Heatstroke can impair or kill your pet. Knowing the symptoms can help! As we enter the hottest part of summer in the northern hemisphere, it’s important to keep an eye on your pets to make sure they are not overheating. Heatstroke is not a mere inconvenience. It can lead to damage to the brain, liver, heart, and nervous system. Conditions that increase the risk of heat stroke include leaving pets in a hot vehicle, humid conditions, lack of drinking water, obesity, and overexertion.  According to Dr. Karen Becker, symptoms of overheating include: Heavy panting or rapid breathing Excessive thirst Glazed eyes Vomiting, bloody diarrhea Bright or dark red tongue or gums Staggering, stumbling Elevated body temperature Weakness, collapse Increased pulse and heartbeat Seizures Excessive drooling Unconsciousness Go to http://goo.gl/8dsLLB to read more about heatstroke.   Tweet

Dr. Jean Dodds has just released her 2016 vaccine protocol for dogs. This new protocol has one major change, the addition of a dose of parvovirus vaccine at 18 weeks of age. Posted by Dr. Jean Dodds (original post): http://goo.gl/9Zod6q The following vaccine protocol is offered for those dogs where minimal vaccinations are advisable or desirable. The schedule is one I recommend and should not be interpreted to mean that other protocols recommended by a veterinarian would be less satisfactory. It’s a matter of professional judgment and choice. 9 – 10 weeks of age Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV e.g. Merck Nobivac (Intervet Progard) Puppy DPV   14 – 15 weeks of age Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV   18 weeks of age Parvovirus only, MLV Note: New research states that last puppy parvovirus vaccine should be at 18 weeks old.   20 weeks or older, if allowable by law Rabies – give 3-4 weeks apart from other vaccines   1 year old Distemper + Parvovirus, MLV This is an optional booster or titer. If the client intends not to booster after this optional booster or intends to retest titers in another three years, this optional booster at puberty is wise.   1 year old Rabies...

People, healthy dog blog, joyful play, exercise. Seniors who walk their pet have a lower body mass index and fewer doctor visits, as well as an increase in social interactions. For more information, see Curl AL, Bibbo J, Johnson RA. Dog walking, the human-animal bond and older adults’ physical health.  The Gerontologist 2016 available at http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/03/18/geront.gnw051.abstract    Tweet

With more than 2/3 of cats and 3/4 of dogs having dental disease. It is the biggest health care problem in our pets— and the incidence is increasing. According to the Banfield Pet Hospital State of Pet Health 2016 Report, the incidence of dental disease has increased more than 20% in the last 10 years.  Dental disease includes any health condition affecting the mouth, such as inflammation, tarter, gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth abscess. Pets with dental disease can develop bad breath and experience pain when eating. Dental disease can lead to high levels of bacteria in the mouth, which can enter the blood stream, causing blood infection and organ damage. It can increase the risk of diabetes complications and the risk of problems during pregnancy and even increase the risk of developing cancer. Older dogs and small and short-nosed breeds are at higher risk. Highly processed manufactured pet food, especially those with large amounts of sugar and carbohydrates (includes cereals or grains) also increase the risk of dental disease. Many commercial pet foods contain 40% of these dental disease-causing products. Various recommendations have been made for ways to prevent dental disease.  By using these strategies, pet owners can avoid...

Imagine a quick, easy, and painless scan that can identify distortions that could potentially affect your current and future health. Then, imagine easy, painless techniques that could be used to correct those distortions even before physical disease develops.  The technology to do that is available NOW! We are all familiar with standard medical techniques that measure electrical activity on the surface of the body and use the results to identify distortions that need attention.  For example, an EKG measures the electrical activity in the heart and the EEG measures the electrical activity in the brain. In both cases, electrodes are attached to the skin and the observed energetic or electrical patterns are compared with standard or ‘normal’ patterns to identify distortions. In a similar manner, a NES scan measures the energy and information in your body field and matches it to a standard set of energy and information patterns to identify deviations or distortions. The NES body scanning technology is based on the science of quantum physics. Quantum physics tells us that our bodies are NOT mere machines with individual parts (e.g., the stomach, heart, liver) that work independent of each other. Instead, we are actually a vast network of...

