Dogs/pets health on the road

[Lost]

Many of us have pets more dogs than anythign else.I myself have a dog and wanna know if anyone has any tip for me to keep him tip top shape.Since I am mostly homless unless im visiting my folks.And can't really afford check-ups all the time.Is there anything I should buy/steal for him..my dog is lactouse and tolerante to so i have to wacth him around ppl who think How poor my dog is and give him pastries and whatnot.

 

[Ravie]

well, i personally just make sure my dog gets plenty of water and eats whenever she's hungry. because they are walking so much, they normally dont get over weight. be careful about the water they drink or swim in. if in a new town, ask the people who live there if the water is poluted or dirty(refering to lakes and rivers or beaches).
Oh, and an important one, heart worm medication. thats the only thing you do not want you dog getting. it is curable, but the cure its self is pricy and can kill your dog in the process. just keep close watch on him. if your worried about people giving him food, then if you have to get a mussle or keep him close to you.

 

[Ravie]

eh, my dog is my best friend. and the only time she's on a leash is when we're by a road. but i do agree with what you said. thats how it "should" be, but humans have already corrupted their environment and watching their back is the least we can do. afterall, they are born domestic these days and dont have natural insticts of steering clear of a dumb ass driving on a sidewalk.

 

[Matt Derrick]

Show me a health train hopping dog and Ill show you the worlds most shocked person.

hahaha...

 

[Ravie]

Show me a health train hopping dog and Ill show you the worlds most shocked person.

im not a train hopper. i hitch. for the sake of my dog...and because im accident prone...

 

[finn]

I was wondering how a trainhopper would protect a dog's hearing.

 

[Ravie]

haha duh, just buy doggy ear muffs!

 

[finn]

Heh, i just looked them up, hearing protectors made for hunting dogs. Pricey. But I've never seen a trainhopper with one.

 

[soreusrex]

don't forget sneaky groundscoring. america loves em chicken bones on the sidewalks.

 

[enocifer]

My dog has been lactating for the past months, but she's not pregnant. Her nipples are swollen, though. Anybody ever hear of anything like this? Also, she's chewing her back legs and the fur's turning from white to brown. Does that sound like mange? Any advice would be helpful.

 

[dirty_feet]

Show me a health train hopping dog and Ill show you the worlds most shocked person.

AHahahAha!!! That's good stuff.

I put nutritional yeast and garlic in my dog's food during the winter. When I was hiking I met a few hikers that had their dogs with them. One hiker I met gave his dog electrolytes - he got them from a farm supply store for herding, working and hunting dogs. Didn't weigh much and it was gravy like when adding water so it was a healthy addition to the dogs load in the saddle bags. That dog hiked for two months and the as much as some of these kids have their dogs out and about - I'd highly recommend a big ol' bucket of that stuff. At least nutty yeast from bulk if you can't afford the electros. Just a pinch though on the food - a lil' sprankle.

As far as your dog lactating and not being prego and chewing on her hind leg - don't be a dumbass take her to the vet. I'm fucking broke myself believe me and sometimes I hate it when people tell me that because the vet is so expensive - but if it lasts longer than 2 or three days - find a way to pay for it and take her or him in.

 

[Ravie]

sounds like your dog is either going through some annoying ass heat, or she needs medical attention. If it doesnt really bother her i would wait like a week to see how it goes, but if she is uncomfortable in any way, take her in quick.

 

[skiptown]

When my dog is traveling away from home I always make sure to have heart worm preventative, flea and tick preventative, plenty of food and water for him, and doggy first aid (maybe its just in the bay, but there are a ton of punk vet techs who will hook you up with first aid stuff like powdered puppy antibiotics, paw bandaging supplies for torn pads (make sure you look up how to do this or have an experienced person show you because if you do this wrong you can really badly cut off circulation in your dogs extremity and fuck his shit up real bad) and other stuff. Neosporine/ bacitracine also works for your canine buddy if he gets minor skin abrasions. Word about watching for chicken bones/ harmful things your dog can eat and bad water. Gus got giardia from drinking out of a stagnant puddle when I wasn't looking and it was a miserable experience for both of us for a few weeks. If you are in Berkeley and go to the Ohlone dog park DO NOT let your dog drink out of any puddles as much as you can because there are tons of giardia cases out of this park (and others in the bay) every year. I usually make sure to bring a tennis ball and some pigs ears for downtime or incase Gus is bored and figety on long stretches. For anyone who hasn't already (even if you don't travel with your dog), its a good idea to familiarize yourself with symptoms of common heath issues dogs have so you can make a more informed decision about what course of action to take if something goes wrong and also so you have a good idea of what's going on if your dog starts bloating (gastric torsion) or has another similarly life threatening issue so you know to get your dog to an emergency vet a.s.a.p.

 

[Mouse]

bathe them! people seem to think it's okay for a dog to be dirty because it's a dog but it's really not.

 

[elokupa]

in summer i carried a little water pistol to spray my dog in hot places or places with little shade

 

[Mouse]

thats actually not good for them. just causes them to overheat more. they don't expel heat through their skin w/ sweat so water on the skin doesn't cool them down. they have to drink and pant to cool down.

 

[dVEC]

Best animal health tip I know is pumpkin seeds for intestinal worms.

Just grind up some raw pumpkin seeds (available and cheap at health food stores in the bulk section), mix 50/50 or so with some food they like (wet food, peanut butter, etc.) and feed them ONLY THAT for 48 hours or so. The pumpkin seeds paralyze the worms and they get shat right out. Be ready for them coming out, though - it's a hell of a sight.

Works for people, too.

 

[Ravie]

holy shit. thats a neat but oddly gross tip. Good to know though.

 

[general.manifest]

I think the best thing to remember is that the health of a dog, or a human, is largely a reflection of what the diet is made up of. So, if you're dog is eating highly processed foods that smell rancid because the oils in them turned long ago sitting in a warehouse waiting to be shipped, there's a lot you can do beyond that. That's not a diminutive comment, it's food. Although, it might explain why you're dog smells like low quality oil.

Beyond that, here's a remedy I've found for diarrhea.

Diarrhea or Loose Stools: There could be a number of causes for this in dogs. It's important to remember that just because you can remedy the symptoms doesn't mean that the underlying cause of the problem is cured. If you're dog has worms, you can help with the liquid shit that comes out, but you're just going to extend the issue if you don't treat the worms. They have a short digestive tract, which usually deters certain bacteria that could easily squat in our guts from setting up camp in theirs. That said, shit happens.

One of the most effective, and cheapest remedies I have used for this is a teaspoon of cinnamon cooked into one cup of rice. There's a myth that dogs never ate grains in the wild. It certainly may be true that they didn't eat sticky rice, but they did eat animals that ate grains, and they're carrion eaters, they ate the grains and vegetable when they ate the guts. Either way, this is a simple thing to prepare, easy to find and afford. If you can't make rice, buy some, and stir the cinnamon in, although I'd use less, like 3/4 of a teaspoon if you're not cooking it. You should notice results in less than a day.

Keep an eye on the excrement, and keep this in the diet for at least two days. I've used blackberry leaves as well, as a tea to cook the rice, but it's more astringent than cinnamon and I wouldn't use unless the cinnamon doesn't work. If you're dog isn't interested, try throwing some meat into the water as the rice cooks, or putting some oil and a small pinch of salt into it. Oatmeal works well instead of rice.

 

[Ravie]

just plain rice seems to work. we have five dogs. mix a spoon full of rice with their dry dog food every night.