Pampered Dog Blog

Dog first aid isn’t unlike first aid for humans, with some differences. For one thing, your pet can’t tell you that it hurts, and so they may respond to pain by trying to bite you instead. You should really have two people when trying to treat your pet, you, and someone to keep them calm and to prevent the dog from biting you. The other difference between pets and people when it comes to injuries is that you can put a bandage on an injury with a human, but your dog is not going to keep it on very long, and they are prone to licking wounds.
One of the first things you can do if your dog gets injured, is to stay calm. You pet can sense your anxiety, and therefore get excited as well You should have a first aid kit prepared for your pet, with antiseptic wipes, bandages, and even some non toxic antibiotic ointment handy. You should include a muzzle of some sort, like strips of an old pair of panty hose to tie around the snout. You are going to need some tweezers, some hemostats, as well as a pair of blunt end scissors. You will need some oral syringes, a small one for medication, or for ears, as well as a large one for cleaning wounds. Also you are going to need some sterilized water, not just to keep your pet hydrated, but also to clean the wound out. You can buy assembled kits that include these and many other things you will need.
If your dog is choking, then you will need to perform a dog Heimlich procedure on him. Regardless of the size of your dog, the first step is to check and see if you can dislodge the object from their mouth and upper throat area. If your animal is unconscious, grab their tongue and pull it forward to try to get the object out. If it is awake, be careful not to get bitten. Stick your finger in their mouth and in a sweeping motion, try to get the object out. If you can’t then you need to move on to the next step. If your pet is small enough to pick up, place their spine against your chest, place both hands under your dogs waist, just below the rib cage, and put your hands together, one in a fist, just below their last rib. Thrust upwards quickly about five times, making sure it’s not hard enough to injure them, then look again for the object in their mouth. Keep doing this until the object is dislodged.
For larger pets, if you can’t get the object out, then lift them up by the hind legs and see if that works. If it doesn’t, then place your pet in a standing position and with the palm of your hand, give 5 sharp blows between the shoulder blades, and check them again. Continue doing this until the object comes out. If they are unconscious, then lay your dog on its right side, and kneel with its legs towards you, place your palms on each other just under their rib cage and give five thrusts in and upwards. Check then to see if the item came out.

Article by Nancy Cope of Pampered-dog-gifts.com – your online dog boutique for dog gifts for your pampered pooch.

Dogs can get skin cancer from too much sun too! Protect your beloved pet while out in the sun.

Fun in the sun is not complete without sunscreen for your dog. Prevent sunburn on your light colored dog and reduce the amount of sun bleaching on dark colored dogs. Rated SPF 15 this sunscreen is non oily non-irritating water soluble and contains no silicon. Spray on to coat dont forget their noses and head out into the sunshine. Safe for everyday use.

More Info On Doggles Pet Sunscreen

When you think of a hotspot you may imagine a hip nightclub or a packed restaurant, but dog hotspots are nowhere near as fun. For a dog a hotspot can be a painful irritation that can potentially be a serious health complication if infection sets in. So what is a canine hotspot, and how do you know if your dog has one?

What are Hotspots?

            A hotspot begins when your dog’s skin itches, for a variety of reasons. It could be that allergies are irritating the skin, or that trapped moisture is making him itchy. Because dog allergies are more common in the summer (grass and pollen abound) they are often known as a summertime ailment, but they can happen year round. Mats in longer haired breeds also create an ideal situation for hotspots because the skin can’t breathe and moisture gets trapped beneath the matted hairs. When the pup begins to scratch the itchy area repeatedly he digs into the skin, creating a raw area that is vulnerable to bacteria. These germs move in and set up house, creating an irritating open sore known as a dog hotspot.

How Do I Recognize a Hotspot?

            Sometimes dog hotspots can be sneaky little things, hiding under hair so that you don’t even know that they are there. The first step is to monitor your dog’s behavior. Is he itching a particular spot over and over? Also look for licking and even whining, which indicates that the area is painful for your dog. If he exhibits these behaviors, cuddle up to him and explore the itchy area. Pull back the fur so that you can see his skin and look for raw and red areas. If you find a hotspot make sure to trim the fur away from the area gently so that the hotspot can breathe, trapped moisture only promotes bacterial growth.

