The Thai Ridgeback Dogs Part II

In the present time, there is only one Thai Ridgeback dog breed but it is divided into four groups according to the appearance of the hair.

The Thai Ridgeback dog with long hair:
The hair should not be longer than 2 cm. If the hair is longer than this, it indicates that the dogs are the result of mating the Thai Ridgeback dog with the dog from aboard. The advantage of having long hair is that it can protect the dogs from being bitten by the mosquitoes so they would have less skin disease, like inflamed spots or blisters. However, this long hair also protects the parasites from man’s eyes so it would cost the high expense in cleaning and taking care of the dog’s coat.

The Thai Ridgeback dog with short hair:
In the past, this type of dog was very popular among the breeders. Then it became less popular when there was the discovery of dogs with fine short hair and velvet-like hair. But in the present time, the shorthaired dogs have become popular again because of its advantage. It takes shorter time in taking care of the shorthaired dogs and it costs less expense. Short hair is easy to e cleaned. It is easy for the breeders to see the parasites. It also protects the dogs from the mosquitoes, which allows them to have less skin diseases. In this case, it is not necessary for the breeders to provide the mosquito nets at the doghouse. The last advantage is that it is easier to see the line of hair on the dog back than in any other types of the Thai Ridgeback dogs.

The Ridgeback dog with fine short hair:
This type of dog is very popular now because the hair is very short and fine and it looks like one part of dog skin. The disadvantage is that the hair cannot protect the dogs from being bitten by the mosquitoes so it is easy for them to have skin diseases, which makes them look less beautiful. It also costs a lot of expense because the breeders have to provide the mosquito nets at the doghouse. Besides, it is difficult to see the line of hair on the dog back. The only advantage is that it is easy to see the parasites.

The Thai Ridgeback dog with the velvet-like hair:
This type of dog is also very popular among the breeders. The dogs would have the short fine hair but as soft as velvet. The disadvantage is the expense in protecting the dogs from being bitten by the mosquitoes and the expense in taking care of the coat. The only advantage is that it is easy to see the line of hair on the dog back.

It is very important for each breeder to consider which types of dog they can afford. Some types of the Thai Ridgeback dogs have the very short hair and it is easy for them to be bitten by mosquitoes. If their owners are busy working and put them back in the cage too late, it is very risky for them to be bitten by mosquitoes and have the skin diseases as the result. And if that is the case, the owners have to spend more money and time in order to heal the dog coat. So do not follow the trend by breeding the type of dogs that you cannot afford or do not have enough time to spend with them. Instead of having a beautiful dog, you might end up having an ugly dog.
The Characteristics of the Thai Ridgeback dogs.

General characteristics:
The Thai Ridgeback dogs are in the same size as the other Thai dogs except there would be the distinctive line of hair in various forms of shape along the back of the Thai Ridgeback dogs. When they are standing and staring at people or strange objects, their faces would be raised with sit-high ears. The tail is bending like a sward. They are swift, brisk, and agile with a graceful and daunting look. In the past, they were bred for hunting. Now they are bred for keeping their owners company. In the south of Thailand, some rubber farmers would take the Thai Ridgeback dogs with them when they go out to the farm early in the morning. These dogs can chase away snakes and other poisonous animals from the walkway. They are also good at guarding the property like the resident area of the land.

The TRD’s head.
1. The head is usually in the wedged-shape, not too round or not too flat. The forehead is board, not bending, with a little wrinkle. The length of the forehead should be as long as the length from the tip of the nose to the tip of the ear.
2. The ears are in the triangle shape, set-high, not close to each other, not fall forward or backward, set well with the shape of the head. The size should not be too big or too small. The ears are one distinctive characteristic of the Thai Ridgeback dogs because they can make the dogs look graceful. They are also the sign to let us know that the dogs are always alert to their surrounding.
3. The eyes are in oval-shape, set well with the forehead, not stick out. The eyes can be in various colors, like black, brown, yellow or even green-brown.
4. The nose is round, usually in black color.
5. The mouth is round, not pointed. The upper lip and lower lip touch closely. In most of the brown Thai Ridgeback dogs, their mouths should be black and it is also acceptable in dogs with other colors.
6. The teeth should be clean and white. The upper teeth and lower teeth, with four canines, are at a level bite. There should be 42 teeth in a grown dog. The development of dog teething is as follow.
- At birth, with 28 temporary teeth.
- At the age of 3-5 weeks, temporary teeth start to fall.
- At the age of 3-4 months, some permanent teeth would appear.
- At the age of 5-6 months, all of the permanent teeth should appear with 20 upper teeth and 22 lower teeth.
7. The neck should be round and in oval-shape, strong. The length around the neck should be balance with the head and body. The neck should not be too long or too short. The dewlap should not be saggy like the dewlap of an ox. The neck should be raised and support the head in order to make the dog looks gracefully nice.
8. The body is almost in the square shape. The back should be flat, not bending or arched. It is possible to have the circle or whorl of hair at the shoulders of the front legs. There is the distinctive like of hair running along the backbone in various shapes and sizes, which would be mentioned more later.

