Help! My Family Member is Allergic to Dogs

January 25, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Dog Allergies: Relief for the Family Member Allergic to Dogs

Believe it or not, being allergic to dogs is a common reason dogs are dumped at animal shelters. Having allergies myself, I completely understand your commitment to your family member suffering from allergies. However, you made a commitment to your dog before you brought him inside your home. Fortunately, rehoming your dog isn’t the only option you have if someone in your family is allergic to dogs. Below, we discuss ways to keep your family member’s allergies at bay and your dog at home.

How to Keep Pet Allergens Under Control

Many years ago, doctors and immunologists recommended tossing a family dog outdoors or rehoming him, but that’s outdated advice now. Many immunologists have learned that pet allergies can easily be maintained while keeping an allergic family member symptom free.

Bathe Your Dog Frequently

Allergies are caused by pet dander. Your dog’s hair has nothing to do with it. Now, dander can get caught in your dog’s fur, but it’s shedding skin that causes allergic reactions in people.

With that said, bathe your dog weekly with a gentle moisturizing shampoo (here’s my favorite brand). Using a gentle shampoo will ensure your dog’s skin doesn’t dry out due to frequent baths, as most dogs are bathed monthly. When bathing, rinse and rinse your dog again. Shampoo will help lift pet dander off your dog’s skin and coat, but rinsing (and rinsing again) will remove dander out of your dog’s coat.

Keep Your Dog’s Coat Short

Not only is bathing a short-haired dog easier, but it’s also easier to rinse off dander caught on your dog’s fur. If your dog normally has longer hair, trim about an inch off or ask a dog groomer to trim it for you. This way, brushing your dog’s coat weekly is much more manageable. Shorter hair also minimizes the amount of molds and pollens brought inside by your dog.

Just a reminder: there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. It’s a myth. Check out the real deal here.

Clean Often

With any type of allergies, keeping a clean living space is always a given tip. If someone is allergic to dog dander, she is most likely allergic to mold, dust mites, pollen and so forth. Keep symptoms manageable by vacuuming daily and keeping surfaces free from allergens.

Personally, we removed all the carpet from our home and my allergies have never been better. With carpet, I had frequent asthma flare-ups, which were well controlled by medications. Once the carpet was removed, I weaned myself off several medications because I no longer needed them. And yes, I am allergic to dog dander. 🙂

Purchase a HEPA Filter

HEPA filters are worth every penny. I highly recommend investing in at least two units. Place one in the allergic person’s bedroom and the other in a frequented common room, such as a den or living room.

Filter size depends on square footage, so choose carefully. We purchased two Austin Air filters that work well. They keep dust particles to a minimum, which means less dusting on my part. Austin Air filters are supposed to be changed every three years, but we open the unit yearly and vacuum the front filter surface. Before freaking out at the cost of this filter, let’s do a bit of math first. It’ll cost $260 per year to keep allergens to a minimum in your home, which translates to $22 per month. It’s an investment in the beginning, but it works!

It is possible for your allergic family member to remain symptom-free around your dog. I do it every day. 🙂

The Truth About Dog-Friendly Hotels

January 22, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Dog-Friendly Hotels Are Not So Friendly

We travel with our dogs a lot–sometimes monthly. Finding a truly dog-friendly hotel that allows our two dogs, especially our Rottweiler, is next to impossible at times. Let’s chat about the truth behind hotels advertising themselves as dog-friendly. Unfortunately, so-called dog-friendly hotels are not that friendly, but I’ve found some easy tips that may help you out.

Small Dogs Only is Subjective

Every time I see this statement, I swear my heartbeat increases to dangerous levels. Once, I assumed (never assume) “small dogs only” meant dogs weighing less than 25 pounds were allowed at a hotel. I casually checked in, signed all paperwork and headed to the car to grab my luggage and dog. As I walked through the lobby with my suitcase and a very friendly Miniature Bull Terrier (that weighs 24 pounds), someone came out from behind the desk screaming. It seems they only allowed dogs under 10 lbs. However, their check-in paperwork and online details never mentioned a weight restriction. Needless to say, Stella and I were forced to leave and drove another two hours until I found a true dog-friendly hotel. That incident still makes me angry.

