About spaying and neutering

According to the latest and the most extensive medical studies:

-Mammary tumors are 3 times more common at a female dog, than at a woman. Of those tumors,  53% are malignant at dogs, and 90% are malignant at cats.

-Female dogs which are sterilized before they are able to breed, have a  200 times lower risk  to have breast cancer(7-9 months) ,and the ones which are sterilized after the first time they are able to breed have a 12,5 times lower risk than unneutered female dogs.

(source: The Merck Veterinary Manual, Eighth Edition, 2003, Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA)

Moreover,the ovariohysterectomy  (the elimination of the ovaries and uterus) completely eliminates the risk of ovarian cancer or of pyometra (pus in the uterus). Pyometra is a very common disease common at unsterilized dog females, it’s difficult to diagnose in its early stages  and fatal at the final stage.

In conclusion, it’s best for the health of any female(cat or dog) to be sterilized between  3 and 6 months(after  immunization and before the first heat).

Recent studies recommend sterilizing males between same age.

Early sterilization doesn’t have adverse health effects .Side effects of sterilizing prepubescent are minor: external genital organs reduce their size; growth of long bones sometimes lasts several months.

Important advantages of sterilization are:

-at neutered tomcats, reducing the penile bulb makes the risk of urethral blockage to be lower than at non-castrated tomcats.

-neutered male dogs aren’t likely to have prostate disease, occurring especially in old age.

-neutered males are protected from the risk of testicular cancer.

-there is a statistically proven correlation between being sterilized animals and a low level of aggression.

It is true that sterilization itself does not automatically solve certain problems of an animal behavior: they are treated with training and education effort. But it is certainly statistically verified that incidents of dogs biting people involve in 6 cases out of 10 unsterilized dogs(See, for example, http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/statistics.html)

Statistically, castrated animals live longer than unsterilized ones.

Reproduced from www.ortovet.ro with the agreement of mister Liviu Gaita.

Read more:

Feeding baby kittens/puppies

Feeding puppies


How to feed dog puppies

How to feed and raise dog puppies

You just found a new born puppy and have no idea what to do? Here is our magic recipe (tested by our own volunteers) for bringing the puppy to the right adoption age.

  1. You need a feeder from any human drugstore (there are two kinds of nipples: silicone and latex. Better get one of each, just in case.) Also get a big enough cardboard box, absorbent diapers and lots of patience.
  2. From the nearest petshop get the pup specially designed powder milk, which replaces the mother milk. In case you don’t afford that, here’s the magical milk formula with which you can feed the puppy up to four weeks of age: in 500 ml low fat milk add an egg yolk, a teaspoon of honey, a pinch of salt and a drop of oil. Milk has to be lukewarm.
  3. Feed the puppy as often as possible, at least in his first week of life! You will notice that just as often he will drop the nipple, but that’s not because he had enough but because he hasn’t figured it out yet!
  4. Up to two weeks of age, puppy won’t be able to do his needs on his own. So you will have to help him by gently massaging his belly towards the genital area, using lukewarm watered cotton-wool, to stimulate him.
  5. If puppy cries with no apparent reason, it is possible he has cramps, in which case you can add to his milk a bit of mint tea or a bag of cramps baby drink (from the nearest drugstore). If puppy still cries, place two warm water bottles next to him, together with a hand watch (he will think those are a mother’s heartbeats!). You can also use an electric pillow or a lamplight that can warm the poor soul.
  6. Like any living being, puppy needs affection, with capital A! Hold him in your arms and gently pat him!
  7. You should place a soft plush toy next to him – it will be his best friend!
  8. Starting with his second week of life, his eyes will open and he will start exploring the surroundings. Even if he still doesn’t see and hear a lot, he will know when you are near!
  9. First teeth? Time for solid food! Buy 500gr good quality solid food (like Royal Canin Starter, for example). Leave the pellets to moisten in a bit of water or milk, and turn them into a paste. Help the young puppy eat with your finger or gently push his muzzle into the paste so he can get the taste of it. At the beginning you can add more of the milk you fed him with until now. 

 

And before you know it, one day you will hear him bark when you open the door or even growl if you pinch his back! Just a bit more and it will be time for his first deworming, his first vaccine, then the second, then the third…Well done, you did it! It wasn’t so hard, was it? 🙂

First internal deworming may occur when puppy is four weeks old, using Drontal Puppy  – it is a pink solution and it can be found at any vet store. It is administered orally, 1ml per kilo. Next dose is in 7-10 days.

In order to get his first vaccine, puppy needs two dewormings at 7-10 days So the right schedule for all these looks like this:
–                    first deworming
–                    after 7 days – second deworming
–                    after another 2 days – first vaccine
–                    after another 14 days – second vaccine
–                    after another 14 days – third and last vaccine.

