Top Ten Reasons Why Your Pet May Be Itching
by Cynthia Holley-Connolly - Staff Writer, Only Natural Pet Store
Itching is one of the most unpleasant sensations imaginable - and a cat's or dog's never-ending scratching, biting, and licking can seem nearly as aggravating. Watching your pet suffer with a chronic itch is an all-too-common experience facing pet parents these days. If your pet is constantly shaking their head, or scratching, rubbing, chewing or licking some area of skin, you can bet that there's likely some agonizing itching going on. Left untreated, areas of itchy skin become vulnerable to damage from your pet's scratching or licking, to hot spots (areas of oozing, dry or inflamed skin), and even to secondary infections from bacteria. What may be causing the itch, and what can you do about it?
We've compiled a list of the top ten itch-causing factors and some suggestions on what you can do to help your pet escape from that irritating itch. Before your pet is tearing up their skin, pulling out their fur, or forced to wear a cone-shaped (Elizabethan) collar, consider these common causes of itchiness in pets and work with your vet to get your pet some relief:
1. Poor Quality Diet - We're not talking about food allergies here (more on that shortly). A surprising factor underlying a vast number of allergic itch reactions is simply a poor quality diet that inadequately nourishes a cat or dog. As we always say, a good diet is the foundation of good health. Even the best medication won't eliminate allergic skin reactions when your pet's immune system is unable to function properly due to lack of nutrients. If you're still feeding a grocery store, veterinarian prescribed or commercial chain pet store food, we urge you to read our article, "What You Need to Know About Your Pet's Food," check the label on your companion's food package, and find a natural food for your cat or dog. A good daily multivitamin is a great way to enhance the nutrient levels your pet gets each day as well.
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For the rest of the story, see their web site!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Rescue Remedy Pastilles now SAFE!!!
Happy to report that when I checked the ingredients for the pastilles today, that they no longer have xylitol as one of the ingredients. Bach responded to feedback and they have reformulated their products, once again preserving the integrity that makes them safe for ALL of their customers :)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Kangee is now 6 weeks old and full of vinegar. He is biting everything in his path to try out his puppy teeth. I gave him a limb from a bush yesterday and he was in heaven! He almost discovered shoelaces yesterday, but the unsuspecting victim moved their foot in the nick of time while I distracted him to something else.
Here is a picture of his mom. Check out the distinguished pedigree!!
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/401089.html
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Vet Bills
When it rains, it pours. It all started about 6 weeks ago with Rizzo the pug getting attacked in the back yard. She had some serious wounds on the underside of her chest and was found close to dead in the back yard one winter day when the temperatures were low. She was rushed to the vet and made an amazing recovery, but required sedation on two different days and multiple stitches. The at-home care was rigorous for a few weeks as necrotic tissue disappeared and her body began the rebuilding process. Her wounds required flushing several times per day, but she was a good sport.
And to top it all off, the security cameras weren't at the correct angle to pick up what happened and it was a mystery what happened to her, but unfortunately all indicators pointed to Yoshi, the older german shepherd female we opened our home to when she was retired from breeding at her former residence. Yoshi is an incredible dog, worth her weight in gold, and very non-confrontational, so why the attack? After 3 years of peaceful living?
A week later, we noticed two masses on Yoshi's abdomen that were very tender to the touch. They weren't there two weeks prior, so that would explain the attack if she had been under the weather while these were developing. A preliminary visit to the vet with x-rays to see if it was cancer and perhaps if it were widespread indicated that the removal of the masses might be sufficient. So she underwent a mass removal and spay. Her body looks horrible with all the stitches and a big drain tube coming out of her abdomen, but her eyes are bright. She seems happy and very thankful to be on the other side of that procedure.
In between this, we took in a german shepherd puppy who was rejected by his mother at birth. He had some huge obstacles to overcome, including battling a systemic staph infection, being bottle fed, and the loss of one of his feet. He was the runt and is still far too tiny for his age of 4 weeks, but he is strong and vibrant, with a great appetite and is developing on course other than size. He's been into the vet at least 6 times in all this, getting his paw re-wrapped with bandages and being on anti-biotics.
