Has your Guniea Pig been diagnosed with Chlamydia? If not then this needs diagnosis by a Vet and he will advise you on the antibiotics needed. We cannot tell you on here what medication to use, you need to Consult a Vet. Please don’t administer human medication as this can be very toxic to animals. 

that looks infected, he probably broke a nail under the skin and it has gotten infected. I would take him to the vet.  You could soak his paw in warm water and epsom salts and it may help the pain some

Hello Chevy…..the symptoms you describe, the arched back, not wanting to jump and lethargy show your Yorkie is in a lot of pain. He needs to see a Vet urgently. He could have a serious back injury, intestinal problem or numerous other things. Please take him straight to the Vet urgently, this could get worse quickly. 

I hope hes alright….and good luck! 

Hi Annette, well the good news is it doesn’t sound like ear mites cause if it was you would be in trouble, when a cat has ear mites the discharge is a black color. The problem you do have is white or cream colored discharge could be any number of things. What i do when my cats get a ear infection is use white vinegar and water, in a little container put 50%water and 50% vinegar then you put 2 little drops in each ear, if you are useing a big dropper then only put 1 drop in each ear then let your cat go for 5-10 minutes then wipe inside the ear not the canal just outside the canal with a cotton ball and also around the outside of the ear to make sure you wipe up all the dirt and whatever else is in your cats ear. Repeat this twice a day once in the morning and once at night. This always works for my cats so i hope it will for you. If you see after two days that there is no improvment please contact your vet, cause sometimes what works for one cat may not always work for another. Also if you start to smell a odor coming from your cats ear please contact your vet. Good luck and i hope your cat gets the help that he needs.

When
I only had my conventional veterinary training, I would often be very
frustrated when cats stopped eating or drinking because of the medications I gave them. The holistic philosophy has
taught me that there is an underlying vibrational imbalance that causes most
problems and the healing goal is to resolve that imbalance with treatments
selected for that individual animal. By having multiple treatments for constipation/megacolon, we can avoid side effects. To better understand this perspective,
read the first few chapters of Don Hamilton’s Homeopathic Care of Cats and Dogs
or the few pages in my book, the Healthy Animal’s Journal. Now that the
multitude of holistic modalities is available, I can tell you to never give up.
Try one after the other, and record the changes with each. Contact me again if
you cannot find products suggested below. 

First, I would stop the meds for a day and offer real food – chicken (raw or cooked), other meats, fish, canned fish and shellfish – anything he used to eat. Try broths for liquid. Then either find a holistic vet with whom to work (see Find a Healer, below) or return/call your current veterinarian. 

Learn more:

Please
go to my web site and sign up for the newsletter – http://www.ChristinaChambreau.com. You
will get a FREE REPORT on how to prevent fleas and ticks, naturally.  

You have 3 major approaches:

1. Treat
   conventionally – if this is a chronic problem like megacolon, there is little to offer.
2. Try some self
   healing treatments for sure.
3. Begin now to
   work with an integrative veterinarian for the very best chance of health
   and long life. We can completely cure megacolon or chronic constipation in some cats, or at least keep great quality of life while managing it (See FIND A HEALER, below).

If
you were trained in different healing modalities (see below – YOU BE THE
HEALER) you could help by using Reiki, T-Touch, HTA, flower essences,
supplements, homeopathy and more. I am giving multiple suggestions because only
some may be available in your area, and each animal is unique, so what works
with one does not work with all. This is the joy of holistic approaches – we
have dozens of things to try, while conventional has merely a few.

1. Even before you are trained in Reiki, you can ask for this energy healing
that cannot hurt and may help (See REIKI, below, for web sites to request
healing). Using it during conventional or holistic treatment will also be
useful.

