Sorry AutoCorrect. My cats neck was swollen and today I noticed that there was Puss coming out and the swelling was gone but there was a hole in her neck the size of a BB anything I should do
I Really Need Help. My Cat Won’t Stop Climbing And Shredding My Drapes. I…
I really need help. My cat won’t stop climbing and shredding my drapes. I don’t want to get rid of him, but he is destroying my furniture. I have tried everything, from spraying him with the water bottle, Please help.
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My Cats Neck Was Swallen And Now Postles Coming Out In The Holes The Size…
My cats neck was Swallen and now Postles coming out in the holes the size of a BB what should I do
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Bob Waldron
My Girlfriend And This Vet Work Together At A Referral Hospital. He Says That…
My girlfriend and this vet work together at a referral hospital. He says that they are starting to see a lot of pets come in with blockages or other issues and many of them are fed Blue Buffalo. Additionally, surely you’ve heard about the trouble BB has apparently gotten into about its ingredients? However, this is mostly a battle between Purina and BB and it is not clear whether there are other issues here as well. Basically what I am asking is–should we change? and if so I am not sure what to change to or whether to take ingredients seriously anymore because apparently companies are being dishonest about them. We are also being told to switch to Purina ProPlan instead. Our dog has always been somewhat sensitive to his food.
I love your blog by the way!
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Zachary Groff I really appreciate your even-minded response. What is frustrating about this is that their product has been seemingly intentionally mislabeled. While we’re all affected by advertising, but when determining his diet I tried to avoid advertisements all together and focused on ingredients. However, I can’t trust that they are even listed honestly then I am not sure what to do. I am tempted to switch foods but my method now seems unreliable.
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Anonymous i liked Blue A LOT before they were bought by their parent company.
once the buyout happened, the recipe changed…put a serious hurt on my IBD-suffering cat with that sudden, unannounced change. they didn’t change the label for another 6-12 months, too.
•5 Year Old Pure Bred Yellow Lab
•had Tumor For About 6-12 Months
-grew Larger Over Time
-does…
•had Tumor For About 6-12 Months
-grew Larger Over Time
-does…
•5 year old pure bred yellow lab
•had tumor for about 6-12 months
-grew larger over time
-does not seem in pain
-bumps all over body
-bumps don’t seem to bother her
-read new diet Benadryl or prednisone would help
-happy plays ball
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My Dog Which Is A Small Bichon Poodle, Keeps Licking Her Back Paw. It Is…
My dog which is a small bichon poodle, keeps licking her back paw. It is a bit red. What can I do for her now? Her vet’s office is closed now.
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Joe Mccollum You can try over the counter Benadryl. One milligram per pound. And a sock to cover it.
If you have a dog shampoo you could try to rinse the foot which might also calm the itch.
Doctor, You Must Get So Frustrated And A Bit Angry When You Get Tons Of…
Doctor, you must get so frustrated and a bit angry when you get tons of questions from (ignorant, sorry but true) people who don’t spay or neuter their animals…no business owning a pet if you don’t get it fixed…….just saying, thank u.
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6 Wk Old Pup Dropped By Child. Slight Limp. No Whining While…
6 wk old pup dropped by child. Slight limp. No whining while feeling from paw up leg or while trying to walk. Baby asprin?
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julie brader Hi….firstly I hope you don’t mind if I say please don’t let your child pick up the puppy, children should treat dogs with care and respect….puppies are not toys.
A pup should not leave its mother until they are at least 8 weeks old, 6 weeks is very young.
A puppy’s bones are st
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julie brader Sorry hit the wrong button!
A puppy’s bones are still quite soft at 6 weeks old. Perhaps you should pop him to a vet to make sure no lasting damage has been done.
My Husband And I Were Discussing Making Our Own Dog Food. Our Dogs Are Currently…
My husband and I were discussing making our own dog food. Our dogs are currently eating dry Whole Earth Farms grain free kibble. Sometimes we add in whole Earth Farms grain free wet food in the evenings. We were wondering if switching to homemade food is a good idea and if so how much do we feed our dogs? Our dogs are 60-80 pounds each.
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Anna K I would consider BARF diet
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Jana Hi Amanda,
that is a good question, isn’t it? And the answer depends on whom you ask. Some might tell you, yes, definitely, others will shout out, OMG please don’t do that.
