Train the Dog Blog

It is heart-breaking for dog lovers who care about their pets to watch them scratching constantly. Itchy skin can become such an irritation that a dog will pull all its hair out of a patch and then still scratch its skin red raw. If this happens to your dog, then you know that something is radically wrong.

It could be a matter of canine dry skin, but this is very unlikely, if your dog is on a healthy diet. No, nine times out of ten, it has to do with an infestation of fleas or, less commonly, ticks. Therefore if you see that your dog is continuously scratching a spot, inspect it. That spot will normally be on the dog’s back just in front of its tail – one of the favourite places for fleas to collect.

So, the first thing to do is look for fleas and comb most of them out. This can best be carried out in the garden or you may get an infestation in your house as well, although if your dog has fleas this badly, then your house is probably already infested.

Once you are certain that the itchy skin issue has to do with fleas, you can get on and take care of your dog. Go to your vet’s or your pet shop (which is almost certainly cheaper) and get an insecticidal shampoo and flea powder for your dog and a permethrin based insecticide for your house. If they have a soothing canine skin cream, a small tube of that will come in handy too.

Leave the dog in the garden and get out the vacuum cleaner. Open the bag and give it a good squirt of permethrin or flea powder and zip it up. Vacuum clean your house from top to bottom in order to pick up fleas and any loose eggs.

Do not overlook the furniture and the curtains. When you have finished, spray the curtains, furniture and carpets with permethrin and put your own bedding on a boil wash.

Then take your dogs basket and blanket outside and shut the door. Do not go back in for an hour at least. In the meantime, shake out the dog’s basket and blanket and dust it with flea powder. Now you can turn your attention to your dog.

Give him a thorough bath in the insecticidal shampoo following the directions on the label. When he is dry, rub some skin cream or olive oil on to his red bald spot. It is better not to use human skin cream because it contains chemicals and your dog will lick it off, unless you put a ruff around its neck.

You may have to do all this twice in order to kill the new hatchlings, but some insecticides will kill the eggs as well. When you have got your dog back to normal, brush and bathe him more often in the future and be vigilant for fleas.

Another constant source of annoyance to dogs is mosquitoes. Mosquitoes normally bite dogs on the snout and the undercarriage and they suffer the same problems from bites as we do, except they do not whine about it.

Do not apply DEET or any chemical because the dog will lick it off and it is not to be taken internally. Instead, try a lemon based natural fragrance as mosquitoes detest the smell of citrus. Put a few dabs here and there every hour or two when the dog is outside after dark.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on quite a few topics, but is at present involved with indoor mosquito repellent. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Mosquito Repellent For Dogs.

I don’t know about you, but I want only the best for my dog. This means taking the extra effort to ensure that he is healthy and well fed at all times. Home made dog food is a great way to accomplish this. While there may be some outstanding pre packed pet food available in the market, preparing what goes into your dogs meal is still better. Get fantastic tips on how to make dog food that will put the wag in your doggies tail today.

1. Consult your veterinarian first. There are many canines that have special needs and some food might be particularly harmful to them. Get your dog a thorough check up to find out their present condition and prepare the necessary food and nutrients into their meals.

2. Study the food that are dangerous to canines. Not everybody knows that chocolates are dangerous when ingested by dogs. You need to learn about this so that you can keep the toxic food locked away where your pet can’t reach them. Some of these include onion, caffeine, grapes, baby food, macadamia nuts, mushrooms and citrus oil.

3. Some people believe that it is good to feed animal fresh and natural fare. However, it seems a wiser course of action to thoroughly cook the food to avoid any possible infections raw food might give. You can also keep the cooked meals in air tight containers and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Fresh ingredients should be frozen until you decide to use them.

4. Feed the canine the appropriate amount of starch, meats and vegetable. Many recommend a 50% starch, 25% meat and the remaining 25% for vegetable ratio; with some fruits thrown in as a healthy treat. You will need to find out what mix will work best for your dog. Potato and rice are good sources of starch for the dog. Almost all kinds of meat are acceptable for feeding. Keep in mind though that liver and other organ meat will be unsafe if used too much. Tomatoes, carrots, peas and green beans are excellent additions to the canines meal.

5. Pets have different lifestyles they adhere to. Usually it’s because of breed or as brought upon by their owners own way of life. As such, you will need to determine what the appropriate portion sized meals to give your dogs is. The more active canines would need high protein, frequent meals; and some will have to be monitored carefully because of weight and health issues. Check with your vet regarding this matter.

6. When you are transitioning your pet from store bought processed pet food to home made dog food, do so gradually. Introduce it slowly by giving the canine small amounts of the new fare as you decrease the regular canned food in his diet. When no indigestion or other problem is forthcoming, increase feeding him the home made food it becomes standard.

It is good practice to change the meal menu frequently to provide your dog the nutrients and vitamins he needs, as well as keep his interest. Learning how to make dog food is not always easy; but seeing the happy wag of the healthy pet always makes it worth it.

Geraldine Dimarco shares all she knows about how to make dog food that will make your canine healthy and happy. Visit this website for more practicaltidbits on Home Made Dog Food today.