Zinc deficiency was initially discovered in humans and reported by Prasad et al. (1963 ). Symptoms reported to accompany zinc deficiency included dwarfism, hypogonadism and poor appetite. In these studies, similarities were noted between zinc-deficient human subjects and known characteristics of zinc-deficient animals. Although zinc deficiency has been studied in many different species, including rats, pigs, chicks, lambs, monkeys and guinea pigs, studies in the rat have provided most of the experimental data regarding zinc deficiency and changes in food intake. The young growing rat is very responsive to the consumption of a zinc-deficient diet. Within 3–5 d, food intake is first observed to decrease. This decrease in appetite is the first visible sign of zinc deficiency, and it occurs well in advance of any other symptoms associated with zinc deficiency. The reduction in growth associated with zinc deficiency is largely caused by the reduction in intake due to this deficiency. This is demonstrated as pair-fed control rats that are provided a reduced amount of zinc-adequate diet equivalent to the amount consumed by similar zinc-deficient rats reduce or cease growth in an essentially similar fashion, as do the deficient rats. Although there are usually slight differences in food efficiency, with pair-fed rats having a slightly greater efficiency compared with zinc-deficient rats, this difference is usually very slight.

Among many, there are two classic studies we mention that provide an excellent summary of the early findings regarding the effect of zinc deficiency on food intake (Chesters and Quarterman, 1970 , Chesters and Will, 1973 ). These findings include the reduction in intake during zinc deficiency, identification of a 3–4 d cycle of variable intake (described in detail by Tamaki et al. 1995 ), force-feeding zinc-deficient rats is detrimental to their health, reduction in the protein content (or content of essential amino acids) in the experimental diet can affect levels of intake, zinc supplementation rapidly restores normal levels of intake in rats and zinc-deficient rats eat fewer times during the day, but when they do eat, they consume similar-sized meals compared with control rats. A connection between zinc deficiency and dietary protein or amino acid levels may exist; however, a complete theory describing how zinc deficiency and protein metabolism are related is still lacking.

Author: Author unknown

Dogs eating grass is completely normal. They are omnivores and in the wild they would graze naturally. The spring grass at this time of year is especially tasty to them so most dogs are grazing more at the moment. Your dog may eat grass more if there was a deficiency in it's diet or if it was feeling unwell in its gut, but lots of dogs just love to graze anyway, its totally natural.

Author: Author unknown

Grass eating - they actually do eat course/couch grass as a purgative, both for vomiting to rid excess bile/nausea and for bowel clearing (very hollywood?) It passes through the gut and out within two hours. I've noticed this is more common in the older dogs. In the absence of handy grass mine also use nettles. They also like the sweet young grass as a dietry supplement. Mine also seem to just enjoy ripping the long stuff (of which there is an abundance?) out of the ground and chucking it about. As for flowers, beware many common flowers and weeds are toxic to dogs ie sweet peas/foxgloves.
Author: Sue Jones

Whenever our dogs have had cuts in the pads,we have tended to really wrap them up for a couple of days, we clean them up and use an antiseptic/healing cream and non-stick wound dressing and bandage over.The dressing needs changing daily and needs to be kept dry.
We figure that with the skin on the pads being so thick,that it really needs a little protection while it knits up,once its going well we will stop bandaging and put a boot on for outdoor exercise.

Author: Tracey Pittock

Heres a few tricks that I have learned.
If the cut is bad or dirty do as follows. Put your dog in the sky kennel then add some salt water and then this will soak the foot. Seems drastic but you could always use a jam jar if the dog will keep their foot in it.
I use baby bum cream, the one with a high zinc level works well or you can get the specialist creams for feet from a mushing company.
Author: Peter Carroll

Back or front?
Back ones definitely 'to go'.

I don't think there are many vets who will remove front ones anyhow, although I may be wrong on this.
Our import 'Ditto' , hasn't got any on the front (or back!) so I'm guessing this is common practice to remove them in other countries.
Author: Juliet Trent

I think it depends on how well attached they are. If they are very loose, poorly attached and floppy, (i have seen some that stick out at right angles from the leg!) then they could cause problems cos they could be prone to catching. My 2 youngest have their front dew claws and I have never had any problems with them, they are quite firmly attached and I have never needed to cut them. They seem to wear down themselves and they appear to use them when going over rocky ground. Having seen dew claws removed from baby pups I would say leave them on unless they are very loosely attached.

Author: Kelly Donaldson

Dont worry about it, it is as previously mentioned its caused by lack of sunlight. Come Spring/Summer months you should see snow nose change to a nice black shiny
button!
I would only worry about it if you saw loss of pigment & hair around mouth, eyes, ears, & dry flaky sores as this could be a zinc defficiency.
Author: Lorraine Le Fevre

A snow nose is quite normal for the breed - it's mentioned in the breed standard and isn't either an illness or a fault (in the winter). If you've had itchy scaly bits that disappear when you add fish to the diet then it's very likely to be ZRD. Fish won't make a snow nose disappear though!

Author: Catherine Lewis

PG - Primary Glaucoma
HC - Hereditary cataract
CD - Corneal Dystrophy
PPM - Persistant Pupillary Membrane

C - Clear
A - Affected
P - predisposed
Author: Lynn Tilsed

Metacalm is a Non-steroidal anti Inflammatory and is safe to use longterm.
Author: Susan Livingstone

Most ageing dogs have some degree of spondylosis and lead very full lives. It doesn't always cause pain or discomfort, but if there is any, it can safely be controlled
with Metacam which is not a steroid and can safely be given long term in my experience. Exercise is important to maintain the dogs flexibility and to delay
progression of the condition as long as the exercise is not too hard and stressfull on the back.
Author: Author unknown

Breed Historians contact Tracey Storey 01353 675 434
Eye Clinics contact Tracey Storey 01353 675 434
Hip Scores contact Tracey Storey 01353 675 434
All Committee members will also be willing to give advice and all breeders should be willing to give advice.
Author: SHCofGB

Leave them alone!!!!

