Friday, June 1, 2007

not too hot or cold.

Take the ear wash bottle and hold it under some warm water for a minute to ensure that it is not too hot or cold.

• Next, squirt or pour some of the warmed liquid directly into your dog's ears. When squirting the liquid, do not touch your dog's ears with the tip of the bottle as this could startle the dog and cause you to injure him by jamming the bottle into his ear.

• Close your dog's ear, apply a bit of light pressure and then massage the liquid up and down to ensure that it gets into his inner ear and canal.

• Stop massaging and let your dog shake off the extra liquid.

• When he is finished, evaluate your dog's ears again to make sure that all the debris and wax has been removed. If not, you may have to repeat the procedure.

• Next, take a cotton ball and then use it to wipe the inside of his ear. Be careful to remove any excess liquid.

• Give your dog a special treat or some attention for being so cooperative during the ear washing procedure.

In conclusion, proper dog grooming techniques can help prevent dog ear infections. By taking the time to evaluate your dog for signs of infection, evaluating his ears, trimming excessive hair, and using a specialized dog ear cleaning wash, your dog will have fresh and clean ears that are infection free.

pain and discomfort.

2. For short haired dogs, you can now trim any excess ear hair. This can be done by pulling your dog's ear back over his head and laying it next to his skull. This will protect the delicate parts of his ear canal. By trimming his hair, you can prevent trapped dirt, bacteria and moisture from entering his ear canal, enabling you to take a closer look into his ear canal and give him a neater appearance.

3. For long haired dogs, you will have to gently remove each hair with your fingers, specialized dog tweezers, or a dog hair removing apparatus. Only remove one hair at a time to minimize pain and discomfort.

4. For those of you squeamish about plucking, you can utilize specialized scissors with a blunt end. Just be careful not to injury your dog when using this method and to take your time to ensure that you do a good job. If your dog seems fidgety or uncooperative, then you may wish to try later.

5. Next, you'll need to utilize a specialized dog ear cleaning wash. These specialized washes are created to clear out debris, prevent infections, and leave your dog's ears with a fresh clean scent. Here's how:

improper grooming.

In case you aren't aware, dogs that are improperly groomed are at risk for developing dog ear infections caused by bacteria and fungus. This is because your dog's ear structure is long and horizontal, which does not allow moisture to efficiently drain. In addition, many dogs have floppy ears, which do not allow air to successfully circulate. In this article, we'll teach you 5 steps you can take to ensure that your dog doesn't acquire nasty ear infections as a result of improper grooming.

1. First of all, you must check your dog for signs of illness every single day. For instance, does your dog seem happy and content? Does he have an increase in tear stains? Has he been scratching his ears more than usual? Next, you should evaluate the inside and outside of your dog’s ears to make sure that there aren’t any parasites, dirt or excessive amounts of reddish brown wax. Be extremely diligent here and evaluate all ear extremities. In addition, conduct a "whiff" test. If you notice an excessive amount of ear wax or a foul odor emanating from his ears then he may already have a dog ear yeast infection and will need to be taken to the veterinarian for a check up and possibly medication or a holistic remedy.

vet's for almost a week

"And?" The vet asked.

He couldn't believe it when Larry told him that that was the extent of Jock's diet, meat, which Larry minced himself, and cooked slightly.

What's In Your Homemade Dog Food?

The major benefit of feeding a dog commercial dog food is that the food is nutritionally balanced for dogs. Dogs need a variety of vitamins and minerals in addition to their need for protein (meat) and fat. Dog food companies spend millions on research, and as a result most of today's pets live into very ripe old age.

Jock stayed at the vet's for almost a week, while Larry visited him daily. Larry was horrified that he'd almost killed his dog. Jock's protein-only diet had leeched the calcium out of Jock's bones, making them weak and brittle.

When he took Jock home, he had a nutritionally sound diet printed out for him, with lots of extra supplements. A year later, Jock is back to his bouncing, happy self.

In conclusion, if you're thinking of cooking homemade dog food, be careful. Ask your vet for a diet for your particular dog. All dogs vary in their requirements, according to their breed, their age, and their exercise or lack of it.