While the terms vomiting and regurgitation are often used interchangeably, they describe very different actions. Knowing the difference can help to diagnose the cause and identify the best treatment. When your pet ‘throws up’ he may be either vomiting or regurgitating. Vomiting is often described as an active process, with a variety of signs it is about to occur. In contrast, regurgitation is passive and may occur without any warning. While vomiting may be initiated by diet, toxins, or inflammation, regurgitation is usually related to diseases of the esophagus. Using the correct term when speaking with your veterinarian helps him or her to focus more quickly on the most likely cause of the problem. Vomiting Vomiting is usually preceded by signs of discomfort – contraction of abdominal walls, salivation, licking lips and finally heaving, followed by emptying of the stomach contents or even contents of the upper small intestine. The vomit may be yellow or orangish in color, indicating the presence of bile. However, bile is not always present. A pet may vomit either food, or if the stomach is empty, liquid. Regurgitation Regurgitation is less commonly seen. There are no signs that the pet is about to regurgitate –...

This moving animation and comic strip show that physical limitations may not be limitations at all and should not stand in the way of happiness. Enjoy this short film called “The Present.”  It was created by Jacob Frey and Markus Kranzler in 2014 as a graduation project while they were students at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. It went on to win dozens of international awards The film is based on a comic book strip by a Brazilian artist named Fabio Coala Cavalcanti. The boy opens up a box from his mother to find a small, excited puppy inside. The boy’s joy, however, quickly turns to disgust when he realizes the dog only has three legs. In the end, the boy realizes that the dog doesn’t let his physical situation stand in the way of happiness, and neither should he. Original comic link: http://9gag.com/gag/aXXWodz    Tweet

Blog re-posted from GreenMedInfo LLC – original blog link: http://m.greenmedinfo.com/blog/latest-study-human-pet-bonding-says-you-may-be-under-spell-0 Do you melt when you look into your dog’s eyes? Does your cat have you wrapped around her little fuzzy paws? You’re not alone! New science unlocks the mysteries of human-animal bonding and how our animal companions manipulate us into loving them—for our good and theirs. People have a long history of living and bonding with domesticated animals. A recent genome study concluded that dogs may have been domesticated as far back as 34,000 years ago.[1] Today, our animal companions are as beloved as ever with the American pet population expanding from about 40 million cats and dogs in 1967 to more than 114 million in 2012. Roughly two-thirds of US households now include at least one pet.[2] Not only are pets on the rise, but the significance of our human-animal relationships seems to be deepening. A growing number of young adults are trading in their human partners for the four-legged kind. Many report experiencing greater distress from the loss of a pet than from a breakup.[3] In a recent poll, a surprising 38 percent of dog owners reported loving their pets more than their partners![4] Our animal companions obviously...

Do you tend to see the body as a machine, that, when it malfunctions, needs to be fixed? Dr. Bruce Lipton, PhD, suggests that 90% to 95% of chronic health problems are actually a result of ‘driver error!’  Watch this short video to learn more. Video link:

As a result of rising concerns about the Zika virus, individuals living in or traveling to areas where the Zika virus is found are turning to insect repellants for protection against the Zika-carrying mosquito.  But, what about our pets? Are those same insect repellants safe for them? The Zika virus can be transmitted to humans via infected mosquitoes and, at the suggestion of the CDC, many people in at-risk areas are turning to DEET-containing insect repellants for protection (http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/pdfs/fs_mosquito_bite_prevention_travelers.pdf). DEET is contained in products such as Off, Deep Woods Off, Sawyer, Ultrathon, and Cutter. Labeled instructions for application should be followed to improve the human safety of DEET-containing products. But, what about the safety of these products for our pets? DEET-containing insect repellants should NOT be used on cats or dogs because they lick their fur and, overtime, could potentially ingest large amounts of DEET. Pets may also ingest DEET by licking the skin and clothing of humans who have used the product or from environmentally applied DEET. DEET ingestion can result in drooling, wobbly gait, seizures, vomiting, and loss of appetite.   A safer alternative that can be used on people and pets and that is on the CDC...