| Health and Behavior page 2 |
| Why Do Pooches Eat Poop?
How many of you dog owners have been a victim of this scenario? Your dog enters the room and sees you on the other side. He tosses his ears back, puts on a smile, wiggles his way over and gives you a big smooch. For an instant you’re overjoyed but then you realize, “That’s not normal doggie breath. Yuk. It smells like poop!”
Read On
|
Why Does Your Dog Scoot?
Anal gland problems are more common in small and medium-sized dogs, but large breeds and cats can develop issues as well. The classic symptom of an inflammation or infection of anal sacs in dogs is ‘scooting.’ A dog will sit and drag or scoot his rear across the ground (grass and carpet are favorite surfaces) in an effort to alleviate the itching and irritation caused by an inflamed, infected or impacted anal gland. Scooting can signal another problem like a perianal tumor, parasites or irritation caused by diarrhea, but most often the reason is an anal gland problem.
Read More
Anal Sac problems in Dogs and Cats
Both dogs and cats have anal sacs that may become impacted or infected if not emptying properly. This causes itching, scooting, bad odor and sometimes pain, too. Severe cases may abscess and rupture. Learn the signs of anal sac problems and how to keep your pet comfortable and scoot-free.
Read More
| |
| Your Pet and Frostbite and Hypothermia
Drs. Foster & Smith Educational Staff
Frostbite most commonly affects the tips of the ears, the tail, the scrotum, and the toes. Normally, blood flow keeps these areas warm. However, when a body area becomes extremely cold, its local blood vessels constrict to help the body conserve heat. The tissues then have even less blood supply and can eventually become as cold as the surrounding air. If the tissue freezes, it dies.
IS YOUR DOG AT RISK?
Dogs housed outdoors are extremely susceptible to frostbite. They absolutely require warm, dry housing, Indoor dogs – especially small and/or short-haired dogs – are also at risk. Certain medications and medical conditions can increase susceptibility to frostbite. Protect your pet from frostbite with warm pet clothing and boots. Plus, shelter her from the wind.
FROSTBITE SYMPTOMS
Frostbitten tissue may initially appear pale or gray, as well as hard and cold. As the area thaws, it may turn red. Thawing is very painful. If frostbite is severe, tissue will eventually turn black and slough off.
VETERINARY TREATMENT
Your veterinarian will examine the affected area, although total damage may not be evident for several days, and prescribe pain relief medication and antibiotics. Your dog will also be evaluated for hypothermia. Severe frostbite may necessitate amputation. Prevent pain and suffering this winter; keep your pet warm, dry, and safe from frostbite.
Read More
|
Why Dogs Hump
There isn't a single reason behind this normal behavior
Mounting and humping by dogs are among those behavior patterns about which humans make lots of assumptions but we really don't know much about them. Dogs will mount and hump other dogs and other nonhuman animals (animals) from a wide variety of positions, human legs, and objects such as beach balls, water buckets, food bowls, pillows, and garbage pails without a care in the world. If you want to watch please do but an audience isn't necessary. Sometimes they hold on for upwards of 20-30 seconds and sometimes they just jump on and slide off and saunter away. And size doesn't matter.
Read More
| |
Detoxing Your Pet from Summer Chemicals
|
| Has Your Dog Ever Been Sprayed by a Skunk? Here’s How To Get That Smell Out!
Skunks, skunks, skunks! Half a dozen of my friends have reported skunk/dog encounters in the past WEEK! These usually happen late at night, when the dog goes out for his last potty of the night before bedtime . . . and suddenly the whole family is wide, wide awake and facing an odoriferous emergency. What to do?
Read More
|
Bad Dog – Solving The Wrong Problem
On a whim, we pulled into a parking lot on a Thursday evening. The sign out front said that dog training classes were being offered. As a dog lover and self-described training geek, I’m always curious to see how people run their classes. We slipped in quietly at the back, interested to see how dog owners were being taught to work with their dogs. I was disappointed but not surprised to see that on instructor’s table next to the flat and Martingale collars were also a choke chain and a prong collar. It looked like this wasn’t one of the more progressive training groups. Then the insistent barking off to one side caught my attention.
Read More
| |
| Understanding Your Dog's Vocal Communications
Canine vocal communications can be classified as barks, growls, howls, whines, and whimpers. Within those classifications, the sounds can have varying meanings. Your dog’s voice must be taken in context with the rest of his behavior and body language for you to truly understand what he’s saying to you.