2.
You can try Phytomucil from animal Essentials or make your own from marshmallow
root from the health food store – 1 teaspoon of the ground root in 1 C of
boiling water. Stir till cooled. It should feel slippery – if not add more. Mix
1/2 teaspoon with something your animal likes to eat – 3-4 times a day. Try not
to buy slipery elm except from Animals’ Apawthecary as it is made by cutting
down elm trees.

3.
Mitomax is a super probiotic to help gut health.  Unlike other probiotics,
it is very stable and is ok at the low stomach pH.

4.Happy
Tummy (www.SpiritEssences.com) for any digestive upset.  Flower essences are totally safe and can be
used as long and as frequently as they seem to help. Other flower essence
companies have combinations for animals include Anaflora.com; GreenHopeEssences.com;
petessence.com. Many other companies with single remedies can help you select
essences. They are totally safe. Remember
that using a journal will help you figure out what is helping the most.

FIND A
HEALER
I strongly recommend finding an integrative veterinarian with whom to work. This
is a person trained in many different approaches, including using conventional
drugs only when absolutely needed. Working with one can increase the chance
that your cherished companion can live a long and healthy life after recovering
from this current problem. There are good ones and great ones, and a few
homeopathic veterinarians will consult by phone or email. You can go to the web
sites for each type of holistic practice and use their referral list to find
one near to you. Many practitioners are members of only one or two of the
organizations, so you do need to go to every site to find who is near you: (Not surprisingly there are a lot of holistic vets in CA, though if none are near, you may still need phone consults).
1. Wide range of treatments: http://www.AHVMA.org, American Holistic Veterinary
Medical Association and http://www.civtedu.org.   
2. Homeopathic veterinarians (these can often help you by phone if no other
holistic practitioners are nearby that you like): http://www.theAVH.org and http://www.DrPitcairn.com.

3. Chiropractic and Osteopathic – http://www.animalchiropractic.org;
http://equineosteopathy.org/ (they
treat dogs, too)
4. TCVM (Acupuncture and Chinese medicine): http://www.IVAS.org,
http://www.aava.org & http://www.TCVM.com

5.
Herbal – http://www.VBMA.org

SELECTING
AND WORKING WITH AN INTEGRATIVE VETERINARIAN

Just because they say they are holistic, or are listed in one of the above
sites, they may be very conventional in their approach. Holistic medicine takes
the perspective of treating the whole animal. Even if there is a current
problem, for example diarrhea or itching, a good integrative veterinarian will
ask questions about what problems there have been in the past, what changes in
the household or the environment may have triggered the current complaint and
if there is anything that makes the current complaints better or worse. They
will also evaluate the overall energy level of the animal. Their goal is to
make the animal healthier for life, not just to get rid of the current symptom.
They will educate you and explain what they see when physically examining your
animal.

Some of the modalities that integrative veterinarians may use in addition to
conventional include acupuncture, herbs, flower essences, homeopathy,
chiropractic, network chiropractic, nutrition, glandulars, Reiki, Tellington
touch, healing touch, long distance healing modalities. Some of these have
certification programs with a year or more of courses, exams and evaluation of
clinical ability. Others are either self-taught or not regulated. Some
individuals are wonderful with your animal — others great at explaining to you
what is happening with your animals. A few are good in both areas. Few
veterinarians are perfect, and we all have bad days. Your animal should at
least be comfortable with your choice and you should be able to get your
questions and concerns addressed.

Once you have done the internet work suggested above, how do you select one to
start with and then how do you know if you are getting good service and what
can you do to help them help your animals?

