Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Easily Deciding From Veterinary Clinics

By Shari Swanson


Pet owners are traditionally required to manage a wealth of responsibilities and expenses throughout the life of their animal. Household pets are required to undergo a continual source of treatment and preventative care to ensure that major health concerns are able to be avoided. Selecting from veterinary clinics St. Louis is made easy when consumers understand a few basic facets of consideration during their efforts.

Veterinary clinics are designed to provide comprehensive treatment and wellness guidance for all kinds of animals. Pet owners often focus on these facilities as opposed to smaller clinical practices as they are usually able to address a large number of issues. Owners are also very careful when deciding on which one to use.

Anyone in St. Louis that is focused on this effort has a large number of facility options to select from. Many consumers are unsure of what should be looked for and weighed in during the entire process. Understanding several factors in this process ensures that any owner is able to make the most appropriate selection for their animal.

Owners often focus their attention initially toward ensuring the facility offers the highest number of service options. Facilities of this kind are often equipped with preventative as well as emergency options that are very comprehensive in keeping animals healthy. Facilities equipped to offer the most services are often the best to select from.

Facilities in question should also be able to provide convenient appointment options for pet owners. Consumers often manage very hectic and difficult schedules on a regular basis which creates a challenge in setting and keeping appointments. Evening and weekend hours should be heavily considered when making a choice.

Choosing from veterinary clinics St. Louis is quite simple when considering the interaction of the professional and pet. Animals are very susceptible to their surroundings and are often very nervous when dealing with medical treatment. Facilities chosen should be able to interact well with all pets to put them at ease and make their treatment more successful.




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Monday, August 6, 2012

How To Housebreak A Dog

By Tony Beagle


In order to successfully train your dog or literally do anything for that matter you are going to have to make sure that you are extremely patient at all times. Without patience you are never going to be able to overcome the many obstacles that will come forth your way. Truth be told my friend this is the one thing that you must develop if you want to get great results that matter.

The next thing you need to understand is that training your dog to even complete the simplest of tasks will involve a lot of hard work. Truth be told my friend, success will only ever be yours if you start thinking long term. I am telling you right now my friend that success will only ever be yours if you stop messing about and start putting in the work.

But let us remember that hard work on an occasional basis will not do. You need to be sure that you are putting in the consistent effort. Having a super obedient dog in your hands is fully achievable if you are prepared to actually do the work and do it every single day. The reason for this is that your dog has a small brain so he will forget what you are teaching him unless you are consistent with it.

The best results come to those people that only ever try and teach their dogs one trick at a time. Trust me attempting to do more than this will just result in you getting no where. Truth be told my friend this is the one rule that will ultimately determine how successful you become as an individual.

The only way to really and truly get long lasting results is if you prepare yourself to put in an incredible amount of hard work and dedication. So if you are not able to meet these requirements then you should put your dog under the care of a professional dog trainer. Believe me you are going to end up saving yourself a lot of frustration if you take this path.

Believe me there is nothing more you need to do in order to train your dog up successfully... so please get out there and work on it already.




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Sunday, August 5, 2012

What to do if the dog is limping

By Jerry Welsh


What can you do to ease the pain that makes a dog limp? Limping is an indication that the dog is in pain. A dog owner has to know what makes the dog limp to be able to find ways to help the pet. Dogs are naturally energetic and some breeds are noted to have high exercise requirements. Dog owners know that their pets have to be provided with opportunities to exercise lest unwanted behaviors are developed due to the dog's inactivity. A limping dog though cannot meet its exercise requirement because of impaired mobility?

The dog's impaired mobility can be caused by several factors. Nothing much can be done if the limp is caused by a broken bone as this case would naturally need a vet's knowhow. A dog owner can determine what makes the dog limp by examining the pet thoroughly. Simple cases that makes a dog limp like cuts on the foot pad, a thorn or a cut on the foot or even a small rock between the toes can be easily treated at home. To ease the dog's discomfort you simply need to remove the thorn, clean the wound with warm water and apply antibiotic ointment. Our four legged friends are tough and as soon as the wound is healed, the dog would be its usual energetic self.

Because dogs are very energetic, soft tissue trauma or what is commonly known as pulled muscles and sprains are common. Sprains or soft tissue trauma does not really need a vet consult as the condition can be righted simply by letting the dog rest. This kind of treatment though would be rather difficult to carry out given the inherent energies of dogs. To prevent the dog from using the injured foot, it would be best confine the pet in a crate.

