Super Collection of Tips for Dogs and Cats

1. Is Your Dog Regularly Getting the Runs? Add bio yoghurt to their feed. Quite often this can be a bacterial imbalance. Especially if it is happening on a regular basis. The bio yoghurt is a probiotic and sometimes sorts this type of problem out fairly quickly. However if the situation continues to occur see your Vet.

2. Is Your Dog’s Urine Burning the Lawn? Yellow spots on the lawn are normally caused by urine, Nitrogen waste products are the result of protein breakdown through normal bodily processes., therefore the nitrogen in the urine causes the lawn spots. We all know that Nitrogen is a great fertliser but not in these doses that is why the outside of the brown spot is quite lush.

A dose of one teaspoon to one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (depending on the size of the dog) per day will nullify the Nitrogen imbalance and should solve the problem. The apple cider vinegar can be added to the dog's water or put directly on his food. The natural type from a health food store, not the pasteurised version from the supermarket. I find the apple cider vinegar from horse tack shops are the best. Two tablespoons of tomato juice on the dog's food twice a day will have the same effect.

If the dogs has already urinated and she has not been treated, then saturate the urinated areas (spots) with water. This will allow the excess nitrogen to leech or dilute through the lawn and reduce the concentration in one area. It is usually best to treat the areas up to 9 hours after urination and to apply at least three times the amount of water to urine to the area.

There is also something called DOG ROCKS which are an Australian/New Zealand product that are apparently safe for all of your pets, young and old. It is supposed to start improving your lawn within 5 weeks. They normally need to be replaced about every 2 or 3 months and should be placed into no more than 2 litres (0.5 gal) of water. Dog rocks are a mineralised rock which when placed in a dog’s water bowl changes the Nitrogen levels of a dog’s urine, meaning it won’t stain grass. The key element is Zeolite, which neutralises Nitrogen levels without altering the pH level of the water

3. Insect Stings to Dogs or Cats: Slice a raw onion and apply to the sting as soon as possible, If the sting is inside the mouth always keep "Antihistamine" capsules in your first aid kit.  A rapid administration soon after the sting can prevent serious complications.  You can also get Antihistamine in liquid form which makes it easier to dispense. To administer liquids pull out the jowl near the back teeth it makes a sort of little cup, then just pour the measured liquid in, close mouth, tip head back and massage throat.

Some dogs will actually swallow the insect live, which may continue stinging the dog internally and cause anaphylactic shock.  In rare cases, death can result.   This is caused from internal swelling of the trachea which cuts off the oxygen supply to the lungs.  Quick administration of “Antihistamine" can reduce and even prevent serious complications. SPECIAL NOTE - Dosage will vary depending on the size of the animal.   Check with your vet for recommended dosage.  Usually they will refer to the animal's weight as a guideline.

4. Sharp Object and Glass eating: What do you do if your dog eats glass or other sharp objects like staples or small nails etc? Dogs even eat ornaments, Xmas decorations, light bulbs and lots of other things that are sharp and therefore dangerous. Here's what to do. Go to the chemist and buy some cotton balls, make sure it is cotton balls and not the cosmetic puff things they are made of man made fibres. Buy a carton of double cream and keep it in the freezer if in the eventuality of your dog eating something sharp. Defrost the cream and pour some in a bowl. Dip cotton balls into the cream and feed them to your dog. Dogs less than 10 lbs should eat 2 balls which you have first torn into smaller pieces. Dogs 10-50 lbs should eat 3-5 balls and larger dogs should eat 5-7. You may feed larger dogs an entire cotton ball at once. Dogs seem to really like these strange treats and eat them readily.

As the cotton works its way through the digestive tract it will find all the glass and small sharp objects and wrap itself around them. Even the teeniest shards of glass will be caught and wrapped in the cotton fibres and the cotton will protect the intestines from damage.Your dog's stools will be a bit strange for a few days. You must be careful to check for fresh blood or a tarry appearance to the stool. If either of the latter symptoms appear you should rush your dog to the vet for a check-up, but in most cases, the dogs should be fine.

5. Bonding: If you want to quickly bond with a new pup or rescue dog. Masticate a piece of white bread till it is a gooey then feed this as a tit bit to the pup/dog for the first 7 days. You only need to do this once a day; it mimics the regurgitation process when pups and cubs are being weaned in the wild, this really helps them bond more quickly and therefore settle in much sooner.

