Best Dog Foods Ranked

Holistic Dog Health

• Ways of Preventing Struvite Crystals in Dogs

  Struvite crystals can cause a lot of discomfort to dogs. When left untreated, they can cause urinary infection. In addition, they can form into stones and cause more problems and discomfort to the affected dog. If you suspect that your dog is suffering from the occurrence of struvite crystals, the best thing you can do is to take your dog to your vet. Your vet can help you determine if your dog indeed has struvite crystals. He can also perform the proper medical procedure needed in order to rid the dog of the presence of these crystals. The occurrence of struvite crystals is not only frustrating to dogs; it is also upsetting and frustrating to owners. That is why it is essential that as a responsible dog owner, you know ways of preventing struvite crystals in your dog. There are several ways to prevent struvite crystals from interfering with your dog’s health. We have listed some of these ways below. 1. Ensure that your dog is drinking enough clean water every day. Clean water prevents the formation of struvite crystals in the dog’s bladder and also flushes out harmful bacteria that may accumulate in your dog’s urinary system. Filtered water is best for your dog. Avoid giving it tap water as tap water may contain harmful chemicals that are not good for your dog’s health. 2. Avoid giving your dog commercial food or at least lessen the amount of commercial food that you are feeding your dog. Commercial food may contain chemicals and may have properties that can cause the formation of struvite crystals. Instead of giving your dog commercial food, why not feed your dog homemade dog food? Homemade dog food can be made especially by you; therefore you can be sure that the food the dog is eating is indeed safe and free from any contamination of harmful chemicals or organisms. 3. Avoid giving your dog foods which contain excessive amounts of protein. Too much protein can alter the pH level of your dog’s urine, leading to the formation of struvite crystals. 4. Ensure that your dog gets enough exercise regularly. You can do this by taking your dog out for a walk everyday. Exercise can help regulate his urination pattern and can lead to a healthier bladder. Moreover, exercise can help alleviate stress in dogs. It can also boost the dog’s overall good health. 5. Encourage your dog to have a regular urination pattern. 6. Give your dog a dose of homeopathic remedy every day. Homeopathic remedies can boost the dog’s overall health by strengthening its immune system. These remedies are completely safe so you do not have to worry that your dog might suffer from any unwanted side effects. Preventing the manifestation of struvite crystals in your dog can be easy if you take proper care of your pet. The steps given above are easy to administer and can be helpful in promoting your dog’s good health. Rather than watching your dog suffer from the constant recurrence of struvite crystals and constantly taking him to the vet for medication, take the necessary steps in preventing the occurrence of crystals in the first place. Your dog will thank you!

• Canine Frequent Urination

  Being aware of your dog’s daily habits is one way of telling if your dog is suffering from a disorder. If you notice that your dog starts to have frequent urination than his usual habit, he may be suffering from a case of urinary tract infection (UTI). Urinary tract infection in dogs can be curable but they should not be taken for granted. Leaving the disease untreated may cause further harm and result to life-threatening complications in the dog. It is important that as a dog owner, you know what to do in case of canine frequent urination and urinary tract infection. Frequent urination in canine which is not caused by a behavioral problem may be caused by urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infection at its advanced stage could result to kidney failure and eventually, take the dog’s life. Owners should be aware of the following signs of UTI in their dog. • Lethargy. If the dog seems to be extra exhausted at the end of each day and seems to have a tender lower stomach area, chances are the dog may be suffering from urinary infection. However, these signs may mean other things aside from UTI; therefore, the owner must look for other tell-tale signs that could point to UTI as the cause of the dog’s lethargic behavior. • Constant licking of the genital region. It is not common for dogs to constantly lick their genital region unless they feel pain in that area. Pain in that area may signal an infection so as a responsible owner, you should be wary of this warning sign in your dog. • Foul-smelling urine. When bacteria have accumulated in the dog’s urine and have caused infection, they change the urine’s concentration and create a foul smell in the urine. Foul-smelling urine is a sign of UTI. • Blood in the dog’s urine. When there is blood in the dog’s urine, the dog may be suffering from infection in its advanced stage. It is best to bring the dog to the vet immediately to save the dog from going through further discomfort brought about by the infection. When any of these signs are noticeable in your dog aside from its unusual frequent urination habit, seek the help of the vet as soon as possible. The dog may be in need of medical attention. Once the vet has made the necessary examinations on the dog and has determined UTI to be the cause of the problem, the vet may likely give the dog antibiotics to stop canine frequent urination. Antibiotics are the treatment commonly used in dogs suffering from UTI. However, antibiotics may have side effects on the dog and may not treat the condition for good. They only stop the symptoms but do not kill the bacteria causing the infection. Therefore, a reoccurrence of the disease may happen. The best thing for an owner to do is to give the dog homeopathic remedy. Homeopathic remedy can kill the bacteria causing frequent urination in canine and prevent the infection from reoccurring. The effectiveness of homeopathic remedy has been clinically tested and proven to be sompletely safe. Giving your dog a dose everyday would help it stay in top shape.

