Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Hi, I want to start feeding my puppy homemade food but wondering whether I need to give her a vitamin supplement to make sure she has a balanced diet?
My Amish friend down the street has a working dog that tends to her other animals (herding sheep, horses, etc.) so he is an outdoor farm dog. (a sheltie/aussie mix). The dog is well loved and cared for but even after giving him a bath today, the poor animal still has little bugs (like fruit flies but a little bigger) swarming and flying all over him, especially his face area. I mean, like about 50-75 or so of them! It’s crazy. She just thought he needed a bath and that’s why they were there, but even after the bath they were there. I have never encountered anything like that before. Anyone help explain and give some ideas on how to get rid of them for this poor pup 🙁
This is normal in PA to a degree. The dog’s diet contributes to its attractiveness to flies more than any thing. I would check for ear infection(s) or bad teeth. Other than that all that can be done is to apply a repellant to the dog – and I would use a natural one that can be found at an Agway or other farm store. These repellents contain a mix of essential oils like cedar or peppermint, etc.
Thank you. I agree – unfortunately with their culture it will fall on deaf ears, I am just trying to do my best to help the pup. I was the one that gave him the bath, etc. Perhaps I can have her make a mask and meanwhile I will play around with some of my essential oils to create a repellant blend that will work and that the dog would be tolerant with. Thanks so much Krista and PK
PK….I normally use water in my essential oil blends for animals but seeing as the bugs are attracted to water, do you think I should use a carrier oil instead?
Is there any value in tailoring my cat’s diet individually to him versus following a general high protein/low carb diet? If so, what should I consider when creating this diet?
Tailoring diets usually happen when there is a health issue involved. Since you didn’t mention one – I assume this is not the case. There are general guidelines you can find online for creating a raw diet for a cat – and once you understand the basics you can tailor it to what the cat likes and dislikes. Other than going raw (raw meaty bones and raw meat) I don’t understand how you would ‘tailor’ a diet to an individual cat.
Learn more about a biologically appropriate diet for a cat by googling that, also BARF diets for cats, raw diets for cats, etc. And start reading a lot of books on the subject. I have been feeding raw to my dogs since the 90’s and I am still reading and learning about canine nutrition – every years that passes gives produces more information, better understandings of what our pets need to be happy and healthy.
Good luck.
Ooos, that last sentence is pretty garbled! I meant:” – every year that passes gives us more information and a better understanding of what our pets need to be happy and healthy”
Can I give my 100 pound American Bulldog off the shelf glucosamine chondroitin from Rite Aid to help her hips and joints?
Hello Ed,
I am sorry but the site was down for upgrades. It was down much longer than expected.
I would always recommend that you stick with a reputable manufacturer like Nutramaxx. Unfortunately these are nutriceuticals, which are not overseen or mandated by the FDA so you are never really sure what you are getting unless you buy a respected brand. Nutramaxx products (most of them) are available OTC. Sorry for the delay
I moved my 10 year old boxer to Chicago about 2 years ago and discovered she becomes very anxious and afraid when a train passes by overhead. I think it’s mostly the loud thundering noise. She gets very wide-eyed as the train approaches and the noise increases, then attempts to get as low to the ground as possible and “army crawl” away. I now am moving to a new apartment in the city that is directly next to an elevated train track. The interior of the apartment is very well insulated so the trains can barely be heard, but her most nearby grassy “potty spot” is directly below the tracks. I am scared that taking her out, especially in the mornings when the trains run every couple minutes, will be very damaging to her in her old age. I’ve attempted to pet and talk calmy to her while the trains pass, with little to no success. What can I do to help her get over her anxiety/fear of the noisy trains as they pass?
RIP Dr. Yin.
Would this be the same as counter conditioning to thunderstorms? I want to start working with my MIL’s dog – she FREAKS when a storm comes.
you need get a shampoo that will kill fleas and comb them all out. you also need to kill all the fleas in your house so your dog doesn’t keep getting them.
