Poorly Pup? Here's How to Help Them Get Better

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Dogs aren’t just man’s best friend, they are a part of the family. So when they get sick, you want to look after them just as well as any other family member. But what are the best methods for treating your furry patient?

Water Little and Often

If your dog is being sick or has diarrhea, they will want to drink a lot. The problem is that they might want to drink too much at once. You should give them cooled boiled water little and often so that they drink enough over the day, but not all at once. Boiling the water first makes sure that it is free of any potential bacteria but make sure it is cold before your serve!

Keep an Eye Out

Changes in your pet’s behaviour could be a sign of illness.Pet MD have a symptom checker you can use to see what the causes could be. If your dog is under the weather for more than one day, you should take them to the vets for a check up. The vet will be able to do some tests to find out exactly what is wrong and prescribe some medication to help with your dog’s recovery.

Finish the Prescription

Like humans, it is important that your dog finishes any medical prescription given by a vet. Though it can be difficult to persuade dogs to take pills, it is well worth the effort to ensure they return to their normal selves without a relapse into illness. One trick to get even the most resistant dogs to take a pill is to use a sneaky pill treat like Pawsiq. These are hollow treats that mean you can fill them with the pills for easy administration. Your dog won’t even realise what he’s begging for!

The Right Bed

Like us, dogs have an instinct about how and where they want to sleep off an illness. It might be tucked underneath a blanket nice and warm or they may prefer somewhere a bit cooler. Follow your dog’s lead and let them decide where they should be sleeping. You might need to relax the house rules for a day but once he’s better, you can reinstate the ‘not on the couch!’ rule.

Be Ready For an Emergency

It’s not likely to happen, but if your dog is unconscious and not breathing, you may need to perform canine CPR. This is much like performing CPR on a human but you need to close their mouth and breath down their nose in between compressions.

Staying Healthy

Once your dog is back up and running circles around you and your family, it’s important to give him the best chance of staying healthy. Dogs are just like us and they will get ill from time to time naturally, but a good diet, plenty of exercise and lots of love should keep them healthier for longer. And don’t forget that human foods like chocolate can cause real trouble for our canine friends.

With these five tips, your dog will be on the road to recovery and back to his happy self soon.

Owners, Don't Trick Your Dog This Halloween

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What’s not to like about getting dressed up and roaming the streets asking for candy? It’s fun for all the family, well, except for the pets in your life. Let’s face it – dogs don’t want to don a funny costume. They don’t want kids knocking on the door all night long. And, they don’t want to be disturbed! Sadly, all this and more will happen come the 31st of October.

So, if you value your dog’s sanity, it’s essential to take precautions. After all, it is the scariest night of the year! Here’s what dog owners need to know come Halloween.

Dogs Shouldn’t Eat Candy

Because candy is full of sugar, and the white stuff will get into the bloodstream and send them wild. You may not have come across a dog hopped up on sugar before, and you don’t want to! They are hyperactive, impossible to control, and easily irritable. There is a more important reason not to let the family pooch loose on the Halloween stash: chocolate. To dogs, chocolate is a poison which plays havoc with their insides. It may not cause them to drop dead like in a Bond film, but it could cause bellyache and flatulence.

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They Should See A Vet

Going to a veterinarian seems like overkill, no pun intended. But, Halloween is a special time of year where all rules go out of the window. Instead of everyone in the neighborhood behaving, they make excess noise, scare people, and set off fireworks. It’s akin to something from a novel which describes the apocalypse. What animal lovers don’t know is that these disruptions can set off unknown ailments. For instance, dogs can suffer from epilepsy. Any strong lights will trigger their condition, and by then it’s too late. There is nothing wrong with going for a checkup in Halloween season.

Dogs Shouldn’t Be Outside

On a typical night, it is okay to leave them in their kennel until morning. Dogs are domestic animals, yet certain pooches are perfectly okay outside. Unfortunately, crowds of kids dressed as their favorite superheroes will descend on the backyard. When they do, the noise will startle the dog and cause it distress. Whether it barks like a madman or curls up in a ball, the animal will not enjoy the experience. It is much safer inside where the noise is not as loud and won’t cause the dog stress.

They Should Be Away From The Door

The door will open and close hundreds of times in one night, which is a security flaw. Countless families spend Halloween night searching for their lost pet rather than trick or treating. Also, there is the visual aspect of people entering the house. Dogs are territorial and can turn if they feel threatened or they think the house is in danger. The last thing anyone wants is a small child to get bitten. By keeping the dog away from the door, there shouldn’t be any untoward incidents. Plus, out of sight is out of mind for your pooch.

People love Halloween, but animals are different. For them, they want the holiday to finish as soon as possible.

Poor Paws! Health care Tips for Your Pup’s Feet

Your dog's feet and paws are pretty important, but they can be sensitive and delicate too. That is why you have to make an effort to take care of them properly for your pooch. So read on to find out all about their paws and how to look after them and keep them in tip-top condition.

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Foreign bodies

Your dog's paws are pretty sensitive compared to the rest of their body. That means a responsible owner you need to be on the lookout for things that could harm them that your pup may not be aware of themselves.

This includes things like shards of glass, metal filing, and even some types of grass seed that can get logged in their pads. Something that can be painful and cause infection if not removed and treated by a veterinary clinic professional. Remember your pooch is basically walking around barefoot, so if you would think twice about taking your shoes and socks off in a place, it's best to take extra care when walking them there.

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Hot pavement

Another big problem with dogs and their paws is that they can get burnt by walking on hot sidewalks. Some pavements can get up to 140 degrees plus in the summer on a sunny day, and it's all too easy for us to forget that our pups have to walk on these with no protection.