There are two kinds of body of the dogs:
- First, in Kaew Kiaw mango.
- Second, in Pim Sen Mun mango.
Both characters should be considered from the chest, shoulders and belly by checking from the side of the dog.
9. The height and length of the body: The scale of the height and length for a dog is 10 to 10. For a bitch, the scale is 9 to 10, which make them, have a bending back.
10. Chest: Half of the dog height is the length of the chest. The chest should be hanging down from the belly to the front elbows, which makes the chest looks gracefully swelling. So it can contain bigger lungs, which allows the dog to be less tired when they are running. The rest of the height is the length of the front legs.
11. An angle of the front shoulders: The shoulder area should be so sliding down that it is easy to see the muscles. The shoulders should make 90 degrees with the front legs. With this character, it would support the dogs to have the swelling chest with the longer steps. If the shoulders make 95 degrees with the front legs, the dogs would have the dry chest with unbalance steps.
12. Belly: The stomach should be curving with constricted waist, but not so slim that it is easy to see the lib.
13. Buttocks should be a little bit leaning.
14. Skin should be thick so it can stand scratching. You can test if the skin is thick by holding the skin in the neck area or the back. If it is handful, it means that the dog has thick skin.
The legs are divided into the front legs, rear legs and the gap between the front legs and rear legs.
15. The front legs should be straight and parallel, not arched, crooked, bending or open wide. The gap between the front legs should be wide. The front elbows should be balance with the chest.
16. The rear legs should be a little bit leaning to the back. The strong muscles should be seen easily. The hocks should be a little bit bending which supports the buttocks to be sliding down.
17. The gap between the front legs and rear legs should be well balanced with the size of the body and the height of the dog. If the body is too long, the buttocks would be swinging when the dog walks or runs, and the legs would be too short, not in a good balance. The good character when the dog walks is a raising head, lifted tail and not spreading legs.

TRD Feet
18. Clutches should be big with curved-down toes, not spreading, should look round like lion’s feet. They should look well balanced with the size of the body and legs when a dog stands.
19. Toes: There are five toes for the front feet and 4 toes for the rear feet, total 18 toes. There should not be any protruding toes at the rear feet.
20.Nails: All of the nails should be in the same color and should be harmonious with the color of the hair. Usually the colors of the nails are black, red or brown.

TRD Tail
21.There are 16-20 joints for the tailbone. It should be located straightly from the end of backbone. The shape of the tail should be like a sward and a little bit curved. The length of the tail should be a little bit longer than the back elbows. The good tail should not be twisted, crooked, arched or cured upward over the back.

Height and weight.
- Estimate 21-25 inches tall and 21-25 kilograms in weight for a dog.
- Estimate 19-23 inches tall and 19-23 kilograms in weight for a bitch.

Step:
The dog should have a graceful walk, like a horse, with a raising neck, lifted head, straight body, set-high ears and not lower down tail.

Color of hair in the TRD
The Thai Ridgeback dog can be in various colors. There is no specific that which color is more important than which. It depends on what color the breeder prefers or what color is hard to find. The importance is that the whole body of the dog should be in the same color.

1. Blue-gray or gray Thai Ridgeback dogs:

They were originally bred by Luang Paripon Potchanapisut. In the first few generations, the dogs had long hair in black-gray, ashes-gray, and molten silver color. In the present time, they were mated with dogs from Trad and Chantaburi province and gave the Thai Ridgeback dogs with fine short hair and velvet-like hair. For these blue-gray dogs, their ridgebacks are not big and only in the shape of the arrow and small lute. Their blood lineage is unstable because there are still some hidden defects. They still need to be developed in order to create the perfect blood lineage. Now, the blue-gray Ridgeback dogs with velvet-like hair and the eyes in embolic myrobalan color are the most beautiful and rarest to be found.

2. Red Thai Ridgeback dogs:

They are originally the domesticated dogs in some Eastern provinces, such as Trad, Chantaburi and Rayong. The size of the hair is medium and short, not too lone. Then they had been developed to be the Ridgeback dogs with fine short hair and velvet-like hair. The blood lineage is more stable than any other blood lineages. They can give red puppies with bigger ridgeback. They are in fashion right now. The red Ridgeback dog family includes the Ridgeabck dogs in pale brown, brown and dark brown color.

3. Black Thai ridgeback dogs:

Black Ridgeback dog is the major color among other colors. The color should be completely black, which makes the hair look shining and beautiful. The skin should also be black. In some Black Ridgeback dogs, their nails, nipples and nose are black too.

4. White Ridgeback dogs:

They are the rarest and most difficult to be found. They look outstanding clean and completely beautiful. The dogs in this family should be completely white. Their hair can be short, fine shot and velvet-like. The white Ridgeback dog family includes the dogs in white with some inserted brown, red-tone white, pink-tone white and pale yellow-tone white. The color of the nose should be black but some are in albinic color. The eyes are red, red-tone black or yellow. The skin should be white or gray in order to support the hair to look whiter. The nails should also be white or pink-tone white.

5. Green Ridgeback dogs:

They are one of the most important blood lineage but they become rarely to be found. The color of the hair is 70-80 % pale brown and 20-30% black. The hybrid from this family will be in blue-gray color.

6. Copper red Ridgeback dogs:

The hybrid from the red and black Ridgeback dogs, they are beautiful in their own style. The rarest one to be found is in copper red with fine short hair and velvet-like hair. The complete copper red is rare. Usually there would be some piebald on the legs, tail and chest.

7. Kleeb-buao Ridgeback dogs:

The hybrid from the blue-gray and red Ridgeback dogs, this family includes yellow kleeb-bauo color, rotten kleeb-buao color, gray-tone kleeb-buao color, pink kleeb-buao color and ka-pi (shrimp paste) color.

8. SUPER RED (Tamarind seed-like) Ridgeback dogs:

The color is 80% black with inserted red. It apparently looks black-red, like the color of tamarind seed. In 2002, I saw my first SUPER REDS at Mom Somkits home in Chantaburi. His name is BO-DANG and when I saw him all I could say is "WOW" is he SUPER RED!!! It is one of the rarest colors and considered to be one of the beautiful colors as well.

