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Statistics show that in the past 50 years, the health of domesticated dogs has drastically declined. Thus the knowledge on how to keep dogs healthy on your own is essential these days. Dogs are acquiring serious illnesses at very young ages are now living short life span. Certainly there is something wrong with today’s model of canine health care, don’t you think? What happened in all those years that greatly affected our pet’s health? I can only think of 2 things: Veterinary care and diet.

Diet is the heart and core of most doggy diseases. Agree or not? Canines are omnivorous scavengers at the carnivore end of the spectrum. They managed to evolve to eat just about anything that is available during the scarce or bountiful times. During abundant times, they go hunt in packs and bring down larger mammals and eat it.

During scarcity, they can go on a vegetarian diet, though they are not happy about it. They can also survive from eating worms; their system is capable of processing rotten meat and carcasses. It is a fact that they are successful opportunists. They digestive system can easily cope with such foods.

In a not so distant past, domesticated dogs are being fed with table scraps by their owners and this suited them quite well. Vegetables and meat were generally of good quality. And as the commercial pet food industry boomed, tactics were used in order to make people think that they were doing the wrong thing. However, what they don’t know is the fact that cheap commercial dog foods were not even human grade. Rather it was the deposits from the advantageous human market. And over the years, it has continued to deteriorate, with food coming from the cheapest sources which has little to none nutritional content.

And all that is needed is a change of diet which included lots of nutrients in order for your pet to live a long and healthy life. And although they are omnivores, they still need quality food. Rotten meat is still natural with nutrients, compared to processed dog food which is denatured by extreme temperatures and pressures.

Then we have the veterinary approach to dog illnesses. Most if not all veterinary colleges these days don’t provide a training in proper nutrition. They leave this important topic aside since it is the pet food industry who support them financially. Just notice as you walk into a vet clinic, there is a floor to ceiling display of commercial pet food.

Neither are vets taught about looking for the cause of origin of a disease. Rather, vets these days are taught to match condition Y with drug X. Sadly, they are also taught well on how to maximize profit rather than treating the animal best. A well known vet in UK, Matthew Watkinson left his profession after practicing it for 8 years since he was so disgusted with the said approach. An another vet from Canada, Andrew Jones was removed from his professional association. The reason? Well, he has been teaching his clients safer alternatives to veterinary medication. Pathetic, I know!

How to Keep Dogs Healthy

Doing it Naturally

Pedialyte. If your pet is suffering from a mild dehydration issue, try giving him pedialyte. Pour pedialyte into his water bowl, choose the unflavored one. This would quickly replace his minerals such as sodium and potassium.

Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening. This is to remove burs out of his coat. Use working gloves and dab Crisco into the affected spots to pry the burs loose. After doing it, give him a quick bath to remove the vegetable shortening.

Bengay. In order to curb his chewing on a specific object, try to coat that item with bengay. The scent itself would repel him. You can also use a mixture of Heinz Apple Cider vinegar and Heinz white vinegar. Simply mix 5 oz. or both types of vinegar with 5 oz of water in a spray bottle. Shake it well and spray it on the furniture or item your pet loves to chew.

Dishwashing Liquid (Dawn). To kill the fleas without the help of toxic chemicals, pour a small amount of Dawn under a running water to fill a bathtub or sink and give your pet a soapy bath. Work it on your pet’s coat and allow it to soak for 5 minutes. The soap would penetrate the flea’s exoskeletons during this time, thus killing them. This actually works more effectively compared to the prescribed flea shampoos.

Coppertone Water Babies Sunscreen Lotion. This is to keep him safe from the sun’s harmful rays. If you have a pet who loves to spend time outside, then this can help you prevent sunburn on his ears, nose and other vulnerable areas. Just prevent him from licking off the lotion, you can feed him after applying so that he would forget about the lotion.

harmful Trash Bags. This is to prevent another “accident” inside the house. To keep him away from the spot where he previously left a mess, cut open a trash bag along the seams and cover the area with it. Canines hate the feeling of plastic, thus they stay away.

Johnson’s Baby Oil. This is to prevent the development of ear infections. Too much water in side his ears cause earcahes and infection, so prior giving him a bath, put a small cotton ball soaked with baby oil on both ears to keep the water out. Be reminded to remove the cotton balls after.

Johnson’s Baby Shampoo with Bayer Aspirin. This is to stop his dandruff. Unless he is allergic to aspirin, grind 6 aspirin into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. Then pour the powder into a bottle of Johnson’s baby shampoo and shake well. Use this solution in giving him a bath and allow to sit on his coat for 5 minutes before rinsing him thoroughly with water.

McCormick Ground Red Pepper (Cayenne) with Tabasco Sauce. This is to curb his digging issues. Mix 4 Tbsps of Tabasco and 4 Tbsps of Cayenne pepper in 1 qt. of water. Shake the solution and sprinkle it on the spot where your pet loves to dig.

Cooking Spray (PAM). This is one way to keep his food bowl clean. Before filling his bowl with food, coat it first lightly with cooking spray so that the food will not stick to the bowl later – this would also give your pet’s coat a wonderful shine.

Those are just some of the many ways on how to keep dogs healthy naturally. It is a dog’s life and as a pet owner, you would want to see to it that your pet lives a happy, long and healthy life as possible.

Do you have additional tips which you can share with us? How do you keep your pekingese healthy in a natural way?