I decided many years ago that I wanted to be that old lady that zip lines, jumps out of an airplane, and dances to the wee hours of the morning. But, in order to be in a position to do so, I have found it will be far easier to maintain my good health now than trying to repair decades of damage later on.
At first it seemed just a tough bout of kennel cough, so we updated Bordetella vaccines. Yet every day we got worsening information. Was it the canine influenza (H3N8 virus)? The usual flu vaccines were the only treatment available. Symptoms were a distinctive cough, lethargy and inappetite.
It’s the same old story: Charlie the cocker comes in to your shop every week with sticky, stinky skin and you are handed a prescription shampoo meant to make him better. Except he never gets better.
Take the Bite Out of Back Pain
Lift, lower, bath, wrestle, brush, scissor, repeat. Yes, I love my job as a dog groomer but because it can be physically demanding with lots of lifting and repetitive movement, this type of work has a high incident of injuries.
We all groom a “challenging” pet. Mine is Molly, a soft-coated wheaten terrier. Molly is a sweetheart. She is easily one of my best-behaved clients. What makes Molly a challenge is her health issues. I have overcome this difficulty because of effective communication between Molly’s owner and their veterinarian.
Animals can’t talk. They can’t say, ‘Hey, I’m not feeling well…I might need medical attention.’ Because pets can’t tell us themselves that they are sick it is up to us to figure it out. That means that we, as animal owners, care givers, groomers, etc, must be able to ascertain a deviation from the norm.
Having worked in the pet services and product industry for over 20 years, I have found that anyone can put a price tag on a can of food and hope it sells. Rather than just sell a can of dog food, I want to give you the tools to market pet foods for success!
You are what you eat. We all know that phrase, and it’s just as true for pets as it is for people. Every day in our salons, we see pets that obviously need help in the dietary department—the obese, the ones with skin issues and poor coats.
As a doctor of veterinary medicine, I believe nutrition is the most important daily medical decision pet owners can make for their pets.
The sad fact is that very few pet owners or veterinarians have the knowledge to make informed decisions about pet nutrition.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. This number represents an increase of ten times figures earlier reported by the government agency. Most of these cases were diagnosed in 13 states, primarily in the Northeast and Upper Midwest.