One way of dealing with this is to avoid walking them around noon and only take them out in the early morning and late evening when it's cooler. Alternatively, you can get protective shoes for your dog, that stop their pads having direct contact with the ground when it's warm. Find out more about these here.

Cleanliness

Now, if you have ever noticed a popcorn type smell coming from your dog's paws, you might be alarmed to find out that this is, in fact the odor of their sweat! Dog's sweat exclusively from their paws and this encourage the growth of bacteria. Something that in turn gives off that distinctive smell.

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Add to this the fact they can pick up all sort of pollutants when walking such as rotting food and chemicals and it makes it a great idea to always wash your dog's feet once you return. Use wipe to do this, or if possible get them in the shower to ensure that their paws are spick and span.

Ingrowing toenails

Last, of all, a real paw issue can be that of an ingrowing toenail. This is where a nail or claw grows into the pad causing pain and infection. The cause of this condition can include bad nail clipping, as well as some genetic issues that affect the posting of the nail.

To avoid ingrowing toenails ensure that you trim your pup’s nails regularly following this guide.

If you think that your dog has got an ingrown toenail problem, don't deal with it yourself, though, as you can end up making them way worse. Take pooch to the vet for proper treatment instead.

The Dangers Of A Dog That Loves You Too Much

It’s not something that a lot of dog-owners consider a major problem. If anything, more people are concerned that a stoic pooch might not love them as much as they would like. But the opposite extreme can be just as much a problem. A dog that’s overly attached to its owner can develop dangerous behaviors as a response. They can become territorially aggressive over their owners, or they can even develop separation anxiety. Both will play a role in making them harder to command and to take control of a situation, which is especially unhelpful if you’re training them to be a useful partner, not just a pet. So, what do you do about it?

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Assert some discipline

One of the reasons that a dog’s affection of you might get out-of-bounds is that they may not necessarily see you as their pack leader. Rather, they may very well consider you lower in the chain of command than them and, in response, will treat you more like a member of their pack or a possession. They think that you are theirs and act accordingly. Alongside signs of territorial aggression, this will often show as overt disobedience. Make sure that training is complete and ongoing with them and that you can tell the difference between them being disobedient or just reacting with excitement to certain stimuli.

Socialize them

If they are well trained and listen to your commands, then it’s about finding the stimuli that set them off. For many dogs, those stimuli may be strangers and other dogs. If they’re too protective of their own, they might react to these situations with a high-tension response, which can make them difficult to keep control of. All dogs can be socialized. Even when they’re full adults, it’s not too late for them to learn new behavior patterns, though it’s certainly easier when they’re younger. Take them on walks and introduce them to other dogs. Many fear a negative response from their dog and will pull on their leash or shout if they worry about them becoming too excitable or aggressive. This often has the opposite effect, however. Be calm, in control of the situation, and touch your dog to reassure them they’re okay. Just be sure to use a muzzle if your dog has growled or barked at other dogs in the past. Remove the risk from the situation.

Greetings and farewells

You may very well be the stimuli, yourself. There are two big emotional high points that a lot of owners have trouble with. That’s saying goodbye and saying farewell to your dog. Pet your dog, and say your greetings or your farewells, but don’t let it escalate. Acting overly excitable creates a rush for them that keeps them in a high-tension state. It might be all fun and games when you’re there, but it translates into separation anxiety when you’re not there, as Psychology Today states.

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Calming on cue

It might seem like it’s too good to be true, but you can command your dog to be calm. Alongside “heel”, the “settle” command is one of the most useful tools a dog owner can use. Start by using the command indoors on their leash, when their attention is already on you. When they successfully come to a stop, give them a treat. As time goes on, give them distractions to deal with and, eventually, start the training outside. Before too long, you will have them able to “settle” without any treats at all.

Spread the love

Getting them used to other people is just as important, too. Having more than one authority figure in a dog’s life is an important way of ensuring they know that even that they’re beneath you in the hierarchy, that doesn’t mean that they’re above all other humans. Using a dog walking service can be a great way to teach that. However, this is only true if you’re using a real professional. Whistle has a list of great questions to sort out the people who are truly equipped to handling and showing authority to a stranger’s dog, and not just someone making money off a hobby.  In particular, make sure you ask how they might handle any behavioral issues that might come up. If they have no examples of how they’ve dealt with a dog that’s territorial or disobedient, they might not be the right person for this lesson.

Make sure they’re well cared for when you’re not around

Being cared for and treated well when you’re not the one with them is just as important as making sure they can act disciplined with other humans as well. Boarding a dog with separation anxiety or territorial behavior is a big step, but if you do, then places like Fon Jon Pet Care are usually the right solution. Make sure that any dog boarding services you use have experience with training dogs and know that if your dog isn’t yet fit to be socialized that they shouldn’t be.

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Check yourself

Much like with greetings and goodbyes, you should endeavor to keep a closer eye on your own behavior with the dog. Owners might very well often say that they have a deep emotional connection to their dog, and that’s not untrue. Dogs react off the energy of their own. If you approach a situation with a calm and a sense of control, your dog will feel safer in that situation. If you react to every display of anxiety or aggression in them with an escalation, they will continue to do the same. That’s because they’re reading your cues and believing there really is something to be so tense about. Obsessive affection can spread much the same way. Dogs learn from their owners, so make sure you’re a good teacher.

You don’t have to be entirely strict and unemotional with your dog. They need emotional fulfillment just as much as humans do and work better to their task when they have it. Just be cautious of the signs that they’re getting too territorial when you’re there or anxious when you’re not.