Annual Meals for Paws


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WHY DO DOGS HAVE WHISKERS?

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  By Zoe Forward, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (canine/feline) EVER WONDER WHY YOUR DOG HAS WHISKERS? Those long hairs on the muzzle do have purpose! Like other hairs they can fall out and regrow. Most people believe the primary purpose of whiskers are sensory. They can help a dog maneuver in the dark by detecting with touch or sensing vibrations like air currents. Whiskers above the eye can protect the eye from getting poked by objects.   They also can serve as a form of communication between dogs. Dogs that are excited can actually move their whiskers back and forth to signal emotions to another dog such as fear or confidence.   Old wives’ tale or truth? If you cut off a dog’s whisker(s) they will affect his balance. False. But loss of whiskers could affect the dog’s ability to sense or feel on that side. So, if you’re tempted to clip your dog’s unruly whiskers, resist. Best to leave them alone.   Thank you to Dr. Ernie Ward for providing some of the information in this art...
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The Pet Cleaner's Club

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Post by Zoe Forward, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (canine/feline)   Are you the designated pet cleaner up-er in your household? When your dog poops on the floor or vomits up some disgusting half-chewed up toy or dead animal, does everyone wave their arms in the air and wail, “Mom…Misty puked!” Or my all-time favorite: “Eww! Callie peed on the rug again.”   Everyone other than you is paralyzed in the face of pet elimination. They are  enthusiastic about pointing out the mess, but then walk away in pride as if they’ve completed their job. You are left to deal. So, you close off all sense of smell and swallow that knot of disgust that’s churning your stomach and pull out the cleaners. Been there?   Have you ever had a rough day at work only to arrive home last and discover the pet disaster has been preserved just for you like a crime scene roped off with DO NOT CROSS tape? And, the mess is now crusted into an almost permanent new layer on the beautiful area rug. Maybe we’re th...
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Grain Free? Is it really better for my pet?

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Post by Zoe Forward, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (canine/Feline) I wish I had a dollar for every time a pet owner tells me they’ve switched their pet to a “grain free” diet because it is SO MUCH BETTER than diets containing evil ingredients like corn or rice. I was actually thinking about this after work last night while watching the news. A big commercial flashed on TV touting the benefits of a grain free diet. Soooo… is it all hype? Or is there really something legitimate to the alternate sources of carbohydrates? Let’s be clear, those pet food companies must put a carbohydrate in their foods, but instead of grains they’re using barley, tapioca, millet, quinoa, and even garbanzo beans. Are so many dogs out there having adverse food reactions to things like corn, rice, wheat, or other grains? Or is it that there are just so many foods of variable qualities that we are seeing more adverse reactions to ingredients that most dogs tolerated well in the past? I've always been told by the food comp...
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