Welcome to Vicky's Dog Care Blog

This is where I share all that I have learned about keeping our dogs healthy and happy.

I am passionate about helping all dogs, and their owners, by sharing my own experiences while also learning from other dog owners.

I have over 29 years of professional experience with dogs. I consider myself to be in a good position to investigate and question many areas of dog health and welfare. I will always try to give you the full picture. I do not review products that I wouldn't use with my own dogs.

My goal is to empower dog owners with as much knowledge as possible, enabling you to take charge of your dogs health and wellbeing.

My posts will provide lots of information on all areas of dog health and welfare, enabling you to explore, research and take charge of your dogs health.

I invite you to submit your ideas for future blog posts. Please feel free to ask questions.

Thank you for all your support. :)

Vicky


Sunday 20 March 2016

Dog Food: Ten Scary Truths

If we eat processed food or food containing chemical additives we will live shorter and considerably less healthy lives.
The same rule applies to your dog. It is well proven that everything from allergies to heart conditions and from skin complaints to cancer is caused by poor diet. What holds good for humans and human food holds good for dogs and dog food. A diet of commercially processed foods kills us slowly and the canine equivalent of junk food will kill your dog!
Save yourself the vets bills and the heartache and feed your dog a natural wholesome raw diet.



Ticks: Natural Prevention

In the last couple of weeks following recent tick warnings in the news I have had a lot of people asking me about tick prevention. Please do not use chemical tick / flea treatments. The impact the chemicals have on your dog’s digestive tract, internal organs and overall health is very damaging.
There are plenty of natural ways to protect your dog. First and foremost a diet of raw meat bone and veg. No processed food! Avoid unnecessary vaccinations, Titer test instead of blindly booster. A healthy dog with a strong immune system, only possible if fed a species specific diet avoiding all chemicals will naturally be able to deal with ticks / fleas ect. Preventing ticks doesn’t need to be a chemical attack. There are many methods of natural prevention to ensure your dog lives a healthy chemical free life.
Bellow is a list of some natural recommendations.
1. Garlic as a dietary supplement makes a dog less appealing to ticks because of the smell secreted through the skin.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar adds acidity to the blood which ticks don’t like. Just mix half a teaspoon to a teaspoon (depending on the dog’s size) of the ACV to your dog’s food or water bowl.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar sprayed on your dog’s coat (be careful to avoid eyes and genital areas) with a mixture of water and AVC diluted down in a spray bottle (1 tablespon to 1 Pint) and then lightly sprayed on the dog before a walk can help repel ticks.
4. You can also make your own herbal tick and flea powder; recipe is included in the link below.


Hope this helps.