If no weight restriction is listed, call the front desk before reserving a room with a specific hotel. Note the person’s name you spoke with as well as date and time of the call if this person says the hotel allows “small dogs” more than 10 lbs. This method isn’t foolproof though. The property manager can still refuse your reservation.

Dog Breed Restrictions Vary

Oh, this one makes me beyond angry. Now, don’t assume a hotel is discriminating against certain breeds, such as American Pit Bull Terriers, Rottweilers and Dobermans. Each property manager decides which breeds he finds dangerous and adds them to his list. One time, someone with a very friendly Dalmatian was refused due to breed restrictions. We all know breed discrimination is ridiculous. Don’t give these hotels your hard-earned money. There are better hotels, trust me.

All Dogs Allowed…With a Cost

While this statement sounds glorious, especially if you share your home with large dogs, it’s usually not exactly what it seems. Hotels claiming all “dogs are welcome” charge outrageous pet fees, which can easily average $100-$250 per night during your stay.

When I questioned the front desk about large dog pet fees, they happily explain these funds are spent on steam cleaning and sanitizing the room after you leave. OK, my dogs are clean and potty trained, so I’m not entirely sure why this excessive cleaning needs to happen. When I further ask about their rates, most hotels claim it keeps allergens down for dog-sensitive guests. Whatever!

What Should You Do?

A Truly Dog-Friendly Hotel

From my experience, there’s only one hotel chain that is truly dog-friendly and that’s La Quinta hotels. Keep in mind many of their hotels are old and run-down, and it can be a bit scary staying overnight in a creepy room because you have nowhere else to go. Thankfully, many La Quinta hotels are in the process of remodeling their properties, so you feel safe.

Don’t get me wrong, La Quinta still charges a pet fee, but it’s usually $25 for your entire stay. This $25 pet fee covers two dogs too, but always check their website or call ahead for the limit on dogs per rooms.

Be Responsible, It Helps All Pet Owners

While staying at dog-friendly hotels, make sure your dog remains quiet (no barking or whining) and keep her on leash when outside of your room. Bring large sheets and cover the hotel bed to keep dog hair to a minimum. Basically, please be a responsible dog owner. 🙂 And always pick up after your dog. This means poop too!

READ NEXT: 4 Tips for Traveling With Dogs

Dog Tear Stains: New Home Treatment That Works

January 6, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Dog Tear Stain Home Remedy

Brown tear staining, especially around white-coated dogs’ eyes, can be annoying and become a health issue. Several years ago, many dog tear stain removers went on the market, promising to remove dog tear staining forever and pet owners saw promising results with continued use. Well, it seems these dog products contained low levels of antibiotics and we all know continued use of antibiotics will most certainly lead to antibiotic resistance. There’s some good news now for dog tear stains and it doesn’t contain antibiotics. It’s actually the opposite; it’s probiotics!

What Causes Dog Tear Stains?

Dog tear staining is usually most noticeable on white-coated dogs. It leaves a reddish brown stain on the inner corners of some dogs’ eyes. All dogs, regardless of color, are susceptible to tear staining. Though there are certain breeds that are more susceptible than others, such as Cocker Spaniels and Poodles. To make things even more confusing, tear staining can be caused by poor diet, allergies, eye irregularities (blocked tear ducts), entropion (inverted lashes that rub against the eye), eye disease and even genetics.

Usually, dog tear stains are an issue when dogs have an eye infection or the skin near the eye becomes irritated due to constant moisture from excessive tear staining. Always have a complete veterinary exam to rule out any eye disease or infections. Foul smelling brown tear stains may indicate a bacterial or yeast infection.

RELATED: Causes of Lick Granuloma

Power of Probiotics

Many dog owners are seeing a dramatic reduction in tear staining after using probiotics. If you choose probiotics, you still need to clean the tear stained area several times a week, keep hair trimmed short (prevents buildup), throw away your dog’s plastic food and water bowl (replace with glass or stainless steel) and, of course, feed your dog a high quality diet. Adding a good quality probiotic, made especially for dogs, is just as effective as Angel Eyes and other products containing antibiotics without the terrible side effects.

