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Those of us that have pets that “freak out” during thunderstorms and fireworks, dread this time of year. A few nights ago I was laying in bed and could see flashes in the distance, and feared it was heading our way. It didn’t make it our way, but it got me thinking about posting a topic covering this.We have a wide assortment of calming aids to help your pet through the loud noises, and I highly suggest using the aids in conjunction with the training suggestions below.
- On the evenings you expect fireworks/thunder ensure your pet is safe indoors and secure doors, windows and cat flaps.
- Make sure your dog or cat is microchipped. If they do escape, frightened confused animals can easily get lost or injured and it is important that they are easily identified.
- Ensure dogs are taken out to go to the toilet early in the evening and cats are provided with a litter tray.
- Draw curtains to reduce outside noise and play music or have the TV turned on to help mask the noise of fireworks or thunder.
- Ignore any fearful behaviour. Do not try to comfort your pet. The animal will pick up on your anxiety and this may make the problem worse and/or fussing a pet who appears frightened can reward this negative behaviour.
- Don’t punish your pet; this only confirms that there was something to be afraid of.
- If your pet hides in a corner or under a bed, leave it alone and do not try to coax it out. This ‘hideout’ is where the animal feels most secure.
- Try not to go out during such potentially upsetting events. Seeing you acting normally will help your pets feel more settled.
- Speak to your vet about using synthetic pheromones to help comfort your pet during the noisy season.
- If you are still worried or if your pet takes a long time to recover from the experience contact your vet for further assistance or for referral for behavioural therapy.
I hope this helps your pet. I will be posting more training aids and tips for this as the summer progresses. Hopefully we will have video of our dog Sadie (Our scared dog) with another training trick.
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After hearing a few extremely sad stories yesterday about lyme disease despite topical flea and tick prevention, I decided to pull some information together and create this post. The logic that is usually expressed with veterinarian professionals is that with lyme disease being so prevalent that it is better to be safe than sorry and use products like Frontline… However Frontline does not repel ticks, and in fact Frontline states that it takes 48 hours after the tick has attached for the tick to die. Ticks begin transmitting the lyme spirochete between 24 and 48 hours.
- Frontline – Yes it does kill ticks, but only after 48 hours. Lyme disease can start transmitting as early as 24 hours
- Advantage – Doesn’t Kill ticks
- Advantix – Has some success with killing ticks, but with the use of permethrin (Also found in BioSpot) I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.
- Revolution – Has some success with ticks, but appears it doesn’t work on deer ticks.
This is why we use all natural flea and tick prevention with our pets.
We will leave out the side effects of these products for another post.
Ok, enough of what I wouldn’t recommend. Lets get to the safe products that you don’t have to wear hazmat gear to treat.
My Favorite is Earth Animal Internal Powder and Earth Animal Yeast Free Internal Powder. We have used it on our dogs now for approximately 3 years, and have been virtually tick free. The bonus is that it is also a strong repellent for fleas and black flies. One of our dogs has a bad dermatitis reaction to black flies, so needless to say this is my product of choice.
Equinature BugGone All-Natural Herbal Repellent is a daily spray that is all natural, and for daily use. Very good for hikes, not only for your pet, but for yourself. I actually use it while mowing and weed wacking.
I could go on and on about all the different ones, but I will let you browse the list of flea and tick prevention (We have more that will be added to that over the next few days). Leave a comment if you have any questions.
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Over the last five years I have heard quite a few stories from customers of misinformation they have received from either advertising, pet professionals or just through the grapevine (i.e. “friend of a friend said…”). Here are a few things I have heard in recent weeks that made me want to write this post.
1. It’s ok to feed your milk chocolate, just avoid bakers chocolate.
Absolutely false! It is not ok to feed your dogs chocolate. The levels of the toxic theobromine in chocolate vary from the different types, and yes unsweetened bakers chocolate has about ten times the amount of theobromine than milk chocolate. However many dogs have been poisoned via milk chocolate. It is believed that 100mg to 200mg of theobromine is the toxic level, however the ASPCA has had reports of amounts as low as 25mg being toxic. Some dogs are much more susceptible to this, and reports of accidents with dogs getting into a large amount of bakers chocolate have been ok. The short of it… It is better to be safe rather than sorry, so don’t feed your dog chocolate of any kind.2. I’ve always fed my dog “insert grocery brand here,” and they have been just fine.
