What To Do If Your Protection Dog Has A Dry Nose

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It is believed by many that a cold and wet nose is a sign of good health in a dog. While this is true to an extent, the health of your dog is not so black and white that it can be determined from a simple touch of the nose. A Executive Protection Dog cannot speak, so it is up to the handler to look for other signs of good or poor health.

Concerning a dog's nose, it is not necessarily true that a dog with a warm or dry nose will always be sick, nor is it true that a dog with a cool and wet nose will always be healthy. In many mammals, humans included, the purpose of the nose is to help clean and condition the air we breath in order to reduce the stress on our lungs and passageways. To a certain extent, the moisture from a dog's nose helps humidify the air that they breath in. However, this humidifying effect has much more to do with the inside of your dog's nose than the outside. Truthfully, the primary reason that a dog's nose will be wet is because dogs frequently lick their noses.Certain breeds of dog, such as the bulldog, often have dry noses due simply to the fact that the dog's tongue cannot reach its nose. Similarly, your own dog's nose may be dry during certain times of the day when less licking occurs, such as while it sleeps. Neither of these cases indicate a dog that is sick or unhealthy.

However, many dogs avoid licking their noses when they become ill. While a dry or warm nose by itself is certainly no indication of sickness, it may be one symptom accompanying a number of others, such as lethargy or difficulty breathing. As a general rule, you should always consult your veterinarian if your dog shows any other signs of illness, regardless of whether its nose is wet or dry. In rare cases, your dogs nose may not only become dry, but will begin to crack or produce sores. Excessive dryness lasting more than a day, or the appearance of sores on the nose should both be examined immediately by your veterinarian.

Whether you have a German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois,  knowing the signs and symptoms of sickness in your Protection Dog is the most important step in ensuring it a long and healthy life. When in doubt, you should never hesitate to seek the advice of a trained and licenced veterinarian.

Puppies For KNPV

The Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging (KNPV), roughly translated as "Royal Dutch Police Dog Sport", is an intense dog sport that developed in the Netherlands as a way to test the breeding potential of working dogs to ensure their bloodlines remained strong and capable. While a variety of breeds are permitted to participate in KNPV, the sport is largely dominated by the Belgian Malinois. Although the breed does enjoy a fair bit of popularity in the area, its widespread use as a sporting dog for KNPV is a result of the Belgian Malinois' ability to prove itself in KNPV trials time and time again.

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Breeders put an incredible amount of time and effort into keeping their bloodlines strong and training their dogs to perform their absolute best. Whether they are training working dogs for police work, or sporting dogs for KNPV, it is important that training begins while the dogs are still puppies. A breeder must also determine the capabilities of his puppies very early on. While KNPV sporting dogs often produce very strong litters whose pups go on to be full-fledged police dogs or Protection Dogs, it is important to realise that the type of training they receive must be centered around the work they will be doing from the very beginning. Training a Belgian Malinois as a sporting dog will make it unsuitable for work as a true Personal Protection Dog, even if it were to be cross-trained. It takes a huge amount of skill and expertise on the part of the breeder to ensure that their Belgian Malinois are living up to their full potential and continuing to improve their bloodline.

What To Do When Your Protection Dog is Pregnant

Protection dogs that get selected for breeding should always be the pick of their litter, and the best of their bloodlines. However, even the strongest and sturdiest protection dog will need special attention during pregnancy. This article will offer tips on how to ease the process of pregnancy and prepare your canine for labor and whelping.

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After conception, the newborn puppies should arrive in about 54-72 days. The average is about 62 days, but you should always be prepared at least a week in advance. Unlike humans, the hormone levels do not change in a dog during pregnancy. Because of this, the only way to determine if your canine is pregnant is through an ultrasound. Puppies should be detectable through ultrasound after about 25 days from conception. After about 45 days, the skeletons of the pups should be visible through x-ray. While an x-ray it is not required, it can help to know the number and size of the pups beforehand in order to be better prepared for any problems during whelping.

