Dog Specific FAQs
On a recent survey amongst veterinary hospitals it was found that for the vet visits, 29% of dogs presented with stomach and intestinal issues, 19% skin conditions, 11% ear infection, 7% eye condition, 7% growth, 7% UTI, 6% allergies, 5% pain and 5% limping. We will organize the FAQ’s accordingly
Should I always stick to same dog food?
Absolutely not. It will be like us eating meat and potato all life long. We don’t want that. Even if you don’t cook at home for your dog, consider rotating between some high end dog foods. A vaired diet will help your dog to have healthy gut flora.
Can I give my dog human food?
For us, the question is not if ‘you can’, but we think you must! However no table scrap, and BTW, ‘hot dog’ is not a human food! You heard the saying “how sausages and laws are made….”
All jokes aside, if you are eating healthy, and you diet is chock
full of vegetables, fish and rare meat,, please share your food with your dog. The veggies should be steamed. We don’t think that they need the extra fried chicken or the bolognese!!!!
Are chocolates bad for my dog?
Little bit is fine but a lot is NOT OK. Caffeine and Theobromine in chocolate could cause their heart to speed up and could cause heart failure. However, if you must (like me; purely out of guilt), share a TINY bit of chocolate with your dog. Remain cautions; as little as two small one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog (or 0.1 ounce per pound of body weight.
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Are grapes bad for dogs?
This one is real. Poison control center has many many cases of kidney failure from grapes. No one has been able to sort out if it is due to the seeds or the skin or what. It is best to avoid Grapes and Raisin
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Can I give my dog Avocado and Tomatoes?
Of course you can. Make sure that the avocados and tomatoes are ripe and do not give the avocado seed or the green part of tomatoes.
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What about Garlic?
In smaller dosage, garlic and Onion are just fine. At high level (at much higher level than used for day to day cooking) they could cause anemia. We cannot vouch for garlic to keep the zombies away but some clients swear that it helps to keep the fleas down!!
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Can I give my dog spices?
We do. They get turmeric, cumin a tiny bit of cyan almost with every meal as we cook for them. They seem to be very healthy with great blood work every year and very active sometimes to our great chagrin..
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Can I give dogs my probiotics?
Of course. In humans, studies have shown that more traditional ways of taking in probiotics for people has been sauerkraut, Kefir, yogurt, kimchi etc.. The cool aspect of these fermented food is that they are not monoculture and contain a variety of beneficial bacteria and yeast. We share our homemade sauerkraut, kefir and kimchi with our dogs, albeit in small quantities every day. They seem to be quite healthy!
However the difficulty lies in the question of the most effective bacterial combination for dogs. What constitutes a right mixture of healthy gut flora in dogs is not well defined. The probiotics sold for human use is probably not the most appropriate probiotics for dogs and cats.
If you are keen, we can send out your pet’s stool to a Texas GI lab to analyze their gut microbes.
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When should I spay/neuter my dog?
In a well controlled household (assuming that the dog is not jumping the fence while being driven by hormones and get pregnant or gets someone else pregnant), we prefer slightly delayed spay and neuter. The hormones are there to serve a purpose. We think that the girls should wait at least until she gets through the her first heat, but waiting too long after the second heat increases her chances of mammary cancer. In case of the male, if possible, allow the full growth phase to happen For a labrador, that could be about 14-18 months… If you are worried about the girls getting pregnant , then at least wait till they are about 6 months of age. We think waiting a bit longer is more important for the bigger dogs to allow for proper bone and joint development. Spaying them too early could also cause urinary leakage. For small breeds it is probably OK to neuter them after they are 4/5 months of age.
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My dog does not go out, why should I microchip?
Excellent question. After the massive tornadoes in 2011, the shelters were full of dogs the authorities could not figure out how to get them home. These are the dogs who got dislodged from their home. Disasters and unexpected situations happens. You want to maximize their chances of getting pets back home. So, the answer is yes!