Find Your Dog's Calm

Dog Treats, Dogs & Puppies, Health & Wellness No Responses »
Aug 292011

With earthquakes and hurricanes here on the east coast we think it is about time for a little calm.

Pets are more plugged into the environmental changes than humans. So even before and earthquake or big storm you might see your dog starting to get stressed out. Here are a few products to help enhance the calm.

Pet Naturals offers a calming supplement to help during these stressful bad weather situations, but it is also good for fireworks, separation anxiety and general nervousness.

CALMING has high potency natural ingredients that are properly formulated for optimal results. It’s the natural way to help your hound mellow out.

It is available in both small and large dog sizes.

The Good Behavior Pheromone Collar helps dogs in fearful or stressful situations (separation anxiety, fireworks, thunderstorms, visitors, new puppies, new baby, vet visits, traveling).

The Good Behavior Pheromone Collar provides a convenient alternative to diffusers which are limited for use to the confines of a designated room. While the Good Behavior Pheromone Collar goes where your dog goes whether it is at home or on the go!

We do hope these products can be of some help out there to the animals who need a little help finding their calm.

Posted by DogToys.com at 3:31 pm

Five Dangerous Easter Plants

Dogs & Puppies, Health & Wellness, Spring No Responses »
Apr 202011

Here is a short list of plants that you see this time of year that are toxic to both dogs and cats.

Easter Lily (ALL Lilies)
While Easter Lilies are not toxic to dogs they are highly toxic to cats and can cause immediate kidney failure with only one leaf eaten. Other lilies such as the Calla Lily and the Day Lily are toxic to dogs.  Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, excessive drinking and urination.

Hyacinth
This flower is part of the lily family and can be highly poisonous. Symptoms include: Intense vomiting, diarrhea (occasionally with blood), depression and tremors.

Daffodil
The bulb of this flower is the most dangerous part, but any part of the plant can cause sever problems. Symptoms of ingestion are vomiting, salvation, and diarrhea. If a large amount is eaten it can cause convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors and cardiac arrhythmias.

Tulip
Again this flower is in the same family as the lily and like the Daffodil the bulb has the highest amounts of toxins. Symptoms to watch for are vomiting, depression, diarrhea, and extreme or hypersalivation.

Easter Rose
This plant is also known as Hellebore, Christmas Rose, or Lenten Rose. It is not a rose at all rather a bushy stalk with pinkish white flowers. Symptoms of ingestion are drooling, abdominal pain, diarrhea, colic, and depression.

 

For a complete list of toxic plants please  see the ASPCA’s list of Plants Toxic to cats, dogs and horses.

Posted by DogToys.com at 2:38 pm Tagged with: , ,

November Marks 6th Annual National Pet Cancer Awareness Month

Dog News, Dogs & Puppies, Health & Wellness No Responses »
Nov 042010

Nation’s Largest Pet Insurer Teams With Animal Cancer Foundation in Fight Against One of the Most Common and Costly Pet Health Conditions

BREA, Calif., Nov. 1, 2010 (via PRNewswire) — Every year in the United States, millions of pets are diagnosed with and treated for cancer. For the sixth year in a row, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, seeks to increase awareness about the prevalence, detection, and treatment of pet cancer by designating November as Pet Cancer Awareness Month. To raise funds for pet cancer research, VPI has once again partnered with the Animal Cancer Foundation (ACF) and organized the Long Beach K9K Pet Cancer Awareness Walk, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010.

VPI started Pet Cancer Awareness month in 2005 because cancer diagnoses often catch pet owners by surprise. Many do not know their pets can develop cancer, and others simply underestimate the cost of treating cancer in their pet. Below are the 10 most common pet cancers by claims received at VPI between 2003 and 2009:

Lymphosarcoma

34,457

Mast Cell Tumor

19,249

Bone Cancer

10,120

Cancer of the Eyelid

7,696

Cancer of the Spleen

7,283

Liver Cancer

6,198

Fibrosarcoma (which stem from connective tissues)

5,542

Cancer of the Thorax

5,289

Oral Cancer

4,362

Hemangiopericytoma (a tumor generally arising on a limb)

4,351

Treating these pet cancers can be a heavy burden. Between 2003 and 2009, VPI policyholders spent more than $51.2 million treating just these 10 most common cancerous conditions. The most expensive form of cancer, bone cancer, cost policyholders an average of $2,304 per claim. To ensure that VPI policyholders are able to pursue optimal cancer treatment, VPI’s medical policies include benefits for the diagnosis and treatment of cancerous conditions, including chemotherapy and radiation treatment, if required.

