Dog Health and Your Responsibility

By : MIKE SELVON
advantages to owning a dog. It gives you loyalty and love. Yet so many people neglect its health as a way to return that love and affection.
Preventative dog health care goes a long way to ensuring that your friend stays healthy for years to come. If you decide to get one, then do him a favor and become educated on how to protect his health.
Dog health begins the very minute you take ownership of your canine companion. Before you even think about beginning puppy training you must make sure that you know what type of medication it takes to ensure its health.
Shots such as Distemper, Rabies, and Parvo are absolutely essential to a long and healthy life for your pet. There are other medications such as heart worm medicine and flea medicines that are important as well.
If you are unsure as to what is involved in dog health, check out dog forums for answers on some common questions. The best advice before buying or getting a pet is to do a thorough research to determine if having one is right for you.
There are some questions to ask yourself before you commit to owning a dog or any animal. The first is how much time do you have to devote to the pet? Do you have enough space to accommodate one? Is its health absolutely important to you? Do you have the money to devote to puppy training and to making sure that he or she receives regular veterinarian visits to ensure its proper health?
A dog is a big responsibility. If you are unsure of any of the above questions then now is the time to carefully ponder whether or not you are ready for a pet. Dogs cost money and this responsibility lies with the pet owner.
The puppy or dog is dependent on you for everything they need. This includes their emotional well-being as well. Humans and dogs are alike in that they need love and support. You, as the owner, must be that network of love and support for them.
Dog health is important to having a fully functioning family. Dog's can bring many things to their owner. They bring love and unfailing loyalty. They deserve to have that returned to them by an owner that truly wants what is best for them.
Before you go collect your new pet, take the time to become educated. You should talk to other pet owners and then make that life altering decision.
Article Source: http://www.petsadvice.info
Mike Selvon has some great puppy training for the pet lover, where you can find out more about looking after the dog health. We appreciate your feedback at our pet training blog.

Giving Anesthesia To An Old Dog Kills!

By : Daniel Millions
early sixties, the successful outcome of many surgical procedures for older dogs was somewhat uncertain. This was due in small part to the surgical techniques and materials employed at the time, but primarily to the types of anesthetics that were available then.
Those anesthetics were often unpredictable, sometimes produced longer periods of anesthesia than were needed for the operation, and they had to be detoxified and eliminated largely by the liver and kidneys, organs which usually are already under stress in the older dog.
These problems sometimes prompted many conscientious veterinarians to advise clients that "your dog is too old to anesthetize or be operated on." What they were really saying was that the risk from surgery and anesthesia was at least as great, or greater, than the risk from whatever was wrong with the dog.
Today that situation has radically changed. Anesthetizing a seriously ill older dog is still in the high-risk category, but the chances of a successful outcome are tremendously improved. The new types of anesthetics give excellent control over the depth and time of anesthesia and allow for rapid recovery to a normal, conscious state.
Many of the newer and much safer injectable anesthetics can be used alone for general anesthesia or, in combination with some gas anesthetics, to provide "balanced anesthesia." And certainly, the ready availability of artificial respirators which can breathe for your dog has both increased the overall safety of anesthesia as well as permitted surgery within the chest cavity for some types of cardiac and lung disorders.
No dog should be considered "too old" for surgery or anesthesia if otherwise in reasonable health. The aging kidneys and liver still must detoxify much of the anesthetic, aging lungs can make inhalant anesthetics more difficult to control, and heart disease does increase the overall danger. There still is risk, but it is a calculated risk, usually weighted on the side of success.
In today's modern veterinary hospitals and clinics, surgery is done under conditions similar to those found in human hospitals. Everything is done to keep the surgical area sterile, which includes doctors scrubbing before surgery and wearing sterile cap, mask, and gown.
All instruments, surgical drapes, and any piece of equipment that will come in contact with the patient is sterilized. The surgery is performed in a separate operating room, which is used only for sterile surgery. While each operating room will vary in the variety of equipment available, it will have whatever is needed for the particular operation being done.
If your veterinarian's hospital is not equipped to perform a particular type of surgery, he will refer you to a colleague who does have the necessary equipment, or he may do the surgery himself but in his colleague's hospital.
Article Source: http://www.petsadvice.info
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Protecting Your Dog From Fleas

