HEARTWORM DISEASE IN DOGS

Heartworm disease in dogs is a serious, potentially fatal health condition. It can cause significant lung disease, heart failure, and other organ damage in your dog. The impacts of heartworm disease can be devastating for a dog and cause a lot of anguish for the pet parent. Heartworm is easy to prevent but difficult to cure. If your dog contracts heartworm disease the chances of death are high.  Heartworms in dogs is widespread and present in all 50 states.

WHAT IS DOG HEARTWORM DISEASE AND HOW IS IT CONTRACTED

Heartworm disease is caused by a parasitic worm called Dirofilaria immitis. These worms can live inside, and be transmitted by, as many as 30 different species of mosquitos.  They are carried by the mosquitos and spread when a dog or other pet is bitten by an infected mosquito. The Microfilariae, an early lifecycle stage of this parasitic worm, must pass through a mosquito in order to become infective larvae. Once transmitted to a dog through a mosquito bite, they will mature into adults within about 7 months.  They will then mate and reproduce while living inside the dog.

Heartworm worms are called “heartworms” because the adult worms live inside an infected dog's heart, lungs, and corresponding blood vessels.  They can live inside your dog for as many as 7 years! 

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF ADDING PUMPKIN TO YOUR DOG'S DIET

I've been adding healthy pumpkin to my dogs' diets for years. Not only do my dogs love the taste of pumpkin, but pumpkin is super healthy for dogs! The health benefits of adding pumpkin to your dog's diet is well worth the tiny bit of extra effort at mealtime.

As soon as pumpkins become available in my area, I buy a few both for Halloween decorations and to cook for my dogs so I can add some fresh, healthy pumpkin to their diet.  I boil chunks of pumpkin and add some of the pure, fresh pumpkin to my dogs food each day.  I like to use it in making pumpkin flavored dog treats as well. There are a million different ways you can make homemade dog treats that include pumpkin.  Add a touch of cinnamon to your pumpkin dog treats for the full effect of Fall flavor!

🎃 Don’t use a carved pumpkin that’s been sitting outside for weeks to feed to your pet.  A carved Halloween pumpkin may have picked up bacteria and fungi while sitting outside with it’s inside exposed to the elements. 🎃

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My dog with a Pumpkin decoration. Health Benefits of Adding Pumpkin To a Dog's Diet 

A Simple Trick To Give Your Dog A Pill By Mouth

My dogs don't have to take pet medications very often, especially in pill format.  The occasional need for an antibiotic and their monthly heartworm preventative medication are the only medications my dogs need, thankfully.  However, I wanted to share a creative way to give a dog a pill with food your dog probably already eats.  My cousin's Veterinarian shared this pill giving tip with her and now I'd like to share it with you!

GIVING YOUR DOG A PILL BY MOUTH CAN BE A STRUGGLE

Even if it's infrequent, giving your dog a pill can be a struggle.  You slather it with peanut butter or cream cheese, you hide it in their food, you may even stick it in the very back of their throat or use a "pill dropper", hold their snout closed and tilt their head back trying to get your dog to swallow the pill. 

Even after those stealth pill giving attempts your pet may eat all the peanut butter or cream cheese around it and spit out the pill.  Or your dog might remain stark still while you practically wrestle him to the ground trying to get the pill to the back of his throat, but then find a way to gag or spit the pill out anyway.  Or you think you've hidden the pill in your dog's food but he smells it immediately and refuses to eat at all.

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Make giving your pet medications in pill form easier!

It's difficult when there's an occasional need to give your dog a pill, but imagine how hard it must be for dogs or cats who need daily medication in pill form long term! 

What's a Dog Mom to do?  

Pill Pockets you buy in the pet store may make it easier but they can be expensive. For ongoing daily pet medication administration of pills that's a lot of extra cost and calories added to your dog's diet.

HOW TO GIVE YOUR DOG A PILL USING A DOG FOOD MEATBALL

My cousin Grace shared a tip with me that her Veterinarian recommended when her pill hating Scottish Terrier needed 10 days of medication.  He suggested making a simple Meatball Pill Pocket using canned dog food she already feeds her dog. 

🐶 Place a can of dog food in the fridge to harden and chill.  Make sure it's a canned food your dog likes to eat, and one you can scoop out and roll into a ball!  It shouldn't be too wet or have gravy in it.

🐶 Scoop out 4 tablespoons of the canned food and roll each one into a ball in your hands, just like making a meatball.  Make 4 of these dog food "meatballs".

🐶 Insert the pill you need to give your dog into the middle of one of the "meatballs".  The other 3 meatballs won't have a pill inside.

🐶 Start by giving your dog one of the meatballs that doesn't have the pill in it.  Then give him a second meatball without the pill inside as soon as he swallows the first meatball.  Make it fun like you're giving your dog a special treat, and praise him!

🐶 As soon as he swallows the second meatball, give your dog the third meatball, which should be the one with the pill inside it.  After scarfing down the first two yummy meatballs and being praised for it, your dog will be anticipating the third yummy meatball and happily gobble it up!

🐶 Finish by giving your dog the last meatball without the pill in it.  That will end your pet medication session on a fun and positive note!

My dog Phoebe thinks Pet Medications are no fun!

This technique can be used for cats as well as dogs.  Just adjust the size of the meatball, making it smaller for small dogs or cats.

BONE APPETIT !!

You may also enjoy some tips on how I handled my allergies living with two cats  and the Dangers of Tick Borne Illnesses to Dogs. 


Have you ever had to give your dog or cat medication in pill form?  Was it easy or did you struggle?  Tell us about it in the comments, and if you have a pill giving tip, please share it!