9. Tiger striped (Brindle) Ridgeback dogs:

The hybrid from the red Ridgeback dog and the brindle-like Thai dog, their blood lineage is unstable. The brindle-like pattern on each dog can be different. Some are in leopard pattern. Some have the stripes across or along the body. Some even have the fish bone pattern along the back. The brindle striped Ridgeback dogs can have short hair, fine short hair and velvet-like hair.

The "Ridge" of the Thai Ridgeback Dogs:

One distinctive characteristic that differs the Thai Ridgeback dogs from other Thai dogs is the line of hair running along the backbone in various sizes and patterns, which is called “the ridge” in English. The "ridge" is the line of hair that runs in the opposite direction of the rest of the hair on the body, usually starts from the front shoulders to the buttocks. A swirl of hair, which is called a “crown” in English, is also one part of the ridge in some patterns. It is not necessary if there is crown as part of the ridge or not. The important thing is that crown on the ridge should be in the same color as the whole body. If there are many crowns on the ridge, the ridge should be bigger than the normal size.
In the recent past, the Thai Ridgeback Dog were called simply “Mai Thai Lung Ahn ”.
In 1994, I decided to call them the "TRD" for short. Others, around the world have followed my idea and even the Thai will use the term "TRD" today...
The kinds of ridges in the TRD.

According to the appearance of crown:
1. Ridges with crowns, such as the Violin ridge, Pin ridge, Bai Pho ridge, Bowling pin ridge, Thanu ridge, Hu-kra-tai ridge, Neck-tie ridge, etc.
2. Ridges without crowns, such as Khem ridges, Phaen ridges, Thep-pa-nom ridges, etc.

According to the size of ridges:
1. Small-size ridges, such as Khem ridges, Tha-nu ridges, Thep-pa-nom ridges, Bowling pin ridges, Hu-kra-tai ridges, etc.
2. Big-size ridges, such as Phaen ridges, Violin ridges, Bai-pho ridges, etc.
Discriptions of all the "RIDGES" of the TRD

1.Khem ridge is the ridge without crowns. It is just a line of hair running in the opposite direction of the rest of the hair on the body, in a needle-shape, from the front shoulders to the buttocks. The normal size is 2-2.5 cm wide. This kind of ridge is easy to be found.

2. Phaen ridge is also the ridge without crowns. The pattern is the same as Khem ridge but Phaen ridgeis bigger in size, which is 4-5 cm wide. It is one kind of ridge that is difficult to be found.

3.Thep-pa-nom ridge or Pa-nom or Prom ridge is also the ridge without crowns. The hair of this ridge does not run in the opposite direction of the rest of the hair like Khem or Phaen ridges. But the hair on the left and right side of the backbone would raise and meet each other in the middle of the backbone. It causes the pattern that looks like two hands put against each other. This action is called “wai” in Thai. It is when you put your two hands together on the chest level in order to greet other people. This kind of ridge can be found in the dogs with long hair.

4.Tha-nu ridge or Look-sorn ridge is the ridge with crown. It starts with two crowns on each front shoulder swirl and meets each other then run along the backbone in the arrow-shape. This kind of ridge is easy to be found. If you mate the Thanu ridgeback dog with the other ridgeback dog, it is possible that they would give you the puppies with bigger ridges.

5. Pin ridge is the ridge with many crowns. It starts with crown on the front shoulders, which can be more than one on each side, swirl and meet each other then runs along the backbone. In the mean time, there are two crowns in the middle of the back, one on each side, which causes the big piece of hair running in the opposite direction on the back. Then this piece of hair runs to the end of the buttocks in the smaller size. It caused the ridge in a lute-shape.

6. Bai-pho or Ma ridges has the same pattern as Pin ridge. But the piece of hair on the back of Bai-pho ridge is much bigger than Pin ridge. It gets bigger as this piece of hair running down along the side of the body. It causes the ridge in a shape of the Bho-di leaf or a saddle. This kind of ridge is rarely found.

7. Violin ridge is formed by three pairs of crowns located in the different part of the back. The first pair of crowns is located at the front shoulders. The second one, which is a little bit far from the first pair, is located in the middle of the back. There is one crown on the right side and the other one on the left side of the back. The third pair of crowns would be in small pieces like violin, then getting smaller and running down to the buttocks. Violin ridge has a strange-look and it is rarely found.

8. Hu-kra-tai Ridge is formed by two pieces of in-opposite-direction hair in the oval shape located in the middle of the back. The top of the pattern is at the front shoulders. It causes the image of a sitting rabbit with 2 separated ears. Hu-kra-tai ridge is also rarely found.

9. Bowling Pin ridge is formed by some crowns located along the backbone, which looks like a bowling pin. It is not necessary if there is crown in the front shoulder area or not. In the middle of the back, there are two crowns, located on the opposite side but not too fat from each other. Then there are two more crowns at the back shoulders, located on the opposite side but a little bit far from each other. It causes the image of the row of the bowling pin ridge.

Aside from the ridges mentioned above, there are still other ridge-shaped patterns of the Thai Ridgeback which are considered by the shape that the ridges look like, such as Neck-tie ridge , Dam-pai ridge (a paddle-shape), Hang-mang-da ridge (a shape of a horse-shoe tail), etc.

The description of the unpopular ridgebacks:
A ridge with a tuft of hair.
A ridge which is very small and too short.
A ridge which runs along the side of the body.
A ridge in a crooked shape.

How to consider the good Thai Ridgebacks:
Assume the diameter along the ridge and divide the ridge into two sides. Each side of the ridge should be in the same size and has the same pattern. It does not matter how many crowns there are in the ridges.
If there are many crowns on the ridgebacks, they should not make the ridgeback look crooked.
The small straight ridgeback is better than the big ridgeback that is crooked.

