Caring for your dog

Our job at Hearing Dogs is to place very special hearing dogs with deaf people. However, a dog needs care whether it is a hearing dog or a pet. Here are some tips in caring for your dog.

Your dog gives you a lifetime of unconditional love, loyalty, and friendship. In return, they count on you to provide food, water, safe shelter, regular veterinary care, exercise, companionship, and more.

• Keep training. Owners often think that once a dog is trained, there is no need to carry on. But your dog never stops learning, and training should be reinforced throughout your pet's life.
• Exercise your dog. A tired dog is a happy dog. Ensure, however, that the exercise is appropriate for your dog's age and breed.
• To feel secure, all dogs need a calm, confident leader. Effective leadership isn't about dominating your dog and making him submissive toward you. It's about being a teacher and building his confidence. You can achieve that by encouraging and rewarding good behaviour.
• Sign up for an activity that you both enjoy, such as an agility class, flyball, heelwork, etc. Dogs become bored easily, so get yours out and moving.
• Get your dog microchipped, if you haven't already.
• Grooming is not only a good way to ensure that your dog has a healthy coat, but also a great way to bond with your dog and to let him become familiar with your scent. Stroking him gently with a brush makes him feel loved and accepted as well as clean.
• Ensure your garden is escape proof – most larger dogs can jump or scale fences under two metres high.
• Always keep your dog on a short (not an extending) lead near roads and livestock.
• Many products are harmful or poisonous to dogs. These include many common medicines, cleaning products, chocolate. cocoa powder, raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, rat poison, slug pellets, weedkillers, fertilizers, and plants including amaryllis bulb, asparagus fern, azalea, cyclamen, daffodil bulbs, delphiniums, foxgloves, hemlock, hyacinth, hydrangea, ivy, laburnum, lilies, lupins, mistletoe, morning glory, oleander, poinsettia, rhododendron, rhubarb leaves, sweet pea, tulip bulbs, umbrella plant, wisteria, yew, and some berries, mushrooms and toadstools. If your dog chews or eats any of these, seek veterinary help immediately.
• Keep your dog inside on fireworks night

Dogs and children living in harmony

If you are a dog owner with children, you will need to remember the following points (courtesy of The Kennel Club):

• Make sure that your dog has a quiet area of his own where your children are not allowed to bother him. Every dog needs a break from noise and playing from time to time. 
• Most dogs are great with children and when problems do occur this is often down to the child not being taught how to act around dogs properly and treat them with respect.
• Teach young children not to chase the dog.
• Teach children how to stroke your pet gently, and train the dog to respond to the child's instructions in return for rewards.
• Teach children where best to stroke the dog - the top of the head and along the back.
• Tails should never be pulled.
• The dog should always be left alone when eating, toileting, or sleeping.
• Never leave your dog unsupervised with children
• Teach your child about dogs
• In any situation where your child might come across a new dog, ensure they ask the owner's permission before approaching the dog and allow the dog to sniff the back of their hand before touching it.
• Make sure your child understands that dogs, especially puppies, don't always want to be active and will want to be left to sleep.
• Teach children that some dogs do not like to share their beds, toys or food and they should never try to take something from a dog.
• A safe dog is one that is panting, looking happy and wagging its tail enthusiastically. A dangerous dog has its mouth closed and ears forward, with an intense look in its eyes. It may also be growling or have its teeth bared.
• In case they are ever confronted with an unknown, overly friendly or hostile dog, the Kennel Club suggests teaching your child to get in a "tree" position. This means standing still, folding their branches down (putting their arms down in front of them), and watching their roots grow (looking down, not at the dog) until the dog goes away or help comes.
• Know what to do in an emergency: If the worst happens and your child is bitten by a dog, clean the wound with running water as soon as possible for 10 minutes to reduce the chance of infection. Stop the bleeding by pressing firmly on the bite, then cover it with a non-stick sterile dressing. If there's a lot of bleeding or the wound is large, deep or dirty, see a doctor or nurse.