Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes While Halloween may be an exciting time for you and your family — costumes, candy, carving — it can be frightening for your dog or cat. From ringing doorbells to monstrous masks, these new sights and sounds can create high anxiety for pets. However, when you follow these simple suggestions, you can give your pet […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes You are not alone if your dog is itchy with skin or ear problems! It is the number one reason pet owners like you seek help from a veterinarian.1 In fact, 7.5 million dogs were treated by veterinarians last year for skin and ear problems.2 Did you know that August was Itchy Pet Awareness Month? […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes A service dog named Elmer has made a wonderful difference for a 7-year-old boy named Gavin Swearingen. As a toddler, Gavin fell off a swing and suffered a traumatic brain injury that led to complex medical issues, from strokes and epilepsy to cerebral palsy marked by weakness on his right side. Elmer, a Labrador-Golden Retriever […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes What scares pets at Halloween? It’s not the specter of too much chocolate but it can be ghosts, jack-o-lanterns and giant inflatable spiders (those scare us, too). People—or other animals—in costume, flickering carved pumpkins, and spooky décor can frighten pets who aren’t prepared for them. Help protect them from or prepare them for the following […]
Reading Time: 6 minutes In the previous post in this series we talked about two big tips for helping reduce the anxiety and stress that patients with skin disease may experience. The first was stopping the itch by visiting your veterinarian and committing to therapies that are effective, work fast and get the pet back to normal again. The […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Beagle came bounding into class, dragging a 7-year-old girl desperately trying to maintain a grip on the leash. “Ms. Teoti,” the little girl whined, “Bonnie doesn’t want to go for walks. She wants to go for sniffs!” Bonnie’s not alone. Dogs have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in their nasal cavities. In […]
Reading Time: 6 minutes The joy of fall! he sun rises a little later and sets a little earlier, temperatures start to drop, and the ragweed pollen counts skyrocket. As people and pets spend time outdoors together, dogs are exposed to environmental allergens. Fall allergies to environmental allergens lead to itchy skin, a condition called atopic dermatitis. The uncomfortable […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes Just like people, dogs want to feel safe and happy. The emotionally protective practices employed through Fear Free help to keep animals calm and comfortable throughout care and prevent them from feeling a need to escalate to a bite. But as much as we plan and try to protect our precious pooches, the truth is […]
Reading Time: 5 minutes My first dog was thrilled to go anywhere and meet anyone. Crowds, children, traffic: she was calm in the face of it all. So I could not understand what was wrong with other dogs or, more to the point, their owners. You know the ones I mean: their dogs jumped and barked and were out […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the lesser known and hidden dangers of hurricanes and tropical storms is a waterborne bacterial infection called leptospirosis, which can be deadly to humans, dogs, and other animals. It’s likely that following Hurricane Dorian, the incidence of leptospirosis will increase in the Bahamas. It’s not the only place at risk. Rising ocean temperatures […]