Barking : Dogs bark for many reasons, including alert (there’s something out there!), alarm (there’s something bad out there) boredom, demand, fear, suspicion, distress, and pleasure (play). (For more about dealing with barking, see “Positively Quiet,” WDJ July 2007.) The bark of a distressed dog, such as a dog who suffers from isolation or separation distress or anxiety, is high-pitched and repetitive; getting higher in pitch as the dog becomes more upset. Boredom barking tends to be more of a repetitive monotone. Alert bark is likely to be a sharp, staccato sound; alarm barking adds a note of intensity to the alert.
Read More
|
Acupressure: Points That Heal
by Amy Snow
CHICO WENT FLYING OFF THE BACK PORCH and landed chin first on the stone below, knocking himself out. The five-month old yellow Lab had spotted ducks on the pond 50 feet away and in his exuberance forgot that there was an eight foot drop from the porch to the craggy rocks. Carol, Chico's guardian, saw him mid-air from the kitchen window and went rushing out to see where he had landed. When she reached Chico, she placed the tip of her thumb just below his nose, right in the middle of his upper lip and pressed gently, then again with a bit more pressure. Chico regained consciousness, wagged his tail, stood up, shook his whole body, and went back to being his happy self.
Read More
| |
| How to Care For an Older Dog
Detect, treat, (or prevent?) canine 'cognitive dysfunction syndrome.'
Each of us has, at some point, wandered into a room and realized that we’ve forgotten why we’ve gone there. When that happens, chances are we are momentarily perturbed with ourselves, but typically we chalk it up to too much on the brain, remember why we’re there, then move on. Should our dogs wander in the same fashion, it could well be a sign of cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS), a condition quite similar to Alzheimer’s in humans. CDS happens when the aging process affects brain pathology, resulting in behavioral changes, including cognitive decline (memory and learning). One of the biggest culprits is the damage done to mitochondria caused by oxidative damage over time. Researchers also believe that a decline in cerebral vascular circulation contributes to the changes we see in our aging dogs.
Read More
|
|
Help for Cats That Freak Out at the Vet's Office
By Dr. Becker
Those of you reading here today who share your lives with a cat know taking Tiger for vet visits can be an upsetting experience for both of you. In fact, many kitties are so distressed by vet visits their owners decide it's more harmful than helpful to subject their pet to routine wellness exams.
|
OBESE PETS: THE NEW NORM
In 2011, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 55 percent of cats and 53 percent of dogs in the U.S. were overweight or obese.
Many owners of too-heavy pets remain in denial about their fat dog or cat, which leaves them with little interest in providing a healthier lifestyle for their companion. Overweight and obese pets suffer from weight-related diseases including osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, respiratory problems, kidney disease, and a reduction in both quantity and quality of life.
Helping Your Dog Lose Weight
When Ella, a five-year-old Norwich Terrier, first came to live with me a few months ago, she weighed a svelte 10.8 pounds. But within two months her weight had ballooned by almost a full pound, and there was no way you could call her anything but plump. How could this happen? How could I have let my new dog get fat – me, the one who perpetually preaches the benefits of keeping dogs lean?
Losing Weight Improves Quality of Life
Pounds shed relates to less pain, more energy
Being overweight affects our dogs’ health and longevity, and a recent study has examined the effect it has on quality of life.
| |
| Holistic Approach to Kidney Disease Treatment
If you have been living with a pet that has chronic kidney diease or hope to prevent it in the future, this info is definitely for you.
Read More
|
Idiopathic or “Old Dog” Vestibular Disease
Vestibular signs in dogs are often incorrectly referred to as a stroke
Shea Cox, DVM | April 25, 2012
A fairly common reason for a veterinary visit is the concern that an older dog has had a stroke, when he suddenly starts walking like a drunken sailor with his head tilted. I know of other cases, where these sorts of symptoms are assumed to be a brain tumor and the dog is euthanized—maybe unnecessarily
| |
|
Training Your Dog to Prevent Unwanted Urination
With plenty of patience and a ready mop, dogs who urinate when greeting can be helped.
By BY PAT MILLER, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CDBC
|
Intestinal Parasite Coccidia in Cats
Treatment and Care
Treatment is generally outpatient. A sulfa based medication to kill the parasite will be prescribed, and is generally highly effective and fast working. Your cat will need to be rehydrated as a result of the diarrhea. If your cat is debilitated as a result of severe infection, your veterinarian may suggest observation in a medical setting. A follow up fecal examination within 1-2 weeks of the initial treatment will be needed to ensure that the parasite is no longer present in the body.
Read More
| |
|
