Edie MacKenzie On Dogs

Archive for the ‘Dog Health’ Category

Destructive scratching is related to escape chewing, digging and jumping out of windows. This is a behavior that the dog normally undertakes when he has been confined and wants to escape.

To discover the causes of this destructive behavior, you must determine when and where the scratching takes place. Obvious causes of this behavior is when the female dog next door is in heat, or confinement because the dog is a social problem or is being punished, which are the usual causes relate to confinement alone.

One exception is the dog that scratches on the seats or cushions of furniture or through bedding or mattresses. These excavators are usually digging a hole for themselves to curl up in or are scratching in frustration at their owner’s anal and/or genital scents. When pillows and clothing are the target, the dog may be attempting to masturbate with them.

Scratching in order to escape can occur in dominant or overdependent dogs. In either case, correction involves the same methods as for destructive chewing. The owner must teach at least the “Come,” “Sit,” and “Stay” commands without the use of force. These commands should be used whenever the dog nudges for attention. The dog should be praised for desirable responses. If punishment has been used, this must be stopped immediately, as this is usually counterproductive.

To minimize the contrast between the owner’s presence and absence, all unsolicited attention, such as talking to the dog, petting him or playing with him in response to the dog’s attention seeking, should be stopped. Examples of these activities include tug-o’-war, wrestling, chasing the dog, and playing fetch when the owner must force the dog to give up the ball or stick.

In other words, interactions must involve the dog’s responding to the owner, rather than vice versa. Coming and going rituals must be avoided. It is also helpful to leave a radio turned on at a normal volume at all times to stabilize the acoustic environment and keep the dog company.

If the cause of destructive scratching is known, that cause should be eliminated, if possible. If a confined male dog is scratching because a neighborhood female dog is in heat, the use of some medication for the female dog in heat has proved to be successful, providing her owners are willing. If not, and if the problem is recurrent with a male that is not to be bred, castration has proven helpful if combined with the other steps outlined here. If the dog is unruly or shut away as punishment for some other behavior, the basic behavior problem should be corrected.

When you feed your pet too much second-hand, poor quality protein such as cheap hamburgers, hot dogs, cold cuts, semi moist sugar-preserved dog foods – or any meats full of DES, nitrates, nitrites, aldehydes, and other assorted harmful additives – the particular pancreatic enzymes that are needed to digest the proteins in your dog’s system become depleted sooner than necessary.

Additionally, these meats have been so thoroughly cooked that they no longer have live enzymes of their own. Without enough pancreatic enzymes to digest the protein, the food begins to putrefy and can lead to pancreatitis and toxemia. We can give more food but it is not being utilized. If the body can’t use the nutrients, this is tantamount to not having them. The body begins to feed upon itself in order to sustain life, and the animal loses weight and muscle tone in spite of the quantity of food provided. In the case of malignant tumors, the body feeds the tumor while starving itself, so the tumor grows to robust proportions while the body shrivels like a dehydrated prune.

If you suspect ill health in your pet, don’t stuff him with food, hoping that he will regain strength. You will actually be further depleting his impaired vitality. Withholding food for a day or so will cause a revitalization of the body, because the body will have a chance to fight the impairment without the continuing added burden of processing food. This applies whether the food is wholesome or second-rate, but even more strongly when it is of poor quality. Then the digestive organs are not working in the processing of food, they have an opportunity to apply themselves to the digestion of debris in the body.

Fasting is nature’s most perfect medicine, since the body works to rid itself of the debris, or harmful toxic matter, first, thereby effecting a most marvelous housecleaning of cells. Cells drowning in toxic waste have no room to absorb nutrients. They must first rid themselves of this obstructing waste. The process by which the body feeds upon and digests the debris is called autolysis. Some types of tumors or cysts can enjoy resorption into the body through this gradual, natural purification process.

If you have an older dog, the chances are that through years of dietary indiscretions, his enzymes have become somewhat depleted. Whatever sturdy stock remains can be reinforced by adding pancreatic enzymes to the diet. This will serve to bolster the forces of protein, fat, and carbohydrate digestion, and you will be augmenting the metabolization of your animal’s food. Pancreatic enzymes can help turn the tide of sluggish digestion, enabling the digestive process to perform with much increased efficiency. This will provide a most harmonious relationship within the digestive tract. The surplus enzymes can now effect a cleansing process by breaking up the toxic debris stored throughout the body.

After World War II, the success of commercial dog food was part of a sweeping societal trend toward modern conveniences that would both improve the overall standard of living and maximize the consumer’s leisure time. Women embraced anything that would free them from the kitchen or ease their household chores. Like drive-through restaurants and frozen dinners, prepackaged dog food was just one more culinary advantage.

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Dog Food Secrets You Need To Know!

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Dog Food Secrets

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Beginning in the 1950’s, companies switched their promotional strategies to emphasize the convenience of canned and bagged dog foods. “Feeding a dog is simple today,” declared  one dog food company advertisement. “It is unnecessary to cook special foods, measure this and that – why bother when it takes less than a minute to prepare one of our meals for your dog?”

Another dog food company in those days played on a similar theme, promising to do “away with all the fuss and bother in preparing food for your dog.” They bragged about the lightning speed with which their dog food could be served and cleaned up, since it did not “stick to the feeding bowl and is easier than ever to mix.