During pregnancy, you should avoid giving your dog nutritional supplements. High quality dog food should be enough to give your dog and her pups the vitamins and calories they need. You should also start taking your dog's temperature. The average rectal temperature of a dog is between 100 to 102.5 degrees, Fahrenheit. Approximately 24 hours prior to whelping, your canine's temperature will drop by a couple degrees. This should be a good indicator that she is very close to giving birth.

About a week before whelping is expected, you should prepare a suitable area for the whelping to occur. Encourage the Dam to sleep in this area in order to allow her to get comfortable with it. It is important that this area be a safe, quiet place, away from activity and noise. The purpose of the whelping box is to help keep the puppies warm and safe. The box can be built out of plywood or cardboard. The sides of the whelping box should be high enough to protect the puppies from drafts, but leave the front open to allow the Dam to enter and leave the box comfortably. The box should be lined thickly with newspapers, or an old blanket if one is available. You should also gently wash the underside of the mother before whelping. As the puppies are born, you will want to put them in a warm place, kept in their mothers' sight. A basket with a heating pad or warm water bottle will work well.

Regardless of whether your dog is a Personal Protection Dog, Guard Dog or Executive Protection Dog, the above steps will help the pregnancy of your German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherd go as smoothly and comfortably as possible.

Check Ups For Your Protection Dog

Some people may argue that if they feel healthy, then they have no reason to visit the doctor. Unfortunately, many of these people learn the hard way that they are mistaken. Any medical doctor will tell you that regular checkups are crucial to maintaining good health, and especially crucial to the early detection and prevention of disease. Your physician is sometimes able to detect the early signs of disease long before you would feel any pain. The exact same is true of canines, if not more-so. While you are able to verbally communicate any pain you might feel, your dog cannot. By the time your dog becomes visibly ill, it may be too late

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On top of early detection of disease, there are a number of things that should also be taken care of by a vet. First and foremost is immunization shots. Some shots need not be given more than once, but many require an annual booster to maintain their effect. Another important aspect of a visit to the vet is dental and oral health.

The importance of maintaining your canine's health should be apparent to anyone. A Protection Dog cannot protect, and a Guard Dogcannot guard, if it is sick. While the majority of well bred working line dogs will be free of hereditary disease, there are still a number of contagious diseases that your dog can pick up from other dogs. We do our best to ensure that we breed only the strongest and healthiest German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherds, but no dog is invincible and there is no excuse to avoid taking your dog to the vet. Early detection and prevention is key in preserving your dogs health. Veterinary check-ups should be performed at least annually.

KNPV Rules And Titles

Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging (KNPV) is a popular dog-sport based out of the Netherlands. The name literally means "Royal Dutch Police Dog Association", and it was founded in the early 1900's as a way of testing the ability of dogs for their suitability for breeding and work as a police dog. As with any sport, the rules and exercises are clearly defined to ensure fairness among competitors. After over a century, the rules and titles involved in KNPV have changed and grown considerably, but the basic concepts remain.

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In KNPV, a team consisting of a dog and its handler compete to obtain varying levels of certification. Points are awarded or deducted based on performance in various exercises, and certificates are awarded to dogs who are able to obtain a high enough score. The most basic title in KNPV is known as Politiehond 1 (PH1). Competing dogs must first obtain this title before attempting any of the more challenging titles, and in Holland, a dog must have this title before it can work as a police dog. Obtaining this title involves completing exercises in obedience, scent work, water work, and protection. A score between 302 and 347 out of 440 possible points is enough for the dog be awarded Certificat A, which lasts for one year. A score above 348 awards the dog a full PH1 certificate, and a score above 402 awards the dog a Certificat Met Lof (certificate with honors).