Female puppies can be spayed after 4-5 months, and male puppies neutered after 8-9 months.

And don’t worry, there are many other lovely tricks about how to raise your puppy, which you will discover by yourself in due time!

Found an animal?

How and where you can post ads for the animals that you want to offer for adoption

If you have puppies or kittens and you want to give them up for adoption, the best way to make it known is to post ads on the internet adoptions sites. To find them you must make a search on www.google.com for “adoption dogs / cats” or “Ad dogs / cats” and choose the first 10-20 sites that appear. It is important to post the add on as many sites as you find, to have a higher chance of being viewed, and renew them every 3-4 days to be visible and always on top.

But big attention to whom you entrust them. Not all people are responsible, not all know how to treat animals as they should, not all know how to feed them properly and unfortunately there are isolated cases where pets that you generously offer, can reach food for reptiles and other animals. To prevent unwanted situations you should make, between you as donor and the person adopting, an adoption-donation contract, to which you attach a copy of BI and CI of the adopter.

A written document is the only evidence that you have based on which you can demonstrate that the person “X” adopted an animal from you, becoming so, that animal’s possessor.

Download a model of adoption agreement between individuals.

Also we advise you to entrust animals only to those who agree with their sterilization when they reach the age required sterilization surgery, otherwise you risk that your rescued pet to be left to make puppies and who reach also on the streets.

Do not forget! There many strays animals from the fact that the owners do not sterilize their animals , either due to the fact they could not afford it or do not know that such thing is possible and they abandon unwanted puppies or even adult animals when they get too many in their households.

Examples of sites where you can post adoption ads:
www.adoptiicaini.ro 
www.adoptiipisici.ro 
www.eanimale.ro 
www.caini.ro 
www.pisici.ro 
www.caini-pisici.com 
www.cautstapan.ro 
www.animalutze.com 
www.animale.ro 
www.petman.ro 
www.petz.ro 
www.magazindeanimale.ro 
www.cutzu.ro 
www.anunturi.animalpedia.ro 
www.latifa.ro 
www.anunta-ma.ro 
www.animapro.org 
www.e-pets.ro 
www.pisici-catei.ro 
www.anunturi.zoopedia.ro 
www.pensiunea-tundra.ro 
www.animalutul.ro 
www.zooland.ro 
www.hobby-zoo.ro

www.tocmai.ro
www.eanuntul.biz
www.etim.ro
www.anunturigratuite.com
www.buzzu.ro
www.piata-az.ro
www.oferta.ro
www.anunturi.org
www.trademania.ro  

Forums where there are sections for posting an adoption ad:
http://forum.softpedia.com/index.php?s=3b1d22a1d1a87085cc85741fde665ca8&showforum=122
http://www.eva.ro/forum/
http://forum.acasa.ro/
http://www.roportal.ro/discutii/
http://www.romaniaforum.ro/
http://www.metalhead.ro/forum/
http://forum.ele.ro/Pet-zone_–c38/  

How to realize an adoption ad:
1.       The title should be short and meaningful to get the reader’s attention. For example, “fluffy white dog”, “type Whiskas cat”, “half-breed terrier”, “gray-oil cat” etc.. Also the choice of the pet name can be touching, distinctive, and if it’s a great name can be noticed even by it. If the site is not exclusively dedicated adoptions, specify the title “offer” or “for adoption” to jump into the eye of potential adopters even if they are not looking to buy an animal.
2.       It is vital to make at least 3-4 clear and bright pictures to capture your pet in touching or funny situations. These pictures are more important than a detailed description of the animal, which people do not have the patience to read it.
3.     The text of the ad must be concise, clear, without long and melodramatic stories. It should include the pet’s name, age (even approximate because nobody is interested in adopting a pet with an uncertain age), sex, any vaccinations / disinfections / health problems, if it’s sterilized/ castrated (and if you are willing to ensure the female sterilization, especially since many people have fear for too many female offspring’s) if he is sociable with animals / people etc. You can also add some features that you consider important and which should attract attention and would differentiate it from the others (for example, if it’s trained, how educated it is, how loving it is, if he knows how to walk on a leash, if he knows how to use the litter box, etc.).
4.       REMEMBER! to write your contact data in the ad: name, phone, email, city and availability to transport the animal to another town.
5.       On most sites you must create an account to post ads. It is very simple and takes only 1 minute, after that every time you post ads you can use the chosen name/email and password.
6.       The ads can be also published in newspapers/local media (for example, “Formula-AS”, this is free – you just need to send an email to the editorial and the ad will appear in “they need help” section).
7.       Send your ad with photos to every contact that you have in your email, and request that they share also to friends. You never know where the ad may wind up and who might be interested.

We hope that the above information’s will be helpful and we wish you good luck to you future adoptions!