The growing popularity of larger breeds of dogs has brought with it a threat of a crippling disease of the hip joints known as hip dysplasia. This disease was first described in the United States back in the 1930s. Research has produced abundant information on hip dysplasia, but many questions still remain unanswered. It is…
Most dogs love avocados. They taste good, and they are an excellent source of fat. Fat is responsible for providing dogs with extra amount of energy and gives them healthy skin as well as an extra glow in their coat. Strangely enough, it was the dogs themselves who led us to the idea of using…
If you feed your pet dog a diet consisting of only cuts of lean meat, chances are he would have severe nutritional problems. While a dog is a carnivore – meat eater – he cannot live on protein alone. Just like his owner, a dog needs a balanced diet including fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and…
Special diets for dogs are not only prescribed by veterinarians for the obese animal, but also for various health reasons. For example, if your dog suffers from congestive heart failure, due to heartworm or other heart diseases, your veterinarian may want to put him on a low-sodium diet, along with the proper medications, which combined,…
“Should I put my dog on a diet?” The answer to that question is Yes, but only if your veterinarian recommends it. The same care, consideration, and advice should be taken when your dog needs to be put on a special diet program, as you yourself would get from your personal physician if you were…
Demodectic mange is known by several common names including red mange, pustular mange, and puppy mange. The disease is caused by a cigar-shaped mite that lives in the hair follicles of the skin. The presence of this mite in the hair follicle causes local inflammation and disruption of the hair growth cycle. Alopecia (hair loss)…
There are four types of vaccines for the prevention of distemper: Serum, Killed Vaccine, Modified Live Vaccine (MLV), and Measles Vaccine. Serum Not actually a vaccine, this is a portion of the blood taken from dogs with immunity to distemper. It does not stimulate an immune response and its longevity after injection is relatively short,…
The signs of distemper vary, but most often include thick, pus-laden discharges from the eyes and nose, along with a deep productive cough, vomiting and diarrhea, pustules on the abdomen, convulsions, body or leg spasms, loss of appetite, weakness, depression, high fever which may fluctuate to normal, and thickening of the footpads. Obviously, other conditions…
Almost everyone has heard of distemper, and most dog owners know that their pet needs some type of “shot” in order to protect them against this disease, but that may be the total extent of their knowledge. As we discuss his temper in this article series, please keep in mind that the discussion will be…
It is believed that canine hip dysplasia has increased since large breeds of dogs evolved into companion dogs from the hunting or guard functions for which they were bred and kept for in the past. One piece of evidence is the way breeders had selectively bred aggressiveness out, and tamed the dog down, so as…