The nutritional guideline standards for dogs, as set forth by the NRC (National Research Council), state that pet food manufacturers must have the minimum amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. They include meat, meat by-products, corn, wheat middlings, barley, oats, rice, brewer’s yeast, vegetable and/or animal fats, fish meal, poultry, bone meal, cereals,…
Big cans, little cans, heavy bags and cute packs, soft foods, dry food, semi-moist, candies, biscuits, chewies, people-like crackers and gourmet bon-bons… Today’s dog owner is confronted with a bewildering array of food for his pet. Years ago, when such a variety wasn’t available, dogs were fed foods that were most plentiful in the region.…
Owners of unsprayed females may at some time be faced with a diagnosis of pyometra in their dog. Pyometra means a pus-filled uterus and it affects primarily dogs that are five years old and older. It is a very debilitating disease and will often result in death unless the infected uterus is surgically removed. The…
God forbid you ever have to face the day if your family pet gets one of its limbs torn off by a hit and run. This nightmare happened last year to our four-year-old Beagle. Here is what happened: Every morning we had the same routine; Cleopatra would scratch at the door to wake me up…
Many eye diseases in dogs can be successfully cured surgically if non-surgical treatments do not help. In the condition in which the tear glands and ducks are not producing tears, for example, a medication is put into the dog’s food in the form of drops. If there is any function at all left, the medication…
Most dog owners, if not all of them, never consider looking into their pet’s eyes for signs of illness, especially dogs with hair over their eyes. There is a myth that cutting the hair away from a dog’s eyes will cause blindness, but, in fact, a dog’s eyes are much less likely to become diseased…
The eye, in dogs, as in all animals, is the most specialized of the sensory organs. As such, it is highly sensitive to trauma, infection and disease, both acquired and hereditary. Because dogs can’t tell their owners when they are suffering irritation or pain in their eyes, the eye is an often overlooked area of…
The most common allergic skin disease in the dog develops when certain dogs become hypersensitive to flea bites. The allergic agent is contained in the saliva or mouth parts of the flea and is injected into the dog when the flea feeds. The disease usually occurs during the warm months and is commonly called “summer…
Fleas and ticks are external parasites that cause annoyance and health problems on your pets. The following are two questions answered about fleas and ticks. How Can I Keep My Dogs Free Of These Parasites? Flea control products such as Prevention and Frontline works very well for most pets. In areas of heavy parasite concentration,…
Do Different Parasites Prefer Certain Host Animals? Yes, there are fleas that prefer cats and those that would rather have their meal on dogs. However, while some fleas do exhibit certain preferences, they are not usually host-specific. That is, in the absence of the preferred host, the flea will attack a less desirable host such…