Category: Dogs

Canine Cancer

A topic that fills all dog owners with dread!

At the end of April I received an email which said, in part, the following:

My name is Grace and I’m a passionate blogger and a content writer. I love writing about pets and wellness. I was crawling your blog page: https://learningfromdogs.com/   and found your articles very interesting. I must admit that your website has a great collection of high-quality articles. Having said that, I’d love to contribute an article to your website as a guest blogger.

I expressed real interest and Grace then came back to me with a list of topics.
I chose the one on canine cancer.
Here it is.

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Four Types Of Canine Cancer: Symptoms And Treatment

By Grace Hawkins, May 21st, 2020

(Deleted at 16:00 PDT on the 27th May, 2020 as a result of a disagreement regarding commercial links.)

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I asked Grace to include a little about herself.

Grace Hawkins is a full time content marketing specialist and a passionate writer who loves to write about pet’s health and lifestyle. She believes in a thoughtful exploration of how you shape your thoughts, experience of the world.

Now there were a number of website links in the article that for some reason didn’t transfer across. For her next article, and I do hope there is one, I will have it sent differently.

May 26th. I subsequently received an email from Grace. It said:

Hi Paul

The post looks great
But it won’t be possible for me to provide another article at this point of time.
Can please edit the article and add this  dog food  link to the article.
It will be very helpful of you

Thanks 

Grace Hawkins

Content Writer and Blogger

A very big dog!

This is a fabulous article.

Just a few weeks ago new neighbours moved in to the property that adjoins us to the South.

They are Mike and Hannah Mills and they have three children; Hunter, Scarlet and Clover. Hunter is the eldest and he will be 9 on May 27th. When we went across to meet them I very quickly learnt that Hunter is a budding writer. Just as quickly I offered to publish a story from him in this place.

He used the following picture as a writing prompt.

Here is his story!

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A Big Dog

By: Hunter Mills,   May 2020.

It was a cloudy morning.

A man was walking on the street and all of a sudden a big, big, big, big dog appeared out of the clouds.

The man was so cold, but he had to run! He ran fast, so he had to stop and rest and he stopped to rest, and hid. He got a little breath but the dog had a super good nose so he sniffed out the man and he had to run away again.

The dog was so fast it caught up to the man and it only licked him! The dog licked him again and the man ran away to a nearby building.

The man thought the dog was mean, but it was just trying to snuggle the man.

He went to the dog store and bought some dog treats and a big, big, big, big leash for the dog. He bought a new house so the dog could fit in the house.

So the next time a big, big, big, big dog starts to run after you, you should see if he wants to eat you or snuggle you.

If he lays down next to you, keep him. If not, run for your life!!

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I have not changed a single word of Hunter’s story. All I have done is to alter the formatting so that it is easier on the eye.

This is Hunter with his two dogs Soldier and Hank.

Hunter is already a good writer and it’s a delightful work of fiction.

Hopefully, this is the first of many that I may have the privilege of publishing!

May I ask a favour? That is that if you ‘Like’ this post you also say so in a comment. For I am sure Hunter will be along to see what you all thought of his creative juices! Thank you.

Dry skin in dogs

Dry Skin Dogs: Three Steps You Can Easily Do Right Now At Home

I am delighted that Roger Brooks’ submission of guest posts is becoming a regular feature.

Here is his latest.

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Dry Skin Dogs: Three Steps You Can Easily Do Right Now At Home

By Roger Brooks,

4th May, 2020

An itchy dog with dry, flaky skin is worrisome for you and your dog alike. There could be several potential causes for your dog’s skin-related ailment – ranging from seasonal allergies to more severe disorders. In the latter case, you are highly recommended to rush to a vet and get some over-the-counter medication, as such conditions may soon become an incurable medical disorder. The seasonal allergies, cracked skin, redness, dandruff, or scaling may be treated at home by adopting few dietary changes or incorporating dog supplements for dry skin in its regular diet.

Read on to find our three at-home and easy to follow steps to provide natural and instant relief to your dry skin dog!

