For any urination problem, it is first important to make sure that there is not a medical reason for the inappropriate urination (such as a urinary tract infection). If a medical problem is not found, then you likely have a behavioral problem. First, start by cleaning the house of all urine stains with an enzymatic cleaner. You can find cat urine stains by using a black light (cat urine will fluoresce). If the cats smell any scent of urine they will be tempted to continue to spray that area. Next, provide extra litterboxes, the rule of thumb is one litterbox per 2 cats plus one extra. Try to get different litters and different box types and place them in different rooms throughout the house. Try a calming pheromone product such as feliway which can help reduce stress or anxiety in some cats. This product comes in both a spray or a plug-in diffuser. Finally, if all else fails, there are some medications which can help some cats stop spraying but they are used only as a last resort when behavioral modification fails.  [less]

There are so many things to take into consideration when choosing a flea control product that it is best to sit with your veterinarian and get advice. Details as small as when and where you camp on vacation can change your pets’ requirements and your Veterinarians recommendations.  [less]

Integrative medicine can involve the use of any of the following healing modalities, many of these are synergistic, or work together. 1) TCVM(Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine), which involves herbal medicine, acupressure and acupuncture. 2) VOM(Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation), a non-surgical approach to diagnosis and treatment of spinal disease and other maladies. 3) Contact Reflex Analysis and Kinesthology. 4) Cold Laser Therapy. 5) NET(Neuro Emotional Technique) which helps a patient let go of stuck emotional patterns. 6) NAET(Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique) to aid in the relief of allergy based illness. 7) Homeopathy, to activate the bodies natural healing abilities. 8) Extensive nutritional analysis All of these combined with modern Western laboratory testing, pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, X rays, emergency treatment, anesthetics and the like, make up a balanced integrative medical approach. Both Western and alternative medicine have their strengths and weaknesses. When used together properly they compliment each other and become a whole in your pets course of treatment. For example, if your dog was hit by a car after running into the street, an integrative veterinarian would not only surgically repair the bone with modern Western technique, they would use non-toxic and non-invasive methods to speed healing and reduce pain, such as physical therapy, AlphaSonic and acupuncture. Further, through NET, perhaps determine the emotional trigger that caused the behavior leading up to the accident and help to ease the emotional trauma from the event itself.pain. It also reduces the risk of infection post operatively, and decreases the amount of time required to heal after any given surgical procedure.  [less]

The biggest difference between laser and traditional surgery is the recovery time involved. With laser surgery, the skin and blood vessels and nerve endings are cauterized simultaneously with cutting resulting in less blood loss, swelling, bruising and operative  [less]

First you may want to see if you can find a reason why he is barking (i.e. what is his trigger). Because he is a puppy, he is most likely barking because he wants to play or wants attention. When he is punished for the behavior, he still considers this attention (albeit negative attention) and he gets what he wants. Instead of punishing the behavior, try ignoring him by turning your back and walking away. The moment he is quiet, turn around and give him lots of positive attention and praise as well as a small treat. When he barks again, repeat the process of turning your back. If he runs in front of you, fold your arms and turn away until he is silent. If you ignore the bad behavior and reward the desired behavior (i.e. silence), he should start to get the idea. If you are still having problems, you may want to consult with a canine behavior counselor to help you work through this.  [less]

He is simply trying to find a comfortable place to lie down. Similar to how we fluff our pillows before we lie down to sleep at night. He is simply trying to find a comfortable place to lie down. Similar to how we fluff our pillows before we lie down to sleep at night.  [less]

There are several products you can use which can be sprinkled onto the food that give the feces a bitter taste. The product we use here is called For-bid. The important thing to remember is that you have to feed it to the dog (or cat) whose feces is being eaten, not to the one who is doing the eating.  [less]

It sounds like what you are describing is Tapeworms. The tapeworm is transmitted to dogs when the dog swallows a flea. The immature tapeworm is inside the flea and is released into the dog's intestines when the flea is digested away by stomach acid. The tapeworm attaches to the intestines and when fully grown sheds small pieces of itself out in the feces which are small white or tan segments about the size of rice. Sometimes the segments do wiggle around at first, but they will dry up and be deposited throughout the yard or house. Your dog needs to be dewormed to kill the tapeworms. In addition, you will need to place your dog on flea control because as long as there are fleas, he could become re- infected with tapeworms.  [less]

Home-cooking food for your dog is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. However, you must make sure that the diet is complete and balanced so that she does not develop a deficiency in any vitamins or nutrients. For clients who do not want to feed commercial diets or for the discriminating pet who does not like to eat commercial diets, I recommend going to the following website: www.Balanceit.com. This website is run by a veterinarian who specializes in nutrition and can help formulate a diet for your dog that is well balanced and caters to her particular tastes. I would still recommend having your dog examined by a veterinarian, however, to make sure there is not a medical reason for her decreased appetite. At 10 years of age, she is a senior dog and could have an underlying medical condition. If this is truly something she has done since 1 year of age, it may just be behavioral.  [less]

A mixture of 1:1 water and white vinegar plus a cap-full of 70% isopropyl alcohol is a good general ear cleaner that will help dry out the ear canal and prevent yeast overgrowth. If the ear canal is inflamed or infected, you should not use this because alcohol can be very irritating to infected ears, similar to how it stings when placed on an open cut. Topical ear products, in general, should not be placed into an ear canal if the ear-drum is ruptured (a common thing that happens with ear infections in dogs)as they can be damaging to the middle and inner ear. See a veterinarian first to have the infection treated and make sure the ear-drum is intact if you are unsure.  [less]