Dogs are enthusiastic and loyal to their owners, and raising dogs can add a lot of joy to life. Petting dogs can also relieve negative emotions, and dogs have become companion pets for many people. Do you really understand your dog? Today, the editor introduces the top ten little-known facts about dog raising.

Serum refined from the blood drawn from autoimmune dogs has no side effects. After injection, it can quickly show effect and provides two weeks of immunity. The efficacy gradually disappears after injection, so weekly injections can extend the immunity period. Additionally, it can also be used for treatment, which requires a large dose.

Once an animal's body temperature can no longer be maintained constant, it cannot survive healthily. When the outside temperature rises or fever occurs from illness, the animal naturally emits water from the body to dissipate heat, lowering body temperature, which is the sweating function. Dogs have two types of sweat glands: large sweat glands' secretions are distributed throughout the skin except the footpads, while the smaller sweat glands (apocrine glands) are only found on the footpads. Both sweat glands secrete sweat, but since dogs are covered with hair all over, their sweat glands are not as developed as humans'. Therefore, dogs dissipate body heat mainly by panting with their mouth open, salivating, and heavy breathing.

1. Vision:

The position of a dog's eyeballs varies by breed. Each eye can see only about 25 degrees, so they cannot see objects directly in front at close range. Dogs have larger crystalline lenses like horses, which are deformed and unable to adjust focus for near or far; about 20 to 30 meters is their limit.

2. Smell:

Sensitivity varies depending on the type of scent, approximately 1200 times that of humans. A dog’s nasal cavity contains many folds, olfactory nerve fibers, Jacobson’s organ, and the mouth has the vomeronasal organ, which transmit odors to the olfactory bulb to notify the brain.

3. Hearing:

Dogs can hear frequencies up to 40,000 Hz. Sounds collected by their large ears travel through the ear canal vibrating the eardrum, then the middle ear ossicles, arriving at the cochlear fluid in the inner ear, and are transmitted by the auditory nerve to the brain.

It is rumored that feeding dogs sweets or worms causes skin pigmentation, but this has no medical basis. Skin pigmentation is a physiological phenomenon to block sunlight and protect the body. Sun exposure produces melanin cells deep in the epidermis. Amino acid systems and their inducers create melanocytes, which acidify and darken due to enzymes, then pigment cells transport this melanin to the epidermis causing pigmentation. To keep a dog’s nose black, sunbathing is needed along with feeding meat and liver rich in amino acids, perilla, root leaves, carrots rich in carotene, and seaweed rich in iodine.

If male or female dogs are unwilling to mate, or inexperienced males, artificial insemination can be used. The method involves leading the estrous female in front to induce arousal in the male. Then the male’s penis and the foreskin behind the bulb of the urethra are held and rubbed with appropriate pressure. The penis becomes erect due to the foreskin curling, and ejaculation begins. A condom is placed over the penis to collect semen immediately drawn into a sterilized slender glass tube and inserted into the female’s vagina, continuing through the cervix into the uterus. After insemination, the female’s hind legs are held up vertically for five minutes so sperm reach the fallopian tubes. The best method is to inseminate once every 36 hours starting from the first day of ovulation, for three times.

Obesity occurs when caloric intake exceeds daily consumption, with excessive neutral fat accumulation, representing a nutritional disorder. Being underweight results from insufficient calorie supply for needs, indicating a problem in nutrient intake or utilization.

1. How to distinguish obesity and being underweight:

The easiest method is by touch. When a dog stands normally, feel the backbone from back to waist. If no bones can be felt between the waist and ribs, obesity has begun. If ribs feel as thin as bones, the dog is underweight.

2. Causes of obesity:

Not all obese dogs overeat. Weight gain with age usually results from lack of exercise. Obesity may also stem from diminished fat metabolism capability, increased fat affinity in tissues causing metabolic imbalance, mainly due to constitution, or nutrition and endocrine issues. Dogs that have been neutered tend to have a stronger tendency toward obesity. Additionally, endocrine disorders causing hypoglycemia can lead to excessive insulin secretion causing obesity, or issues related to carbohydrate metabolism, excess corticosteroids, or brain disorders.

