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Kanis Fitzhugh, a member of the Almost Home organization, knew she had to rescue Pandy, an extremely thin and seemingly vicious four-year-old Dachshund. Pandy had been relinquished to a shelter in Orange County (California), who turned her over to Southern California Dachshund Rescue. Deemed people- and animal-aggressive, Pandy appeared to have been starved, and weighed just 13 pounds. Fitzhugh thought the dog deserved a break, and brought Pandy home in May 2007. During the first couple of weeks in her new home, Pandy managed to pull a chicken down from the counter and proceeded to eat the entire bird, including bones, plastic tray, and grocery bag, in less than the 10 minutes that Fitzhugh was out of the room. Pandy was rushed to the vet and emergency surgery was performed, as the bones had ruptured her stomach lining in three places. Luckily, she survived. Pandy's voracious appetite, large voluminous stools, and aggressive disposition were all caused by a medical condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). With Fitzhugh's loving care, including enzyme supplements and a change of diet, Pandy stabilized. Within a year, Pandy had transformed into a beautiful, funny, 26-pound Dachshund who gets along great with all the human and animal members in the Fitzhugh household. Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, or EPI, also referred to as Pancreatic Hypoplasia or Pancreatic Acinar Atrophy (PAA), is a disease of maldigestion and malabsorption, which when left untreated eventually leads to starvation. One of the major difficulties with this disease is in the prompt and accurate diagnosis. Astonishingly, visible symptoms may not appear until 80 to 95 percent of the pancreas has atrophied.

Feeding a raw dog food diet to your dog is quite simple, especially once you have a system in place. Though like anything else new, it can seem very complicated when first starting out. These sample dog food diets should be helpful to dog caretakers who are considering feeding a raw diet. Even those who have been doing it for a while may learn some new tricks to make the process of finding, preparing, and storing home prepared dog food simpler.

Your dog has a weeping, oozing wound on her leg or a yucky red blob on the top of her head, and at first you wonder how she injured herself. But if you've been around the dog-care block, you realize that it isn't a cut or scrape. That gooey mess might be diagnosed as pyotraumatic dermatitis, wet eczema, or a Staphylococcus intermedius infection, but it's what everyone calls a hot spot.

Aromatherapy. Ten years ago, few people in the U.S. knew what it was, much less its canine applications. Today, hundreds of pet products contain essential oils or have aromatherapy" on their labels. However

A friend copied the article, “Monkey See, Monkey Do?” from the July issue for me, knowing I would want to subscribe, which I did.

With hundreds of trendy herb products lining the shelves of pet shops and health food stores these days, it is easy to forget that many of the most useful herbal remedies for pets are already in the kitchen. Chamomile is just one example. One of the safest and most versatile herbal pet remedies around, chamomile has a broad range of scientifically proven uses.

Some holistic practitioners recommend bovine colostrum supplements – or a concentrated component of colostrum – for their chronically ill canine patients. Research shows that newborns aren’t the only ones that are helped by colostrum. Bovine colostrum isn’t species specific, so dogs (and other mammals) can benefit from it, too. Claims abound for bovine colostrum’s ability to treat allergies, bacterial, or viral infections; autoimmune diseases; digestive problems; and even cancer. But is it all hype?

Are you among the millions of people who set out into the great outdoors every year? If so, are you familiar with Urtica? If not, you certainly should be. Collectively known as nettle, these plants inhabit drainage ditches, stream banks, and other moist soils in North America and throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Nettle deserves your attention. In fact, it actually demands your attention. Even the slightest brush of skin against the stems or leaves of the plant will immediately result in a painful sting.

Can you imagine a food so easy to assimilate that even the most impaired digestive tract absorbs it on contact? Originally developed to combat world hunger, this amazing protein supplement is now saving dogs. Seacure, which is made from Pacific whiting caught in the Pacific Northwest, contains beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and other fish nutrients, but its amino acids and peptides (the fundamental constituents of protein) are its primary healing ingredients.

Some dogs have a rough start in life. Consider BP, the 50-pound black-and-tan Shepherd-mix owned by Lucia Colbert of Cordova, Tennessee. BP was dumped in a neighborhood and left to fend for herself until rescued by Colbert in 1988. Colbert took the thin and sickly dog to the vet: BP had a host of internal parasites, including heartworms; part of her tongue was missing; and she had a chest full of buckshot (discovered later on a chest x-ray). “I knew she’s hadn’t had a piece of cake for puppyhood,” says Colbert. Once adopted, BP thrived. She enjoyed a good life with Colbert, a professional tennis player and triathlete. BP jogged daily with Colbert and sat by the tennis court while she taught.

Irritation in your dog’s airways can cause her to cough, which may be due to a temporary illness or a more chronic issue.

If your dog is licking his paws red and raw, don’t ignore it. The problem is unlikely to go away on its own, but we have some remedies you can try on your own.