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Dog Arthritis
Whenever we some see someone or something suffer (that is if we refer to a pet as a ‘thing’), then it is a heart wrenching experience and naturally we want to do everything we possibly can to alleviate that suffering as quickly as possible.
And one of the most common causes of pain in dogs is arthritis, and it can affect young dogs nearly as often as old ones. When a dog starts exhibiting signs of arthritis, there are some immediate options available to you.
Of course, get to a vet. Vets have a number of excellent remedies available and you will see relief in your pets pain almost immediately.
And there are a number of home cures that can be administered too. And that is what dogarthritistreatments.com is all about. You can find some treatments for your dog’s pain and suffering and they are only as far away as two or three days postal delivery.
In the meantime, keep giving your dog exercise. This is very important as this will keep the joints lubricated and help offset arthritis progression.
Take a few moments to look at dogarthritis.com and see some of the arthritis cures that are available to you right now and that give arthritis relief.
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Yes, every cat will eventually get Gingivitis if you don’t give your cat the proper care. Please read the following information to prevent this painful condition.
Plasmacytic-Lymphocytic Stomatitis is a chronic condition occurring in cats which causes severe gingivitis and tooth loss. This is a result of another disease. Feline Immunodeficiency and Feline Leukemia is found in some cats. Symptoms include extremely foul breath, excessive salivation and trouble eating. Generally, since this causes them mouth pain, they discontinue eating while rapidly loosing weight.
If the mouth is examined there will be extreme gingivitis around the back upper molars. The gums will be red and look raw. They may bleed easily. If not treated the gums will start to recede from the tooth as the root of the tooth becomes absorbed causing the teeth to fall out or break off. When biopsies of these areas were conducted they were found to contain lymphocytes and plasma cells, which is why this disease is so named. With the inflammation the chances of a bacterial infection are definitely higher than normal. These cells are in evidence whenever there is a chronic inflammation and result in secondary infections which can cause a bacterial infection in the blood stream. This is quite serious and can infect other organs such as the heart, kidneys, and liver.
A thorough cleaning under anesthesia making sure to get below the gum line with a good long acting disinfectant gel is essential to beginning any treatment. If the cat is given antibiotics this will provide temporary relief and keep the bacterial infection of the gums from getting any worse. However this is not a long time solution. Various treatments have been tried such as ant inflammatory therapy with cortisone and immunostimulants such as immunoregulin.
The only long term treatment that seems to relieve the symptoms and get the cat back to good health is removing the premolars and molars. In the meantime while trying to get the cat back to a healthy animal there are several high calorie, nutritional cat foods on the market that are soft and require very little chewing. Due to the nature of this disease cats are quite reluctant to eat as they are in severe pain. It is imperative that they get nutrition.
Prevention is the best alternative for avoiding chronic gingivitis, since response to treatment for this disease is exceedingly low. It is essential that upper respiratory infections in a household be controlled, since calicivirus seems to be a contributing factor for this disease. Vaccinations for this disease at 6 weeks, 9 weeks, and 12 weeks should be administered to kittens. Until this series of vaccinations are complete, a kitten should be kept away from other kittens and cats. Keep all cats up to date with their vaccinations for best results. Feline leukemia and FIV tests should be routinely done. Any cat showing a positive result to testing should be immediately removed and isolated from all other cats.
Two new products came on the market in 1997 that were designed to control and prevent tartar and gingivitis. TD, produced by Hills, is a dry food that was made to fight the build up of plaque and tartar. Chews, produced by Vrx pharmaceuticals, is a freeze dried fish food that has antibacterial enzymes to fight gingivitis and also provides abrasive cleaning action. Both products can be obtained through your veterinarian. They just may be the key to preventing feline chronic gingivitis thus saving your cat from losing their teeth and succumbing to this painful disease.
| By David Perrin Published: 9/4/2007 |
Opinions on Gingivitis/Stomatitis in Cats
About two weeks ago, my male 9 year old cat was almost definitely diagnosed with chronic gingivitis/stomatitis, a condition that is treatable with corticosteroids shots and antibiotics.
How Can I Treat my Cat’s Refractory Gingivitis?
Severe, recurrent, refractory gingivitis in cats can progress to a syndrome called stomatitis.