Ask the veterinarian you are interested in:
1. Ask what modalities are used?
2. What is their training?
3. Is their goal overall health or to merely treat the current complaint? This
may be the most important question.
4. What organizations they belong to & how recently have they gone to
conferences or taught?  (Just because they belong to AHVMA, or AVH, does
not mean they are trained or capable in those modalities.)
As she treats your animal, a good holistic veterinarian will usually:
1. Ask about the history, overall energy, what might have caused the current
problem, the environment and what makes the symptoms better or worse.
2. Their physical exam will be gentle, complete and they will show you (you may
need to ask) what they mean by “gingivitis, big lymph nodes, heart murmur”,
etc.
3. They will be willing to answer your questions and explain why they are
recommending a particular treatment.  
4. If they recommend conventional treatments (antibiotics, prednisone, etc.)
they will explain to you why they choose this over holistic, and give you a
chance to request the more holistic treatment.
5. They will not do anything (vaccinate, treat) without asking you first.
6. They will recommend fewer or no vaccinations and a raw meat or at least more
holistic diet.
7. They will schedule follow up appointments until your animal is really healthy.
(See symptoms of chronic disease)
What you can do to help your holistic veterinarian
1. Keep a dated journal of any problems, even little ones.

2.
Write down any treatments given.
3. Call if symptoms worsen, or they are less energetic and less happy, or you
have concerns.

If you want help deciding which veterinarian and which holistic modality is the best (there are so many choices that it can be overwhelming), you can schedule a Pet Health Coaching session by calling or emailing me. 410-771-4968; HealthyAnimals@aol.com 

If
you are interested in better health in general, please read on.
7 KEYS TO HEALTHY ANIMALS
1. Know the current level of health. Most health problems are the result of an
underlying energy imbalance.  As we cure animals of “disease”,
we find that other things we thought were normal go away, so we can use these
clues to know that animals are not healthy yet.  Your goal is for your
animal to have great energy, no doggy odor, no hairball vomiting, little
shedding, a glowing coat and many more. Below is a complete list of these signs
(Early Warning Signs of Illness). In young animals, these apparently
“normal” problems may be the only indications to start exploring new
options for lifestyle or treatment.  Buy the Healthy Animal’s Journal
(www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com) so you can see how these early warning symptoms
and obvious ill symptoms change over time.  

 
2. Feed the best. What are the best diets for people or animals — the most
processed or the freshest, most organic?   The best ingredients should be
the most consciously raised – local, organic vegetables, free ranging protein
sources. Dogs and cats have ripping and tearing teeth, bone crunching teeth, no
digestive juices in the mouth, jaws that do not chew, a stomach full of acid
where the food sits for 4-12 hours and a very short transit time in the
intestines. Dogs and cats do not pull out a knife to de-bone their prey and do
not pull out matches to light a fire to cook their meat and vegetables.
Therefore the best diet for dogs and cats is raw meat including raw bones,
pureed raw and cooked vegetables and a few supplements (Calcium if no bones are
eaten is critical). Grains are not good for most animals, but if there are none
of the early warning signs (see below) and no illnesses, you can feed some
grains, preferably the higher protein ones. Start as young kittens and puppies
or at whatever age you read this (Brighthaven.org, a cat sanctuary switches 16
years old and older cats to raw meat diet and some have lived to 27 and 30, and
now one to 35). Second best is same quality, but cooked.  Even grocery
store quality meat and vegetables are much better than most processed foods.
Processed foods are an effort for the food industry to use up its waste
products except for a few companies with great motives (and even they sometimes
get bad or inferior ingredients). Processed foods are also a problem for the
environment – they are not sustainable. Many dogs and cats need probiotics,
especially if fed processed, dead foods. My current favorite is Mitomax. I have
had many animals’ minor health problems clear up while using this. Unlike other
probiotics, it is very stable and is ok at the low stomach pH. Every animal
needs and wants a different combination of foods and supplements at different
times in their lives depending on different stressors and health challenges,
just as we do. With any food, observe each of your animals for the effect that
food has on them and change if decreased energy or poor coat or other Early
Warning Signs. NEVER feed DRY food to cats – even as treats. It causes most
cats to drink more water resulting in stress to the kidneys and also can
trigger bladder problems in cats. You can now buy many commercial raw meat
diets. You must research them as well. Ask where the ingredients are raised?
Are chemicals used? Are the chickens, beef, pork, etc raised in humane ways,
out in the sun to get the Vitamin D in the meat, etc? My favorite newest books
to guide you are: Steve Brown’s Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet; Hofve and
Yarnall’s the Paleodog; Becker and Taylor’s Dr. Becker’s real food for healthy
dogs and cats; Taylor and Brown’s See spot Live Longer; and Basko’s Fresh food
and Ancient Wisdom. Lots of web sites are at the end, but here are a few: http://rawfeddogs.org/rawguide.html,

