Train the Dog Blog

We all love our dogs, don’t we? We like to give them a little delicacy sometimes as well. Some dogs are so cute when they beg for a bit of what you are eating, but the fact is that some foods that are alright for us to eat are not so good for dogs. This ought not come as much of a surprise as you would probably be quite ill too if you ate a half-rotten bird that you found in the long grass.

The main human food that will kill your dog is chocolate or more accurately the theobromine in the chocolate. Some chocolate has more theobromine in it than others. For example, white chocolate has only 1 mg of theobromine per 28 g (1 oz) whereas baking chocolate has 450 mg per 28 g.

So how much theobromine does it take to poison a dog? Well, the response to that depends on several factors like age and health but most significantly the weight of the dog. Let us say that an average, knee-high, collie-type dog weighs 20 kilos (about 45 lbs.), then it would take about 250 kg (560 lbs) of white chocolate to harm him, but he most likely would have exploded by then anyway having eaten 12.5 times his body weight in food.

However, the picture changes quickly when we examine other kinds of chocolate. It would take about 1.5 kg (3 lbs) of milk chocolate to have the same effect and about a third of that in sweet cacao or half-a-kilo (1 lb). The most hazardous substance is baking chocolate. It only takes just over 100g or four and a half ounces of baking chocolate to give a medium sized dog life threatening complications.

Therefore, the greatest danger would be of a dog eating a chocolate cake with chocolate icing or topping. Children are the worst, albeit innocent, culprits: they often give dogs cake at gatherings and it is one to look out for.

So, what should you do if your dog eats chocolate? It depends on the quantity and the quality and your dog. The safest thing would be to take him to the vet as soon as possible, but if you are sure of yourself you could wait for symptoms like vomitting, diarrhea, twitching, seizure, palpitations or undue wetting.

Theobromine attacks a dog’s central nervous system so not all dogs will respond in the same way, but you will certainly notice that your dog is perplexed, befuddled and distressed.

If you make your mind up to treat your dog yourself, the first thing you should do is stimulate vomitting all the while comforting your dog. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide should do the trick. Give your dog a teaspoon full if it is under 10 kg and a tablespoon if it is over 10 kg. Give every 15 minutes until it takes effect. After this, try to get some activated carbon into him to soak up any remaining poison. Follow the recommendations on the packet.

If you live miles from anywhere or you think that your dog is at high risk (the school holiday season is the worst), you could get a pet’s first aid box from your vet. They are not dear and have a long shelf life and you will not be caught out if someone feeds your dog chocolate.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on quite a few subjects, but is at present involved with researching What to do if your dog eats chocolate. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at http://whattodoifyourdogeatschocolate.com.

Have you noticed that your cat is scratching his ears more than ever? Is your cat digging the blood literally out of the skin around his ears? If this is the kind of behavior that you are seeing from your cat, it is time to check for the kind of ear mites cats get.

Ear mites can cause a lot of damage just by causing an animal to scratch relentlessly near and in the ear area. The itching associated with ear mites can be maddening because your pet can not reach the actual spot that is causing the problem.

Many pets have gotten into trouble with infection due to the digging they are doing when trying to scratch because of mite activity. This can cause hearing loss due to fluid build up and it can cause loss of the ear flap. Make sure that you get an Elizabethan collar for your pet to wear during the treatment of ear mites. It will save a lot in the future about having to also get antibiotics for the treatment of an infection as well.

Ivermectin and Pyrethrin are two effective chemicals used to get rid of ear mites. Choosing a product that contains either one of these is the best choice. You will have three to fours of treatment before you can safely say your pet is free from ear mites. If your cat cannot withstand flea and tick products because of being sensitive, then you should also choose a natural ingredient for the treatment of ear mites.

How well the cats ear is cleaned before applying treatment for ear mites is going to mean a lot in how effective the medication is going to be. You should let your vet do this to make sure that you getting the best pathway made for the medication for ear mites to go through. Without the right kind of cleaning, the time and effort for treatment may be a loss.

The black and hard bits that are coming from your cats ears during an infestation of ear mites is the waste left behind by the mites. While this may sound really bad, it is the reason for a good cleaning before mite treatment begins. This is also the reason for a lot of the scratching that your pet is doing as well.

The larvae from ear mites can spread to areas other than the ear. You should a total treatment with the same product you use for fleas and ticks. This is going to be the best way in preventing a re infestation of ear mites.

Don’t let your dog or cat suffer from ear mites. You have ear mites cats and ear mites in dogs treatment that has been tested by the Pro’s to be effective. Don’t you want to help your dog and cats health?