A Bouncing Energetic Labrador One Moment, The Next An Old Dog

Beware of homemade dog food - it can kill, as my friend Larry discovered. No, I'm not trying to scare you, just make you aware of the potential dangers.

After all, if you love your dog, you may be considering cooking him homemade dog food, because you control the ingredients, and it's healthier. However, unless you're careful, your homemade treats could be dangerous for the health of your dog.

A Bouncing Energetic Labrador One Moment, The Next An Old Dog

A few weeks ago my friend Larry's three-year-old Labrador Jock was showing all the symptoms of old age. He couldn't get up, and when he did, he tottered. Larry rushed him to the vet, who initially suspected that Jock had been poisoned.

The vet questioned Larry about Jock's diet.

Larry proudly explained that he'd never fed Jock any commercial dog food, he was determined that his canine pal would have the very best. "I buy all his meat from the supermarket myself - he eats better than the rest of our family do," he told the vet.

that he can follow.

Even though the halter is easy to use and doesn’t need much instruction, you still need to be very careful using it. You can cause serious neck injuries to your dog if you pull too hard on the leash. Giving that jerk of the leash can whip your dog’s head around toward you very quickly, causing damage. With the halter on you shouldn’t need to pull on the leash at all. Your dog will quickly learn from trial and error that his pulling results his head being turned away from the actual source of excitement. You should also not use the halter as your sole training device. You won’t teach your dog any responsibility for his own actions unless you continue teach him commands that he can follow. Use the head halter as a transitional tool only, not as a permanent walking device.

to pull on her face.

How the halter can help:
A dog with a head halter on is a dog easier to control. It’s a great equalizer for dog owners with very large dogs since the dog will not pull as much on a leash when in use. The halter can also be healthier for you dog if he’s a puller since collars can damage his windpipes with constant pulling and use. Even though the halter is not designed as a muzzle, in some dogs it can act as a deterrent for barking and aggression. With my dog, we’ve definitely noticed a difference. She’s much less vocal, and she walks much nicer because she doesn’t want to pull on her face.

d accept that it’s there.

What to expect:
Many dog owners are trying out head halters as opposed to choke or pinch collars to control their large breed dogs. It’s similar in part to what is used to lead horses, and was adapted from such a device. The halter fits around the muzzle of your dog and snaps behind his head so that it doesn’t come off. The assumption when using a halter is that where your dog’s head goes, his body will follow. It could potentially make training easier then.

Your dog’s reaction:

Before actually using the halter as a training tool, simply put it on and allow your dog to get used to the idea for a while. When we first used one on my dog, she allowed it to be put on alright, but as soon as she had her freedom her paws were all over her face trying to get the strange device off. Let your dog adjust to the collar, but don’t let him take it off if he can manage that. Correct him if he tries too hardily to use his paws to claw the thing off his face. Eventually he calm down and accept that it’s there.

the marketing technique employed.

The trick is to provide the six basic nutrients in a balanced diet, factoring in the calories that will suffice for your dog's growth, activity, and restoration. In addition, your dog's daily diet must contain vitamin and mineral supplements in balanced concentrations. Too much of one mineral may interfere with absorption of another; too little of a mineral may interfere with vitamin use or other mineral use.

If you plan to feed your pet fresh food, you want to make sure that you provide him with all the nutritional building blocks he needs to maintain a healthy body. Animal protein should be combined with vegetables, pasta, rice, cereals and other foods to provide all the protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals needed.

If you still opt for the convenience of commercial foods, it is wise to become versed in the art of decoding dog food ingredient labels so that you can be assured that the nutritional value matches (or, ideally, surpasses) the marketing technique employed.

The dog food manufacturers spend a great deal of time, energy and advertising revenue to persuade us that their products are natural and nutritionally complete. That would indicate,

1) That is what consumers would like the product to be, and
2) That is what the product should be.

Doesn't it make sense, then, that you select food for your dog that you know to be healthful and nutritionally sound? If you're still buying commercial dog food, you aren't feeding your dog what it needs and deserves.