If anybody knows Stephen Spielberg please say to him thanks alot. My seven year old loves animals - all kinds , I would say he is obsessed. We saw the movie Warhorse the other day and now he wants a horse! ( which he isn't going to get at the moment or most likely ever).He got on Google by himself and found a horse that looked exactly like the one in the movie for $800 and he also found somewhere for it to live close to where we live. Then he was coming up with ideas how his horse could live at home with us - move the trampoline, plant some grass. Truly we do not have any room for even the smallest horse in the world. I arranged for him to ride a horse on the weekend, hoping he would be scared and shut up about horses - it had the opposite effect he loved riding - great!!

A new product as been released by Merial the makers of Frontline Plus - CERTIFECT. This new topical treatment controls fleas and ticks. The difference is the tick control is enhanced with the addition of a new active ingredient in the formulae. more in the newsletter.

The new Registered Post seems to be going well with far less emails concerning where your order is in its journey to you. The delivery times on average are within the 7-10 days range from when the order as been placed. We have had only two orders that didn't get delivered - we resent them immediately.

EAR CARE FOR YOUR PET

Ear infections are a very common problem presented to your local veterinarian. The cause of the ear infection in many cases can be put down to how the dogs ear is made up. How our dogs look today has nothing to do with natural selection - man has manipulated dog development by selecting certain traits over time to create all the breeds we see today.With this we have developed breeds of dogs where the ear canals anatomy creates a environment were bacteria and yeast love to grow.

If you stop and think about our own ear canal - it is short,it has nothing stopping air moving in and out freely- well I guess some do have hair growing from the canal!! Compare that with certain breeds of dogs - their ears flap over the ear canal creating a warm, moist environment in the ear canal due to less air movement. Certain breeds have a lot of hair growing around the ear canal opening, this stops air flow,dirt and wax tends to accumulate in the hair causing the canal to close up even more. Add warmer weather and the ear canal getting wet because your dog goes swimming or is bathed more regularly you set up a environment in the ear canal where bacteria and yeast that live on the skin normally overgrow causing the ear canal to become infected. Ear infections are no fun - they are painful and very irritating. Below are some steps you can take to try to prevent your dog having ear problems.

. Try to keep the hair that grows near the ear canal plucked so the air can flow freely into the canal.Groomers do this for you when cutting your pets coat, but it is a lot kinder to pull out a bit every day so less trauma than doing all in one big go.Start this when our dog is young so they get used to it. Have a treat reward after so they accept the action more readily.

. You can buy ear washes that can be used weekly as a preventative. These washes remove the dirt and wax. They also reduce bacteria and yeast numbers in the ear canal. You can look up You Tube to see how to do this correctly.

.Avoid getting the ear canal wet during a bath. Place in a ball of cotton wool at the opening- ensure big enough so you can remove easily,This will help stop the ear canal becoming moist.

. If your dog has ear problems try to avoid swimming.

.Some people with dogs with big floppy ears tie/.tape them up for a period each day so the air can flow into the ear canal.

GENUINE PRODUCTS ONLY

The products we have available for your pets health needs are 100% genuine. We only source them from reputable wholesalers. The packaging can vary depending on the country of origin. The manufacturer markets the exact same product in each country and creates packaging specific to that country - the underlying product is exactly the same.

TRAVEL SICKNESS HELP

One in six dogs suffer from travel/motion sickness. These poor dogs drool,vomit and look very sick indeed. Obviously the best solution is not to take your dog in the car - not always possible, so below are some tips to help this common problem,

. Start taking your dog at a young age on short trips only, so they can become use to the motion of a car.Gradually increase the trip length.Always do on a empty stomach just in case - nothing worse that cleaning up vomit I think!!

.You can get medication from your local vet. Cerenia is one that acts in the vomiting center in the brain ( yes there is a area specifically for chucking up in the brain!!) it stops the nausea so no vomiting. You can get sedatives that stop the sickness but these also bomb your dog out - this can last for over 24 hours. These medications of course involve vet fees plus prescription fees and the medication cost on top.

