• Canine Reproduction
  
  I recently had the opportunity to travel to College Station, Texas to attend a three day seminar on Canine Reproduction. This course featured detailed information on ovulation timing in the bitch, and stressed the importance of doing prebreeding vaginal cultures to insure conception. The bitch has a limited number of viable heat cycles in her life, probably no more than twelve, and once we decide to breed, we should do everything in our power to ensure conception. This will involve culturing the female once she comes into heat, treating her if she is infected, testing her for brucellosis, and timing her to detect ovulation. This must be followed up by breeding at the appropriate time, with semen of adequate quality to ensure fertilization. The advantages of Artificial Insemination, with fresh, chilled, or frozen semen are numerous. First, we can evaluate the semen for quality of sperm, and check for infections in the male. Second, we can be sure the semen is deposited in the reproductive tract of the female, at the appropriate time. Third, by using chilled or frozen semen, we can breed to superior stud dogs that we might not be accessible to us on the basis of geography, or their availability due to training or competition. The course covered techniques for collecting and processing chilled and frozen semen. I plan to incorporate these ideas both into our own breeding program here at Deep Run, and into the breeding services we offer to you, our clients.

• Animal Chiropractic Care
  • What is animal chiropractic care?
    A method of health care that treats the biomechanics of joint functions. Chiropractic care corrects a misalignment of vertebral bones and restores proper functioning of the nervous system.
    
    
  • Why would my dog need animal chiropractic care?
    To keep your dog functioning as a canine athlete and operating at peak performance. Your dog may have suffered a trauma such as a slip, fall, automobile accident, or blow which caused a vertebra misalignment in its spinal column. (Even stresses during the birthing process could create misalignment.) The symptoms of even a very slight misalignment may include lameness, neck and back pain, epilepsy, stiffness and pain in older animals, bed wetting, and many other diseases.
    
    
  • How do I know that chiropractic care would help my dog?
    Your dog is first given a physical exam to determine if any health problems require surgical or medical attention. Then your dog undergos a chiropractic analysis to determine the health of its spine and any spinal vertebrae that may require adjustment. You will be notified of recommendations to pursue medical attention or chiropractic care.
    
    
  • What improvements can I expect to see in my dog?
    Owners tell us all the time about how good their dog feels after receiving chiropractic care. One of the most exciting things that happens in almost all the dogs we treat is an improvement in the dog's attitude.
    
    
  • How long will it take?
    Animals recover very rapidly as a rule, but older dogs and more serious problems take more time. Age and physical condition, extent of damage, duration of the problem, and owner cooperation are all factors in 'get well' time.
    
    
  • Additional animal chiropractic information can be found on AVCA Doctors - an American Veterinary Chiropractic Association approved site.
  
  
  
• Hip Dysplasia; find out more about it
  • Hip Dysplasia in the Canine* by Janet A. Welch, DVM, Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine Auburn University, Alabama.
    
    
  • Helping Dysplastic Dogs* (297K) Phyllis Giroux, DVM, CAC discusses hip dysplasia in the Whole Dog Journal.
    
    * You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these dysplasia articles. If you don't already have the reader on your computer, you can download a free copy from

Health Tip

Check your dog's ears at least once a week for any redness or excessive wax production. If either symptom occurs, you may have an ear infection in progress. Many ear infections can be prevented by being attentive to these early signs. If you notice any head shaking, redness, or wax in the ears, clean the ear with a mild solution. I like Corium, a professional ear cleaner available from most veterinarians. If not available, a mild solution of dishwashing detergent can work. Squirt a generous amount into the ear, massage well, and wipe out the ear with cotton or cotton tipped swabs. Sometimes a Baby-wipe will work, as well. After cleaning, apply a drying powder to the ear. Ear powder is available from most groomers and dog supply houses. The ear powder keeps the ear dry and makes the ear canal less inviting for bacterial and fungal growth. If the symptoms persist after one or two treatments, see your veterinarian. Likewise, if the ears are bright red, swolllen, have a foul odor, or are draining, seek professional care immediately. Monitoring your dog's ears on a regular basis will prevent many serious problems before they occur.

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Deep Run Farm
13727 Blackwells Mill Road
Goldvein, VA 22720

(540) 752-4710/4888     FAX (540) 752-4775     deeprunfarm@deeprunretrievers.com

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