1. Chamomile Oil and Green Tea Bath
Owing to their age-old healing properties, chamomile oil, and green tea provide immediate relief to the itchy patches on your dog’s skin.

All you are to do is fill a big plastic tub or sink with 10 liters of lukewarm water and put 5-6 caddies of green tea into it. Let them sit well and dissolve their juices into water. It will take 4-5 minutes. Squeeze the tea bags well and take them out of water. Then add a teaspoon of chamomile oil. After mixing it gently with warm water, let your dog lay in and enjoy its soothing hot bath for about 10 minutes.

Alternatively, for relatively small-sized patches, you may choose to prepare this liquid in a glass by one or two green tea bags in warm water. Or preferably boil the tea bags in water for about one minute. Let it cool. Now, you may choose to rinse or spray this water on to your dog’s skin or dip a sponge into this balmy water and apply this water on to any visible redness, rashes on your dog’s skin. You will notice that your dog feels instantly relieved after it.

2. Adding Supplements to Diet
Multiple pieces of research back the fact that whatever your dog eats directly affects its skin. It means dry skin symbolizes that something essential is missing in the diet. Therefore, it is always useful to add coconut and fish oils like omega-3 fatty acids to your dog’s homemade diet. You will find that by feeding your dog with these oils in moderate quantity cures dry skin more quickly as compared to massaging with the same oils.

You might be thinking that the dog food you bought from the market already has omega-3 fatty acids in it. But let me tell you that those processed foods carry a few of these acids in them, which is not enough to resolve the skin issue of your pooch. The reason for this low amount of omega-3 acids in the commercial diet is that they are quite expensive, and the commercial sellers add omega-6 fatty acids instead, which do not cure dry skin. Therefore, it is always wise to add fresh salmon or sardines to your dog’s regular diet. But remember, use them in moderation as excess may lead to diarrhea.

While most of the skin-related issues of your dog will be solved by adding Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, a few hardcore allergies might require vitamin E, yogurt, or coconut oil, as all of them combat well against skin issues. Yogurt being a natural moisturizer keeps your dog’s skin moist. An additional benefit of adding a little yogurt in your dog’s diet is that it keeps its stomach safe from bacteria and doesn’t cause digestion issues.

Coconut oil and vitamin E possess a high level of antioxidants. Since science says, free radicals cause much of the damage to your dog’s skin. The right amount of coconut oil and vitamin E helps release free radicals and keep your dog’s coat smooth and moist.

3. Set-up a Humidifier
This can also help a great deal in curing your canines’ dry skin and keeping them moist and fresh.

What happens in the chilly cold is that you start keeping your dog mostly indoors to keep it warm. Unfortunately, this makes an entirely feasible condition for your dog’s dry skin as the centrally heated system of your home interior sucks all the moisture away, leaving a sterile environment that makes your dog more vulnerable to skin ailments. This is why outdoor dogs are less prone to skin issues.

Statistics, however, prove there is no significant relation between winter and dried dog skin. Therefore, the fact is established that irrespective of weather and dog breed, skin issues persist in millions of dogs because they are naturally more sensitive.

Setting a humidifier for your dog throughout the year can lessen its trouble with skin by keeping the environment moist and fresh.

In all, let’s not forget that a humidifier alone can do no good to your dog’s dried skin, it should be combined with a nutritious homemade diet, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, yogurt and other oils as that is fundamental to get fresh and dandruff free skin of your dog.

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John writes with an authority that comes from knowing his topic.

How many others found this post to be of help or of great value.

Thank you, John.

Picture Parade Three Hundred and Thirty-Seven

My grandson comes to the rescue!

A week ago I had no idea where more dog pictures were coming from.

Then in an email conversation with my grandson, Morten, up came this: Pixabay and their folder of dog photos!

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Hopefully, thanks to Morten, this will run and run!

The smell of COVID-19!

That is to a dog!

It was only a matter of time before the dog’s supreme sense of smell came to the aid of COVID-19 hunters!

A dog has a sense of smell that is 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than that of a human.

