Everyday life with your dog holds many beautiful moments in store for you. However, some situations can come as a surprise and require a quick or well-thought-out solution. We will use a few examples to show you how you can master such moments.
The disease of the dog
One of the many surprises in everyday life with your dog that can cause you great concern is the sudden illness of the dog. As with a person, such situations arise suddenly and cannot be planned.
Quick reaction required
In such cases, you often have to restructure your day and get your four-legged friend to the vet as soon as possible. This is especially true if the dog has a fever, for example.
In any case, you should not take the disease lightly and ensure that a diagnosis is made so that appropriate measures and treatments can be initiated in the event of serious problems. In addition to the changed organization of the first day, it may be necessary for you to adapt your everyday life for a while to taking care of your sick dog.
Additional, unplanned costs
In addition, in the case of your dog’s illness, another surprise may await you that needs a quick solution: the bill from your veterinarian. Depending on the treatment, the services of the veterinarian can often cost a three-digit or four-digit sum.
If your current financial possibilities are not particularly lush, such a sum cannot be paid so easily. In this situation, a suitable loan can be a sensible solution. You should consider a few important factors in order to avoid dodgy providers and not get any problems as a result of the loan.
Warning signs can include when a lender offers you unusual terms, such as grossly inflated interest rates. Additional costs that have to be paid before lending also indicate a dubious offer. Especially in a situation where you have to act quickly to pay a vet bill, you should keep an especially close eye on such things.
Unplanned throw
Another surprise that can await you as a dog owner is an unplanned litter. In this situation, you have to think about how to deal with the sometimes very extensive dog growth and make a plan.
Reasons for the surprise
This increase can occur, for example, when a bitch comes to you and is pregnant without you knowing it. It could also happen if your bitch comes into contact with a male dog from another owner during a walk where you let her off a leash and are briefly inattentive while she is in heat.
Of course, the litter comes with some preparation time: after all, you can tell from a few characteristics that your bitch is pregnant. However, you should be careful to distinguish between a real pregnancy and a sham pregnancy.
Handling the situation
First, you should see how many puppies are born. You will certainly find it easier to deal with a litter of four young dogs than with accession of eight, nine, or even 13 puppies, as was the case near Osnabruck in 2019.
Consider whether you can and want to keep one or more puppies permanently. Do you have the appropriate resources, such as time and financial means, available for this? The dog offspring can certainly be a great enrichment for your everyday life, the four-legged friends themselves can also have an animal family in the long term.
At least in the first few weeks, the animals should and must not be separated from their mothers under any circumstances. Paragraph 2 of the Animal Welfare Dog Ordinance even states that a puppy may be separated from its mother eight weeks after birth, apart from a few exceptional cases.
Of course, the first few weeks can mean work and stress, especially with a larger litter, but on the other hand, you should be aware of your responsibility for the animals and try to do your job as well as possible. You may find additional help in your area.
If you want or need to give up some of the animals after the first eight weeks or after a little more time, you should make sure to find a trustworthy owner. This can be possible with the help of your personal contacts. Alternatively, you can search online, although you may want to get to know the new owner for a few hours before the handover to get a good impression of them.
Spontaneous trip
Another situation where you need a quick fix is ​​when you have to spontaneously leave your dog alone for a few days. This can be the case, for example, due to an unplanned, urgent business trip.
Now you are facing a real challenge, as you should not leave your dog alone at home for several days. Therefore, it can make sense that you take precautions for such situations.
You can do this by establishing as many private contacts as possible with other dog owners. Such relationships can come about in a variety of ways, including:
Personal environment
Groups on social media portals such as Facebook
Societies
You can then give each other a helping hand and become a dog sitter, so to speak, when the other master or mistress has to go away for a while. Alternatively, you can see if you can find a dog sitter who will take on this task for a fee. You can find similar offers elsewhere on our site.
However, they must then have time and capacity at the time of your surprising trip. If you are not going on a business trip, but are surprisingly traveling privately, you can possibly take the dog with you. You should make sure that he is accommodated in your car during transport in such a way that he feels comfortable and at the same time you comply with all current regulations.
Fleas and tick bites
Especially after excursions into nature, you might find that your dog has fleas or a tick bite. Neither is particularly pleasant for the four-legged friend, so you should look for a solution as soon as possible.
Tick bite
Diseases can be transmitted via a tick bite, some of which can have serious consequences for the dog. This includes some other Lyme diseases.
With regard to tick bites, you can take precautions. There are a number of means that protect the dog. You can apply this to certain areas of the skin before going for a walk.
In addition, you should try to avoid areas where the risk of tick infestation is high. If this is not possible, you must take a close look after your tour to see if your dog has a tick bite.
In the event of a bite, you should remove the tick as soon as possible. You can then treat the area with a preparation specially developed for this purpose. If you have any problems or are unclear, you should also consult a veterinarian to avoid negative consequences for your dog.
Fleas
Similar to ticks, there are also remedies against fleas that you can use to protect your dog preventively. Some of the preparations even help against fleas, ticks and other insects at the same time.
One way to find out if your dog has fleas is to use a so-called flea comb. It is best to use this very carefully outside of the apartment. In addition, you may be able to spot the flea infestation on closer inspection by the reddish puncture marks on the animal’s skin.
