Ear infections are very common in dogs. Among all dog breeds, Poodles and Cocker Spaniels are the ones most prone to this type of health concern. Yeasts or bacteria are the common causes of these infections. And this condition could make your pets uncomfortable and very irritable.

Symptoms of Ear Infection in Dogs

You’ll know if your dog is suffering from ear infections if its ear canals seem to be very sensitive.
Normally, your dog will shake his head frequently in the attempt to get rid of the fluid or debris present in its ear. You will also see your dog scratching his ears habitually or tilting it to one side. As a result, its ears would get red and even seem swollen. You may also notice that your pet’s ears are slowly developing a foul odor. Yellowish or black discharge could also appear from time to time.

Causes of Ear Infection in Dogs

Ear mites can possibly cause ear infection in dogs. However, mites are more common to puppies than adult dogs. Adult dogs would only develop ear mites if it gets associated to puppies that have them. Ear mites could trigger the infection because they become carriers of fungi and bacteria.

Aside from ear mites, the accumulation of wax in the dog’s ear could also be the reason why dogs develop ear infection. This only goes to show that regular cleaning of the dog’s ear is very important. Proper hygiene is still the best way to preventing ear infections.

Aside from these two causes, a foreign body finding its way into the dog’s ear may also be the culprit. Any debris in the dog’s ear, such as matted hair or tumor, could possibly lead to this health concern. Impaired ear drainage is also one reason why dogs develop ear infections.

Diagnosis for Ear Infection in Dogs

Diagnosing the severity of the disease and the reasons why your dog had developed ear infection is very important so that the veterinarian can administer the right cure. To check the dog’s ears, an otoscope is used. The otoscope is a medical instrument equipped with both light and magnification powers for proper viewing of the ear canals. With the otoscope, the vet can easily see if there’s any foreign object or debris present in the dog’s ear. Some dogs would find this procedure painful. For them, sedation may be required.

The vet could also get a sample taken from the ear canal to check what it is made of. He would analyze it using a microscope, following the basic cytology process. Here, the vet tries to determine which organism had caused the infection. It could help him prescribe the right medicines to counter the disease-causing elements. Further lab tests and x-rays may also be required, depending upon the severity of the infection.

Treatment of Ear Infection in Dogs

To treat ear infection in dogs, the vet may prescribe medicines designed to counter attack bacteria or fungi, depending upon which organism triggered the infection. If one or more of them are present, several drugs may be given. Regular cleaning of the ears will also be advised. If your pet’s ears are infected, it should be cleaned everyday for two weeks. If you can’t clean the dog’s ear yourself, you can ask the veterinarian to do it for you. However, for more severe cases of ear infection, surgery might be required.

Prevention of Ear Infection in Dogs

Proper hygiene is your first step to keeping your pet healthy. If your dog has pendulous ears or if they tend to grow too much hair in these areas, you have to be specifically observant of their ear’s hygiene. Make sure that you inspect them everyday after their baths. Clean them as per your vet’s instructions. Have your pet’s hairs cut and plucked regularly, especially on the ear part.

Dogs that have allergies and those with other health problems could also be prone to ear infections. Try to take your pet to the vet weekly for ear cleaning. You might also need to apply some ear cleaning solution so that infections would be prevented.

Caring for your dog and pets can sure be a full time job. Providing a high quality diet, plenty of exercise and love lay the foundation. After that there are so many things to consider when trying to keep dogs healthy.

One of the most beneficial preventative measure (or corrective if your dog is already experiencing problems) is to provide him or her with a high quality dog enzyme. Enzymes for dogs and well as probiotics provide the natural digestive catalyst dogs need to properly absorb nutrients from the foods they eat. Dogs, being wild animals by nature, have digestive systems that are designed to digest raw meats (and just about anything else!) We as owners typically provide dog food that is processed – the result is that many of the nutrients and minerals from the dog never make it to the dog. Enzymes for dogs promote their digestive system to properly digest and absorb these essential elements. The result is that dog itching stops, dog allergies stop, and their health improves greatly! Think of enzymes for dogs this way – they treat the problem before it becomes a problem. Having said that if your dog is experiencing scratching, itching, shedding, allergies, or other health issues definitely provide dog enzymes and probiotics, they will have a quick and lasting effect on your loved one! Evolution Pets at www.evolutionsupply.com provides some great high quality dog enzymes.

While it may not seem as important as enzymes discussed above, cleaning dog eyes is also essential to support health. Bacteria, fungus, and many other infectious organisms around a dogs eye can problems, and be quite expensive if you are forced to go to the veterinarian. This is especially true for poodles and Maltese breeds. If your dog has tear stains use a high quality dog tear stain remover. It is important to use one that actually cures the issues and not simply masks it. EvolutionPets has formulated a great product that is used by many dog owners. It includes tartrate which has great results. You simply sprinkle it over your dogs food and that is it. Some of the inferior products are in pill form or even worse require direct application around the dogs eye. This is a no-no as it often makes the situation even worse.