6. Constipation: If your dog doesn't move his bowels for a day or two, or if he seems to have difficulty doing so, he may be constipated. Give him a teaspoonful of milk of magnesia first thing in the morning, before his breakfast if you feed him twice a day. If he is often constipated, add more vegetables to his diet and also mix a teaspoonful of mineral oil in his dinner. He won't taste it with the food. Do this until he is regular again. Also be sure that he gets plenty of exercise. Lack of running, walking, and jumping can make a dog constipated. If this treatment does not work within 48 hours consult your Vet.

7. Car Sickness: Often Ginger helps with this problem either Ginger Biscuits or even better natural ginger fed before the journey. The biscuits can be fed as the dog gets in the car, which has an added incentive of the dog feeling that it being praised for just getting in the vehicle.

8. Grooming: Once a week put a really good shake of Olive Oil "the one you use for salads" into the dogs food, it gives the coat a brilliant shiny healthy look. In conjunction with the oil use a rubber horse curry comb/ brush; you can purchase it cheaply from any tack shop, strips all the dead hair off and shines up the coat better than any other brush on the market. They also do a plastic one that gets all the seeds and bits of debris out. I use both to great affect.

9. Grooming 2: Irrespective of the dogs coat long or short groom daily. Even if it's only for a couple of minutes and make sure you groom over the withers. This helps in bonding and social status. In the wild the Alpha Male and Female will call over the other wolves or wild dogs individually and groom them in their pecking order. Grooming is an important social gesture. That is why some dominant dogs object to being groomed, they don't believe you have right or the position to initiate this action.

10. Tears Stains and Bacterial Infections: Wet areas on the face are a breeding ground for bacteria and yeast. Bacterial infections commonly occur in the tear ducts. “Ptirsporum”, red yeast bacteria, is at the root of most yeast infections. Tear stains also often occur at the same time as a gum infection or ear infection. Staining can also occur on a dog's paws from licking and around his mouth from infected saliva. Apple cider vinegar (in its natural form from a health food store, not the pasteurised version from the Supermarket) is a natural antibiotic, antiseptic, and deodorant; It helps digestion and to remove tooth tartar; prevents tooth decay and hair loss (even mange), it also prevents and heals gum disease and skin problems; and will discourage fleas. Putting a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar per quart of water in your dog's water bowl or on food can clear up most active yeast infections and prevent future infections. Apple cider vinegar tablets can be used if your dog refuses to drink the treated water or eat the food.

11. Halitosis/Dog Breath: Halitosis, or unpleasant breath, can be caused by a stomach problem, bad teeth or tonsils, or something that is stuck in the dog's mouth or throat. Look your dog’s teeth to see if any are decayed. If not, then give him 3/4 teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda in his food twice a day for a few days. If his breath is still offensive, then take him to a vet to see if he needs his teeth cleaned or his tonsils treated.

12. Cuts. : If your dog cuts himself slightly, put some boric acid solution or some peroxide on the cut and then leave it alone. It will heal up quickly. If the cut is deep, or if it doesn't stop bleeding, pack gauze or clean rags around it and take him to a vet. If the cut is on his leg or foot and bleeds a lot, tie a piece of cloth tightly around his leg, between the cut and his body, release the pressure every ten minutes, and take him to a vet at once.

13. Electric Shocks: Once in a while, a silly puppy will chew through an electric cord leading to a lamp or a radio or a toaster. The shock he gets is normally not serious (though in certain circumstances has proved fatal); however it can sometimes be strong enough to knock him out. If this happens, put a little household ammonia on a wad of cotton and hold this under his nose. Don't touch the nose with it, as the ammonia will burn his skin. The sharp odour will bring him round. When he does comes to, give him some cool, strong, black coffee to drink. If his mouth seems burned by the shock, wet a cloth in strong, cool tea and wash the burned place with this. Take him to the vet if he seems burned or injured in any way.

14. What if your dog swallows a dangerous object: It's a rare puppy that doesn't swallow at least one strange object which his stomach cannot possibly digest. But a dog's stomach is so constructed that it can usually take care of most of the odd things that find their way into it.

If you should see your dog swallow something you know is bad for him . . . a piece of rubber toy, a ball, a large splinter of bone or a metallic object . . . here's what to do. Give him a large piece of soft bread to eat. Then toss about two teaspoonfuls of salt on the back of his tongue, close his mouth with your hand and keep it closed until he swallows the salt. Now put him on a newspaper or some other place where he can vomit without doing any damage.

In a short time the salt will cause him to throw up the bread and the hopefully the strange object. If this doesn't come up the first time give him another dose of salt after about 5 minutes. Once the object is vomited, He should be fine. However if he begins to have diarrhoea, or if his stomach swells up and appears tender when you touch it, give him a tablespoonful of mineral oil. If he still seems to be in pain, or if there is any blood in his urine or bowel movement, take him straight to a vet. Never induce vomiting if the dog has ingested bleach or anything acidic or really sharp. Washing soda crystals are even more effective than salt if you have them available in the house.