.Ginger can be used successfully to stop motion sickness. It comes in pill form or powder. Start 24 hours before the trip - 1-2grams does the trick give less for smaller dogs. You can even try ginger cookies. I also saw this on Mythbusters , they tested various treatments on themselves - the ginger came out on top as the most successful treatment to stop the motion sickness. Try this as it is easy to do and doesn't cost a lot.

.Many dogs will eventually grow out of motion sickness - we all do I guess. I remember puking up as a kid many times when going in a car. I still get sick just looking at boats even now - I am no sailor!! Hate boats anyway, as boats equals water equals sharks.Another person got eaten just yesterday off a beach in Western Australia.

NEW FLEA & TICK TREATMENT - CERTIFECT

Merial the manufacturer of Frontline Plus have released a new topical treatment that works the same controlling fleas as Frontline Plus but now has increased efficiency against ticks. Certifect is excellent if you live in a tick prone area.

Certifect is a fast acting, long lasting topical flea and tick treatment for dogs.The active ingredients fipronil,(s) methoprene and amitraz offer an effective means for killing ticks, destroying the flea life cycle and eliminating chewing lice infestations. Your dog will gain tick relief within 6 hours of application, causing ticks already attached to your dog to die and fall off.

Certifect will completely kill ticks within 18 hours. Controlling ticks attaching to your dog protects them against commonly transmitted diseases including: Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Certifect also offers the same complete flea protection Frontline Plus. This means your dog will be completely protected from adult fleas, flea eggs and larvae.

Certifect prevents re-infestation by eliminating the flea's ability to reproduce. Certifect can be used on puppies as young as 8 weeks old, and is also safe for breeding, pregnant and nursing dogs. Certifect is long lasting, offering a month of continual protection from ticks, and is waterproof.

It comes in four different pack sizes for dogs 5-22lbs 23-44lbs 45-88lbs 89-132lbs . All the details are listed in the store for you to see.

WHEN TO LET GO

Sadly we all have to face this decision when our pets get old or have a incurable health condition.From experience I can offer some words of advise to help make this decision.

First try not to be selfish and hang on because you can not bear to lose your beloved pet. I have seen this all too often - the pet ends up suffering unnecessarily. Please think of your pet first and not your own needs.

Don't let your pet loose its dignity. If your pet can't get up to do it toilets and does it on themselves it really is time to go. Your pets hate doing this, they know it is not right and you can see it in their faces.

If your pet is in constant pain and discomfort that can,t be controlled it is not fair to let them suffer.

Many older pets sleep a lot as they age. If they are awake for a few hours a day and are eating well and can manage to get up to go to the toilet they are fine. If they are happy during the time they are awake, there is no reason to let them go.

DOES YOUR DOG SCRATCH ALL THE TIME? PART 2

In the last newsletter we started to explain the four most common reasons why dogs scratch. Flea Allergy and Food Allergy were discussed. Here the article will continue to describe the last two.

ATOPY/INHALANT ALLERGY

This allergy that dogs develop is basically like asthma in people, but instead of the lungs reacting to the allergy in dogs it is the skin that is affected. Airborne allergens/particles are inhaled and absorbed into the blood stream ,they travel to the skin where the allergic reaction develops ,causing inflamed skin which leads to self trauma and the itch cycle. The types of allergens that cause this in dogs are commonly house dust mites, grass/tree/weed pollens and cockroach droppings. This allergy can be seasonal depending on which allergen the dog is allergic too. It usually develops between 1-3 years of age.

These dogs chew their feet, rub their face on the ground and can scratch any part of the body which gets worse with further scratching resulting in hair loss. Certain breeds are prone to this allergy development – West Highland, Scottish, Cairn and Fox terriers especially. A diagnosis can be made by eliminating food and flea allergy first and then allergy testing can be done by a blood test or intradermal testing. Once the allergen/s that are causing the allergy are isolated, a vaccine can be produced that over time can desensitise the allergic dog to that particular allergen/s. It takes a lot of injections and perseverance to get a result. Some dogs are cured while others improve to a point where the scratching is reduced greatly. Some don’t improve at all.

