The Scottish Shepherd truly deserves the title of a canine star. With an outstanding appearance, it definitely attracts attention when taken out. The Scottish Shepherd is intelligent and extremely loyal, making it a faithful companion to humans and an ideal pet for families!

　　 Are many friends enthusiastically planning to raise a Scottish Shepherd? Are you worried about issues like selecting and feeding the Scottish Shepherd? This article comprehensively answers all related questions about the Scottish Shepherd, and you will gain a lot from reading it.

Scottish Shepherd

　　 How to select a healthy Scottish Shepherd?

　　 Many people have no idea how to select a Scottish Shepherd or where to start. Don’t worry, here is the correct method. Selecting a Scottish Shepherd involves three steps: smell, look, and touch:

　　 1. Smell

　　 Smell the dog to see if there is a scent of shampoo, body wash, etc., to know if the dog was just bathed. Breeders sometimes groom the dog before selling to attract customers, ignoring the dog’s weak health.

　　 2. Look

　　 1. Coat: The puppy’s birth coat should be even, with bright and distinct colors indicating good health.

　　 2. Waist: It shouldn’t be arched. An arched waist means the dog is unhealthy, at least infested with mites.

　　 3. Tail: It should not be tucked. Even when you pick up the dog, the tail cannot be tucked.

　　 4. Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, anus, etc., should be clean and free of dirt.

　　 5. Tongue: The color should be bright; there should be no saliva residue in the puppy’s mouth.

　　 6. Body shape and walking posture should show no abnormal signs. The neck and limbs should be straight. Check if the dog is agile or lethargic.

　　 3. Touch

　　 1. The body should be relatively firm, not too weak.

　　 2. There should be no abnormal skin conditions under the birth coat.

　　 Editor’s tip: Only a healthy Scottish Shepherd can better accompany us and bring us more joy. So friends, don’t be careless when selecting a Scottish Shepherd.

Scottish Shepherd

　　 How to properly feed a Scottish Shepherd?

　　 The Scottish Shepherd is an active and lively breed with a relatively high energy expenditure. Therefore, the food provided should be sufficient. There are large and small Scottish Shepherds, and the feeding amount should vary according to the individual size. Large dogs need 500-600g of meat daily, small dogs need 350-400g of meat.

　　 Meat should be cooked and chopped, then mixed with an equal amount of dry food or sugar-free biscuits with some water before feeding. Ingredients, especially meat, must be fresh and clean. Feeding bowls and other utensils must be regularly cleaned. The kennel should be frequently cleaned and disinfected.

　　 Feeding should be done at fixed times and places, and the food must be eaten within 15-25 minutes, after which the bowl and leftover food should be removed to cultivate a good habit of scheduled eating. Fresh water should be provided 1-2 times daily, increasing to 2-3 times in hot summer.

　　 The Scottish Shepherd likes to be active, so it should have a set time for exercise and enough physical activity every day. Methods include letting it jump freely indoors or taking it for walks outside. Ideally, twice daily exercise is best.

　　 Caring for a Scottish Shepherd also requires good grooming:

　　 To keep the coat clean, owners should brush the dog’s fur daily to remove dirt and dust stuck to the hair. After brushing, you can use silk or suede to wipe the coat, making the fur smoother and shinier.

　　 Bathing should be done every 2-3 weeks in spring and autumn. In hot summer, bathe every 1-2 days. When the weather is cool, dry the fur immediately with a towel after bathing. In winter, use a hairdryer to dry the fur to prevent catching a cold.

　　 Every 3-5 days, clean the Scottish Shepherd’s earwax, tartar, eye discharge, and dirt between the toes. Use 2% boric acid solution to wash eyes to prevent conjunctivitis. Nails should be trimmed every few days.

　　 Editor’s tip: Caring for and grooming a Scottish Shepherd requires the owner’s attention. Spend some time daily to take good care of it, and it will repay you with endless joy and happiness!

Scottish Shepherd

　　 What diseases are common in Scottish Shepherds? How to prevent and treat them?

　　 1. Indigestion

　　 Main causes: improper feeding management causing irregular feeding, binge eating. Poor-quality food, food too cold in winter, food left out too long and spoiled in summer, unclean or unsterilized utensils are also causes.

　　 Prevention and treatment: First, stop feeding for one day. After 24 hours, provide easily digestible liquid foods such as vegetable soup and porridge. You can give medications to aid digestion, such as lactobacillus preparations, gastric enzyme mixtures, and digestive tonics. If diarrhea or watery stool mixed with mucus or blood appears, oral administration of gentamicin or berberine can be used. Severe dehydration requires infusion of glucose and saline or physiological saline, compound sodium chloride. With these treatments and improved care, recovery usually occurs in 2-3 days. Prevention mainly involves correct feeding management: feed regularly and in proper quantity.

　　 2. Mites

　　 Main causes: mites live on the animal’s skin and coat. Once the dog or human contacts the mites, infection occurs rapidly. It is highly contagious through contact.

　　 Prevention and treatment: The main treatment is local medicated bath combined with environmental disinfection. Use medications such as bamiphos for bathing every four days for about a month. Local applications of concoctions from tobacco leaves or charcoal powder juice also generally cure it. Subcutaneous ivermectin injections in the neck at 0.3mg/kg are very effective. Dog utensils must be thoroughly washed and disinfected by sunlight. Fabrics the dog contacts indoors must be washed and sun-dried frequently to eliminate pathogens.

　　 3. Puerperal tetany

　　 Main causes: This disease occurs mainly in breeding female dogs, especially small breeds with large litters. It results from excessive calcium depletion during pregnancy and lactation, single diet, insufficient exercise, and lack of sunlight causing calcium deficiency.

　　 Prevention and treatment: From pregnancy, feed the female dog food rich in calcium and vitamin D, increase exercise to help accumulate enough calcium for fetal development and lactation, maintaining calcium balance in the body.

　　 4. Canine distemper

　　 Main causes: This disease is a highly contagious infection caused by the canine distemper virus. It is more common in spring and mainly affects dogs aged 4-12 months. If not treated promptly, mortality is high. The virus transmits via aerosol droplets and contaminated objects, entering through the digestive and respiratory tracts. Sick dogs are sources of infection, with large quantities of virus in nasal mucus, saliva, blood, etc., and the virus can be excreted in urine for a long time, contaminating the environment, making it highly infectious.

　　 Prevention and treatment: Attention should be paid to several points during treatment. First, early administration of specific high-titer serum is critical, once daily or twice if necessary. Second, use antibiotics to control secondary infections. Third, provide symptomatic treatments. Experience shows early treatment results in a higher success rate; delayed treatment (treatment after the third day of onset) has a lower success rate.

　　 Editor’s tip: It pains owners when their dog is ill. You can refer to the above information to prevent diseases in daily care to avoid Scottish Shepherd illness. If your Scottish Shepherd inevitably falls ill, don’t panic. Detect it early and treat it promptly to help it recover!

　　 After reading this article, do you have a basic understanding of how to select and raise a Scottish Shepherd? If you love Scottish Shepherds, just get one and slowly create warm and loving memories together!