To Shave or Not to Shave?

It's that time of year in southern Arizona where we start getting reminded that we live in a pretty toasty state! In just a month or so it will start becoming uncomfortable outside, I will have pushed my dog walks earlier in the mornings, and even carrying water to give pooches a water break while we walk.

Because we live in a hotter climate, many people believe that shaving dogs and cats will help keep them cooler.  The problem is, the sun is so intense here that our UV index recommends staying out of direct sunlight the majority of spring and summer!  Below is a short but great video by Karen Becker, DVM that discusses shaving cats and dogs.

Our 3 dogs are shorter haired coats i.e. our 2 terriers have a typical single-layer coat and our beagle mix has a double coat, albeit naturally on the short side.  I prefer to have shorter hair dogs since I can maintain their grooming needs myself and can save money by not needing to go to the groomer.  Although, one of my cats, Naveen, is possibly a maine-coon mix and has a beautiful long coat on him, which requires a lot of grooming.  His mother, Nova, grooms him more than he does!  Because of the added duty of grooming herself and her son, she throws a lot of hairballs.  So much that I have occasionally considered giving Naveen a lion cut for the summers.  With his long coat he would look adorable with a distinguished mane and little fluffy feet!  But I have to remind myself that looks alone are not a reason to shave him.  It would be selfish of me. To help Nova with hairballs, I give her a fish oil supplement which keeps her system 'lubed up'.

click picture to enlarge

One topic that most groomers and pet owners are unaware of is a condition called Alopecia X.  This is a hair cycle abnormality often belonging to nordic breeds and toy/mini poodles.  Shaving doesn't cause this condition, but for a dog who may be prone to Alopecia X, shaving can mean any hair re-growth can be delayed.  This is called post-clipping alopecia and I've seen it a few times!  First, in a husky I worked with in Illinois, who had surgery on his leg.  It took over a year for the hair to come back in!  Second, on my own dog Zoey!  When Zoey was found wandering the streets of Tucson and her family didn't want her back, she became a ward of my animal hospital for a few weeks before I decided to adopt her.  Our Dr spayed Zoey in a non-traditional way, he chose to 'flank-spay' her like some vet's spay cats.  For a visual of where the incision on Zoey was, click here (don't worry, it's not graphic.) Zoey had a small shaved area on her side which took several months for the hair to regrow.

Some other medical conditions can cause hair to not regrow normally after being shaved.  Pet's with hormone disorders like thyroid issues and cushing's disease are likely to have difficulty regrowing hair normally as well.  It could take over a year for your pet to grow their hair back in, and it will often be shorter or coarser than it should be.

Click picture to enlarge

Ultimately most professionals agree it is best not to shave a double-coated dog unless it is medically necessary in which case your veterinarian would be the one recommending it, not a groomer.  If you do choose to shave your dog, your groomer should be honest with you about the potential issues of sunburn and the chance that hair may never re-grow normally.  Some groomers even make you sign a waiver, protecting them from whatever may happen to your pet after being shaved. That should certainly make you think twice!  The best thing to do is to keep your pet's groomed properly so their fur is free of tangles and mats.  Their fur is the safest way to protect them from all of the elements, hot or cold.

Poochy Paw Protection

With springtime temperatures slowly increasing towards our scorching summers, now is a great time to start thinking about keeping your dog's paws safe. Dry and cracked paws can be extra painful when on the hiking trails or the warm pavement. Think about how painful your hands can feel in the wintertime when there is no moisture in the air and handwashing (due to germ season) leads to excessively dry and cracked skin.  All you want is to slather on some thick lotion to get some relief.  The same can happen to your dog's pads.

We all know not to walk dogs on black asphalt mid-day during the hot summer months. Concrete sidewalks luckily don't retain nearly as much heat as black asphalt but they can still become painful to walk on during the day.  Your dog still needs to stretch their legs during the summer so morning walks or evening walks are best, but it is still important to take care of your dog's feet regardless. Here are a few simple options!

Musher's Secret is my favorite paw balm so far.  Originally made to protect paws from winter elements like ice and sidewalk salt, people realized it works just as well in the desert! From Musher's Secret website..

Q: "Is Musher's Secret just for the winter? "

A: "Definitely not.  Mushers protects from hot pavement and sand as well as any irritants your pet may walk through. We have many customers in Arizona and California."

