon condition overall and often occurs when bacteria develop under the skin. However, there are other causes, as well.

There is also a “sterile” form of the condition, which occurs without an underlying infection. Sometimes, this can be due to medications or because of a different, underlying condition. However, in many cases, the cause of this disease isn’t understood.

We don’t understand exactly how this disease is inherited. However, it does seem to be inherited to some extent, as it runs very clearly in certain breeds. It occurs most often in Weimaraners and Dachshunds. There is no genetic test, and the most of inheritance isn’t understood. Therefore, it is more difficult for breeders to protect against this condition.

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6. Von Willebrand’s Disease

This bleeding disorder is a genetic condition that is found in both people and dogs. It causes the dog to produce fewer platelets than needed, which leads to less clotting. This disease is quite complicated. It does appear to be genetic, affecting Doberman Pinschers the most. However, it also seems to affect some breeds worse than others. Plus, not all dogs with the genetic code for the disease actually develop symptoms (the reason for this is unknown).

Often, this disease is discovered during a routine surgery or vet procedure. Luckily, this means that the dog often survives the first instance of serious bleeding. Once the dog is diagnosed, it is often straightforward to manage this condition. If the dog starts bleeding, visiting the vet quickly is often recommended.

When the disease first presents itself outside of the vet (such as during a minor injury), the owner may not get the dog to the vet fast enough, especially if the injury is relatively minor.

Of course, this condition does make a lot of things potentially deadly in dogs. For instance, surgeries are much more dangerous in dogs with this bleeding disorder, as they will bleed more during the surgery.

Conclusion

Weimaraners are a pretty healthy breed. Most of these dogs never develop a serious genetic condition. However, there are still some genetic conditions that are prevalent in this breed. Often, these conditions can be tested for and avoided by qualified breeders. Carriers for certain conditions may also be tested, and two carriers should not be bred together.

However, other conditions are more difficult to avoid. No one knows why bloat occurs, for instance, which means that preventing it is practically impossible.

Your best option is to choose a qualified breeder that avoids as many genetic issues as possible. Then, learn about the symptoms of other conditions so that they can be caught and treated early.

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Featured Image Credit: Nejron Photo, Shutterstock

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