We know that many soldiers are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, but they're not the only ones disturbed by what they've seen in war zones. The concept is new, but military veterinarians say they're diagnosing service dogs with PTSD and even developing treatments, even though it's incredibly difficult when their patients can't tell them what they've witnessed.

Since people talk about pets who were once abused cowering from people or barking at certain objects it's a bit surprising that doggie PTSD is a new idea. However, the New York Times reports that it only became popular about 18 months ago and is still controversial. It's estimated that more than 5% of the roughly 650 military dogs currently in combat have the disorder. Soldiers are noticing that dogs they work with are undergoing [ … ]

Once again, an increasing number of complaints about sick dogs have been connected to chicken jerky imported from China, prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue its third advisory since 2007.

The FDA previously warned about these products (also called chicken tenders, strips or treats) in 2007 and 2008. The 2007 warning was issued after nearly 100 dogs got sick.

According to the FDA, a urine test of canines sickened by eating the treats could indicate increased glucose (Fanconi syndrome), and blood tests could show indications of kidney failure. Some dogs have died, the FDA reports, but most seem to recover.

The most recent warning states that the “FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch their dogs closely for any or all of the following signs that may occur within hours to days of feeding the products:

by Barbara J King

I'm on research leave from my college this year in order to write a book that explores one central question: Do non-human animals grieve?

My answer is yes, they do.

It's refreshing to answer a scholarly question without equivocation. Most often, I can't do that. When anthropologists reconstruct how prehistoric peoples lived based on their material artifacts, or theorize about how monkeys and apes think about the world based on their behavior, disclaimers of what we can't know often crowd out solid answers.

But from a combination of observation, evolutionary logic, reading the peer-reviewed science literature, and talking to insightful animal people, I'm convinced that animals may feel deep grief when another animal dies. Not all species, to be sure; if spiders and snails are ever found to grieve, I'd be the first to express astonishment. But I do mean more than only the usual suspects, more than the apes, elephants and cetaceans.

Right now, for example, I'm [ … ]

Diabetes affects not only humans but also animals. While humans generally show some willingness to modify their behaviour to help their treatment, pet owners face additional problems in that animals generally do not understand the need for intervention. Treatment plans should be based on an understanding of natural fluctuations in blood glucose levels but these are very hard to determine. Nadja Affenzeller and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have now shown that a commercially available system for continuous glucose monitoring can be applied to dogs without requiring the animals to be kept in a clinic.

The resulting information can give valuable guidance to veterinarians to improve the dogs' treatment. The work is published in the current issue of the journal The Veterinary Record.

WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!

~Chris Bessent, D.V.M.

… there is so much truth to that statement. Food provides the foundation of life and the basic building blocks to our health. However, this is a factor that is often overlooked, especially in the pet industry.

As a holistic veterinarian, I see a lot of animals that are on a variety of diets, and there is no denying that dogs who are on a great nutritional program are generally healthier than dogs who are fed a diet of low-end kibble. Food can be just as instrumental in maintaining wellness as supplements, medications, surgery, and regular veterinary care.

Every food has properties and actions in terms of how they affect the balance of the body in Chinese theory. Dogs that have a tendency to be hot in nature should be fed cooling foods, and dogs that tend to be cold in nature should be fed warming foods. This is a similar concept to how we tend to eat certain foods according to the season. For example, we don’t eat beef stew in the summer [ … ]

~Dr. Jeannie Thomason, VND

Apple cider is known around the world as Mother Nature’s miracle medicine, a powerful weapon in the war against aging and disease that is more effective than many high-priced prescription drugs.

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is golden liquid concentrated with the healthy goodness of apples. It contains more than 30 important nutrients, 12 minerals, over 6 vitamins, essential acids and several enzymes. Moreover, it has a large dose of pectin for a healthy heart, and thus, healthy as a whole.

Many vitamins, minerals and other nutrients and substances are available in ACV to improve the health of your dog. ACV can provide them with enzymes and important minerals, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, iron, silicon and other trace minerals. The vitamins contained in ACV are bioflavonoids (vitamin P), beta-carotene (precursor to vitamin A), vitamin C, E, B1, B2, and B6. Tannins from the crushed cell walls of fresh apples as well as [ … ]

by Dogs Naturally on August 25, 2011 · 0 comments

July/August 2011 Issue

By: Patricia Jordan DVM, Catherine O’Driscoll and Dana Scott

Back in June of 1997, the Sunday Times featured an article by Clare Thompson about emerging viruses, with the heading: “DEAD RECKONING” Beneath the title, the summary stated: “New killer viruses are emerging every year, unleashed by the very medical and technological advances that promised to control our environment. Nature may be telling us to stop, but who is listening?”

The article went on to state “Newly emerging viruses are now the biggest threat to mankind. In the past 20 years, scientists have discovered around 30 new diseases, a staggering rate of one or two each year, most of them spread from animals to man. All are immune to antibiotics, and they can mutate so fast that the handful of antiviral drugs available quickly become obsolete.”

“Medical technology has spawned its own demons…there is no doubt that new medical developments, [ … ]

Yes, I’ll have the Grilled, Ground New Zealand Lamb and Farm Raised Hormone Free Chicken with Russet Potatoes, slow Cooked Sweet Potatoes with Steamed Fresh Grated Carrots, Broccoli, and Squash over Toasted Whole-Wheat bread croutons with cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and garlic. Oh, and add a Doggie Cannoli with Carob Cream for dessert, please. Bailey just loves those!”

No, that wasn’t an excerpt from some Hollywood Boulevard menu or a clip from a Disney doggy movie.  That was pure and simple truth from Chef K9’s Bakery and Bistro.

Welcome to chef-prepared, breed specific gourmet meals.  For real.  If you’re like most concerned pet parents, you’ve heard the horror stories of how commercial grade dog food isprepared and the not-so-great long term effects on your pet’s health. Some Kibble is cooked at such high temperatures, that NOTHING survives, including the so-called nutrition the bag claims to contain. To rectify this, many manufacturing companies s [ … ]

THAT’S WHY THEY WERE AMERICA’S NANNY DOG.

By:  Yonah Ward Grossman

For 2010/2011 the American Temperament Testing Society rated Pit Bulls above 121 other breeds of dogs. Above German Shepherds. Above Poodles. Above Golden Retrievers. Probably above your dog. Yet because of an epidemic of ownership by people who shouldn’t be trusted with a hamster (let alone a 60 lb. dog bred for tenacity) they have been vilified by the media and legislated against in many states and in our own military, of which through much of our history they were the symbol!

Pit Bulls served this country’s children and it’s military with trustworthiness and bravery for 150 years, eventually earning the nickname “America’s Nanny Dog”. They have been repaid with a media smear campaign and the highest rate of euthanization of any other breed alive (an estimated 6,000 per day in the U.S. alone).

It’s time we take back this breed; from the uninformed, from the sensationalist media, from the abusers, and put th [ … ]