Guide Dog Class Lecture: Care of Your Guide Dog

There are practical considerations when you enter a relationship with a guide dog. Your dog will rely on you to provide the necessities for their health and welfare. You will be responsible to feed, water, relieve, groom, exercise and shelter your dog.  It will also be your role to attend to their emotional well-being. This comprehensive discussion covers both daily and regularly scheduled care, as well as any additional attentions that will keep your guide dog healthy for a long time to come.

Daily Care - Feeding

Feeding the right amount of high-quality dog food is a tangible way to contribute to the overall health and wellbeing of your guide. Although dogs are considered carnivores, a large portion of their diet should consist of carbohydrates. Many commercially prepared dog foods are fully balanced in protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and trace elements.

What to Feed

GDB feeds and recommends Eukanuba® brand dog foods for our program dogs. While in the kennels and during class, most of the dogs eat Eukanuba Large Breed formula. Occasionally our veterinary team may determine that a dog would respond better to an alternate formula. The food that your dog is eating meets the National Research Council standards for dog food and is readily available nationwide.

Since high quality kibble is nutritious and balanced, most dogs will not require supplements in their food. However, adding warm water to the meal before feeding allows the kibble to expand which aids in digestion.

Most dogs are offered kibble food rewards to reinforce desired guidework behaviors. GDB recommends putting aside some of your dog’s daily ration for use during the day as food rewards. For your dog’s evening meal, add any unused kibble from the day into your dog’s bowl along with the evening ration. That way you will know that your dog is not eating too much or too little. If you choose to use a different form of food reward, if the rewards don’t exceed 15% of your dog’s total ration, it should not be a problem. Be alert for stool issues, upset stomach or weight gain that could be associated with alternative or excessive food rewards. Alternative rewards from well-established manufacturers are probably the safest bet, and your local veterinarian can provide guidance about choosing wisely for your dog.

If your dog seems to be doing well on the diet they were issued on, we suggest that you continue feeding the same food at home. Though people tend to enjoy variety, dogs thrive on eating the same food each day. Leftovers or scraps from the table are not good for your dog. Frequent or abrupt changes in a dog’s diet can cause gastric upset.

If you decide to change your dog’s diet, ask your veterinarian for comparable alternatives. They can also discuss how best to transition to the new food. As your dog ages, your veterinarian may recommend a food formulated for the changing needs of senior dogs.

GDB does not recommend pre-packaged moist dog food or canned dog food. High quality kibble has more consistency of ingredients, contains less sugar, and is less expensive.

Animal bones can splinter and cause major medical problems for your dog. We never recommend animal bones of any kind for your dog; this includes sterilized bones found in pet stores.

How Much to Feed

The amount to feed depends on several factors: your dog’s metabolism, activity level and the type of food. The amount you will feed at home is often less than what you may be feeding in class. To avoid inadvertently feeding too much or too little, use a level standard measuring cup when scooping the food.

When to Feed

Your dog is fed twice daily, smaller feedings spread out throughout the day are easier to process and digest. We encourage you to continue the twice daily feeding schedule at home.

Daily Care - Watering

Water is essential to your dog’s health and well-being. Offer fresh, clean water to your dog at regular intervals. A water schedule allows you to monitor your dog’s intake. It is normal if your dog occasionally takes just a few laps at an offering. Your dog will drink when they are thirsty. When you offer water to your dog on a schedule, you will get to know it’s drinking habits and can readily monitor changes in that pattern. Depending on the circumstances, a drastic increase or decrease in water consumption may indicate a health issue. If you plan to “free water” (i.e. keep a pan of water down all day in the house), clean the bowl and change the water daily. We will discuss considerations for free watering and how to change over to this method during class. If you are traveling, your dog’s food and water schedule will likely need to be adjusted. Please refer to the travel lecture for more information.