The characteristics of the unpopular Thai Ridgeback dogs:
The dog that is not tall and has long body.
The dog with falling forward ears.
The dogs with well-covered-with-hair tail, like the tail of a squirrel.
The dog with a curved tail.
The dog with a crooked tail.
The dog whose piebald color is more than 10% of the color of the whole body, except the tiger-like ones.
The dog whose hair is longer than 2.5 cm.
The dog whose back is too arched, except the arched back in the bitch.

General temperament of the Thai Ridgeback dogs:
Honest and royal to the owner.
Brave and absolutely fierce.
Informal to the acquaintance but does not trust the strangers.
Hardworking, strong and absolutely brisk.
Smarter than any other domesticated dogs, with special instincts which make them easy to be tamed. Being an individual. Clean. For example, they are able to clean themselves by licking the hair. They do not like to evacuate near the resident area. Easy-going, not complicated. Has strong sense of smell and hearing. They do not like to be over-forced.

How to consider the age of the Thai Ridgeback dogs:
Some people have said that if there are a dog and a man were born at the same time, the dog would get old and die while the man just reached the age of ten. The age of the dog is five times shorter than the age of human being

What should be considered before having a dog:
You should answer all of the following questions before you make a decision in having a dog.

Why have a dog?
- Is it for alert the danger?
- Is it for a companion?
- Is it for representing your social status?
- Is it for business or trading?

Do you have enough space ready for a dog?
In having a dog, it is necessary to have the space for a dog to play and to exercise.

Do the rest of the family agree with you in having a dog?
It is good if they agree. But if they disagree and your dog bothers them, there might be the conflict between the family members.

Can you afford a dog?
You should consider if you could afford to have the dog or not. If you can afford, you should consider how many dogs you can have. Do not have too many dogs if you do not have enough money to take care of them or if you do not have enough time to be with them.

Do your neighbors like dogs?
Because if you have a dog, its noise might bother your neighbors. Or your dog might get into your neighbor’s land and damage their property. This can cause the conflict between you and your neighbors.

What should be considered in getting ready to have a dog?
After you have already answered all of the questions mentioned in the earlier section, there are two things needed to be prepared before you start getting a dog.

Preparedness in taking care of a dog:
[1] The owner preparedness. The owner should have enough time in walking a dog or in training a dog for the simple control.
[2] Love should be given to the dog permanently. In the case that you stop playing with a dog because it grows up and loses the look of loveliness, a dog would not understand the change. If you spend less time with your dog because it grows up, the dog would be scared of you and be afraid to get close to you.
[3] Daily routine in taking care of the dog, such as feeding, health care when a dog is sick, giving a bath, or getting rid of insects or bugs that bother a dog.
Preparedness in housing. A bed, a kennel or even a pen for a dog should be prepared in advance. It should be located in the clean and peaceful place.

A kennel or cage for your Thai Dog in Thailand.
A permanent kennel or cage, is the best way to contain your Thai Ridgeback Dog. It should be built in concrete and divided into rooms given your TRD more room to move about if there is enough space. The base of the kennel should be made from concrete From the base, use the bricks to make the side of the walls of the kennel set up and make them high enough so the other dogs can not see over the walls. Then, first use the strong chain-link to put around the pen. In hotter climates, you will need mosquitoe nets in order to protect any dog from insects and bugs. Make the wooden bed for a dog with the size 0.5 m. by 1 m.
A movable cage. It is usually made from strong steel wire mesh in the size 1 m. high, with wooden floor. It is for moving a dog so the cage should be big enough for one dog.

Choosing a Thai Ridgeback Dog:
There is no specific regulation in how old the dog should be when you choose one, but usually, you should choose a dog when it is 3-6 months old.

The following is the list of what should be considered in choosing a TRD:
1. History background of the blood lineage is the most important thing that needed to be considered first.
2. To have the dog from the good blood lineage is a good start because later a dog can give you the good puppies.
3. Structure of the dog’s body should be in balance and looks perfectly beautiful and graceful, such as the height, the big skeleton, the big skull, etc.

Health care:
Check if the parents of a dog get full course of vaccines or not. Make sure that there is not history background about disorders.
The outer appearance.
A dog should be in a good mood, look active, strong, alert and interested in its surrounding. It should not look depressed, slow or lonely.
1. The eyes should be bright with no tear or excretions or unusual thing in the eyes, such as the spot in the eye.
2. The hair should be shiny beautiful with no skin disease.
3. When a dog walks, the step should look normal. The buttocks should not swing too much.
4. The back is not arched.
5. The face is not pressed down. Instead, it should be raised.
6. If the dog shuffles, it is the sign that a dog might have the hip joint disorder, which is the genetic disease.
7. Check the joints. Make sure that they are not swelling. The swelling joint is the sign of cartilage.
8. The dog should have the characters according to the characteristics of the blood lineage, by emphasizing at the ears, tail and the hair color.
9. For the Thai ridgeback puppies, the ears do not set high yet.
10. The tail is not in the sward-shape.
11. There are some piebald around the body. These weak points would be changed when the puppies are 3-6 months old.
12. The nose should be in the normal condition, not too dry or too wet.
13. The stomach is not swelling. The swollen stomach is the sign that a dog has the intestinal words.
14. The hair and skin should be clean with no unusual things.
15. Test the sense of hearing by clapping your hands close to the puppy and see its reaction.
16. The inner mouth appearance. The gum should be pink, not pale. The teeth should be white and clean, with no decayed teeth. The upper teeth and lower teeth should be at the biting level.