Picture taken from NOVA.

But back to COVID-19.

Here’s an article from the Smithsonian.

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Dogs Are Being Trained to Sniff Out COVID-19

Researchers are attempting to teach eight dogs to detect the pandemic, which could help quickly screen large numbers of people in public places

This yellow lab is not involved in the research, but it still a very good doggo. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

By Alex Fox     smithsonianmag.com
May 1, 2020

Dogs are being enlisted in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are testing a pack of eight Labrador retrievers to find out if their sensitive snouts can detect the pandemic virus by scent, Karin Brulliard reports for the Washington Post.
Humans have trained our canine friends’ finely tuned noses to sniff out other deadly diseases, including malaria, diabetes, some cancers and Parkinson’s disease, reported Ian Tucker for the Guardian in 2018. Other research has shown that viruses give off a particular smell, Cynthia Otto, director of the Working Dog Center at UPenn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, tells the Post.

If the dogs’ 300 million scent receptors can be trained to smell the novel coronavirus they could eventually be used in public places such as airports, businesses or hospitals to quickly and easily screen large numbers of people. Because this diagnosis by dog would depend on the smell given off by people infected with COVID-19 it should have no problem picking out asymptomatic carriers.

The yellow, black and chocolate labs will be trained for three weeks using a process called odor imprinting. Miss M., Poncho and six other dogs will be exposed to COVID-19 positive saliva or urine collected from hospitals and then rewarded with food when they pick out the correct samples, according to a statement from UPenn. When the dogs have the scent, they’ll be tested to see if they can pick out COVID-19 positive people.

“We don’t know that this will be the odor of the virus, per se, or the response to the virus, or a combination,” Otto, who is leading the project, tells the Post. “But the dogs don’t care what the odor is. … What they learn is that there’s something different about this sample than there is about that sample.”

Dogs are also being trained for this purpose in the United Kingdom by the charity Medical Detection Dogs in collaboration with Durham University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reports the BBC.

“This would help prevent the re-emergence of the disease after we have brought the present epidemic under control,” Steve Lindsay, public health entomologist at Durham University, tells the BBC.

The U.K. trial expects to start collecting COVID-19 positive samples in the coming weeks and will train its dogs shortly thereafter, per the Post. If the trial is successful the group aims to distribute six dogs to be used for screening in U.K. airports.

“Each individual dog can screen up to 250 people per hour,” James Logan, epidemiologist at Durham University and collaborator on the project, tells the Post. “We are simultaneously working on a model to scale it up so it can be deployed in other countries at ports of entry, including airports.”

Otto tells the Post that the trial could inspire an electronic sensor that could detect COVID-19 which might be able to rapidly test thousands of people. But if the dogs’ olfactory prowess can’t be replicated, then the ability to scale up could be limited by another issue: the U.S.’s shortage of detection dogs.

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The list of fabulous skills that dogs have and their ability to help us humans out is practically endless.

To be more to the point, if dogs really can make a difference in determining who has got COVID-19, especially at airports, then this is a step to eventually returning to a more open and normal lifestyle.

May it happen!

I would like to close by returning to that NOVA article and republishing the following:

Put another way, dogs can detect some odors in parts per trillion. What does that mean in terms we might understand? Well, in her book Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz, a dog-cognition researcher at Barnard College, writes that while we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or two Olympic-sized pools worth. Another dog scientist likened their ability to catching a whiff of one rotten apple in two million barrels.

Incredible!

The love of dogs

Pure and simple!

Thank you, M.K.

I promise you that you won’t be able to resist a tear or two.

It’s simply wonderful; the unconditional love of our dogs!

Picture Parade Three Hundred and Thirty-Six

These are most definitely the last ones from this source!

As before, taken from here.

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And the last image, which I just love!

So what to do in a week’s time? Something will come along, I’m sure!

Change, for the better!

Animals, especially dogs, can have a profoundly positive effect on us humans.