3. Vaccinate the least. In my opinion, vaccines have caused more harm to
animals than anything else we have done. Do you get measles and mumps vaccines every
year of your life? Researchers in conventional veterinary medicine agree that
we vaccinate too often, in too many combinations, and that this level of
vaccination, while preventing epidemics, is harmful to the health of
susceptible animals.  On-going studies show that antibodies are high 10
and 16 years later for dog and cat distemper and dog Parvo so I recommend just
a few baby shots and NO more. While Rabies is also a viral disease, you must
follow the law and vaccinate every 3 years. You can help fund research to allow
the vaccine to be given less frequently, which will help dogs and cats become
healthier. Go to: THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.

To help prevent damage from the Rabies vaccine, or any others that are
accidentally given, do the following. First, learn Reiki (see Below) and hold
the vaccine syringe in your hand until the “draw” is gone, then Reiki
the injection site once you are in car, then Reiki the whole animal daily until
they do not “draw”. If you have not yet learned Reiki, use the
contacts below to have it done for your animal after the vaccine. For two weeks
before and two weeks after, give the totally safe Vaccine Detox, a flower
essence from http://www.SpiritEssences.com. Give triple the dose of calcium (or add
some calcium) for 3 days before and 5 days after the vaccines. Dr. Peck is
finding a drop in calcium at vaccination time. Then use the Early Warning
signs, below, to see if further holistic treatment is needed if any of them
appear or worsen. A wonderful list serve on vaccines, their harm and
alternatives is at yahoo groups. To register, go to novaxk9s-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
A great web site is http://vaccines.dogsadversereactions.com/

The AVMA, veterinary colleges, AAHA, FPA and other leaders say 3 years is the
best for all other vaccines, so certainly do not do yearly for anything (unless
there is a Leptospirosis outbreak in your area, then email me for guidance).
Please do not let the need to put your dog in a kennel force you to poison your
dog with extra vaccines unless it is an emergency. The insert in vaccine
packages says “Give only to healthy animals”, so if your animal is ill in any
way, or undergoing treatment, they should not be vaccinated. Vaccinated animals
often develop many chronic conditions including diabetes, cushings disease, addisons, allergies and even cancer.
If your animal has any type of reaction to vaccines, please report it to http://nvap.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/vet_biologics/vb_adverse_event.shtml.

4. Use the fewest chemicals, remembering that there are chemicals in vaccines.
Each animal is an individual and will respond differently to heartworm, flea
and tick preventatives. My kindle book, FLEAS BE GONE: a holistic
veterinarian’s guide to natural flea control will help you avoid these. Some
are very sensitive to chemicals used in the yard or the house and in vaccines –
they will become profoundly ill. Others will be triggered by these chemicals to
just not have full health.  Chemicals in foods can cause allergic type
reactions, so again feeding a fresh diet from local ingredients will be best.
Healthy yards have lots of weeds. House cleaners can be made from foods and
microfibril cloths clean like a charm. Healthy animals never get fleas and
ticks

