Foto Danes

Very pleased to have my fourth generation CHIC dog! Bing has completed all of his health testing with flying colors.

CHIC stands for Canine Health Information Center and it’s a centralized canine health database.  To earn a CHIC number, a dog has to have all required health tests for their breed publicly documented (not all breeds are eligible for a CHIC number).

For Danes, there are four required tests – heart, hips, thyroid and eyes.  These four things are deemed the biggest (testable) issues for our breed and recommended prior to a decision to breed a dog.

Bing’s individual results can be found here.

A note about CHIC: A dog does not have to pass all their health test – their owner just has to be willing to publicly list the results.  Kudos to those who are willing to display less than perfect results.  Even if that particular dog isn’t being bred, the information is helpful to those who own related dogs.  And, less than perfect results don’t always mean the dog should never be bred.  It depends on the problem, the severity, and the strength of the dog’s other merits when weighed against those results and the dog’s other weaknesses.

The CHIC program is a wonderful tool for breeders and puppy buyers alike.  It allows breeders to make smarter breeding choices. The more information a breeder has – on the breeding candidate and their relatives – the more informed their breeding decisions.  For buyers, it allows an easy way to verify and research before purchasing a puppy.

I have written before about this topic (http://www.fotodanes.com/?p=163) but wanted to do an updated post.

Since my last post, several years ago, I did switch to a corded Dremel. I got tired of buying a new battery powered Dremel every year. Pros/cons of battery powered vs electric. If you have a coated breed, be careful with using the electric…it does not stop, so if you get hair wrapped in it, you can cause injury to yourself (put your hair back before you do nails!) or your dog. The battery powered one is safer from that perspective. The electric has more juice and lasts much longer, though.

I have also recently purchased a DiamaGroove Pinnacle, replacing the coarse sandpaper head I have used for years. This head will not generate heat nor does it wear out. So, you don’t have to worry about “tapping” the nails, you can hold the head to the nail. If you use the regular Dremel sandpaper attachment, you need to be aware of the fact it generates heat and will get uncomfortable for the dog if you hold it in place. You need to take length off with a tap method, short times held against the nail.

Keeping your dog’s nails short is a critical aspect of dog ownership. Long nails are hard on their foot structure.

Doing nails frequently serve multiple purposes. It obviously keeps the nails short and maintained, but it also helps the dog get used to it, so it becomes less of a struggle each time.

If your dog currently has long nails and is a battle to do nails, start slow. Introduce the Dremel without actually touching nails. Let them sniff it, then hold it back and start it. Offer a treat. Once they are not seeming too worried about the tool, you can move to using on them. The first attempt, you might only get some nails or maybe a whole foot done. End on a positive note. You won’t be able to get to the desired length in one session if the nails are currently long. Plan to do nails about every 4 days to bring back length. Once they are at the desired length, plan to do about every 6-7 days.

Don’t wait on doing nails either! Start as soon as you bring puppy home.