Health Tips

Health Tips 

• Never leave your dog in a parked car. The temperature in a parked car rises quickly, even with the windows open, and dogs can quickly overheat.

 • Never feed your dog chocolate, raisins, grapes or macadamia nuts.

• Feed a high quality dog food. (We recommend Life's Abundance dog food, formulated by holistic veterinarian Dr. Jane Bicks. It is made from human-grade ingredients and is free of chemical preservatives, steroids, hormones, by-products and fillers. You can buy it online at naturalfoodfordogs.com. )

• Antifreeze is extremely poisonous to dogs, even in small amounts. Unfortunately, it has a sweet smell that can attract dogs. If you are changing your antifreeze, make sure your dog is indoors.

• Your dog must have access to shade and clean, cool water at all times.

• Never give your dog a chew toy that he can ingest. Even some of the so called “digestible” chew toys on the market have been known to cause intestinal problems. Chew toys are for chewing, not swallowing. The only thing your dog should eat is food!

• Hot asphalt in the summer, and ice melt in the winter, can both burn your dog’s feet.

• Talk to your vet about bloat (gastric torsion). Ask if your dog’s breed puts him at high risk for bloat, and if so, get a list of do’s and don’ts for feeding.

• Don’t over feed your dog. Obesity can cause health problems and shorten your dog’s life.

• Trash cans are full of tempting, dangerous things. Dogs can be seriously injured by eating corn cobs, chicken bones, aluminum foil, plastic wrap and other common throwaways. Make sure the lids of your trash cans (inside the home and outside) are dog-proof, or secure them behind closed doors.

• Be diligent in controlling fleas and ticks! Use a once-a-month topical preventative.