15. Eyes: If you want to clean out the "sleep bugs," you can dip a wad of cotton into a mixture of warm water and boric-acid solution 50/50. Squeeze a few drops of this in each eye. You can also use plain warm milk for this purpose. If your pet has got some mild conjunctivitis try warm used tea bags, if the infection is more than mild then purchase some Golden Eye from the chemist (cream not drops) and treat for three days this clears up most infections, however if he still has problems a visit to the Vet is in order. In case of a real injury to the eyes from a dogfight or something poked into them, put a pad of gauze soaked in boric-acid solution 50/50 ie warm water and boric acid over the eye that's hurt. Then wrap a towel loosely around the dog's head and take him at once to a vet.

16. Commands: Avoid giving your dog commands that you know you cannot enforce. Every time you give a command that is neither complied with nor enforced your dog learns that commands are optional. One command should equal one response, so give your dog only one command (twice max!), then gently enforce it. Repeating commands tunes your dog out (as does nagging) and teaches your dog that the first several commands are a "bluff '. For instance, telling your dog to "Sit, sit, sit, sit!", is neither an efficient nor effective way to issue commands. Simply give your dog a single "Sit" command and gently place or lure your dog into the sit position, then praise/reward.

17. The Dogs Name: Whenever possible, use your dog's name positively, rather than using it in conjunction with a reprimand, warning or punishment. Your dog should trust that when it hears its name or is called to you, good things happen. His name should always be positive and responded to with enthusiasm, never hesitancy or fear. Imagine if you were a dog and 50% of the time when your name was spoken, you were yelled at or chastised. It would not take long to work out not to look up if their is a strong chance you are going to be shouted at, you can picture the dog thinking “Look at my paw because my face ain’t listening” I use "Bad" or "You" If I have to chastise or stop the dog from certain behaviour's both have a good growly tone rather than using the dogs name.

To teach your dog his name. Position your dog in the middle of two people, close enough to touch,. Get some treats, high value ones like cheese or liver. Say the dogs name cheerfully if he doesn't’t respond either touch his ear or his muzzle very gently.

When the dog finally looks in your direction immediately use your Good Dog voice, and praise by using the word “good”“take it” then immediately give a high quality treat. You could also use a clicker and click treat. Practice this until looking at you happens without the touch or treat, this takes about five days doing the exercise for a few minutes each day, continue to practice once a week for the dog's entire life! It reinforces the communication link between owner and pet.

18. Pee Poles: These are very new in the pet shops and are made of hard plastic and look almost like a 1 foot high giant tack. The tack is impregnated with a Pheromone that causes the dogs and bitches to urinate on them. You hammer or push them in the area you want the dog to urinate and hey presto. Believe it or not it appears to work in some cases. Though some dogs decide it is a toy.

19. Puppy Teething: Most of the teething and chewing as apart from mouthing and nipping starts at about 4.5 months old. This is the time that the little piranha teeth laughingly called puppy teeth start dropping out, as the new adult teeth start pushing through. It takes anything up to 8 months for these new teeth to set in the jaw, whilst this is happening the pup has a need to chew. To help soothe this and save your fixtures, fittings and furniture. Get the pup a plastic flower pot. Not the thin brittle ones but a fairly thick substantial one, this will help his gums and sooth the itching. Another great help is get a knotted rope you buy as a tug soak it in water and put it in the freezer. The ice that forms really helps hot and itchy gums. Also freeze carrots and whilst frozen give to teething pups a great and nutritious soother.

20. Games of Tug: I don’t like games of tug at any time, except with a particularly timid or frightened dog then I will play and let the dog win to build up some confidence. However I never ever play tug with a puppy whilst it has its puppy/piranha teeth. It actually has little or no jaw muscles at this time therefore you can dislocate the jaw or even misalign the teeth by playing roughhouse tug games. You may also be setting the scene for aggressive confrontations later in the puppy’s growth cycle. I would be better playing games of find, hide little bits of treats in the house and garden and encourage the dog to search them out, or ball games these all help dispel some of the pup’s energies and to stimulate the mind.

I had an altercation with a forum called Champ Dogs, run and controlled by people that clearly think they know lots about Dogs but in reality know very little. Everything was based on emotion, rather than reality and common sense. I found some of the advice dangerous. I was howled down when I suggested that they should not play tug with their dogs they actually said that if you couldn't play games like that then it's not worth having a dog and they would have it put to sleep. Some of these people are very very sad.