How well do you know your pet?

Your vet will take a sample of the auricular excretion to determine, if your pet suffers from a bacterial or fungal infection, ear mites, foreign body or if there is an underlying neoplasm or growth of benign or malignant nature that will require complex treatment.

A low-grain diet and regular ear cleaning may help to keep yeast from taking over, but dog breeds with long and hanging ears will always be at higher risk for dog ear infection, due to the lack of proper ear canal ventilation. See the anatomy of the canine ear here.

This video shows you how to clean your dog’s ear in detail. I really like the detailed explanation on a dog ear model and recorded demonstration on a patient.

 Usually you’d get from your veterinarian an ear cleaner and ear medication for it, which will help to calm inflammation and bacterial and fungal growth. However, there are canine ear conditions that have got more serious underlying medical problems. Allergies, manifesting on the skin, do frequently involve the ear canals as well. Treatment of this type of ear problems can become very frustrating due to recurrence of clinical symptoms, if the causing agent has not been identified.

 Homeopathic Remedies for Dog Ear Infections

Homeopathy can be tried to treat inflamed ear canals and other skin disorders. If you would like to try homeopathic remedies you should first talk to your vet and/ or to a qualified animal homeopath to make sure you get the best remedy tailored to your dog’s individual needs. A proper work up of your dog’s ear problem is very important as otherwise you will get most likely the impression that homeopathy “didn’t work”.

Homeopathic Remedies - Which Can You Try?

Pulsatilla is helpful for acute flare-ups with sensitivity and redness, along with a yellowish discharge. Pulsatilla animals like to sit near open windows, hate getting their paws wet and won’t go out in the rain. They also tend to have a very sweet (and slightly needy) disposition.

Hepar sulph is useful for irritable animals who don’t like to have their inflamed ears touched.

Sulphur is often recommended for long term, stubborn  skin conditions and also has some success in ear infection treatment.  Excessive scratching or pawing at the ears may be an indicator for Sulphur.

Silicea is worth considering to help ‘push out’ a foxtail or other foreign object form the ears.

Phosphorus  is a good option for those dogs who suffer with cuts or hematomas to the pinna; it’s an excellent remedy for many types of bleeding.

For animals that have a severe, malodorous discharge that causes hair loss around and under the ears, Tellurium is helpful. The ears are extremely sensitive in the Tellurium patient, and the discharge may have a fish-like smell.

Treating ear problems (especially those that are stubborn and persistent) can be a very frustrating  exercise. Deep  seated  infections can take a very long time to truly and permanently resolve.  Natural remedies and a truly holistic approach that also considers diet and lifestyle can be pivotal in achieving a lasting cure.

[sp_font family="Georgia" size="12px" weight="regular"]Source[/sp_font]

Lucy Postins

Pulsatilla vulgaris
Credit: Stan Shebs

Sulphur
Credit: H.Zell

Tellurium
Credit: Christian Rewitzer

Pet first aid is something you probably tried to push away from you – which is natural. Who wants to think about what could happen and what best you should do then in such a situation?

However, by blocking this important matter out of your mind, you won’t do yourself any favor - please, take the time to learn how to help when by doing what.

This is a handy outdoor pet first aid kit, ideal for traveling or touring with your dog, but also good to have at home in a fix place for dogs, cats, rabbits, Guinea pigs, birds and other pets.

It is a basic kit for pets, conveniently packed into a bi-fold, light weight bag and contains essentials for pet emergencies while you are on tour.

 

Pet First Aid at Your Fingertips

Your four-legged family members rely on you for their care, so be prepared 24/7 for a medical emergency. From cuts and impalement, to choking and CPR, Pet First Aid is at your fingertips with detailed articles, video, and illustrations to help you care for your dog or cat. Record your pet's vital medical information to ensure their veterinarian is never more than a touch away, and your pet will never miss another vaccination.

Pet First Aid is loaded with detailed videos and step-by-step illustrations so you'll know exactly what to do when caring for your pet. Videos include: restraint, muzzling, CPR, bandaging, and many more. All articles, videos, and illustrations are bundled with the application for offline or wilderness access

Jive.me

The Red Cross has published a Pets and Disasters safety checklist for you to download. This checklist gives you  instructions and tips on questions, such as

• "How you can prepare",
• "What you should do",
• "What to do after a disaster"

and gives further reading sources for info on disaster planning and emergency actions to take for animals and pets.

American RedCross Safety Checklist

 

Infographic courtesy ebayclassifieds.com

Nowadays there are so many android and iphone apps available – millions!

They all are somehow making life  easier, more convenient and some even help you to get better organized and have information readily there when you need it.

Pet owners can now compile pet care and pet health info about their pets easily on their smartphones.

Think about how this can help at the next routine vet visit, when you want to talk about your dog’s funny behavior not long ago or your cat scratching vigorously her right ear! (Usually in exact that situation you would forget it all… only to remember after having left the vet practice!)

Pet lovers over at ebay classifieds have been creating this infographic about the wealth of pet care apps for iPhone and androids!

