Dog Health Blog

It makes dog owners crazy, the dog that has skin that is so itchy and uncomfortable that the dog is constantly scratching at itself, using paws and teeth to worry at the area until the dog has removed all the hair from the area and the remaining flesh is raw and bleeding. This bald area, a spot that most dog owners call a hot spot, is an eyesore and causes some dog owners such acute embarrassment that they are unable to take their dogs out in public. Other dog owners are steadily driven mad by the sound of their dog constantly ripping and tearing at its flesh, the sound of the scratching is frequently accompanied by the dog whining and crying as they rip at their flesh.

It doesn’t take very long before the dog owner is desperate for some means of treating their dog’s itchy skin.

There are several chemical treatments that can be used to help your dog with its itchy problem. Although most of these chemical treatments work, some dogs have severe and sometimes fatal, allergies to the chemicals. Dog owners would be wise to turn to grooming as their first defense against their dogs persistent itching.

The best policy for an itchy dog is to brush it on a daily basis. Most canine itching problems are caused by pollens, dirt, mats, and dander that stay on the dogs coat. If left on the dogs hair long enough the pollens, dirt, and dander start irritating the dogs skin and dog start chewing and biting at the offending spot. Brushing your dog’s hair just once a day will help prevent the build-up of items that can lead to itching problems. Not only will you be preventing a bout of itching your dog will love the time spent with its owner.

Bathing your dog is an excellent way to prevent your dog from developing an itching problem. But don’t plan on bathing your dog on a daily basis. To much water and shampoo will completely strip your dog of the oils that are naturally found on the dog’s skin. When these natural oils are stripped away the dog’s skin dries out and becomes more prone to infections. Dry skin in dogs is just as painful and scratchy to a dog as it is to a human that suffers from a similar condition, and dogs can rub lotion into themselves to correct the problem.

When you are grooming your dog make sure you pay attention to their ears. Dogs can get small biting insects called ear mites in their ears. When the ear mites start to bite the dogs start scratching at their ears, and excessive amount of clawing and pulling at the ear can lead to some potentially ear health issues. If you notice that their is peculiar odor emanating from your dog’s ears and that the dog no longer wants you to touch his ears he is probably developing an ear infection. Contact your local veterinarian for information about how to take care of your dog’s problematic ears.

If, despite your best efforts, your dog does develop a hot spot that he chews until it is raw and oozing blood, consult your veterinarian about what topical antibiotic cream you can rub into the hot spot that will prevent infection. If your dog has particularly nasty habit of clawing at the hot spot with their teeth, your veterinarian might recommend that they were a large cone shaped collar that will prevent them from scratching at the spot until it has had time to heal.

For A Healthy Dog

Your dog’s behavior, health, happiness, well being and longetivity totally depend on what you feed your dog. Although there are a variety of dog foods available in the market, natural dog foods are considered to be the best for a dog’s health. Dogs require specific nutritional that are necessary to maintain the health of your dog. The food that your dog eats should contain all the necessary nutrients as they play an important role in proper functioning of your dog’s body. These

Natural dog food plays an important role in the overall development of your dog. These dog foods are highly nutritious and your dog will simply love it. Your dog will definitely stay healthy and fine if natural dog foods are given on a regular basis.

Natural dog food recipes are not difficult. In fact it is very easy to make natural dog food. Without any problem, you will be able to make these dog foods at home. All you require is access to some fresh natural ingredients. Natural dog food recipes also perform the preventing diseases. If you want to strengthen the immune system of your dog then natural dog food recipes are a must.

Your dog will no longer suffer from any kind of allergies or fleas. Natural dog food recipes are much better than processed pet food recipes. Some experts believe that processed food is responsible for causing illness. It may also lead to premature death of your dog. Lack of natural dog food may give rise to coat and skin problems and other serious health problems.

You can always take the help of internet if you want more knowledge about natural dog food recipes. There are a number of websites that provide natural dog food recipes.

Natural dog food recipes are a major source of energy and hence it is essential to feed your dog with these foods. Various natural dog food recipes are also published in the book. With the help of these books, you can make your own natural dog food diet at home. A recent survey has found that many are taking the help of books to prepare their own natural dog food.

Dogs not only survive but thrive on these natural dog food recipes. Here is one of the popular natural dog food recipe. This natural dog food recipe is safe and healthy for your dog

Akita Style Rice and Lamb: The ingredients of this dog food recipe are lamb, brown rice, broccoli, potatoes, carrots and kombi. The brown lamb is kept in a small fry pan. Cubed potatoes are added to the small fry pan. A small quantity of water is boiled in a crock pot and broccoli pieces are then added to the crock.

The ingredients in the fry pan are also then added in the crock. Mix these ingredients properly. Pepper is added for taste. So the next time you try to feed your dog with processed food, think twice as it may harm your dog.

Pets are member of our family moreover; they need special attention in the matters of food. There are many advantages of feeding natural foods to dogs. All natural dog food is very rich in vitamin E and C, which is very important for their body. Vitamin E keeps their coat glowing and vitamin C is good for their bones. All these vitamins affect in the same manner as in a human body.

