Hot Spots & Wet Eczema are the same thing. Dermatitis is “doctor-speak”. If you break down the parts of the word you get derm which means skin and itis which means inflammation therefore if you or your dog are suffering from dermatitis, it simply means inflammation of the skin. In dogs, it can be caused […]
DE or DIATOMACEOUS EARTH Ive been asked on a number of occasions about Diatomaceous Earth. As people get more and more keen to avoid pumping chemicals and drugs into themselves or their dogs, alternatives such as DE are coming more the fore. DE is suitable not just for dogs but for humans, horses, chicken …. well, […]
Ears – Basic 1st Aid for …… Constant shaking/scratching * Examine the ear opening by lifting the ear flap and looking inside. * Provided it is near the very top of the ear canal, if you are able to see an obvious foreign body, you can remove this yourself gently with your fingers. If you must […]
Feet: With dogs, problems affecting the feet and nails are pretty common and can range from something as simple as a torn nail or be a symptom of a more general skin disease. Common causes of foot problems are:- 1. Parsitic Problems: Harvest Mite, Demodectic Mange, Hookworms 2. Allergic or Irritant Dermatitis: Dogs who suffer […]
Before you treat any type of bleed/wound, you should always go through the SEEP checklist, to ensure you take all the right steps in the correct order. Treating a bleed relies heavily on things like the application of pressure, and the positioning of the animal’s injured limb as bleeding will slow down it if has […]
Mastitis = inflammation in the mammary gland. Mastitis is usually caused by an infection which has entered via the teat, through a skin wound caused by a puppy, or via the bloodstream. The teat and breast tissue will be warm and may be swollen and tender. If the mastitis is more severe, there may be […]
Puppy Vaccinations: When you get your beautiful new puppy he has some immunity already, passed on through the milk from his mother. However, it is vitally important to protect him before he goes out into the big wide world. The normal sequence of events is:- @ 8 weeks, he will receive his first vaccination @ […]
Sometimes, helping the vet with diagnosing skin problems can be quite a challenge. Because there are lots of possible causes of skin infection, from trauma, to topical allergies, to food allergies, to bites, to autoimmune problems etc etc, it is a good idea to go through some questions yourself before your vet appointment so that if your vet […]
There are many things that can trigger allergic reactions and hives in our animals – everything from food or medication that doesn’t agree with them, bee stings, wasp stings, nettle rash, vaccinations, flying ants, biting “critters” in the grass or undergrowth and even licking toads! This is what happens when you decide to suck a wasp!!! […]
Coat contamination with whatever chemical or substance should always be taken very seriously. Any product on the coat can easily work its way onto the skin and then absorb through the layers of the dermis and into the blood stream. If this happens, there is the potential for your dog to be poisoned. This is […]
Ticks come in lots of different colours and sizes; from grey, pink, red, brown and black, and right through from the size of a pin-head to a big fat juicy rice-crispy. They are carried on things like sheep and deer and drop off into the grass and undergrowth so that when an animal passes through, […]
There are lots of places a dog could get a burn from, and several different types of burn too, from hot burns (caused by coming into contact with anything hot including flames, boiling water and even the sun), cold burns (usually ice or frozen metal), chemical burns (from anything that can get either onto the […]
Canine Acne you say?? Really?? Yes, dogs do get “zits”!!!!! – This condition causes abnormalities in the hair follicles especially around the chin and muzzle. Larger, short coated breeds are affected most often eg Great Dane, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Boxer, Doberman, Rottweiler etc. Acne is seen first in young adult animals. (BOTH my Ridgebacks suffered mildly […]
Sarcoptic Mange (Scabies) As per a request, today’s and tomorrow’s info is about mange (and can I just say that typing this for you all is making me itch like a good ‘un!!!) Sarcoptic mange (scabies) is caused by a tiny, microscopic mite, which lives permanently within the top layers of the skin. * It causes […]