Protect Your Dog From Sun Rays And Treat Sunburn

1. Use Doggy Sunscreen. As always prevention is better then having to search for a remedy. Dogs can become sunburned and develop skin cancer from access sun exposure. Prevent your pup from becoming a burnt hot dog from the scotching damaging sun rays or skin cancer patient by applying sunscreen protection. If you and your dog are going to be outside during peak sunlight hours make sure to apply a non-toxic doggy specific sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Apply the sunscreen to exposed & sensitive areas prone to get sunburned such as the tips of ears, bridge of the nose, groin area, inside the legs and underbelly. When choosing the proper sunscreen for your pup make sure to read the ingredient label carefully. Although we advise you to use dog sunscreen, if you use human sunscreen make sure to avoid sunscreen which contain PABA or zinc, dangerous and toxic to your dog if ingested or licked. Baby sunscreen is also another safe alternative.

2. Retreat to Shade. Provide proper shelter by keeping your dog inside, in the shade or under a beach umbrella even on overcast days, during peak direct sunlight hours from 10 am and 3 pm.

3. UV Sun suits . You can help to keep your dog safe by putting him or her in sun suits with UV protection bodysuit. Designed specifically to block out the harmful rays and come in all sizes.

4. Cool Down with a Cool Bath. Give your dog a 20-minute cool water bath if your dog soaks up to much sun. For a soothing solution add oatmeal or baking soda to the bath water to ease the pain and itching caused by sunburn.

5. Treat with all natural Witchhazel. Wipe the sunburned areas with Witchhazel once your dog has been bath. Witchhazel is a natural antioxidant and astringent and can cool down sunburn and inflamed areas. Simply use a cotton ball and apply witch hazel to affected areas several times a day.

6. Cheers for Aloe Vera! Apply a 100% pure Aloe Vera gel to your pups sunburn spots, it is safe and non-toxic.

7. Severe burns need antibiotics. If your dog has severe burns or open sores gently apply an antibiotic ointment. For very severe burns always consult your vet immediately.

8. Vitamin E for sunburned nose. Break open a vitamin E capsule, squeeze out the oil, and dab it onto your dogs sunburned nose once or twice a day. Vitamin E is an antioxidant with healing properties and can prevent scarring of your dogs snout.

9. Keep re-applying sunburn remedies. It is important that the sunburn is healed properly.Re-apply the witchhazel, aloe, vitamin E and antibiotic as needed until your dog is “A” okay.

Suncream prodycts and Eye wear products available from www.scruffmacduff.co.uk

Article by: fidofriendly.com

Clever Dog! - life lessons from the world's most successful animal (Gentle Dog Care)

Product Description

The dog is undeniably the most successful domestic animal of all time. He shares his life with ours, has integrated into our society, and won the hearts and minds of millions of us. We call ourselves dog lovers because we do sincerely love them: they are fully-fledged members of our family, and we have elevated them to positions of authority in the human world. Assistance dogs, protection dogs, detection dogs, companion dogs ... they all enhance our lives immeasurably. In this book we will examine a whole raft of canine skills and talents, and try to piece together how and why the dog has enjoyed such immense success as a domesticated animal. We will look at the dog as a problem solver, conflict resolver, and health asset. As a decision maker and hero. And as a loyal and trusted friend. Clever Dog! is a compendium of life lessons we can learn from our dogs, based on a combination of what we know about them and indeed what we think we might know about them. He's earned his epithet 'Man's best friend:' in this book, our aim is to examine how he did it and how we might emulate his talents in order to enjoy the same fortune and fulfillment in our lives. Be happy and successful: learn from the best! Features: * Interesting take on self development/improvement lessons * Interesting facts and data on how the human/canine relationship evolved * Amazing examples of how dogs have succeeded and achieved * Practical insights into how humans can use the dog as a life example * Incredible stories of canine bravery, endurance and talent * Understanding leadership from the world's most famous pack animal * Learn how to settle conflicts without 'drawing blood' * Understand how to develop and enhance relationships, learning from the best * Climb the career ladder by following the winning strategy of the dog * How to embrace and cherish independence without being a 'loner'.

About the Author

Ryan O'Meara is a former professional dog trainer who has dedicated his life to learning about, writing about, and working with his one true passion: dogs. Upon leaving school at the age of 16, Ryan embarked on his professional dog training career, indulging his love of all things canine. Having achieved success as a trainer, working with more than 2000 dogs, Ryan set up his own business, K9 Media Ltd, a specialist pet publishing company responsible for more than 300 pet related websites, as well as the world-renowned K9 Magazine. Ryan is a World Animal Day ambassador, and he appears frequently in the media discussing all things dog.

dare to bare? by Ruffwear

They may not feel very soft when pawing at your leg, but a dog’s paws may become more sensitive and softer during the winter season–especially if they’ve been kept inside more often.

Every change in season, weather, activity, and terrain presents a new challenge for dog paws.  Tough as they may seem, a dog’s pads can crack, peel, or tear on the first good run or hike of the season. Here’s some tips for getting paws trail-ready.