Vitamin such as beta-carotene is helpful in removing toxins from the body commonly known as free radicals.

Animals normally eat meat thus, their bodies gain lots of toxic material and if toxic material is not removed from their body then, there is the chance of them getting infected with diseases of lungs and heart. It is good to give supplements of all natural food daily to keep their metabolic system free from infection and diseases.

All natural dog foods are a good source of fiber and antioxidants. Some of the natural foods contain manganese, phosphorous, calcium and potassium; all these vitamins and minerals are very much necessary in their diet. There are many vegetables rich in antioxidants such as, dark green and bright orange. By feeding all natural dog food in their meal is just like getting a insurance policy for your loving pet.

There are many brands of natural food available in the market for your pet. However, it is better to consult with your vet before feeding canned natural food.

Every pet owner feel his pet should have good breath, brilliant shining coat, clean teeth, bright clear eyes and be healthy all the time. For ultimate health, the pet should have good quality all natural food because a complete diet can only bring this affect to your adorable pet. One should take care of the health of their pet to enable them to live a longer life.

If the pets are properly fed food full of rich nutrition then it will be prevention against common veterinary disease. It is always suggested by veterinary doctors to give holistic food to pet because home made food because it keeps your pet away from artificial ingredients.

Certain food should be avoided, such as food containing high amounts of oil and low cost food supplement such as protein capsules. Thus, this type of food lead to digestive problem and similarly some pets face the problem of hair falling out.

All natural dog food has its own advantages and doctors say it is better to give natural food to pet. Natural food also affects the behavior of pet, it makes them more active and playful.

So feed your dogs with all natural dog food to keep them healthier.

It is just as important for you to have your dog vaccinated as it is to have your child vaccinated. Vaccines are designed to minimize the risks of your puppy contracting an illness that can kill him or her. Or even pose a threat to your family members.

Puppies and newborn children are very similar in some ways. They both get their immunity from the mothers milk. However, they both require additional help to make sure they are continuously protected from germs and diseases. For a puppy, he or she should have its first shots by the time it is 8 weeks old. A booster shot or second shot should be given around 4 weeks after the puppy receives its first set of shots.

The rabies vaccine is an extremely vital shot for your dog to have. Rabies is a disease that will kill your dog if he or she contracts it. Typically, a dog contracts rabies from the saliva of another animal that has rabies. Typically this can be done from a fight with a fox, chasing a squirrel or a raccoon to name just a mere few animals that can give your dog rabies.

Your puppy can have a rabies vaccine as early as 16 weeks old. However, another follow up booster shot needs to be given a year after the original shot. This is the best way to protect yourself, your family and your dog from contracting this fatal disease.

It is common in puppies and in dogs to have some side effects as a result of being injected with the immunizations. It is wise for you to watch your dog closely and monitor his or her behavior after a trip to the veterinarians office. Watch for signs of being lethargic, disoriented, vomiting, trembling and swelling of the face. If you notice any of these symptoms immediately contact your vet.

You should also take into consideration the age of the dog going for vaccines. If the dog is only 8 weeks old, you will need to pay much closer attention to the way he or she is acting after the immunizations. Trembling is most common in young puppies after immunizations.

Different shots are best to be given to puppies at certain ages. Speak with your vet about the appropriate age your dog should be when he or she gets specific immunizations. Generally, a puppy will have its first set of shots around 8 weeks old. The final set of puppy immunizations should be given around 16 weeks of age.

The rabies vaccination should be given every year for the safety of your dog and yourself. It is important that you keep each scheduled appointment for your dogs shots. It is quite simple to put them off and say you are going to reschedule, but more often than not, you might forget to make the appointment.

Jasmine Tupniak

www.mypuppycaresite.com

For more information and resources on dog and puppy care, visit My Puppy Care Site

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VACCINE THEORY: The pet and veterinary community has hotly debated the correct vaccination protocol for our pet dogs. In the past it was thought that any disease that a vaccine available to fight it should be given to our pets. As a backlash to this rational many articles in the pet community portrayed vaccines as the enemy and a likely cause of disease. The opinion of the veterinary community and certainly my opinion is a mixture of these two thoughts. And this article is intended to provide a rational for safe and reasonable vaccination of our pet dogs.

Okay, so what a vaccine is: So first we must discuss what a vaccine is. There are many types of vaccines available in human and animal medicine but currently many of our dog vaccines are modified live vaccines. This means that the scientist has slightly altered the virus so that it will still stimulate immunity but will not be able to cause disease in the patient, thus creating a safer vaccine. Immunity is just the body’s natural defense against infection. What a vaccine isn’t: Vaccines do not prevent disease in those animals already exposed to the virus. The vaccine must be present prior to exposure to provide time to grown adequate memory cells to aid in defense of the body. So, if you have a puppy that was exposed to parvo virus but not yet ill a vaccine will NOT prevent disease. How vaccines work: So many of us haven’t always understood why we need to vaccinate our pets (or children) we are just doing what is recommended by the doctor in an attempt to keep our loved one safe. As a veterinarian, I believe that it is important that owners understand why we vaccinate so that they have informed consent and know what they are protecting their pet with and against.