Here is how it is with food, whether for ourselves of for our dogs.
The best food you can offer is
– biologically appropriate (there are arguments about what is or isn’t biologically appropriate for dogs)
– as fresh and wholesome you can offer (some argue that ingredients don’t matter only nutrients matter; well both do matter)
– as little processed as possible
– with as little stuffs that don’t belong into food as possible
– as natural and organic as possible (again, there are arguments that it doesn’t matter but it doesn’t make sense that it wouldn’t)I think Dr. Becker summarized it fairly well in this article:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/21/13-pet-foods-ranked-from-great-to-disastrous.aspx Again, there are arguments whether raw is best or cooked is best. (there are arguments about every single aspect of what to feed our dogs)
Advantages of raw: minimal loss of nutrients, high digestibility
Disadvantages of raw: possible contamination with bacteria
a) the risk seems higher to people than the actual dog(s)
b) can be controlled with exercising good food safetyAdvantages of cooked: minimizing risk of bacterial contamination, good digestibility (even better with some ingredients such as veggies; whether raw or cooked protein is better digestible is also debated)
Disadvantages of cooked: loss of nutrientsAdvantages of making your own food (raw or cooked): full control over ingredients
Disadvantages of making your own food: if not done properly, there is a risk of nutritional imbalancesThese days you can find commercially available diets for any type of food you wish to feed, whether it’s raw or cooked. Advantage of doing that is that you can find manufacturers who have complete and balanced formulations. Disadvantage is that you don’t control the ingredients directly and have to take the manufacturer at their word on what they put in and where they sourced it. There are some reputable manufacturers out there for both raw and cooked diets.
How much you should feed your dogs depends on your dogs (not only their weight but also their age and activity level). There are calorie calculators out there.
Depending on what you have available where you live, home prepared (whether raw or cooked) can be cheaper than commercial. Or not. Depends on whether you can source from farmers, co-ops etc.
There is the work that goes into making the food.
MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT, though, is that if you are going to make your own food, whether raw or cooked, is to make sure it is COMPLETE AND BALANCED. This can be best and easiest achieved by
a) working with a nutritionist
b) working with a supplement such as BalanceIT
c) acquiring some good recipes (but whatever you’re going to make will need to be supplemented, AT LEAST with calcium source) Vitamins and minerals may or may not have to be supplemented depending on the ingredients you’d use.As for myself, I used to home-cooked for Jasmine for a long time. It worked very well for her. I DID use a supplement designed specifically for balancing home prepared diets (in Canada we have Hilary’s Blend, which I have been using). With Cookie, she decided to “switch herself to raw” on her own (she is an avid hunter) so I figured who was I to argue and I’m now feeding her raw. For the time being I use mostly commercially prepared frozen raw with the odd fresh home prepared raw such as during hunting season. So she’d get a whole rabbit, for example.
I think reading the above article I linked to should give you a good idea how to improve your dogs’ nutrition and where to start.
Please do not forget the COMPLETE and BALANCED bit.
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Margrit Simons Here is a great recipe for home made dog food from Dr. Stanley Coren at UBC. I made it for my dogs and they loved it (until I got to be too lazy). You can look it up on this website : pets.ca/recipes /recipe3
I’m Kind Of Freaking Out Because I’m Afraid The Backyard, Where We Take Him Out…
I’m kind of freaking out because I’m afraid the backyard, where we take him out to poop, is really infected, and also, the furniture that he sits on is infected.
Is there a for sure way to kill the eggs of these parasites from my yard and furniture? I’ve read on the internet that eggs only appear in places where he has pooped, so should I not be worried about the furniture?
Also, today I got him the medication he needs to treat these parasites. Will they completely clean the parasites, or will he probably have to do a second round of treatment?
Answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated!
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Laura Kyle This is not uncommon. Your vet should have given you meds to kill the parasites. They will probably recommend rechecking a fecal in a few weeks to make sure that all of the parasites are gone. In the meantime, pick up your dogs stool in the yard.
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Michelle Dang Thank you everyone who replied!
How To Prepare Puppies To Stay Alone For A Night And Half Of Day Alone?We…
How to prepare puppies to stay alone for a night and half of day alone?We need to fly in the evening to get our visas done and we’re gonna be home in the early afternoon.They’re gonna sleep in the spacious garden+food+separateBowls ofWater
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Anonymous that’s WAY too long for puppies to be by themselves. please find someone to watch them.
