1.  Anyone can go out and get a dog and bring him home. However, if you wish to properly care for your dog, you must know what you're doing. Pay attention to the following helpful advice so that you can make sure your dog has everything it needs in order to live and long and healthy life.
2.  Take care to keep your dog cool while traveling during the summer by car. Even with your air-conditioning on, the dog may become over-heated in his pet carrier. A simple and low-cost countermeasure is freezing a few gallon jugs of water and placing them near him where he can curl up and cool off.
3.  You should never give table scraps to your dog. If you do, he will hang around you constantly wanting more every time you eat. Your dog may also stop eating his own food as much. Table scraps are also not nutritionally sound for a dog, and this might mean digestive problems, obesity, and other ailments. Keep the dog away from your table when you eat to avoid any temptation on both parts.
4.  Your dog has teeth just like you, so it makes sense that he needs proper dental care. Invest in a dog toothbrush and brush his teeth often. Simply allowing the vet to do it at his regular checkups is not enough. You can also purchase treats that are specifically meant to help with your pet's teeth.
5.  Some people think that it is necessary to bath a dog often. The truth is that unless your dog gets into something to get dirty, they only need bathed once every two to four months. Bathing more often could strip their skin of the oils they need for a healthy coat and skin.
6.  Try to always be aware of how your dog is feeling. If your dog seems to be nervous, fearful, or scared of certain things, you should take note of this and try to avoid putting your dog in a stressful situation. When a dog is stressed or afraid, you could traumatize your dog if you insist that it stays in the stressful situation.
7.  If your dog has long hair, make sure to take the time to trim the fur around his feet. If you allow your dog's hair to grow too long, they can get things stuck in their fur. This could lead to injuries between the pads of the feet and around the nails.
8.  Keep your dog warm during winter with the latest in canine fashion and accessories. You may think it's just for show, but dogs need protection from the elements too! Keeping your dog's paw-pads dry is essential to their health in sub-freezing weather, so invest in suede or leather footwear and pick him up a coat while you're at it. Make them instead if you are creative!
9.  Make sure that you trim your dog's nails on a fairly regular basis. You do not want them to get too long since it will make it uncomfortable for them to walk and they may develop health issues. They should be at a length that just about touches the ground.
10.  Clean up completely if your dog uses the bathroom on your floor. Make sure that you clean up the mess quickly and thoroughly. If you still smell poop, your dog will too and might strike again.
11.  Keep https://petsroof.com/why-does-my-dog-stand-on-me/ in comfortable housing. They should be able to rest off the floor and away from drafts. A training crate is a good choice or any covered shelter outside. Try placing a dog bed inside that has a warm blanket or a pillow inside. Wash the dog's bedding frequently.
12.  It is very common for objects to get lodged in the pads of your dogs paws. Check them regularly to make sure that nothing is in there. If https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_breeds see something, be very careful about taking it out, or it may become lodged even deeper. It is a wise to use tweezers for this.
13.  If you have tried everything to get your dog to stop digging your garden to no avail, head to your kitchen. Mix up a batch of cayenne pepper (five tablespoons), hot sauce (also five tablespoons) and a quart of water in a spray bottle and spray it where he digs. It should discourage him quickly.
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15.  If your dog is always drinking out of the toilet, try changing how you provide him with water. Most prefer it cold and fresh, hence the attraction to the bathroom, so buy a fountain or thermally insulated dish to keep his water at a more appealing temperature. Also, add ice-cubes when it's hot out and he's panting
16.  When you are nibbling on a snack, you might be tempted to let your dog have a taste. Be careful, because some foods are harmful to dogs. Never give foods like grapes, chocolate or caffeine to a dog. These foods can hurt your dog's health.
17.  Dogs love the outdoors. For the most part, dogs really enjoy being outside and being able to stretch their legs. Remember this when choosing the right dog for your family. If you live in an apartment, it is not really fair go look at a dog that needs lots of exercise, unless you are planning on jogging with your dog twice a day.