Feline Gingivitis
Some cats suffer more than others. My cat, a 16 year old moggie has great teeth. I have never done any work on them except inspect them.
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One cat behavior that you should avoid right from the beginning is the cat biting your fingers. Cats are fond of wiggling fingers and love to grab and nibble on them. Although some cat owners find it cute when their kittens nibble on their fingers, it can become dangerous when your cat becomes an adult. You might get a scratch and hurt yourself.
One common mistake that owners do while trying to prevent such cat behavior is pulling their hand away. They think their pussy will stop behaving like this. On the contrary, she thinks it’s a form of play and tries to grab your fingers even more! The right way to avoid such behavior is to push your hand towards your cat’s mouth, all of a sudden. This abrupt movement will startle her. After this, replace your hand with a toy. As your kitten lets go off your hand and starts to nibble at the toy, she’ll find that it doesn’t jab into her mouth. Now, she’ll prefer the toy to your hand!
The catch is to give your pussy a positive experience through the toy and a negative one, through your hand. This way, she’d automatically abandon your hand and pick the toy as her nibbling object.
Not every cat behavior is acceptable. And you must make your cat understand this. However, scolding and beating is not the right thing to do. Handle your pet with care, patience, and love. She’ll impress everyone by her good manners!
For more cat training tips and help, visit www.cattrainingguides.com
My Cat Loves Eating Trash!
One cat behavior that can be quite annoying as well as embarrassing for a cat owner is when your cat starts eating morsels of food from the trash. People would think you don’t give enough food to the poor animal! But, the reality is that you feed your cat two times with a bowl full of food, yet she chooses to dig into the trash proudly and pick a rotten piece of meat from it.
Can you do anything about this cat behavior? Certainly!
Tips To Keep Your Cat Miles Away From Trash
First of all, get a trash can that your cat can’t tip over easily. The next time you catch your cat approaching the can, squirt water on her. It will give her a nice surprise! Another thing you should do is empty your can more often. Over time, scraps of food get accumulated on the sides of the can, inviting rodents and cats to feast on them. A clean trashcan will hardly attract the cat, as they are drawn by the odor of rotting food.
Get a strong lid for the trashcan. It isn’t a pleasant sight to have all the trash strewn around your kitchen, after your cat has had its “fill”. One thing you need to remember is you don’t teach animals any good habits through beating or chiding them. Be patient and try to discourage bad cat behavior by distracting their attention. Gradually, your pussy will know what habits annoys her owners and what pleases them.
For more cat training tips and help, visit www.cattrainingguides.com
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Do you ever read about a dog breed and discover that a particular breed can be prone to a number of diseases - most of which you can’t understand? Are you in the process of choosing a dog and you want to know which breed-specific hereditary disease that the breeder should have screened out in the breeding stock?
Enlarge Image Most breeders spend a lot of time and resources trying to get rid of genetic diseases in their lines. However, some amateur breeders and puppy mills are breeding dogs without screening the parents and perpetuating poor genetic health.
This article is not exhaustive but will attempt to describe some common hereditary musculoskeletal diseases and indicate some of the dog breeds that have shown a tendency to inherit these diseases in the past. Since so many dogs have inherited orthopedic problems, these disorders are extremely well researched and studied. If you want to check on a particular dog breed you can go to my Directory of Breed of Dogs and search on a particular breed for its health issues.
There are a number of common inherited diseases for which reputable breeders screen their breeding stock. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) has specialists evaluate X-rays, DNA, thyroid, cardiac and other tests and register the results. A prospective pure-bred puppy buyer should ask to see the OFA results for the dog’s sire and dam.
Chondrodysplasia or dwarfism in the legs is a disease that causes malformation of the carpal and radius bones of the front legs resulting in a stunted and bowed look. Puppies born with this disease do not show any signs until they grow older. The disease can be painful and often the only choice is to euthanize the dog. This disease is most common in the Alaskan malamute and the Beagle.
Elbow dysplasia is a hereditary disease in which the elbow joints of the front legs are malformed. Lameness usually makes its appearance around 7 to 10 months of age and is treated by anti-inflammatories and also surgery. All breeds are susceptible to the disease but it is most common in large male breeds. These breeds include the: Basset hound, Bernese mountain dog, Bloodhound, Bouvier des Flandres, Chow Chow, German shepherd, Golden retriever, Great Pyrenees, Irish wolfhound, Labrador retriever, Mastiff, Rottweiler, Saint Bernard and Weimaraner.