Mating:
A dog and a bitch that have “heat” and are ready to mate should not come from the same litter or have the same parent because they would give the puppies with recessive characters. When a bitch has her “heat”, her body would release some kind of special smell that would attack attention from dogs and a bitch herself would be attractive to dogs too.
What should be considered in mating the dogs? Parental history background of a dog and a bitch. Observe about their parent, grandparent by talking to the other breeders.
Check the desirable characteristics, such as the hair appearance, the hair color, the ridge, appearance, etc.
Check the outer and inner physical appearance. For example, a bitch should not be too fat or too thin. In case of the too-fat bitch, it would be difficult for her to have the conception after mating. Check if a dog and a bitch have received the full course vaccines and have been wormed.

The bitch’s reproductive cycle:
A bitch usually has her first “heat” between seven and eight months of age. The cycle lasts 18-21 days. There are three phases in the cycle.
The first phase: Before a bitch has her “heat”, she would lose most of her hair with no sign of skin disease. She would be irritated. Her vulva would be swelling for7-14 days plus a clear discharge, which then becomes bloody.
The second phase: 10-14 days from the first day of a bitch’s heat, it is the best time for
mating.
The third phase: 15-21 days from the first day of a bitch’s heat, the vulva would be a little bit shrink. After mating, the rest of other conditions would disappear.
During the first and second phases of a bitch’s heat, there are three things that should be aware of.
Do not allow an undesired dog to mate with a bitch.
Do not take a bitch for a walk because there would be many dogs following her, which can turn out to be a riot.
Separate a bitch from other dogs since the first day that she has the ‘heat”.

Mating procedure:
Before the mating process, a dog and a bitch should set free from the lead and be given some time in getting to know each other. A bitch should be mated in the second phase, which is between 10-14 days from the first day of a bitch’s heat.
The mating should be done in the big space either in the morning or in the evening because the weather would not be too hot and a dog could not be tired. After mating, a bitch should be separated from a dog because she can bite him. Several matings around this time increase the likelihood of conception.

Pregnancy:
After mating, if there is the conception in a bitch, she would show the first sign that she looks depressed, isolates herself and loses appetite. These signs would last 1-3 weeks, not more than 1 month. After 1 month of pregnancy, a bitch would show the following signs.
The nipples would be swelling and there is the change of the nipple color, from black to pink.
The stomach would also be bigger.

Care of a pregnant bitch:
The following is about how to take care of a pregnant bitch.
A bitch should be wormed after 1 month of pregnancy.
You should not allow a bitch to jump high.
You should not chase a bitch or do any action that can cause her to severe move because it can lead to abortion.
You should not path a bitch with cold water because it can make her catch a cold. Instead,
you should clean her with warm water.
A bitch should be fed with the suitable amount of high nutrition food, which should be easy to digest. Between 7-10 days before the whelping, you should increase the food for 20-30% because the fetuses are growing.
After 1-2 months of pregnancy, you should not rub or fondle a bitch’s stomach too often because it can cause the abortion.
Usually, pregnancy lasts an average of 63 days or about 9 weeks so it is possible for you to work out when the litter is due.

Whelping:
As the whelping date approaches, there should be the following preparations.

Preparedness for whelping:
1. The whelping place should be ready 1 week before the whelping date so the bitch can spend some time getting to know and be familiar with the place. This whelping place should be big enough for the bitch and her new born puppies. It also should be located in a peaceful area where they cannot be bothered. Use the old rage, clothes, or blanket to put on the base of the whelping area.
2. Necessary equipments for whelping, such as old rage, old clothes, old blanket, a razor, small towels, thread for tieing the umbilical cords, antiseptic wash for cleaning the cord after cutting, the ball sucker for sucking the clear discharge from the puppies’ mouths, lamps for lighting and warming the puppies and for drying the puppies’ hair.
The conditions for the bitch during whelping.
3. The temperature of the bitch should be between 90-100 degree pharenhide. At this time, she is uncomfortable and restless, unable to settle. Her vulva is swelling. There is some clear discharge coming from her vagina, which is the sign that the first puppy will come out within 24 hours.

Before whelping:
4. there would be a little gush of liquid coming out from the bitch’s vagina. Her womb would squeeze and the first puppy would come out with the front legs and the head. If the puppies come out in the abnormal position, you should call the vet immediately.

After whelping:
5. The bitch would pull the sac that covers the puppy with her teeth, including any visible membranes. If the bitch cannot pull any sac out of the puppy by herself, you should rush and help. Otherwise, the puppy might die because of lack of oxygen.
6. When the puppy comes out, it is connected to its mother with the umbilical cord. The bitch usually chews off the umbilical cord by herself. If she cannot do it, you should help by tieing a ligatume of fine cotton thread tightly round the cord, about 1 inch away from the puppy. Then cut the cord with a clean, sterilized razor and clean the cord with antiseptic wash. Let the cord dry and it would come off by itself.
7. When the puppy arrives, the bitch will clean it vigorously, licking it all over, which will help the puppy to be dry. In the mean time, the rest of the puppies will arrive. If the bitch is busy and does not have enough time to clean her puppies, you can help her by toweling the puppy then return it to the bitch.
8. After all of the puppies arrive, replace the dirty rage or clothes with the clean ones. In the first 2.3 days after whelping, support the puppies to have milk from its mother because milk after whelping contains high nutrient, which would help the puppies to grow up strongly and healthily. The puppies are naturally born deaf so they will use the sense of smell to seek out a nipple. If any puppies cannot find the bitch’s nipples, you should help them and encourage them to feed. It takes two weeks after whelping for the puppies to begin opening their eyes.
9. After whelping, the bitch should not be bothered so she can take a rest. You should feed her with plain soft food but high in protein so she will be strong and healthy. After that you can feed her with normal food.

