We worry so often about chemicals getting into our food & our kids’ toys, but harmful chemicals are affecting our pets too!

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that cats and dogs carry a much higher “body burden” — the amount of persistent toxic chemicals in the body — than their human caregivers.

Just why are our pets so susceptible? Their vulnerability is due in part to their diminutive size and lifespan, but a larger component probably has to do with the way pets live: close to the ground. Like human children, dogs and cats will eat food off the floor and spend a lot of time on toxin-laden carpets. Pets pick up outside dust, insecticides and herbicides, then ingest these chemicals through self-grooming. Toxic dyes in pet products and plastic chew toys and water bowls also play a dangerous role, as do high mercury and PBDE levels in seafood.

Here are some ways you can protect your beloved pet:

• Don’t use lawn herbicides

• Use plant-based kitty litter from wheat or recycled newspaper instead of clay-based litter

• Vacuum frequently, and bag resulting dust to prevent reintroduction into the house.

• Flea collars are ineffective and a source of constant toxic exposure to your pets and family. Choose natural pest repellants like garlic and clove oil instead.

• Pick pet food free of chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin, vary cats’ diets to limit seafood mercury-exposure and choose organic or free-range ingredients rather than “by-products.”

• If you suspect your deck was made with arsenic-treated wood, don’t let pets underneath it. Regularly treat with sealant, wash with soap and water, and never power wash.

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Is your dog turning your garden into a minefield? The first step to solving the problem may be understanding WHY. Here are some ideas!

1) The Denning Instinct: Evolution has provided dogs with an instinct to dwell in a protected area. If such shelter is not provided, the dog will dig to obtain it.

2) Temperature Control: In extreme environments, dogs may use earthen dens to control body temperature. Some dogs dig dens to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Providing a protected, warm area in the winter and plenty of liquids, shade and occasional sprays with water in the summer can help eliminate this need to dig.

3) Hunting: Some dogs, such as terriers, are relentless diggers. Such breeds have evolved to use digging as an essential part of their hunting repertoire. Underground there are countless bugs, dead animals, old trash pits and live game.

4) Self Care: Occasionally digging will be an instinctive expression of self-care,such as
stashing bones or surplus food. This behavior keeps the dogs’ living areas clean and
prevents interference from scavengers.

5) Exploration and Territoriality: Dogs often dig because of their instinct to explore. There is a high survival value associated with being intimately familiar with the territory. Thus, dogs may dig to locate potentially dangerous or useful items.

6) Mimicry: The technical term for this is “allelomimetic behavior.” Dogs often will imitate other animals, as well as people.

7) Reproductive Behavior: Walker explains that females in the wild will dig series of dens. This nesting behavior is quite common, and providing a proper whelping box typically will address this sort of digging. Dogs also may dig to escape from the yard and attempt mating. Neutering, of course, provides a permanent solution for this digging

8.) Aggressiveness and Frustration: Digging, especially at a fence or gate, usually is associated with frustration. Being pack animals, dogs want to join others (human or canine) and feel stressed by their isolation and confinement. Male dogs also may display aggression in response to human teasing or canine challenges.

9) Social Interaction Needs: Some dogs require a home range much larger than a fenced-in yard can provide, and they may attempt to escape simply to increase social contact. Walks, a canine companion and a fence that allows a greater range of visibility may help.

10) Attention-Seeking Behavior: Digging, as a random exploratory behavior, may become an entrenched habit if a dog is “rewarded” with considerable negative attention because of its digging. Ignoring the digging while giving positive attention for an incompatible desirable behavior generally is the best approach.

11) Lack of Stimulation: Dogs will also dig out of boredom.

12) Anxiety, Trauma and Threat: Dogs often dig when feeling sick or especially anxious. “Dogs that are extremely ill will sometimes go off and try to dig a hole in which to lie and die,” Walker says. Likewise, when dogs are feeling threatened or insecure, a den may provide comfort and help them relax.

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Once you’ve begun to realize why your pet is digging, training him out of the behavior will become much easier. Good luck!

As summer starts to heat up, it’s important to make sure your pet stays cool! Dogs can overheat easily, especially during the next few months. Check out these ideas, posted by Catherine Leigh, a licensed veterinary nurse, for keeping your dog safe from the heat! (Source)

Heat stroke can strike when you may not suspect it. Those 100-plus-degree-days at the end of July are sometimes less dangerous than the first few warm days of summer when your pet is less acclimated to the heat.

A dog’s normal body temperature should be between 100 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. According to veterinarians Roger W. Gfeller and Michael W. Thomas, temperatures over 106 degrees is a life-threatening emergency.

Preventing heat stroke is always better than treating it after the fact.

Dogs with heavy coats can be kept trimmed short during summer months.

When you’re on an outing with your dog, make sure to provide them with plenty of rest, shade, and cool drinking water, even if you feel fine yourself. Don’t count on your dog to limit himself.

At the first sign of overheating, you need to start helping your dog to cool off, and seek veterinary care immediately. If your dog can still drink, offer cool water. After doing what you can to lower your dog’s temperature, get him to a doctor without delay. Minutes count.