Choosing a probiotic made for dogs is always a bit overwhelming, but I do know most veterinary dermatologists recommend Prostora MAX by Iams. A recent study on dog tear stains showed tremendous results from Prostora. However, the price might just scare you a bit. If you choose Prostora, be prepared to pay $38 for 15 tabs (13-day supply). As with anything, if your dog needs it, then it’s worth every penny. I tried to find the actual study’s results, but this was the closest research I could find. Also, if you view Prostora’s reviews on Amazon, you’ll find testimonials describing dramatic tear stain reduction.

For the most part, I think continued use of any great probiotic (made for dogs) would work. Check out my recommendations here. Most pet owners notice a difference after one to two months of daily use, so be patient and remember probitioics are just as good for your dog as they are for us. 🙂

If probiotics have helped your dog’s tear stains, please share your results below!

What Exactly is High Quality Dog Food?

January 5, 2016 by Fanna Easter

High Quality Dog Food: What Does This Really Mean?

You hear it everywhere: pet owners should feed their dogs a high quality dog food, but what makes food high quality? Interestingly, this is a bit subjective, meaning everyone has a different opinion on which dog food is best. Some pet owners tout grain-free food is best for all dogs while others are convinced certain brands of dog kibble are better than others. Others say only raw diets are appropriate for dogs.

With that said, here are a few tips on choosing the best dog food for your dog. Thankfully, dog foods have really improved over the last decade. Dog food ingredients are important, but your dog’s reaction to his dog food is really important too!

Don’t Believe the Hype

Personally, I don’t believe a specific category or brand of dog food works for all dogs. It’s impossible. Yes, dog food commercials will try to convince you their brand is best, but remember that’s just marketing. Don’t believe all the hype. Also, raw food doesn’t work for all dogs either. Trust me, I’ve been there; check out my personal experience on why not all dogs can eat raw dog food.

How to Choose a High Quality Dog Food

Specific Type of Meat Listed as First Ingredient

Before choosing a brand of dog food, flip over the bag and take a good look at the ingredients listed. Dog food ingredients are listed by weight, so a specific type of meat meal should be listed first to indicate a dog food is mostly meat.

Now, choosing a dog food with a specific type of meal means the type of animal meat is listed. It’s not just a mystery meat combination, which could easily contain a mixture of animal meats, including horse or even dog meat. Choose a dog food that has chicken, beef, turkey, lamb or even boar meal listed as the first ingredient.

No Harmful Preservatives

This is a big one because many preservatives hidden in dog food have proven to cause cancer in many studies. Meat-rich dog foods need some type of preservative to keep meat and fat from becoming rancid, so read the entire dog food ingredient list before purchasing and feeding to your dog.

Stay away from dog food listing BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, propylene glycol (used to preserve moisture in semi-moist dog food), propyl gallate (used to preserve fat) and TBHQ (fat preservative). Even if these preservatives are listed at the bottom of the dog food ingredient list, put it back on the shelf. There are much safer preservatives out there.

Look for natural preservatives, such as Vitamin E (sometimes listed as tocopherol) or Vitamin C (sometimes listed as ascorbate). Both vitamins do an excellent job preserving meat-rich dog food, so choose naturally preserved foods over artificially or chemically preserved dog food.

Small Output (Meaning Poop)

Yup, this means you need to view your dog’s output. 🙂 When a dog is eating a dog food that works best for him, he produces small firm fecal matter daily. This means he’s absorbing all ingredients.

Large sloppy stool means your dog is unable to digest certain ingredients, which can be caused by unnecessary added fillers or allergies. When changing dog foods, you should do so slowly and over a 10-day period. If your dog still has large cow pie-like stools after two weeks, try a different food and look for natural ingredients, such as chicken, vegetables, fruits and whole grains (i.e. oatmeal, whole white or brown rice, barley, millet).

No Doggy Odor

You know that smell. It’s a musty sour smell that worsens when your dog is wet. Well, dogs eating a well-tolerated food should not smell like this. They should have a sweet or fresh smell instead. If your dog smells funky, switch your dog’s food slowly over 10 days. Feed 1/3 new to old food for 3 days, ½ new and old food for 3 days, ¾ new to ¼ old food for 3 days, and finally new food going forward.

