October 2010

 
ASK DR. SCHELLING

DEAR DR. SCHELLING,

I was just talking to my neighbor, and she told me that her dog was diagnosed with ringworm by her veterinarian. What is ringworm and what are its symptoms? Is it a worm? Can my dog get it too?

-Shelly

Dear Shelly,

Ringworm, despite the name, is not a worm. It is a fungal skin disease that can infect dogs, cats, human beings, and a variety of other animals. Click here to read the full article.

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Dear Max,

My humans are golf fanatics and often practice in the back yard with those light-weight practice balls. You know—the ones that look like regular golf balls but are super light.

I'm longing to play with them—I told them I could fetch the balls and bring them back! But they said no, they leave me inside while practicing. Why?

–Tiger

… … … …

Dear Tiger,

They are just watching out for your safety. Golf balls, whether regular or practice, can be a choking hazard. And the regular golf balls may contain substances which could harm us dogs if our teeth punctured them.

Your humans also probably want to be sure they don't accidentally hit you with the club while swinging—that could cause serious harm and you know how sometimes we get in the way when we are excited.

Balls can also hurt our teeth. Regular balls are very hard and can chip teeth, but the practice balls can cause a lot of problems too. One of my buddies got one caught on his canine tooth! He was chewing on it and it got stuck. His human kept asking him to give it back, and he was trying but he couldn't. Thank goodness his human didn't pull it out horizontally or he might have broken his tooth. He saw it was stuck on the canine and pulled down, in-line with the tooth to remove the ball and then had his vet make sure there was no problem.

I know how you feel, but trust me, they aren't trying to leave you out of the fun, they're just trying to protect you.


Max

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Max's Mini-Reviews
 
ECOPURE DOG TREATS : I'm not one to discriminate when it comes to food but these treats are so good I wonder if my humans aren't accidentally giving me one of their cookies... either way, I'm not going to tell them! My humans say they're good because they're made with natural ingredients, but all I know is that I'm going to have to be on my best behavior so I can get some more.


 
HURLEY : I love this toy. It's like a bone and a ball all wrapped up into one fun toy. I like playing fetch with it, chomping on it and chasing after it as it bounces crazily on the ground. What more could a dog ask for?


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DOG FACT
The average lifespan of a small breed dog is anywhere from 12 to 18 years.


TO QUOTE:

"An old dog, even more than an old spouse,
always feels like doing what you feel like doing."

–Robert Brault
EcoPure Dog Treats Hurley