Afghan Hound Dog

History and origin: Often referred to as the “Dog of Noah's Ark”,  the Afghan Hound is one of the oldest, if not the oldest breed in existence.  He was used as a herding dog, a guard dog,  and a hunting dog.  The Afghan's long coat allowed him to stay warm in the harsh climate of Afghanistan, something that his faster, short-haired cousin from Egypt, the Greyhound, would not have been able to do.

Description: The Afghan Hound stands 25 to 27 inches at the shoulder and weighs between 50 and 60 pounds.  He possess an athletic body that is capable of supple and agile movement. The shedding coat is long, silky, and hard to maintain.  It absorbs moisture and odors and requires daily brushing and regular clipping to prevent matting. The feet and ears are feathered, and there is a topknot of long silky hair.  The color may be silver, cream, black, brindle, black-and-tan, or a combination of shades.
About the breed: This fast, graceful sight hound is aloof, dignified, and somewhat snooty with all but his close family.  He is very elegant and aristocratic by nature who is also reserved and suspicious toward strangers.  Though warm and affectionate to his owners, the Afghan is a hunting dog who is very independent and will not tolerate boisterous children or uninvited attention.  He may shy away from the unwanted petting hand of a stranger.  This breed is very laid-back at home, happily curling up on a sofa idling the day away.  However, he also needs plenty of exercise and free running to keep him fit.  Training is difficult with the Afghan.  Sensitive and not overly bright, he will balk if pushed too quickly.  He processes information more slowly than other breeds.  Training technique must therefore be clear, slow, and precise.  Overbearing methods will only to panic the breed and possibly bring on fearful snapping.  As with most sight hounds, the Sit and Come commands take an especially long time to teach.  The Afghan needs to be socialized from an early age so as to limit his aloof, distrustful nature.  This is not a breed to spoil or pamper, despite his beauty and his elegance.  Spoiling will enhance a dominant attitude and increase the chances of aggression.  Because of his hunting nature, this breed can also be small dog-aggressive and has a very high prey drive toward smaller animals. 

Feeding: Recommended feeding for this breed is 1 ½ -2 ½ cans (13.3oz) of high-quality meaty product with added biscuit in equal part or 5 cupfuls of a complete dry food.
Ideal Home: The owner of an Afghan Hound should be an easy-going person who does not demand constant attention and affection from the dog.  A hunter by nature, this breed needs a big place for him to be able to run free and is therefore not suitable for apartment living.

Tumors In The Older Dog

Tumors of the brain and spinal cord are seen with relative infrequency in the older dog, the former having a higher incidence in boxers and Boston terriers. Symptoms will vary depending on the actual location and size of the tumor but will often include dullness, staggering, pressing the head against a wall, walking in circles, convulsions, or just weakness in one or more legs.

In the hands of a competent veterinary neurosurgeon, many spinal tumors can be removed if detected before permanent damage has been done to the spinal cord. Chemotherapy is sometimes needed for a brief period following such an operation. Brain tumors can only occasionally be removed, as most are inoperable due either to their size or location within the brain.

Such was the case with my dog TiTi, a gentle and ever so lovable standard poodle. Within a period of only one week he became suddenly aggressive, growled often at his owner, developed an insatiable appetite, and finally had a severe convulsive seizure. In consultation with a veterinary neurologist, an inoperable brain tumor was diagnosed. Medication controlled the symptoms and improved the dog's behavior for almost a month, then seizures started again, but with increased frequency and severity. Medication was ineffective at any dose and TiTi was euthanized.

Rare Diseases That Strike The Aging Dog

Fortunately, the aging dog has relatively few disorders of the brain and spinal cord associated with the process of growing old. Arteriosclerosis, that bane of human aging and a primary cause of senility, is quite rare in dogs. Hence it is unusual indeed to meet a truly senile dog.

Cerebral hemorrhage, also called apoplexy or stroke, is likewise a very infrequent occurrence in the canine. Rabies is caused by a virus which is attracted specifically to nerve tissue and is transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal. However, there have also been rare reports in recent years of airborne transmission. It has been traditionally believed for centuries that once symptoms of rabies develop, death is inescapable, and because of the hazard to other animals and people, such dogs are euthanized if they have not yet bitten anyone.

