1) Never leave your dog alone in a parked vehicle. Even with the windows open, the temperature in your automobile can quickly skyrocket causing potential for heatstroke and even fatality.
2) Keep your pet well hydrated and avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest times of the day.
3) Avoid walking your dog in areas you suspect have been sprayed with insecticides or other chemicals. Plant food and fertilizers can be extremely poisonous if your pet ingests them.
4) Have your pet groomed monthly to prevent overheating and to alleviate summer skin problems. A matted dog with a thick undercoat is a breeding ground for parasites, bugs and bacteria that can cause your dog to get sick.
5) Bring your pet into the veterinarian for a summer check-up. Ask your doctor to recommend a pest-control program to combat ticks and fleas.
6) Stay away from taking your pet to busy summer events such as fairs or concerts. The loud noises and crowds, combined with the heat, can be stressful and unsafe for pets.
7) Always make sure your pet is wearing a collar and identification tag. Be sure that the contact information listed is legible and accurate.
Prevent your pet from hanging his head out of a moving car or truck window when taking him for a ride. Bugs, rocks and other debris can injure his eyes, and he is also at risk for jumping out of the vehicle.
9) While indoors, make sure your pet has access to the coolest parts of the house, such as the basement or a room with air conditioning.
10) Always walk your pet on a leash. This ensures the safety of you and the animal, walkers, joggers, and bicyclists.
Tips provided by Dave Ely, owner of Aussie Pet Mobile Inc., serving pets and their owners in Marin County, CA. Noted as the world’s largest mobile pet grooming concept in the world, Aussie Pet Mobile serves more than 250 cities in 24 states nationwide and 16 international countries with their exclusive 15-step pet spa treatment. To book a grooming appointment with Aussie Pet Mobile, please contact 1-800-PetMobile or visit www.aussiepetmobile.com.
Name: Tianna
Pets species and breed: German Shepherd Pharaoh Cattle Dog Mix
Pets age and weight: 40lbs 4 and 1/2 years old
Pets health status: Never any issues so far
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: Honest Kitchen
Animal owned for: 3 and 1/2 ears
Question:
“My dog, Inuki, has always eaten many foods without any issues or allergies. We have been searching for the “perfect” healthy premium dog food. He has been on Flint River Ranch, Nutro, Innova, Dogswell, and raw diet (we stopped that) then home cooked with veggies, meat, grains, and multi vitamins, then the Honest Kitchen because it was too much to cook myself. I actually will go back to home cooking if I have the right recipes, but I had a very hard time understanding how much to feed and of what. I read dr strombecks Home Cooked Diets For Cats and Dogs. Now, for the last month my dog and 2 cats have been on the Honest Kitchen’’s Prowl and Force. My cats love their Prowl and do great on it, but my dog, while he likes the food, his pooping has increased big time. He used to have maybe one to 2 poops a day and they were small and firm, now he poops 3 to 4 times and the poop is large and soft, but not runny. I just really would like to find a food that he can stick with that will keep him very healthy for years and years to come.”
Answer:
“Tianna,
Thanks for writing in. Sounds like you have been dabbling in the (sometimes) frustrating world of dog nutrition for quite some time! I think the first thing you need to decide on is whether you want to cook for your dog or if you are looking for a commercially available diet.
If you are selecting a commercially available diet, select one that is “natural” or “organic”. By definition and AAFCO regulation, a “natural” pet food may have ingredients from ONLY plant, animal or mined sources. These foods cannot be highly processed or contain chemically synthetic ingredients, such as artificial flavors, preservatives or colorings.
Look for foods that do not contain inferior by-products or meals. Meat meals are made through a process of rendering. Any product that has been rendered is considered unfit for human consumption…so in my mind, that means unfit for our beloved pets as well. Look for RECOGNIZABLE ingredients on the label. You should be able to identify meats, grains, vegetables and not just chemical additives.
