If you suspect your dog is choking, gently open your dog’s mouth to locate and manually remove the object. If your dog isn’t breathing and ou can’t find what is obstructing his windpipe, perform a modified Heimlich maneuver. With your dog facing away from you, clasp your hands around his waist, just beneath the rib cage. Compress the abdomen three to five times with quick upward thrusts. Repeat as necessary. If that doesn’t work, take your dog to the veterinarian.

As a last resort, for uncontrollable bleeding, use a tourniquet. Make it tight enough to significantly reduce the flow of blood. Loosen it every 5 minutes, and do not keep it on longer than 20 minutes. Seek medical care as soon as possible at a veterinarian’s office or emergency clinic.

Additionally, puncture wounds that heal quickly can cause life threatening infections days later.

Have someone help you move the dog into a vehicle, to get to the vet, by sliding a heavy towel or blanket under the dog and lift together.

A dog in pain or frightened is likely to bite. (Even the hand that feeds him.) Protect yourself by tying a strip of cloth over your dog’s nose.

Have you considered adding some holistic dog treatments to those suggested by your vet?

Sometimes the problem with dogs that keep getting dog mange and other conditions that result in illness is the strength of their immune system. Factors that suppress the immune system can predispose a dog to demodectic mange. Factors such as a poor quality diet, medications such as cortisone (prescribed for itching or other problems), diabetes, Cushing’s disease or hypothyroidism can suppress the immune system.

Some treatments you may need to consider are dog vitamins and dog supplements that boost their immune system. Also, feeding your dog a healthy dog food will give him the fuel he needs to fight off illness.

You can also use this opportunity to check for any changes in your dog’s appearance that could alert you to any health problems.

Keep a few dog treats at hand to reward your dog and maintain a firm and pleasant manner.

Remain calm, even if your dog becomes excited. Your dog is very adept at sensing anxiety in you.

Use basic training commands, such as “sit” and “stay”, to keep your dog in place during the bath. Reassure your dog throughout the bathing process and offer praise for good behavior.

If possible, give a bath in the same place every time. Your dog will become accustomed to having a bath in that location.

Start bathing at a young age, or early in the relationship of adopting an older dog, to get your dog used to getting a bath from you. You can bathe a puppy as young as six or eight weeks. Just be certain to make the process quick and prevent chilling with a very young dog.

If the problem continues to get worse or your dog is scratching and causing damage to the skin you likely need treatment from your vet. The vet will do a skin scraping to check for mites and prescribe appropriate treatment.

To have a more holistic dog approach consider treating your dog with conventional medicine and holistic medicine. Most often your dog just needs to build his immune system to fight off unwanted critters and nothing can replace a proper diet in building health and strength in your dog’s immune system.

Feeding your dog the best dog foods doesn’t need to be complicated. Just adding some fresh raw ingredients to your dog’s high quality food will begin to strengthen his immune system. Adding a fish oil supplement will improve the skin and coat.

Veterinarians diagnosis dog mange by scraping skin flakes from patchy or itchy areas and checking them under a microscope for mites. The sarcoptes mite is identified by its round shape.

If you have an very itchy dog, the problem is likely sarcoptic mange or scabies. Dogs infected with this mite will sometimes scratch their skin raw, hence the common name “red mange”. Dogs with the freedom to roam in areas with wildlife such as foxes, deer, and raccoons, can catch dog mange by rolling in the carcass of an infected animal.

Veterinarians treat this dog mange with a few different dog medicines depending on the breed. Most breeds are given two or three injections of ivermectin over several weeks. The exception is Collies and similar breeds. An alternative dog medicine, used for Collies, is Revolution (selamectin) or Interceptor (milbemycin).

Red mange is a condition you must treat, if not just for the comfort of your dog, but to prevent you or your children from getting the condition. In humans, the condition is called scabies and is intensely itchy. You need to see your physician to get the proper treatment for you or a family member.

Dogs can catch demodectic dog mange from close contact with other dogs that are infected with this dog skin problem, but this type of dog mange is not contagious to people.

Dog mange is diagnosed by a veterinarian. The vet takes a skin flake from an itchy or patchy area and checks the skin under a microscope for mites. Demodex mites are cigar-shaped.

Some young dogs simply “outgrow” demodectic dog mange once their immune systems become strong enough to fight against the mites. Others may need weekly dips in amitraz for four to six weeks, or until the mites are not found for four weeks following skin scrapings by the veterinarian.

Many dogs may not be able to enjoy strenuous exercise, but they can benefit from regular, gentle exercise, such as swimming or hydrotherapy. Swimming improves circulation and tones the muscles, while supporting the joints. It is ideal for any dog with any muscle or joint problems.

The opportunity to swim, whether in a heated pool or in a lake, has a positive psychological effect on dogs that are natural swimmers. This effect likely stimulates the production of natural endorphins, which are natural pain killers and cause a sense of well-being.

For the same reason we strap life jackets on ourselves and our children, our dogs are at risk of injury or drowning. Water craft tip over and unexpected events happen, such as your dog is distracted by wildlife and leaps from the boat. Dog life jackets give them the extra floating power they need until you can reach them and the jacket gives you an object to grap onto to get them back to safety.

Time to enjoy the great outdoors…