ANIMAL WELLNESS
For a long, healthy life!
WELLNESS
STOP THE
ITCH! – REMEDIES FOR SKIN ALLERGIES
HOT SPOTS? Get to the root of this
HOW TO PROTECT HIM FROM
LYME DISEASE
nasty skin problem
TAKE THE
STRESS OUT OF BATH TIME
PET-FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVES TO
PESTICIDES
5HEARING LOSS
CAUSES OF
PAW AND NAIL CARE,
WITH THIS
8-STEP GUIDE
Spencer
HOW A TINY SHELTER DOG FROM HAWAII INSPIRES KIDS TO BE RESPONSIBLE ANIMAL GUARDIANS.
NATURALLY APRIL/MAY 2018 Display until May 7, 2018
$6.95 USA/Canada
VOLUME 20 ISSUE 2
AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
BONUS INSIDE!
Contents April/May 2018
Features
18 FEEDING YOUR DOG FOR HEALTHY SKIN AND GLOSSY COAT
44
Poor nutrition or a deficiency in nutrients can manifest as dandruff, itchiness, dull hair and more. A quality diet with the right supplements can do wonders for skin and coat health.
22 KEEP YOUR DOG’S PAWS HEALTHY
Foot injuries or problems can be as unpleasant for your dog as they are for you. Check your dog’s paws regularly for any issues, and take steps to keep them healthy and protected.
26 PET-FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVES TO LAWN AND GARDEN CHEMICALS
Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are full of toxins that are harmful to dogs and cats. Use safe natural products for your lawn and garden to keep your companion healthy.
28 OXYGENATION – KEY
TO YOUR DOG’S HEALTH
Both exercise and diet play vital roles in keeping your dog’s body (and your own!) oxygenated and in a healthy alkaline state.
32 DOES YOUR DOG HAVE HOT SPOTS?
These inflamed red lesions on your dog’s skin can cause him a lot of itching and pain. Find out what really causes hot spots, and how to help heal them.
36 CANINE
ACUPRESSURE FOR SPRING CONDITIONING
With the return of warmer weather, your dog will become more active. Physical conditioning, along with acupressure, can get him fit for spring, and reduce injury risk.
40 5 CAUSES OF HEARING
LOSS IN DOGS
Is your dog going deaf? Perhaps he’s just getting older, but there are other causes, so it’s always a good idea to have him checked out by a veterinarian.
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Animal Wellness
43 WHY DOGS SHAKE OFF
How often does your dog shake off? Is it a full body shake or just the neck and upper body?
44 SPENCER
This charming little rescue pup from Hawaii is making waves on social media – and inspiring kids around the world to become responsible pet parents.
48 LYME DISEASE AND YOUR DOG
Taking steps to minimize tick exposure is the best way to protect your canine companion from Lyme disease.
54 TCVM – PREVENTIVE
SEASONAL MEDICINE FOR DOGS
In Chinese medicine, the seasons are associated with specific personalities, bodily organs, ages, and foods. By understanding these factors, you can help keep your dog balanced.
66 WALKING PROGRAMS
MAKE SHELTER DOGS MORE ADOPTABLE
Daily walks and exercise help more shelter dogs find homes by giving them stimulation and teaching them valuable skills such as socialization and leash etiquette.
72 BATHING YOUR DOG: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
When giving your dog a bath, follow these 8 steps for a smooth and stress-free experience.
78 HOW HOMEOPATHY CAN HEAL YOUR PET’S ALLERGIES
A holistic approach that focuses on homeopathy does more than relieve allergy symptoms in dogs and cats. It heals on a deep level and the results are often permanent.
90 COMMON SKIN PROBLEMS IN CATS
From allergic dermatitis to rodent ulcers, a variety of skin problems can afflict cats. Here’s a look at the most common, along with their causes and treatments.
92 ASPCA’S KITTEN NURSERY
Shelters and rescues are overwhelmed with homeless kittens starting in the spring. Here’s how one animal welfare organization handles the situation.
94 SAFELY SATISFY YOUR CAT’S HUNTING INSTINCTS
Safe and humane ways to give your cat the thrill of chasing and catching “prey”, without harming neighborhood wildlife.
97 VEGGIES AND FRUITS TO SHARE WITH YOUR CAT
Although cats must eat a meat-based diet in order to thrive, you can also add in some vegetables and fruit for extra nutrition.