Hip dysplasia is a disorder that results when there is a loose fit of the ‘ball and socket’ hip joint and the ball may continuously slide part way out of the socket. Over time this will cause osteoarthritis in the joint and the dog will become lame and weak in the hind end. Some relief can be found with the use of nutriceuticals such as glucosamine and chondroitin, and anti-inflammatories. Some cases are so bad that the dog must have surgery or be euthanized. Ensuring that your dog isn’t overfed and overweight can delay the onset of hip dysplasia. Larger breeds that grow fastest during the first four months seem to be more prone to this disease. Hip dysplasia is the most common inherited orthopedic disease in large and giant breeds and many medium-sized breeds as well.
Legg-Calve-Perthes is a disease of the hip joint where the ball or head of the femur deteriorates and causes pain and lameness in the hind leg. This disease usually affects young small dogs aged from 4 to 12 months. This condition is successfully treated by surgery. This disorder can affect all terriers, Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Miniature pinscher, Miniature poodles, Pugs and Toy poodles.
Panosteitis or ‘pano’ is a common condition which suddenly causes lameness in a growing puppy or adolescent dog. The lameness is a result of inflammation of the long bones of the front and hind legs and can be mild to severe. A veterinarian will probably prescribe pain medication and ask you to restrict exercise. Affected puppies usually grow out of the condition as they mature. It is most common in male medium- to giant-sized dog breeds which include the: Afghan Hound, Basset hound, Doberman pinscher, German shepherd, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Labrador retriever and Rottweiler.
Luxating Patella (Patellar luxation) or slipped stifle is a hereditary condition where the knee cap slips out of its groove. In some cases, the kneecap will slip back into place while in other cases; a veterinarian may need to put it back in place. If it is not corrected through surgery, then osteoarthritis will usually result. The condition is quite prevalent in toy breeds. It is commonly seen in the Affenpinscher, Australian terrier, Basset hound, Boston terrier, Chihuahua, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, English Toy Spaniel, Maltese, Papillon, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Poodle (miniature and toy) and Lhasa Apso.
There are many more hereditary diseases that are prevalent in a number of dog breeds. Contact your breed’s national breed club for a list of the most common inherited genetic diseases.
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Dog Arthritis is a degernative joint disease that afflicts them, usually when they get older, just like with humans. There is another common related arthritic condition called hip dysplasia. Th… Read more…
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Aggression and Attacking
Just about all dogs display some form of aggression at one stage and all have the capacity to bite. Aggression can be displayed for all types of reasons. In the wild, the wolf pack has an alpha pack leader and the rest of the pack sort out the rest of the pecking order. Sometimes, acts of aggression will be displayed by each of the members of the pack to assert their position in the pack by growing, showing their teeth, raising their hackles, all can be interpreted as displays of dominance. Very rarely does a full on brawl ensue. Once the pecking order is established, there is harmonic bliss. Also, if the territory of a pack is invaded, or if the pack feels threatened, they will display aggression or attack to protect their pack. This behaviour is a major concern with the domestic dog however. The family dog’s aggression can often be misinterpreted as dogs can display Fear and Dominance aggression.
Fear Aggression
The dog displaying fear or the fear biter will become aggressive if it feels threatened. The dog may display some body language to confirm its state of mind. The dog’s tail is usually between its legs, ears back on its head, bearing it’s teach and backing away. It usually will not bite unless it is cornered. This display is a clear lack of confidence as a result of an unpleasant experience or poor socialisation. The dog must be desensitised or given confidence so it learns not to fear a certain situation. The main problem in the domestic situation is aggression towards visitors or children.
Most people try to relax the dog by reassuring it in a soft tone. The dog interprets its aloofness or aggression as desirable and this only reinforces the behaviour. Usually ignoring this behaviour will benefit all concerned. By the onset of visitors or children being a prelude to a happy experience, the dog will soon learn to realise not to fear the arrival or presence of these situations. After the visitors arrive, give the visitors or children tasty titbits or withhold a portion of the daily ration so visitors or children can give it to the dog. Take the dog for a walk with the visitors. Allow the visitors to give the dog its favourite toy. Make all these experiences as pleasurable as possible until such time as the visitors/children can approach or pat the dog without any displays of aggression or fear.