The age of the dog may have something to do with the impaired mobility. The deterioration of joints and ligaments are the most common cause of limping in older dogs . Abnormality of hip and leg bones, arthritis and hip dysplasia are some of the most common conditions that make a dog limp.

Limping that is caused by these conditions would need immediate medical attention. X-rays and a thorough medical examination will be necessary to give proper diagnosis. Pain medications are normally prescribed to lessen the pain and the discomfort of the dog.




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Saturday, August 4, 2012

List of Common Foods Toxic to Dogs

By Jerry Welsh


If you regularly bring your dog to the vet's it is highly probable that the vet had advised you on the kind of food that you should give your pet. You may have received from the vet a list of the human foods that must not be given to dogs. If you understood the dangers of these human food, you would not be swayed by the whining of the dog begging to have of bite of your food. Because of the bond children have with the pet, it would be very hard to stop them from giving unsafe foods. The grapes or the chocolate being eaten by the child will be shared with the pet.

The list would have coffee, tea and alcoholic beverages as unsafe for the pet. These are unsafe beverages for dogs because the caffeine in coffee and tea has the effect of stimulating the cardiac and central nervous system of the dog. The same with humans dogs that have ingested alcohol will be intoxicated. Consuming large amounts of coffee, tea and alcoholic beverages can result to the death of the dog.

Chocolates and candies are favorite comfort foods especially by people with sweet tooth. Too much consumption of chocolate can result to obesity but consumed in moderation this sweet was found to be good for the heart. Sugar free candies and chocolates can poison dogs. The stimulant Theobromine in chocolates causes stimulation of the dog's cardiac and nervous systems. Sugar-free candies must not be given to dogs because Xylitol, the artificial sweetener causes a drastic drop in the dog's blood sugar so that a small amount ingested can result to the death of the dog.

Raw eggs and raw fish are listed as foods toxic to dogs. Raw eggs have avidin, the enzyme that prevents biotin or vitamin A from being absorbed by the body so that dogs would have poor coat quality. Salmonella in raw eggs will affect dogs too. Dogs that are regularly fed raw fish would develop thiamine deficiency that would cause the dog to have poor appetite, to have seizure and in severe cases to die.

Sharing with the pet whatever food is being eaten is a common habit of dog owners. This habit is more commonly seen in children as they usually form a close bond with the pet. Parens have to carefully explain to the kids the consequences of feeding the pet food considered to be poisonous to dogs. Given the close ties humans have with dogs, it would be very hard to remember that some foods safe for human consumption are poisonous to dogs thus a list of these toxic foods posted in a prominent place would serve as reminder to all the family members.




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Friday, August 3, 2012

Health benefits of Broccoli to Dogs

By Jerry Welsh


People know about the healthful benefits that can be gained from eating vegetables. Dog owners wanting to ensure optimum health of the pet would include vegetables in the dogs diet. Dogs will surely relish the taste of vegetables as dogs are happy eaters. Vegetables would enhance the taste of the dog's dry foods. Aside from this fact, vegetables would provide the pet with essential nutrients that are not contained by commercially prepared pet foods.

Broccoli is listed as one of the human foods unsafe for dogs. Broccoli has isothiocyanate, a powerful gastric irritant. The toxicity of this vegetable is dose dependent. Broccoli will be safe for the dog as long as the dog owner makes sure that the amount of this veggie ingested by the pet is not more than 10% of its daily food intake. Stomach upset that will cause the dog severe pain will occur if broccoli is more than 10% of the dog's diet. Isothiocyanate's effects become fatal if the amount of broccoli ingested by the dog is more than 25% of the daily food intake.

Broccoli is a very nutritious vegetables. Broccoli is a good source of vitamins A and C. Vitamin C promotes the absorption of protein thus dogs that consume this vegetable can fully get the protein from their foods. Broccoli has high levels of calcium and folic acid. Dogs will always be exposed to potentially harmful substances from the food and also from the environment. Broccoli has high levels of antioxidants that help repair the damage done by toxic substances to the dogs cells.