Another great option is doggie boots.  Years ago I bought Pepe a pair of Ruffwear boots to protect his little feet from the snow and ice when we lived back home in Illinois.  We still have his little boots packed away but haven't been touched in years.  I felt like this particular pair didn't fit him as well as I'd like and he would occasionally kick them off.  Luckily there are several types of boots on the market to fit your dog best.  If I was to try another type of boots, these Hiware dog boots would be at the top of my list.  They are longer and have 2 velcro straps for a better fit.  These neoprene dog boots also look like they would be a great fit too!

If you do try dog boots, slowly introduce your dog to them.  Most people put just one boot on, not all 4 at once.   It's pretty comical to watch but you can distract them from their new footware, with a favorite activity like a walk around the block or a game of fetch.  Boots, just like a new pair of shoes for us, need to be broken in so start off with short walks and increase your adventures appropriately.

One option I wouldn't recommend for wearing on pavement are Paws waterproof boots.  I've had experience with these in my animal hospitals and they are very similar to a latex balloon with the end cut off.  They are great for senior pets that might slip on wood or tile floors but I've had someone tell me they almost shrink wrapped her dog's feet when walking outside in the hot Tucson heat.  Again, I think these are a great indoor non-slip option, but not great for wearing outdoors when the temperatures are up.

It is always a good idea to do a general 'nose to toes' look over of your pets on a regular basis, they usually think they're getting a body massage! Looking between toes, under lip flaps, inside ears etc can help detect potential problems before they become serious.

Whisker Fatigue

My big handsome boy Naveen.  You can see why I call him my little lion boy.

Let's talk about those cute proprioceptors on your cat's face, otherwise known as whiskers if you aren't a major science nerd like I am.  Whiskers are constantly underestimated by us (relatively) bald humans. These hypersensitive sensory organs are rooted deeper than other hairs and are anchored by rich nerve endings.  Your cat's whiskers serve many functions, all to help relay what is going on in the environment around them especially when it may be too dark to see normally.  

Whiskers pick up air currents and vibrations as well as provide spacial reasoning.  Spacial reasoning, what's that? A cat's whiskerspan runs from tip of whisker to tip of whisker and is generally as wide as he is.  This allows a cat to know if he can easily fit through an opening or not.  Whiskers also allow cats, who are naturally far-sighted, to 'see' up close when they are walking about in the dark.  It's often the reason your cat might walk along the wall in a hallway, rather than walking right down the middle.

Now, because these whiskers are sooo sensitive, they are easily over-stimulated.  I like to think of them as introverts like me!  Because I am an introvert, I get easily over-stimulated and exhausted by a lot of commotion, noise, etc.  Similarily a cat's whiskers are so physically sensitive and are constantly relaying information to your cat's brain that certain movements can be downright irritating to them.  Unfortunately even eating their food can be physically fatiguing to their systems.

In deep food bowls, a cat has to push their face down in order to reach their kibble, causing their whiskers to constantly rub against the sides of the bowl.  This can cause a lot of sensory irritation, turning meal time into a chore.


Signs of whisker fatigue can include:

• leaving food in the bowl but still acting hungry
• acting hesitant to eat
• pacing around their food bowl
• pulling food out of the bowl to eat on the ground
• standing by the food bowl prior to eating, trying to decide to eat

What can you do?  Try out a new feeding dish! I'm a fan of ceramic or stainless steel bowls for animals since they are easy to clean and do not hold onto bacteria the way plastic dishes do.  A great food dish option is Dr. Catsby's Food Bowl for Whisker Relief. Shallow dishes also apply to canned food, not just kibble!

Whisker fatigue can also stem from a crowded water bowl.  Great options for relief would be the Catit Fountain, and the Drinkwell 360 Fountain.


Soon after replacing your cat's dishes with whisker friendly options, you may notice their pickiness subside.  If not, they may have something else going on that you would want to discuss with your vet.

Kitty, showing off her pretty whiskers

Just Say No

 Say No to feeding weird ingredients and chemicals!

TOP 5 TREATS TO NEVER FEED YOUR PET!
Posted by Planet Paws on Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Milkbone Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Wheat Bran, Meat and Bone Meal, Milk, Wheat Germ, Beef Fat (Preserved with BHA), Salt, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Sodium Metabisulfite (Used as a Preservative), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement), BHA (Used as a Preservative).