By : Steve Searls
natural ways to protect your dog from fleas.
- Make use of vacuum cleaners to get rid of dust. Do not forget to seal the vacuum bags before you dispose them off.
- These parasites mostly breed on your dog's bed. You must clean the bedding once a week with warm soapy water.
- Use of a dog shampoo also helps in keeping the fleas away.
- Cedar made products are naturally flea repellent. Use cedar shampoo for your dog and also put cedar oil on their beds.
- A dogs dry skin attracts fleas. To keep their skin moist you should refrain from doing too much shampooing. Linatone oil in their food can also help.
- A mixture of brewer's yeast and garlic can be given in small doses to your pet. This creates a certain odor in pets, and seems to repel fleas.
- Fresh or dried pennyroyal leaves is also a natural flea repellent. Use this in carpets to avoid the abundance of fleas in your home. However, do not use it if you have small children around, as this could be toxic.
- You may also use a mixture of lavender oil and rock salt to bathe your dog and sprinkle it in the places where dogs usually prefer to rest.
- Marigolds can also be planted in your backyard as it keeps away fleas, as well as other certain kinds of bugs.
- You may also give your dog a quick bath in boiled lemon water or by using orange peels in the water. This can also be used for soaking your dogs bedding for a few hours before washing it with warm soapy water.
Remember that bathing your dog will only work if the infestation is low. In fact, these methods of keeping fleas away are only preventive in nature and wouldn't work well if the infestation level is too high.
There are number of commercially made products that are also available in the market. Let us take a look at them.
- Advantage: This is a product from Bayer having imidaclorid as the active ingredient. Advantage comes in liquid form and is applied on the dog's back. It quickly kills the fleas by breaking the nervous system of the fleas and its effect lasts for about a month. Although it is a liquid, it is safe for your dog as it does not get absorbed into its bloodstream.
Advantage also kills the flea larvae.
- K9 Advantix: Also from Bayer, it has quickly become the favorite of veterinarians and dog owners. It is for dogs only. Its active ingredients are Imidacloprid and Permethrin. It kills fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks, including deer ticks and keeps working after swimming or bathing.
- Frontline Plus: Frontline is not much different from Advantage except that it is not soluble in water. The product can be used safely for your dogs and puppies. It is very efficient in repelling the fleas and its effect can last for over four months.
It contains Fipronil as its active ingredient.
Like Advantage, Fipronil also attacks the nervous system and causes instant death in about 24 hours. In spite of being highly toxic it is not harmful to your dog, unless your dog is not allergic to fipronil.
- Biospot: Biospot is meant for dogs only. It kills up to 75% of fleas and larvae and is also effective for mosquitoes. Biospot can temporarily alter the color of your pet's hair and make it appear yellowish. It contains permethrins and IGR and is effective for about a month.
- Knockout: Another effective product that is exclusively meant for dogs. Its active ingredients include Pyriproxyfen: 21 pyridine: 0.05% cyclopropanecarboxylate: 2%. It also contains NYLAR to control the flea growth.
- Proban and Prospot: Again exclusively and widely used for dogs. However these repellents only work when the fleas bite the dog as they are effective only after they are absorbed in the bloodstreams. You also need to remember that you are injecting a small quantity of poison into your dogs body and you may not even know the side effects. Also, if your dog is allergic to the flea bites these may not be the right products.
Fleas thrive during the summer as it is their breeding season. Commercial products are effective during this time, but it is always better to consult your vet before you actually begin to using these products on your dog.
Article Source: http://www.petsadvice.info
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