5. Understand how animals become ill and how they heal. First there is an
energetic imbalance (they are just not right), then functional (the dog is
itchy), then inflamed (skin is red, infected, swollen and hot) and finally
tissue changes (thick, black skin). Results of any treatment can be no change,
amelioration (current symptoms disappear with no other improvements, then return),
suppression (current symptoms disappear and they become more ill) or a cure
(everything about the animal to begins to improve, especially the overall
energy level.)  
Keeping a journal is critical to determine what treatments are helping problems
to become less frequent and less severe. You can stand firm with what you feel
is working even if your professional disagrees and change approaches when
needed. You can create your own using a three ring binder, a notebook, a
calendar. Be sure to have a master symptom list, pages where you list
treatments you have started or been given, and pages where you make daily or
frequent entries about every symptom on the master symptom list, especially
including the overall energy level, emotional state and new changes. Some
people have found my book makes it easier.
http://christinachambreau.com/bookstore/healthy-animal-journal/healthy-dog-journal-ebook
is a great
one to use in print or e-version is available.  

6. YOU BE THE HEALER.  I strongly recommend getting some training in
understanding the wide range of approaches to health so you can be in charge of
what you choose for treatments for your animals. There are so many different
ways to stimulate healing that you never need to give up trying. From books,
on-line and in classes you can learn Reiki (which can take the “bad”
out of vaccines and any needed drugs, or even make food healthier), massage,
HTA, TTouch, acupressure, flower essence therapy, all of which are 100% safe to
use for any problems. There are many more approaches you can do to help heal
your animals with some training since they need to be used more carefully –
homeopathy, herbal medicine, Chinese herbs, aromatherapy. In addition to
classes there are many very good list serves filled with people experienced
with not vaccinating and feeding raw meat diets. Classes are found through your
health food store, by phone or on-line. As with human health approaches, there
are many different opinions, so you need to experiment and see what makes your
animals more or less healthy.

7. Select the best healers for each animal’s health team. Most people want a
veterinarian (preferably integrative) and an energy healer. You decide what
needs to be tried next for your animal. When you realize the animal is not
improving – seek different care. Use conventional veterinarians for diagnosis
and emergency treatment, or if other methods are not working. Again, integrative
veterinarians (see above) will be able to do both, and have the philosophical
understanding of the vibrational causes of illness.

Learn more and more

Books – I have books
with comments listed on my site
Classes – I teach many different classes. The best way to find them is to
subscribe to my RSS    

        feed on my site
(click on RSS on any page) and the newsletter.

        The Homeopathy for Animals Class has
potential hosts in Calgary
(Nadina at 

        gabbycat@telus.net),
Ontario, Harrisburg,
PA (Kristen.acri@gmail.com),
Ohio and  

        British Columbia. Send
emails to me and to them if interested in those locations or 

        email me if you wish to host a class.

Magazines – Animal Wellness Magazine – use ccdvm code
when you subscribe (and Feline and 

         Equine Wellness,
too).  Whole Dog Journal and Dogs
Naturally Magazine (they have          webinars
on raw feeding that are excellent), too.

Internet – Monthly Blog talk RADIO SHOW – over 50 shows archived–

          http://www.homeopathyworldcommunity.com/page/drchristinachambreau 

          Animal Wellness Facebook chats – second
and last Monday of the month from 2-3. 

        Soon to come – webinars and on-line
classes by me.

        Search online for the many other
classes and lectures available for the 

Most
skills in classes about health approaches for people can be extrapolated to animals.
The acupressure points are the same, remedies are used the same way, Reiki is
good for everything, etc.

Healthy Animal Update is an emailed newsletter that is occasionally sent out and
my RSS feed gives you even more current updates– to sign up – go to
http://www.ChristinaChambreau.com.

Good Health for your pet, Dr. Chambreau

REIKI to use along with veterinary care:
Personally, I think every person who lives with or works with animals must know
at least Level I Reiki. The practitioner offers this energy and the animal
comes over to get it (or places her hands upon the animal), or it can be done
from a distance, even around the world with the intent for healing to occur.
The energy flows through the healer into the animal. This is based on directly
applying Chi (energy) to rebalance the energy field so it no longer needs to
produce the physical symptoms. It is a very good adjunct to any healing
modality, especially to relieve pain and inflammation. I have seen cats who
began to eat again when their food was treated with Reiki. It also “takes
the bad out of” things. By doing Reiki on smelly water in restaurants I
have been able to drink sweet tasting and smelling water. Use Reiki anytime
that you must give injections, vaccines, drugs, flea or heartworm drugs, or
other substances with potential toxicity. Reiki is great to calm animals,
relieve discomfort, and can deeply heal some problems in some animals.  

