The 3 basic ways to administer medicine to your dog are:

1) The “pouch method” using liquid dog medicine
2) Manually opening your dog’s mouth to insert medicine (prying open)
3) Administering pills or

The “Pouch Method” Using Liquid Medicine

The easiest medicine to administer to your dog is most certainly liquid dog medicine, because dropping the medicine into the dog’s food or water makes the medicine blend in seamlessly. If you’ve ever tried to give your dog a pill, you know that clever dogs often find a way to eat all the food and then spit out the pill! With liquid medicine you will not encounter this problem. Another way to administer liquid dog medicine is by using a dropper to drop the medicine directly into the dog’s mouth.

The “pouch method” involves using one of your hands to pull a corner of your dog’s lip open, specifically the back corner of the dog’s lower lip. Pulling the dog’s lip down forms a “pouch” shape where you can place the dropper, and while holding the dog’s head still administer the liquid medicine into the dog’s mouth via the pouch opening.

It may sound difficult to hold the dog’s head in place, form a pouch with the dog’s lip, and administer the liquid dog medicine all with just two hands. But feel free to have a second person help you with one of those actions to ease the process. One way to keep the dog from running away during the procedure is to sit the dog with his rear-end in a corner so he can’t back up to escape.

“Prying” The Dog’s Mouth Open

In the “pouch method” described above, we simply pulled down the corner of the dog’s lower lip. But with the “prying” method you will be lifting up the dog’s upper jaw to open the mouth. First you use your thumb on one side and your fingers on the other, placing them in the spaces behind the dog’s fangs. So you are holding just the dog’s upper jaw with one hand. With your hand in this position the dog will typically open its mouth a little to make room for your fingers and thumb, and this is your chance to pour the medicine inside, either with a spoon or a dropper. You pour the medicine in from the front, between your pooch’s front teeth. This is done as the hand placed over the dog’s upper jaw holds the jaw and hand back a little bit to keep the mouth open and accessible.

Non-Liquid Dog Medicine: Administering Dog Pills or Tablets

If you need to give your dog a pill or tablet, whether it be medicinal or just a simple vitamin or supplement, use a prying-the-mouth-open method similar to that described in the preceding paragraph. But rather than a spoon or dropper, you hold the dog pill, tablet, or capsule between your first finger and thumb (though another combination of thumb + finger would do); and while one hand is lifting up the dog’s upper jaw, you enter the dog’s mouth from the front with the hand holding the pill. Your free fingers on that hand can be used to push the lower jaw down.

Take the pill and hold it between your first finger and your thumb, or if easier for you, between the second fingers and the first finger. After you have the capsule or pill in place, use the rest of your fingers to push open the lower jaw at the front teeth. Then you have to insert the pill as far back into the dog’s mouth as you can, down into its throat to encourage swallowing. This may require a couple of tries and a little bit of careful maneuvering, but your dog’s swallowing reflex should take over at some point so that he or she consumes the pill.

I don’t think there’s a single dog out there that loves taking its medicine! And I don’t think there’s a single owner out there that enjoys administering it. But with a little bit of practice it becomes easier and not such a shock for your dog.

No related posts.

Do you have a dog that becomes nervous or scared for no reason, or has constant anxiety? I would bet you’ve done some research on dog behaviour and canine aggression and fear. But oftentimes the issue is not as complex or troubling as one might think.

Canine anxiety isn’t necessarily caused by conditioned behaviours or conditioned emotional reactions, or poor training. Sometimes your dog’s condition can be significantly improved via natural means, through some simple changes in diet.

It’s very common that canines also have trouble sleeping because of their anxious condition, just like humans. Down below you can find a few suggestions that may help your dog’s anxiety and stress be relieved:

A) Give your dog food containing wheat. There is evidence that byproducts of wheat digestion have affects on the dog’s brain that make him feel calmer.

B) An additional way to calm your dog is to give him warmed milk with a touch of honey added. Throw in a doggie biscuit and it becomes an enjoyable meal for your pooch while also calming him and relieving anxiety.

C) Have you heard of the herbal extra called “KAVA” or “kava kava”? Humans use it as a supplement to relieve stress and induce a relaxed mental and physical state, but did you know that dogs can consume it too? Well, they can! You can add a few drops of kava extract to your dog’s water. You can buy kava as either a liquid, or as capsules, or as a solid form that you can add into your dog’s food. But follow the recommended dosages.

