Our well kept lawn is now looking more like a patchwork of green and brown circles because our beloved dog has seen fit to create their own little patterns.

We spend money on our lovely garden and then along comes Fido and turns it in to a mini version of the Sahara. If they’re not digging it up, they’re ruining it with their toilet habits. Of course, it’s really not their fault. I’m positive if your dog knew how, he’d process his internal chemicals to such an extent that instead of killing our lawn, his toilet trips were able to grow us a beautiful little flower to remind us just why we love him so much!

In reality, dog owners with ‘doggy patches’ all over their grass is a problem we can solve with just a few simple steps.

How to Stop Dog Urine Killing Your Grass

Bev McDonald offers her insight in to how she tackled this common canine problem….

It never fails, my two dogs – both lovable and protective Rottweilers – seem to enjoy urinating in the same spot of the backyard, day in, day out. Whether it’s morning, noon or night, it’s down the steps and to the right, donating copious amounts of healthy, adult dog urine in an approximate 4-square-foot area.

The result is a large patch of brown, ugly, burned-out lawn that surrounds the bottom step of the deck. For my nicely landscaped backyard, the large urine burns are rather unsightly.

I realized that unless some serious changes are made (and getting rid of the dogs was NOT an option), then these spots were not going to go away on their own, so I had to start my research and will not share with you what I learned to keep my grass green and my dogs happy and to try and prevent dog urine killing my lawn.

Why Dog Urine Turns Grass Brown

It’s no secret that urine burns grass, as well as many types of shrubs, annual flowers and perennial plants. What causes the burn is nitrogen. When a dog eats a meal, the protein in the food is metabolized. A byproduct of metabolized protein is nitrogen.

The kidneys are responsible for the collection and secretion of many of the body’s unwanted excesses, including byproducts of metabolized foods, such as nitrogen. So, if all is going well with the dog’s bodily functions then excess nitrogen will be flushed out of the dog’s body through his urine.

Here is where things get a bit tricky: Those who work with lawns and plants know that nitrogen is used as fertilizer. So what’s so special about the nitrogen in dog urine that causes it to kill everything green it touches? The secret is in the solution, so to speak.

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With fertilizers containing nitrogen, a small amount goes a long way. If you’re using a rotary spreader (which is used to fertilize the lawn), spilling a pile of fertilizer in one spot would be similar to a pool of urine. The concentration would be too high and would kill the grass below.

Once grass is dead from nitrogen burn there’s not much you can do to revive it. If you want healthy green grass, you’re going to have to replant this area. You’ll need to rake up the dead grass and plant new seed.

Replanting dead areas, however, is somewhat of a “band-aid” approach. If you don’t get to the root of the problem (dog urine), you’re likely to wind up with more dead patches of grass all over the lawn.

So, without further ado here’s my top tip to stop dog urine destroying your lawn…

put a small blob of tomato ketchup in their food every day and watch what happens.

Sounds simple, yes? It is! Try it and observe.

So if you’re having similar problems with dog urine killing your lawn, now you have a workable solution that you can implement very easily.

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CHF is one of the most common heart problems in dogs, especially older, smaller breeds. Heart disease affects up to 11 percent of the almost 75 million dogs in the United States, and the incidence of heart disease could be as high as 60 percent in aged dogs. The majority of dogs die within one year after showing clinical signs of CHF.

While there is no cure for CHF, clinical study results have shown that dogs with the condition live longer and enjoy a higher quality of life when treated with Vetmedin. QUEST (Quality of Life and Extension of Survival Time), the largest clinical study of dogs with CHF ever conducted, revealed that dogs treated on Vetmedin lived nearly twice as long as those not treated with Vetmedin. On average, dogs on Vetmedin lived 267 days, versus 140 days for dogs who did not receive the new drug.

“Vetmedin is proven effective in prolonging the lives of dogs suffering from heart failure,” said Sonya Gordon, DVM, DVSc, a veterinary cardiologist at Texas A&M University. “Once a veterinarian diagnoses heart failure in a dog, Vetmedin can immediately make the dog feel better and nearly double life expectancy.”