To detect cancer early, pet owners should be attentive to any growing lump or sore that fails to heal, drastic changes in a pet’s appetite or weight, unusually strong odors coming from a pet, discharge or bleeding from any body opening, difficulty chewing or swallowing, or an unwillingness to exercise. Further detection tips and information on Pet Cancer Awareness Month as well as registration information for the Long Beach K9K Pet Cancer Awareness Walk can be found by visiting www.petinsurance.com/cancer. For more information on the Animal Cancer Foundation, please visit www.acfoundation.org.

Note to editors: VPI can provide state-specific cancer data and arrange interviews with pet owners whose pets have survived cancer or are currently receiving treatment for cancer.

About Veterinary Pet Insurance

With more than 485,000 pets insured nationwide, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co./DVM Insurance Agency is the No. 1 veterinarian-recommended pet health insurance company and is a member of the Nationwide Insurance family of companies. Providing pet owners with peace of mind since 1982, the company is committed to being the trusted choice of America’s pet lovers and an advocate of pet health education. VPI Pet Insurance plans cover dogs, cats, birds and exotic pets for multiple medical problems and conditions relating to accidents, illnesses and injuries. Optional Pet CareGuard® for routine care is also available.

Medical plans are available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 2,000 companies nationwide offer VPI Pet Insurance as an employee benefit. Policies are underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company in California and in all other states by National Casualty Company, an A+15 rated company in Madison, Wisconsin. Pet owners can find VPI Pet Insurance on Facebook or follow @VPI on Twitter. For more information about VPI Pet Insurance, call 800-USA-PETS (800-872-7387) or visit www.petinsurance.com.

SOURCE Veterinary Pet Insurance Co.

Posted by DogToys.com at 9:11 am Tagged with: ,

Happy Halloween

Dog News, Dogs & Puppies, Health & Wellness No Responses »
Oct 292010

Happy Halloween everybody! We hope you and your pets have a wonderful and safe Halloween weekend.

Here are a few safety tips to make your weekend safe:

Not all dogs like costumes. Don’t force your pet to wear one if you see them starting to stress over getting dressed up. (Some dogs put up with them long enough for photos like our friend Buttons.)

Keep the candy out of reach. Sweets are for people not pets. Chocolate or sugar-free candies could kill a dog.

Watch out for pranksters and trouble makers. Animals are often their targets.

Keep those doors closed and ID tags on your dog at all times. Better safe then sorry!

For more helpful tips (& from a dogs point of view) check out PrestonSpeaks.com.

Posted by DogToys.com at 12:44 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Sugar Free Gum and Snacks can be Dangerous for Pets

Dog News, Health & Wellness 2 Responses »
Sep 222009

Most pet owners know that chocolate is a big no-no for dogs. But here’s something to chew on: a common ingredient in sugarless gum and snacks can cause a canine catastrophe.

The culprit is a sweetener called xylitol. While you may never have heard of it, there’s a good chance you have it in your house. Xylitol is common in sugarless gum and in sugar-free snacks, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Cases of xylitol poisoning in dogs have increased in recent years as the sweetener has been added to lots of new foods, Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, vice president of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center, told Paw Nation. “There definitely has been an increase in the exposures of dogs to xylitol over the last several years, simply because there’s more xylitol out there.”

The chemical is completely safe for humans and most other animals, but in dogs, xylitol causes blood sugar levels to plummet. When blood sugar drops, Gwaltney-Brant says, “the brain isn’t getting enough energy to do its job.” After swallowing xylitol, dogs may vomit and become lethargic and disoriented. “If blood sugar drops low enough, they can have seizures,” Gwaltney-Brant says. Without treatment, dogs can die.

