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Dog Obesity and Your Dog’s Health

Filed under: Dog Health — Chantee Hale on September 1st, 2010

It’s easy to think that a couple of extra pounds can’t hurt your hound. But a couple of extra pounds can mean your dog is obese. Dog obesity is quickly becoming the number one health hazard for dogs in the U.S. Because of dogs small bodies the health risks of obesity are very serious for dogs.

One of the most common complications for obese dogs is diabetes. Since extra weight means the dog’s body needs to produce more insulin in response to a greater amount of blood sugar the obese dog can easily develop ‘sugar diabetes’ or diabetes mellitus.

Congestive heart failure is another big health risk that is increased with dog weight. Since the heart has to work extra hard to get blood to the extra tissue of an overweight dog they can develop increased blood pressure, or hypertension. In turn, hypertension can lead to congestive heart failure.

Surgical and anesthetic risks, development canine cancer, distemper, and other bacterial and viral infections are also heightened when a dog is overweight. Arthritis, hip dysplasia, decreased liver function, difficulty breathing, and digestive and reproductive problems can result from dog obesity as well. Some dogs even experience heat exhaustion, a lack of stamina, and hair and coat problems that can lead to skin infections due to unhealthy extra pounds.

If your dog’s overweight consider a specially formulated dog food that will help reduce unnecessary fat content or reduce the amount you feed your pet. Make sure your pet gets at least two hours of active play each day, through walks, dog parks, agility training or highly active outdoor play like fetch or tag. Keeping your dog’s weight under control is an important way to decrease his or her risk of developing unwanted illnesses and increasing your dog’s life expectancy and happiness.

Photo by peasap

10 Table Scraps Dogs Can Eat

Filed under: Dog Health,Dog Life — DoggySpace on August 17th, 2010

When a pet is considered part of the family, it often gets treated with the same amount of love, attention, and affection that a person would receive. This desire to include pets in family activities extends to the dinner table as well. It can be hard to resist your dog’s pleading eyes as you sit and enjoy your meal, but you may worry about what foods are safe to feed your dog. The next time Fido is staring longingly at your plate, go ahead and give him a few of these foods that have been verified as safe for dogs to eat.

1. Rice.

Rice is commonly used as a filler in dog foods, so it is safe to give your dog a few bites of rice off of your plate. You should, however, be careful not to feed your dog rice that contains onion or garlic, as these foods can be dangerous for dogs to consume.

2. Cooked eggs.

Boiled or scrambled eggs are healthy treats for dogs because of their vitamin and protein content. It is important that eggs are fully cooked, because raw eggs contain an enzyme that can reduce the dog’s ability to absorb certain B vitamins. Additionally, they may also make your dog sick due to salmonella.

3. Carrots.

Most dogs love carrots, and they are great snacks for your pet. They are low calorie foods, and are generally safe to feed healthy dogs. Carrots may be raw or cooked, depending on your dog’s individual preference.

4. Cheese.

Cheese is another great source of protein for dogs, and many canines love the texture. However, like humans, some dogs may experience a sensitivity to too much dairy. When feeding your dog cheese, start out with a small amount and monitor your pet for a dairy sensitivity.

5. Peanut butter.

Although many humans have a peanut allergy, dogs do not seem have a similar reaction. It is safe to feed peanut butter to a dog, and most dogs consider it a special treat. Due to the high fat content of peanut butter, dog owners should limit the amount of peanut butter that they feed their dogs to ensure that they eat other foods as a part of a balanced diet.

6. Berries.

As a special treat, many dogs love chilled or frozen berries. From blackberries to raspberries, dogs can safely eat small amounts of these sweet fruits. They are actually healthy for dogs to consume, because just like humans, canines benefit these antioxidant rich foods.

7. Chicken.

Chicken is a great table food treat for dogs, and most dogs will gobble down a serving of chicken faster than they will other treats. This nutritious meat is a great source of protein, and as long as oils and spices are limited, it is safe to give your dog cooked chicken.

8. Green beans.

Just like carrots are good snacks for dogs, green beans are a great option as well. As long as the salt content is limited, some veterinarians actually that recommend dog owners feed their obese dogs green beans because they are filling and relatively low in calories.

9. Seedless watermelon.

A nice, cool slice of watermelon is a favorite summertime treat for people, and your dog can take part in the pleasure as well. Dogs love the sweet taste of a juicy watermelon, and the fruit’s water content can help rehydrate your pet in the hot summer weather. Just be sure that you remove all seeds from the fruit before giving your dog a taste, because they can cause intestinal blockage.