Snausages Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Beef, Soy Flour, Corn Syrup, Water Sufficient for Processing, Propylene Glycol, Liver, Animal Fat (BHA Used as a Preservative), Dried Cheese Product, Chicken By-product Meal, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Vegetable Oil, Titanium Dioxide (Color), Garlic Powder, Sorbic Acid (Used as a Preservative), Potassium Sorbate (Used as a Preservative), Natural Smoke Flavor, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, BHA (Used as a Preservative), Citric Acid (Used as a Preservative).

Pup-eroni Ingredients: Beef, Meat By-products, Soy Grits, Sugar, Liver, Salt, Propylene Glycol, Garlic Powder, Caramel Color, Natural Smoke Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (Used as a Preservative), Sodium Nitrite (for Color Retention), Red 40, BHA (Used as a Preservative), Onion Extract.

Temptations Ingredients: Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Corn, Animal Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Rice, Dried Meat by-Products, Wheat Flour, Natural Flavors, Corn Gluten Meal, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source of Vitamin E], Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Folic Acid Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Dried Cheese.

Beggin' Strips Ingredients: Ground wheat, corn gluten meal, wheat flour, water, glycerin, ground yellow corn, sugar, soybean meal, bacon (preserved with sodium nitrite), salt, bacon fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), phosphoric acid, sorbic acid (a preservative), calcium propionate (a preservative), natural and artificial smoke flavors, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6, added color. T-4005

Think Outside of the Bag - Dehydrated Dog Food

When your chickens and ducks lay a gazillion eggs a day and there are only 2 humans in your family, you need to start getting creative with how you use your eggs! Currently on the most productive day we could get 9 chicken eggs and 5 duck eggs a day, but we average 8 chicken eggs a day and 3 duck eggs, giving us just about 7 dozen eggs a week.  Beauties, aren't they!?

 

Most people know by now that I feed our dogs a homemade raw diet, where raw eggs are included on a frequent basis.  Dog's Naturally Magazine has some good info about feeding raw eggs to your dogs.  Because our eggs are fresh and from birds that free-range in our 9,000 sq ft garden, I'm comfortable feeding them a few times a week to our dogs.  I would not feel the same about store-bought eggs that come from chickens living in terrible conditions.

 

Since feeding a raw diet, I still included one day a week where I fed just regular grain-free kibble that they used to eat daily.  I want their bodies to still tolerate kibble for when we go on vacation and someone else watches them.  But I decided to move onto bigger and better alternatives and purchased a box of Honest Kitchen's Base Preference at my local Pet Club. This 7 lb box of dehydrated food will make a total of 29 lbs of food once we finish it.  I chose the Preference Base because you add your own protein (which we have lots of!) and this will replace our kibble day every week.

In preparation, the other week I scrambled up a bunch of duck eggs, dehydrated them in my Excalibur dehydrator at the proper temperature and time, and then stored them in my Reditainer Extreme Freeze containers (perfect for long term freezer storage).  This morning was our first Honest Kitchen meal and I used the feeding guideline on the back of the box.  I should have known better, especially since I was once a food rep for a high end kibble company, but the feeding amount recommendations were a bit too much. Just a word of caution, Know Thy Pet, adjust their food if it seems too much or too little.

I measured out the base mix and my dehydrated duck eggs, added the proper amount of water, stirred and waited a minute or two.  All while anxious dogs tried to be patient for breakfast.  I have to say, I think the base mix smells really good ... I was getting hungry ;)

 All mixed in and ready for some hungry dogs!  I threw in their Omega 3 fish oil capsules, which they think is doggy candy, and all 3 pooches started slopping up their breakfast!

For dinner, I will use canned sardines in place of eggs to try out a new flavor.  The dogs adore their sardines and they are super healthy for them!

Sweet potatoes, peas, cabbage, organic coconut, apples, spinach, pumpkin, bananas, celery, organic kelp...

The base mix can be a real timer saver for some.  Can you believe I make my own veggie/berry mix for our dogs? I steam veggies in a large pot, add canned pumpkin, sardines, and raw berries, then blend everything down and freeze into ice cube containers, then store in ziplock baggies.   It really isn't a lot of work, it just takes effort.

Kitties, you're not forgotten about! Honest Kitchen makes complete meals for you with Grain Free Chicken and Grain Free Turkey flavors!

Check out some of the many different flavors below!