Interesting and useful apps pet owners can download  – SunHerald.com

Even those of you who are hesitant need to look at using some of these great apps that truly can be useful and, in some cases, possibly life saving.

PetFirstAid… provides pet owners with detailed and pertinent information on how to quickly assess any major emergency situation and how to handle any of these with specific instructions.

Pet Poison Helpline

This is another very useful app if you are wondering if a particular food or plant around your house is poisonous.

The app provides a phone number to experts in pet poisonings 24/7.

Otherwise, the app provides great practical information for any pet owner, even if only a suspicion of poisoning has occurred.

Pet Acoustics

This app provides soothing music for dogs, cats, horses and their owners.

Petcentric

The app gives animal lovers an easy-to-use guide for finding pet friendly places and information anywhere, anytime.

These apps are just a few of the multitude of apps available for pet owners.

Read the full article here.

This video shows you even more pet apps for the iPhone

Most of the apps introduced in the video above can be quite helpful, but you should take advice from the app about feeding tips with common sense making sure you provide your pet with the right amount of food and not overfeeding it.

Regular teeth cleaning is the best way to prevent plaque and tartar built-up on your dog’s teeth. Usually you would take a specially toothbrush and toothpaste made for canines and wean him preferably to a daily routine. You may have heard that you should never use human tooth cleaning products, as they contain substances that are OK for humans, but not for dogs.

Photo by Cordey

Xylitol is actually a sugar replacement or sweetener widely used in zero-calorie-products that range from chewing gums to cookies.  Dr Eric Barchas published on The Vet Blog another type of product that often contains xylitol:

“I have never been a fan of commercial water additives or topical oral products that purport to prevent dental disease in dogs, because I’ve never encountered one that works. However, a recent inquiry from a reader alerted me to a new threat: some commercial “plaque reducers” contain toxic xylitol…”

Xylitol is famously toxic to dogs. Xylitol in the bloodstream tricks some dogs’ bodies into thinking that it is real sugar. These dogs then react as if their blood sugar is too high, their bodies release insulin to lower their blood sugar, and their real blood sugar levels crash dangerously low. Low blood sugar levels from xylitol ingestion can lead to coma, seizures, and death. I know one person whose dog required five days of intensive care and continuous sugar infusions.

But sadly, the horrors of xylitol toxicity don’t end there. Some dogs that consume it will suffer liver damage or life-threatening liver failure. The cause has not been definitively determined, but the threat has been well documented.  Adding xylitol to human plaque reducers makes sense. However, adding it to canine ones is insanity. Would any manufacturer actually add a known toxin to a canine product?  Source here.

Which products can be safely used for dogs?

There are quite a few products available that do not endanger your dog’s health through added xylitol. Below are two preparations listed that are used and recommended by many dog owners.

Triple Pet Plaque Off - Fresh Breath

Triple Pet Plaque Off Fresh Breath 8 fl oz - $ 9.49
Retail Price: $19.49
You Save: $10.00
from: Only Natural Pet Store
Ingredients: Purified filtered water, anthium dioxide, yucca schidigera, mint oil, sodium benzoate

Biotene Veterinarian Enzymatic Oral Care Products:

These products "do not contain alcohol, antibiotics, xylitol or chlorhexidine so are safe and gentle for everyday use" (stated on the label.)

What is a safe painkiller for cats? photo: kevin-dooley

Pain relief for cats has been a long neglected area in veterinary research. Pet owners are more than ever conscious about feline pain and anxiety as more and more good information is made available online for anyone who is interested. The most important question from cat owners is however, what can be used as a painkiller for their feline pets in an emergency situation?

So far, there have been no safe pain relievers available for cats. It was said aspirin or NSAID pain medication in doses for small dogs would be appropriate, but these drugs can cause  fatal side effects if given incorrectly dosed or repeatedly.

You can read in a lot of places online that you can give your cat pain relievers, such as aspirin or non-steroidal anti inflammatories, but these are definitely not a safe choice.

The drug discussed above is buprenorphine (Butrenex, Temgesic, Vetergesic), which can be used in combination with an NSAID, but needs to be prescribed by your veterinarian. In those cases, where your cat is already getting treatment for a known medical condition, you can ask your vet for an “emergency” reserve kept at home.

However, it does mean that you, the conscious cat parent, needs to arrange this in advance and store medication in a safe and appropriate place, out of the reach of children!

Another, new addition to NSAID meds is robenacoxib (Onsior).

In the UK is Metacam® as an oral solution and in injectable form for cats available, which makes the dosage of meloxicam for cats much safer.

All this shows that there is so much more that we still don’t know about cats and that there is probably still no really safe pain relief for cats available. However, veterinary research and vets in practice are very aware about the sensible feline metabolism. The fact that you can’t buy cat pain reliever over the counter may seem inconvenient for you at times. If you want to be prepared for the unforeseen, it is best to discuss this with your vet and ask for a safe pain drug.

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Commenting, interacting and social sharing will be made easy and we hope you will try it out and share your opinion here with other visitors!

Stay tuned,

Dr.Ellen