Back to Yoshi, on day 3 of her post-spay care, we went through the two-man procedure to administer her medications. When she doesn't want to open up her mouth, there aren't many who can make her and successfully get medicine down her. And she was too nauseous to fall for the ole "wrap it in hamburger" trick. So on that morning, two of us got the anti-biotics and the rimadyl in her, but then were distracted and walked away from the scene of the crime, for which we paid dearly later.
That same day, coming home for lunch, it was discovered that 5 pugs had opened up the rimadyl (left on the coffee table) and scarfed it down. The culprit gave himself up when he started puking all over the sofa. He was rushed to the vet for 2 days of IV's because rimadyl can cause liver damage.
So roughly $2000 later, I hope we're done going to the vet several times a week. I almost refused the rimadyl because I have some great natural pain relievers that don't have harmful side effects. Wish I would have followed my gut!!
I'm just glad that everyone is ok and on the mend. But man, I need a vacation...
And to top it all off, the security cameras weren't at the correct angle to pick up what happened and it was a mystery what happened to her, but unfortunately all indicators pointed to Yoshi, the older german shepherd female we opened our home to when she was retired from breeding at her former residence. Yoshi is an incredible dog, worth her weight in gold, and very non-confrontational, so why the attack? After 3 years of peaceful living?
A week later, we noticed two masses on Yoshi's abdomen that were very tender to the touch. They weren't there two weeks prior, so that would explain the attack if she had been under the weather while these were developing. A preliminary visit to the vet with x-rays to see if it was cancer and perhaps if it were widespread indicated that the removal of the masses might be sufficient. So she underwent a mass removal and spay. Her body looks horrible with all the stitches and a big drain tube coming out of her abdomen, but her eyes are bright. She seems happy and very thankful to be on the other side of that procedure.
In between this, we took in a german shepherd puppy who was rejected by his mother at birth. He had some huge obstacles to overcome, including battling a systemic staph infection, being bottle fed, and the loss of one of his feet. He was the runt and is still far too tiny for his age of 4 weeks, but he is strong and vibrant, with a great appetite and is developing on course other than size. He's been into the vet at least 6 times in all this, getting his paw re-wrapped with bandages and being on anti-biotics.
Back to Yoshi, on day 3 of her post-spay care, we went through the two-man procedure to administer her medications. When she doesn't want to open up her mouth, there aren't many who can make her and successfully get medicine down her. And she was too nauseous to fall for the ole "wrap it in hamburger" trick. So on that morning, two of us got the anti-biotics and the rimadyl in her, but then were distracted and walked away from the scene of the crime, for which we paid dearly later.
That same day, coming home for lunch, it was discovered that 5 pugs had opened up the rimadyl (left on the coffee table) and scarfed it down. The culprit gave himself up when he started puking all over the sofa. He was rushed to the vet for 2 days of IV's because rimadyl can cause liver damage.
So roughly $2000 later, I hope we're done going to the vet several times a week. I almost refused the rimadyl because I have some great natural pain relievers that don't have harmful side effects. Wish I would have followed my gut!!
I'm just glad that everyone is ok and on the mend. But man, I need a vacation...
Fabio's scrapbook page
The scrapbooking challenges at godigitalscrapbooking.com have been keeping me busy. It's so much fun to relax at the computer, putting pieces of beautiful artwork together in new and creative ways. The best part is that I can walk away from the project and there's not a whole table that has to be dedicated to scrapbooking stuff!!
Here's the latest with Fabio made up primarily with pieces from the Plumbago Kit and the February Collaboration Kit.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
More Scrapbook pages
Can you tell I'm having fun with the new digital scrapbooking pages?
The elements, papers, etc. for these pages came from the designers at godigitalscrapbooking.com
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