Bichon Frise Skin and Coat Care Info

Because Bichons are so susceptible to skin problems and allergies, good grooming practices are very important.

Bichons being shown in conformation (i.e., in dog shows such as the Westminster Kennel Club show) have their coat styled in the full-volume cut required by most show standards. Bichons not being shown are more often kept in a "puppy cut," which is shorter and requires less maintenance.

Like all dogs that require frequent grooming, Bichons should be accustomed to grooming from a young age and care should be taken to keep grooming pleasurable. Bichons should be brushed several times a week to prevent tangles. Frequent grooming creates a puffier coat. To prevent matting, the coat should be kept clean, brushed thoroughly before bathing, and brushed and completely dried after bathing. Hair dryers designed for dog grooming are generally preferred over human hair dryers. Dog dryers are cooler and blow air with more force than human hair dryers. Some breeders use products such as baking soda or cornflower to dry the hair but this can lead to the hair becoming brittle. Excess hair should be removed regularly from ears and between foot pads. Owners should clean their dog's hind (anal) area with a damp cloth after each bowel movement to keep feces from sticking to the hair.

The fur on the face of a Bichon Frisé should be kept clean and trimmed, as eye discharge and mucus tend to accumulate in the hair that grows in front of their eyes. In common with most white dogs Bichons are prone to tear-staining around the eyes. Tear staining may be caused by allergies, infections, blocked tear ducts, stray eyelashes, or foreign material in the eyes. It is generally good practice to wipe away the tears on a daily basis. A saline solution may help. There are topical wipes available from pet stores that have been shown to help some dogs..

If skin problems develop or if eye discharge is excessive, a veterinarian should be consulted. Problems due to allergies may be require medication or a change in diet.

Medications, Precaution Can Help Pets Survive Halloween Night

Medications, Precaution Can Help Pets Survive Halloween Night


(ARA) - It was early November, and Dr. Gregory S. Hammer, a veterinarian in Dover, Del., was treating a miniature poodle that was very sick. So sick, in fact, that it was suffering seizures. After a detailed examination of the pet and a conversation with the owners, Dr. Hammer determined that the cause of the animal’s problem was chocolate poisoning.


This case occurred a few days after Halloween, and the pet had been left at home all day with ready access to Halloween candy. Dr. Hammer estimated that the dog consumed the candy that morning, and, by the time the pet owners returned home, it was already too sick to recover. The dog died a short time later. This isn’t the only patient that Dr. Hammer has lost due to chocolate poisoning, especially after Halloween. Sadly, it’s relatively common.


That’s why Dr. Hammer, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), advises all his clients to take caution during holidays when there may be sweets around the house, particularly Halloween. Holidays are a lot of fun for families, but may be dangerous and stressful for animals, particularly dogs.


Dr. Hammer says that Halloween candy is unhealthy for dogs in two ways: chocolate toxicity and bowel obstructions. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs. The darker the chocolate, the more deadly it is. That’s because it’s the cocoa -- which some researchers say is beneficial for people to consume -- that is the deadly ingredient for dogs. Baker’s chocolate is the most dangerous because it has the highest cocoa content. But even if candy isn’t chocolate, it can still be potentially deadly for dogs. For instance, an over excited dog may swallow a candy whole, resulting in a bowel obstruction a few days later.


“Obviously, the solution for that is to put the candy up,” Dr. Hammer says. “Many children like to come home after going house to house on Halloween and dump their bags out on a coffee table or on the floor to see what they’ve got. Put the candy away in a cabinet. Don’t leave it unattended.”


Dr. Hammer notes that among his clients he’s noticed that dogs most commonly suffer unduly with stress on Halloween. Naturally protective of their home, dogs are sensitive to having many strangers stop by for a short visit on the front stoop and ring the doorbell.

Cats, alternatively, may be a little scared on this holiday, but they generally deal with it by hiding until it’s over, Dr. Hammer explains.