10. Bananas.

The next time you run out of dog food and your pet needs a quick snack, reach for a banana. Bananas are safe for dogs to eat, and just like berries, they will benefit from the nutrients in these fruits.

Although people may be tempted to serve their dogs a helping of whatever is on their dinner plate, some foods should not be offered to dogs because they can cause a variety of health problems. However, when monitored closely, certain table foods are safe to feed your pet and offer a nice break from the standard commercially processed dog food fare.

Photo by bricolage108

How to Clean Pet Urine and Neutralize Odor

Filed under: Ages & Stages,Dog Behavior,Dog Training — DoggySpace on July 23rd, 2010

Whether your pet has a problem with indoor accidents or is simply trying to mark his territory, cleaning up pet urine is imperative to preventing recurrences. Your pet enjoys a particularly strong sense of smell and can easily identify areas where it has urinated in the past. If you have other pets, the smell of the urine may cause them to urinate in the same spot – even if they typically only urinate outdoors. Thus, when cleaning up pet stains, you must clean the stain thoroughly enough to neutralize the smell to both humans and animals.

Step One: Blot Away the Urine Stain

As soon as your pet urinates on the floor, blot up as much of the stain as you can with a towel or dishcloth. Terrycloth is perfect for this job. Your goal is to clean away as much of the urine as possible before it has an opportunity to soak into your carpet’s padding and dry there.

After you’ve soaked up as much of the urine as you can with a towel, use a thin, absorbent material, such as a paper towel or napkin, to absorb any remaining pet urine. Place the paper towel or napkin over the stain and press down as hard as you can. You can even stand on the spot to ensure that you’re applying adequate pressure. Do not stop blotting until the spot appears completely dry.

Step Two: Dilute the Remaining Pet Urine

Pour club soda liberally over the pet urine stain, giving it a few seconds to soak in. Club soda dilutes pet urine both beneath your carpet and on the carpet’s surface, making it less likely to give off a noticeable smell. While club soda is ideal for this, you can also use plain water or equal parts water and white vinegar.

After the club soda has a chance to soak into the carpet, blot it away using towels and paper towels in the exact same manner that you cleaned up the initial pet stain.

Step Three: Neutralize Pet Urine Smells

Once you’ve cleaned up the pet stain and diluted the remaining urine within your carpet, you can further combat the smell using baking soda. Pour baking soda over the spot where your pet’s accident occurred. Press the baking soda into the carpet using even pressure. This can be done by stepping on the pile of baking soda several times or placing a heavy object over the spot. Let the baking soda sit on the pet stain for at least one hour before vacuuming it away. The baking soda will pull any moisture you may have missed out of the carpet while also combating the unpleasant odor of pet urine.

Step Four: De-grease the Pet Stain

Even if you begin cleaning your pet’s urine stain as soon as the accident occurs, the ammonia in an animal’s urine gives it a greasy texture that allows it to rapidly adhere to fabrics such as carpeting. The end result is that neutralizing the urine may not remove the stain. Standard carpet cleaning sprays may also be ineffective at preventing a permanent pet urine stain on your carpet. Household degreasers, however, are perfect for this job.

Spray a household degreasing product, such as Greased Lightning, directly onto the pet stain. Use a warm, wet cloth to work the degreaser into the stain, wiping vigorously. Keep a bowl of water next to you throughout the process since you’ll want to rinse the cloth out frequently. If you have concerns about degreaser staining your carpet, test it out on an out of the way area of carpeting before applying it to the pet urine stain.

Step Five: Prevent the Smell of Pet Urine

While club soda and baking soda work wonders for neutralizing pet urine odor, you can opt for additional odor prevention by purchasing one of the many specialty products available for neutralizing the smell of pet urine on carpets. Call your veterinarian for a recommendation before making a purchase, as some products work better than others.

The best cure for pet urine stains is prevention. Consider installing a doggie door or taking your dog for more frequent walks if indoor urination becomes a problem. If you have a cat that urinates on the carpet, clean its litter box more frequently. Your cat’s definition of a full litter box and yours may vary! You can also provide your cat with more than one litter box to encourage it to use the litter box rather than your carpet. Should occasional accidents still occur, however, prompt cleanup ensures that your carpet will remain pristine and pet urine odors don’t become a problem.

Photo by jaimieo

Dogs gain vocal rights in Massachusetts

Filed under: Dog News — DoggySpace on July 21st, 2010

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a new bill dubbed Logan’s Law. Under this new law, anyone who removes or cuts a animals vocal chords for nonmedial needs will face fines and up to five years in prison.

“To take the voice of an animal would be the equivalent of taking a person’s voice or a person’s ability to communicate,” Brian Adams, spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), told reporters.

