Category Archives: Tips

Building Trust with your Dog

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It actually is funny how few people really realize something so basic as this. If your dog does not trust you enough to come to you on an every day basis, what will happen when you are in a situation when it is important for you to be able to get the attention of your dog and get them to come to you.

From For the Love of the Dog

Just a quick tip on building trust with your canine companion…. whenever your dog comes to you, always be nice and welcoming. This way if there is ever a problem and you call, he won’t be hesitant to come to you.

When something unpleasant is involved, giving a pill, clipping nails or bath-time, anything your dog would be averse to, go to him, give him a treat first then the bath, pill, etc. Otherwise if you call him to you then proceed to do something he doesn’t like he will be hesitant to come next time you call.

This is something I know from experience. My Jezzie needs to have her ears cleaned quite frequently and obviously this is not a treatment she is fond of. Being the softie I am with my little girl, I passed this chore to my other half. For a time he didn’t understand why I told him to go to her rather than call her to him and it didn’t take long before she hid every time he called her. Finally he understood and it’s taken a while, and an awful lot of pampering and treats on his part, but now he goes to her for her ear treatment and she doesn’t run when he calls her to him anymore. :D

Just goes to show that sometimes the dog isn’t the only one who needs to be trained!! Laugh

Let’s Talk Dog Food – ‘Dog Food 101’ – Part 1

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I get a lot of questions about dog food and requests for recommendations and I thought I would offer a little ‘Dog Food 101’.

I am the proud owner of two wonderful English Springer Spaniels, Jezzie and Bruti and let me state that my dogs eat a combination of raw and home cooked. I did a great deal of research before settling on this as what I feel the best alternative for their health and nutrition. I have very little faith or trust in most of the ‘commercial’ dog food available. This is not saying that they are all bad but my choice is not to offer anything to my dogs that I would not eat myself, or at least be able to eat my self.

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Cancer in Pets – Don’t Just Take it Laying Down!

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Cancer, the Big “C” is one of the worst words a pet owner can hear. It almost sounds like a death sentence, but it doesn’t have to be. Caught early enough and aggressively treated, survival rates are improving everyday.

Cancer in Our Pets

Cancer is not uncommon in dogs and cats and the incidence increases with age. It accounts for almost half of the deaths of pets over 10 years of age. Dogs get cancer at roughly the same rate as humans, while cats get fewer cancers.

Here are some common warning signs of cancer;

  • Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow
  • Sores that do not heal
  • Weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Bleeding or discharge from any body opening
  • Offensive odor
  • Difficulty eating or swallowing
  • Hesitation to exercise or loss of stamina
  • Persistent lameness or stiffness
  • Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecating

This is definitely one area where modern medicine has made huge strides but you don’t need to rely only on modern medicine. There are many things you, as a pet owner, can do to improve your pet’s chances and keep them strong and help them fight.

What Can We Do?

One of the first and most important things, from my point of view, is to make sure your pet’s diet is as good as it can be. Specific diets have been formulated to help combat cancer but you can make your own at home very easily if you just keep some things in mind.

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Some ‘Myths’ Vets Tell You – DeBunked!

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Veterinarians, like any doctors, depend on their client base to make money and generally, the more clients, the more money. Now I’m not saying that all vets only think about the bottom line, but to be honest I am seeing this more and more.

A friend of mine has a little Cocker Spaniel with a myriad of medical problems. These problems, such as Cushings, chronic staph infections and allergies, just to name a few, have been tested and diagnosed but it seems that every time my friend takes her dog to the vet they want to rerun a bunch of tests and do a complete blood work-up, running into hundreds and hundreds of dollars. And this went on every couple of months! She recently found a new vet for her pooch and when he looked at the chart he couldn’t believe the overwhelming number of tests that had been run and rerun, again and again, unnecessarily!

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Natural Health for Your Pet – Healthy Bacteria – Probiotics

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Does your pet suffer from loss of energy, bad gas, bad breath, itchy skin, constipation, bouts of diarrhea or vomiting, urinary tract problems, or loss of appetite? All of these problems may actually be symptoms of a compromised gastrointestinal tract – too much “bad” bacteria and not enough “good” bacteria.

“Good” bacteria? Never heard of good bacteria you say? Ever heard of “probiotics?” The word “Probiotic” simply means “for life.”

A probiotic is an organism which contributes to the health and balance of the intestinal tract. A probiotic is also referred to as the “friendly”, “beneficial”, or “good” bacteria which when ingested acts to maintain a healthy intestinal tract and help fight illness and disease.

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Herbal Health for Pets

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Do you know that a great many of the herbs and you may use for your own health can also be used for your pet’s health?

Herbs like ginger root, echinacea, ginseng, willow bark and valerian?

Ginger root, wonderful for anti-nausea, can also help your dog or cat.

Willow bark, source of salicylate the active ingredient in Aspirin, is a well noted anti-inflammatory can be used to ease arthritis pain in dogs, DO NOT administer to cats!

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