Care

Travel with your carry-on dog can be safe and easy if you are prepared; shipping your dog cargo is an entirely different matter. The airline industry doesn't help its public image when it resists legislation and regulations intended to improve animal safety during air travel. New rules, ordered by Congress and proposed by the FAA, are supposed to go into effect by the end of this year, but are being met with vociferous objection from at least Delta, Northwest Airlines, and the Air Transport Association.

Hydrotherapy and aquatic exercise are the hottest new tools in canine physical rehabilitation. And that's not just a jump in a lake. Today's cutting-edge therapists work with veterinarians' referrals and use sophisticated underwater treadmills and other specialized equipment to provide rehabilitation for a variety of medical conditions. And they are frequently able to achieve better results in less time than through the recovery regimens prescribed by more conventional veterinary practitioners.

trace the bladder meridian (shown as the dark line in this illustration

As in nature itself, there are no absolutes in natural medicine. The silver bullet remedy" and "miracle cure" are only myths. A derma-tological shampoo does not cure chronic eczema that stems from liver dysfunction; nor does an herb that contains aspirin-like compounds (i.e.

There are numerous health conditions that can develop and present a real danger to your dog in between veterinary examinations – and YOU can detect many of them. It’s best to follow a consistent routine, so your dog becomes comfortable and relaxed with the procedure, and to increase your familiarity with his body, lumps, bumps, and all. Write out and follow a short outline, to remind yourself about each part of the dog’s body you want to check.

To most people, the word “house-trained” refers to a dog who has been trained not to urinate or defecate indoors. For my parent’s generation, this bit of training was usually accomplished by Mom, who stayed home while the rest of the family went to work or to school. As double-income families became the norm, the home-alone dog was faced with a serious problem. By the time you add a lunch hour and commute time onto an eight-hour work day, a house dog may have to “hold it” for as long as 10 hours before someone finally comes home to let her out. Her legs are probably tightly crossed for at least the last two.

I am in love with a fantastic man and his eight-month-old Dalmatian, Lexi. My dog Bailey and Lexi are becoming fast friends, despite their...

The following is a guide that I use to help clients evaluate their own dog's biomechanical status. Using this guide should provide you with the necessary information to help you decide whether or not chiropractic adjustments might be indicated for your dog. I chiropractically evaluate and treat every one of my patients whom I can comfortably get my hands on. I do this for several reasons. First, because I feel it's important to have a free-flow of healing energetics that is possible only when the body's scaffolding" is free of kinks. "

I often find myself mentally doing the same crystal ball exercise when a new client enters my training center with a seemingly mismatched canine companion. Sometimes I see right away that we are really going to have our work cut out for us. However, I really don’t ever despair; relationship miracles can, and do, happen. Seemingly misfit human/canine matches can grow into solid partnerships . . . as long as the partners have a few things going for them – the major components of a good relationship, the kind that’s built to last.

Milk thistle is an amazing herb, used to treat diabetes and IBD – but its benefits to the liver are responsible for its inclusion in numerous medical research trials. Silymarin, which is itself a combination of several other active compounds, has been extensively studied around the world, and has been shown to be safe and effective in treating a variety of liver diseases and other conditions. It specifically protects the liver against toxins (including some drugs and heavy metals), activates protein synthesis, and stimulates growth of new liver cells to replace those that are dead or damaged. Milk thistle also has strong antioxidant (destroys oxygen free radicals) and anti-inflammatory actions.

Because dogs are pack animals, we have high expectations about their abilities to live peacefully in groups. If you are a human member of a multiple dog household, it is important to be realistic about what you can and cannot accomplish with your canine family members. Your own personality, behavior, commitment to managing and training your pack, as well as your choice of packmates, will all play important roles in your ability to create your own peaceable kingdom. Pack management is as much an art as a skill. If you have always had a multi-dog household, never had problems, and never thought twice about it, congratulations!

Slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) is one of the safest herbs commonly given to dogs, and one of the most beneficial. Herbalists attribute many wonderful healing properties to slippery elm: demulcent (soothing, mucilage-forming), emollient (soothing and protective for skin), nutritive (providing specific nutrients), tonic (promoting healthy function of one or more body systems), and astringent (constricting, binding, or drying effect). It can be used both internally and externally. Slippery elm is one of the herbs used in the original formulation of Essiac