Allergy Free

Dogs eating a well-tolerated food do not scratch, bite, chew or rub their skin. They should be free of red itchy skin, watery eyes, ear infections and yeast infections. Now, I’m not saying a high quality dog food will cure these things, but they should not inflame these conditions by any means.

Gleaming Skin & Coat

Dogs eating a high quality dog food have a gleaming coat free of dandruff and, believe it or not, shed less too. A healthy combination of the right dog food ingredients and protein percentages will most certainly reduce shedding. Some dog foods have fish or vegetable oil that really helps shedding and improve your dog’s coat too!

If your dog is not thriving on his dog food, keep researching until you find the right one. It’s worth all the extra effort!

New Dog Anxiety Medication for 2016

December 31, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Dog Anxiety Supplement: New For 2016

Dog anxiety is exhausting not only for the dog, but for his pet owner as well. As someone who works directly with anxious and fearful dogs daily, I’m always looking for a new way to reduce anxiety in dogs every day. Well, as luck would have it, I share my home with an anxious dog too, and our holistic veterinarian recently recommended a newer supplement with promising results.

I’ve kept up with every type of supplement out there promising to reduce anxiety–I sampled and read the latest research. As with anything, some work, some don’t and others work well with prescribed medications. Learning that there was another option in the dog anxiety supplement category, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Now, this supplement is not necessarily new, but it just fell under my radar. I’ll admit, so far I’ve witnessed amazing results.

Kemin Resources Anxiety & Stress

Kemin Resources Anxiety & Stress contains a combination of herbs and melatonin in a chewable tablet form, and can be easily purchased through your veterinarian or online (Amazon has best prices). I’ve tried melatonin on its own, which works well, but there’s something about Kemin’s combination that seems to reduce anxiety quicker and longer.

Ingredients

Besides a healthy dose of melatonin, this dog supplement also contains herb powerhouses that are proven to reduce anxiety on their own. Lately, I’ve dabbled into the power of herbs and so far I’ve seen some really good results. I’ll write more about this in 2016, so stay tuned!

Oyster Shell

Made from the interior and exterior of oyster shells, this supplement causes relaxation within the brain, and has been known to decrease gastric ulcers. Dogs sensitive to shellfish may have a reaction.

Chamomile

Most commonly used in tea, chamomile settles upset tummies and relaxes the body to promote sound sleep. This little herb works wonders. When I was living in Germany, many German veterinarians recommended soaking wounds in strong chamomile tea twice a day every day. The results were simply amazing; they healed quickly with little scarring.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo biloba is used to improve cognitive performance by improving memory and stabling the mood, which increases positive social interactions. Plus, several studies have found ginkgo biloba to reduce anxiety. Check out this interesting article here.

Dan Shen

Also known as “red sage,” Dan Shen is known to have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Interestingly, anti-inflammatories have shown to reduce anxiety and depression in many recent studies hence the increase of turmeric as an anti-depressant.

Magnesium Aspartate

Supplemental magnesium has been a lifesaver for me. Not only does it relax stressed muscles, but it has also been proven to lower high blood pressure. Usually, I take magnesium before bed because it promotes relaxation without tranquilizing the body. Now, magnesium can certainly cause a reaction if your dog is taking other medications, so always ask your vet first.

Usages

Kemin Anxiety & Stress Calming supplement is recommended to reduce canine anxiety. Plus, it works well when dogs are exposed to stressful situations (i.e. car rides and veterinary visits). Now, this supplement isn’t a fix-all. It’s best used in combination with prescribed medications or supplements, and only administered under a veterinarian’s guidance.

What to Expect

Sobek, my Rottweiler, gets anxious during car rides so much so he whines continuously. About 20 minutes after taking this dog anxiety medication, his vocalization stops. He’s able to lie down and relax instead of pace and whine. Now, this supplement doesn’t knock him out like Dramamine; he is still awake, takes treats and responds to cues. Rather he’s much calmer with relaxed body language. After taking Kemin Anxiety & Stress Calming supplement at home, he remains active, but has the ability to self-settle quickly and reserve a calm demeanor.

Dosage Recommendations

Always follow your veterinarian’s recommendations. Fortunately, Kemin’s supplement provides dosage recommendations by weight. Just to be safe, serve this supplement with a small meal.

Be your dog’s voice!