Furthermore, you can determine the presence of fleas in the feces of the animals in the fur of your four-legged friend. Finally, restless behavior by your dog and regular scratching are possible signs.
The best way to rid your dog of fleas is with an antiparasitic. In some cases, the application may be necessary regularly and it may take some time until the four-legged friend no longer has fleas. You should also make sure that you rid the apartment of fleas, especially the areas that your dog comes into contact with, such as the basket.
Search for a new apartment
In everyday life with your dog, there can also be the challenge of finding a new apartment. If you are not yet experienced in this, the corresponding difficult circumstances can take you by surprise.
Potential problems
Some landlords are extremely reluctant to have pets in their apartments. From a legal point of view, there is no option to fundamentally prohibit keeping a dog in an apartment. However, landlords can build an approval requirement into the contract and limit the options on this basis (size of the dog, danger, etc.).
With regard to the question of whether keeping a dog in an apartment is permitted, there have already been court rulings, for example in a case in Munich. There, the tenants who were already living in the apartment at the time of purchase were right.
In principle, however, it is to be feared that a landlord who does not want a dog in his property will tend to give preference to a prospective tenant without a dog, especially in the overcrowded housing market in large cities.
If a landlord absolutely does not want a dog tenant with a dog, you should accept this. Otherwise, there is a risk that there will be discussions and conflicts in the long run and you may not feel completely comfortable in your own four walls.
Possible ways to find an apartment
You should therefore make sure that you find a new apartment, ideally by contacting animal-friendly landlords. These connections can come from your personal environment, but maybe also from a club for dog owners.
If you share a love for animals, this is a good prerequisite for getting a commitment for the apartment. In addition, this can even result in advantages, since you have a good basis for discussion with your new landlord right from the start.
Alternatively, you can tell a landlord you don’t know that you have a dog right from the start. You may get a positive reaction, although this type of search is of course a matter of luck.
It is important that you are well prepared and present yourself in the best possible way in order to leave a positive impression and stand out from the crowd of interested parties. This applies in principle but can be a particularly great help if you have any doubts about the dog.
You also have the option of placing an ad for your apartment search yourself online or in a newspaper. Here you can then add that you have a dog. This is how landlords who like to rent their apartments to people with dogs may notice you.
Your dog is showing unusual behavior
It can also come as a big surprise to you if your dog starts behaving abnormally for no apparent reason. These may include, but are not limited to:
- fear
- aggression
- other behaviors that you have not previously known from him
Fear
Anxiety can arise in dogs for a variety of reasons. In some cases, physical ailments are behind it, which lead to pain and ensure that the dog can no longer act as it would in a healthy state.
Therefore, if your dog shows surprising fears that he did not have before, you should first consult a veterinarian. In this way, the fear can possibly be overcome by treating the physical ailment.
If the dog is new to you and already has certain fear reactions, these may be due to previous experiences. In such cases, you could consult an animal psychologist who will then try to help your four-legged friend.
Aggression
Sudden aggression from your dog can have similar reasons. Pain caused by illness or fear also plays a role here. In addition, aggression can be triggered by the hunting instinct or excessive play behavior.
Depending on the reason, a veterinarian or animal psychologist can also help here. If you have a strong hunting instinct or play instinct, you can use various methods to work a little on training your dog. If you reach your limits, a dog trainer is often a good help.
Rejection of a new partner
You will certainly have been in the situation of getting to know a new partner and letting them participate in your life bit by bit. But what should you do if your dog rejects your new love or behaves strangely towards him or her?
The first impression
In the best case, you can make provisions for this situation. On the one hand, you can do this by preparing your partner for the first meeting with the dog. Explain to him or her what your dog likes and what should be avoided.
Maybe there is a certain treat that your four-legged friend particularly likes? In this way, a connection is established right from the start. Such a procedure may also work with other everyday objects. For example, if your dog likes blue pillows and your new love gives him one as a greeting, this is sure to be a great help for bonding.
Long term strategy
It can also be helpful if you make it clear to your dog if it behaves strangely at the beginning and prove in everyday life that it is not neglected. The less changes for him, the fewer reasons he has to reject your new love. This also applies to the regulations and limits that you have taught him so far.
Apart from these options, you need one thing above all else with your dog when it is supposed to get used to a new person: patience. Sometimes relationships between people and dogs that seem complicated at first can turn out to be extremely positive.
Excessive attachment
Another problem that you can encounter in everyday life with your dog is excessive attachment. This can make your relationship more difficult, because of course you need your rest periods and breaks, which at the same time does not mean that you can neglect your four-legged friend.
In this situation, it is important that you build up your dog’s own world bit by bit. This can include a separate, comfortable area and activities that he can do without you and that he enjoys.
For example, chewing bones or various other toys are ideal for employment. It is also important that you slowly train your four-legged friend to lose their attachment instead of introducing rapid changes.
So it will certainly be easier for him to deal with himself for some time. So leave him alone for a moment and then increase the time in small steps.
Conclusion
As the examples make clear, there are a wide variety of surprising situations that you as a dog owner can be confronted with. In the best case, you are prepared for such moments and also take precautions so that they do not occur in the first place. If you still have to solve a surprising situation, you should proceed carefully and calmly in order to find a quick and good solution at the same time.