D) Another way to naturally relieve anxiety and so on is to feed your dog small amounts of food at more frequent intervals throughout the day, instead of eating just one or to big meals. Grazing little by little throughout the day has a calming effect, as well as some other health symptoms. Some people advocate filling your dog’s bowl just once per day and letting him come and go, eating when he pleases. This can naturally lead your dog to have grazing habits rather than gourging habits.

E) Up above I mentioned the herbal supplement kava, and there is another similar substance. “Bach’s Rescue Remedy” is a supplement that you can purchase at most health food shops. Check the label to see if their are recommended dosages for dogs. The best way to give BRR to your dogs is in the liquid form that doesn’t have alcohol in it, and simply add a small amount to your dog’s water.

No related posts.

In the event that your veterinarian diagnoses your dog with a heart murmur issue, this could be an indication of an underlying canine heart disease.

Standards of the Veterinary community suggest that a heart murmur is the result of abnormal blood flow through the dog’s heart. Heart murmurs are not always bad, some are normal and indicate no problem, but others, like those noticed in older dogs, can be an signal that an underlying canine heart disease is present. The most commonly occurring canine heart diseases are:

A) Congenital birth defects appearing in an immature puppy

B) Heart valve leaks (degenerative valve disease), affecting older and middle age dogs, for the most part.

C) Deterioration of heart muscle tissue, which is normally found in still developing dogs, or in middle age canines from large breeds.

Detecting The Disease

Canine heart disease might not be discovered until quite late – that is to say, once if has reached the degree when it manifests itself in heart failures, collapse, or in worst case scenarios – immediate death. You can have your dog checked early on for heart murmurs by your veterinarian, and it is also your duty as a pet owner to watch out for some signs like trouble breathing, cough, reluctance to exercise, and abdomincal swelling which is caused by the retentin of fluids.

Other information that can aid in checking for the presence of canine heart disease are: the canine’s breed, age, blood pressure readings, EKG readings, and chest x-ray results. But in order to get a 100% definite diagnosis, an ultrasound of the dog’s heart will be necessary.

Treating Dog Heart Disease

Nursing your pooch back to full health is dependent upon the progression of the disease and the severity of its effects on other parts of the body. In the case of a young puppy with a birth defect, it may be possible to have it corrected through a surgical procedure.

Heart disease that arises at a later point in the dog’s life necessitates some big changes in lifestyle and discliplined habits for the dog. These changes likely include losing weight and maintaining a health weight, additional exercise or reduced activity depends on your dog’s condition and overall health, special dietary changes, and a medicinal program for the relief of stress, to limit the effect of stress on the dog’s heart.

The future outlook for dogs with canine heart disease are different from dog to dog. Certain dogs could undergo successful longterm care and maintenance. Other dogs will face a reduced lifespan of anywhere from several weeks to several years. The main thing to understand is that the earlier you discover the dog’s disease, the easier it will be to treat it and the higher the chances will be that he can live a long, healthy and vibrant life.

No related posts.

It is not unusual for young pups to have hip or elbow dysplasia which resulted from genetic inheritance. Proper breeding over the long term can greatly reduce these problems, but it’s unfortunate that due to improper breeding by both professional breeders and amateurs, this condition is all too common.

You may have hear about canine hip dysplasia already. Canine elbow dysplasia is basically the same condition, except that it appears not in the hips but rather in the elbow joints. With regular healthy canine development, the head of the dog’s femur is meant to grow into the socket of the joint, and subsequently rotate smoothly inside the socket during canine mobility. Dysplasia is the condition that occurs when the head of the femure grows to the outward direction, causing the bone to thicken, and leaving a gap in the spot where the femoral head is meant to be in contact with the joint socket. That space leads to some troubles with motion, as the rotation can not take place smoothly without skipping. That can make it painful and unreliable for the dog to walk and run around.

In the event that you have a young dog that your vet diagnoses as having hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia, some approaches can be taken which might make the dog’s life more bearable and enjoyable. Let’s have a look at some pointers to take to heart and follow seriously:

A) This doesn’t affect your dog’s condition, but it does affect future generations of the breed and spieces: have your pet neutered. This is for the prevention of passing on the dysplasia genes to future generations of dogs.

