Top 10 People Medicines that are Dangerous to Pets

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There are many things that are dangerous to our pets, from foods to plants, from cleaners and household supplies and, of course, people medicine. There are some people meds that work great for pets, given in the appropriate dosage but there are others that can cause serious harm and even death.

Often people have a tendency to leave meds around, especially if they don’t have children to worry about getting into them but pets are curious and can get into thing too. So for their safety, always keep medicine and prescriptions put away. Even a child-proof cap is not going stop a dog determined to get into a bottle. To those teeth dismantling is a challenge.

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Vet Housecalls for Older and Disabled Pets – VIDEO

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For many dog owners, watching their pet age is a frustrating and worrisome time. But there are treatment options that can make life easier for pets and their owners.

Vets are now offering alternative treatments such a laser therapy, acupuncture and even teaching pet owners pet massage to make their senior years easier.

I wish we all had vets like this one around!

Heat Stroke in Dogs – Do You Know What to Do?

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This from For the Love of the Dog, it’s definitely that time of the year that we really need to take care of our furry companions.  I’m already seeing too many stories of dogs succumbing to the heat and dying, in yards but most especially in cars!!

Please, take the proper precautions and know what to do and above all, leave your dog at home in the coolness and safety of the house!

First, Know the Signs of Heat Stroke

The signs depend upon the extent of heat stroke. In the early stages, your pet will pant rapidly, have thick, ropey saliva, and have bright red gums. His body temperature will be between 104-106°F.

As the body temperature climbs above 106°F, your pet will go into shock with subsequent organ shutdown.

He will have pale gums, be weak and dizzy, with vomiting and diarrhea. The brain becomes affected and he may seizure or fall into a coma. In this case, he requires immediate, life-saving veterinary intervention.

The normal body temperature of a dog or cat ranges between 38 – 39°C or 103°F. Our pets maintain this temperature through panting, however sometimes they are unable to lose enough heat. Dogs and cats probably do suffer from heat cramps and heat exhaustion like us humans but the symptoms are mild and we don’t recognize them. The condition that we see is heatstroke, and it may cause the death of a pet.

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RECALL! Timberwolf Organics!

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Please take note of this latest dog food recall from
Timberwolf Organics!


Dakota Bison/Ocean Blue Reported Issues

Timberwolf Organics Customer,

Timberwolf Organics Dog FoodDue to recent reports from some customers, we have ordered that two formulas from three specific dates be pulled from the shelves. These are:

Dakota Bison with ‘best by date’ of 12 Feb 2009
Ocean Blue with ‘best by date’ of 20 Feb 2009
Ocean Blue with best by date’ of 8 March 2009

The reported symptoms include dogs refusing to eat, diarrhea or vomiting. While the problem is inconsistent (not every dog eating food from those dates/bag show the symptoms and not every bag), to err on the side of caution have decided to pull the formulas produced with the above dates. Initial testing has come back negative for problems and further testing is pending results.Timberwolf Organics Dog Food

As soon as the cause of this reported problem is determined procedures will be put into place to ensure that an event like this cannot happen again. Please be assured that no other formulas and Ocean Blue and Dakota Bison with dates other than ones listed above are not affected.

We apologize for any inconvenience or problems that this may have resulted in. If you do have a bag with those dates please contact the retailer you purchased it from for an exchange or credit. If you purchased it directly from us please give us a call or email us at customer.support@timberwolforganics.com, or you can download the Customer Complaint Form below and fax it to 866.796.8814.

Thank you for choosing Timberwolf Organics.

Sincerely,

Timberwolf Organics Team

Debunking the Myths of Rawfeeding

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This is for those of you who may be thinking about rawfeeding or are just interested in the subject I wanted to take some time to tell you about some myths and realities of raw feeding.

One thing that I can tell you, since I’ve had my Jezzie and Bruti on a combination raw/home-cooked diet, they are now in the best health they’ve ever been in. They’ve shed those few extra pounds, their skin and coats are wonderful, their energy level is high, much fewer allergies and ear infections, fresher breath, clean teeth. No, it’s not a cure all, but it has made an amazing difference.

Myth: DOGS ARE OMNIVORES

This is false. Dogs are carnivores, not omnivores. Dogs ARE very adaptable, but just because they can survive on an omnivorous diet does not mean it is the best diet for them. The assumption that dogs are natural omnivores remains to be proven, whereas the truth about dogs being natural carnivores is very well-supported by the evidence available to us.

1.) Dentition

Look into your dog or cat’s mouth. Those huge impressive teeth (or tiny needle sharp teeth) are designed for grabbing, ripping, tearing, shredding, and shearing meat (Feldhamer, G.A. 1999. Mammology: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. McGraw-Hill. pg 258.). They are not equipped with large flat molars for grinding up plant matter. Their molars are pointed and situated in a scissors bite (along with the rest of their teeth) that powerfully disposes of meat, bone, and hide. Carnivores are equipped with a peculiar set of teeth that includes the presence of carnassial teeth: the fourth upper premolar and first lower molar.

Carnassial teeth

This is the skull of a weasel (also in Order Carnivora), courtesy of Centennial Museum. The carnassial teeth are marked with black arrows. You can find these same teeth in the mouth of your dog or cat or ferret.