It's not unusual for testicles to take some time in dropping, in fact I know of one very successful show dog who didn't get his second one until he was seven months old.

I do think though, that continual groping could actually have the opposite effect to the one you want, although I've no scientific evidence to support that theory. I know it's very tempting to keep checking though.

I wouldn't consider doing anything to push nature along for the time being. But just to make sure that there is nothing happening to affect his natural development, I'd make sure that the puppy was getting fed correctly and has a proper worming regime.

Another thought - a well respeceted breeder once told me that overweight puppies were more likely to retain testicles. So although no-one would want a thin puppy, little puddings may be prone to problems.

Author: Lyn Hall

Siberians are unusual in that their testicles are very mobile. If you think about their natural habitiat, they experience very low temperatures which would damage the testes if they were exposed like a lot of breeds.

When the dog is out in the cold, and when he is working, his testicles are held very close to the body. They also have the ability to pull them up into the body cavity suddenly to prevent injury (think about how painful a kick in the scrotum from a caribou would be!).

When the dog is warm and relaxed they tend to hang down further and appear larger.

This has been the reason a lot of perfectly entire dogs have arrived at the vet's for a check and have appeared to be either monorchid or cryptorchid. The dog gets nervous about being at the vet's and "whoosh" up go the testicles to protect them!

Siberians also tend to "drop" their testicles late compared to other breeds. Some lines are very prone to this late development and if your dog is from one of these lines your breeder will probably tell you and reassure you that you will need to wait a little longer than normal. Many vets are keen to castrate dogs very young when in fact they are completely normal Sibes.

Author: Catherine Lewis

This is a common problem in all breeds and yes the problem is hereditary. You would be best to have the retained testicle removed and have him castrated. Retained testicles often become cancerous due to the testicle being in a higher temperature than normal.

Many epileptic dogs have general anaesthetics and are fine but if you decide to have him done just remind the nurse of this when she is admitting him in the morning as one of the drugs commonly used as a premed is best not given to epileptics.
Author: Susan Livingstone

If you do decide to wait a while before having the non-decended testicle removed, I would recommend regular checks of the decended testicle, getting it into your head what it's normal size is. If there becomes a problem with the retained one, there is generally some change noticed (shrinking normally)in the decended one.
Also there is no real reason to remove the decended testicle (ie a full castration)just the retained one, depending on his position in your pack this might be preferable as he will still appear as an entire male to the other dogs.
This is of course dependant on whether your vet will leave the decended testicle alone, they do seem to like whipping them off.



Author: Buzz Burrell

The Speed Mushing Manual by Jim Welch lists the Charlie Champaigne diet which is a good start. Rick Swenson's Secrets of Long Distance Mushing also provides a diet. Talk to mushers in your area to find suppliers. If you are lucky to live in areas that sell the Champaigne diet, use that and follow the directions.

Author:

First determine what shape your dog is in. You should be able to easily feel your dogs' ribs (including the floating rib), the dogs' pelvis bones and the dogs' spine. (I can hear your vet screaming now. If you can't feel your dogs' ribs easily (huge layer of fat there), your dogs are overweight. Most normally active dogs of 40-50 lbs require about 2 cups of premium high performance kibble during off season. If your dog is getting too thin, increase the amount. Weighing a dog provides a good measure, but be aware that dogs gain and lose weight for a variety of reasons and that muscle weighs more than fat. A dog that may be very fit may weigh 60 lbs; while a similiar dog that is fat may weigh 55 lbs. Both methods are used together to determine the actual fitness of the dog.

Monitor your dogs' weight and actual fitness closely. Even 5 lbs too heavy can cause problems. Very rarely do you see beginner's dogs being too thin -- usually it is the other way around.


Author:

Studies show that soaked food leaves the stomach in under 30 minutes, whereas it may take hours for dry food to evacuate the stomach. This is important if you are planning on running races or going on long trips. Dry food, in comparison, takes a few hours. The quicker you can get that food processed out of the gut, the better your dog is going to run.

Dehydration is another reason why you should feed wet. Dehydration is one of the biggest problems for the working dog so whenever you can get water into them, so much the better. The nutritional loss is miniscule compared to dehydration.


Author:

If you choose to feed kibble wet, this is fine if the food is
eaten straight away. If the food is left and the water soaks
in to it, the food swells in size and becomes very soft.If
your dog eats the food like this it is extremely mushy and sticks
to their teeth. This leads to their teeth rotting very quickly.
Author: Sid

No. You can't judge how much food your dog is really getting and you are teaching your dog to be a picky eatter. You want your dog to chow down the moment you put food in front of him. If your dog refuses to eat (assuming he is normally a good eatter) then you *know* there is something wrong with him.

Author:

I recommend that you consult your vet. We had a boxer whose testicles were not dropping. The gave us a certain length of time to wait to see if they would drop, and if they didn’t he said they had to be removed. If left they could turn into cancer. This would not be a good thing for your dog. Consult your vet and see how long he recommends you wait to see if it will drop.
Author: Elizabeth

I would wait until the dog is over 18 months before having the undescended testicle only removed.
Before resulting to surgery we give the pup Boy Special (from Canine Natural Cures) and Wheat germ oil (source of Vitamin E)

Author: Dave & Jill