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You are here: Home / Archives for Pet Articles

Diseases: Natural cures to chronic skin problems

January 30, 2013 By Sunny Lim

Have you wondered why your pet’s skin problems keeps recurring after spending so much money on vet bills? Even if you’re the lucky few who don’t face the problem, please read on. Given the rise of unscrupulous breeders, there’s a high chance that your future pet is going to develop chronic skin problems. Besides, the recommendation I’m going to give today will help to improve your pet’s overall well-being. That in turn is going to save you a lot of medical bills and more importantly, heartaches.

I have two dogs and they are both on the same diet. Why is that only one of them is suffering from skin problems?

Unfortunately, whether your pet is susceptible to diseases is already written in the genes and others, are more prone to certain problems because of their physical attributes. The reason? Let’s go a little into the details. Female dogs ovulate twice a year and this period is the only golden windows in the year when breeders have the potential to earn money from the dogs in holding (or what we call the ‘breeding stock’).

puppy millsBecause of this pressure, they would try to breed whatever dogs they can, usually resorting to in-breeding or line breeding (mating siblings or close relatives). This act results in what we commonly see in humans when genes of both parents are closely related, the incidences of birth related defects or genetic problems would be higher.

Furthermore, because of the defects, it lowers the animal’s chance of getting bought, the breeder in his effort to utilize all resources efficiently, would use the defective pet for breeding again and in turn, creating a next generation who are carriers of the faulty genes.

In addition, businesses being businesses, would seek to minimize costs and maximize profits. With that in mind, would you think that the animals in the farm would receive quality care? Would they be fed quality food that is essential to good health? That is why so many animals grow up with poor immune systems that’s so prone to diseases.

Secondly, some breeds are more susceptible to skin problems than others. E.g. Dogs with wrinkled skin (Shar-pei, Pugs etc) are more prone to Skin Fold Dermatitis where because of moisture trapped between the folds causing bacterial and fungal growth.

My pet has not have skin issues for the last couple of years up until recently. What’s wrong?

Just like in our human bodies, viruses, parasites, malicious cells are present in and on your pet’s bodies all the time. They lie dormant only because they’re being suppressed by the body’s immune system. Whenever your pet is exposed to long term stressors physically or mentally, take for example separation anxiety, possessiveness, change of environment, pregnancy, heat cycles, illness, allergens from food or the environment, it may cause the body’s immune system to weaken and cause skin problem outbreaks and other problems like intestinal parasites and obsessive paw licking.

What do I do then?

Like humans, they can be stressed about anything and allergic to anything, therefore, a process of trial and error is inevitable.

If your dog is calm and you don’t think it is mentally unbalanced in any areas, you can follow these recommendations:

  1. zymox Shampoo & conditionerSee a vet and get skin tests done to see what might be causing the problem (Bacterial? Fungal? Demodex or Mange mites?) Medications can be prescribed to ease symptoms for a moment. Zymox is a range of enzymatic products usually prescribed for bad cases of bacterial and fungal infection. It’s usually my choice too because of its natural ingredients which doesn’t have any of the harmful side effects that other medications, steroids or antibiotic does. You can get it from the vet or from The Grooming Table.
  2. Identify if there’s any changes in your pet’s lifestyle or environment lately. Food, new member in the family, new pets, pregnancy, products,  floor cleaners used etc.
  3. Feed your pet a high quality, grain free diet, or even better, commercially available raw diets (commonly known as BARF diets). If you see an improvement, you can try reading up on how to prepare raw diets at home for your pets. A complete, raw, varied diet that is close to their ancestral diet helps to bring the body back into balance. (More on this the next time.)
  4. Eliminate any forms of bread, biscuits, commercial treats. They either contains carbohydrates which fungus feed on, yeasts  oBragg's Apple Cider Vinegarr contains toxins that just wrecks the system. Here’s how to make your own.
  5. You can also try using raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar aka ACV (Bragg or Solana Gold) in their diets or as a leave on treatment. For small dogs, add a teaspoon into their food daily, 2 teaspoon for a medium breed and a full tablespoon for large dogs. It contains numerous enzymes and minerals which has a variety of benefits, including improving digestion, balancing the body PH levels, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial  properties  and much more. As a leave on, dilute 1 part ACV with 3 parts water and apply to the body after shampooing and conditioning. Dry as normal.
  6. Bathe your dog every 1-2 weeks. Too much sebum will be removed if bathed too often which will stress the skin to produce more sebum. Too infrequently, the bacterial flora will over colonize on the dogs skin especially if the skin is already weak.
  7. Always apply conditioner after bathing. This helps to bring the skin back to balance after being exposed to cleaning agents. Also rinse the conditioner thoroughly as too much product left on the skin will also encourage bacterial growth especially in hot and humid weather. For more information, read our article on how to give your pet a bath.
  8. Dry thoroughly after its bath.
  9. Do not use any fragrances on your pet.
  10. Although Singapore is warm all year round I have customers who claim that during cooler periods their pet’s skin did show signs of improvement. If really so, have your pet stylist give Fido a shorter clip or have the undercoat removed. Or place a metal sheet in sheltered areas to serve as a cooling pad.

