What’s Normal? . Temperature can be indicative of an animal’s general health. The average temperature of a dog is 101 degrees F or 38 degrees C. That said, the “normal” temperature for an adult dog can vary from anywhere between 100 and 102.5 degrees F, or 37.8 and 39.2 degrees C. . Sometimes you look […]
Sunburn It’s important to remember that even the most innocent of situations can result in sunburn or burns of one type or another. There are 5 main types you need to be aware of – Hot, Cold, Friction, Electrical and Chemical. When we think of Hot burns, we usually think about fire or may be spilling […]
There have been a number of occasions where I’ve read on various forums of people (and in some cases as advised by their vets) advocating the use of Tea Tree oil when treating conditions like skin irritation or hot spots for dogs. Tea Tree oil is indeed wonderful stuff but it can, in fact, be […]
Activated Charcoal: Charcoal is amazing stuff with many uses. I’ve always used it with my dogs in the form of charcoal biscuits, as it’s great for stopping unwanted odours when your furry friend passes wind – and we all know how pungent that can be! Simply giving a couple of biscuits in the morning and […]
I recently received this message from one of our Rhodes 2 Safety followers:- “Hi Kerry, my Greyhound Josie was recently hospitalised with haemorrhagic gastroenteritis – it was awful, we almost lost her. Thankfully she is on the mend but I’d never heard of this condition before, yet since mentioning it to people it seems its […]
Purging & Toxic Plants – so to start with, exactly WHAT IS purging? Well, according to the boffins who write the dictionaries, purging is:- a. To free from impurities; purify. b. To remove (impurities and other elements) by evacuation (of the bowels) or to vomit. . I have looked at purging in another guise in the […]
Having girl dogs means that unless the bitch is spayed, you will have to contend with hormones, seasons, phantom pregnancies and the like. My house is only big enough for one set of girlie hormones and I’m afraid they’re mine! For this reason, I opt to have boy dogs in my life but the boys do […]
Licking wounds/stitches: When a dog has an injury, be that an irritation, a wound or stitches after surgery, the natural thing for him to do is to try to lick the area to clean it, reduce irritation or soothe himself. Unfortunately licking can be more harm than good as the saliva may cause bacterial infection. […]
Christmas Considerations: There’s lots of great advice, suggestions and reminders floating about on the net and on FB so I thought Id try to group them all together into a bit of a Canine Christmas 101. Routine: Please remember that dogs do not celebrate Christmas. They have no idea why the normal day-to-day running […]
Chemical burns come in all sorts of guises – from our dogs sticking their noses into substances in the garage or garden shed, finding “dumped” chemicals in the undergrowth on our walks, on their paws if they walk through a spilt liquid on the floor or road or may be even with something as seemingly innocent as walking […]
Cold Burns: There are 5 main categories of burn that we need to be aware of, not just the ones caused by flames or hot cups of tea and in fact, some burns are caused by the opposite of heat! The 5 include: Hot Cold Chemical Friction Electrical As we in the UK are currently […]
Ice Burns & Pad Damage: When we think about burns, we usually think of damage caused by hot surfaces or fluids. Rarely do we stop to think about the damage that can be caused by the cold (for example ice burns from walking on icy surfaces for any distance) or by chemicals (such as battery acid or […]
Weepy/Watery Eyes: Sometimes, particularly with dogs who have paler coloured fur, you might notice that their eyes are weeping or watery. Some breeds are more prone to this condition than others for example the Poodle, the Shih Tzu, the Bichon Frise and the Maltese, but any breed can suffer with it. Breeds with larger eyes, such […]
I often get asked if there are any pain killers we can give to dogs if they injure themselves – for example if they suffer a sprain or strain. Many people get confused about what we can and cannot give to dogs – and rightly so. There are many drugs that are perfectly fine for humans to […]
Flatulence (Farting!) – All dogs suffer with excessive wind or “gas” from time to time, just like humans do. For the most part it’s a bit whiffy, funny or possibly even embarrassing but generally, all part and parcel of living with a dog. I’m sure most of us would simply open a window or add […]
Swallowing things they shouldn’t – and things “hanging out” the other end! Dogs do tend to wolf down anything and everything – and not all the things they try to consume are good for them! Sometimes they manage to swallow the most inappropriate of things ranging from socks and pants, through to needles and thread […]
Ocular Compression is a technique hoped to help dogs with epilepsy. We have covered fits and epilepsy in a previous blog (here’s the link to it:- Fits & Seizures) Many people try very hard to minimise the amount of drugs or chemicals they use with their dogs, be that in the form of vaccinations or […]
Undescended Testicles is also known as Cryptorchidism. When a male puppy is born, his testicles will still be within his abdomen. As he developes and grows, they will slowly start to “descend” down the tubes until they arrive at their permanent place in his scrotum. It is important for mammals to be able to keep their sperm […]
A lot of problems with our dogs can be caused or exacerbated by our dog’s weight so, Is Your Dog Too Fat? As a rule, people who show their dogs in breed dog show competitions such as Crufts here in the UK and the Westminster Cup in the US see other examples of their breed regularly […]
Licking the paws …….. Why? . This is one of the most common questions I get asked and in all honesty, there is no simple straight-forward answer. First we need to establish whether the dog is licking his paws because there is a medical condition causing his discomfort or whether it is simply a behaviour he’s […]