Animal rights groups that supported the bill feel it is more important that pet owners understand the need for animals to be able to make noise. While those apposing the bill feel that more animals will be returned to shelters due to this law.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), reported that in 2009, it did not have a single dog or cat surrendered because it was too noisy.

Inspired by the Massachusetts law, a U.S. Congressman introduced a bill in May to support states that pass similar legislation to ban devocalization.

H.R. 5422, sponsored by C. A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, D-MD, would authorize grants of up to $1 million for the prevention of cruelty to animals. It was referred to a House Agriculture subcommittee in June.

photo credit mccun934

5 Ways to Stop Separation Anxiety

Filed under: Dog Behavior — DoggySpace on July 20th, 2010

Does your dog exhibit bad behavior when you leave the house? Do you come home to find that your dog has ripped up all the toilet paper or chewed up your favorite pair of shoes? Does your dog have accidents in the house only when you’re not there? Does he cry or howl and dig at doors in windows in an attempt to get out?

If you’ve noticed any of the above behavior, your dog may be suffering from separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is not a way to get back at you for leaving them. It is simply a panic response to being left alone. It can happen at any point during a dog’s life but tends to happen once a routine is broken. For instance if you’ve been working from home for the last 5 years and you’ve all of a sudden transitioned to an office job. Now your dog doesn’t understand why you are suddenly not available all day long and panics when you leave the house.

Separation anxiety can be severe and may need the help of a professional animal behaviorist. However, there are several things you can try on your own before you call for backup.

When you leave the house, leave an item that smells like you with your dog. An old t-shirt works well. Just having your scent with him may be enough to calm your dog down while you are away.
Keep your departures and arrivals from the house times of calm. Don’t make a big deal out of leaving or coming home. This can add to your dog’s anxiety level. Quietly leave the house and come home when you can.
Establish a safety cue. Whenever you leave the house, do something that lets your dog know you’ll be back. You can leave the radio on or the TV on for him, or give him a special toy. Practice this with your dog by doing this action and then only leaving for a little bit. Gradually increase the time you are gone and soon your dog will associate this action with the fact that you will be back soon.
Give your dog something to do. Toys like kongs are great for keeping your dog occupied while you are away. It allows them to focus on something other than the fact that they are missing you.
Desensitize your dog to your comings and goings. There’s probably a good chance that your dog has certain triggers that let him know you are leaving. This may be getting your car keys out or putting on your coat. Do these things around him when you don’t leave the house. Jingle your car keys and then go sit on the couch. Put your coat on and watch TV. Pretty soon your dog will learn to not associate these behaviors as triggers for you leaving.

Separation anxiety can be a serious problem for some dog owners, but with a little work and patience, you should be able to calm your dog and alleviate his anxiety when you leave.

Photo by *christopher*

Funny Pet Quirks: Holy Water?

Filed under: Dog News — DoggySpace on July 20th, 2010

As a pet parent no request, or need, for our furry loved one’s should be to far, or is there?

Pet sitters are all to familiar with the common requests to sing to pets, read to pets, play the piano for pets and even turn on the TV so a pet could watch its “favorite” program.

However, with the growing view in society is that our furry ones are more family than anything else, the request by pet owners are reportedly getting a little strange at times according to a recent article by Diane Mapes on msn.

Joshua Cary, co-founder of the Association of Pet Sitting Excellence said in the article “We recently asked ‘What’s the strangest request you’ve had from a pet-sitting client?’ on our Facebook page and the replies were a hoot”. He continued with, “My favorite was the person who asked the pet-sitter to mix holy water and ash and put it on the cat’s food and then say a prayer over the food before serving it.”

Jessica Stout from Sacramento, Calif. post on Facebook “I once worked at an upscale pet hotel and one woman asked us if we could bring in a TV so her dogs could watch Oprah every day at 4 p.m., We also had a woman who said her dog could only sleep if he could lick someone’s feet. She asked if one of us would be willing to let him lick our feet each night before he went to sleep”.

While pet owners request for their special children may be a bit odd from time-to-time, the majority of requests are not that far out of the norm according to most pet experts.

However, while some professionals may feel that some requests are a little too much, shouldn’t the paw parent know best?

Does your pet have funny quirks? Share it with us on our Facebook page

Photo by Timothy Valentine

Crazed Dog Owner Shoots Dog 6 Times

Filed under: Dog News — DoggySpace on July 14th, 2010

A 57-year-old man in Toledo Ohio decided to shoot is dog in the head, neck and back after his dog did not obey his commands to “sit down”.

According to a neighbor, the German shepherd named “Sarge”, was quietly lying in his locked cage, when Mr. Lawrence and another man came out of their home and started taking turns shooting the dog.