The dog will soon learn that the arrival or presence of these situations will bring a pleasurable experience and will display excitement at the arrival of them.
Dominance aggression
The dominant aggressor usually has its tail held high, ear pointed, hackles raised and stands its ground or advances towards the intruder. The dog that does not growl is a dog to watch out for. These dogs may have a problem in that they see their role in the human canine pack as the alpha or higher leader in the pack and is one of that to defend the pack or its territory. It is usually the role of the alpha pack leader to decide whether physical aggression is needed. The other pack member’s role is to sound off or alert everyone else of possible danger. By reversing the roles or the owners establishing themselves as the pack leaders and using aversion techniques, the dog will learn that this behaviour is undesirable and can be much easier to control.
For this and other information about dog training, head over to www.ozdogtrainer.com.au
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How to manage your dog’s Arthritic condition
One day while playing with Brandy, my Akita-Sheppard age 12, I noticed that it was harder for her to run around and chase the ball. At the time I thought nothing of it, but the next day when I went to get her ready for her nightly walk I realized that she had a mild case of arthritis. She didn’t jump right up to greet me as she normally would she had a hard time getting up from her bed, but once she was up she was ready to go. Brandy like many dogs at her age has or are starting to experience this painful journey through Osteoarthritis.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is the largest cause of pain in dogs. A study sponsored by Pfizer estimates about 20% of adult dogs may be affected by arthritis. According to Veterinarians, Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease involving one or more joints in a dog’s body. It often shows up in middle-aged or older dogs. OA isn’t just an old dog’s disease, nor is it mandatory that all dogs will have OA. OA is generally triggered by the excessive wear in one or more joints, but dogs that have joint irregularities are also likely to develop arthritis in the affected joint as well.
Does my dog have OA?
Osteoarthritis is often noticed when the animal is very stiff and finds movement difficult following rest or sleep but will improve once they start to move around. Sometimes the problem comes to light when a dog is less able to jump into the car or go up stairs, even their favorite chair may become a struggle to reach. Dogs do not often cry out in pain when affected with arthritis but they may become irritable, nervous and less active generally because they are in chronic pain. If your dog shows any of these signs or just seems to be slowing down and getting old, it is time to see your local vet for a checkup to verify if your dog does indeed has this condition.
Is there a cure for OA?
Currently there is no cure for Osteoarthritis. Although there is no cure there are ways to help ease the pain making it more comfortable for your pet.
Dietary Supplements
One of the ways to help slow the progression of OA is through supplements. Supplements that contain ingredients such as Glucosamine sulfate, Chondroitin sulfate, Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), DL-Phenylalanine (DLPA), Fish Oil , and Avocado/Soybean Unsaponifiables (ASU) are great to treat the pain of OA. These ingredients have been proven to better able fight off the damaging effect of OA. However, not all supplement manufacturers use the same quality ingredients. So to ensure you get your money’s worth, stick to recommended products such as Cosequin by Nutramax Labs. JointMax and ReMATRIX by Pet Health Solutions is another good manufacturer. Finally Glyco-Flex III from Vetri-Science Labs has had great success in this field.
Pharmaceuticals
Another way to help your dog’s OA is through Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID). NSAID is nearly part of every veterinarian’s weapons to defend against pain when supplements are no longer an effective means. There are only a few NSAIDs approved by the FDA for the use in dog and only can be prescribed by your vet. These NSAIDs are Rimadyl, Metacam, Deramaxx, Previcox, and Zubrin. While NSAIDs are very effective they do carry side-effects, including damage to the gastrointestinal tract.
Looking beyond OA
Canine OA has long been a problem for most dogs since the beginning of time. The difference now is that vets are more knowledgeable about recognizing the sign. Everyday there is advancement in the research of OA and more options are available to us to help our dog live a longer better life with OA.
