Whereas others require regular ear cleaning to prevent dirt build-up. Ear infections are more common in dog breeds with long-hanging ears, such as Basset Hounds and Cocker Spaniels due to lack of ventilation and breeds with long coats as the wax build-up gets stuck to hair around the ear opening causing infections.
Cleaning your dog's ears is essential, but it can prove to be difficult if the dog is not used to it or if you are not comfortable doing it. Follow this simple beginner's guide on how to clean their ears and what symptoms to look for if they have an ear infection.
Things to look out for:
Before you get jumbled up with random trivia on WebMD, we need to ensure a few things to determine if your dog really has an ear infection. Ear infections could be caused by allergy-related issues, foreign bodies such as ticks or fleas, or maybe because of the anatomy itself.
- A healthy ear looks light pink and clear, so look for any signs that make them have a mild smell and start looking red or inflamed.
- If your dog is shaking their head or scratching the ear area more than usual.
-If your dog’s ears start to smell yeasty or stinky.
In extreme cases, our dogs need urgent medical attention and a visit to the veterinarian.
Do's
-Put coconut oil on a cotton swab and clean your dog's outer ear. Its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties help improve skin health.
-Pet wipes are also a handy alternative to clean their ears. They are great at cleaning surface area dirt and bacteria from their coat. Wrap it around your finger and wipe their ears while focusing on the folds.
-While we have these home remedies to our rescue, it is always recommended that you go to the veterinarian and get their ears flushed and cleaned once a month.
-Use ear drops after cleaning your dog's ears. There is a large assortment of ear drops that dissolve wax, and it's better to get it prescribed by the veterinarian.
-For dogs with longer coats, always trim their fur around the ear area to maintain hygiene and avoid stagnation of any bacteria or ticks.
Don'ts
-Do not use human earbuds to clean out your dog's ears as there are chances that you could push the ear wax and debris further down their ears, as their ear anatomy is vastly different from human ear anatomy.
-Never clean your dog's ears immediately after bathing, as the pores are unclogged and open, which leaves a risk of the wax melting and travelling further inside the ear canal.
-Despite the DIY solutions you see on the internet, do not make a homemade vinegar mixture for cleaning. It will only cause them more harm.
How do we go about the cleaning part?
Dogs need gentle handling and love when they are having their ears cleaned, especially a dog who isn't used to it. They may try to struggle or break free, but remember to be patient and loving towards them.
Step one: To begin with, hold your dog gently but firmly, and pour in the recommended amount of dog ear cleaning solution. The physician would prescribe the quantity.
Step two: Massage their ear from top to bottom after injecting the liquid, making sure that the solution spreads evenly throughout the inner structure of the ear. Clean the excess using a cotton swab. Let your dog shake out the remaining liquid away from their ears.
Step three: Lastly, take a soft tissue or cotton to clean out the outer folds of the ear and any accumulated ear wax or debris from the outside.
Use our 100% Natural Wellness Range to keep your dog’s coat in top shape. Our wellness range includes massage oils, natural sprays and balms that help keep the coat healthy and shiny without the nasty chemicals.
PoochMate is your one stop pet store for your pooch’s needs. The products are handcrafted with 100% natural ingredients, biodegradable & breathable materials that are easy to use and ensure utmost comfort.
]]>Small mats, or knots can appear during any kind of activity that your pet indulges in, including running, rubbing against couches or carpets. However, these are easy to remove if the dog is brushed daily or several times a week.
Larger knots form when a part of the dog's coat is neglected for sometime.
All dogs need to be brushed from time to time, depending on the coat type. While short coat dogs are okay with twice to thrice a week brushing, to keep dead coat away and keep them clean, long coated dogs need to be brushed every day, sometimes even twice a day.
Yes, there are some parts of the body that a prone to matting more than others.
Some of the body parts prone to frequent matting include underarms, inner thighs, behind the ears, chest and paw pads. These areas are warmer, and you'll often find your pet not happy about brushing these areas, convincing many of us to avoid brushing here. This can be detrimental to increasing matting further.
So, what can you do to keep your long coat dogs de-matted at all times?
Feeding coconut oil to your dog provides him/her with many health benefits, including
So how does coconut oil provide so many benefits to our dogs?
Coconut oil is a fatty acid that is helpful in cognitive function, which has been medically proven.
