Pets Best Videos

Blog posts Categorized under ‘Veterinarian Advice’

Does my dog need supplements?

Posted on: January 18th, 2011 by

Hi, I’m Dr. Fiona Caldwell and I’m a practicing veterinarian at Idaho Veterinary Hospital.

Pets Best Insurance has been soliciting questions on Facebook from fans and I’d like to answer one today. We’ve got a question, “Are pet supplements okay to give my dog? I’ve been thinking about putting my dog on supplements but I’m unsure which are best or if they’re even necessary.”

In my opinion, if you’re using a high-quality dog food, it should be complete with all the vitamins and nutrients essential for a healthy dog. Supplementing some healthy animals with vitamins can actually cause a problem. For example, in large breed growing puppies, excessive calcium can cause some orthopedic issues. In addition, some of the homeopathic or herbal remedies often haven’t been very well researched in dogs. Therefore, in my opinion, it’s probably best to stay away from them.
www.petsbest.com

How to Trim Your Dog’s Nails

Posted on: January 11th, 2011 by

Hi, I’m Dr. Fiona Caldwell and I’m a practicing veterinarian at Idaho Veterinary Hospital. I’d like to talk to you today about the importance of keeping your dog’s toenails trimmed and the proper way to do it.

Keeping your dog’s toenails short is important so that they don’t snag or become torn or infected, especially if your dog has dewclaws. Those dewclaws can actually grow around and curl into the pad and become painful.

When you trim the nails you’ll want to use a trimmer that looks like a pair of scissors. This size would be good for a dog like Tula. Something larger, like this, would be appropriate for a larger dog.

Sometimes it’s hard to know how far to go on the nail. Tulah has really nice white nails so you can see where the pink part is. That’s the quick and it’s alive. So for her I would want to take only where the white part is, making sure not to nick the pinker part.

It may be a two-person job for you; someone to hold the dog and to comfort them, while the other person uses the toenail trimmers.

So for Tulah, we will go just about to there. If you do trim too much and you start to get some bleeding, don’t despair. Put gentle pressure on the end of the tip of the nail. You can use a little cornstarch or a warm cloth to provide some pressure. Typically, that will stop the bleeding.

If you’ve got questions or concerns or are wary about trimming your dog’s nails, contact your veterinarian. They should be able to assist you.

I’m Dr. Caldwell, and that’s how you trim nails.
www.petsbest.com

How to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth

Posted on: January 5th, 2011 by


Hi, I’m Dr. Fiona Caldwell and I’m a practicing veterinarian at Idaho Veterinary Hospital. I’d like to talk to you today about the importance of dental health and the proper way to brush your dog’s teeth.

Did you know that infected teeth can not only be painful, but a source of bacterial infection for the rest of the body? Bacteria can actually gain access to the bloodstream and travel to the liver or even the valves of the heart.

Keeping your dog’s mouth healthy is an important job of their overall health. Brushing the teeth might be a two-person job; someone to hold or comfort the dog while the other person uses the toothbrush. You’ll want to use a toothbrush that has a small head, or if you have a larger dog, an old toothbrush of yours should be fine. Be sure to use a special canine-formulated dog toothpaste as fluoride can be toxic to dogs.

You’ll want to aim the toothbrush along the top of the gum line and try not to neglect the molars and using a gentle motion on both sides. What that will do is help eliminate plaque which turns into tartar.

Brushing your dog’s teeth can be a challenge, but if you start young as puppies, typically they’ll get used to it, especially if you make it fun. Try shorter periods of time more frequently. The average dog should probably have their teeth brushed every day and we understand that most people don’t have the time to do that, but if you could go for at least once a week or even once a month, it’s better than nothing at all.

If you’ve got concerns about your dog’s breath or you’re seeing changes along the gum or with the teeth, contact your veterinarian. I’m Dr. Caldwell, and that’s how you brush teeth.
www.petsbest.com

How to Clean Your Dog’s Ears

Posted on: December 28th, 2010 by


Hi. I’m Dr. Fiona Caldwell and I’m a practicing veterinarian at Idaho Veterinary Hospital. I’d like to talk to you today about the importance of keeping your dog’s ears clean and how to do it.

Keeping your dog’s ears clean is important because if wax and moisture build up in the canal it can be a place for bacteria and yeast to grow. You’ll want to use a good ear cleaner that’s made for dogs. Typically, the cleaner can be instilled directly into the canal, kind of like this. You’ll want the moisture to go down into the canal. You can actually feel the base right here where that cartilage is, and you’ll want to just rub like this, in kind of a squishing motion. It takes about thirty seconds to a minute or so of just squishing it around.

Then I really like cotton balls. They’re a great way to just sweep your finger in through that canal and get any of that moisture out. Sometimes you’ll see a little bit of brown debris.

The average dog probably needs their ears cleaned every time you bathe them or groom them. If your dog has floppy ears or is prone to ear infections, you may find that it needs to be done more frequently. If you’re getting a lot of debris out, it could indicate an infection and typically they need to be treated with medication.

You’ll want to be cautious not to use Q-tips in your dog’s ears because Q-tips can push debris further in, and if your dog moves suddenly you can actually cause damage to the canal.

A healthy ear tends to make a healthier pet. If you’ve got questions or concerns, you should call your veterinarian.
www.petsbest.com

« Previous Page  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14  
powered by SEO Pager