To find out which treatment may help call us 1-800-889-8967 or for more information on this subject or any additional pet health articles please visit www.entirelypets.com
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By Clark Tran
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When training your cat, an understanding of operant conditioning is helpful, so you are aware of what it is that you are actually doing. Essentially, operant conditioning is the basis of all animal training and essentially, all behaviors of just about everything. Operant Conditioning experimentaion was pioneered by Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner.
Us humans are even subject to the laws of operant conditioning. We got to work because we are paid. The behavior of going to work is reninforced because we receive money, so we keep going. We touch a hotplate and get burned. We have received pain which is a negative recation so therefore we won’t repeat the behavior.
There are 4 basic fundamental laws of operant conditioning that effect the strengthening or weakening of a behaviour.
Positive & Negative
In the field of behavior psychology when it applies to training, the ‘Positve’ in the Positive Reinforcement and Positive Punishment refers to the appliaction or addition of something on our part. We are adding something. For example
- giving a moresel of food (we are adding food)
- give a pat (we are adding our affection)
- we praise the cat (we are speaking, using our voice)
- we give the cat a little tap (we are adding our hand)
- we give a click with a clicker (we are adding a sound)
Essentially, we are adding something to the cat’s enivonment.
With the ‘Negative’ in the Negative Reinforcement and Negative Punishment, we are taking something away from the cat’s environment.
- we remove the cat bowl (we area taking it away)
- we remove the cat litter (we are taking it away)
- we ignore the cat (we are taking away our attention
Reinforcement & Punishment
This is a little more easy to understand. Essentially if we add or remove a stimulus that increases or strenghtens a behavior, that is reinforcment.
- give the cat a treat for sitting (positive reinforcment)
- we begin removing the litter box so the cat will go in the toilet (negative reinforcment)
If we add or remove a stilmus that reduces or weakens a behavior, that is punishment.
- we tap the cat on the bottom for scratching the furniture (positive punishment)
- we stop playing with our cat instantly as soon as it bites us (negative punishment)
Once you understand these concepts, it is really quite simple to begin training your cat, or in turn, reduce and eliminate undesireable behaviors.
To learn more about training your cat or overcoming undersireable cat behaviors, head over to cattrainingguides.com
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Top Pet Medications November 28th, 2008 Powered By CbproAds Top Pet Medications The development of medications for pets has increased rapidly in recent years. Pets are becoming a part of the fa… Read more…
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If your cat is suffering from cat flea allergy, read on as this article provides you with a 2 easy steps treatment approach to alleviate your cat’s pain and discomfort.
See your cat scratching and biting on its fur frantically?
See inflamed, irritated and infected skin on your cat?
If yes, your cat may be suffering from cat flea allergy!
Cat flea allergy, or commonly known as flea allergy dermatitis in cats is one of the most common single cause for consultation of a vet. This is cause mainly by the bites from fleas when they feed on the blood of the cat.
For a normal cat, it would only feel minor irritation to the fleas bites. Even in the presence of dozens of fleas, these cats will not be greatly affected and they feel little itch. On the other hand, if a flea allergic cat comes in contact with even a single flea, they can have severe itch reaction to the flea bites. Very often, such allergic reaction may continue for days to weeks causing intense itch and discomfort to the cat.
To treat cat flea allergy, there is a 2 steps approach to it.
Prevention:
Cat develops flea allergic dermatitis because of the presence of fleas on them. As such, the only way to prevent the occurrence of this dreaded, tormenting skin disorder in your cat is to prevent the contact of your cat with fleas. No Fleas, No Bites!
Flea control for cats is therefore an absolute necessity. To get rid of cat fleas completely, your choice of a flea treatment product is very important.
The need to treat the surrounding environment, both indoor and outdoors, are often ignored leading to re-infestation after you succeed in eradicating the fleas on your cat.
Treatment:
Cats affected by flea bites allergy is usually in great discomfort. Their constant scratching and biting may lead to inflamed and infected skin.
Keeping the skin clean is therefore important to prevent secondary infection. Bathing your affected cat with a medicated shampoo may be necessary. Antibiotic and steroid cream may be prescribed to relief the itch and inflammation.
Your choice of a flea treatment medicine for your cat is very important. Your success depends on your choice of the right product. Learn how to select one from the many available in "Flea Medicine" and a step-by step plan in treating your house for flea in "House Flea Control"
| By Ann Wong Published: 6/23/2008 |
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