Prevention

We’ve reviewed two of the leading medications, Frontline and Advantage, so you can choose which medication fits your dog’s flea and tick needs best.

Vaccinations are a crucial part of the health of your pet dog. For owners of new puppies, the vaccination schedule seems never ending, but as dogs age, this schedule consolidates to two yearly vet visits. In this article we will take a look at what vaccinations your dog should receive, what they are for and how old your dog should be when they receive each vaccination…

Every year seems to be more ominous when it comes to the threat of disease-ridden ticks and fleas, especially where my family and I live. While we have a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge mountains from our home with deer often in our backyard, our lawn backs up to tall grasses and woods that attract ticks and other pests. Our dog loves to roam our surroundings, but he’s brought unwelcome pests into our home…

Canine parvovirus type 2 or parvo, is a highly contagious virus that is particularly prominent in the canine community. Parvo is of particular concern for puppy owners due to the severity of symptoms and the weak immune systems of younger dogs. There are ways to help prevent the spread of parvo and as a responsible dog owner it is important to be familiar with these prevention methods. Effective prevention begins with understanding the virology and pathophysiology of the virus itself…

Although sometimes referred to as Banfield Pet Insurance, Banfield isn’t actually pet insurance — it’s a wellness membership plan (whose logo suggests it’s a vet’s office). Despite all this confusion, the major question we have — is Banfield wellness care worth it? Its plans don’t cover illness or injury, only preventative care. If you are looking for a more comprehensive insurance plan to cover accidents and illness in addition to preventative care, you may want to consider pet health insurance…

Is your dog at risk for a heat stroke? No question that warm weather is idealistic for pet owners to enjoy the outdoors with man’s best friend. But what happens when it becomes too hot? It is important to understand the symptoms of heat stroke in dogs and how to prevent it…

You walk in the door after a long day of work and your dog jumps on you and gives you all the puppy kisses in the world. How sweet, but man does their breath stink! Your sweet pup is just trying to show you how much they missed you, but you are not enjoying the affection because they need a mint fast! Thankfully, dog dental chews can help with this. Not only can they freshen your pup’s breath, they can also help with gum health and reduce plaque and tartar build up…

A pet urine test, gives you the results of urinalysis related illness including bladder infections, kidney stones and urinary tract infections. This can be very handy for pet owners whose dogs experience UTI’s frequently. Instead of taking your dog to the vet for a dog UTI test, you can conduct one at home by purchasing a urine test for dogs and then administer your dog’s medication when needed. There are two companies we’d like to discuss about their urinalysis test for dogs: Petnostics and PetConfirm…

How cool would it be to track your dog’s daily activity (think Fitbit for your pup!)? Your wish is now reality and we recently took a look at the leaders in this new and exciting category to review the top players. From GPS tracking and fitness monitoring to goal setting and comparing your dog to others, you are going to be blown away by all the cool features in these new high-tech devices…

It’s easy for a dog’s ears to become tainted with parasites, bacteria and yeast due to the curvature of its ear. If debris becomes trapped in the dog’s ear, an infection may occur. This is why it’s extremely important to check your dog’s ears regularly. Learn how to clean your pup’s ears and why you might want to take care of this more regularly…

Today, Izzee and I go everywhere together, and she is known all around town. Izzee’s unconditional love is astounding. In return, I want to give her the best life possible including top notch food and chemical-free products. There have been so many ill-fated side effects from the chemical-based flea and tick prevention medicines. There was no way I wanted to take that risk with Izzee. This led me to research and create a homemade tick repellent and homemade flea spray for dogs that anyone could make at home…