Infectious diseases: Infectious tracheobronchitis (kennel cough), pneumonia due to distemper, parainfluenza, adenovirus-1 or adenovirus-2 infection with secondary bacterial infection, coccidioidomycosis (fungal infection), or chronic bronchitis.

Parasites/Parasite-borne diseases: Roundworms, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, tick paralysis, or heartworms.

Irritation/Inflammation: Smoke inhalation, exposure to chemical fumes or noxious vapors (tracheitis), or aspiration of food.

Foreign bodies: In trachea or bronchi.

Allergies: Allergic pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs) due to heartworms or infections (fungal or bacterial).

Tumors: In the larynx, trachea, and lungs.

Congenital abnormality: Tracheal collapse, laryngeal deformity, laryngeal paralysis, or megaesophagus (enlargement of the lower part of the esophagus, a condition that frequently leads to aspiration pneumonia).

Toxicity: Lead, causing megaesophagus.

Non-infectious/Acquired disease: Heart disease, myasthenia gravis, or polymyositis.

Miscellaneous disorders: Dysautonomia (abnormal function of the autonomic nervous system), which can cause megaesophagus.

Endocrine disorders: Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s disease).

Autoimmune disease: Systemic lupus erythematosis, which can cause megaesophagus.

What to do: Coughing without other signs of illness is not usually an emergency. Call your veterinarian during regular office hours to make an appointment for diagnosis and treatment. Coughing that is accompanied by signs of illness may or may not be an emergency, depending on the duration, severity, and the other signs. Contact your veterinarian or emergency clinic immediately for specific advice about your dog’s situation.

Dog Sprayed With Skunk Odor

What’s the best way to clean up a dog with skunk odor?

Dog physical therapy is an important aspect of the rehabilitation process for dogs that have been recently injured or have just undergone major surgery. Now, physical therapy is used as part of the treatment of dog arthritis. On such method is aquatic therapy.

What is Aquatic Therapy?

Aquatic therapy uses water for its ability to provide buoyancy and gentle resistance. This type of therapy needs an underwater treadmill. The equipment is composed of an open watertight chamber and on the bottom is a treadmill. The water is pumped into the chamber, and the depth is controlled depending on the size of the dog, making sure that your dog’s legs are still planted on the treadmill. When the treadmill is turned on the dog then starts to walk in the water filled chamber.

Benefits of Aquatic Therapy

Aquatic therapy is a very effective rehabilitation method. Studies have shown that aquatic therapy is able to reduce by 50-60 percent the recovery time from surgery or injury. The reasons behind the therapy’s efficacy are as follows:

• Changing the water level means resistance and buoyancy can be changed for specific muscle groups and injuries.
• Buoyancy provided by the water reduces the weight bearing strain on the dog’s limbs.
• Exercising in water is a fun and effective way of building up cardiovascular strength and endurance.
• The water applies pressure on the limbs which helps to decrease inflammation and improve circulation.
• The temperature of water can be changed to help the dog relax and alleviate any pain.

Benefits for Dog Arthritis

Dogs having arthritis need exercise. Aquatic therapy provides a zero impact and pain free physical activity for arthritic dogs. It is effective in strengthening the muscles and is a great aid in managing your dog’s weight.

The water is very helpful for arthritic dogs. First, the water pressure on the limbs helps prevent the blood and other liquids in the body to gather in the lower extremities. This helps whenever your dog’s knees or other joints are inflamed due to arthritis. Second, the water pressure provides stimuli to the sensory receptors of the skin. This constant stimulation desensitizes the whole nervous system, lessening any pain the dog is experiencing.

The most important benefit is that water is both calming for both dog and dog owner, and since dog owners are recommended to be part of therapy, it can be an opportunity for more moments to bond with your furry best friend.

” He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince.”

1. Recognize that your dog may not get along with ALL other dogs, and that some combinations simply don’t work. It is fine to leave the dog run and come back another time, or take a personal, one-on-one walk with your dog in the neighborhood and come back in a few minutes to see if the run has emptied out a bit.

2. Consider leaving your cell phone off, or not taking calls, unless it’s an emergency, during your dog’s time at the dog run. The more attention you give your dog, and the more you participate, the better the relationship. This is a good time for you and your dog to be together, and doesn’t your dog deserve your undivided attention?

3. Make sure your dog’s play partner(s) are playing fair, and that your own dog is playing fair, too. This means that each dog takes turn pushing and initiating physical contact (being on top) and that neither dog is pushing another dog relentlessly. There should be frequent role reversals in healthy play.

4. Make sure your own dog is actually playing with another dog, and not just responding in a defensive, deflective way based on fear. Call your dog to you, and when you release him to go back to “play,” see if he indeed does return to engage with the same dog(s). If not, he may not have felt that what he was previously experiencing was really playful or fun for him.