Naming the puppies:
You should name the puppies by using the auspicious words. Using the words with bad meaning can bring bad luck to both the owner and the puppy. Also choose the names that can tell the sex of the puppies. Usually dogs can remember their names so you should call them with their names more often. It does not take a long time for your dogs to understand what you do and remember their names. Following is the list of names that can be used to name the puppies.
1. Names from plants and flowers, such as Dok-rak (crown flower), In-ta-nin (Queen’s flower), Bua-toom (young lotus), Bua-barn (blooming lotus), Khem-daeng (red ixora), Tub-tim (pomegranate), Thong-u-rai (trumpet vine), Kha-noon (jackfruit), Noi-nha (sugar apple), Mang-khood (mangos teen), Mha-li (jasmine), Saeng-chan (lady-love), Ngoang (rambutan), Lum-yai (longan), Lin-chee (lychee), Apple, etc.

2. Names about stars, such as Khlai-duan (alike moon), Muan-daw (alike star), Khlai-daw (alike star), etc.

3. Names from jewels, such as Whaen (ring), Ploy (gem), Pet (diamond), Khlong-pet (a box of diamonds), pet-ploy (diamond and gem), Hoa-whaen (head of the ring), Ma-nee-daeng (red jewel), Go-men (garnet), Go-mon (the water lily), Khaew-whaen (ring and jewel), etc.

4. Names about silver and gold, such as King-thong (golden stick), Thoong-ngern (a bag of silver), Thoong-thong (a bag of gold), Khem-ngern (silver needle), Khem-thong (golden needle), Sai-ngern(grain of silver), Sai-thong (grain of gold), Chon-ngern (silver spoon), Chon-thong (golden spoon), etc.

5. Names from colors, such as Daeng (red), Num-daeng (red water), Num-pha (blue water), Ka-fae (coffee), Daeng-khem (concentrated red), Cham-pa (orange champak), Cham-pee (white champak), Cham-poon (yellow-tone white), Leung (yellow), Thao (gray), Nin (black), Tan-daeng (red-brown), See-thong (gold color), etc.

6. Names that show the characters of being strong, brave and bold, such as Khoon-pon (a general), Khoon-seuk (a warlord), Sa-ming (a person turned tiger after the manner of a warewolf), Sha-larm (shark), Khoon-paen (the dashing lover and able warrior), Yark (giant), Jumbo (big size), etc.

7. Names that show the lovely characters, such as Poom-pui (a swelling), Tui-nui (heartily), Toom-tui (heartily), Na-rak (lovely), Pui-phai (cotton), etc.

8. Names about sweetness, such as Nam-tarn (sugar), Nam-wharn (sirup), Nam-cherm (sirup), Nam-phueng (honey), Sai-num-phueng (honey), Ruang-phueng (a honey-comb), etc.

9. Names after your favorite persons, such as the names of superstars or musicians.

10. Names that tell the good characteristics of the dog, such as Hoo-tang (set-high ears), Harng-darb (sward-like tail), Hua-to (big head), Park-mom (dirty-look mouth), Parn-dum (black birth-mark), etc.

11. Names from other animals, such as Kra-thing (a fight bull), seao (a tiger), kaew (a parrot), Charng (an elephant), Sarn (a wild animal), Kwarng (a deer), etc.

12.Names after the birthday, such as Christmas, Valentine, Wan-mai (a new day), Chan (Monday), Ar-thit (Sunday), etc.

13. Names after the place where the puppy are from or the name of the birth place, such as Muang Trad (Trad city), Muang Rayong (Rayong city), Muang Chan (Chantaburi city), Khaw Ban-thad (Ban-thad mountain), Tha-mai (Tha-mai town), Khaw Sa-ming (Saming mountain), Khaw Din (Khaw Din zoo), etc.

14. English names, such as Bobby, Lady, White, Sunny, Sunday, Happy, etc.
It is a good idea to name the puppies from the same litter in rhyme because it is easy to remember.
The dietary needs of a dog
Food is necessary for a dog. In order to support your dog to fully grow and maintain the body, you should provide them good food with high nutrition. There are five important nutrients for a dog.
1. Protein from meat, eggs, milk and beans.
2. Carbohydrate from rice, sugar and flour.
3. Minerals.
4. Fat from animal fat, york, beans, milk and coconut.
5. Vitamins, such as vitamin B complex, A, D, E and K.

There are two kinds of dog foods:
1. Prepared dog food can be found on the supermarket shelves, sold in cans or packets. The price is often high but it provides convenience in feeding a dog. This kind of food should be kept in the dry place because it can be moist and full of bacteria, which is bad for the dog health.
2. Home cooking food is made from fresh food that can be bought from local fresh markets like fish, meat, chicken, and boiled with rice. Home cooking food for dogs can also possibly be from left over human food, which contains enough nutrients for a dog and is also cheaper than prepared dog food.

Feeding:
1. Feeding the puppies before weaning. In the first three weeks after whelping, the puppies should take only milk from the bitch because the milk contains necessary nutrients for the growth of the puppies and it also can help the owner to save the budget. After that, feed the puppies with sodden rice mixed with meat and eggs three times a day. This is a good chance in training the puppies to eat by themselves. Wean the puppies from taking milk from the bitch when they are 1-2 months old.
2. Feeding the puppies after weaning. In the mealtime, separate the puppies from other dogs. Feed them with sodden rice mixed with meat, chicken, vegetable including extra vitamin A, D, E, K and calcium. Feed the puppies three times a day until they are 3 months old.
3. Feeding the 3-month-old puppies and grown-up dogs. In the period when the puppies are growing up, food with high nutrient is very necessary and important. Feed them with sodden rice mixed with meat, chicken, fish, vegetable, and extra vitamins and calcium. It is possible to feed a dog with left over human food but you should add some vitamins before serving. For a bitch, 15 days before mating, feed her with mushy vegetable, which is high in vitamin K.

