Conditioning

Bicycle along while your dog trots on leash beside the bike. About 12 mph seems to be a normal gait. Exercise in moderation when beginning.

Prostate Health

Zinc is a great supplement to add to your stud dog's diet. Check with your vet or nutritionist for the exact amount. An enlarged prostate gland can be quite uncomfortable for your dog and the prostate should be checked by your vet annually for any abnormalities.

Urinary Tract Infections

It's important that the urinary tract stay healthy. Blood in the urine, painful urination or too frequent urinations that produce little or no urine could be signs of a problem. Take your dog to the vet.

Sperm Testing

It's a good idea to have the dog's sperm checked for count and motility. Summer heat can affect the count and health of the sperm. Check with your vet to see if they are proficient at the test, if not, request the name of a fertility specialist in your area.

Brucellosis

Brucellosis is a disease of the reproductive tract which may cause abortion in females, infection of the sexual organs in males, and infertility in both sexes. The bacteria that infects dogs specifically is called Brucella canis. It is spread by contact with the semen or vaginal discharge of an infected dog or bitch (most commonly during mating), by contact with mammary secretions and aborted puppies, and can also possibly be spread by contact with urine or other body secretions. 

Females: Abortion of litters, usually between 45-55 days after breeding, litters with some pups born dead or dying immediately after birth, and pups that die at the embryo stage and are reabsorbed -- in such cases it may appear that the bitch didn't take.

Males: Inflammation of the epididymis, prostate and/or testicles (often leading to testicular atrophy), infertility because of abnormal sperm and poor sperm motility, and reluctance to breed due to pain caused by inflammation of the sex organs. Males may also cause lesions by licking at the painful area.

Both sexes: Swollen lymph nodes. Some dogs may show non-specific signs of poor health, such as poor vigor. In rare cases the disease has caused damage to the kidneys and nervous system.

In many cases an infected dog may show no outward signs at all. Infected bitches will have normal heat cycles and breed normally, in fact in many cases a bitch infected with Brucellosis, after aborting a litter, may conceive and whelp a live litter subsequently. The danger in this is that such a bitch can infect any males she is bred to, and her puppies will most likely be carriers of the disease and go on to infect other dogs.

Most experts estimate 1% to 6% of the canine population are infected, with the main source of the disease being stray dogs. There is no vaccine for this disease in dogs, and treatment, which usually consists of prolonged administration of Tetracycline and Streptomycin, may not be effective. The only prevention is to have all broodstock tested for the disease before breeding. The test for the disease is a simple and relatively inexpensive blood test. 

Canine Brucellosis is a very serious disease, not because dogs are very likely to contract the disease, but because of the consequences if a dog does become infected. The disease itself will not kill your dog, but your dog will be genetically ‘dead because he or she will be unbreedable -- even if the disease does not render the dog sterile. A dog that has tested positive for Brucellosis should not be bred, not even by artificial insemination. Bringing one infected dog into a breeding program could wipe out years of work establishing a family of dogs.

Canine Herpes

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