B) You may be under the impression that giving your dog calcium supplements will help his condition. But the reality is that calcium might actually result in calcium deposits in the area of bone that is already unnaturally shaped and causing problems. A preferable approah is to supplement your canine’s diet with additional vitamins and minerals in consultation with your veterinarian.

C) One thing that can aggravate canine dysplasia is a fast growth rate. Eating a high calorie diet influences a high grow rate. So try to limit your dog’s rate of growth by feeding him just a healthy but balanced and light diet. Avoid feeding him too many calories, and also too much protein, since protein is used to build body tissue.

D) Help reduce the impact of your dog’s feet hitting the floor by putting down carpeting to cushion against this. This will bring your dog some immediate relief through lessened impact, but can also help prevent the condition from becoming worse.

E) Discourage your dog from running and sprinting. I know these activities are highly enjoyable for your pet, but running creates a harder impact on your dog’s joints and can cause inflammation, aggravation of the condition, and increased pain for your pup. Your dog still needs exercise, and exposure to the outdoors and nature, but try to minimize his pace.

Related posts:

1. Canine Hip Dysplasia Symptoms
2. Canine Hip Dysplasia Treatment

It can be a it confusing to know what to look for when shopping for dog nail trimmers. There’s a wide variety of them out on the market, but if you keep a few basic things in mind the process can be fairly straighforward.

The main thing to remember is that smaller breeds of dog have softer nails and larger breeds have bigger and tougher nails. There are dog nail trimmers made for big dogs. They resemble a pair of pliers, with the two blades being rounded so that they cut in a circular shape to match the shape of a dog’s nail. Medium size models are also available for medium size dogs. These plier-like nail clippers do not require any replacement blades.

“Gullotine” nail clippers are great for smaller dogs. Guillotine clippers do not have two separate blades, but rather one circular opening into which you insert the nail, then when you squeeze the handles, and single blade moves out into the circular area where the nail is and cuts through it. Unlike the plier types for medium and large size dogs, these guillotine dog nail trimmers need to have their blades replaced on a regular basis.

Beyond those two basic types, the main thing is to look for a quality product. A quality nail trimmer will be easy to clean, durable and long-lasting, safe, and comfortable to hold.

Related posts:

1. How To Stop a Dog’s Nail From Bleeding
2. Trimming Dog Nails

Every dog owner understands the importance of trimming dog nails, and how delicate this procedure is. We would all love to be able to skip over this task, because it can be a nerve-racking few minutes and if you cut the dog’s nail too low it could cause your dog a lot of pain and bleeding. But the benefits of hygeine, comfort, and safety make trimming dog nails a necessary evil.

So the question is how to cut dogs nails. Let’s go through the procedure so you can do it as comfortably as possible and hopefully without hurting your pooch.

First of all, it’s important to point out the benefits of training your dog when it’s young to get used to having its paws handled and its nails clipped. If you start doing this too late, you will have more problems with the dog pulling away and squirming. You can begin this training first by handling and stroking the young dog’s paws to get it used to giving up that little bit of control to you. Then you can get them prepared for the pressure of nail clippers by lightly pinching their nails with your fingers. Of course giving them a pat, a “Good dog!” and maybe a treat is a great way to encourage that behaviour.

After that you can begin to start trimming a couple of nails a day with dog nail clippers, gradually leading up to a time when youcan clip them all at once. Now onto the mechanics of how to cut the nails.

A dog’s nail consists of the outside solid area, and inside that is the quick, the soft tissue which holds blood vessels and nerve endings. The quick exists inside the nail, part way down from the top. When trimming dog nails you need to make sure you do not cut into the quick, otherwise your dog will bleed and be in serious pain. If your dog has light colored nails, you can probably see the quick through the nail, having a pink tone. Be aware of where that area is, and stop clipping before you cut into that area.

In dog’s with darker nails the quick will be invisible, so you need to be extra cautious not to clip too far. It is prudent to clip off very small bits at a time, and after each bit have a look at the clipped part of the nail. If you can see a dark area in the middle of the clipped part of the nail, that is the start of the quick so it is time to stop.

The best way to position the dog is to either (a) have somebody hold the dog still while you do the clipping, or (b) have the dog lie down on a raised area like a no-slip dog mat while you clip. Or both. The goal is to keep your dog still and as calm and comfortable as possible.