92
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Columns
72
12 Yakkity yak 39 Business profile –
Canna Companion
58 Passages 60 Rewind 63 Business profile –
Northwest Naturals
76 To the rescue 82 Book reviews 87 Tail end 96
FW book reviews
Departments 8
Editorial
52
Product picks
64
Animal Wellness resource guide
70
The scoop
News, events, and tips! @ AW_magazine
84
Marketplace
Tips, pet photos, and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine
85
Classifieds
Crafts, laughs, and more! AnimalWellness
86
Events
98 Cat chat
Social media Tips, contests and more! AnimalWellnessMagazine
April/May 2018
5
By Kristin Clark, Certified Small Animal Naturopath, Certified Carnivore Nutrition Consultant Hot spots are one of the most common reasons people take their dogs to the veterinarian. And no wonder. Hot spots (or acute moist dermatitis) are hot, red, moist, irritated lesions that are both painful and itchy. They often grow rapidly, and in many dogs are chronic and cause a lot of discomfort and stress. We’ll look at the causes of hot spots, and how they can be treated to bring relief to your dog.
THE ROOT CAUSE OF HOT SPOTS According to conventional wisdom, hot spots can occur whenever something irritates a dog’s skin and leads to scratching or biting. Most people believe that hot spots are the result of allergies, insect bites, lack of grooming, ear or skin infections, excessive licking and chewing, or exposure to water. However, these explanations do not truly get at the heart of what causes hot spots, and they certainly don’t help us address
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Animal Wellness
them effectively (which is why, in so many cases, they become a seemingly chronic condition). Dogs scratch, and if they are doing so excessively, it means something is out of balance; in the case of hot spots, the imbalance is directly related to the hot spot eruption. It’s not the itching and scratching that caused the hot spot; it’s the imbalance. So what is actually going on when a dog presents with hot spots? Essentially, when you see hot spots erupt on your dog, it means his body is being overwhelmed by toxins that are coming in at a faster rate than his liver and kidneys can handle. The skin is the largest eliminative organ, so the toxins start to “erupt” out of the skin as part of the body’s frantic effort to rid itself of them. Poor diet, antibiotics, steroids, and chemical flea/tick preventives increase the toxic
load while simultaneously decreasing the body’s ability to stay balanced and handle the toxins that are coming in.
NATURAL WAYS TO ADDRESS HOT SPOTS So if conventional treatments don’t help, what can be done? It’s actually relatively simple, although not necessarily a quick process, especially if you’ve been following conventional treatments for a long time and your dog’s body been flooded with toxins.
1. Feed a healthy diet The first step is to put your dog on a balanced, varied, species-appropriate raw food (SARF) diet. When you do so, you’ll be lessening the work his liver and kidneys have to do, because they won’t have to remove waste at a rate that exceeds what they are designed for. You will reduce the workload of the pancreas, bring the stomach pH to an appropriate level, and flood your dog’s body with the nutrients it needs to keep his systems in good working order. Continued on page 34.
WHY CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES TO HOT SPOTS DON’T WORK
There are lots of conventional approaches to treating hot spots: shaving the area, administering antibiotics, painkillers, and OTC parasite controls, prescribing corticosteroids or antihistamines to relieve itching, and/or recommending a commercial hypoallergenic food (which is still processed kibble) to address any potential food allergies. What most people find, however, is that the hot spots keep coming back because these measures don’t effectively address the issue. They don’t get at the root cause – at best, they suppress the symptoms, and at worst, they exacerbate the problem. While frequently prescribed for hot spots, both antibiotics and steroids throw the body into a state of imbalance. Antibiotics wipe out all good bacteria and gut flora, which severely inhibits the ability of the immune system to do its job. These drugs can lead to future problems because the “bad” bacteria tend to grow back more quickly than the “good” bacteria (which often leads to ear infections, yeast infections and other issues). Steroids suppress the immune system, so the dog’s body is less able to stay healthy, ward off pathogens and viruses, and keep him in tip-top shape. Administering these medications when the system is already completely out of whack just makes it worse. Parasite control products also cause a flood of toxins to enter into the dog’s body. These products contain poison intended to kill parasites. But your dog’s body is also exposed to the poison at the very same time the skin is trying to shed out toxins! It’s a lose-lose situation for your dog’s immune system.
April/May 2018
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