Toughening up barefoot paws

1. Start with short, slow walks on grass or groomed surfaces and work your way up to longer, faster walks on tougher terrain over the course of a few weeks.
2. Keep paws moisturized with paw wax, petroleum jelly, or other pet-safe moisturizers to help prevent cracking.
3. Remember that new climates and terrain require conditioning to get the pads used to the new dust/dirt/rock.
4. Check for swollen, cracked, or damaged paws often.  Check your dog’s gait and look for any signs of discomfort.

Breaking in paws for dog boots

1. If you opt for dog boots, increase their flexibility prior to using by working the sole in the palm of your hands.
2. Once the boots are on, your dog will most likely “dance”.  Don’t be alarmed—this is a natural reaction.  To enhance their experience with the boots, try these tips for avoiding the dog boot dance.
3. Start by putting the boots on in the house for a couple minutes, then try short adventures outside; gradually increasing the time spent in the boots.
4. Check often for rubbing and hotspots, readjusting the fit if necessary.
5. Boot liners can be a good solution to enhance the overall comfort and fit of dog boots just like socks help make human shoes more comfortable.

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Dog Leg Pain

Symptoms of Dog Leg Pain

If your dog is limping, it’s a sure bet that he’s having dog leg pain or foot pain. But there are other signs as well. He may not be as active as usual. He may be reluctant to play, to climb stairs, or to jump on or off furniture. He may lick the sore leg a lot - maybe so much that he is losing hair in the spot that hurts. Also, if you touch the spot, he say cry out, or he may snap at you.Obviously, if your dog shows signs of leg pain, you should take him to the vet.

Diagnosing Dog Leg Pain

Dog leg pain can be caused by a lot of different things. It can be caused by injury to the leg, arthritis, hip dysplasia, and a host of other things.If you take your dog to the vet for leg pain, your vet will give him a thorough physical exam. This will involve moving the sore leg (your dog won’t like this part, and may have to be muzzled if he’s likely to snap at the vet) and watching how your dog walks. Your vet will be interested to see if your dog has pain in just one leg or in more than one leg, such as both back legs (which might indicate dip dysplasia) or in all legs (which might indicate arthritis). Your vet may take some x-rays as well.

Treating Dog Leg Pain

Obviously the treatment for dog leg pain will depend on the cause. For instance, hip dysplasia may require surgery. If your dog has broken his leg due to trauma, the leg must be set, and surgery might be required as well.But regardless of the cause, the pain itself must be treated. There are a number of dog pain medications available to treat pain in dogs, and the most commonly prescribed are called NSAIDS, which is an abbreviation for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These include over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and a number of prescription drugs.
If NSAIDS don’t do the trick, stronger medications can be prescribed, so be sure to let your vet know if your dog continues to display signs of pain.
DO NOT give your dog any over the counter medications made for humans without the advice of a veterinarian. Drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil) can be very dangerous in low doses.

Advice on Dog Skin Care & Skin Diseases

An animal’s hair frequently undergoes changes with domestication and it is doubtful that this is the case with any species more than it is with dogs. Even sheep don’t show the spread dogs do. Wolves have pretty much the same kind of coat all over the world where they have been found. Very northern races or subspecies have a heavier winter coat than a form from the Sinai Peninsula, but not that different. A wolf’s coat protects it from heat just as it does from cold, and just about all wolves, perhaps all, in fact, have winter and summer versions of their natural coat.

Under the loving care of man dogs now have virtually no coat (the Chinese crested dog and the Mexican hairless), weird corded coats that the dogs develop naturally at about the age of two (the puli and the komondor), thick double coats like all of the northern spitz types – the sled dogs – and hard, fine, single coats like the pointer and the greyhound.

They can have hard wiry coats like most of the terriers, or soft, woolly coats like the soft-coated wheaten terrier. One breed, the dachshund, can come in three coat types: short, long and wire. The fox terriers, the chihuahua, affenpinscher and collie, also come in two, and so it goes.

Dog Skin and Care in Breeds

Poodles have no natural maximum coat length. Their hair will grow as long as they live. They are potential hippies. The only thing that spares them that fate is our ego-inspired attentiveness. Read any book of standards. Coat types vary enormously.

When thinking about variations that have been brought about in dogs keep in mind that we generally encounter relatively few breeds in the United States. The American Kennel Club currently recognizes 135 breeds for show purposes. There are at least three hundred more breeds that the AKC has yet to acknowledge.

It is not that the dogs are being kept out of the hallowed halls by some arcane exclusionary plot, but rather that there has been too little interest in them to establish studbooks and successful breeding programs here. Potentially all could be given AKC recognition in the future. All three hundred or so “exotic” breeds are recognized by kennel clubs in other countries, some as close by as Mexico and Canada.

Changes in Dog Skin and Coat

Skin often undergoes changes in the process of domestication. Lots of flaps and folds are juvenile characteristics in wolves that many dogs retain throughout life. Again, our sense of aesthetics and our need for eternal babies in our pets can be seen at work. Since pet keeping undoubtedly had a great deal to do with our ever taking wolves into our lives and turning them into dogs in the first place, that is all fine and natural.

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