Is Your Dog at Risk for Diabetes?

Filed under: Dog Health — Chantee Hale on July 14th, 2010

If your dog is overweight, middle aged, or on a high fat diet he or she may be at risk for canine diabetes. Canine diabetes is a condition caused by your pets’ inability to process or create enough insulin. Congenital defects, disease, certain prescribed drugs, or illness can cause other forms of canine diabetes, such as diabetes insipidus and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.

Other factors that determine your dog’s potential risk include breed, as mixed-breed dogs have been found to be more often prone to developing canine diabetes than purebred dogs. Female dogs and neutered males also have a higher risk than intact male dogs. If your dog suffers from Cushing’s disease, inflammation of the small bowl or pancreas, or has had long term use of steroid drugs he or she may have a high risk of developing diabetes.

Dogs with diabetes may exhibit excessive urination and water consumption, unexplainable or unhealthy weight loss, and an increased appetite. He or she may also develop cataracts, be lethargic, weak, out of breath, and otherwise intolerant to exercise, or develop reoccurring infections. If your dog is at risk of diabetes or has developed any of the symptoms of diabetes you should take him or her to the veterinarian for diagnosis immediately.

Photo credit Jacek.NL

Is Your Dog’s Breed Smart?

Filed under: Dog Life — Chantee Hale on July 6th, 2010

Having a smart dog can be the difference between long hard hours spent training and feeling like it was a breeze. While individual dogs’ intelligence may vary, there are ten breeds that are ranked as ‘Smart Dogs.’ Being a smart dog means that these breeds often understand new commands within five or less repetitions, meaning less work training for you. They also tend to obey on first command at least 95% of the time.

The smartest of the smart dogs is the Collie. Obedient, agile, and very active, Border Collies are a wonderful breed. Their only downside is that their energy needs an outlet, so a Border Collie left alone for a day can be a whirlwind of terror.

The standard Poodle is the next in line for the Smart Dog title. Friendly, happy, and intelligent, Poodles are easy to train. Their love of human companionship makes it hard for a Poodle to be alone, though.

German Shepherds come in at number three. These protective, courageous, and intelligent dogs are often chosen as police dogs. Like most smart dogs they need to be kept busy with a task to remain happy in life, but need a firm grounding in obedience training.

It would be hard to make a list that didn’t rank the Golden Retriever somewhere among it. They come in as #4 in the world’s smartest dogs. Golden Retrievers are known for their loyalty, loving demeanor, and eagerness to please.

Doberman Pinschers take the last of the top five. As dominant, loyal, fearless dogs one may be surprised to find that the Dobermans temperament vary greatly, some being quite docile. One thing is certain, no matter the dog’s temperament, when their master is in danger they will come to the defense.

The Shetland Sheepdog ranks 6th among smart dogs. Known for their loyalty, intelligence, and love of their family Shetlands make great family pets. The breed is also known to be a little wary of strangers but craves human companionship.
#7 on the list is the Labrador Retriever. Loving, affectionate, and patient these dogs are very popular family dogs. The only downside to a Labrador is that, without proper exercise, obesity can quickly become a problem for them.

The Papillion ranks #8 among smart dogs. They’re affectionate, intelligent, and possessive. These guys can be tougher than they look and very protective of their family and home.

Reliable, intelligent, and courageous, the Rottweiler ranks number 9. They make excellent guard dogs. Rottweilers are also very loving and devoted to their families.

Last on the list is the Austrailian Cattle Dog. They’re a resourceful, active, and freethinking breed of dog. They’re very protective of their family and home, but need a lot of exercise to keep happy and out of trouble.

Photo credit kiwikewlio

Edinburgh University Wants 20,000 Labradors

Filed under: Dog Health,Dog News — DoggySpace on July 2nd, 2010

The boys and girls over at Edinburgh University want to find out how diet and exercise can influence a dog’s susceptibility to illness.

Each owner that partakes in this study will be encouraged to update their exercise routines and eating habits for their pets with a web page.

The researchers at Edinburgh want to recruit dogs that are less than one year old and mark their progress. While owners take part in the study they will also be able to compare how their dog does compared to others in the study.

The project is being funded with £100,000 from Kennel Club Charitable Trust.

Caroline Kisko, from the organization, said: “Dogs are not able to talk to us and in veterinary consultations when owners describe their dog’s lifestyle it’s not always possible to give the full picture.

“This study will look at how a dog’s lifestyle and environmental factors affect the dog’s health over time and through this we can ensure better treatment through education for owners on the best care for their pets.”

Photo credit villamon

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