Health

A lick granuloma is a red, raw, and ugly looking wound, caused by a dog's incessant licking. The last thing one would think is that it can be a blessing in disguise, but it seems to have been just that for Biggie, a 10-year-old Weimaraner owned by Maryland breeders Bob and Virginia (Gini) Selner. Biggie (AKA Wyngate's Music Man") is one of five dogs who live with the Selners

Holt adopted Copper from an animal shelter in Seattle about 10 1/2 years ago. “I thought I wanted a chocolate Lab,” she says, but she was immediately taken with Copper, who was about one and a half years old and had recently been released to the shelter by a drug enforcement agency. He had been chosen by the agency to train as drug detection dog, but he wasn’t cut out for life on the force. Says Holt, “Copper was so fixated on the balls they used to train with that he flunked!”

For a dog, the perfect life would have love, toys, sunshine, plenty of exercise, just the right amount of good food – and the one crucial thing which makes all of that possible: an immune system that works as nature designed it to work. For all “higher” organisms – from ticks to Texans – the immune system brings good health or takes it away. A healthy, properly functioning immune system operates like the world’s most omnipotent drug.

What is demodectic mange caused by? Why are Boxers so susceptible to it? How can all these puppies be affected by it when I know for a fact that none of their parents or even grandparents ever had demodectic mange? How would you recommend treating it in an older dog, and how would you treat it in puppies?

No matter how careful you are with your dog's everyday health needs, it's in his nature to be incautious and inquisitive. And that sometimes results in injury. Odds are, it's just a matter of when. However, your conviction to treat your dog with natural remedies is put to a real test when you are faced with an emergency. Whether your dog is severely injured in an accident or scraped and cut from a fight, your first reaction should be to remain calm, remember what you know, and think holistically. Just as you plan and prepare your dog's daily meals and training, advance planning and preparation for the unthinkable accident may help save your dog's life during the critical time between the beginning of the emergency and access to veterinary care.

Your six-month-old puppy is scheduled to be spayed tomorrow. When you call to confirm your appointment, and review the veterinarian's estimate of charges with the receptionist, you learn that you will be charged $60 for a blood panel. Is this necessary? Blood is composed of different types of cells, and the status and percentage of type of cell present in the mixture communicates important facts. There are a variety of ways to examine blood; each examination method reveals specific information. A morphologic inspection consists of looking at the shape of the blood cells under a microscope.

and from the sores on his back. When the veterinarian gave Bailey a vitamin K injection to stop the bleeding

but the presence of other dogs there

We've noticed something interesting: Any time we mention a remedy for arthritis, we are almost immediately inundated with calls and letters and e-mail and faxes from dozens of readers, all of them desperate to procure the magic substance. Is arthritis becoming more prevalent in the canine world? Or are dogs (like humans) simply living longer than they used to – long enough to suffer the disease, which is more common in older animals.

Calendula Officinalis (also known as the Marigold plant, but usually called calendula) and hypericum (also known as Saint John's Wort), are very safe, yet incredibly effective at cleaning the site of an injury and encouraging the body to heal. Homeopathic and herbal preparations of calendula and hypericum have proved invaluable in modern-day holistic dog care. In fact, it's difficult to find an herbal wound preparation that does not contain some form of one or both of these potent plants.

When our grandparents (or perhaps great-grandparents) were children, it was not uncommon for people to have big families – say, eight or 10 or more kids – but to have only a few survive due to childhood diseases, a lack of modern medical care, and, sometimes, poor nutrition. This is a story of Dusty, a dog with just such a background; he is the sole survivor from a litter of 11 puppies. But despite being born in modern times, superior medical care and technology failed to save Dusty’s siblings.

when I came across a book called Give Your Dog A Bone by Dr. Ian Billinghurst