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Anna K If I had someone who would take care of them when we’re not here, I wouldn’t ask this question. Unfortunately, we’re new in this country and the vet advised us NOT to leave them at the clinic due to distemper outburst (they’ve been vaccinated today for the 1st time).
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Anna K I wouldn’t have asked* sorry!
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Anonymous Anna, i would look into a pet sitter in your area. seriously. PLEASE don’t leave these puppies alone for more than a few hours. please.
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Anna K The only option we have is to arrange a pet check in the morning to change water. Pet sitters are not available at my region because of Ramadan (boarding centers are full) or religious issues (dogs are considered ‘haram’ ). I’ve already checked what’s available.
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Anna K They will be staying in the garden where they usually stay for the whole day ( they poop there and pee). They are in the house usually for the late evening and night. Our lab will be 15/16 week and Golden 13/14. We cannot change the date, because we may not be able to legally enter the country if we stay any day longer – and this is pretty important part.
I can arrange somebody to change the water in the morning – but no touching the dogs or staying with them – religious issues for my neighbors and the person who will perform the pet check.
Thank you. He is only 10 months old, and I play with him constantly, plus he is never by himself. We also have a dog that is a wonderful companion to Melvin.
Do the nail caps work? And can you put them on? Plus cost for application
Nail caps often fall off and ndeed reapplication, but getting your cat’s nails clipped on a regular basis will help a ton!
Hi Pat,
If you do not have a cat tree for your cat, GET ONE 🙂 they are awesome for cats because they can climp up , scratch on them, jump from them. They are a saving grace. They come in all sorts of heights/sizes,textures. They are often expensive but well worth it. Bait the cat tree with cat nip or toys or cat treats to lure your cat to them if they don’t seem interested. Once they figure out they are fun they love them. Our cat did the same thing as yours before we got two cat tree’s . He usually is found sleeping at the top tier of the tree if he’s not crawling and scratching at it.
As mentioned also provide cat scratch toys,,they have tons at petsmart or online. Some are as simple as a cardboard tray that has corregated board on it with catnip that cats get lured to and then can scratch. Also making sure you provide lots of play with rolling toys, plush ones,etc.
Heres a great link to fun toys and tree’s :http://www.overstock.com/Pet-Supplies/Cat-Supplies/312/dept.html
I’ve found that the taller the cat tree you can get the better. Also try just simple boxes, cats love to get inside them and scratch at them too.
And again, make sure to clip your cats nails on a very regular basis, they grow very fast.
Good luck! Have fun!
~kelly
Wonderful advice here about nail clipping and also training and enrichment for your cat. Cats are very intelligent, active animals (maybe not while we’re awake!). They need fun and interesting things to climb, things to scratch, and food to hunt. I recommend clients feed *at least* (but preferably ALL) meals in enrichment toys and for positive training. These includes puzzle boards, balls with holes, etc. Also, provide plenty of non-food toys too that will engage your cat’s predatory drive. Put out some of these toys and store the rest. Then after a week or two, switch. This way, you have a rotation of toys and your cat doesn’t get bored.
You can train your cat to scratch on posts or a sanding board. Or simply bring him/her in for nail clippings, or have a groomer come to your house, or learn to do it yourself. There’s a very good group on Facebook for training these things called Nail Maintenance for Dogs. While the group is geared towards dogs, it will work for any other animal with nails as well. Check out the files section to get started.
Wonderful advice here about nail clipping and also training and enrichment for your cat. Cats are very intelligent, active animals (maybe not while we’re awake!). They need fun and interesting things to climb (multiple things, not just one cat tree or climbing furniture), things to scratch, and food to hunt. I recommend clients feed *at least* one (but preferably ALL) meal(s) in enrichment toys and for positive training. These includes puzzle boards, balls with holes, etc. Also, provide plenty of non-food toys too that will engage your cat’s predatory drive. Put out some of these toys and store the rest. Then after a week or two, switch. This way, you have a rotation of toys and your cat doesn’t get bored. You can train your cat to scratch on posts or a sanding board. Or simply bring him/her in for nail clippings, or have a groomer come to your house, or learn to do it yourself. There’s a very good group on Facebook for training these things called Nail Maintenance for Dogs. While the group is geared towards dogs, it will work for any other animal with nails as well. Check out the files section to get started.