By giving a vaccine we are attempting to stimulate the dog’s immune system to create memory cells that will be saved in the body to fight the virus if they encounter it in the future. On the initial exposure to a virus (antigen) the immune system will create a few short lived memory cells but will not create lasting immunity. Therefore, we always provide one booster in 2-3 weeks to give a second boost to the immune system and create millions of long lived memory cells in the body. These cells are constantly circulating in the body looking for foreign invaders to attack and destroy thereby defending the body and providing the pet immunity to the virus.

Why are puppies given several vaccines? Neonate puppies or those recently born, receive all of their immunity from their mother through the uterus and the milk. The amount and level of immunity they receive is entirely dependent upon the mother’s vaccination and immunity status. Therefore a mother who has been poorly vaccinated, or even never vaccinated, will give poor immunity to her pups and those pups are at a very high risk of contracting and dying from very early infections such as parvo virus.

So, the mother’s immunity is very important in providing her pups early immunity from disease. The mother’s immunity will also block and prevent our vaccine from providing vaccinated immunity to the puppy. Also, based on her level of memory cells the mother’s immunity may last from a few weeks in the pups to as long as 4 months. This means that your newly purchased 8 week old puppy may or may not have immunity to infection. Without several costly blood tests, the best way of ensuring the puppy is protected is sequential vaccines over time.

But as we’ve said the mothers immunity blocks our vaccines so how do we know when her immunity is low enough for our vaccine to work but not so low that the pup is entirely unprotected? As we’ve learned puppies early in life are likely to be protected even from an infrequently vaccinated mother, therefore we do not typically need to vaccinate prior to 6 weeks of age. So we know that the best time to begin vaccines is from 6-8 weeks of age catching those pups that have limited or short term immunity. However some of these pups may have long immunity preventing our vaccine from working and preventing the puppy from receiving long lasting immunity to disease. The best way around this is to do sequential vaccines every 3 weeks for a series of 4 vaccines up to age 4 months. By doing this we are ensuring that the pups who have lost early immunity are protected at the proper time and we are also ensuring that the pups with longer lasting immunity are vaccinated long enough for our vaccine to work and a boosters to be given.

Summery to why sequential vaccines in pups: Start vaccines at 6-8 weeks Vaccinate every 3 wk up to 4 months old This will ensure early protection This will ensure the best lasting immunity Provide an additional vaccine booster at 18 months of age.

It is important to understand that even though there is a debate in our community about vaccinating adult animals that debate should not involve immature animals. The ONLY way of ensuring protection from deadly disease in puppies is to vaccinate them properly up to 1 year of age. At that point we have given them long lasting memory cells and may consider extending the subsequent intervals to every 2-3 years depending on the level of exposure and the vaccine used. Please vaccinate your puppies.

The most common core vaccine: Da2p-cpv:- Distemper virus- Adenovirus type 2- Parainfluenza- Parvo Virus

1. Canine Distemper Virus: is a disease of dogs only (although dogs can infect ferrets). The disease causes a variety of clinical signs from purulent (pus) nasal discharge and eye discharge with coughing to vomiting, diarrhea and seizures. Infected pets are often febrile (fever >103F) and very depressed/lethargic. The prognosis is very poor.

2. Canine adenovirus type 2: is also called canine infectious hepatitis and is a very serious disease that often isn’t seen in our area due to vaccination, but once was very common. There is also a type I vaccine that we don’t use because type 2 will protect against both types and type I vaccine causes eye inflammation commonly called blue eye.

3. Parainfluenza: is a dog disease that is part of the kennel cough complex. The virus works with the bordetella bacteria to cause a harsh unproductive cough. These pets typically have a history of exposure to other dogs (often in a kennel situation) and are typically normal except for a cough. They often respond well to treatment and supportive care.

4. Canine Parvo Virus: Is a life threatening disease of puppies and potentially of unvaccinated adults. The virus infects the rapidly growing cells of the intestine and causes severe liquid bloody diarrhea, frequent vomiting and very depressed/lethargic puppies. Puppies that are not treated will usually die. This disease can be prevented by vaccination.

Corona Virus: This is given twice to puppies 3 weeks apart. The virus causes a disease of vomiting and diarrhea in very young puppies. This vaccine is typically not given to adult dogs

Bordetella Bacterin: Protection from kennel cough complex. Is given as nose drops in our hospital and only to those dogs at high risk such as boarding dogs, those that attend puppy school and those that frequent doggie parks should also be vaccinated.

Rabies Frequency will vary by state. In AZ it is given to puppies and a booster is given in 1 year of age and then again every 3 years. The above vaccines are the most common ones in our area but certainly are not the only dog vaccines. In my next article I’ll discuss so of the other vaccines including those made to fight bacteria.

- an often deadly upper respiratory and neurologic virus of dogs.

- a hepatitis virus of dogs

- a respiratory infection often involved in kennel cough complex

- an often fatal gastrointestinal infection of all poorly vaccinated dogs.

This is the core combo vaccine that is given to puppies every 3 weeks until 4 months of age. It protects against the worst diseases that often are life threatening to puppies.

Jill M. Patt, DVM
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