Medium-chain fatty acids, like coconut oil, help with physical and digestive ailments because they are “directly absorbed in the GI tract and go directly to the liver where they are metabolised into utilisable energy.”
Besides the overall health benefits, coconut oil can be used as a coating on pills to help dogs swallow them, and it can be applied topically to smooth and freshen a dog’s coat.
How should one feed coconut oil to dogs?
Coconut oil can generally be given to dogs 1-2 times a day with meals.
How much you should give your dog depends on the size of the dog.
Many veterinarian recommend adding coconut oil slowly to the meals and gradually increasing the dose.
A good starting dose is ¼ teaspoon daily for small dogs, 1 teaspoon for medium dogs and 1 tablespoon daily for big dogs.
However, if you have an obese or overweight dog, it’s suggested that coconut oil be provided no more than once a day because of its high fat content.
]]>What are Tear Stains?
Tear Stains are the reddish-brown streaks right under a dog's or cat's eye and is caused by several reasons. The appearance is more prominent in certain breeds like Lhasa Apso, Shih Tzu and Persian Cats. Although, tear staining is usually normal, it can also be a symptom of a serious eye problem.
What causes Tear Stains?
There can be several reasons why tear stains occur, the most common could be :
Why do some dogs have more prominent tear stains?
Apart from what we explained on the breeds, there could be other reasons why some dogs get more frequent staining under the eye, than others.
Tear Stains are typically results of porphyrins. Porphyrins are naturally occurring molecules containing iron, which are formed from the break down to red blood cells.
These are usually removed from the body through poop, however in some dogs & cats, porphyrins can also be excreted through saliva, urine and tears.
How to treat Tear Stains
We at PoochMate turn down umpteen number of requests to shave down double coat dogs to "keep them cool in summers" almost on a daily basis.
So why would one want to shave dogs? Is it right? Is it wrong? Does it actually do any harm?
We're trying to reach out to pet parents through this blog to help them understand what happens when you shave down your dog.
The general public seems to have a pretty low opinion of Dog Groomers.
There is no regulation in our country for the pet industry yet, but there are some trained and professional groomers in the field too.
A good groomer will have the dog's interest at heart at ALL times.
So when you call your groomer to book your dog for shaving and your request is turned down, remember the groomer has SAID NO TO MORE MONEY and there has to be some valid reason behind it !
The next question we are asked many times is how should we control the above issues then?
It's very simple. None of the reasons mentioned above are compelling enough to get your dog shaved and NONE of the issues mentioned above will get resolved by shaving.
Lastly, steer clear of "vets" and "groomers" that suggest you to shave down your dogs for any of the above reasons.
]]>The small inflammation that appears between the paws are usually hairless, fleshy lumps that cause excessive itching leading to licking, and eventually limping in dogs.
The condition medically termed as “Interdigital Cysts” is found most commonly in short coat dogs like Labradors, Bull Dogs etc, but may also appear in other breeds, even if not that commonly.
Your usual visits to the vets may result in tests for allergies, cancer, anti-biotics, putting the dog on an e-collar and sometimes much more. We have been seeing our dog suffering from this condition for the longest time.
Every visit to the vet results in all of the above but NOTHING seems to have worked in the long run.
So what are these Interdigital cysts in dogs and what causes it? Interdigital cysts are these small bloody lumps between the dog’s paws that are
There are a variety of causes of Interdigital Cysts in your dog’s paws. And usually you will hear your veterinarians say they are not really sure of what caused it in your dog. Some of the common reasons include:
Common treatments for IG Cysts/a combination or any one of these may work best for your dog :
The success of any one of the above treatments will depend on the correct diagnosis of the reasons cited above. More often than not, one of the above reasons may be causing the cysts to grow back every now and then, or a combination of two or more reasons.
Most treatments will take TIME to show results. But they are TREATABLE.
No matter how long any of the above treatment take, DO NOT take any suggestions for surgical removal of the webbing between the paws. The webbing between the dog’s paws is there for a purpose.
You may end up attracting more trouble like orthopedics issue, foot pad overgrowth for your dog if the webbing is surgically removed.
So next time you spot your dog limping, or excessively licking his/her paws, look for these lumps between his paws. DO NOT PANIC. Take a Step-wise approach:
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