health topics

Fleas.  Even saying the word makes us itch.  These tiny creatures can make your pet miserable, and in turn make you miserable.  Plus, once they latched on to your pet and made a home in your house, they are very hard to get rid of.  Bottom line, fleas are a pain.

DogWatch Hidden Fences want to help you avoid this pain by providing the following tips to avoid or get rid of fleas on your pet and in your home.  Early fall is the peak of flea season, so we encourage you to follow our three easy steps right away!

PREVENT

Getting rid of fleas on your pet and in your house can be a long, challenging and expensive process – so why not avoid them all together?  There are several widely-available flea prevention products that you can use monthly to protect your pet from fleas.

The most popular prevention product, Frontline, is available for cats and dogs, and can be found at your vet or your local pet superstore.  It is a gel that is applied in between the pet’s shoulder blades, so that the pet won’t lick it off.  The product then seeps into the pet’s oil glands under his skin, and is distributed throughout his hair.  This creates an inhospitable environment for fleas, and causes them to literally “flee” the pet and stay away for a full month.  Frontline also works on ticks – so you get twice the power!

K9 Advantix (for dogs only) and Advantage (for dogs and cats) are two other, similar flea prevention products that perform largely the same function using a different chemicals.  (A side-by-side-by-side comparison can be found here.)  As always, talk to your vet about what is best for your animals.

A couple of things to note about these products: 1) they are approved for cats and dogs as young as 8 weeks, and 2) it is recommended that you do not bathe the pet within two days before or two days after the product is applied, to ensure that the chemical is properly distributed.

CLEAN

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In May, DogTails explored the growing problem of canine cancer, reporting that 1 in 3 dog deaths are a result of the disease.  In a good sign for the future, veterinarians and researchers are making great strides to treat cancer and other illnesses that affect pets.  Yet with these high-tech treatments comes a higher price tag.

In light of the current recession and the rising cost of veterinary care, many pet owners are forced to make incredibly difficult decisions regarding treatment of their beloved pets.  While these treatment decisions will never be stress-free, pet health insurance may help ease the burden in many cases.

In this post, we will help you navigate the world of pet insurance.  We’ll focus on the decision to purchase, and for those owners who want to learn more about the options, we’ll discuss how to evaluate prices and plans.

What Is Pet Insurance, and Does My Dog Need It?

Pet insurance, like our health insurance, helps defray the costs of future medical bills.  Pet owners pay monthly, quarterly or annual payments to the insurance provider, who then covers a certain percentage of medical expenses incurred by the pet.

While many veterinarians recommend purchasing pet insurance, it is far from a requirement.  In fact, only 850,000 out of the 72 million dogs and 82 million cats kept as pets in the US were covered by insurance as of 2007.

With so few insured pets, you may be thinking, “do I really need pet insurance?”  In order to answer this question, you need think about the visit to the vet all pet owners dread.  Your dog is sick, but could survive if the vet performs an expensive medical procedure.  Do you pay for the treatment, no matter the price?

It is in gut-wrenching situations like this that pet insurance may prove important.  If you have insurance, you may be reimbursed for a significant percentage of the cost of the treatment (hundreds or even thousands of dollars).  In other words, you may be able to avoid the heart-breaking decision to put down a beloved pet that could have been saved.

Of course, the situation is not as simple as “buy insurance, save your pet.”  You need to think hard about how much you are able to put aside for pet healthcare.  Insurance is not cheap: it can cost from $300 to over $1,000 a year depending on the plan, not including deductibles owners will have to meet before being reimbursed.  And insurance does not cover all conditions, and never covers preexisting ones.  So, if you are seeking insurance for a pet with a documented medical condition, insurance will not cover any expenses related to that condition.

To decide whether or not pet insurance is right for you, you need to think realistically about what you would spend on a life-saving procedure for your pet.  If your number is very high, or if you can’t come up with a number at all, then pet insurance may be a good investment.  If you are more conservative in your estimate, then insurance may not be cost-effective for you.

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No, dogs and smartphones isn’t a joke we heard at a New Year’s Eve Party. Though it sounds like it could be.

While even the smartest dogs aren’t using mobile phones (yet), their owners are tapping away with their thumbs in startling numbers—on every topic under the sun. In addition to game apps featuring dogs, there are ones which can help track information, educate on a wide variety of dog-related topics, and provide countless hours of advice.

Here’s a list of some of the most interesting dog-related apps we’ve come across this week.

1. Dogs First Aid by PetMD

Fast and clear advice for the most common Dog Emergencies.

2. Pet First Aid by Jive Medi LLC

Pet First Aid contains detailed articles, video, and illustrations to help you care for your dog or cat. Record your pet’s vital medical information to ensure their veterinarian is never more than a touch away, and your pet will never miss another vaccination.

3. MyPets Info by Mobile Simplified

MyPets is an Information Manager that helps you keep track of your Pets day-to-day activities, medical information, important contacts, such as groomers or doctors and all other information relevant for your pets.

4. Dog Tricks & Bark Machine by Pocket Cocktails, Inc.

The ultimate portable Dog Trick training tutorial with nearly 200 pictures and step-by-step instructions. Bark Machine includes a variety of amazing sounds designed to captivate you and your dog.

5. DogBook by Poolhouse Enterprises

Keep a diary of your dog’s life, locate other dogs by breed or location, and then “friend” them.

6. Dog Symptoms by PetMD

Fast convenient access to hundreds of Dog Health Topics on the go. You can either select a category such as “Behavioral” or “Digestive” and browse the related topics in that category or search by keywords.

7. The Dog Breeds by MyAppBuilder

100 dog breeds with information such as their temperament, exercise requirements , and size.

8. Dogbook by Poolhouse Enterprises

Connect with other dogs and owners in parks and groups, post on their walls, and share photos and videos.

What dog-related apps are you using?

Photo credit: xploitme flickr