Recent reports of two human rabies cases which were treated successfully and survived the development of rabid symptoms, if confirmed, may possibly alter the present grim outlook for rabid dogs. With the extremely effective and safe vaccines available today to protect your aging dog, however, there is no excuse for you to ever have to worry about this disease.

Prevention Of Dog Heat Stress During The Summer Months

There is no excuse for heat stress ever occurring. No one questions your love for your dog, or he wouldn't have survived this long. Just a little logical forethought during hot weather is all that is needed. Don't take him shopping with you if your stores do not allow dogs on the premises. Then you won't have to tie him outside. If you are going for a drive, be sure he will be welcome at every place you intend to stop. If his outdoor exercise area is small, take him indoors before you leave the house for any length of time.

Those breeds more prone to heat stress (pug, boxer, English bulldog, Boston terrier, etc.) should have even normal outdoor activity severely curtailed during periods of hot sun and high temperatures. In extremely hot parts of the country they may require air-conditioning. Certainly, free access to frequently changed cool water is a must. As far as I am concerned, any dog who suffers heat stress, and survives, ought to pack up and look for a new owner!

Dog Nutrition

When dogs were wild, or at least still hunted for their food, hunger may have been an occasional concern, but rarely were nutritional deficiencies or imbalances ever a problem. Dogs killed and ate almost all of their prey's carcass including the entrails, skin, and even bones.

Domesticated and dependent upon their owners for food, today's dogs are amply fed, right to the point of obesity, yet they often develop a number of deficiencies from their improperly balanced diets. The advent over the past decade of nutritionally "complete" or "balanced" commercial dog foods, and their increasing acceptance by dog owners and veterinarians alike, has drastically reduced the incidence of dietary deficiencies. Today such nutritional problems are seen mostly in dogs who are fed homemade diets or a diet of table scraps and leftovers.

Poor nutrition, whether from dietary deficiencies or excesses, has a significantly negative effect on your dog's ability to remain in good health. Resistance to infection is lowered, as is the production of antibodies, allowing infectious agents to multiply rapidly and spread. The resulting fever, diarrhea, or other manifestations of illness, more than likely will make your dog less interested in eating, thus increasing the state of malnutrition.

Muscle Atrophy In The Older Dog

The muscles of most aged mammals lose much of their strength and actually decrease in size with each advancing year. This is a normal part of the aging process and is to be expected. However, there are two as yet poorly understood muscle disorders which at first may look like normal aging weakness.

In one the dog develops weakness in the leg muscles during periods of exercise or other physical stress, may fall down briefly, seem to recover, get up for a short time only to fall down again. This is often seen in polymyositis, a disease which causes inflammation of any or all muscles in the body.

Polymyositis occurs mostly in late middle age and early old age, the most common of its several possible causes appearing to be a defect in the dog's immune mechanism. Treatment with corticosteroids is quite successful despite the often alarming appearance of the dog. Occasionally the muscles of the esophagus are affected, making swallowing difficult, but even these respond. 

Muscular dystrophy, the second disorder, occurs mainly in older dogs, bears some similarity to muscular dystrophy in people, and has a cause as yet unknown. Affected dogs develop a stiff gait as the muscles become progressively weaker and smaller in size. There is nothing we know of which will stop the deterioration or cure the disease. Treatment is palliative, trying to keep the patient as comfortable as possible, and is based on your dog's individual symptoms.

Less Adaptability As Your Dog Ages

It is not uncommon to find the older dog less adaptable to changes in diet, routine, or environment. For example, my dog always loved riding in the car, bouncing about with a sense of excitement. He never missed a thing that passed by; now that he is older he prefers to lie quietly on the seat snuggled up against me or else on the floor. He may even get an occasional upset stomach and throw up while riding. And he steps in and out of the car with considerably greater care!

In the past it never seemed to bother him if I occasionally got home late for his supper. He'd jovially greet me at the door with little more than a "Hey, what's up?" and race you for the food dish. Now I find that he has thrown up small amounts of yellowish-green stomach fluid due to the increased acidity of a stomach which contains no food.

I have found that leaving a small amount of dry food when I go out may solve this upset. Speaking of stomach upset, whenever I had parties, he always joined in the fun and most of the time survived the party foods given him by my well-meaning guests. Now he shows less interest in the goings-on, preferring to be by himself in a quieter part of the house. If he does indulge in any party food, he almost always has some digestive disturbance.