CHF leads to excessive water and salt retention, causing fluid build-up in the lungs. Signs of CHF in dogs include a reduced willingness to walk or exercise, fatigue, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite and coughing.

Vetmedin alleviates CHF symptoms by opening up blood vessels, thereby decreasing resistance to blood flow, and helping the heart to pump more efficiently. Available by prescription only, Vetmedin is administered orally to dogs in chewable tablets twice daily and may be given alongside other cardiac medications. Pet owners should begin to see an improvement in their dog within the first week on Vetmedin.

Studies show that more than half of dog owners are unaware that their dog may be at risk of heart failure, yet knowing what to look for and catching it early are keys to prolonging and improving the quality of a dog’s life. Important steps that dog owners can take to keep their pets healthy and heart disease-free are maintaining the dog’s proper body weight, providing regular exercise and taking the dog to a veterinarian at least once a year for a checkup. Dog owners can learn more at www.yourdogsheart.com.

Vetmedin (pimobendan) has been available in Europe for over seven years and is now licensed in more than 15 countries worldwide. It is indicated for the management of signs of mild, moderate or severe congestive heart failure in dogs. Vetmedin comes in capsules and chewable tablets. In the United States, only the chewable tablets are licensed. Both the capsules and chewable tablets contain the same pharmaceutical ingredient, pimobendan, and are considered equivalent for clinical use. Bioequivalence, however, has not been established.

Ancient dogs survived on whatever they could find or catch. If they managed to get more than they could eat in a sitting, they had to make sure it would be there when they came back to it later. “They stored spare food by burying it,” says Benjamin Hart, D.V.M., Ph.D., professor of physiology and behavior at the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine at Davis. “It was a pretty resourceful way of keeping leftovers.” Dirt may be gritty and hard on the teeth, but it is also protective.

So why do dogs bury their food?

The temperature in the ground is cooler than it is in the air, so burying food helped it stay fresh longer. Buried food did not roast in the sun. It did not immediately get covered with flies and insect. All in all, burying food and juicy bones was a very good solution.

Dogs do not need to bury their food anymore. But when they have an excess of rations, they feel that old urge coming on. So they look for a secluded spot, dig a quick hole, and put some goodies away for a rainy day.

So now you know why dogs bury their food, if you have any queries about your dog’s diet and weight, visit www.dogweight.co.uk.

Classical Conditioning

Everyone has surely heard of Pavlov and his dogs? Passive conditioning was discovered by Pavlov when he noticed that if he rang a bell every time he fed his dogs, after a time they would salivate when they heard the bell even if there was no food. The continued pairing of a stimulus (the bell) with a response (salivating because of food) led to the response happening even without the original trigger.

Classical conditioning can be used to help a dog get over a fear of/aggression towards other dogs. A dog that behaves in a negative way around other dogs does so because he has been classically conditioned by one means or another to feel afraid or aggressive when he sees the trigger of another dog.

Classical conditioning can make this trigger elicit another response by means of counter-conditioning.

First, it must be determined how close the other dog can be before the dog being conditioned will respond. This distance is known as the reaction threshold. It is important, so far as possible, to keep the subject dog below his reaction threshold, while ensuring that he does notice the other dog.

As soon as the subject dog has noticed the other dog, but before he has reacted, begin praising the dog and giving it treats. If there is a concern over the dogs weight, simply take some of its daily food to be used as treats.

Over time, the subject dog will begin to associate the arrival of another dog with being given praise and treats as long as the subject dog is calm.

This is not an easy and quick solution to a fearful or aggressive dog, but it does work if the time is put into it.

Conditioned responses may fade over time if they are not reinforced. This does not mean that treats must be given every time the subject dog sees another dog for the rest of its life, but instead that once the dog is at an appropriate level of conditioning and firmly associates other dogs with treats and praise, the owner can begin to give the treats intermittently instead of every time.