After trimming the dog’s nails many owners like to use a nail file or a dog dremel to flatten out the nails. This is a good idea for house dogs, or dogs that stay on the lawn. But if your dog walks around on harder surfaces a lot, then the nails will become flattened and smoothed out naturally with filing them.

Related posts:

1. How To Stop a Dog’s Nail From Bleeding
2. Dog Nail Trimmers

Dog owners are well aware of the necessity of trimming their dog’s nails periodically, both for the comfort and ease of the dog, but also to prevent the dog from ripping its own nails and inflicting pain upon itself (or upon humans!). But what happens if you are trimming your dogs nails and you cut too low, causing the dog’s nail to start bleeding? I want to tell you how to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding in such a case.

The best way to stop the dog’s nail from bleeding is to use styptic powder. This is a powder that accelerates blood clotting, helping the blood flow to stop and the healing process to begin. This, however, is something you must plan beforehand but having a supply of styptic powder at home.

Take the dog’s paw and insert the bleeding nail into some styptic powder. Do your best to keep the dog from licking at the nail and styptic powder. When the blood starts to clot and the bleeding slows down, then take a towel or paper towel and apply pressure to the dog’s nail. This pressure should help slow the bleeding even more until the clotting is quite solid.

If you do not have styptic powder, there are some substitutes you can use. One is corn starch. And if you have no corn starch, try flour. These are less than ideal, but they do have some effect in promoting clotting and if you have to use them they will do the trick. Follow the same procedure as when you are using styptic powder.

When a dog’s nail has been cut too low and is bleeding, the dog will likely be in a lot of pain. Be aware of this as you hold its paw and as you apply pressure. Your dog may cry out or even bite out of panic. If you have a muzzle, it will be helpful in this case. If you don’t have a muzzle, please take care not to get bitten.

Related posts:

1. Trimming Dog Nails
2. Dog Nail Trimmers
3. Strokes In Dogs

Innova pet food for dogs was perhaps the earliest holistic dog food product on the market.  It is produced so that it gives the dog a varying level of nutrition at each stage in life. But are you aware of what holistic dog food is?

Holistic dog food is really dog food in its ideal natural state, not processed and having no artificial components. Therefore nutrients are well-preserved in the food’s original condition. Contrast that with different dog foods which have byproducts that you certainly would never want your beloved pooch to eat if you knew what they were. The worst thing about those foods is the by-products might be contaminated and pass some illnesses or diseases to your canine.

Avoid this problem by selecting a holistic dog food that will support your dog’s health.

Innova pet food for dogs is made with ingredients taken from all of the 6 basic food groups. That includes fruits/vegetables, and whole grains which, and other ingredients that give Innova a wide variety of dog food varieties and flavors. Innova contains valuable nutrients that are essential for your dog’s health. An example of such important nutrients is protein and also fibre. Just like humans do, dogs require fibre to steer clear of intestinal and anal sac difficulties, so luckily these elements are included in Innova dog food.

Learn more regarding how to offer the best nutrition to your canine.

We adore our dogs and we wish for them to live a healthy and happy life. So we need to be educated about the different ingredients that can aid our dog’s development and those that can have a negative effect on the dog’s health. When you are aware of the reason behind the includion of certain dog food ingredients, you will be better armed to choose the most suitable food for your dog. Give Innova pet food for dogs a shot. It has both health benefits, and your dog will approve!

Related posts:

1. Holistic Dog Foods

What happens with protein inside a canine’s body? Photo a string of beads and each string is needed to produce a comprehensive photo or an artwork. The responsibility of protein in your furry friend can be compared to this strings of beads. every protein is equal to specific strings of beads. Simply as these strings are connected together in the right order to create a photo, different kinds of proteins have to work together to be able to make a furry friend.

Each string is made from differing numbers of colored beads that’re lined up in an exact pattern to make certain body components like the hair, the nose, or the ear of the picture. The colored beads are comparable to amino acids, or substances that’re attached to the strings to produce different proteins.

There are twenty three amino acids that are the molecular building blocks of protein.  A furry friend can make 13 amino acids within his body as the other ten amino acids must come from an outside source and has to be consumed.  A pup won’t grow unless he is supplied with the remaining ten imperative amino acids.  Lacking them he’ll become ill and will finally die. Likewise, if an adult canine is not getting the proper quantity of those 10 amino acids, he’ll get feeble and undergo nutritional deficiencies.