            Now you know how to find out if your dog has a hotspot. Don’t worry though, hotspots are easily cured, sometimes even at home.

When you think of a hotspot you may imagine a hip nightclub or a packed restaurant, but dog hotspots are nowhere near as fun. For a dog a hotpot can be a painful irritation that can potentially be a serious health complication if infection sets in. So what is a canine hotspot, and how do you know if your dog has one?

What are Hotspots?

            A hotspot begins when your dog’s skin itches, for a variety of reasons. It could be that allergies are irritating the skin, or that trapped moisture is making him itchy. Because dog allergies are more common in the summer (grass and pollen abound) they are often known as a summertime ailment, but they can happen year round. Mats in longer haired breeds also create an ideal situation for hotspots because the skin can’t breathe and moisture gets trapped beneath the matted hairs. When the pup begins to scratch the itchy area repeatedly he digs into the skin, creating a raw area that is vulnerable to bacteria. These germs move in and set up house, creating an irritating open sore known as a dog hotspot.

How Do I Recognize a Hotspot?

            Sometimes dog hotspots can be sneaky little things, hiding under hair so that you don’t even know that they are there. The first step is to monitor your dog’s behavior. Is he itching a particular spot over and over? Also look for licking and even whining, which indicates that the area is painful for your dog. If he exhibits these behaviors, cuddle up to him and explore the itchy area. Pull back the fur so that you can see his skin and look for raw and red areas. If you find a hotspot make sure to trim the fur away from the area gently so that the hotspot can breathe, trapped moisture only promotes bacterial growth.

            Now you know how to find out if your dog has a hotspot. Don’t worry though, hotspots are easily cured, sometimes even at home.

Glucosamine is a substance that has been used as a supplement for people in treatment of arthritis and other joint conditions for many years. Because of its success in humans in the treatment and prevention of arthritis the supplement is also being used for the same purpose in dogs. This article will give you all the information you need, including the recommended glucosamine dosage for dogs, and how to increase the effectiveness of the supplement.

Arthritis is an extremely common condition in dogs with around 20% of the American population of dogs suffering from the condition in one of its many forms. There are certain dogs that are more at risk of developing the condition than others including overweight and bigger breeds of dogs, which is why increasing numbers of vets advise giving your dog a good glucosamine based supplement.

Because glucosamine is a naturally occuring substance within a dogs body it is extremely hard to give them to much and for them to OD on the supplement. But to ensure the effectiveness of the supplement for an average sized labrador the amount you will need to give them will vary between 1000mg to 2000mg depending upon the seriousness of the joint condition. Most vets will recommend that you use a higher glucosamine dosage for your dog in the first few weeks and then reduce it.

But rest assured that when you buy any glucosamine supplement from a good manufacturer they will provide you with a table stating the recommended glucosamine dosage for a dog, dependent upon the weight of your dog.

You can increase the effectiveness of the glucosamine that you give your dog by making sure that the supplement that you are giving them contains chondroitin as well. All the clinical tests that have been carried out so far on dogs have concluded that when the two substances are used in conjunction they are more effective than just using on their own.

This is because glucosamine is used in your dogs body to manufacture the cartilage on the ends of the bones, and accounts for a large part of all the cartilage in yours dogs joints. Chondroitin has a slightly different function, it acts as the scaffolding within the cartilage of your canines joints. It’s main function is to stop the cartilage being squashed and keep it rigid while holding all the substances that make up cartilage together.

So when there is not enough glucosamine or chondroitin in your dogs body to regenerate, the cartilage in your dogs joints this can lead to severe osteoarthritis in your dogs joints.

When you are looking for a supplement to buy for your dog it is wise to give them something that is recommended by vets and has a track record of sucessfully reversing the thinning of cartilage in your dogs joints. I say this because supplements for dogs are not approved by the FDA so some of them are not as effective as they promote themselves to be, so it is important to select a brand that has a good track record and is recognised and used by veterinary professionals. To watch a video of a vet with over 20 years experience talking about a supplement that he recommends visit http://dogglucosamineandchondroitin.weebly.com/.

Access useful ideas about house train dog – your personal guide.