Contrast this with your own teeth or the teeth of a black bear. A black bear is a true omnivore, as are we. We have nice, large, flat molars that can grind up veggies. Black bears, while having impressive canine teeth, also have large flat molars in the back of their mouth to assist in grinding up plant matter. Dogs and most canids lack these kinds of molars. Why? Because they don’t eat plant matter. Teeth are highly specialized and are structured specifically for the diet the animal eats, and the difference between a bear’s teeth and a dog’s teeth (both species are in Order Carnivora) demonstrates how this can be (Feldhamer, G.A. 1999. Mammology: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. McGraw-Hill. pgs 260.). To see a visual comparison of the teeth of a dog to the teeth of a black bear, please click here. One can logically ask: If a dog (or cat or ferret) has the dentition of a carnivorous animal, why do we feed it pelleted, grain-based food?

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For the Love of Your Dog, Get a Second Opinion!

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I recently came across an story that really hit home for me, especially after hearing from friend that her beloved dog possibly has cancer. I know that when she told me, I immediately told her to make sure she gets a second opinion and speaks with specialists.

The story I came across talks about a family who was told that their sweet greyhound had osteosarcoma after having a blood clot between two of his vertebrae that was pressing against his spine removed. The vet originally told them that there was a 90 percent chance that it was nothing but took the precaution of sending it off for a biopsy.

When they returned to pick up their dog, the vet told them that the biopsy, verified by two pathologists, showed osteosarcoma, a painful and aggressive form of bone cancer. He recommended that they have their dog euthanized within days to save him the pain he would go through with this.

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Parvo – How Can You Give a Puppy’s Immune System a Boost?

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Carried and transmitted by dogs, parvovirus has a 20% mortality rate in dog treated in time, an 80% mortality rate for those who are not. Much more common in puppies than older dogs, parvo grows best in the rapidly dividing cells of the dog’s intestines. As the virus attacks and kills these cells it causes massive diarrhea and halts or slows the creation of white blood cells. In young puppies it can often directly infect the heart, leading to death.

So what can you do to give your puppy’s immune system a boost to help enable them to protect their selves?

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ALERT – Potential Drug Resistant Heartworm

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I just received this email alert and wanted to pass the information along in the case that it may pertain to you. It is directly mainly at pet owners located in the Gulf region. If this is you, you may want to talk to your vet and have your dog tested for heartworm, just as a safety measure.

I want to share something with everyone, not to cause panic or anything, but because this is something everyone with dogs/who deals with dogs needs to know. Last month, one of my dogs, Rosey (small Beagle), tested positive for heartworm. I was absolutely floored. Of COURSE I have all my dogs on preventative. I am religious about it. How could Rosey have gotten heartworms???? The vet suggested that, because I was giving her the “0-to-25 pound” dosage (she is 25 pounds), that perhaps she should have been getting the “25-to-50 pound” dosage. Hmmm… ok.

Then he shared with me that there is a growing concern in the vet community that there is now a strain of heartworm in the Gulf region that has become resistant to Ivermectin. My heart sank. Really? He assured me they were questioning the makers of the preventatives…..

Well, yesterday, Satchmo, one of my Bassets, went for his annual…. And guess what…. he tested positive for heartworm. He is 58 pounds and takes the “50-to-100 pound” dose ­ no under-dosing there!

My vet) and I talked for a long time. There is indeed apparently now a strain of heartworm that is resistant to Ivermectin, they are thinking. They suspect it is related to the effects of Katrina. She said more and more dogs in the Gulf area are testing positive…. Dogs who are ON preventative, regularly, religiously, like mine. I’m so upset, I can’t even think.

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Important Product Alert – ProMeris

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Although this site is dedicated to ‘natural health’ issues, no doubt many people do use resources other than just natural health measures for their pets so I wanted to pass this alert along from my For the Love of the Dog site.

I just received this product alert and wanted to pass the info along ASAP. It was sent to me by a trusted friend and vet. This happened to a friend of hers. The vet said one of the most surprising things is that Fort Dodge is actually paying the med bills without a fight as in the past dealings she’s had with them, they are not so agreeable. That in itself makes me extremely wary of the product.

This is a very important message to my family & friends who have dogs-cats–and to alert you to the hazard of using a new Flea & Tick Preventative called ProMeris.

This is a new product designed to be a more effective product than other flea/tick treatments that was just released this year. It is available thru a vet and not currently on-line. I got ProMeris this week for my 7 dogs (6 Huskies & 1 Golden-Airedale), and the results were debilitating for nearly all of them-including me. Since my incident this week, my vet has pulled it from distribution and alerted the manufacturer, Fort Dodge.

Here are my results: Within less than 2 hours after applying, 4 of my dogs had vomited from 2-4 times, 3 were disoriented and stumbling, 1 was dragging his back leg, 1 was salivating. I had very similar symptoms like an allergic reaction-my lips were swollen, eyes very red, mucous membranes such as eyes, nose, and mouth were stinging. I was very disoriented-dizzy equilibrium and not able to drive. To make this a short story-all 7 of my dogs were admitted to the hospital for veterinarian care, and 3 of them remained for care, IV fluids and observation for 24 hours. I was in the emergency room. I’m home now and so are the dogs. We’re all feeling much better.

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