Six Important Tips for Successful Car Travel with Your Dog

Nothing is quite as fun as packing up and heading out of town for a weekend or a longer trip. A change of scenery from time to time is important to recharge your battery. This is true for your dog as well. Most dogs love to travel and to be exposed to new places just like you do. But there are a few things that you need to do to make the trip a positive experience for everyone.

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Make sure that you take with you items that your dog is fond of on the trip. Being ripped away from their routine and surroundings can be traumatic for your dog. If your pet has a favorite toy or blanket, be sure to take it along with you in the car. For more comforts of home, you can also bring their food and water dishes from home to use when you arrive at your destination. Also pack a good supply of paper towels and blankets for cleaning up dog hair, dirty paws and the like. Read more »

Allergic Conjunctivitis in Dogs

Allergic conjunctivitis, as well as sneezing and other evidence of allergy, is increasingly common in dogs. This may be related to where their environment, or to changes in their immunity due to, for example, diet and exercise.

Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, a thin layer of skin over the white of the eye and the inner surface of the lids. Allergy occurs when the immune system over-reacts to a stimulus, mistakenly thinking it is an infection or cancer that it needs to fight off.

A dog with allergic conjunctivitis is likely to have redness, swelling and watering of one or both (usually both) eyes. There may be thickening of the conjunctiva, and if the dog is irritated to the extent that it scratches the eyes, there may be corneal abrasions and other eye damage.

No treatment (“watchful waiting”) is a valid option if symptoms are very mild. If possible, allergen avoidance is important. Bathing the eyes with a cool flannel may relieve some soreness and itching.

More severe allergic conjunctivitis will be treated with anti-inflammatory or antihistamine eye drops and ointments, and if any secondary bacterial infection is suspected, an antibiotic drop may be added. Occasionally a steroid drop will be used if treatment is otherwise unsuccessful.

Allergy testing may be needed to find the cause of the allergy.

Most holistic therapists and vets will look to the diet for a source of allergy. It is worth trying a hypo-allergenic diet. In addition, allergens in the air are important, so it is worth checking out environmental dust and pollution. Antioxidant supplements can help boost the immunity and reduce allergy.

Herbal Remedies: Burdock, Rosemary and Meadowsweet can all help with allergic conjunctivitis. Burdock (Arctium lappa) helps with detoxification; Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, and Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) is another antiseptic and disinfectant. The eyes can be bathed in a decoction of fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare), Eyebright (Euphrasia officinallis) or elder flower (Sambucus nigra) to reduce soreness and inflammation.

Homeopathy: Apis mel can be used to rinse sore eyelids; arsen alb is used for more watery eyes.

Relaxation therapy, spiritual healing and general stress reducing measures will aid recovery from allergic conjunctivitis, as well as other ill-health. Healing work on the Brow chakra will particularly benefit the eyes.

Blue lace agate is useful for eye problems when using crystal healing or Outer Banks.

Flower Remedies: Bach remedies will help an underlying emotional problem which may be contributing to reduced immunity and allergy.

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Dr Alison Grimston, a holistic doctor and animal healer, has a natural animal therapy website informing the public about animal therapies while connecting and informing animal therapists. TheNaturallyHealthyPet.com

Sherbet, the Wheaten Terrier who lives near my house, has showns no signs of losing his urge to meet and mate with every female dog in our town.  His enthusiasm for the ladies meant that he had to stay on the lead all the time, which is a shame.  Before his hormones took over, Sherbet walked well off the lead along the river bank with his family.  They are not interested in breeding any pups from Sherbet, so the desision to neuter him was taken.  My husband and Sherbet’s ‘Dad’  were pretty squeamish about the procedure, so his Mum took him to the vet on Thursday.  The op. went well, and Sherbet was full of beans again by Saturday. I know this because I took him for a walk and his vigour was undiminished.  It’s important to remember that there is plenty of Testosterone flowing round his body for six weeks after being neutered.  When we adopted Kevin he had been neutered at the rescue centre. Two weeks later we visited some friend who are great fans of Vegas vacations. We were mortified when he tried to ‘hump’ their male Black Labrador!

The good news is that Kevin came through the operation. The vet did not use ACP as the pre-med, after Kevn reacted badly last time. Instead he used a mild opiate, then cleaned up his ear and examined the growth on the outer lobe. The bad news is that the lump is a solid mass of tissue, possibly malignant. So that means there was nothing that could be achieved to help Kevin’s balance problems: that problem still persists. His heart stood up to the anaesthetic, and his blood test readings were quite good for a dog of his age. But we have to be aware that he has lost a kilo in weight over the past few months – without needing to take Leptovox, so the growth is likely to spread.

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