Usually I hear this from people who come into the store looking for hot spot spray, doggy deodorant (because their pet has a peculiar odor), ear cleaner for chronic conditions. When I try approach the fact that it might possibly be the food I get this statement, followed by, “my dog just has always had bad ears or has always been smelly… thats just kind of dog they are.” If your dog has these type of symptoms don’t accept it as normal for their breed. I always hear, “hounds/labs have bad ears,” and yes that is true if they are on a food that is not right for them. We have 4 hounds and only one of them has one bad ear, but that is only due to an previous injury to the ear drum.As humans we all can survive on junky diets, but it is the quality of life that suffers as a consequence. Our pets are no different, but it is what you accept as “normal” to define “just fine.”
3. Dogs should never eat raw eggs
This one kills me, because it is a scientific reasoning behind the myth that ignores scientific common sense. The thought being that avidin present in raw egg whites breaks down biotin in the body, but the amount of biotin that is in the yolk more than makes up for any loss that occurs. One other concern is salmonella, but unless the dog has a severe immune deficiency, the dogs short digestive tract will be resistant to the bacteria.4. Food “insert brand/flavor” is the best food for every pet
This simply just does not exist… Every pet is different, and has different dietary needs and requirements. We have four dogs at home and three different foods, and there is no way all four of our dogs could be on the same food. Some pets do better with certain proteins and others have sensitivities or have nutritional requirements that are not being met by the food the other thrives on.5. Dogs should not be fed table scraps
There is a few shreds of truth here, but each for different reasons. You do not want the majority of your pets diet to consist of table scraps, because it isn’t balanced. Two, you don’t want to feed from the table if you don’t want to be “hounded” during your meals, so giving scraps in their bowl well after your meal time is acceptable. Three… you want to avoid scraps salty, sugary, excessively fatty, or carb heavy. -
Ryan Jacob Martin
Born: 3/23/2010 1:27 AM
Weight: 8lbs 6oz
Height: 20 inches -
We DO NOT sell Frontline or other topical chemicals. For one thing, we are a store that features natural products. For another, for a strong chemical like Frontline or Advantage, etc. you really should buy this from your veterinarian, if you choose to use it. Its a very strong substance that can have side effects, and really should only be sold through a professional. That being said, our dogs or cats have never had issues with fleas or ticks, especially if you jump on it early.
We use the Earth Animal Internal powder plus a natural repellent like Azmira’s Organic Neem Spray.
We live in a wooded area , and have had ben flea/tick free on our dogs since we started the regimine. Please consider your options as we get into the dreaded black fly/mosquito and flea & tick season! We sell a full-line of natural flea/tick products: Earth Animal Internal powder, NaturVet sprays and powders, DeFlea, Ark Naturals Flea shampoo and sprays, Halo shampoo and spray, Equinature spray, plus flea combs, tick scoopers and products for the home.
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Dear Abby,
We have two cats; our male cat is 12 years old and our female cat is 5 years old. One of them has started to use the carpeted basement family room as a bathroom. It started out as only an occasional #2 in the corner of the room and has gradually become more frequent. In the past it was only #2, but over our recent week-long vacation, we came home to cat pee smell in the basement and it has been recurring daily since then. First, I’m not entirely sure which cat it is, but I have my suspicions that it is the older cat. I have seen the younger cat using the litter box but not the older cat which he used to paw around in the litter and I haven’t noticed that recently. When this first started happening we changed the litter box to a new one with lower sides (thinking perhaps the older cat was becoming arthritic), but that didn’t change anything. We scoop the litter at least every other day if not every day and have used the same brand for years. How do we remedy this problem? Please help!
Missy B
Dear Missy B-
I am very sorry to hear of your cat’s inappropriate elimination issues. Unfortunately, this is a very common problem. I hope that some of the suggestions I have will help.First, I recommend you take your cats to your veterinarian for exams, fecal floats, and a urine evaluation. There are certain underlying medical issues that can cause cats to go outside of the box (ie urinary tract infections, parasites, etc.).
There are many things that you can do at home that may help the situation. Veterinarians who are animal behaviorists recommend that owners have one litter box for every cat plus one. In your situation that would be three litter boxes. I suggest you try putting a different type of litter in each box. My cat, Ray, really likes the pine litter from the Animal House. You can also try the Cat Attract Litter (http://www.theanimalhouse.net/products/Cat_Attract_Litter_20lbs-72-15.html). It is recommended that you scoop every day & change to a fresh litter once a week.
Sometimes inappropriate elimination will stop when owners add Rescue Remedy to their pet’s water. I would put 4-8 drops in the water once a day. If you live near Damariscotta you can find this at the Rising Tide.
Finally, you can find extensive information on inappropriate elimination at www.veterinarypartner.com.
Good luck, Missy!
Abby Strobbe, DVM
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