18.  Where is your dog going to sleep? Never let your dog sleeps with you or inside the house if you want to keep it in a crate. If they sleep in your bed, be sure that this is okay with you every night.
19.  Dogs love to chew. Make sure your dog has plenty of things that he can chew on so he doesn't chew on things he shouldn't be chewing on. Dogs love to chew on rawhide and various other things that are manufactured and sold just for dogs to chew on.
20.  Dogs can be one of the most joyful presences in your household. However, you need the right information that tells you what keeps a dog energetic and happy. Hopefully, the tips you just read can help both you and your pet.
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22.  <blockquote cite="https://championofmyheart.com/2021/08/05/dogs-with-skin-issues/">       <h3>Best Advice for Dogs with Skin Issues</h3>           <p>I still need to publish a real post about Mr. Stix's full backstory, but this feels more pressing. For nearly 18 months, Mr. Stix's permanent nakey spot (from unknown injuries before he was rescued, including 15 fractures and this big patch of coat missing) has featured several inflamed, peeling areas. Initially I tried to fix it myself at home with things like aloe vera, vaseline, a veterinary ointment called animax that the shelter had give us while we fostered him most of 2019, etc. It's sort of a combination of steroids, antibacterial, and antifungal stuff. I took him to see our main veterinarian in spring 2020, when there was a 2-month wait to get into see a board-certified veterinary dermatologist. It has been quite a journey since then, and it's nowhere near over. Here's my best advice for dogs with skin issues. </p>           <h2>Before I tell the ongoing saga with Mr. Stix's skin. Here is my best advice for dogs with skin problems.</h2>           <p> See a board-certified veterinary dermatologist as soon as you can. Yes, your main veterinarian can probably help, but it's honestly best to go right to the top experts. </p>               <p> Agree to whatever skin scrapings / cytology the veterinary dermatologist recommends. This provides information about what types of secondary infections currently grow on your dog's damaged skin. </p>               <p> Do NOT assume every skin issue is allergies. It often is some sort of allergic process, but NOT always and assuming so (and acting accordingly may only delay real solutions and subject your dog to all kinds of quack advice and home remedies).</p>               <p> Buy the best quality fish oil and Vitamin E supplements you can afford, if it's recommended for your particular case of a dog with skin issues. </p>               <p> When necessary, agree to the skin biopsies (yes, like minor surgery) and have them reviewed by a veterinary pathologist that specializes in dogs with skin issues. The one we used is at Texas A&amp;M.</p>                       <p> Follow your veterinary dermatologist's advice and plans, and keep the faith. These dogs with skin problems often don't improve quickly. (I need to take my own advise. See below.)</p>           <h2>Mr. Stix's Story as a Dog with Skin Problems</h2>           <p>This is what Mr. Stix's nakey spot looks like when it's normal. Photo from May 2019 soon after his hip surgery. The bald patch is permanent. That's not the issue. </p>           <p>This is how bad the red / peeling areas got in mid-2020 when we saw our main veterinarian, who added a low-dose of oral Vitamin E and some topical too and told me to keep using the animax. </p>           <p>This is how it looked when Mr. Stix first saw the board-certified veterinary dermatologist in early August 2020, but the specialist had me STOP the animax and instead use a prescription anti-bacterial ointment (mupirocin) ... as well as add a better quality oral fish oil and continue both topical and oral Vitamin E (but at a higher dose twice a day). We knew from the skin scrapings / cytology they did onsite that Mr. Stix had a bacterial infection. </p>           <p>But, without the daily topical steroids (which long term are a bad idea), Mr. Stix's skin got much, much worse -- even breaking open and scabbing over.