Daily Care - Relieving

In general, we recommend offering your dog at least 4 - 6 relieving opportunities each day. While some dogs may begin to relieve themselves as soon as you give the “do your business” cue, many dogs need up to 10 minutes or more to fully empty, especially if they are in a new relieving area. Keep in mind that drinking, eating and physical exercise can stimulate the need to relieve.

Daily Care - Relaxing

A private, out-of-the-way area in your home gives your dog a chance to nap while remaining close to the household action. When deciding on a regular place for your dog to rest, select an area that is away from drafts and out from underfoot. Many dogs enjoy sleeping on the fleece rug or a dog bed. Since dogs naturally want to be with you, select an area in your home where your dog can observe daily activities. Most often, this means the main room or near the kitchen. At night, most guide dogs prefer sleeping in your bedroom, either at the side or foot of your bed.

If you are a smoker, please consider the harmful effects that secondhand smoke may have on your dog. Respiratory infections, eye irritation, lung inflammation and asthma can result from exposure. Chewing on a cigarette or cigarette butt can cause serious reactions in dogs, including rapid respiration, muscle weakness, excitability, vomiting and diarrhea. For those who smoke, please choose a designated area where smoke and tobacco products will remain away from your dog.
 

Daily Care - Grooming

One simple way to maintain your dog’s health and appearance is to groom your dog daily. Pick a time when you can be thorough and relaxed in your handling.

If regularly tended to, healthy dogs are fairly odor free. Between baths, regular grooming maintains your dog’s coat, ears and skin in good condition. If after petting your dog you notice that your hand feels oily and smells “doggy”, a bath may be warranted.  After working in rain or snow, we recommend drying your dog off thoroughly, paying special attention to the paws. Grooming sessions allow you to “take inventory” of your dog. When you know your dog’s body well, you will notice if anything changes. You can feel lumps or skin abnormalities by running your hands over your dog’s entire body.

Your sense of smell may catch if something unusual is going on with your dog. A health problem may leave your dog smelling unpleasant despite a recent bath. An ear infection can cause ears to lose their sweet scent, and noticeably pungent breath may be an indicator of gum disease, a broken molar, or another health issue.  For these situations, seek veterinary advice.

Daily Care - Teeth

Healthy gums and teeth play an important part in good overall systemic health. As a bonus, your dog’s breath will smell fresh! Use toothpaste or gel that is specifically formulated for dogs.

Regular Care – Vet Visits

Your guide is healthy, eats a good diet, and has been immunized against major canine diseases. With continued care, feeding and grooming, you will likely incur only routine veterinary expenses for your dog. To help offset these expenses; GDB has a veterinary care program that provides reimbursement for approved veterinary expenses up to a certain dollar amount. This will be covered in more detail in the Veterinary Financial Assistance discussion in class and available on our website.

Bring your guide dog to your veterinarian for regular checkups, booster shots and for other preventatives. During this visit, your vet will likely check your dog's skin, ears, eyes, teeth, and gums as well as listen to the heart and lungs.

You may want to have your dog’s nails clipped while you visit the vet. Having someone who is experienced clip your dog’s nails will help prevent an accidental cut of the “quick”, or blood vessel, that runs down the nail. Nails may need regular trimming, depending on how much your dog’s nails wear down. If your vet office is not conveniently located for you, another option to regularly clip your dog’s nails is to bring your dog to a groom shop or an experienced friend or family member.

During training your dog received a rabies vaccination, which gives immunity for three years in California and Oregon. Other states or provinces may require you to re-vaccinate your dog more often.

Before graduation, you will receive a health certificate signed by our staff veterinarian. You will also receive a complete health history on your dog in two forms, printed and digital. Bring a printed copy to your first vet visit at home. A current health certificate may be necessary when you travel, both interstate as well as internationally.

Keep in mind that if you have any tests or procedures done on your guide dog that require anesthesia, you will need to make alternative arrangements for your trip home. A guide dog is not safe when under the influence of tranquilizing drugs. Explain this to your veterinarian. If these drugs are needed, it is best to wait 12 – 24 hours before you resume guide work with your dog.
 