To get rid of fleas on the dog, you need to get ride of the fleas in your house and yard. Here is how I make sure my home is flea free:
Use flea and tick shampoo in a hose-end sprayer and spray the YARD and foundation of your home – especially around the doorways. This helps reduce the number of fleas there. You can also use diatomaceous earth, mix it with water and sprinkle around the yard and foundations. More on DE below.
Inside your home, get Diatomaceous Earth (food quality only! – not the stuff they sell for use in the garden) and sweep it into the cracks of a hardwood floor and at the baseboard. Sprinkle it onto any carpeting and sweep it into the pile of the carpet. Be careful to not inhale the dust (use a mask) and don’t allow your dog to breath it, it will irritate the lungs. This kills the live fleas in your home. Vacuum every day until the fleas are gone – and be sure and remove the bag from the machine each time and take it outside to the trash (fleas will jump right back out of the machine if you leave the used bag in there).
If your pup has a lot of dried flea poop on him (those little dark crumbs we) then you can give him bath using flea shampoo. Watch carefully at his head and ears – if you see any fleas running up his body to the parts out of the water use a flea comb to get them off him and into the water so they will drown. Work a little of the soapy water onto his head and front paws. Be sure to rinse him well.
Cover the places the dog likes to sleep/nap with a towel or sheet, then toss that cover in the wash each week. Vacuum or wash all soft thing in the house (bedding, pillows, upholstered furniture, etc.)
Flea eggs can last days or YEARS so you have to just keep working until you get them all hatched and gone.
My cat, Mitsi, is 18 years old. She doesn’t have any signs if the urinary tract infections or lumps or bumps. She has no problem going in her litter box though occasionally she trips and pees when she is getting in the box (it’s only 4 or 5 inches high).
To be more specific with her scratching, she has done it for years but now she screams and pees when she does it.
She’s peeing on everything now and a couple times a day, I don’t know what to do anymore.
My family doesn’t have enough money to take her to the vet and due to her age they probably wouldn’t let me, but thank you for any help!
She has no problem eating or drinking and she pukes every once in a while as she’s always done. Besides the scratching and peeing , she’s just like she’s always been.
I would be worried about kidney disease and hypertension. Your vet can help with these. I am sory for the delay. the site was down. best wishes
my dog has had a cough for a while and now he has very swollen eyes and his cheeks is beginning to swell. his eyes has been leaking for a few days too
Sounds like your dog has needed a vet for a while. Please get him in today.
is there anything that i should do before that
Without knowing the cause, I don’t know that anyone can really suggest anything. Call your vet…now, because this has gone on long enough that he sounds pretty miserable.
yer it has and my mum does not seem worried though
how can you keep male dogs from peeing on furniture. the dogs have been fixed
Training, training, training. If they’re marking, keep them on a leash so they can’t get far – they haven’t earned the right to have full roaming privs in the house. The second they start sniffing like they’re going to cock a leg, correct them. Rinse, repeat. Belly bands can help, but I wouldn’t rely on them to be your only training tool.
Also: CRATE when you cannot supervise, and clean the heck out of the furniture with an enzyme cleaner.
Laura is right! You have to limit their access to your home until they prove that they can be trusted. I clean with vinegar – it neutralizes the urine odors – I start with 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water. If they try to mark that area again i use 100% vinegar and clean a wider area (at least 3 feet around the marked area) and deeper (check or replace padding under carpet, make sure you get down to the sub floor under hardwood, behind the baseboard, etc).
And put a belly band on them while you are training – just to be sure.
Hello, I have a newborn kitten. Its an orphan, and honestly seems to be about 5 days old. I have questions regarding its stool, yesterday the stool was more formed but today its diarrhea I am worried.. its like a yellowish brown diarrhea that seems to be a bit slimy if that makes sense. I have been feeding it KMR.
Thank you so much for your reply!
You don’t need supplements if you do it right. Read the book Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet by Steven Brown. Steve has been formulating commercial dog foods for over 20 years and so understands how to provide a balanced diet feeding homemade. The book has a lot of science but chapter 5 has clear recipes to follow. I have read over a dozen books on this topic and I think this is the best when it comes to helping you understand balanced nutrition.
Thank you both for your advice and quick replies. I will look into to both of these 🙂