Health care:
Most of dog disorders can be protected if a dog has the appropriate vaccinations. Taking antibiotics is also one way in curing a dog according to the symptoms.

Vital disorders:
1. Hydrophobia is the very harmful contagious disease caused by virus and transmitted by the saliva of the sick dog. Man or other animals can get this disease through their wounds on the skin or if the sick dog bites them.
Symptom: The dog will behave strangely. It will become agitated, fierce and isolate itself. If the dog does not get the treatment on time, it will be paralyzed and die.
Prevention and treatment: A dog should have the vaccination against this disease for the first time at the age of one month and should have it annually once a year.

2. Inflammatory Bowel Disease is also the harmful contagious disease, especially for the puppies younger than 6 months. If the puppies do not get the treatment on time, they usually die.
Symptom: The puppy will vomit and produce profuse diarrhea, with some blood and the stinky smell. It will be lack of water and die in 24 hours if not get treatment on time.
Prevention and treatment: At the age of 1-2 months old, the puppy should have the first vaccination against this disease and get another one 1 month after the first shot. Then the puppy should have this vaccination annually once a year.

3. Canine Distemper is also the harmful contagious disease.
Symptom: The dog will have high temperature with pneumonia, diarrhea, and vomiting. If the virus gets into the dog’s brain and spine, it will cause neurotic symptoms, such as twitch, stagger, strength loss, paralyzed legs and die at the end.
Prevention and treatment: A puppy should have the vaccination against this disease when it is 6-12 weeks old.

4. Hepatitis is the contagious disease between dogs to dog, at any age, especially for the puppies. The disease is transmitted by dog food mixed with this virus and faces of the sick dog.
Symptom: Regular vomit, dark stinky faces, yellow skin because the expand of the lymph glands. Later, the dog will die because of convulsion if it does not get the treatment on time.

5. Parainphuensa disease is usually found in puppies with the symptom in the respiratory system.

Bacteria disorder:
1. Leptospirosis can be transmitted to man.
Symptom: High temperature, vomiting with thirst, yellow urine, diarrhea with dark faces, stomachache.
Prevention: all puppies would be vaccinated.
2. Haemobatonella fetes in corpuscle disease is a disease when there is some protozoa, carried by ticks, in the dog’s corpuscles.
Symptom: Lost appetite, low salt level in blood, skinnier, pale blood running down from the nose.
Prevention and treatment: Always get rid of ticks on the dog and in the resident area. Take the skinny dog and the dog that lost appetite to see the vet.

Parasites:
There are two kinds of parasites; ectoparasites and endoparasites.
Endoparasites are those, which live inside the dog.
1. Hookworms can be found in dogs at any age. They suck blood and live in the intestine, which causes the dog to have bloody diarrhea and a sudden anemia.
2. Roundworms feed on digesting food in the dog’s gut, which makes the dog skinner with a full belly and watery eyes.
3. Tapeworms. Their old segments can be found in the dog’s faces or on the hair around the dog’s anus. They feed and live in the dog’s intestine.
Prevention and treatment: In order to prevent these three endoparasites, the dog should be wormed frequently. The bitch should be wormed before mating and wormed again 1 month after whelping, including the puppies. Then they should be wormed again every 2 months and 6 months. In each time of worming the dog, the dog should be wormed three days in a row.
4. Heartworm. Transmitted by mosquitoes, heartworms can be found in the dog older than 1 year. The young heartworms live in the blood vein and the old ones live in the right ventricle, which expands one side of the heart. The signs are exhaustion, tiredness, vomiting and dry cough.
Prevention: Provide the pen with mosquito net for the dogs. The dog should be wormed every three months, three days in a sow for each time, and you should have their blood check by the vet annually, once a year.
Ectoparasites live on the outside of the dog and cause skin disease.
1. Ringworm is an infectious fungus, which grows on the skin and within the coat. The signs are weak, broken hair and irritated, scaly, inflamed skin.
Prevention and treatment: Bath a dog with shampoo once a week. Apply Phulsin medicine mixed with sulphur on the coat if there is the case of hair loss.
2. Scabies. The signs re severe itching at the edge of the dog’s ears and around the face, hair loss, spots of dry blood due to scratching.
Prevention and treatment: Clean the dog and the resident area. Apply Odelen medicine on the infected skin.
3. Leprosy is caused by the worm called demodexdenis.
Symptom: Hair loss in some area on the face and elbows, or hair loss all over the body. It is usually found out that there is some kind of bacteria living on the skin and it causes red inflamed skin.
Prevention and treatment: Bath the dog regularly. Feed it with high nutrient food. In the present time, there is no specific medicine that can cure this disease.
Suggestion in dog’s health care

Age Suggestion:
3 weeks old - Must be wormed
4 weeks old - Needs vaccination against hydrophobia (especially for the puppies
whose mother has never been vaccinated before)
7-9 weeks old - Needs vaccination against Canine distemper and Inflammatory Bowel
disease.
Get health check, fecal check and wormed
10-12 weeks old -Needs vaccination against Canine distemper and Inflammatory Bowel
disease for the second time.
3-6 months old - Needs vaccination against hydrophobia
Get faces check and wormed

1 year old and older
...Need vaccination against hydrophobia once every year.
...Need vaccination against Canine Distemper and Inflammatory Bowel
disease once every year.
...Need a health check, fecal check and wormed every six months.
...Needs heartworm check.