We had to go to the local tip yesterday morning and there were a couple of other cars in the ‘recycling’ area that had dogs. Both the drivers of those other cars were allowing their dogs to look out through an open window and, in the course of dumping our stuff in the various piles, I approached the dogs and allowed them to sniff my outstretched arm. What struck me later was how natural that was, with the drivers being so friendly towards their dogs and me, let’s face it, practically a stranger. They were only brief exchanges but they were happy exchanges and that’s the point!

Emma is not really a private guest writer; putting all her material on her website Pawstruck.com.

But the value in what she writes totally justifies in my mind what is being said.

What do you think?

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The Many Ways Owning a Dog Can Change Your Life

True-blue dog owners can attest to the fact that life is never the same without their pet pooch. There’s something innately contagious about a dog’s spirit that nurses and nurtures the human soul.

It’s science!

According to a Finnish study, merely looking at your dog releases a flood of oxytocin in your brain. Also called the love hormone, these neurotransmitters lessen anxiety and promote well-being.

For most dog parents, simply receiving their dog’s unconditional love is enough of a reason to keep pumping love, effort, and money into caring for their pet. Still, there are so many more arguments for why having a dog is an experience everyone should try once in their lives.

Dogs Are Mood Boosters

The jolly temperament, silly mannerisms, and unsinkable enthusiasm of a dog at whatever time of day make them the funniest companions. Simply petting your dog or spending a few minutes of fetch each day releases serotonin and dopamine in the human brain. These neurotransmitters are responsible for keeping you in a good mood.

Constant interaction with your pet is also found to manage the symptoms of depression, according to a 2018 study. In many instances, dogs can provide the kind of genuinely reliable relationship that can rarely be found between humans. This feeling of dependability, it turns out, is vital for humans’ mental wellness.

Dogs Keep You Fit

Being a dog parent is a full-time job. That means ensuring they eat well and exercise right. Even if you own a “lazy” breed, all dogs still need to be exercised at least 30 minutes every day to keep fit.

As a responsible owner, you are obliged to attend to these needs and, in the process, also benefit from the task. A lot of people, despite the clear benefits of exercise, refuse to move for lack of motivation. Dog parents don’t get to choose, and sometimes, that’s a good thing.

Make a routine out of your dog’s walking schedule. This way, your body can get used to the new pace and help turn the practice into a habit.

Dogs Keep Your Heart Healthy

Another research in 2018 concluded that dog ownership is highly associated with a healthy heart. The simple act of caressing your dog or engaging in lovable cuddles results in lowered blood-pressure levels.

This, coupled with the mood-boosting benefits of a dog’s presence all contribute to a reduced risk of developing heart problems, which are the leading cause of death among older adults in the US.

Dogs Help You Socialize

One of the biggest contributors and symptoms of depression is social isolation. Living alone can exacerbate the situation and cause you to distance yourself even more from family members and your tightest circle of friends.

Whereas if you have a dog, the responsibility of going out for dog supplies, routine vet visits, and daily walks obliges you to interact with people. For natural introverts, the forced socialization may be hard at first. But it will also help you hone your social skills and find new friends aside from keeping the blues at bay.

Dogs Help You Be Kinder to Yourself and to Those Around You

When someone else’s life depends on you, you learn to be more conscious of your decisions. You encourage yourself to take care of your health because no one else will tend to their needs. You learn to be decisive with your choices, from selecting the perfect dog treats to opting for brands with cruelty-free practices.

You cannot pour from an empty cup, as they say, and once you experience your pup’s absolute love, you will realize that the only way to give love back is to love yourself first.

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I asked Emma, as I do with all my guest bloggers at first, to send me a short bio.

This is what she wrote:

Emma Nolan is a blogger, writer, and dog parent to a dachshund and three adorable black Labradoodles. She likes strolling outdoors with her lovable fur babies when not writing about them. She writes about everything pooch at Pawstruck.

I think that was a good article!

Dog aggression!

John Brooks submits another guest post.

To be honest, I much prefer guest posts, even ones with a commercial aspect to them, than the republication of articles from other blogs.

This is an excellent example of what I mean.

