Dog on the Couch

06/12/2025

Dogs are not allowed to be dogs anymore and that is creating an epidemic of anxious dogs
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14SeCJ2Tkbm/

03/11/2025

WARNING – PARVO VIRUS – WARNING
I just talked to one of my clients who completed a puppy course with me a couple of months ago. Her 6 month old puppy, that had received all her vaccinations, died yesterday due to Parvo. The veterinarians suspect that the vaccinations could be ineffective for some or other reason.
This virus can kill a puppy within a day or two, so don’t hesitate if your puppy seems a bit off. Go to the Vet immediately (even if your puppy has had the first 3 vaccinations).
Symptoms of the Parvo Virus:
• Lethargy
• An unwillingness to eat or drink
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea (blood in the stool is a very bad sign)
• High body temperature (above 39.4 degrees Celsius)

28/10/2025

It's important to take the studies seriously, for the benefit of your dog's health. Share with your Vet

*Preventing unwanted litters is a goal we all share—but it's time to rethink the surgical approach. Hysterectomies and vasectomies, which preserve hormonal balance, can safely be performed as early as 8 weeks of age, making dogs sterile without disrupting their natural hormones.

New peer-reviewed study published in Nature:

How a dog’s lifetime exposure to his own hormones (before being neutered) affects how well he handles aging and frailty later in life.

Study Background

• Frailty = when older dogs (and people) become weaker, less resilient, and more prone to illness and death.
• Most research looks at how to prevent frailty — this study looked at what makes some dogs bounce back better after frailty sets in.
• The focus was on the HPG axis — the hormonal system that produces testosterone and controls reproduction.

Key Findings

• Dogs neutered very young (before 2 years old) had:

o A much higher risk of death once they became frail.
o About 16% higher mortality for every small increase in frailty.

• Dogs kept intact longer (more than ~10 years) showed:
o No increase in mortality linked to frailty.
o Their hormones seemed to “buffer” the negative effects of aging.

• Each extra year of natural hormone exposure reduced frailty-related death risk by ~1%.

What It Means

• Hormones from the te**es may protect against the worst effects of aging later in life.
• Removing them too early could make dogs less resilient to age-related decline.
• Frailty isn’t just about getting old — it’s also shaped by early-life events like the timing of neutering.
• This supports a “life course” view: what happens early in life affects health decades later.

Why It Matters

• The study suggests timing of neutering might influence how well dogs age.

25/10/2025

I prefer feeding a pet a natural diet instead of commercially manufactured food. But when you buy raw food for your pets, ensure that you buy from a reputable manufacturer. Even, with natural pet food, there are manufacturs that cur corners for the bottom line. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for.

Three popular pet food brands have voluntarily recalled products in October 2025 due to potential Salmonella contamination. The FDA reports the affected brands, Best Buy Bones, Raw Bistro Pet Fare, and Foodynamics, are working to remove potentially contaminated products from shelves.

16/10/2025

I am very against using animals for emotional support. They are not equiped for it. And as they mirror our emotions they will end up distressed. This is actually, as far as I am concerned, another form of abuse.

15/10/2025

Only 2 PuppyPlaySchool courses left for 2025 starting on 25 October and 8 November

15/10/2025

Another successful puppy course completed on the 4th of October. Congratulations to everyone

26/09/2025

Congratulations to all the adorable puppies and their devoted guardians who completed the Puppy PlaySchool Course on the 6th of September 2025

22/09/2025

I just came across this guy's page. It's such a great idea -short videos on canine body language that really explains it well. https://www.facebook.com/MK9PlusDogTraining

MK9Plus is an online streaming service devoted to dog mental health education

08/09/2025

Veterinary practitioners, dog trainers and behaviourists are often quick to prescribe anti-depressants to dogs that display unwanted behaviours. And most of the time the dog is given these medications without a proper behavioural evaluation by a qualified professional. How the medication works and how long it takes to reach full efficacy is also not explained to the dog guardian with the result that the guardian expects immediate changes in the behaviour. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THESE MEDICATIONS WILL HAVE NO EFFECT IF THE DOG'S ENVIRONMENT IS NOT CONDUCIVE TO IMPROVEMENT.

A study "Antidepressant Treatment Outcome Depends on the Quality of the Living Environment" https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0062226 states that "Antidepressants represent the standard treatment for major depression. However, their efficacy is variable and incomplete. A growing number of studies suggest that the environment plays a major role in determining the efficacy of these drugs, specifically of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). A recent hypothesis posits that the increase in serotonin levels induced by SSRI may not affect mood per se, but enhances neural plasticity and, consequently, renders the individual more susceptible to the influence of the environment. Thus, SSRI administration in a favorable environment would lead to a reduction of symptoms, while in a stressful environment might lead to a worse prognosis."

25/08/2025

Congratulations to all the cute puppies and their awesome guardians for completing the Puppy PlaySchool Course on the 9th of August 2025

25/08/2025

Congratulations to all the puppies and their devoted guardians for completing the Puppy PlaySchool Course on the 12th of July 2025