• Healthy Homemade Dog Food Recipes for a Dog With Allergies

  If your dog has the misfortune of having allergies then it important to find healthy homemade dog food recipes that will help control its itch. There are some recipes that contain ingredients that help control its desire to itch. But before trying on any of these recipes, it is important that it is brought to the vet to find out what is causing the allergy in the dog. If the cause of the allergy is not based on food then these recipes may actually help control the itch. But if the cause is diagnosed to be based on any food stuff then be on the lookout for these ingredients and be sure not to include them in any homemade dog food. One of the safe recipes for dogs with allergies has the following ingredients: 3 lbs ground beef, 3-16oz cans of tomatoes, 2 cups corn meal (white or yellow), 2 cups Wheatena, 3 eggs, Up to 2 cups water as needed. The procedure for the preparation is as follows: Mix the ingredients together as you would a regular meat loaf, then bake in a loaf pan in a pre-heated 345 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Feed when cold. It might help to add some suitable multi-vitamin supplement. Feed this diet for a month and compare the dog's condition at the end of the month to see if the dog food has been beneficial or not to the dog with allergies. Make sure to stay away from salt as adding too much salt has been associated with outbreaks of skin irritation. Dogs with persistent dry skin and skin irritations might well benefit by being given purified low sodium water to drink. Another dog owner who owns a dog with allergies was kind enough to share healthy homemade dog food recipes that worked for her. She prepared a stew with only lean chicken meat and potatoes as ingredients. She fed this food to her dog as a start and managed to observe that her dog’s condition began to improve. After this, she started to include vegetables and barley into the stew. Through time, she was able to take her dog out of commercial dog foods and only served the dog with this mixture of this homemade dog food. Not only did it solve the allergy, also it helped to keep her dog healthy and energetic. It has also been found that venison is a type of meat that is allergy-free for the dog. It might help to prepare a homemade recipe that uses this type of meat. Also, duck is known to be hypoallergenic or free from allergens, the chemicals that cause allergies. It might also be helpful to the dog if a homemade recipe will incorporate or be solely based on duck meat. Although a bit expensive than chicken, turkey are known to be helpful to dogs with allergies. A simple homemade recipe will simply call for ground turkey rolls, carrots and green beans. Mix these three together and feed them to the dog. Dogs are known to love this food. These are just some helpful tips that will help a dog that is suffering from itchiness brought by allergies. Before anyone tries them though, it helps if they are housed in a clean environment. For all we know, the allergy is brought simply by dirt in the house.

• Causes of a Dog's Bad Breath

  The smell of a dog's breath may not be the best smelling scent that anyone may come across. Nonetheless, wait till he smells a dog's bad breath. By then he would have compared both and would undoubtedly prefer the normal aroma of a dog's breath to its nasty counterpart. Apart from its foul smell, bad breath in our fave canine is usually an indicator that something is not right with our beloved house pet. Generally, it shows the way to a lurking health problem that our dog may have. What follows is a list of possible causes of the foul smell in our pet. The usual cause of bad breath in dogs is tooth decay. As many pet owners fail to take care of their canine friend's dental hygiene, it is but inevitable that they lose some of their teeth through some nasty tooth decay. As such, whenever the foul smell starts to rear its ugly smell, it is best to check your dog for any rotten teeth that is usually caused by plaque. If the pet owner is aversive to checking the dog's mouth on their own, it would be best to have the veterinarian check the dog's mouth for any plaque or rotten teeth. At times, our dogs go through the garbage and end up eating some of our house's refuse. If this happens then it is inevitable for bad breath to occur in our dog's mouth. However, it would not take too long because in a few hours, these garbage passes through its stomach and intestines. Nonetheless, to take out the possibility of our dog eating garbage, it would be best to keep this out of our dog's paws and mouth. That way, we avoid the possibility of our dog developing something more serious other than bad breath. In some cases, a simple foreign object getting stuck in between our dog's teeth can cause bad breath. This is highly possible given that our dog eat anything that they fancy to be attractive. In some serious cases, these foreign objects cause abscessed tooth or infections in their mouth. Both of which can cause bad breath if not properly treated. Likewise, if in doubt, it would be best to have a vet check our dog's teeth if we cannot handle it ourselves. In the long run, this might prove to be more sensible inasmuch as infections may be best handled by medical professionals. More importantly, a dog's bad breath can be resolved by simply taking care of our dog's dental health. We can save up on trouble and the cost of veterinary services if we simply buy a regular dog toothbrush to clean both our dog's teeth as well as scrape accumulating dirt in its tongue. It would not cost as much as the bill we may rack up if our pet gets sick and ends up in the vet. Also, it is important to get toothpaste that will do the trick. Keep in mind that human toothpaste will not help get rid of the dirt in the dog's mouth. Generally, it will simply be swallowed together with the toothpaste. It would be best to buy dog toothpaste as they are readily available in the market. With these two handy tools, it would not be long before our favorite pet gets a sparkling smile and nice breath.