1. Great information on Reiki – http://www.reikicourse.org.

2. Kathleen Prasad is a wonderful teacher
and works with my favorite sanctuary and holistic education center in California near Santa Rosa, BrightHaven
http://www.brighthaven.org. Kathleen leads a free monthly telechat for anyone trained
in Reiki and using it with animals. http://www.animalreikisource.com/.

3. If you cannot find a Reiki Class near
you (same class for people and animals as it connects you through an
“attunement” to the healing energy of the universe, making you a
channel of healing), the following groups offer long distance, free,
attunements.

a.    http://theholisticcare.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13,

b.    http://freereikiattunement.com/

c.    Christine at
cbearse@earthlink.net, http://www.awakeningrainbows.com. To receive free distance
Reiki send her your first name only, city and state, and whether or not you
have had any Reiki training.  She invites
you to include your pets as well.  She uses
a teddy bear and does a full body Reiki distance treatment for one hour each
Sunday evening from 9 p.m. until 10 p.m. EST.

d.    And a team of over 100 healers will send
free healing energy until you say not to. Email Barbara at nancelot01@aol.com with your healing request, name of
animal, species, color & age. In the subject say request through Dr.
Chambreau

4. for a fee: http://www.ReikiBlessings.com offers
many types of energy healing classes- search a bit to find the reiki ones or
email them. Long distance healing and training is at http://www.animalhealers.homestead.com.

5. Get a free treatment for yourself at http://www.interdimensionalhealing.com.

Another
wonderful healer, Deena Spears works long distance with Sound Tuning.
http://www.Singingwoods.com. I have seen many animals and the people in a home be
healed by her work.

 LISTS SERVES TO HELP YOU LEARN TO FEED THE BEST

From the folks that brought us Jstsayno2vaccs is a new site for raw feeding –
excellent – http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawk9s/  Here is what they say, “Lastly, we saw a
need for a beginner’s raw feeding group. Many of the raw feeding groups have
grown very large and often new people are lost in the shuffle. In addition,
some raw feeding groups are specialized to one type of feeding only. We believe
that feeding raw is the first step in whole health and have tried to create an
environment of learning and support where there are no dumb questions and
everyone gets individual attention. With that in mind Kathleen recently
instituted a mentoring program where mentor’s sign up to help individuals, and
new folks can opt into the program and receive private help in their journey.
It has been a huge success.

http://selkatztonkinese.com/natural.html
cat diet

http://www.catfood.catnutrition.org/
http://www.catinfo.org/ – Lisa Pierson,
DVM

http://www.LittleBigCat.com – Jean
Hofve, DVM – full of great information

 EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF ILLNESS FOR DOGS AND
CATS

1. Is your companion really healthy?
2. Can you tell if the treatment you selected is deeply curing?
3. Can your companion be healthier than you realize?
YES – read on and evaluate your animal for true health.