Regular Care – Preventative Medication

Heartworms -Your guide dog has been tested for heartworms and placed on monthly preventative medication, which not only protects against heartworm but other internal parasites as well. Please continue to give this monthly. Many dog owners find the first of the month an easy day to remember. If you forget to give a dose, give a tablet immediately and then resume your original medication schedule.

Fleas & Ticks – Excellent products for the control of fleas and ticks are available, both oral and topical. The products need to be given at the correct interval and for topical products, proper technique of the application is needed to be effective. Shampooing can reduce the effectiveness of the topical products. It is best to bathe your dog only when necessary and when you do, be sure to wait a day or so before or after the topical application.

Regular Care - Healthy Weight

One of the most common, and preventable health issues we see is overweight dogs. An overweight or obese guide can have serious health problems that can shorten not only their working life but overall life expectancy due to the strain on the heart, joints, and other vital organs. Extreme weight conditions in guides can be considered negligent care by GDB.

It is easier to maintain your dog’s current weight than to take excess weight off. If you use common sense and consistency in feeding your dog, you can look forward to having a fit and healthy guide dog that maintains its stamina, focus and agility.

In general, your guide should stay within a few pounds of graduation weight for their entire life. Keep track of your dog’s weight by regularly weighing them on the same scale whenever possible. Also, be aware of what healthy weight feels like. Run your hands along your dog’s sides from the shoulders to the hips. You will feel an indentation between the last rib and the hip area. This is your dog’s waist. This is the first area where your dog will put on weight. Regularly check for this indentation when you groom your dog. The last area your dog will gain weight is in the neck and chest area. If you discover that your dog has gained weight, reduce the amount of their daily food ration and carefully monitor where your dog may be getting extra calories. Consult with your veterinarian about the appropriate reduction of kibble for your individual dog. If possible, weigh your dog weekly to monitor weight loss. When using food rewards, be certain to factor this into your dog’s daily ration.

Your veterinarian can be helpful in advising you on weight control. If necessary, they may recommend another type of food to aid in weight reduction.

Regular Care - Ears

To maintain healthy ears and prevent infections, we recommend cleaning your guide’s ears at least once a week. You will learn how to do this in class. There are many types of ear cleaning solutions available. Your vet will be able to dispense an appropriate ear cleaner. These products are gentle and maintain a dry canal as well as remove any debris that make living conditions in the ear hospitable to microorganisms.

Routine care of your dog's ears will help deter infections, but it won't completely prevent them. There can be different signs of an ear infection: Get familiar with the sweet scent of a healthy ear. A change to a foul odor is generally an indication of an ear infection. An inflamed, red ear or one with dark waxy build-up that returns soon after cleaning can be another sign. Excessive head shaking may indicate trouble, too. See your veterinarian for assistance.

Regular Care – Identification

Your dog has had a small microchip inserted under the skin that can help identify them should they ever be lost or separated from you. During class we add a simple plastic ID tag to your dog’s collar with your dog’s microchip number. After graduation, GDB will register your dog’s chip number, you will be registered as the primary contact and GDB will be designated as the alternative contact. If your address or contact information changes it is important to contact the microchip company (AVID) to update your personal information.

Most animal shelters and veterinary facilities have universal scanner wands that, when waved over the micro chipped animal, reads the information uniquely associated with that dog.     
 

As Needed Care - Skin and Coat

On occasion, your dog’s skin can get dry and itchy. Extreme temperatures (hot weather and air conditioning or cold weather and heating), diet changes or baths can cause dry skin which may lead to scratching or licking. Other clinical signs of itchy skin could be due to irritation from flea bites. GDB encourages regular use of approved flea preventative products such as NexGard, Frontline, Advantix, or Revolution. An occasional scratch or lick is acceptable. However, any dog can scratch or lick themselves to a point where they cause hair loss or even sores. Prevent this scenario by interrupting your dog after they scratch or lick a few times with a verbal correction and an offer to chew a nylabone or other diversion. If interrupting the behavior is not effective and your dog continues to excessively scratch or lick, see your veterinarian for a consultation.
 