Trendy health fads seem to come and go on an almost weekly basis. we always seem to be hearing about the latest, greatest health, fitness or diet regimes that ‘the stars all swear by,’

The trouble with health fads is that they have a tendency to cloud popular opinion of some relatively new or lesser known treatments that actually work.

Canine Hydrotherapy Works.

It is not a fad and many dogs have reason to be grateful for its existence.

What is Hydrotherapy?

Weightless Exercise

Hydrotherapy offers a therapeutic, relaxed and enjoyable workout, which many dogs are deprived of in day to day life, especially through arthritic joints, after an injury or surgery.

photo credit: emma.kate

Controlled swimming allows muscles to be stimulated and exercised without the stress element associated with land based exercise, causing potential pain.

Vets recommend a course of hydrotherapy for pre- and post-surgical conditioning, to reduce weight in obese animals, for painless exercise for pets with arthritis or dysplasia, cardiovascular workout for seniors, rehabilitation for stroke sufferers, and pain management. It is therefore of use in many orthopaedic conditions both pre-operatively to improve muscle tone to affected limbs (for instance, prior to total hip replacement) and post-operatively to improve repair – for instance in post-operative care of cruciate ligament rupture, osteochondrosis or fracture repair where light swimming can begin as soon as the sutures have been removed.

Preliminary observations suggest that hydrotherapy, if initiated early in the course of disease, can help to maintain muscle tone in cases of degenerative radiculomyelopathy (CDRM) and other neurological diseases with similar presenting signs.

In show dogs and racing dogs, it provides an effective means of maintaining fitness and toning muscle, particularly in the winter months, and is a valuable aid to weight control in the obese pet.

Benefits of Canine Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy techniques help to relieve pain and strengthen and re-train muscles; because the animal is effectively weightless when swimming. Hydrotherapy acts by encouraging a full range of joint motion, thus improving muscle tone without imposing undue stress on damaged tissues. This is why results can occur so quickly.

Each hydrotherapy session should be tailored to an individual dog’s condition and fitness level – all dogs should therefore visit through a referral from a veterinary surgeon. An assessment of the dog’s condition will be made and the treatment given at each session recorded. In this way the progress that the dog makes can be monitored. The rate at which such progress is made will be dependent on the breed of dog, condition for which it being treated, age and fitness level.

How Safe is Canine Hydrotherapy?

There are no set dimensions for hydrotherapy pools. What is ideal for a Yorkshire Terrier will be significantly different to that needed by a Newfoundland. All pools should have water heated to a temperature in the range 24 to 300C and should allow all year round operation.

The combination of water and electrical circuitry makes it essential that the operation adheres to strict safety standards.

Malcolm Adler, Company Secretary of the CHA (The Canine Hydrotherapy Association), and a Director at the Hydrozone Therapy Centre in the UK explained: “It is always advisable to visit a hydrotherapy pool before you begin any treatment programme, to inspect the facilities, ask about qualifications and training, check water quality and insurance cover, and discuss your dog’s condition and the treatment programme. The key aspect is quality treatment for your dog.

Typically a session will allow for up to 30 minutes, to include time for drying the dog afterwards. In most centres, owners are encouraged to attend sessions to help reassure their dog during its initial exposure to water”

Further Research…

There is an enormous amount of case history and glowing customer testimonials on the benefits that hydrotherapy has brought to their dog’s condition and overall well-being. However, there is still a lack of formal study and scientific data and one of the aims of the CHA is to promote such work, and the Association welcomes inquiries or contributions from any interested party in this respect.

*Bond et al. A survey of flea infestations in cats & dogs in the UK during 2005.

Vet Rec 2007 160, 503-506

Unknown to most, only 5% of a flea problem is on your pet, with a shocking 95% in the pet’s environment as eggs, larvae & pupae. To prevent & control flea infestations you need to break the flea life cycle.

How To Break The Flea Life Cycle

The life cycle can be broken by using FRONTLINE Spot On regularly to kill adult fleas on your pet. Treat your cat every five weeks and your dog every two months. All of your cats and dogs should be treated as each pet can act as a host. Also, regularly vacuum your carpets and furnishings and be sure to wash your pet’s bedding above 60ºc. All this will help reduce the number of eggs, larvae and pupae in the environment.