Most health problems are the result of an underlying energy imbalance, made
worse from poor diet and vaccination.  They are rarely acute diseases
(except injuries). Therefore, you may find that the problem does not clear up
as you expect or it recurs. If so, you are dealing with an underlying
predisposition to illness, and these clues to underlying ill health will help
you select a remedy and monitor the results.  As we cure animals of
“disease”, we find that certain other “NORMAL”
things go away, too.  Do not be satisfied until most of the following
symptoms are gone.  In young, apparently healthy animals, these apparently
“normal” problems may be the only indications to start treatment.
This is only the beginning of a list – as more animals are cured we will find
new levels of health. Tracking these is easy when you use the Healthy Animal’s
Journal by Dr. Christina Chambreau (www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com)
SKIN:
doggy smell; attracts fleas a lot; dry, oily, lack-luster coat;
excessive shedding; not grooming,    ear problems – waxy, oily,
itchy, recurrent mites; eye discharge, tearing, or matter in corner of eyes;
raised third eyelid; spots appearing on iris; “freckles” appearing on
face; whiskers falling out; fragile, thickened, distorted claws that are
painful or sensitive to trim.
BEHAVIOR: Fears(of loud noises, thunder, wind, people, animals, life); too
timid; too rough or aggressive (even at play); too hard to train; barks too
much and too long; suspicious nature; biting    when petted too
long; hysteria when restrained; clumsy; indolent; licking or sucking things or
people too much; not using litter box or not covering stool.
DIGESTIVE: Bad breath; tarter accumulation; loss of teeth; poor appetite;
craving weird things(rubber    bands, plastic, dirt, cat litter,
paper, dogs eating dog or cat stools, rocks, sticks…); sensitivity to milk;
   thirst – a super healthy cat on non dry food will drink at
most once a week; red gum line; vomiting often, even hairballs more than a few
times a year; mucous on stools; tendency to diarrhea with least
   change of diet; obesity;  anal gland problems; recurrent
parasites.
STIFFNESS when getting up, early hip dysplasia; tires easily in hot or cold
weather; can no longer jump up on counters, or go up or down steps.
TEMPERATURE: Low grade fevers – Normal
for healthy cats and dogs is
100-101.5.
AGE & REPRODUCTION: Should
live a long life (Shepards 17 years, Danes 12, cats 24). should be able
   conceive easily, deliver normally, and not pass on
“genetic breed” problems.

Sounds like fleas.  Are they tiny bugs?  They’ll bite you also if they are fleas.  Google fleas and see if the pictures look like what you see.  If they are fleas, you need to treat the cat and possibly your home, depending how bad the case is.  

Thanks so much i was thinking the worse thinking they were ticks or mites or something

Dr. Krista has it right with this one — all it takes to be a “professional” dog trainer is call yourself one.  While there are certification programs out there no laws really address this.  Your best bet is to meet the trainer (without your dog!) and watch how he/she conducts training of other people’s dogs.  Do the dogs look happy?  Do you feel okay with the methods used?  Would you treat a 2 year old child the way the dog trainer treats the dogs he/she is working?

For example, when I interact with 2 year old children I try to use positive reinforcement — but I also will smack a butt if the child hurts or endangers himself or others.  I don’t believe a “time out” solves every problem.

You are in the land of Cesar Milan — and Cesar does use E collars for some aggressive dogs, but the ones he uses vibrate, they don’t give a shock (at least that is my understanding of the collars he uses).  Some E collars vibrate, some shock, some make a noise, some spray citrus fragrance (which dogs don’t like!).  All are negative reinforcement to one degree or another.  

Dogs learn faster and are happier with positive reinforcement.  The fact that you even asked this question leads me to believe that you are uncomfortable at some level with the idea of an E collar.  It is best to keep looking for a trainer that earns your confidence from the very beginning.  Leash and collar training with “some” positive training doesn’t sound like a good route to build trust between you and your pooch.  Someone that uses mostly all positive training, all of the time will probably give you better results.

To be honest to be on the safe side, I would separate their cages until.the male has the stitches out and is fully recovered. Then might get a bit rough when they first meet and you don’t want any stitches burst. 

Good luck! 

Hi Ashley,
Well, first you need to figure out why your dog has itchy and dry skin. It may be allergies to foods or the surroundings or fleas…Best to get to your vet to have them diagnose what is wrong first. Then, you can treat the root cause of the itchy skin. No sense in spending time and money one what you think may be helpful.
~kelly