5. Watch your own dog, and make sure he is not targeting ONE other dog exclusively and going after that particular dog relentlessly – even if you think your dog is “just playing.” Playing is a balance between the dogs, a give and take – not one dog pushing and jumping and mouthing the other dog over and over and over again. If your dog is doing this to another dog, go and get him, or call him to you and get him under control. The same holds true if your dog is the target of another dog’s obsession. Go and rescue your dog from the situation.

6. Watch out for “ganging” up; when two or more dogs “gang up” and relentlessly chase or surround another dog. Have all the owners call their dogs, and probably one or more of the gang members should leave the run for that time, as they’ll usually start back up again.
7. Toy dogs should play with other toy or smallish dogs, and should absolutely not be in the run with the big dogs. A predatory attack can happen instantly and without warning. The risk to toy dogs is too great.

8. Beware of high-speed games of chase. Alone, two dogs playing chase is probably fine, but if other dogs join in, then a high-speed game of chase can arouse other dogs, and in an instant this can turn into a predatory attack. It’s hard to get control once dogs begin this high-speed chase, which is why you want to catch it early, and why you want to spend a lot of time training your dog in the run. You want control when your dog starts to get out of control. But you can’t wait until he is out of control to train your dog to listen to you. Train him while he is relatively calm.

9. Participate in your dog’s playtime. Interrupt every few minutes by calling your dog to you, rewarding with at least one treat every two seconds, and keep your dog with you for at least 10 seconds. For this entire 10 seconds, praise, pet and reward your dog often enuogh so that he doesn’t have a chance to look away from you. This encourages attention, and allows your dog to calm down and focus on a human in between aroused playtimes.

10. Playing with other dogs is very, very fun for your dog, sometimes more fun than being with people, and sometimes more fun than being with YOU. This puts you at a disadvantage in every other situation with your dog. It is important to include yourself in your dog’s play activities. Watch your dog, encourage your dog, interrupt your dog, play with your dog.

11. Call your dog to come to you frequently, not just when it’s time to leave. By calling him over to you frequently, rewarding him with something valuable, and then releasing him back to play, you can avoid the difficulty many dog park frequenters experience: the dog who can’t be caught when it’s time to leave. Make sure that calling your dog to come to you doesn’t just signal the time to leave. By calling him and having him sit by your side, receive your praise and petting for a brief time before releasing him with permission to go back and play teaches your dog that coming to you is merely a pleasant interruption, and not an end to his fun.

Even the friendliest pet should be supervised during child-dog interactions.Don’t underestimate your dog’s behavior. Even the most placid ,friendliest dogs can change around young children.

Small, excitable, unpredictable children can cause anxiety and aggression in any dog under the wrong circumstances. Do not allow children to interrupt your dog during mealtime, toy time, or nap time, and always use a leash and collar to control your dog around unfamiliar children. Growling, curled lips, and agitation are definite warning signs to end the interaction.

Any dog breed can develop congenital deafness, but breeds with white coats are the most affected. Different causes of hearing loss include:

• Noise: Depending on the loudness, noise can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss.
• Infections: Otitis media (middle ear) and otitis interna (inner ear) are infections that can cause permanent deafness.
• General anesthesia: Anesthesia can cause deafness, but the occurrences are very rare.

Your dog may be experiencing some hearing loss if he or she is less responsive to greetings or commands. A visit to the veterinarian can confirm the problem. If you have noticed this dog health problem, try not to disturb your dog while he or she sleeps or approach him or her from behind, because this may be startling. Set a pattern of touch, vibration, or smell to wake the dog.

Numerous medical studies show how garlic juice reduces cholesterol and helps the heart.
Worldwide people take garlic pills, eat garlic cloves and spray garlic juice on food for good health.

For dogs it does even more:
1. Keeps dogs from having worms and gets rid of worms that are there.
2. Keeps fleas and ticks off dogs by getting into the dog’s system and creating
a garlic odor that fleas and ticks detect and avoid the dog altogether.
(Don’t worry, your dog won’t smell like garlic. Humans can’t detect
the garlic odor on the dog but the insects sure will!)
3. Reduces a dog’s cholesterol level for good heart function.

Garlic Juice is easiest way to give garlic to your dog, here’s how most kennels and dog owners do it:
Spray or pour garlic into the dog’s food, mix well into the food.

Here’s the recommended daily dosage:

5-20 lb. dogs – 4 sprays or 1/4 ounce in food daily.
21-50 lb. dogs – 6 sprays into food and mix well.
51 lbs. and over dogs 8 sprays into food and mix well.

If, for some rare reason your dog will not eat food with the garlic juice in it, mix the garlic
juice with soybean oil (available in the cooking oil section at your local supermarket) and mix
into food – this also helps make a very nice coat on the dog.

Say goodbye to poisonous flea collars! Mother Nature has provided a safe and all-natural
alternative – farm fresh garlic juice!