In addition to the above, if there is an active flea infestation, treat your home with an environmental spray containing an insect growth regulator to kill eggs and larvae. Be sure to treat those hard to reach places such as under the furniture as this is where the numbers of larvae will be highest. Your pet can still have continued access to affected are as as this will ensure newly hatched fleas are killed on contact with FRONTLINE Spot On when they jump onto your pet.

And What About Ticks?

It’s not just the flea life cycle, it’s also the life cycle of ticks. The whole tick life cycle can take several years to complete. Ticks lay their eggs in large numbers (1000 to 10,000 from just one tick) before dying. Eggs hatch into larvae which seek a host animal, feed for several days, before dropping off to find shelter in which they moult in nymphal ticks.
The nymphs do the same as the larvae (seek host, feed, drop off) and moult into adult ticks. Adult ticks follow the same habits, with the females then laying eggs to complete the life cycle.

All pretty grim and not much fun for your pet if they are the chosen host. FRONTLINE Spot On kills the three most common species of ticks found in Europe within 48 hours. Once they’re dead they should drop off naturally or can normally be removed with a gentle pull using tweezers. If not, consult your vet.

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For further info please visit www.hugyourpet.co.uk

FRONTLINE Spot On contains fipronil. Always read the label.



Dogs are able to see colour, just not to the extent that humans can. They are actually dichromatic which means they can see two primary colours – yellow and blue. Humans are trichromatic in their ability to see three primary colours – yellow, blue, and red. This is partially due to the composition of the eye itself. The eye consists of cells known as rods and cones. The former is responsible for seeing black and white while the latter is all about colour.

photo credit: Sugar Pond

The human eye is made up about 7 times more cone cells than the dog eye. The more cone cells an eye has, the brighter and more pronounced the colours will be. Because of their low cone count, when dogs do see colour, it appears pale and faded. In contrast, dogs have a higher concentration of rod cells which means that they can see much better in lower light situations.

Contrary to what most people believe about dog vision, they can see colours in addition to various shades of grey. As mentioned, dogs are dichromatic which means they have two different colour receptors. These colour receptors peak at yellow-green and blue-violet which means that dogs are green-blind. This is where colour blindness comes in. Colour blindness occurs when any colour deficiency is present. Most colours are muted so red and green may actually appear yellowish and brownish or even shades of grey.

Because of the way the dog’s eye is constructed, an orange ball lying on green grass may all look yellow to the dog. However, this is not to say dogs have inferior vision simply because they do not see colour the same as we. Most dogs have exceptional depth perception because of the position of their eyes. Their perception of movement is also quite strong, especially in the distance, although vision close up is not as good.

As dogs get older, their eyes change, just like ours. In most cases, the eyes of older dogs may appear cloudy which is often due to nuclear degeneration. As the nucleus of the eye’s lens ages it gets harder and denser changing how it refracts light. Despite these physical changes the vision is affected very little.

When puppies are born, their eyelids are closed because their eyes are still forming. The eyelids remain closed for the first two weeks of life. When the eyes open, they typically appear bluish-grey and hazy. By the age of 8 weeks, the puppy’s eyes will have achieved adult coloration but vision is still developing. However, it is at this time that they begin to see the colours they are able to.

As Pet Owners, We Tend To Forget That Dog’s Are Nature’s Animals

Several thousand years ago dogs were initially domesticated for their functional value; hunting helpers, village and stock guards, even body-warmers in bitter cold climates. These basic functions are no longer required by modem civilization and, the dog’s capacity to cooperate within a group for the mutual benefit of its members is stifled – frustrated. Without some meaningful functional nurturing, dogs grow older, mature physically, but behave like puppies emotionally – seeking attention and care, totally frustrated, denied any competent guidance toward filling an acceptable role in the family.

photo credit: Lucy Boynton

On the human side of the equation, as we become increasingly dependent on verbal skills and electronic communications, a pet animal is sometimes our only meaningful daily contact with the animate, natural world. However, without an opportunity to develop nonverbal communications with animals, dog owners tend to use human verbal and physical abilities (vocal commands, scolding, manipulation, force, punishment) to communicate with their pets. Most people mistakenly think dogs must simply be “trained” if they are to learn how to behave properly. When training fails, both owner and dog become frustrated, and problems develop. While formal (deliberate) training is an important element in a satisfying relationship, informal training is at the root of most problem behavior.