For dogs that do find Halloween overwhelming, Dr. Hammer said that there are medications available. “Sometimes I advise clients that an anti-anxiety medication is a good idea for a dog that is having troubles on Halloween, and sometimes a tranquilizer can help the animal deal with it,” Dr. Hammer says. “Sometimes to avoid a problem with a dog that gets into property damage due to stress, it’s advisable to board a pet on Halloween to avoid that anxiety. If you know your pet is prone to problems on Halloween, speak to your veterinarian now and make plans to help relieve the stress on your pet, or, if necessary, to remove your pet from this stressful environment for a day.”


The AVMA Web site, www.avma.org, offers a great deal of information on this and other health issues for pets.


Courtesy of ARAcontent

Protect Your Dog and Family from Ticks This Fall

Protect Your Dog and Family from Ticks This Fall

(ARA) - Spring and summer are often thought of as peak tick seasons, but fall is actually when adult ticks are most active. Outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and pet owners who spend time outdoors with their dogs in the cool fall weather need to stay vigilant to ticks and tick-borne diseases until temperatures remain below freezing.


This fall, new areas of the country will experience surges in tick activity as a result of climactic changes, wildlife populations and conservation efforts. Veterinarians across the country are citing an increase in tick-borne infections in recent years, according to Michael Dryden, DVM, a Kansas State University professor of veterinary parasitology.


Researchers attribute tick migrations to warmer temperatures, increasing white-tailed deer populations, reforestation and urban sprawl. Advancements in diagnostic screening have allowed veterinarians to easily track the rise in canine exposure to tick-borne infections around the country. Data compiled by the veterinary industry shows that dogs in 48 states already have tested positive this year for Lyme disease exposure.


“Whatever you considered about ticks, their location and tick-transmitted diseases five years ago, it is going to be different today and continue to be different in five years based on these factors,” says Dryden. “Reforestation, changes in agricultural practices and wildlife conservation efforts have contributed to an explosive growth in deer populations -- a key factor in the expansion of several tick species’ habitats.”


More Ticks, More Disease


As tick populations continue to migrate, new diseases are introduced and ticks become more likely to carry and transmit multiple diseases. Matt Eberts, DVM, who practices in the tick-endemic area of Brainerd, Minn., is seeing a rise in coinfections, when dogs are infected with more than one tick-borne disease.


“Medical doctors and veterinarians are finding that coinfections in both humans and pets are making treatment for tick-borne diseases more difficult,” says Eberts. “With more ticks carrying more diseases, screening your pet becomes all the more important.”


Elimination and Prevention


Tick-borne disease incidence also is rising because people and their pets are spending more time outside, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dogs are also a link between ticks and their human family members because dogs often play in wooded areas, increasing their exposure to ticks and the chances they’ll carry the ticks into the home environment.


“As family pets, dogs have followed a trend in moving from the backyard to the bedroom in recent years,” explains Eberts. “Dogs and their owners share more of the same space in the home, creating opportunities for ticks to move from pet to owner.”


The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) recommends year-round heartworm, flea and tick preventatives for the life of your dog, for all areas of the country. Eberts recommends tick checks each time your pet comes in from the outdoors, as well as yearly screening. Dryden adds that pet owners can help protect their families and pets by making sure their homes aren’t attractive to wildlife or ticks. Reducing animal harborage, such as keeping wood piles away from the house, can prevent a tick host, like a rodent, from being close to your home.


Dog Owner Tips


Dog owners can help protect their pets from tick-borne illnesses by taking these simple steps:


* Talking with their veterinarians about tick-borne diseases in their area;
* Becoming aware of the common signs of tick-borne diseases;
* Asking their veterinarians to make screening for tick-borne diseases routine during annual exams;
* Checking their dogs’ coats daily for ticks and removing them promptly; and
* Using a tick-prevention medication.


Pet owners can learn more about tick-borne diseases and their dogs’ risks at www.dogsandticks.com.


