Cancer in pets is more common than you think. It is the number one natural cause of death in geriatric cats and dogs and accounts for nearly 50 percent of pet deaths each year. Some breeds are especially susceptible to cancer.
Although the leading cause of death in older cats and dogs, cancer also is the most treatable disease when compared to life-limiting diseases such as congestive heart failure, renal failure and diabetes. An educated and dedicated veterinary health care team is essential to caring for cancer-stricken pets. Continue Reading →
As dog lovers, we must all, surely, feel a massive twang of pity and regret when we think of those puppies who have been bred for profit by breeders who are interested only in how to produce maximum volume of ‘stock’ with scant regard for the welfare, health or temperament of the animals they churn out month by month, year by year.
Puppy farms (or, as they are known outside of the UK – puppy mills) are alive kicking.
But how? Buy why?
Let’s see if we can find out… Continue Reading →
Do dogs ever feel jealous?
According to some new research by scientists, they do.
On the face of it, a lot of people would agree. But before you spring forth with your tales of dogs ‘acting jealous’, please – hear me out.
Personally, I don’t believe they do and I’ll explain more about that in a moment. But first let us look at the new research done in the name of science. Continue Reading →
Canine Cataracts: A Total Dog Care Sheet
Owners of older dogs often notice begin to notice a bluish white film start to develop over the eyes of their dog. As dogs age, eye problems – particularly cataracts – are more common. The condition is a thickening of the lenses, which is a function of age. It can become present in dogs of any age but normally happens as the dog enters their senior years and it tends to progress slowly. Continue Reading →
Over the past years we’ve heard a number of alternative ‘dangerous dog’ solutions proposed. Ways and means by which we can prevent dog attacks from occurring. Ideas and suggestions which can help us rid ourselves of the menace of dog attacks.
One of the most common ideas put forward seems, on the face of it, to be entirely sensible: to muzzle all dogs and keep them confined to a lead at all times in public. Well, whilst it may seem sensible – unfortunately, it is not. In fact I speculate that if we want to literally DOUBLE the number of dog attacks, especially the most serious ones, the way to do it would be to muzzle and confine all dogs to leads in public. I shall hereby try and explain the flaws in this ideology. Continue Reading →
Did you know that your dog can live three weeks without food but will die within days without water? Water is necessary for all digestive processes as well as temperature regulation, nutrient absorption, and as a transportation medium, shipping things between organs and out of the body. Continue Reading →
There is a significant difference between humans and dogs in their need for carbohydrates and in their ability to digest them. The digestive tract of a human is longer than that of a dog, and the formation of jaws and teeth is entirely different. A dog’s digestion starts in the stomach. Dogs’ teeth – all 42 of them – are built to tear flesh apart. Dogs gulp their food as fast as they can, which then reaches the stomach with no digestion having taken place. Continue Reading →
Every wolf pack has a leader, also referred to as the alpha figure. This wolf, sometimes a male, sometimes a female, controls many aspects of pack life, including, to a degree, defecation and urination rights and spots. Dogs, of course, are directly descended from wolves and now live in human packs. Problems arise when an individual dog, either through his genetic makeup or improper training by his owner, comes to think of himself as the leader of the pack. Continue Reading →
Dogs Do Not Learn By Dominance And Submission: Many people believe that dogs learn by dominance and/or submission. This is an interesting theory that appeals to our sense of logic and the way nature appears to be ordered from the point of view of the human ego. Supposedly, dogs can learn to respect another individual through dominance. This presupposes that they can perceive another being’s point of view. Humans can indeed entertain others’ points of view, yet we know that no one learns to work effectively through the dominance/submissive model. Continue Reading →
When your puppy is small, you should not expect him to be perfect all the time. Neither should you overwhelm him by correcting everything at once. Instead, concentrate on the more serious behavior problems, working with them as they show up. Continue Reading →