John has written down all the key aspects of treating this, luckily uncommon, trait in a dog. It is his second guest post. The first one is here.

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How to Get Rid of Your Dog’s Aggressive Behavior

By John Brooks.

“Dog: a man’s best friend.”

The quote says it all.

A dog is a very lovable four-legged pet that cares and loves its owners. But what stands out the most is the loyalty of the dog towards its owners. You probably have heard of incidents where dogs have saved their owners from many unwanted threats, and even in some cases, they risk their own lives while doing so.

A dog can only do so much for you, so, therefore, it becomes your responsibility too, to take care of your dog as your child. It needs your time and attention, and just like a human being, it can even express emotions of love, sadness, and anger.
But this doesn’t mean that your dog doesn’t like you or anything. Dogs can experience different moods depending on many things. If your dog has been aggressive lately, then you need to find out the right reason and treat the cause immediately rather than just putting up a thick dog collar around its neck.

Reasons for Aggression
First of all, you need to find out why your dog is behaving the way it is. There may be many reasons for the cause like:

He may be Afraid
Fear may very well be one of the reasons why your dog is behaving in such a way. He may have a fear of suddenly seeing a lot of strange people at once. Or children might be poking him and irritating him to the point that he has become afraid and has developed aggression to counter that fear.

Lack of Socialism
If your dog fears crowd places, the chances are that he has not been exposed to a lot of crowds, beforehand and now this has made him anti-social and therefore has developed fear as a result.

Depression
Depression is a real thing not only for humans but also for dogs. Depression may cause your dog to be frustrated internally, and slowly that frustration might creep and turn into aggression later on. The cause of depression can be anything like being beaten up, fear, etc. But these problems should be addressed as soon as possible.

Punishment
Punishment is the last thing you want to do. Beating your dog will drive it to develop fear against you, and this fear will cause it to express in the form of aggression.
Almost in all cases, fear is the one main factor that drives a dog to be aggressive towards its owner or any stranger. It can be a fear of any previous experience when he was a puppy and had to go through any trauma. A fear of anything that he finds unpleasant or unwilling. He may also face fear when he thinks that valuable resources are being taken away or are under threat.

Signs of aggression
You may see some other sign too like the dog may start to crouch with his tail between his legs, or may develop tension around his mouth and jaw. You may notice him becoming stiff and still. Don’t just assume that if your dog is wagging his tail, it means that it is a sign of friendship. A stiff wagging of the tail or a dog wagging tail in crouched position is all signs of him that he is in a state of confusion or fear.
The last stage before attacking will be growling. It is the final stage of warning after which the dogs are sure to strike if the irritating factor is not removed.

How Do you Counter such Aggressive Behavior?
There are many ways you can do to prevent the aggressive behavior of your dog.

Remove the Cause
Immediately remove the cause of its aggression or the thing that is making him frighten or take your dog away from that situation as soon as possible.

Do not Punish him for Being Aggressive
Punishing your dog for being aggressive in the form of beating, yelling or any other bold tone manner will only make the dog more frightened and more aggressive the next time and may directly bite. The proper way to do this is just to show him that you don’t approve of such behavior either by shrugging your shoulders or by leashing only slightly. This behavior makes your dog believe that the owner doesn’t accept its action.

Train Him
You should train him to face his fear in a more fun and less aggressive way. Train him to be less violent and manage his stress. Try to play with him, hang out, and spend time so that he knows that his owner is always there with him so that he can have more confidence when next time he is around stressful situations.

Consult a Professional Dog Trainer or Veterinarian
Sometimes, even with the hardest of your efforts, things don’t work out and then it is time for you to visit the professionals who have been doing this for so long. They can guide you in many ways and help your dog to be better again.

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John’s bio is as follows:

John Brooks is the Professional Content Marketer. He writes a lot of articles on his carrier. Last one year he is working with Orbeen.com as a digital marketing expert. The company provides various types of Digital Marketing services i.e, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Optimization (SMO), Web design & development, Link Building, Content Marketing & blogger outreach.

I found this a most useful article. I hope you did as well.