Courtesy of ARAcontent

Garden Plants That Can Poison Your Dog

Here's a good article on how to have a garden and a garden obsessed dog as well. Good info on certain types of plants found in a typical garden that are at worst poisonous to your dog and at best cause an upset belly:

Don't Let Your Dog Around These Garden Plants

Tillman The Skateboarding Dog!!

Here's a Hillarious video of a Bulldog named "Tillman" who absolutely loves to skateboard. You can tell he's quite bright as he just naturally knows how to manipulate it for his purposes.

Treating Dog Skin Problems Naturally And Effectively

Treating Dog Skin Problems Naturally And Effectively
By Janie Knetzer

Dog skin problems have a variety of different causes, and when you figure out which one is causing your pet's itches and irritations, you'll be well on your way towards solving the problem for good. Probably the most common dog skin condition is irritation caused by fleas or other parasites. Despite being completely treatable, far more dogs have fleas than you might believe. Fleas and other similar parasites can definitely get out of hand when they are treated incorrectly. When you are spot treating your pooch, give yourself a reminder stating when the next dose needs to be.

A single round of flea removal will certainly lessen the intensity of the problem, but remember that you can only be sure that they are gone after a full run of treatment. Don't risk them coming back by only giving your dog one round of treatment. Fleas and other parasites are a situational issue when it comes to dog skin problems. What happens if the condition is chronic, or worse, even permanent? While a vet can run a few tests and let you know what might be going on with your dog, you can often tell what is going just be watching closely.

First think about what kind of dog skin condition your dog might have. If your dog is chewing her skin excessively and you find a thick, odorous brown film on the skin or inside the ears, "yeast" is most likely the problem. If your dog has small red raised bumps on her skin, it could also be a bacterial infection.

Some examples of the most common causes of dog skin conditions are environmental and/or poor diet. It can be difficult to pinpoint where allergies stem from. However with a little observation as well as fine tuning the diet, most skin conditions can be corrected. Dog skin problems can be evidenced by chewing or overly-vigorous scratching at the skin. Allergies are the most severe when the immune system is low. Scratching, chewing and rubbing of the face are often allergy symptoms that also indicate that a dog is not receiving everything he needs nutritionally.

A dog's digestive tract has a very important role in keeping the dog healthy, and it could be that the digestive tract isn't serving her as well as it should. Do you solely keep your dog on a diet of kibble? If so, her digestive tract can be working overtime to provide her body with the digestive enzymes that her body lacks. Because the pancreas can only make so many enzymes, it will be weakened and thus weaken her entire immune system.

Dogs are omnivorous and part of the enzymes they use should come from their food. Unfortunately the enzymes they would get from eating things like meat or vegetables are destroyed if the food is heated, something that happens when kibble is processed. One easy solution to this problem is to make sure that your dog gets the enzymes she needs. While some people do this by switching over to a raw diet of meats and vegetables, you can just as easily do this by placing your dog on a premium dog food and adding a "live" enzyme to his daily diet.

A purely kibble diet can actually reduce your pet's ability to bounce back quickly from things like surgery and illness, while a premium dog food will get her back into shape in no time at all. Many people have seen their pet's health improve exponentially when they start paying more attention to what they are feeding them. Check to see if the food that feed your dog is a premium food. Meat (not meat byproducts) should be the first ingredient. Although all kibbles pretty much look the same, they are not. For a dog to function at high efficiency, diet is critical.

Dogs that are fed "Live" digestive enzymes regularly are healthy and full of life. A healthy diet slows the aging process and allows owners quality time with their best friend. Enzymes for dogs can be purchased in tablet or powder form. Most dogs eat these amazing proteins willingly when sprinkled on top of their food or given in the form of a treat. Adding digestive enzymes to your dog's diet can go a long way towards making sure that she has a healthy happy life.

Along with her three dogs and husband, Janie resides in the Pittsburgh area. With over 25 years of dog handling experience, she shares many articles on the importance of dog care and canine nutritional health.

Visit us here to for more information on dog skin conditionshttp://www.old-dog-treats-and-rawhide.com

Learn more about enzymes for dogs here http://www.old-dog-treats-and-rawhide.com