Let me discuss one last thing – bathing a dog. While it may seem elementary it is not; and using a poor dog shampoo or not bathing your dog enough can also lead to health issues, and you guessed it expensive veterinarian bills. Use a nice moisturizing dog shampoo, oatmeal dog shampoo works great and is soothing to the dog. Stay away from products you can buy in pet stores as they tend to be massed produced products (regardless what the label look like) and based from human shampoos.

We hope you enjoy time with your dog!

Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles. They have a shell making them unique from other reptiles. Their upper shell is called the carapace, and a lower shell that protects the belly called the plastron. The carapace and plastron shape and color varies from species to species. One might think it would at least always be a hard shell, which also is untrue. There are softshell turtle species, along with many others.

Some turtle species include Clemmys insculpta which is the wood turtle; Geochelone sulcata which is the African Spurred tortoise; Chelonia mydas which is the green turtle; Emydoidea blandingii which is the Blanding’s turtle; Clemmys guttata which is the spotted turtle; Malaclemys terrapin which is the diamondback terrapin; and Trachemys s. elegans which is the red-eared slider.

The species name for the wood turtle is Clemmys insculpta. This turtle is the largest in its genus. The carapace has raised projections on the back that resemble a small pyramid, making it different from others in the Clemmys genus.

The wood turtle is omnivorous and eats things like algae, moss, blueberries, mollusks, insects, earthworms, and mice. Typically adult males are larger than adult females, but not by a whole lot.

The species name for the African Spurred tortoise is Geochelone sulcata. The African Spurred Tortoise is the only tortoise in the world that has adapted fully for terrestrial life. The turtle is famous for digging burrows to protect itself from predators and the temperature. This turtle can go weeks without food or water. When the turtle does get a chance to drink water though, it can drink up to 15% of its body weight.

The species name for the green turtle is Chelonia mydas. Adult green turtles have a different diet than juvenile green turtles. Adults are herbivores eating plants and juveniles are carnivores eating meat. Adults usually spend their time in patches of sea grass and algae to get their food, while juveniles spend their time among the coral reef. Adults preferred food is young leaves and roots of sea vegetation. Juveniles eat animals such as jellyfish, sponges, snails, bivalves, and others.

This turtle is a medium to large sea turtle that has a broad, low, heart-shaped carapace.

Most of their lives are spent in the water but females return to the land to lay their eggs. The eggs take about two months to incubate, and then hatch. As most turtles are, green turtles possess environmental sex determination. Temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchling. Warmer temperatures produce females, and cooler temperatures produce males.

Green turtles are found throughout the oceans of the world. Populations are endangered or threatened everywhere.

The Blanding’s turtle is a northern turtle that has a black carapace with tan to yellow spots on the scutes. Its species name is Emydoidea blandingii. Sometimes this turtle is confused with the box turtle because of similar appearances.

This turtle lives in clean, shallow water habitats. They like abundant aquatic vegetation, and firm aquatic bottoms in ponds, lakes, marshes, and creeks. However, preferences in habitat can change seasonally and by location. In Wisconsin, the Blanding’s turtle prefers marshes over ponds, which is just a location preference. Turtles elsewhere may choose a pond over a marsh.

This turtle nests once a year usually from late-May to early July during the night. However, not every female nests every year.

The common name for Clemmys guttata is the spotted turtle. This is a small, black turtle that has a pattern on its smooth carapace with small yellow spots. Over time the spots may fade, making older turtles appear spotless.

Male spotted turtles tend to have tan chins with brown eyes differing from the females who tend to have yellow chins and orange eyes.

These turtles live in areas that are shallow wetlands. This can consist of swamps, bogs, fens, and marshes, but not confined to just these areas.

Spotted turtles are active during they day for the most part, meaning they are diurnal. However, females are active at night while they are nesting.

Spotted turtles are preyed upon by bald eagles, skunks, and raccoons.

The species name for the Diamondback Terrapin is Malaclemys terrapin. This turtle is a small to medium size turtle which feeds on sponges, bryozoans, gastropods, crabs, carrion, and plant material.

They have a hingeless plastron which can be yellow to green or black, and an oblong carapace is gray, light brown or black. They can be found in estuaries and salt marshes.

Nesting for these turtles is different from a majority of turtles because it is during the day. Most turtles tend to nest during the night. High tide is the most usual time for this particular turtle to nest.

The red-eared slider is native to the United States. It is commonly found in the Southern regions. The species name for it is Trachemys s. elegans.

When the red-eared slider is young it is carnivorous, but as it ages they become more vegetarian. They are a medium size and have a dark green oval shell. Their legs are green with think yellow stripes. The head is also green, but it has a red stripe behind the eye.

These turtles are found in most permanent slow-moving bodies of water. They prefer areas with mud bottoms.