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Savvy Sitter Suggestions May 09
"I am a retired veterinary assistant and learned about Frontline Plus when it was first introduced. I use it on my dogs and have never had a problem. It is a very reliable product.
"I do not use natural products like garlic and other herbs because in my experience, they just aren't strong enough to combat fleas. Fleas are tough little critters and I have seen animals suffer terribly - and some even die - from anemia and skin disease caused by fleas. I am aware that some animals are less susceptible to flea bites (just like people) but they are the lucky ones!" - Marsha Healy, MY BUDDY Pet Care, Akron, OH
"We live in the prairies and as a result, have a huge infestation of ticks each spring. We
"Our vet recommended Frontline Plus and that's what we've been using each spring. The benefit? If our dogs don't have ticks on them, neither do we!
"For my clients, I recommend doing a daily inspection for ticks. Some of my clients use flea and tick collars." -Karin Howland, Pets Stay At Home, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
"I just found a great (possibly the best) invention called the 'Trix Tick Remover.' It's from Europe and it's popular on the East Coast in helping to prevent Lyme disease. (You can find this on the Internet)
"I live in the flea capital of the world - Florida - and have been looking for more natural flea
"It has been very dry here for a couple of months - and we have been under drought conditions for several years, so our spring flea population should be alive and well.
"Each night when I flea comb my dogs, I may find one or two live fleas total (which were probably picked up outside on the last potty break.) But that's it. I would recommend this alternative to everyone - at least on a trial basis - to see if it works. I am able to purchase a large bottle of brewer's yeast tablets for about $20. This usually lasts for two or three months. Of course, summer will be the true test. But for now, we are happy with the results." Lisa A. Lovell, Animal Companion Pet Sitting Service LLC, Orlando/Winter Park, FL
BLOAT "I came up with a great idea for avoiding bloat in a client's 7-month-old lab puppy (Lucy) at meal time that might be useful to others.
"With dogs of this nature, (the type in which the food disappears as soon as you set it down) you must be careful. Gulping food often leads to the dog regurgitating its meal. Eating in this manner also allows air to get into the stomach and can cause great discomfort, even bloat, which can kill an animal.
As for Lucy, I tried several times to come up with different means of helping her "keep her food down," but she still had occassional meals coming back up.
"I tried it and it worked! It took Lucy several minutes to break up and eat the frozen patty and she enjoyed it as though it were a meaty bone. Giving her an extra 10-15 minutes enabled her to keep the food all down - and it stopped the automatic response of throwing up. Hopefully this may help her to get back on a traditional feeding pattern by the time she's a year old and avoid the mess, discomfort, and most of all - bloat.
Do you have a Savvy Sitter Suggestion that you'd like to share? Drop us a line! We'd love to hear from you! |
FLEA & TICK PREVENTION
own golden retrievers and the ticks hide so well in their plush coats that trying to find them is nearly impossible. When the ticks are finally found, they are usually engorged. 
control solutions for my five dogs instead of using 'topical poisons.' Recently, I have been using 
"There are many breeds that dive into their food bowls like it was their first meal in weeks, and in my experience, labrador retrievers are some of the most voracious eaters! Scooby, an adult lab that I care for, once ate an entire bag of food and was lucky that he was only sick for a few days! 
I was preparing dinner for my wife and I noticed the plastic hamburger press in the cabinet. The horn sounded! I thought to myself, 'what if I combine her dry food with a high quality canned food, add a little water and mix it up well? Then I could feed Lucy one every 15-20 minutes.' I figured this way she would get her full meal in an hour without the heaving response - or the the mess associated with it. 
"I have several clients that have animals at risk for bloat and this seems to be a method that works. You can use many different objects from around the house to create the patties. I used some extra stainless steel food cups from my parrots cage that enabled me to make thick burgers that froze quickly and went into a ziplock freezer bag for later use. Lucy's mom is pretty happy now - and so is Lucy!