Basic training:
In having a dog, usually the owner does not have time to train the dog. It gives the dog a chance to set the behavior by itself. So the good dog will get love from its owner and the bad dog will get abandoned. The owner should pay attention to the dog and train it when it is still young. For example, the small-size dogs love to play. So they should be trained at the age of 3-4 months. If they were older than that, it would be difficult in training them.
In training the dog, the owner should be determined, patient and generous to the dog. He should also have enough time in training the dog seriously too.

The basic principles of dog training:
1. The first day of arrival. Give your dog time in getting to know and adjust itself to the new environment.
2. Evecuation. Train the dog to evacuate at the appropriate place. Blame it when it evacuates at the wrong place. And give it the compliment, like head rubbing or body stroking when it evacuates at the right place.
3. Feeding. Feed the dog only at the mealtime. If there are many dogs, separate their feeding bowls away from each other. Train your dog to not accept food from strangers.
4. Sleeping. Train your dog to sleep at the specific place, which part of the house, outside or inside the pen. Provide your dogs some mattress or a bean bag.
5. Punishment. In order to have a good dog, the owner should know when to punish and when to give the compliment to the dog. He also should know how to deal with the dog in some situation. For example, the owner should shout “don’t” to the dog that is biting the property. Or in case the dog jumps high climbing on the owner, he should lift the knee high to against the pressure from the dog, grab its neck or its collar. This will scar the dog.
6. Giving compliment. The dog should get compliment every time it does something well and right. The owner should say the word “Good” and rubbing its head, stroke the body or reward it with some snack.
7. Calling. Every time you call the dog or command it to do something, you should say it out loud with serious tone and use only short words, like “come here”, “sleep”, “don’t”, “no”, etc. If the command is too long, the dog would not be able to remember and understand it.
Dog’s Behaviors...
Action Meanings...
Nose touching (between dogs) To greet and check what the other dog wants.
Lying on the back To surrender because the dog believes that it would not be attacked if doing so.
Tail wagging To show love and pleasure.
Lying on the side To show satisfaction.
Tail held up The sign of curiosity.
Tail between the legs The sign of being scared, surrender and not want to fight.
Urine marking The sign of daring. The sign of showing the territory. To leave the track for going back home.
Licking The sign of love, friendship and flattering.
Front legs lifting To ask for food or something.
Digging To bury food, the instinct from the ancestors. To prepare the place for sleeping.
To get ready for whelping (for a bitch).
Walking back and forth To guard the territory.
Walking back and forth (and sniffing the floor) To look for the place to evacuate.

Barking:
The sign of having fun for the 2-3month old puppies.
The sign of self-confidence for the 4-6 month old puppies.
To alert danger.

Eating leaves or grass:
The sign that there is something wrong with the stomach. After eating leaves or grass, the dog will vomit the leaves including the bad food.

Attacking:
A dog does not attack a bitch, even though she bits him. The big dog does not attack the small dog. Instead, the big one will be kind and patient to the behavior of the small one. If the big one is bothered, it will just walk away or threaten the small one to stop. Sometimes, the big dog will gently bite the small dog in order to scare it.

Sniffing:
For traveling because dogs are bad insight and cannot see well. They have to rely on the sense of hearing and smelling in order to remember someone or something. To greet and communicate with other dogs. The smell of the puppies, big dogs or the bitch is different. If the dog gets the strange smell, it will be careful and cautious.

Chasing:
When a dog sees the stranger walking by or on the bicycle or motorcycle, it will be aggressive and chase because it wants that person to stop for a while.

Biting:
A dog bites a dog when it wants to guard its territory, when it is challenged, when it wants to fight for food, fight for the bitch during mating season, when it is depressed or excited. It is also the sign of jealousy when the owner is around.

Scary dog:
If the dog has ever been harmed or injured by something, they will remember that and will be scared the next time it faces that thing.

Damaging things:
It is the sign that the dog wants its owner to stay close to it. Whenever the owner is not at home, the dog will bite and damage the property. The dog might morn, urine and evacuate around the place because it can be depressed from being separated from its owner.
The puppies at the age of 2-6 month are naturally naughty and love to bite and chew things. The owner should provide them a small ball or a rubber bone. They also should be trained not to bite the property. If the owner finds the puppy biting the property, he should immediately punish the puppy by saying the word “don’t” or “no” out loud and gently hit the puppy. If the owner does not punish the puppy at that moment, it would not know what wrong it has done.

Old Thai Beliefs about their Thai Dogs..
1. A dog with a dirty-look...means a good barker.
2. A dog with black tongue... Cannot be killed by a snakebite.
3. A litter with 9 puppies... The owner will be fortunate.
4. A litter with 6 puppies... The owner will be unfortunate. Most of the puppies will not survive.
5. A number of hair on the mole under the chin... If there is 1 piece of hair on the mole, the dog is obedient, easy to be tamed. If there are 2 pieces of hair on the mole, it is okay to have that dog. If there are 3 pieces of hair on the mole, the dog is hardheaded and too smart.
6. Taking a new dog into the house.... If there is an old dog living at the house, the owner should take the new dog to greet the old dog. The owner should tell the old dog not to harm the new one too.
7. In order to have a loving, royal dog... On the day of arrival, the owner has to carry the dog in his arms when he first takes the dog into the house. It is because the dog will be grateful to that person and it will believe that this person is its only master.