Why Do Dogs Eat Grass???

1.  The modern dog, partly because of evolution and domestication, is no longer like its ancestors, which frequently ate their prey entirely, including the stomach contents of plant-eating animals. They can though, still have distant cravings for plant material.

2.   A dog will seek out a natural remedy for a gassy or upset stomach, and grass, it seems, may do the trick. When ingested, the grass blade tickles the throat and stomach lining; this sensation, in turn, may cause the dog to vomit, especially if the grass is gulped down rather than chewed.

3.   In fact, grass contains essential nutrients that a dog might crave, especially if they're on a commercial diet.

To see an informational video and to read the entire article please click here!

For anyone who needs yet another excuse to spend time with their dog, combing him isn't just a doting way to say, "I love you." It also protects him from potential disaster. 

 

From Dr. Marty Becker:

Your Dog's Matted Hair Isn't Just Uncomfortable, It's Dangerous 

 

We've all woken up with varying degrees of bed head, but when you're a dog, messy hair can mean something much worse than just a bad hair day.

Matted hair is a painful condition most commonly seen in dogs and cats with long coats. The condition is caused by tangled knots, or "mats," which cause discomfort and even lead to health risks.
Earlier this month The Dodo told the story of a Amaze-Bobb, a dog with an extreme case of matted hair. Homeless for the first ten years of his life, Amaze-Bobb had such badly matted hair that his rescuers needed to amputate two of his legs.
Here's Amaze-Bobb when he first arrived at Synergy, a rescue, rehab and sanctuary for special needs animals in San Diego.

Since then, he's made an amazing recovery and learned to walk with only two legs.

Amaze-Bobb's story ends with a big backyard, a loving family and a newfound love of life. But that's not always the case for dogs with matted hair.
We wanted to learn more about the dangers of matted hair , so we spoke with Dr. Rob Proietto, a New York City veterinarian, about what other health concerns can arise from matted hair. He confirmed that in addition to causing discomfort, these knots can become some serious problems for dogs. "They can also cause bacterial infections as they trap moisture and cause damage to the skin."

DirtyDogs He reflected on the "horrific" cases he has seen in his practice. "Some of the worst ones are over the rectum as the hair can get matted and trap feces, which can cause an impaction and severe skin infection," he said.
Sometimes the affected area can become so infected that surgery is needed to remove dead skin cells. That's truly terrible for a dog.

DirtyDogs
This illness can be easily avoided. According to Proietto, mat-prevention is fairly simple: a simple groom once a day. "I like the Furminator as it does a good job of removing the hair as it turn[s] over in its natural cycle," Proietto noted. "But any brush or comb will work."
For anyone who needs yet another excuse to spend time with their dog, combing him isn't just a doting way to say, "I love you." It also protects him from potential disaster.

 

Does My Dog Really Need to Wear a Coat?????

A great article on whether or not your 4 legged friend needs a coat in this wintery weather.

"Winter’s chill is making its presence known in many areas, and as we dig to the back of our closets and coat racks for parkas and seasonal outerwear, we should do the same for our dogs.

Canine couture is popular, so whether your dog roams in a sweater, hoodie, or goes au naturel when mother nature bites at the thermometer, we've got the facts -- and the fictions -- on doggy outerwear."

 

1. Fiction: All dogs need outerwear to protect them from the cold.

2. Fiction: All dogs can become accustomed to wearing a coat.

3. Fiction: Larger dogs do not need winter outerwear protection. 

4. Fiction: If it looks like a sweater and acts like a sweater, it will keep my dog warm.

5. Fiction: A dog’s coat should be snug to keep him or her as warm as possible.     

6. Fiction: A dog’s pads are resilient and will protect him or her from nature’s elements.

7. Fiction: Coats and hoodies must look heavy to adequately protect dogs.

To read the correct answers to all of these statements, please click on this link!

Funny!!!!!

To Spay or Neuter Controversy

FROM PET MD:

I have a headache. I just read an article entitled "Neutering Dogs: Effects on Joint Disorders and Cancers in Golden Retrievers." It was well-written, did an admirable job of summarizing previously relevant research, and reported some important findings. Why then, you might be wondering, did it give me a headache? Well, it reported a significant increase in some important diseases in neutered dogs (males and females) in comparison to intact individuals, but didn’t talk about the potential benefits of the surgeries.

Evidence of a relationship between neutering and an increased risk of certain diseases has been mounting over the years, so although some of the details revealed in this study are new, the overall message is not. And before you ask, the message is not "do not neuter your dog," it is "like all medical procedures, neutering has risks and benefits that owners need to be aware of."

This current study is open access so you can look at it on your own for all the details, but to summarize:

Veterinary hospital records of 759 client-owned, intact and neutered female and male dogs, 1–8 years old, were examined for diagnoses of hip dysplasia (HD), cranial cruciate ligament tear (CCL), lymphosarcoma (LSA), hemangiosarcoma (HSA), and mast cell tumor (MCT). Patients were classified as intact, or neutered early (<12 br="" late="" mo="" or="">
Of early-neutered males, 10 percent were diagnosed with HD, double the occurrence in intact males. There were no cases of CCL diagnosed in intact males or females, but in early-neutered males and females the occurrences were 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Almost 10 percent of early-neutered males were diagnosed with LSA, 3 times more than intact males. The percentage of HSA cases in late-neutered females (about 8 percent) was 4 times more than intact and early-neutered females. There were no cases of MCT in intact females, but the occurrence was nearly 6 percent in late-neutered females.

The paper didn’t go into much detail about the potential benefits of spaying and neutering dogs other than to reference other research that "found the evidence that neutering reduces the risk of mammary neoplasia to be weak." I’ll have to look that one up; it doesn’t really jive with my clinical experience. Every case of mammary cancer I can think of from my career has been in an intact female.

Neutering has its benefits, such as:

• getting rid of heat cycles,


• preventing unwanted litters


• eliminating the dangers associated with whelping


• preventing potentially fatal uterine infections (pyometra)


• liminating the chance of ovarian or testicular cancer


• significantly reducing the risk of prostatic hyperplasia and infection


• lessening aggression and other unwanted behaviors like mounting, roaming, and marking

The authors of this paper cite the differences between policies in the U.S. that promote early age spay/neuter and other developed countries where intact pets are the norm, but fails to mention the much stricter regulations surrounding pet ownership and breeding that are in effect in many of those same countries.

So feel free to look at the paper to learn about some of the downsides of spaying and neutering dogs, but do not turn to it for a balanced argument for or against the procedure. Only you, in conversation with your veterinarian, can determine what is right for your pet.



Dr. Jennifer Coates


Source:http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2013/feb/to-neuter-or-not-to-neuter?utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=FullyVet,%20To%20Neuter%20or%20Not%20to%20Neuter?,%20October%2023,%202012&utm_campaign=FV#.UTFJ2WfheEY

A Puppy and/or Kitten is NOT a Present!

"A dog (or any living creature) should always be a considered choice and NEVER an impulse buy. Please help us spread the word about this during this high gift-giving season."

Even though your heart may be in the right place, it is 99.9999% of the time a bad choice!

Read the entire article on 

Dogster.Com