You can try to avoid your dog being exposed to the allergen – easier said than done. If house dust is the problem you can keep the dog outside all the time. Vacuuming often, keep the pet in uncarpeted room, run a air conditioner to filter the air, avoid stuffed toys and use a plastic cover over your pets bed. If pollens are the problem keep inside during the pollen season if possible, avoid fields of grass, and keep grass short.

Omega-3 oils have been shown to help prevent and reduce the allergy reaction – use a supplement based on fish oil. Antihistamines and cortisones can be used to help these dogs to have a quality life. Again always use the least amount possible as least frequently as possible to control the scratching. Hopefully the fish oil and antihistamines combination will control the itching enough to avoid cortisone. A medication based on Cyclosporine is used also to treat Atopic dogs. It can take 3-4 weeks to have a effect and can be very costly to use on a long term basis. This drug alters the dog allergic reaction to the inhaled allergen at the cell level.

PYODERMA/BACTERIAL SKIN INFECTION.

This is more of a problem in warmer parts of the country and is more common during summer. Bacterial skin infection can be either primary or secondary to an underlying allergy, as mentioned previously. This can make it very difficult to diagnose as a skin infection by itself can make the skin very itchy or is it the underlying allergy causing the itching and the infection is as a result of the dogs self trauma to the skin?

The only way to tell is to treat the dog with a 3-6 week course of a good skin antibiotic and to see if that by itself clears up the scratching. – that is after helping stop the self trauma using cortisone for 7-10days. If the infection clears up and the scratching stops you can say it was a primary skin infection. If the dog continues to scratch after the infection as cleared up you can say there is an underlying allergy problem.

Some dogs are prone to primary skin infections due to their hair/coat being so dense it causes the skin to be prone to infection especially during summer. Other dogs immune system just doesn’t seem to be able to stop the bacteria that lives on the skin – dogs and us alike, from overgrowing and causing infection.

Some dogs will need a once or twice weekly bath with a medicated shampoo that reduces the bacterial load on the skin – this can help prevent infections developing.

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR PETS HEALTH

For many years, pet owners have given fatty acids to their dogs and cats to change a dull, dry hair coat into a more glossy one. More recently, veterinarians have found that fatty acids play important roles in other areas of skin and coat health such as allergies, the control of inflammation, joint health, and the function of other body organs in dogs and cats.

Fatty acids are specific types of polyunsaturated fats. The two main classes of fatty acids we will be discussing are the omega-3's and the omega-6's. These classifications are based on molecular characteristics. Animals can produce some of the fatty acids they need, but not all of them. Those fatty acids which they cannot produce themselves, but must be obtained through their diet, are called 'essential' fatty acids. Fatty acids in foods are subject to degradation. Overcooking can destroy fatty acids. Improper storage or a suboptimal amount of antioxidants in dry food may result in rancidity and a subsequent deficiency in fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids include:

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA)
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Omega-6 fatty acids include:

Linoleic acid (LA)
Gamma linolenic acid (GLA)
Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA)
Arachidonic acid (AA)

Research is being performed to determine the optimal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids that should be consumed. Previously, it was thought that the ratio should be approximately 15:1. Current recommendations are for ratios of 10:1 to 5:1.

Fat may contain fatty acids, but in extremely varying quantities. For example, beef fat will have a very low percentage of fatty acids, whereas, sunflower oil and fish oil will have much larger percentages.

Fatty acids are found in different quantities in many plants and cold water fish. Marine oils are good sources of EPA and DHA. The other fatty acids are found in higher quantities in certain plants and grains. Sunflower oil and safflower oil are especially

Below is a guide for the best supplement to give to your pet to help in particular conditions

ALA Flaxseed,,soyabean oil Cancer Cardiac problems

EPA Fish Oil Atopy Arthritis Autoimmune disease

LA Sunflower oil Corn oil Dry skin Dull hair coat

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