Health

Far be it from us to tell you to put pesticides on your dog. But we’ve never heard of a single nontoxic preparation that was effective at keeping ticks off all dogs. For some dogs, only the potent pesticides seem to keep ticks away. There are, however, some nontoxic products – both commercially produced and homemade formulas – that work to repel ticks well enough to consider using them as part of a comprehensive Lyme disease prevention program.

Acupuncture Points and Trigger Points: Traditional Chinese acupuncture points are stimulated by a focused laser beam, used solely or in combination with acupuncture needles, to produce a systemic effect; high doses of laser therapy may be used to deactivate trigger points (hyperirritable spots that induce pain elsewhere in the body) found in muscle, ligaments, tendons, and periosteum.

Tick paralysis is caused by a neurotoxin produced by egg-engorged female ticks, who transmit the toxin from their salivary glands to the dog during feeding. The production (and transmission) of the toxin is greatest when the tick has been attached to and feeding from the dog between five and seven days. Five species of North American ticks produce the neurotoxin: the blacklegged tick (a.k.a. the deer tick), American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick, the Lone Star tick, and the Gulf Coast tick. Most North American cases occur between April and June, when the ticks are at their peak reproductive activity.

No good deed goes unpunished. That’s what Pam Rowley of Upper Brookville, New York, discovered last November, when the hospital administrator who always greeted her and 8-year-old Vizsla Gunner at the start of their monthly therapy-dog visits quietly took her aside to deliver some bad news.

Drug of choice for treating tick-borne disease and heartworm is unavailable (or unaffordable) due to supply bottleneckWhen my newest search and rescue partner, Cole, fell apart during a certification test in May 2012, I had accumulated enough hard lessons to know my next move. We didn't need to revisit our training protocol or take his nose in for a tune-up. We were at our vet's office the next morning for bloodwork.

I was watching a television show about a veterinary clinic the evening after completing an early draft of this article. One of the clients was a young man with a very sick dog, who lay at his feet, moaning softly. He's not himself

I am surprised at how frequently the subject of vaccinations comes up with my dog-loving friends. We often talk about the pros and cons of certain vaccines and look for the latest information. We struggle to understand the complexities, and to sort out the facts from the controversy. When it comes to vaccines, being an advocate for our dogs may be the most important thing we can do. Being an advocate doesn't mean being an expert, but it does mean taking action. These tips can help you take action that supports your dog's good health.

Study finds genetic differences between dogs and wolves, with dietary implications. Domestication appears to have led to genetic changes in dogs that make them able to digest starches better than wolves can, according to a paper published in Nature in January.

Purchasing prescription medicines for your dog from your veterinarian is definitely convenient and often necessary from a health standpoint (for example, when your pet urgently needs the drug), but it is usually the more expensive option. The mark-up at veterinary offices usually starts at 100 percent over wholesale prices but it can be 1,000 percent in some cases!

Jennifer Mieuli Jameson, founder of Loup Garou, a San Francisco group that rescues black and dark-colored companion animals, went to law school, so she understands that there are always two (and usually more) sides to a story. Jameson respects the validity of the debate over early spay/neuter.

When we talk about dogs, invariably we talk about dog people. The human desire to group things that interest us and build commonality among kindred spirits is hardwired - as is our tendency to segregate and highlight differences. As a result, dog people may identify as belonging to as many different canine communities as there are breeds. And within those "tribes," we have mores, and values, and politics - and not all of them are compatible.

If you decide to delay spaying or neutering your dog, for whatever length of time or whatever reason, here is something else to consider: Some people just may not be cut out to deal with an intact male or female dog in their household. Here are some caveats and considerations.