Tag archives: hunting dog diseases

We train our dogs to do certain things, like sit, stay, lay down, retrieve or even run through an agility course. Training a dog takes patience and persistence. It means providing consistent clues that your dog will eventually come to understand if done in the same manner. But I’ve recently come to wonder, have I trained my dog, or has she trained me?

Every time we sit down to eat dinner, our dog Daisy runs to the front door, whips around and stares at us. Invariably, one of us says, “Daisy needs to go out” and my daughter groans, gets up and lets her out.   Most of the time, Daisy does her business, but sometimes, she runs out to the middle of the yard, expecting my daughter to follow her and hopefully play.  This has led us to believe that Daisy’s behavior of running to the door and then staring us down, has trained us to respond in a particular way, and has us wondering if she brags to the other dogs that she has trained her human to stand up and open the door on command.

Likewise, Trixie the Wiener Dog has my husband trained to take ...

The season of the bird dog is upon us! Whether it's ducks, pheasants, geese or quail, your four-legged, bird-tracking machine needs to be well-trained and in optimal physical health if you want to improve your chances of collecting a limit. You handled the training through hours and hours of sacrifice, treats, frustration and love… and last year it showed. However, this year you are noticing that something is a little off with ol’ Chopper, and you can’t quite place what it is.

He seems unmotivated and won’t trail like he did last year. He acts like he’s excited for the hunt, but something is holding him back. Is it a health issue? Do you need to take him to the veterinarian? Given the immense financial, time and emotional commitments of purchasing and training a great hunting dog, wouldn’t it be nice to know that you’ve increased the chances of your hunting companion tracking birds with you late into their adult life? 

There are many different diseases or conditions that could take a bird dog off his game. Some of the most common ailments such as osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease, traumatic injuries and eye problems are called “acquired” diseases and ...

Complement is a type of protein that plays an important role in the body’s immune system by attacking invading organisms such as bacteria. Complement 3 (C3) deficiency is a disorder of the immune system that affects the Brittany hunting dog. In this disorder, the complement protein is absent. Dogs with C3 deficiency may present with pneumonia and other reoccurring infections, excessive thirst and urination, weight loss, loss of appetite, mouth ulcers and depression. C3 deficient dogs may also develop kidney disease which can lead to kidney failure and death. Genetic testing of the C3 gene PRIOR to breeding in Brittany dogs will reliably determine whether a dog is a carrier of C3 deficiency. Carriers do not have any features of the disease but when bred with another dog that also is a carrier, there is a 25% risk to have affected pups. If the breeding pair has not been screened, prospective buyers should have the puppy screened PRIOR to purchasing to avoid this devastating disease. Paw Print Genetics can help you avoid this disease in your puppies and eliminate this gene from your breeding program.

Labrador Retrievers are the most popular breed in the U.S. and in addition to making great pets, are commonly used as working dogs for hunting, seeing-eye dogs, and therapy dogs. Labradors carry a particularly large burden of genetic diseases, including diseases that can affect young pups. One such disease is Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency of the red blood cells (PKD). Symptoms may present as early as 2 to 3 months of age, presenting after the puppy has been purchased and delivered to their new owners.

Affected dogs have a hemolytic anemic that results in fewer red blood cells. The affected dogs tend to be smaller and weaker than their littermates. Other symptoms include exercise intolerance, pale mucous membranes, fast heart rate and heart murmurs. Enlargement of the spleen and liver is usually present by a year of age, and bone marrow and liver failure may occur by 5 years of age. Bone marrow transplant has been successful in treating the symptoms in affected dogs, although the cost prohibits this treatment in most affected dogs.

Genetic testing of the PKLR gene in Labrador Retrievers is available. Because this disease is inherited in a recessive manner, the mating pair may be carriers ...