Care

Is the grain from a beer-brewing kit safe for dogs? We feed our Scottie a natural diet rich in veggies, grains, fruits and white meats. I make beer. May the distillers grains be used, in moderation, in her feed and snack crackers?In the first part of the brewing process, you cook malted barley and cornstarch in water for 90 minutes. When the fluid is strained off for beer making, the “brewer’s grain” is discarded or fed to cattle. Is it appropriate for use in dog biscuits and as part of a home-prepared natural diet?

No matter how careful you are with your dog's everyday health needs, it's in his nature to be incautious and inquisitive. And that sometimes results in injury. Odds are, it's just a matter of when. However, your conviction to treat your dog with natural remedies is put to a real test when you are faced with an emergency. Whether your dog is severely injured in an accident or scraped and cut from a fight, your first reaction should be to remain calm, remember what you know, and think holistically. Just as you plan and prepare your dog's daily meals and training, advance planning and preparation for the unthinkable accident may help save your dog's life during the critical time between the beginning of the emergency and access to veterinary care.

Massage is a broad discipline that includes Swedish, Western, and sports massage techniques to name only a few. This series on canine massage will discuss several methodologies, but will begin by describing one of the basic Swedish massage movements and its physiological effects and benefits. Swedish massage has its origins in a system devised by Pehr Henrik Ling, a Swedish physiologist and gymnastics instructor who is considered the father of Swedish massage and also the father of physical therapy.

This is just a quick note to let you know how delighted I am with Whole Dog Journal. I have ordered and received all the back issues, and am still working my way through them. (I already have a holistic veterinarian and use veterinary chiropractic services occasionally.) I also faithfully cook for by two blessedly healthy dogs. I have been following the discussions on dog training with great interest, and am now curious: How are service dogs trained? How are the dogs in government service (customs, drugs) trained?

I was trying to be a responsible dog owner. We lived in a rural area of Northern California, in a house with no fenced yard. My boyfriend's Irish Setter had recently been shot and killed while chasing a neighbor's goats. A hard lesson to learn, and one I wasn't about to repeat. So when we were leaving the ranch for a day I insisted we tie up our recently acquired St. Bernard, Bear. We tied him to a tree, made sure he had access to plenty of water and shade and was nowhere near a fence that he could climb over. Confident that we had done the right thing, we drove off.

I own two beautiful Rottweilers, a male and a female. They are uncle and niece. I’ve had the male from birth; he’s now four years old, has the most outstanding personality, and his temperament is excellent. He gets along with everyone, he’s obedience trained, and there just isn’t enough I could say about him. A couple of years ago I decided to purchase his niece, a neutered female. She is also obedience trained. Initially, the two got along as if it were meant to be.

I just lost my dear buddy, Brando, a wonderful Rottie, to cancer. It was a brief but utterly intense battle. I found Brando at work two and a half years ago. I know God sent me this dog; he was the greatest gift I have ever received. He was totally mellow and loved all creatures. Part of our journey together was to help the world be more “Rottie friendly.” We achieved that goal a bit but also occasionally felt the pain of “Rottie racism.”

What's new in holistic pet care? Try apple cider vinegar—or, as its fans call it, ACV. Okay, it isn't new, but this centuries-old product is enjoying new popularity in canine circles. Those who are old enough remember when Dr. D.C. Jarvis of Vermont made apple cider vinegar a household word with his 1958 best seller Folk Medicine. According to Jarvis, native Vermonters used cider vinegar to cure migraine headaches, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, indigestion, and a host of other ailments.

When I was growing up, I knew a family that kept a dog just for finding and killing skunks. My friends lived on a big cattle ranch, and all their dogs had jobs. They had a couple of Australian Kelpies for working cattle, a number of tall, rangy hounds for hunting wild pigs, and then there was poor Frank, the skunk dog. I don't remember where my friends had obtained Frank, or even what breed of dog he was, but I recall that there had been numerous cases of rabies in the county where I lived as a child, and that skunks were the main carriers.

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) IS often used in topical wound healing creams and ointments, as it demonstrates broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Taken internally, however, it has not demonstrated any ability to heal injuries, but has well-documented abilities to lift depression and lessen anxiety.

The Product News and Reviews article in the February 1999 issue compelled me to write. As a groomer of both dogs and cats, I was alarmed at your choices and limited selection of nail trimming devices. I wouldn’t recommend nor use any of the ones you featured. If one is used for too long, a nail grinder will heat up the nail and send shooting pain through the nerve up the animal’s leg. And like you so clearly said, it may be difficult to even get the grinder near a dog, much less his nails.

I switched Duke’s food to one of your top picks, and in just the few months that he has been on this food I have noticed a much healthier dog.