That’s not all. Dogs that eat a lot of xylitol can also suffer from liver damage. Researchers aren’t sure what causes the liver problems, Gwaltney-Brant says, but the results can be grave.

A little xylitol goes a long way. Just two sticks of sugarless gum can be fatal for a 20-pound dog, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune, and a single sugar-free pudding cup can spell trouble for a 90-pound pooch. But those numbers can be misleading, Gwaltney-Brant cautions. Some brands of gum or candy contain no xylitol, while others contain relatively large amounts. Even within a single brand, the level of xylitol can vary from flavor to flavor and batch to batch, she says.

If you know or suspect your dog has gotten into foods that might contain xylitol, take him to the vet immediately, Gwaltney-Brant says. Problems from blood sugar levels dropping can occur quickly — “often within 30 minutes to an hour,” she notes. Vets can monitor blood sugar levels and start treatment to get blood sugar back up to safe levels.

If you’re a fan of sugar-free products, check the labels to see whether they contain xylitol. And it should go without saying that you should do your best to keep Fido away from your gum. He can’t blow bubbles anyway.

Source

Posted by DogToys.com at 10:16 am Tagged with: ,

What Time Is It? PLAY TIME!

Dogs & Puppies, Exercise, Favorite Things No Responses »
Jun 032009

Here at DogToys.com we know how much dogs love to play. In fact it seems like it is always time to play when you’re a dog (unless of course it is time for food or time for sleep that is).

So since dogs are thinking “play time” nearly every second of every day, we thought we would share this fun Play Time Clock with you all.

It’s only $16.99 and is available over at CafePress.com along with some other fun play time items.

Posted by DogToys.com at 2:18 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

Rover Keeps You Accountable During Your Weightloss Journey

Dog News, Dogs & Puppies, Exercise, Site News No Responses »
May 052009

The following is an excerpt from Trim The Fat Blog.

“Many of us feel the need to have an exercise buddy when we first start a fitness program. I’ll admit, I had friends lined up almost every day of the week to go for a walk with me when I first began to include exercise in my weight loss journey. It was nice to have company and helped keep me accountable. As I would walk on the fitness trail near my home, I noticed that quite a few people had their dogs either walking or running with them. It never dawned on me before that my dog, Rocky, could have been my exercise buddy, too! We all know the benefits of exercise for ourselves which include weight loss or weight maintenance, heart health and stress management. Turns out, those same exercise benefits apply to our pets, too. There was a study done by the University of Missouri-Columbia that discovered their participants that walked with a dog on a regular schedule, building up to 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week ended up losing an average of 14 pounds per person! And let’s not forget about the pooches! Another study done at Northwest Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute found that obese people who tried losing weight with their overweight dogs lost an average of 11 pounds in a year and their dogs lost 16% of their body weight.”

“We can bring our dogs along for any outdoor physical activity whether it’s hiking, backpacking, jogging or running. We’ll get some heart healthy exercise and so will our dogs; plus we’ll have a fun time and lose weight! So, in honor of May being Physical Fitness Month, my uber cool friends at DogToys.com offered to do a giveaway of some items to encourage you and your pup to get fit this month!”

Please visit www.trimthefat-marisa.blogspot.com to enter the contest.

Posted by DogToys.com at 1:14 pm Tagged with: ,

50 Games to Play With Your Dog

Dogs & Puppies, Exercise No Responses »
Apr 032009

DogToys.com has just received a new book this week entitled 50 Games to Play With Your Dogby Sueellen Dainty.  Regular exercise/activity is important and promotes a healthy life for both dog and owner.  Not only does play increase the bond between pet and owner, but mental and physical exercise relieve one of the biggest causes of problem behaviors in dogs–boredom.  Catagories include: Fetch Games, Working it Out, Trick and Treat, Agility Challenge, and Exercising with Your Dog. 

Twenty-two dogs are wonderfully photographed depicting each game in this 128 page book.  $12.99

Posted by DogToys.com at 12:02 pm Tagged with: , , ,
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