After completing PH1, it is up to the handler to decide whether or not to continue training for a more advanced title. Possible titles are Politiehond 2 (PH2), Object Bewakinghond (ObjBW), Speurhond (SpH), and Reddingshond (RH). PH2 includes the same exercises as PH1, but at a more advanced level. ObjBW is considered a specialised Guard Dog title. It includes many of the same exercises as PH1, but does not include water work, and has a stronger focus on guarding. SpH is a very specialised title that focuses on complex tracking and scent work exercises. The exercises are judged harshly, and only about 20% of dogs attempting this title are able to obtain it each year. Finally, RH is a specialised title that focuses on search and rescue operations with exercises that simulate the rescuing of a drowning person, or a person trapped under rubble.

KNPV is both incredibly important in maintaining the quality of working breeds such as the German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois, as well as promoting standards for the training of police dogs, Protection Dogs, and Guard Dogs. However, as honorable as the sport is, one should always remember that KNPV is just a sport. 

Allergy Problem in Your Protection Dogs

Sensitivity to environmental substances is incredibly common among human beings. While severe reactions to substances occur in many people, mild allergies to pollen or dust mites are much more prevalent. However, humans are not the only mammals affected by these strange sensitivities. Canines are just as likely to have allergies as humans are. However, the way in which these allergies present themselves can be very different. It is important to know what signs to look for in your Executive Protection Dog, and what actions to take if you suspect your dog may be having an allergic reaction.

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Unlike in humans, where mild allergies to pollen or mold manifest as a stuffy nose, or watery eyes, dogs with these types of allergies often suffer from skin irritation, especially around the ears, paws, flanks and groin. While this is often nothing to be overly concerned about, excessive licking and scratching can create sores in the skin that may become infected.

It is also possible for your dog to have a food allergy. In severe cases, vomiting, diarrhea or even seizures may occur, but often the symptoms are harder to spot. Flatulence, sneezing, and general irritation of the mouth, throat, or intestinal tract may all result from a food allergy.

Finally, canines can sometimes be sensitive to certain types of insect bytes. This is especially true of dogs who have previously had very little contact with this type of insect. A dog with an allergy to flea bytes may suffer from irritated skin and itchiness in the area for as long as a week after the byte.

Detecting and pin-pointing allergies can be a very difficult task. It is common for allergies to develop over time rather than being present for birth, which makes the task of narrowing down possible allergens even more difficult. In all cases, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian if your German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois is suffering from any of the above symptoms. Every case is different, so it is up to you and your veterinarian to pin-point possible allergies. Of course, knowing what symptoms to look for is the first step in keeping your Personal Protection Dog happy and healthy.

Can Your Protection Dog Smell Cancer ?

In today's world, the risk of cancer is incredibly high. Thankfully, society has been working harder than ever in the effort towards cancer prevention and treatment. Considering the importance behind early detection of cancer, the thought that a canine might be able to detect early signs of cancer by scent alone is extremely promising.

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The idea that a dog's sense of smell might be powerful enough to detect cancer took off after a victim of skin cancer noticed their canine repeatedly sniffing and showing an interest in a skin lesion, which turned out to be melanoma. It is well known that certain breeds of dog are able to detect certain chemicals in the air in quantities as low as parts per trillion, and considering that certain cancers release specific toxins not released by healthy cells, it may be entirely possible for a dog to detect cancer. Over the past 4 years, there have only been a couple studies testing the theory that a dog can detect cancer in a patient. While both studies have had promising results, showing a rate of accuracy as high as 88%, they were both only preliminary tests, and used only a small sample of the population.

Regardless of whether or not a dog is actually able to detect cancer by scent, it remains that any type of sniffer dog must be specifically trained for that purpose. However, the incident that originally sparked interest in cancer detection brings up an interesting point about dogs, such as Personal Protection Dogs , that work closely with their owners; canines are incredibly in-tune with the health of their handlers. Whether or not your German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois has been specifically trained to sniff out cancer, there is a good chance that it will recognize and respond to any kind of illness.