As Needed Care – Paw Care

Certain working conditions can irritate a dog’s paws. During the rainy season, motor oils spread around on the roadways. In snowy conditions, chemicals and salt are used to prevent slips on icy surfaces. During gardening season, there’s lawn fertilizers that can irritate your dog’s feet. After working in these types of conditions, wipe off your dog’s feet. In temperature extremes, consider the option of dog booties. This will be discussed more in another lecture.

As Needed Care – Seeking Non-Food Items

Dogs will sometimes eat just about anything, including stones, paper, wood, and cat or dog feces. To deal with this, managing the environment and prevention are the best courses of action. Put the garbage can under the sink. Put a hood on the litter box and place it in a room that is inaccessible to your dog. Put attractive items away. Monitoring and cleaning up every defecation, will prevent access to ingestion. Dealing with the environment is one thing; you must also manage your dog’s behavior. Please consult with GDB through our support center for advice on managing a dog’s individual tendencies.

As Needed Care - Vomiting

Dogs have efficient systems. Vomiting is often a normal reflex whenever something in their stomach disagrees with them. Some dogs may also try to eat grass, which can result in vomiting.

Occasional vomiting is fairly normal. Multiple episodes or frequent vomiting, however, can be indicators of a more serious health issue. A dog that is vomiting repeatedly and is lethargic or seems to be in pain needs to be seen by a vet.

As Needed Care - Medicating

Only use medications that your veterinarian has prescribed specifically for your dog. Be sure to follow the directions and continue their use for the prescribed duration.   

As Needed Care – Over Heating

In warmer climates, dogs can overheat with excessive play or work. If you normally have your dog with you and are attentive to them, you will generally be able to avoid this potentially life-threatening situation. Normal body temperature for your dog ranges between 101 to 103 degrees. With overheating, a dog’s body heat can rise to 106 or even 108 degrees. These are extremely high fevers that can be tolerated for only a few minutes before irreversible damage occurs to the central nervous system.

Signs of overheating include exceedingly heavy, fast panting, general sluggish responses, unsteadiness of gait and a possible reluctance to take water. Extreme overheating can cause tremors, collapse, and vomiting.

High fever must be reduced rapidly to save your dog's life and prevent permanent brain damage. Gradually immerse your dog in cool water or run water from a garden hose over your dog’s groin and chest area. Take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Suggestions for travel in hot weather are discussed in detail in the Special Travel Conditions lecture.

As Needed Care – Cold Weather Care

Most guide dogs have double coats which help keep them warm in cold weather. In below-freezing temperatures, however, even a double coat may not be enough. Common sense rules when it comes to caring for your dog in cold weather. Avoid over-exposure for both you and your dog! Suggestions for travel in snow and ice are discussed in detail in the Special Travel Conditions lecture.

Conclusion

You know your guide dog better than anyone else does. You will likely be the first to recognize when something is wrong with your dog. Poor appetite, diarrhea or constipation, vomiting, coughing, excessive head shaking, limping or signs of pain – any of these signs will cause you to take notice. That said, it is also important to know when the situation is serious. Is this an incident or is it a trend? If your dog doesn't finish one meal, has one loose stool, vomits or coughs once or twice, you don’t necessarily need to rush to your veterinarian. Often, these symptoms alone are a reaction to temporary discomfort, not an indication of something serious.

Caring for a canine friend and guide is a big responsibility. Your dog relies on you. You are the best judge of your dog’s health and well-being. Your efforts will not be wasted; and your dog gives you so much in return. Here’s to good health!

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