Dogs learn from, and react to, the way people behave. Movement, stance and sound communicate with dogs. On the other hand, as dogs struggle to communicate with people through their own movements, postures and sounds, they are too often misinterpreted; or ignored. This only widens the frustrating communications gap for both parties.

It may seem far-fetched to propose that behavior consultants should help dog owners learn how to interpret their pet’s behavior, then use movement, stance and special sounds, in order to communicate effectively, and hence, live together harmoniously. However, it is not unrealistic at all. Once the basics of effective human/canine communications are learned and applied, they play a crucial role in correcting behavior problems humanely and effectively.

It doesn’t occur to most dog owners that shouting at a barking dog is, in fact, joining in the racket – responding with the human version of the same behavior. When their dogs do become silent,  it is because they associate the owner’s tone of voice with disapproval and/or fear of impending pain from punishment. Excitable types, or those with some prior traumatic experience, usually become worse.

In the non-verbal world of dogs, silence means quiet, inaction begets stillness, and movement stimulates action. The fact that this patently obvious facet of non-verbal communication must be written or talked about to gain attention among dog owners further points up the extreme verbal orientation of humans. Spoken language is just noise to dogs. It is a tribute to their adaptability that they actually learn the meaning of certain key sounds, which usually comes about through a combination of the dog’s intelligence and the owner’s almost accidental consistency when referring to certain events or objects.

Homemade dog food is becoming a popular option, although hardly a new one, for many dog owners. Every dog alive today can be traced back to dogs who were raised on homemade natural diets. The dog food industry, in comparison to dogs themselves, is young – maybe 50 to 60 years – although canned meat was sold as dog food at the turn of the twentieth century. Originally, the commercial foods were meant to supplement homemade food.

With few exceptions, commercially made dry food is primarily cereal based with the major portion of the protein coming from grains and a dash of animal protein in the ingredients. An amazing number of dogs have been able to exist and adapt to these diets, which have made the dog into a partial herbivore instead of a carnivore. Canned diets, which usually contain more animal protein with a dash of cereal, are also popular, especially among toy breeds. Some people successfully combine these two.

photo credit: deovolenti

Many dogs cannot thrive on commercially prepared rations. However, they exhibit disease states, often mistaken for allergies, which are deficiency diseases caused by cereal-based foods. Dogs in a natural state would eat meat. Their teeth are formed to tear flesh from the bone, and they would share a carcass with a pack of other dogs.

The carcass would be that of a grass-eating animal – an herbivore. Along with the internal organs dogs would eat the predigested grasses and plants of the carcass. Those grasses and plants would consist of no more than 20 to 25 percent of the dogs’ total diet. They would raid nests from ground-breeding birds and eat the eggs, and they would catch the occasional insect. These dogs might forage on certain weeds and grasses.

In formulating a more natural diet we have stayed within these boundaries – with the exception of the insects. A natural diet follows as closely as possible what the dog would eat if still in the wild state. It takes into account the limitations of the dog’s short digestive tract, strong stomach acid and the enzymes the canine system produces to break down food. It consists of two meats: One is a cereal meal plus supplements, which makes up 25 percent of the total diet, and the other is a raw meat meal plus supplements, which is 75 percent of the total diet.

The advantages of a natural diet are many. Health and longevity are increased, there is resistance to disease and the diet can be tailored to individual needs. This is crucial for some breeds of dogs, especially imported dogs or relatives of imported dogs, who have difficulty in digesting corn, which is in the majority of prepared commercial diets. The diet allows individual ingredients to be substituted.