We all dislike to think that we have bugs feeding and living off us. Mosquitoes are awful enough, but fleas, ticks and lice are even worse. They do not simply come over for dinner, they actually move in. Dogs and cats are normally to blame for bringing fleas into our homes, but ticks and lice we can bring ourselves too.

If you suspect an infestation or an immanent infestation of fleas or other bugs in your home, you ought to do something about it right away. The first thing to do is tie the dog up in the yard and clean up the house. Put your bedding and any loose covers, like cushion or chair covers, on a boil wash. Then get out the vacuum cleaner, put a large shake of flea powder into the bag and vacuum the whole house – even the chairs and the curtains.

Then take a large can of insecticide containing 0.5% permethrin and spray every fabric that you can see. This will kill all bugs and will keep your house bug free for about six months. Think twice if you have fish or cats as permethrin will kill them too, although it is completely safe for humans and dogs.

So, now you can turn your attention to Fido. Fleas are by far the most common problem, but some areas where there are deer, may have a lot of ticks as well. If you dog has ticks, make sure that you cut your grass short. Ticks prefer long grass.

Fleas and ticks often produce an allergic reaction in dogs which drives them mad. They bite and scratch themselves until their hair falls out and their skin bleeds.

If you dog has a condition like this, you should wash him with a medicated shampoo, dust him with flea powder, put a flea collar on him and put a little oil on his sore skin. If he still will not leave it alone, you may have to get him a ruff for a few days until his skin heals over. For maintenance, a regular bath and a dusting should be sufficient.

Worms are another horrible thought. Imagine having worms living inside you. I know that we do all have parasites within us, but they are supposed to be there. I am talking about the ones that are not supposed to be in there like: tape worms, round worms, hook worms and whip worms. A bad hook infection can even make your dog anaemic.

Hook worm larvae can pass through the skin, so when you are bathing or brushing him, be on the look out for what looks like small cuts. Often the dogs stools will be runny and tinged with blood. These are dangerous pests and have to be treated immediately.

The other worms are less dangerous and all puppies have round worms. Round worms and bits of dead tape worm in the stools are a sign of infection. A pot belly in a puppy is also a call to action. Worms are not difficult to treat and you should worm your dog every six months with a tablet. Not all of these worming tablets are suitable for puppies though.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on quite a few subjects, but is currently concerned with natural tick repellent. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at tick Repellent For Dogs.

The requirement of healthy food appears to apply equally to humans and their pets, since a lot of pet owners prefer to buy organic products to feed their four-legged friends. One could be forgiven for being taken aback by the vast variety of organic dog food available in the market. Just like for humans, there are a lot of pet illnesses that one could cure or even prevent in the first place by the use of organic pet food.

For instance, organic dog food could lessen the risk of the dog getting skin diseases and allergies. The explanation for the positive health impact is the absence of additives, chemicals, colourants and pesticides. Instead the ingredients of organic dog food are just grain extracts and high quality proteins.

Normal dog food can cause diabetes and excess weight with all the other problems that accompany these illnesses: back ailment, organ failure and decreased mobility. How can organic dog food help here, then? Well, because organic pet food does not contain bulk filler; they are nutrient-packed products that create energy not fat. Moreover, it is far better and definitely a lot easier to prevent health issues than try to cure them later.

A better digestion and a stronger immunity system are the other main benefits that accompany the use of organic pet food. Because of the lack of chemicals usually present in ordinary pet food, your dog will no longer be sick or experience gas or diarrhea. A healthier metabolism is what you will achieve with a healthy diet. Moreover, the quality of the nutritional substances in organic dog food, boosts the immunity functions, thereby reducing the risks of infection and all sorts of specific diseases that affect dogs on a routine basis.

A significant number of veterinarians claim that organic dog food substantially extends the life of any animal, not to mention the fact that it will go through old age a lot better. It is quite common that pet owners who choose organic dog food, are also interested in eating organic foods themselves, sticking by healthy natural food that enhance bodily functions and reduce toxins and disease.

Ask your dog food provider about organic dog food and if there is none available at your local shop, try to order it online. There are many web sites that offer such products at fairly decent prices.

One last piece, be very, very careful with dried dog food like biscuits, no matter what it says on the packet. I used to have a dog called Becky that stayed at home alone during the day, while I went to the office. I didn’t like to leave tinned food, because of flies, bacteria and vermin, so I bought dry food, which would not go off during the day. However, within six years she had contracted diabetes, which meant that I had to inject her with insulin every morning. The veterinary said that it was very common for dogs fed only on dry biscuits to contract diabetes, so check with your vet first of all or feed organic tinned food.

If you liked reading this article on organic dog food and you want to read more about dogs in general or dog training, please go to our our website at Dog Training

We all love our dogs, don’t we? We love to give them a little delicacy sometimes as well. Some dogs are so cute when they beg for a bit of what you are eating, but the fact is that some foods that are alright for us to eat are not so good for dogs. This should not come as much of a surprise as you would almost certainly be quite ill too if you ate a half-rotten bird that you found in the hedgerow.

The most common human food that will kill your dog is chocolate or more accurately the theobromine in the chocolate. Some chocolate has more theobromine in it than others. For instance, white chocolate has only 1 mg of theobromine per 28 g (1 oz) whereas baking chocolate has 450 mg per 28 g.

So how much theobromine does it take to kill a dog? Well, the response to that depends on several considerations like age and health but most importantly the weight of the dog. Let us say that an average, knee-high, collie-type dog weighs 20 kilos (about 45 lbs.), then it would take about 250 kg (560 lbs) of white chocolate to harm him, but he probably would have exploded by then anyway having eaten 12.5 times his body weight in food.

However, the scenario changes quickly when we examine other types of chocolate. It would take about 1.5 kg (3 lbs) of milk chocolate to have the same outcome and about a third of that in sweet cacao or half-a-kilo (1 lb). The most hazardous substance is baking chocolate. It only takes just over 100g or four and a half ounces of baking chocolate to give a medium sized dog life threatening problems.

Therefore, the biggest danger would be of a dog eating a chocolate cake with chocolate icing or topping. Children are the worst, albeit innocent, culprits: they frequently give dogs cake at parties and it is one to look out for.

So, what should you do if your dog eats chocolate? It depends on the quantity and the quality and your dog. The safest thing would be to take him to the vet as soon as possible, but if you are confident you could wait for symptoms like vomitting, diarrhea, twitching, seizure, palpitations or undue wetting.

Theobromine attacks a dog’s central nervous system so not all dogs will react in the same way, but you will definitely discern that your dog is perplexed, befuddled and distraught.

If you make your mind up to treat your dog yourself, the first thing you should do is stimulate vomitting all the while comforting your dog. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide should do the trick. Give your dog a teaspoon full if it is under 10 kg and a tablespoon if it is over 10 kg. Give every 15 minutes until it takes effect. After this, try to get some activated carbon into him to soak up any residual poison. Follow the recommendations on the box.

If you live miles from anywhere or you think that your dog is at high risk (the school vacation season is the worst), you could get a pet’s first aid box from your vet. They are not expensive and have a long shelf life and you will not be caught out if someone gives your dog chocolate.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with researching What to do if your dog eats chocolate. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at http://whattodoifyourdogeatschocolate.com.