allergies/feed/rss2/Rawhide%20chews%20are%20potentially%20dangerous%20because%20they%20can%20be%20a%20choking%20hazard%20or%20cause%20gastrointestinal%20obstructions%20if%20your%20dog%20manages%20to%20chew%20off%20a%20piece%20that%20is%20small%20enough%20to%20swallow,%20but%20too%20large%20to%20pass%20unimpeded.%20In%20addition,%20some%20rawhide%20chews%20are%20hard%20enough%20to%20break%20or%20damage%20teeth. - search results

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While a dog treat should be something special for the dog, it shouldn't undermine his health, or counter the positive effects of a healthy diet. Artificial preservatives and colors can cause cancer. Too many sweets can contribute to the development of diabetes; fatty treats can trigger an attack of pancreatitis. And an excess of treats can pose serious problems. It can spoil the dog's appetite for healthier, nutritionally complete and balanced foods. If the treats contain ingredients to which the dog is allergic or intolerant, an excessive allotment can trigger a dramatic reaction. And, of course, a chronic excess of treats can cause obesity, which contributes to many other disease processes.

Behavior professionals often define “reliable” as responding appropriately to the cue at least 80 percent of the time. That means your dog sits at least 8 out of 10 times when you ask him to. It’s unreasonable to expect 100 percent reliability from your dog. It takes commitment to your training program to achieve reliability under a wide variety of conditions. Let’s explore some of the elements that make for true reliability.

We asked several Canine Veterinarians who use complementary and/or alternative medicine: “What are the most basic precepts of ‘holistic dog care’ that dog owners should understand and employ? The points that you want them to absorb if they are to become your regular clients? What dog care practices do you consider to be the bedrock of a vibrant wellness program, and why?” As one might expect from individuals who have explored highly divergent paths in holistic medicine, their answers were idiosyncratic.

We call it the spark of life for good reason. From birth to death, all living creatures generate and transmit energy. Entire healing therapies, some of them thousands of years old, have been built around energy. Once dismissed by Western science as impossible or ridiculous – and still viewed with suspicion by conventional physicians and veterinarians – energy medicine is slowly gaining acceptance in the United States. Several energy therapies are taught in American universities or are used by a growing number of healthcare practitioners. Can energy therapies help your dog? The descriptions and resources provided here may help you decide.

Having a solid library of canine literature, or at least a shelf or two full of good books, is a great hedge against making uninformed decisions about your dog’s health. Of course, a trip to your veterinarian is your first line of defense when something is obviously wrong with your dog. I’ve seen complementary and alternative approaches succeed where conventional medicine has failed too many times to throw the puppy out with the bathwater. The books highlighted here take a truly holistic, inclusive approach to healthcare.

You'll never hear me say that coercive dog training methods don't work; they can. Nor will you ever hear me say that positive dog training turns every dog into a model canine citizen. It doesn't. There is a big difference, however, between positive and coercive training. When methods that rely on the use of force and application of pain fail, it's often because of the dog's inability to tolerate coercion and intimidation. This can result in serious long-term behavioral damage and sometimes physical injury.

Teaching your dog to eliminate on cue is such a valuable trick" once your dog knows how

Does your dog know how to target? If not, the two of you may be missing out on one of the most versatile behaviors to come along since the rise in popularity of the positive dog training philosophy.

Your dog just had surgery, stepped on broken glass, caught her tail in a door, has a puncture wound, got bit or scratched, tangled with barbed wire, or has an abrasion that came from who knows where. You want the wound to heal quickly without bleeding, pain, or infection. The following strategies help achieve that result.

In mainstream medicine the mechanisms of detoxification are often viewed as unpleasant symptoms of illness that need to be remedied. Eye drops are administered for goopy eyes, dandruff shampoos for flaky skin, surgery for removal of cysts, and so forth.

He’s fearless. Reckless. Senseless? Or perhaps my Australian Cattle Dog, Cedar, is just accident-prone. Yesterday he slammed head first into a door jam during rough play with my Shepherd-mix, Willow. Today he did a nose dive off a five-foot embankment in pursuit of his favorite all-natural dog toy: a pine cone. As always, he retrieved the cone, chewed it into a slobbery clump of fibrous goo, and dropped it at my feet. On his trot back I noticed he was limping, holding his front leg off the ground.