</p>           <p>Our veterinary dermatologist had recommended doing the skin biopsies right away in August 2020, and I *almost agreed to it then, but I was VERY worried about the cuts resulting in skin that would NOT heal. And, I figured it was at least worth a try to use the prescription antibiotic ointment and other supplements and stuff. </p>               <p>But, by around Thanksgiving, it was clear we had to do the biopsy. That photo is kind of gruesome, so you can see it here, if you want. I wish I had done the biopsy sooner. I feel like I wasted time from August through November. </p>           <h2>Post-Biopsy Diagnosis</h2>           <p>As I expected, despite all the know-it-alls trying to tell me it was an allergic issue, it turns out that Mr. Stix instead has an autoimmune condition called erythema multiforme. They believe it was triggered by the trauma of his earlier injuries. They don't think it is life-threatening. They don't think it will spread to other areas of his skin. Just the already damaged, permanent nakey spot. </p>               <p>With that information in hand, we updated the treatment plan to include a topical, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointment (tacrolimus -- often pricey, but we used a Good RX coupon at Costco to get the cost down). They use a version of this medication orally for people who have had various kinds of transplants. It's the smallest / safest option for treatment, and that's where we started. </p>               <p>I was so hopeful it would work at the once-daily application, but the skin still didn't heal completely. </p>               <p>So, in early 2021, we started applying it twice daily on the advice of our veterinary dermatologist.</p>               <p>But, it still hasn't healed completely. It often improves a lot and then comes roaring back, so we had another appointment to see the specialist last week. We had to try something new. </p>           <h2>Enter the Big Immune-Suppressing Drug</h2>           <p>Despite my concerns and form of veterinary PTSD about major immune suppression drugs (after our experiences with Lilly), I agreed last week to add oral cyclosporine, which is also a drug that people get after various transplants. Mr. Stix would need to take it daily for life. </p>               <p>It smells like it's made from skunk butts, so each gel-cap pill is individually packaged, and you keep them in the freezer because that can help with nausea it can cause (since it's recommended you give on an empty stomach). </p>               <p>I found some good info on this med, and our veterinary dermatologist assured me that it has been safely used in veterinary medicine for like 20+ years, etc.</p>               <p>The med only comes in doses of 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg, and at his size Mr. Stix's ideal dose is around 88 mg once a day. So we went with 75 mg (25+50) to err on the lower side. </p>               <p>It takes like 3-7 days for the med to build up in the blood to therapeutic levels, but it takes more like 4-6 weeks to know if it's going to help the skin (or not). </p>               <p>We made it to day 4, then the barfing started. </p>           <h2>Anxiety</h2>           <p>I wish I could say that this is all going to be fine, but I just don't know. I feel like I just have to accept that the skin will never fully heal, even though seeing his raw spots up close while applying the topical med twice a day and topical Vitamin E once a day causes me so much angst and anxiety. </p>               <p>I supposed to check in with our veterinary dermatology team next week to confirm that Mr. Stix's weirdness and apparent suffering has improved. </p>               <p>It took a lot of convincing to get Mr. Champion of My Heart to agree to try the cyclosporine, so even if the specialist comes back and recommends maybe a lower dose, I doubt we'll want to risk it ... because Mr. Stix sure seemed to be having some neurologist issues to me, and after the Lilly situation, I just cannot do that again. </p>               <p>He is only 3 years old. I don't want to make anything worse. It honestly felt like I'd poisoned him.</p>               <p>The good news is that most of the time his skin doesn't seem to hurt or itch or anything -- though I do have pain meds, if he needs them. It mostly just looks bad, and he has to wear a no-lick collar for about 20 minutes after I apply his meds so that he doesn't lick it off. </p>               <p>His nakey spot is prone to sunburn anyway, and the topical tacrolimus increases the risk of burning, so I used his earlier sun-reflecting coat (which started to look ragged) as a pattern and sewed him a new / light sun protection coat. He looks very cute in it. </p>       <p><strong></strong> https://championofmyheart.com/2021/08/05/dogs-with-skin-issues/ </p>     </blockquote>
23.  I'm certainly very focused on Pets and I am assuming you liked my blog post. Sharing is good. Helping people is fun. I am grateful for your time. Come back soon.
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