Remember, the key is really a lot of trial and error. It is a tiring and painstaking process, but it is essential to solving the root of the problem. It is a long term solution to save your pet and your pocket, not antibiotic and steroids. I wish you all the best and please take a before and after picture of your pet’s skin and post it on our Facebook page will you? Or did you have any similar experiences? Please share it on our Facebook page.

Filed Under: Cat Articles, Cat Grooming, Dog Articles, Dog Grooming, Dog Health, Featured, Long Live The Cat, Natural Cures, Pet Articles Tagged With: chronic skin problems and diseases, natural cure for skin problems, skin problems in dogs cats and pets

Diseases: Dealing with diarrhoea

January 16, 2013 By Sunny Lim

Just the day I came back from Malaysia, I got the runs immediately the morning after. But from all the good food I had, it was well worth it.

That reminded about my Maltese which I adopted. She was never in the pink of health and she has bouts of diarrhoea or rather soft stools very often. However even with a healthy pet, they can get diarrhoea from a sudden change in diet, food intolerance, stress and intestinal parasites.

Soft stools caused but dietary intolerances usually go away pretty quickly if the stomach is given enough rest, but remember, If the diarrhoea persists for more than a week or is followed by any or a combination of the following symptoms, please seek medical advice from a vet immediately:

  • Black tarry stools
  • Blood/mucous in the stool
  • Foamy stools
  • Abdominal pain
  • Accompanied with frequent vomiting
  • Marked lethargy

Otherwise, here are some suggestions that may help your pet alleviate their symptoms after two days.

  1. Keep a tube of probiotic product for animals in your fridge. Choose those that contains clay which helps to harden their stool.
  2. If you don’t have probiotics with you, you can feed small dogs a teaspoon of plain yoghurt  twice daily and a tablespoon for big dogs. It doesn’t work as effectively as the probiotic supplement, but what the hell, it’s a healthy treat!
  3. Fast your pet for a meal and in the evening, feed it something light and in small portions. E.g. Cooked oats, rice, vegetables, pumpkin, sweet potato, chicken breasts, fibrous fruits like banana or guava. Save the broth for them to drink to help replenish their fluids.
  4. To test if your pet is properly hydrated, pull on the skin on their neck and if the skin retracts back quickly, then they’re okay.
  5. To be safe however, you might want to mix isotonic beverages into their drinking water or better, get electrolyte sachets from the pharmacy if you have one near you.
  6. To make your own electrolyte supplement, you may stir some raw honey and pink rock salt/unrefined sea salt (those that aren’t pure white) into their drinking water.
  7. If your pet refuses to drink, get a syringe without the needle, fill it with the solution you choose to feed, place the syringe between the space between the cheeks and teeth and feed the solution slowly. OR simply, add wet food or water to their diet. As a rule of thumb, a dog should be getting 60ml of fluid per kilogram body weight per day and cats half that amount.

Finally if your pet constantly has problems with soft stool due to poor digestion, may I suggest that you try this brand of pet food K9 Natural. From my own experience and from many others, pets fed on K9 Natural experienced very good absorption resulting in very little, firm stools. I really like that because I know that my pets are being fed with what they need and very little is turned to waste.

Again, if you have any feedback or if you have any tips that you’d like to share, please write us a comment! Good luck and may your pet be healthy always.

Filed Under: Cat Articles, Catty Every Day Tips, Dog Articles, Dog Health, Featured, First aid, General Dog Care, Long Live The Cat, Pet Articles, Tips Tagged With: animal health, diarrhea, diarrhoea in cats, diarrhoea in dogs, pets care, pets health

Nutrition: Make your own treats

January 2, 2013 By Sunny Lim

So it’s the festive season once again and everybody’s celebrating. Hopefully it was a blessed one with your friends, family and furry ones. While we are all indulging in our festive feasts, we shouldn’t leave our fur kids drooling and begging isn’t it?

But rather than giving them treats that you have no idea what they’re being made from, why not make them instead? For the love our pets shower us with everyday, everyday should be Christmas for them!

What you’ll need:

1. Convectional oven/Dehydrator

2. Lean cuts of meat/organs/tendon (Fat on the end product would spoil rather quickly)

Directions:

1. Cut the lean meat into thin strips. Thinner pieces will be easier to dry.

2. As an advocate of raw diets, I usually just cut thin strips of meat and dry them. But if time is an issue, you can boil the meat first until it’s cooked thorough, pat them dry, then cut into small pieces.

3. If you have an oven, set it to the lowest heat setting. In addition, I’d usually leave the oven door ajar to further lower down the temperature and facilitate air circulation. If you’re using a dehydrator, set it to 75 degrees Celsius. Too hot the meat will get burnt and lose its nutrients; too low and it may take too long and dry improperly.

4. If you’re using an oven, lay the treats on a aluminium foil and spread them out evenly. Flip them over every hour or so.

5. Dry them until they are tough and dry, yet flexible, like jerky.

6. Given Singapore’s weather, I would recommend keeping them in the fridge for maximum freshness. The ones I make usually lasts for a month without any problems.

The best part? My dogs love it more than regular treats yet it’s way healthier and cheaper. Why don’t you give it a try?

Filed Under: Cat Articles, Dog Articles, Dog Nutrition, Katty Diet, Pet Articles, Tips Tagged With: animal nutrition, daily care, DIY treats, homemade treats, jerky, pet treats, treats

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