Environmental Hazards

An after-dinner family ritual, when I was a kid, was for each person seated at the table to share what they were most grateful for since last Thanksgiving. Those dinners don’t happen any more, but each year I ask myself that old question. Sometimes the answer is cause for mental debate, but this year, there was no doubt at all. One thing leaps instantly to mind: the fact that my dogs are both safe, that neither was injured when a speeding bicyclist T-boned my new Subaru in September.

There are many different types of plant oils that people use to supplement their dogs’ diets, including oils from flaxseed, olives, coconut, vegetables, hempseed, and more. Some of these oils can provide benefits, but others are not helpful and may even contribute to inflammation.

Did Your Dog Have a Scary, Sinking Moment in the Water? “If the dog comes out and he’s fine, he’ll shake it off,” says Jules Benson, DVM. “You need to watch him for the next 24 to 48 hours, because that’s when aspiration pneumonia (caused by water going down into the main-stem bronchi) can occur. Especially if it’s water other than a pool, where there could be bacteria or protozoa in the water. If they aspirate any of that and it goes into the lungs, the bacteria spreads and multiplies.

both in the water and facing away from her owner.üIt's vitally important to teach your dog to enter and exit a pool by its stairs

Dog poop presents the environmentalist with a real problem. We would hazard a guess that most of us do the worst possible thing: use a plastic bag to pick up poo, and then throw it in a garbage can, bound for a landfill somewhere.

In cases of heatstroke (hyperthermia), the goal is to gradually decrease the dog's body temperature to about 104 F. in the first 10-15 minutes. Once 104 F. is reached, stop the cooling process and get the dog to the veterinarian as quickly as possible.

I’m awakened by the exhalation of my Border Collie’s warm breath on my face: heh-heh-heh. I slowly open one eye and focus on the nose just inches from my own. I may be anthropomorphizing, but I suspect he’s grinning. There it is again – a breathy heh-heh-heh. Wait a minute! Is he just panting or is he laughing at me? Given the way dogs are designed, panting is a very normal bodily function. Dogs don’t have sweat glands throughout their body to expel heat like humans do.

Swimming dogs, especially hunting dogs, sometimes experience acute caudal myopathy, which is more commonly known as cold tail, swimmer's tail, limber tail, cold water tail, broken tail, retriever tail, Lab tail, broken wag, or dead tail. In a study published in the November 1999 Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, this painful condition was linked to fiber damage in muscles at the base of the tail.

The supply of Immiticide (melarsomine dihydrochloride), the only drug approved to treat heartworm infections in dogs, has been low since December 2009, but now it’s completely gone. Merial confirmed that it was officially out of the drug on August 9, 2011. The current situation is due to a new and separate manufacturing challenge related to technical issues with the company who provides the finished product, according to a Merial spokesperson. Merial said the company is working hard to make the drug available again, but cannot speculate when that might happen.

Dogs can suffer from heat stress in just a few short minutes, even when the temperature doesn't seem that hot to us. How will you know if a dog is at risk for overheating? There is not an exact answer to this question; it depends on the dog and the situation. All dogs are at risk in extreme temperatures. But a dog who is accustomed to 90° weather may have less risk on a very hot day than a Seattle pup vacationing in the Arizona desert. Also, the air temperature is only one consideration; humidity, sun exposure (or lack of shade), amount of time in the heat, level of exertion, and availability of water can all affect how well a dog tolerates heat.

Trish King, Director of Training and Behavior, Marin Humane Society, Novato, California, (marinhumanesociety.org) says potential dog park problems include...

Park rules should be posted prominently near park entrances – if they're not, ask about them prior to bringing your dog to the park, and make sure you are able and willing to comply. Here are some of the rules that you are likely to find...