Archive for » January, 2010 «

Let’s Brush Your Dog’s Teeth!

We have fully noticed that human beings need to brush their teeth twice a day. Have you wondered on brushing your dog’s teeth as regularly as what human does? We cannot fully focus our mind and our attention on our dog in a whole day and we do not know exactly what does he chew, lick, and all other oral activities when we are not around. That’s why we need to brush our dog’s teeth regularly not only to keep his or her breath fresh, but also to maintain dog’s good oral care which is closely related and play a big role to your dog’s overall health especially to prevent him or her from serious painful problems of plague, periodontal, or gum disease.

Prevention is the ultimate key in keeping him or her to stay healthy and happy. The ideal concept is brushing your dog’s teeth daily. However, if your schedule seems way too busy as you have a very tight schedule, please try your best to brush your dog’s teeth at least two or three times a week. You will need two special items of brush and paste. A specific toothbrush, a small plastic brush that fit on your finger or special dental sponges for dog’s oral health can be found in pet stores. Choose the special toothpaste intended for dog from a pet store or from your veterinarian with a variety of flavors, including liver, mint, chicken and peanut butter.

Obesity in Dogs is a Serious Problem

Just as in humans, obesity is also a problem in dogs. This is a serious problem, a dog who are obese or overweight are more likely to experience health problems. For example, respiratory problems. In addition, obese dogs also tend to be less able to tolerate exercise or heat. Therefore, it is important to take some action to your dog stay healthy and slim.

You should first bring your dog to your veterinarian for a thorough examination, before putting your dog on any type of diet.  It is possible that your pet’s excessive weight is caused by an illness that needs to be addressed. Therefore, your veterinarian will need to first conduct some routine blood work, which includes completing a serum profile, a blood cell count and a urinalysis.

Some diseases that can cause your pet to be overweight include:
• Hypothyroidism – diagnosed by testing for hormonal levels
• Diabetes mellitus – diagnosed by testing blood and urine glucose levels, a process that may require completing a series of blood glucose measurements in order to confirm the diabetes diagnosis
• Hyperadrenocorticism – diagnosed by testing for the dog’s urine cortisol:creatnine ratio and by completing an ACTH stimulation test, which is a hormone stimulation test
Changes to body weight associated with these diseases needs to be checked regularly, while regular check ups are also necessary to monitor the medication being used to regulate the illness.

In order to change your dog’s diet and treat dog obesity, you will need to first assess its current intake of treats, foods and table scraps. You will also need to take a closer look at the amount of exercise your dog is currently getting. If your dog is taking in more calories than it is burning, it will continue to put on excess pounds. Therefore, you will need to look at ways to decrease your dog’s calorie intake. If you are feeding treats to your dog, cut those out of its diet and stick only to dog food. You might also need to purchase diet formulated dog food that will help to further decrease its calorie intake. Increasing the amount of fiber or water your dog consumes will also help it to feel full while reducing the amount of calories it consumes.
You can also help your pet lose excess pounds by encouraging it to exercise more often. Taking your pet out for walks or romps in your backyard are good ways to burn off excess calories while also providing you with opportunities to bond with your pet. Many dogs also enjoy going swimming. So, if you live on property with a pond or a creek nearby, encourage your pet to take a refreshing dip in order to burn off extra calories.  By putting your pet on a healthy diet and exercise plan, on the other hand, You can be sure to see your dog stay healthy and energetic for years to come.

Black Russian Terrier, Natural Home Guard

Black Russian Terrier is a big dog, with the thick and weather coat which mostly reaching 2 inches, and yes it’s typically black. With that unique and long coat, you can easily to define Black Russian Terrier from a massive group of dogs. Black Russian Terrier has long history, which also it’s got involved into the World War II period. They are usually used as the military guard and help patrol police for its strength in dealing with even extreme weather.

Looking at its personality, Black Russian Terrier is known to be really intelligent and smart, which these makes it really suited as a watch dog. Born as an excellent dog guard, Black Russian Terrier is naturally suspicious to any strangers that entering the area. And beside of its protective characteristic, these dogs are also quite playful and you can take the advantages from their protective characteristic to keep kids safe out there.

They really love to be near the human’s contact, which it means whether you are living in a small apartment or big house, that wouldn’t bother them at all, as long as you keep maintaining the contact with them intensively. And if you are about to have it or has it already, then be sure you checked his ear regularly to keep him from Otitis.