PET SAFETY BOTH AT HOME AND ON OUTINGS

We want our dogs to have fun and be safe both at home and away, but there are things that can harm our pets and ruin our fun!  Some of them can be found in the home, some are near water, and some we may encounter on travel outings and adventures we take them on.

Previously, I talked about dangerous Insecticides and Pesticides  that could be lurking in your yard or on walks with your dog.  Today I want to talk about things that can potentially harm our dogs inside our homes or while we are out on dog friendly adventures together. 

I'm always on the alert for potential dog hazards inside and outside the home

PET DANGERS INSIDE THE HOME

The most obvious potentially harmful items that can be found in our homes are things we use every day without giving them a second thought.  Cleansers are one of the biggest culprits.  We use them often and sometimes leave them lying around the house open, or in poorly secured areas.  

Other hazardous items include nail polish remover (it's SO toxic to both pets and children!), medications, and rubbing alcohol.  Speaking of alcohol, booze is toxic to pets as well so don't leave wine, beer, or cocktails lying around in glasses on the patio! Pets are often attracted to the scent of these items.  Dogs love to LICK, and they can lick up spills of any of these substances as well as get into containers of them.   

Visit the Humane Society of the United States web page for a list of  Common Household Dangers For Pets, both inside and outside the home.

A TOXIC MESS WITH YOUR MORNING COFFEE?

It drives me nuts when we are at Starbucks and someone has spilled a giant blob of something I know can be toxic to my dogs, but smells delightful to them. They will jump at the chance to lick it up if we don't move to another table or clean it up ourselves! 

Cigarette butts on the ground are another thing that irritates me.  For some reason, every Starbucks we ever go to has like a million cigarette butts on the ground around their outdoor tables. It feels like the Marlboro Man has just had his coffee there!  Cigarette butts are like a magnet for dogs.  My dogs always find them and invariably start chewing on them!  If dogs eat cigarette butts it could cause nicotine poisoning.

OCEAN AND STAGNANT WATERS CAN HARM YOUR DOG

Algae can be very toxic to pets so don't let pets drink stagnant water, especially if it has a blue-green film on it. This algae thrives in hot temperatures and can be found in stagnant ponds, lakes, even puddles. Algae in stagnant water can contain toxins that cause anything from skin rashes to potentially serious health risks for dogs such as organ and nervous system problems.  A variety of harmful parasites and bacteria, such as Giardia and Leptospirosis can also be found in stagnant water.

Don't let your dog drink sea water at the beach either. Salt water can be toxic to pets and could result in salt water poisoning if they drink too much of it.  Toys and other items can absorb large amounts of sea water, and can be absorbed by your dog if he chews on it or sucks on it.

Icy loves the beach!  I always have fresh water available for her to drink

Rinse your dog and his toys off thoroughly after playing in or by the water.  If your dog has diarrhea or vomiting after being by the ocean, the pool, a lake, or pond, consult your Veterinarian right away.

Always keep your dog well hydrated with fresh, clean water at the beach.  Follow these Beach safety tips for dogs as well.

IS THIS DOG FRIENDLY HOTEL ROOM REALLY FRIENDLY?

When you travel with your dog, keep an eye out for potential hazards to dogs.  I've shared this story before but it bears repeating.  During a cross country trip with Icy and Phoebe, we stayed in a hotel that we had stayed in several times before and were familiar with. In fact, it was one of our favorite places to stay along our route between New York and Phoenix  - until my dogs got really sick in one of their pet friendly rooms.

We travel a lot with the dogs , I keep a very close eye on them while traveling 

It was late at night and we were glad to finally reach our hotel and settle in.  For some reason, there were really loud people smoking up a storm on a patio close to our window, so I asked to have the room changed.  

The guy at the front desk was apparently new and seemed a bit confused as to what room to give us and the dogs - that should have been a red flag right there.  He finally gave us a room and we settled in for the night.   Icy was sleeping on the floor between the wall and my side of the bed. Phoebe was sleeping on the floor on the other side of the bed.

Somewhere around 3am Icy started coughing and hacking uncontrollably.  We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, we panicked!  We put her up on the bed and after a few minutes the coughing lessened a bit.  We thought she might have found an object under the bed and swallowed it, or perhaps she ate a bug.  

Shortly after, Phoebe began coughing and hacking as well!  Then she vomited, right on the bed.  We were freaking out and began searching for an emergency Veterinarian in the area.  As the dogs got up off the floor and lay on the bed their coughing eased up.  We were slightly relieved but still perplexed and frightened.

Around 5am we got the heck out of there and onto the highway, windows open to get fresh air into the car.  I couldn't find an all night emergency Vet but we located a Veterinarian in the next city, not far away.  As we drove in the car the dogs began to improve - a lot.  Clearly, getting them out of that hotel was key, there had to be something in the room that made them both so ill.

We found the Vet's office, no small feat in the somewhat rural area of Ohio we were in.  It was a quaint little office and the staff was really nice.  We loved the Veterinarian, he was wonderful to us and the dogs!  He examined Icy and Phoebe and asked us lots of questions.  In the end, the Vet determined that whatever the hotel used to clean the carpeting made our dogs sick.  He gave us a prescription, but we never needed to use it because hours later both dogs were perfectly fine!

Icy and Phoebe love to sleep in bed with us in hotel rooms!

My guess is that the guy at the desk put us in a dog friendly room that was very recently cleaned.  It probably shouldn't have been rented out so soon, I'm thinking the cleansers they used needed more time to dissipate.  Because the dogs were on the floor, so close to the recently cleaned carpet, it effected their breathing.

You'd think a hotel that has rooms designated for pets would be totally safe for pets, but you never know.  Now my dogs sleep in the bed with us in hotels!

Has your pet ever gotten into something that made them sick?  Please leave us a comment & tell us about it, we really Love hearing from you!