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Email Newsletter Visit my Natural Care Yahoo! Group to sign up for my email newsletter, ask and answer questions and more. Many are free, such as recent articles on natural care. Privacy Statement Copyright Paws & Claws Animal Hospital, All Right ReservedQuestions or problems with this site, please contact JK Web DesignPet Care Naturally is your 1 site for natural and holistic care. Our advertisers are chosen because they promote wellness through natural care.
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Nov 02, 2008 | | holistic animal care

For more on dog teeth cleaning and in particular, keeping your dog’s teeth clean without the need for actual brushing, click here.
animal Dental Care Begins at Home
Author: Kim Marie Labak
An archive of animal Columns from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine is available online at http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/animalcolumns/.
February is National animal Dental Health Month, and a great time to start home dental care for your animal. Dental health is important for overall health. Combined with the dental component of your animal’s annual wellness examination, a home dental care regimen can prevent pain and expense in the long run.
Brushing your animal’s teeth may sound like a tiresome task, but Dr. Bill Krug, a resident in veterinary dentistry and oral surgery at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital, says, “Please try it. Think about how you’d feel if you went one or two days without brushing your teeth; now think about what your teeth would be like after eight or nine years without cleaning.”
Like humans, animals can get bacterial and tartar buildup on their teeth, leading to deep gum disease, or periodontitis. The gums and underlying bone recede as a consequence of the untreated infection, resulting in loose, painful teeth, inflamed gums, and exposed roots.
“We see a lot of cases of severe damage and discomfort that could be prevented with regular dental hygiene,” says Dr. Krug. If the task of tooth brushing seems daunting at first, he suggests taking “baby steps” toward a dental hygiene routine.
Start gradually by holding your animal and looking into its mouth. (Of course, if you think you may get bitten, don’t put yourself in danger, and find an alternative to brushing.) Lift the lips so you can examine the teeth. As your animal gets more comfortable with this, try putting some veterinary toothpaste on your finger and rubbing it on the teeth.
Some animals may find this a pleasant experience, since most veterinary toothpastes are flavored, and they may like the animalting and attention. Many veterinary toothpastes fight bacteria and tartar by activating antibacterial salivary enzymes.
After your animal gets used to your rubbing its teeth and gums, you can try wrapping gauze around your finger or using a soft rubber finger brush on your index finger. This can help get more food debris off the teeth. With small strides like these, Dr. Krug says, your animal may let you brush its teeth with a regular animal toothbrush within a few weeks.
Brushing is the most effective way of removing food debris, thus minimizing bacterial growth and tartar formation. It takes a good deal of patience and persistence, but the few minutes a day you invest can prevent future discomfort, disease, and expense.
Dental disease is painful and can become costly to treat; untreated, it can lead to systemic problems such as kidney, liver, and respiratory infection as bacteria travel from the mouth through the bloodstream. Tooth and gum infections can weaken the facial bones and mandible, predisposing your animal to mandibular fractures and eye infections.
Although Dr. Krug insists that brushing is the best preventive measure against dental disease, he acknowledges that some animals just won’t stand for it. For those animals, alternatives such as rinses, chew toys, and special diets can help. Dental rinses that you can add to your animal’s drinking water can help reduce bacterial and tartar buildup.
Chew toys, such as rope bones, nylon bones, and crocheted “mice,” can help scrape food debris off teeth. Rawhide chews, too, can help clean teeth, but Dr. Krug advises against cow bones and pig hooves available in some animal stores, since they are hard enough to cause painful tooth fractures. Special dental chews, such as C.E.T. treats for canines and cats, are infused with enzymes that help kill bacteria.
More brands of foods now offer “dental” formulas, and Dr. Krug explains that the strategy behind some of these diets is a larger size kibble that can scrape the teeth clean as the animal bites into the food.
Good dental care begins at home and can save pain and expense in the long run. For more information about a home dental care regimen, contact your local veterinarian or visit the Web site of the American Veterinary Dental College at http://www.avdc.org.
And for more on dog teeth cleaning and in particular, keeping your dog’s teeth clean without the need for actual brushing, click here.
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Sep 26, 2008 | | holistic animal care, holistic veterinary medicine

Dog Training Aids for Your Dog Training Sessions
Your voice is the most important of dog traing aids when training your dog. Use of your dog’s name is probably the next most important of the dog training aids at your disposal. Thirdly, a pleasant, persuasive tone of voice is a must.
When dog training, you should talk to your dog throughout the dog training session. Try teaching your dog to retrieve and fetch with dog training aids such as a light dumbbell. Dog training aids don’t need to be something from a animal store. Items such as dumbbells are great dog training aids.
Don’t ever use an angry tone of voice when dog training. Getting angry with your dog will defeat the purpose of getting your dog to comply with your wishes. It will cause your dog to become anxious and possibly confused.
Your dog always wants to please you. Keep this firmly in mind when dog training. If your dog does not understand what you want him to do straight away, come back to the art of persuasion. And exercise patience with your dog.
Once your dog understands what you’re asking him to do, he will probably be happy to repeat the action over and over again. Remember, your dog’s prime motivation is to please you, so once he finds an action that pleases you, he’ll be happy to do it again and again.
If your dog is having trouble understanding that you want him to take the dumbbell, gently offer him the dumbbell and if necessary, open his mouth wide enough to accommodate the dumbbell and place the dumbbell in his mouth. You may even need to close his mouth around the dumbbell.
Dog training sessions are a great opportunity for you to spend some quality time with yoru dog. Yes, dog training takes time and effort. It sometimes takes considerable patience. But always bear in mind that dog training should be a fun time for your and your dog.
Keep placing the dumbbell into your dog’s mouth until your dog actually understands what to do.
Once your dog is taking the dumbbell from your hand, encourage him to pick it up off the ground just in front of him. Then move the dumbbell gradually further and further away from him, and give him the command of “Fetch”.
What are the some of the most important aspects of dog training? Find out what they are, and discover how dog training aids can help when training your dog to retrieve, to fetch, and much more.
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Sep 26, 2008 | | holistic animal care, holistic veterinary medicine