3. Causes of being underweight:

a. Insufficient food: Diseases causing loss of appetite, persistent nausea, or oral inflammation reduce intake of nutritious food causing underweight.

b. Digestive or absorption problems: Diseases of the stomach, liver, pancreas causing diarrhea or constipation, abnormal digestive enzymes breaking down food inefficiently, and poor nutrient absorption cause underweight.

c. Nutrient utilization disorders: Even if nutrients are absorbed sufficiently, reduced liver function can prevent assimilation, causing underweight.

d. Increased metabolism: Viral infections, chronic diseases, severe energy consumption, pregnancy, or lactation when many puppies need nourishment cause metabolism to surpass normal, consuming more calories. If nutrition is inadequate, this leads to underweight.

4. Canine obesity:

Obesity in dogs causes various health problems and diseases.

a. Diseases from excess weight: Arthritis, intervertebral disc disease, hip joint abnormalities, difficulty walking.

b. Problems from fat accumulation pressing on the chest: Difficulty breathing immediately after exercise or congestive heart failure.

c. Problems from abdominal fat pressure: Impaired functions of internal organs including liver, kidneys, digestive, urinary, and reproductive organs. Causes difficult delivery and diabetes.

d. Reduced resistance to infections.

e. Difficult anesthesia during surgery due to thick subcutaneous fat, increasing surgical risks.

5. Prevention methods:

Shared causes of obesity and underweight lie in food management. For obesity, appropriate exercise is necessary. The best food management follows veterinarian instructions. Use low-calorie commercial weight-loss diets or high-calorie prescription foods rich in high-quality protein for underweight dogs. Regular weighing is required to check effectiveness. If the dog is underweight, find the cause early and treat any underlying disease.

Chihuahua: Difficult birth, retained baby teeth, and overbite

Pomeranian: Retained baby teeth, kneecap dislocation

Doberman: Eczema, pressure sores

Hound: Heartworm disease, duodenal worms

Akita: Rickets, eczema, interdigital eczema

Great Dane: Rickets, pressure sores, lick granuloma

Saint Bernard: Eczema, gastric torsion

Yorkshire Terrier: Periodontal abscess, scabies

Poodle: Tear gland inflammation, otitis externa, bone fractures

Pekingese: Corneal inflammation, umbilical hernia, interdigital eczema

Maltese: Tear gland inflammation, otitis externa, kneecap dislocation

Dachshund: Black spinous cell tumors, obesity

Chin: Corneal inflammation, umbilical hernia, nephritis

Beagle: Otitis externa, fungal infection, nictitating membrane inflammation

Shetland Sheepdog: Eczema, pustular dermatitis

Shiba Inu: Perianal gland tumor

Bulldog: Tear gland inflammation, nictitating membrane gland hypertrophy

Boxer: Pressure sores, heartworm disease

Collie: Purulent eczema, sunburn on nose

Sheepdog: Heartworm disease, enteritis

Rhodesian Ridgeback: Epidermoid cyst in mid-back gland

1. Prevent bacterial contamination: Always prepare fresh food; leftover food must not be left unattended in bowls.

2. Prevent bacterial proliferation: Leftover food must be transferred to sealed containers and stored at low temperatures. Generally, storing below 5°C in a refrigerator prevents bacterial growth for a short time.

3. Sterilization: Staphylococcus aureus is highly resistant to heat and cannot be killed even by heating. But salmonella or vibrio can be prevented by heating. Clostridium botulinum is destroyed by heating 15 minutes at 80°C. Therefore, suspicious foods must be thoroughly cooked to prevent poisoning.

4. Things not to overlook: Store and manage toxic substances like pesticides, rodenticides, various chemicals, household cleaners, and bleach carefully. In case of poisoning from accidental ingestion, quickly find the cause and provide appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

This is a skin disease caused by ringworm fungi parasitizing and proliferating between toes, also known as dog athlete's foot. Most general fungal infections are caused by Microsporum canis.

The optic nerves on the retina consist of cone cells sensing shape and light and rod cells sensing color. Dogs have fewer rod cells than humans, so their color vision is weaker. They can see some colors but have a very strong ability to distinguish light and dark.