As the pet food market became increasingly lucrative through the 1960’s, it caught the eye of American industrial giants looking to diversify. Quaker Oats, Ralston-Purina, and other breakfast food conglomerates began producing grain-based kibbles and biscuits, and meat packers such as Armour and Swift marketed the first canned dog foods with a meat base. (During this time., too, questions about the safety of cigarettes first prompted tobacco companies to diversify their holdings, and pet food was one of the more popular investments.) Competition among these industrial “big boys” brought new, stylishly packaged products and eye-popping promotional campaigns, which torpedoed smaller, independent companies like Spratt’s, as well as most regional “mom and pop” pet foods.

But too many dog owners persisted in supplementing commercial dog food with table scraps, so companies retooled their marketing strategies. Advertisements ceased to even acknowledge the idea of home cooking for dogs, and put an increasingly derogatory twist on “scraps,” while commercial foods were powerhouses of proteins, minerals, and vitamins.

At a 1964 meeting of the Pet Food Institute (PFI), a Washington-based lobbying association representing American companies, George Pugh, an executive of Swift and Company (makers of Pard dog food) described ongoing efforts to discourage the feeding of anything but commercial dog food. PFI staff also “assisted” Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and fourteen other popular magazines in the preparation of feature articles about dog care, which not incidentally advocated commercial pet food to the exclusion of everything else. And a script prepared and distributed by PFI, warning of the dangers of table scraps, got airtime on ninety-one radio stations throughout the country.

Claws, or nails, are dead, horny structures on the ends of each of a dog’s toes. The special skin that makes them has a very rich blood supply, and the claws of some young dogs up to two years old have been recorded as growing as much as six inches per week. In older dogs, the claws may grow at half that rate.

Claws are very useful parts of a dog’s anatomy. They can help him to hold objects, will provide grip when he is moving and can even be used as weapons. Of the many nail disorders that may affect dogs, overlong claws and broken claws are the most common.

A dog’s claws grow all the time, and under normal circumstances they are constantly worn down through wear and tear. Overlong claws are caused by insufficient wear and tear, and dogs who are inactive because of age, illness or the laziness of their owners are most likely to suffer from them. The outer two claws on each paw and the dew claws are those that are most likely to be affected. Damage to the claws is often the result of digging or scrambling, and is more likely to occur if the claws are overlong.

Overlong claws will affect the way a dog walks, and will make his feet more prone to other injuries such as sprains. If left untreated, the claws may eventually grow around in a circle and bury themselves into the toe pads, causing severe pain.

If you think that your dog’s claws may be too long, ask your vet, a veterinary nurse or a professional dog-groomer to look at the claws for you. If they are too long, he or she will clip them. If your dog’s lifestyle means that this problem may recur, ask for a demonstration of how to clip your dog’s claws properly and safely yourself. Many owners are very reluctant to clip their dogs’ claws from the fear that they may make the claws bleed, or that they may hurt their dogs. However, there is no guarantee that a claw will not bleed even if your vet or a dog groomer clips them, as judging the correct length can be very difficult, especially if the claws are jet-black.

If you do cut a claw and it bleeds, you can stop the bleeding with a styptic pencil. Any pain associated with claw clipping is usually due to the use of blunt or inappropriate clippers, which
squeeze rather than cutting cleanly. Few dogs enjoy having their claws clipped, but those used to having their feet examined regularly as part of routine health-checks will normally tolerate the experience. However, some dogs resent the procedure so much that they have to be sedated.

With a broken claw, if the tip is hanging off but the claw is not bleeding and does not look raw, you may be able to clip it free. The toe may be painful, however, so you should muzzle your dog first and ask someone to restrain him properly for you. If the claw is badly damaged, and particularly if it looks raw or is bleeding, bandage the affected paw. This will stop the claw from moving, and will make your dog more comfortable until you can take him to your vet.

1. Sometimes getting a job done is as simple as having the right tools and bathing your dog is no exception. An indoor pet spray that attaches to your sink faucet or shower head makes bathing your dog easier to manage. The spray is gentle enough for a small dog.

2. If you must bathe your dog indoors, getting him into the tub may be a job in itself, let alone bathing him once he’s there. To help in the effort, purchase a dog bath helper that has a mini lead attached to a suction cup that sticks to the bottom or side of the tub. The suction cup can be easily removed once your dog is squeaky clean.

3. When rinsing the soap from your dog’s coat, use a one part vinegar to four parts water solution to leave his coat shiny and clean.

4. If your dog just doesn’t like the water, use a waterless shampoo that must be applied then lathered into his coat until a foam appears. Brush and towel-dry with a blow-dryer.

5. If you prefer, give your dog a dry bath to remove any odors when it’s too cold to bathe him. Rub some baking soda into your dog’s coat, gently massage it in, then brush it out.

6. To help give a small dog a bath, place a small window screen across the sink in which you want to bathe him. The screen will give your dog something to stand on, and, because the bath and rinse water flow beneath it, will prevent him from having to stand in water.

7. If you want to give your dog some extra help in the self-cleaning department but don’t want to stress him by subjecting him to a bath, use pet cleansing wipes to remove dander and
saliva from his coat. The product, made from all-natural ingredients, leaves your dog’s coat clean and healthy looking.

8. If your dog comes into contact with chewing gum, remove it by rubbing an ice cube on the gum until it hardens and can be pulled out, then wash the area thoroughly.

9. If your dog walks on tar, remove it by rubbing butter or margarine on the tarred area until the tar softens and can be pulled off. Repeat if necessary, then bathe your dog’s feet.

10. If your dog rubs against oil-based paint, wipe it off immediately with a dry cloth, then bathe him. If the paint has dried and hardened, cut it out, then bathe your dog.

11. If your dog doesn’t like the sound of spray conditioner after his bath, spray the conditioner on a brush, then run the brush through his hair.