How To Spot An Ear Infection

Ear infections are awful, painful and annoying for adults. Now imagine having MUCH better hearing and an ear infection. And then other people sniffing your ear.

Double annoying, right? Yeah. So I'm going to show you pictures of Rusty's ears. He doesn't get them much anymore, but the first sign of an ear infection is the shaking of their head, which is what Rusty did this morning. So the pics of the ear infection are actually AFTER I've cleaned the ear and given him anti-biotics. We don't mess around with ear infections in this house (Bimmer just had an ear infection last week, poor guy).

So, above is a clean, healthy ear. It should smell good too (trust me, once you smell a yeasty ear, you'll NEVER forget that smell. This is Rusty's right ear, this morning as of 10 minutes ago. Healthy, white, NORMAL.

Now, here's the INFECTED ear:

Do you see how pink and NOT normal it is? There's some black gunk in it too - that's gross. It's not as white either. The picture on top is a little dark, but you can see where he might've been nipped on the ear at daycare, so I've cleaned the ear with a special solution (it's like $9 at the vet's office) to help expel all the yeasty awfulness, gunk, wax, build-up etc... He also didn't want me to touch the ear, so I couldn't get as clear of shots, sorry.

In any case, I wanted to show everyone what to look for if you notice something NOT normal with the ears.

Ear infections can get AWFUL, and I mean to the point of the ear closing up from being inflammed, pus coming out and just plain old nastiness.

Make sure you clean your dog's ears at least once a week (I know, like people really do that, right?), add in yogurt to their food to help promote GOOD bacteria and feed them grain free food to help prevent ear infections.

ALSO, JUST AN FYI: This is the FIRST ear infection that Rusty has had since being on a grain free food. Amazing, right?

So, just to let everyone know - check your dog's ears and get them cleaned! Your pet will be much happier with clean ears!

Cora Playing!!

Thanks, Doug!

10 Things That Make Me Happy. Doug, you really know how to get my day started right! Thanks, Doug! You are awesome!

So onto those 10 things that make me happy...
1. Watching the squirrels in the neighbor's tree in this position. Really, it works 'cause they don't think you're lookin' at them.
2. Snow on my nose. It's fairly tasty if you don't get the yellow stuff.
3. Bully sticks
4. Fish food. I love fish. Yum!
5. Peanut butter.
6. Thank you Doug for telling my Momma that cucumbers are good. She let me have one, oops, maybe three or four pieces and I love cucumbers!
7. Going running. Dad goes so fast that sometimes I miss the good smells though.
8. Pouncing on my foster siblings. I wait until they're not looking and then BAM! I get 'em!!
9. Bathes. We have this awesome showerhead and it massages my back. I refuse to get out of the tub.
10. Swimming. I swim after ducks.

Now I have to pass this on, but since I'm kinda shy, Momma told me to tell everyone that reads this that they get the award too. I'm tryin' be more outgoing but it's kinda hard. So I've got to practice. And I have to learn to share so apparently I have to practice that too. It's hard being a dog sometimes.

(Dad makes fun of Allen Iverson who said something about practice. What practice? It's just practice... but I'm a dog and I don't practice...)

Adopt Cora!!!

Rusty has a new roommate. This is Cora.
Cora is about 7 months old. She knows sit, down, come, leave it, wait and we're working on walking well on a leash. She loves to play fetch and with Rusty. And she's just a sweetheart. Her favorite thing at night is to cuddle up on the couch and watch the Olympics! Or How I Met Your Mother...

Also, she's been spayed and she's UTD on all her shots, which means that she's ready to go!
If you want to adopt Cora, you can visit her Petfinder page here, or Pet Project Rescue's adoptable dog pages.

Cora needs a forever home, wanna a sweetie to cuddle up with every night?

February is Pet Dental Month

How often do you brush your dog's teeth? Rusty's teeth get brushed at least once a week. But, who couldn't blame him wanting a liver flavored toothpaste...

But after picking up Emilio, one of Pet Project Rescue's dogs at the vet two weeks ago, I can tell you that brushing your dog's teeth and giving knuckle bones is one of the best ways to help keep their teeth clean and healthy. I was handed a bottle of teeth after Emilio needed half of his teeth removed because of gum disease, poor nutrition and just disregard for health. Emilio still needs to go in for MORE teeth to be removed. For the rest of his life, he'll have to eat soft food and his poor little tongue will probably hang out. Poor guy. Don't let this happen to your pet. Oh, I will not post a pic of his bloody mouth or teeth because it's too sad.

You can read more about periodontal disease (gum disease) at the Veterinary Oral Health Council's website.

The American Veterinary Medical Association also has lots of resources to read about dental health and has an article about Pet Dental Month.

P.S. PPR is looking for foster homes in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area! They have lots of puppies coming in TOMORROW!!!

P.P.S. Emilio was also adopted to a fantastic home!

Nina Otteson Dog Toys

Isn't this Nina Otteson brick puzzle pretty neat? I totally want to get at least one of these for Rusty and the foster dogs to try. Plus Mickey's Pet Supply is having a sale on them.

Pet Food. Again. Yes.

Still interested in pet food links after I've drilled into you that you should feed a good dog food and not crap like Purina or Iams or Hill's Science/Prescription Diet?

Click Here to find out (drum roll please)....

The Truth About Pet Food

Ok, that's all. Have a Happy Hump Day!