If you are choosing to home-cook, you absolutely need to work with a veterinary nutritionist to get recipes that are balanced for your dog and his daily requirements. There are many websites you can use, including www.petdiets.com and www.balanceit.com. I would recommend that you request a consultation specific to Inuki so he isn’t lacking anything.”
Name: Jason
Pets species and breed: American Staff Bull
Pets age and weight: 4yrs 90lbs
Pets health status: Good
Are they spayed or neutered? No
Brand of food: Inova
Animal owned for: Puppy
Question:
“My dog has had a condition that no one can figure out. It seems to be mange, but it comes back every 3 to 6 months worse then before. I’ve spent over $8,000 with 5 differnt vets. His condition looks as if he has pimples, but big chunks of hair come out where the pimples are, and he looses his hair. I’ve used Petsbest RX shampoo. It seems to work, but every so often, it’s so bad he won’t let me touch him. What can i do?”
Jason
Answer:
“Hi Jason. Thanks for the question. Sorry to hear your dog has such a severe recurrent skin condition. With such brief information, it is going to be hard for me to tell you what might be going on, but there are a few things I will absolutely recommend.
You said that this seems to be mange. Have your veterinarians found mange mites? I wonder because this recurrent pattern in a dog of his age doesn’t sound exactly like mange. My concern would be for some form of immune deficiency or immune mediated skin disease–especially given his breed.
Also some forms of severe deep pyoderma (deep skin infection) can look like this. Both of these things will require months of ongoing treatment. My best recommendation would be to visit a veterinary dermatologist in your area.
Based on your area code, looks like you might be in the Tucson, Arizona area. There is a dermatologist at Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialists in Tucson. Just like in people, some skin conditions really need the expertise of a specialist, and I would strongly recommend you consider it. Also if your dog is not on a fatty acid supplement, I would recommend that as well. Fatty acids have been proven very beneficial in a number of skin disorders and may help with some of his symptoms.”
Name: Dianne Pasternack
Pets species and breed: dog -mixed breed
Pets age and weight: 15 years, 34 lbs
Pets health status: okay
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: wellness
Animal owned for: 11 years
“My dog is allergic to chicken. Will dry dog food that contains chicken fat cause the allergic reaction? I notice that some dry dog foods state that the chicken fat has the chicken protein removed. How does that affect chicken allergies?”
The Answer:
“Thanks for your question. Food allergic pets usually react most adversely to the whole protein (for example, chicken meat protein), however, they may react to any component of chicken (for example, chicken fat). Think of a person with peanut allergies; they react badly to eating peanuts, but also may have a problem with peanut oil. Same situation.
A bit more about food allergies. The adverse reactions many pets have are often not true allergies to a specific type of meat. Many pets have reactions to inferior ingredients, additives and preservatives within a food. Most tests that are available for diagnosing food allergy (blood tests, skin tests, etc) are not accurate and can lead to many false diagnoses of true food allergy.
Therefore, if a pet is exhibiting adverse reactions to food, my first recommendation is to place them on a natural premium dog food diet without added preservatives, chemicals and artificial colors to make sure it is not just the inferior ingredients that may be the problem.”
K9Cuisine.com and the Wellpet Foundation are teaming up to help families in need. This duo is donating more than 10,000 pounds of all natural dog food to Pooch Pantry to help families in financial crisis.
During these harsh economic times, pet owners really take a beating. “Families are having a hard enough time trying to pay their mortgages and keep food on the table during these tough economic times,” said Anthony Holloway. “We are thrilled to be able to donate high quality premium dog food to help feed as many animals as we can and hope that the new supply will keep the food bank for pets stocked for months.”
Holloway drove a truckload of food to Mundelein this past Saturday, and Wellness is shipping more than 5,300 pounds this week.
Prevent your pet from hanging his head out of a moving car or truck window when taking him for a ride. Bugs, rocks and other debris can injure his eyes, and he is also at risk for jumping out of the vehicle.