Broccoli contains sulforaphane, the substance that helps in the detoxification process. Broccoli has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxifying components that eliminates free radicals in the dog's body thereby lowering the risk of development of cancer and other health concerns. The phytochemicals found in broccoli is a powerful cancer cell fighter thus the risk of cancer development in the dog is reduced. The inclusion of broccoli in the dog's diet promotes bladder and intestinal health of the dog because this veggie is a good source of soluble fiber.

Dogs are voracious eaters and because these are well loved pets, owners would find it hard to resist when the dog pleads for second helping. The owner can give the pet all the vegetables it can consume without fearing that the pet will get obese. The dog owner has to be careful in feeding the dog broccoli lest it causes the dog more harm than good.




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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Tools and Supplies That Will Make Dog Grooming Easy

By Jerry Welsh


A pet dog is often treated as a part of the family. It is therefore not surprising if dogs will be provided with all their needs and more. Dogs being considered as the baby of the family will be provided with toys. Dogs are dressed in trendy dog clothes and accessories. Because of the affection for the pet it will be allowed to share the bed and to use things of the owner. Dogs indeed are much loved pets but would it be wise to make the dog use the grooming supplies and tools of the owner?

To keep the dog happy and healthy, it has to be regularly groomed. A dog has to be groomed regularly to attain an impressive appearance but the grooming routine also allows the pet owner to see if a health concern is starting to develop in the dog's body. Any parasite can be eradicated at once before the infestation spreads. Depending on how the pet was trained, the grooming session can be happy and hilarious moments or a challenging task that would daunt the most determined dog owner

Grooming the dog would be a lot more easier if the owner has the right tools and supplies. Coat brushing is an important part of grooming. The owner's brushes and combs must never be used on the dog even if the pet is very clean and parasite free. To make the grooming routine easier and less time consuming, the right tools must be chosen thus the dog owner can get a wire pin brush, a soft bristled brush or a slicker brush.

The dog's hair may need trimming or stripping thus it would be necessary to have a blunt tipped scissors or a stripping knife. Other grooming tools are nail clippers to keep the dog's nails trimmed and hemostat which is necessary in removing excess hair from the dog's ears.

Dogs must have their own grooming supplies as human supplies can have dangerous effects to the dog. Shampoos, conditioner, soaps and other grooming supplies that are formulated for humans must not be used in dogs as they may not be tolerated by the sensitive skin of the dog. Human toothpaste must not be used on the dog too. Instead of being spitted out, the toothpaste will be swallowed. Some ingredients in human toothpaste would be harmful to dogs.

Grooming tools and supplies for the pet can be found on any pet supply store thus there is no excuse to use human tools and supplies to groom the pet.




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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Positive Side of the Electric dog fence

By Colin Seal


The dog is usually considered to be the guardian of homes against thieves and trespassers but there are times that it also needs to be protected against other humans and animals. Thanks to technology, you can rely on the electric dog fence to prevent your dog from getting lost or running away from home.

Different types of dog fences are available now in the market. By purchasing these systems, you can offer a containment system and keep them in the yard. In actual fact it is your decision to fix on what structure will match the breed, size and personality of your pet. Nonetheless due to technology, you will probably opt for the fence that will be most effective. The electric dog fence is employed generally so that you can observe the features rigorously.

Electrical Fences

The elements of the electric dog fence are comprised of the concealed wire, transmitter and receiver. With this mechanism, you want to bury the electrical wire is positioned round the perimeter of your home. The receiver is attached to the dog's collar while the concealed wire will discharge a radio frequency which causes the collar to alert the animal if it is going near the boundary. When your pet gets too near or makes an attempt to cross over, it may be given a slight static pulse. The jolt isn't dangerous but it will deter the dog from going across the border.

Intensive training is needed to prep your dog in respecting the bounds that you have set up. It may take a minimum of 2 weeks to teach your dog in finding the system of the electric dog fence. This needs to be done regularly by bringing your dog to the yard and if it tries to go over the border, it gets the warning. Once your pet gets used to this routine, you can expect it to respect the limits and stay at the chosen dog section.

Advantage of the Electric dog fence

The electric dog fence doesn't hide or make your grass ugly matched against the standard fencing structures. The invisible fence is a very good idea when you own a dog that's very frolicsome because it does not have anything to barking at, dig around or gnaw. It's now a typical containment system which is reasonable and extremely functional. You don't have to stress about the animal damaging anything. However, be sure to inquire from the provider about the functions of this mechanism before purchasing a unit.




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