These ten essential amino acids can be gotten from meat and vegetation, which offer the most excellent sources since they contain the biggest number of imperative amino acids.

Not all proteins are the same, because some are healthier for your canine than other ones. The quantity of protein a dog requires depends on how much of the imperative amino acids are supplied by that protein. The protein’s faculty to offer the canine’s Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) of the 10 important amino acids is known as its “biological value”.

Here’re numerous further facts in relation to the significance of protein for your dog’s health:

one. Proteins are the basis of your dog’s body.

2. Proteins are principal for all aspects of expansion and expansion and are very valuable in structural composition and the immune system. On top of that, they’re burned as energy and can be changed to and stored as fat if needed.

3. They are required for nutricious nails, skin, and jacket.

four. They are principal for the production of hormones in the bloodstream.

5. They provide a nourishing immunity system.

No related posts.

Neutering is a procedure that makes a male dog sterile so that it can not be the father of puppies. Perhaps you want to be responsible and keep your dog from fathering any puppies that may end up as strays or put down. That’s an important reason to get your dog neutered. But beyond that there are a lot of benefits of the operation.

Having your dog neutered is far more of a simple procedure than getting a female dog spayed. The dog is first put under general anesthesia, and an incision is cut in the front of the scrotum, and then the testicles are taken out through that incision. Then the testicles’ stalks are cut. After the removal stitches are sometimes added to the incision to promote healing.

What Are Some Benefits Of Neutered Surgery?

There are numerous benefits that go beyond not parenting unwanted puppies:

• Some diseases like testicular cancer and prostate diseases will be less likely to occur.

• His behaviour will calm down since there will be less testosterone in his body. This can reduce stress in the dog owner.

• He won’t mark his territory with urine as often, because neutured dogs have less reason to announce their presence.

• Lower testosterone levels can reduce or get rid of aggressive behaviour and roaming.

• If your dog is older, neutering can reduce the size of an enlarged prostate.

When Should I Get My Dog Neutered?

You can get your male dog neutered anytime after 8 weeks old. In the past many vets suggested that you wait until the dog hit puberty at around 8 weeks old, and some vets still recommend this.

Dogs that get neutered before reaching pubert tend to grow bigger than dogs neutered after the onset of puberty because testosterone’s effect on bone growth. Most dogs reach puberty at around 5 or 6 months old.

Some people think that they don’t have to have their dog neutered if his testicles don’t descend. This is false. Dogs without descending testicles generally have get tumors in the testicals than regular dogs.

Getting your dog ready for surgery

Prior to surgery, blood work is normally offered to check if your canine is healthy enough to undergo surgery, and that he doesn’t have any health problems that could influence what anesthesia should be used. Usually, young and healthy dogs don’t need this presurgical blood work, but it never hurts to have that information.

You should take the advice of your veterinary clinic over my advice, but generally speaking the dog shoud avoid eating for 8 hours or more before the surgery. This is because the anesthesia might cause nausea. Drinking water, however, is ok.

What Will Happen After The Surgery

• Your dog can usually go home the day of the operation.

• The canine may be a little nauseous and refuse to eat for a couple of days. There is no need to panic if this happens. He will eat when his body tells him to.

• Your dog will have a swollen scrotum for a few days after the procedure. Many dog owners see this and wrongly think that the dog still has his testicles and that there was some mistake. But really, that is just swelling. The swelling may be worsened by the dog licking the incision.

• If your pooch continues licking the stitches or pulling them out, you can use an Elizabethan collar (the big lamp shade-looking ones) around his neck to stop him.

• If stitches were used, they will have to be taken out after 7-10 days. The number of days depends on what kind of stiches were used.

• After the neutered surgery a puppy’s scrotum will become flat as he gets bigger. But adult dogs that get neutered will always retain the flap of skin that is the empty scrotum.

• A bit of light bruising can take place near the incision

What to Be Careful Of After the Surgery

If you notice some discharge coming from the incision, or if your dog seems to be in a lot of pain, get in touch with your vet. Dogs don’t usually need pain killers, but it sometimes happens.

Remember to use an Elizabethan collar to prevent licking of the incision and stitches if your dog continues to do so. The collar can cause some problems for mobility and cause some crashes into walls and furniture. But they are often a necessary evil.

Related posts:

1. Debarking Surgery For Dogs
2. Luxating Patella Surgery For Dogs
3. Dog Catarac Surgery